Sang Zhi’s voice wasn’t loud and her tone was calm. But perhaps because the content was too shocking, it seemed as if it had been amplified through a loudspeaker, reaching the ears of the other two people.

The silence was broken, and for a moment, the atmosphere relaxed. Then, it entered an even more awkward situation.

Duan Jiaxu pressed his lips together but still said nothing.

The young woman couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Was he hit in a sore spot or did he think it was just a harmless joke? The smile on her face faded and the hand holding her phone slowly lowered.

Sang Zhi glanced secretly in Duan Jiaxu’s direction.

Coincidentally, she met his gaze. She immediately lowered her eyes, guiltily clutching her backpack to her chest. She fumbled for her phone, pretending to be just a background prop.

After a few more seconds, Duan Jiaxu withdrew his gaze and followed up on Sang Zhi’s words, “Mm, I am a bit of a scumbag.”

“……”

“And recently, I’ve been finding it hard to keep up.” He chuckled lightly. Then shaking the phone in his hand, he casually added, “If you want to call me, you might have to get in line.”

His tone was so matter-of-fact as if he didn’t think there was anything wrong with his words and there wasn’t a hint of shame on his face. It was as if he believed that having a good appearance made him superior.

Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow flippantly. “Do you want to reconsider?”

The woman took a deep breath, barely maintaining her politeness. “No need.”

“What a pity.” Duan Jiaxu sighed regretfully. “How about leaving your contact information anyway? You might change your mind someday……”

Before he could finish his sentence, the young woman turned and left directly.

Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu were left standing in place.

After the woman was out of sight, Duan Jiaxu turned to look at Sang Zhi and asked leisurely, “Kid, if Brother can’t gather thirty women this month, what should I do?”

“……”

His tone was gentle and calm as if he was genuinely asking for advice.

Yet it also felt like there was a hidden edge to his words.

Sang Zhi even thought that she would rather he lose his temper with her. It might have been less intimidating.

“One short.” Duan Jiaxu smiled. “How will I get through this month?”

“……” Sang Zhi didn’t dare to speak, coughing uncomfortably. She suddenly felt timid.

Duan Jiaxu, standing quietly beside her, didn’t say anything more. The silence was almost oppressive.

It felt like something big was brewing.

Sang Zhi was truly scared now. She didn’t even dare to sneak a glance at him, just standing obediently in place. The uncertainty of what was to come made her anxious. She swallowed hard, taking a small step back without drawing attention.

Gathering her courage, she quickly shouted, “Goodbye, Brother.” Then she abruptly turned and started to run, as if escaping from danger.

Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow, effortlessly grabbed her arm, and pulled her back.

“Why are you running?”

She had barely taken two steps before being caught.

Sang Zhi suddenly realized that running away was almost impossible.

She gave up.

“It’s late…… and it’s almost dark.” Sang Zhi lowered her head nervously, her voice barely above a whisper, “If I don’t get home soon, my mom will worry.”

Duan Jiaxu symbolically glanced at the sky. “It is late. How can Brother let you go home alone?”

Sang Zhi immediately said, “It’s okay, the bus stop is nearby and once I get off, I’m almost home. You need to go back to school too or it’ll be very late.”

“Hmm?” Duan Jiaxu said, “Why didn’t I notice before that you care so much about me?”

“……” Realizing she couldn’t escape, Sang Zhi resigned herself. “Brother, it’s such a small matter. Why do you remember it for so long? You didn’t lose anything.”

Duan Jiaxu lazily replied, “How did I not lose anything?”

Sang Zhi boldly said, “You hesitated because you didn’t want to give that sister your number and didn’t know how to refuse. I was helping you just now, wasn’t I? You should be thanking me.”

The little girl was quite good at talking nonsense without blinking. Duan Jiaxu stared at her for a few seconds, seeming amused. He smiled faintly and said, “Fine.”

“But brother, you also helped me just now.” Although he responded like that, Sang Zhi still felt insecure. She could only brace herself and say, “So we’re even.”

“That won’t do.” Duan Jiaxu said, “Let’s go, I’ll personally drop by your house to thank you.”

“……”

For someone her age, the two most dreaded words were probably ‘tell the teacher’ and ‘tell the parents’.

The person in front of her always used them to intimidate her, making her lose her temper instantly. Sang Zhi didn’t dare provoke him anymore, saying resentfully, “Why do you always want to tell my parents? It’s so childish.”

Duan Jiaxu slightly raised an eyebrow, saying lightly, “I’m in a bad mood because I still don’t have a girlfriend.”

Sang Zhi retorted, “You’re here to help me see the teacher, not to go on a date.”

“Okay, tell me. Who taught you those things?” Duan Jiaxu said with amusement, “Changing girlfriends every day, like I’m a duck^[1]gigolo.”

Sang Zhi blinked, not understanding, “Why does that make you a duck?”

“……”

Duan Jiaxu suddenly realized that standing in front of him was a young girl who had just entered middle school.

His expression froze for a moment, then he scratched his face and calmly lifted her backpack. “It means raising pets, like raising a duck and giving it a new owner every day.”

Sang Zhi pulled her arms out of the backpack straps. After thinking for a moment, she still felt something was off but pretended to understand.

“Oh.”

The pink and blue backpack thus fell into his hands.

Duan Jiaxu weighed the bag in his hand and changed the topic. “It’s so light.”

They started walking towards the bus stop.

“I don’t have much to carry.”

“What about your homework?”

Sang Zhi’s expression finally changed and she muttered, “……I don’t want to do it.”

“Don’t want to do it?” Duan Jiaxu said, “Then what do you spend your time on?”

“……”

“Kid, you need to be obedient. Listen well in class. Don’t disrupt the classroom, don’t deliberately oppose the teachers, and finish your homework.” Thinking of the boy in the office just now, Duan Jiaxu added, “And don’t start dating early. Wait until you’re an adult. For now, just build pure friendships.”

Sang Zhi glanced at him and responded with a perfunctory, “Oh.”

Seeing that she wasn’t taking it seriously, Duan Jiaxu casually added, “If you get your parents called in again, the fact that I pretended to be your brother today will probably come out and then I’ll really be in trouble. You wouldn’t repay kindness with ingratitude, would you?”

Sang Zhi replied, “You can just come over next time too……”

Duan Jiaxu didn’t respond, his smile fading slightly.

For some reason, Sang Zhi feared making him angry, so she quickly lost her ground. “I got it.”

He then smiled. “Good girl.”

His tone was as if he was giving a reward.

Duan Jiaxu bent down and affectionately rubbed Sang Zhi’s head.

“Let’s go, Brother will take you home.”

He walked her in front of her house.

Duan Jiaxu had no intention of going in, so he placed her backpack in front of her. “Go on inside.”

Sang Zhi nodded and obediently said, “Thank you, Brother.”

As she reached the main entrance, Sang Zhi slowly took out her key from her pocket and slowly opened it. Unsure if she would see him again and not hearing his departing footsteps behind her, she paused and carefully looked back.

Duan Jiaxu was still standing there, his gaze meeting hers.

Feeling caught, Sang Zhi’s face turned red and she quickly shouted, “Goodbye, Brother!” Then she hurriedly ran inside.

The house was empty, with no one else home yet.

Sang Zhi placed her hand against her warm cheek, quickly kicked off her shoes, and ran to the balcony. Grabbing the railing, she peered down. Duan Jiaxu was almost out of the community. He was holding his phone to his ear and was seemingly on a call.

After a few seconds, as if sensing something, he suddenly looked up in her direction.

Caught off guard, Sang Zhi felt guilty again.

She quickly turned her back and crouched down.

Her heart pounded, feeling as if it would jump out of her chest at any moment. Swallowing nervously, she remained still. She felt inexplicably guilty and lost. After a while, she dared to look outside again.

However, Duan Jiaxu was already gone.

Sang Zhi sighed.

She felt an inexplicable emptiness inside.

———pr


The matter had been resolved smoothly.

The teacher hadn’t noticed anything amiss, her parents were none the wiser, and Sang Zhi hadn’t received much of a reprimand. Yet, it seemed to have left endless aftereffects.

She began to think about the same person repeatedly.

Something bittersweet began to sprout.

Sang Zhi found this feeling strange and unsettling. She didn’t dare to tell anyone about it, feeling a bit ashamed. It’s as if she had grown up overnight and now had her own secret she couldn’t share.

Sang Zhi started to daydream more often.

Her scratchpad and diary gradually filled with a young man’s name, even though she didn’t know which characters matched the pronunciation.

The feeling only lasted for a while.

Maybe it was because they hadn’t met again and time slowly faded it away, or perhaps she had forcefully suppressed it, trying to pretend it didn’t exist.

Soon, midterm exams ended and the Dragon Boat Festival arrived.

Sang Zhi returned home early, took a bowl of strawberries from the fridge, and lay on the sofa, slowly nibbling on them. Her parents hadn’t returned yet, leaving her alone at home with the cheerful background music from the animated show on TV.

Suddenly, the main door opened.

Sang Zhi looked over instinctively and saw Sang Yan’s face.

Surprised that he had come back for the holiday, Sang Zhi was stunned for a moment, then looked away as if she hadn’t seen him, continuing to watch TV.

Sang Yan laughed angrily. “Aren’t you going to say hello?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?” Sang Zhi said, biting into a strawberry. “Mom just called and told you to cook rice. You better get to it.”

Sang Yan replied coolly, “I didn’t even tell her I was coming home. How could she ask me to cook?”

Sang Zhi’s eyes didn’t leave the TV. She reached for her phone beside her and called Li Ping, putting the phone on speaker. “If you don’t believe me, I’ll call her.”

Sang Yan ignored her and grabbed a bottle of cold water from the fridge.

The call was answered quickly and Li Ping’s voice could be heard from the other side, “Zhizhi, what’s wrong?”

“Mom.” Sang Zhi said calmly, “Brother is back. Didn’t you tell me earlier to ask him to cook rice?”

Sang Yan closed the fridge and looked over at Sang Zhi.

After a few seconds of silence, Li Ping said, “Yes, did he cook yet?”

Sang Yan: “……”

Sang Zhi swallowed a strawberry and raised her voice, “Brother, Mom is asking if you cooked the rice!”

Sang Yan stared at Sang Zhi for a while without saying a word, then walked into the kitchen. Seeing this, Sang Zhi got up and followed him, leaning against the doorframe and peeking inside. “He’s cooking now.”

After exchanging a few more words with Li Ping, Sang Zhi hung up the phone. She looked at Sang Yan’s back and suddenly remembered mistaking Duan Jiaxu for him. After a moment of silence, she randomly asked, “Brother, have you dated anyone in university?”

Sang Yan ignored her.

“No? Not even once?” Sang Zhi seemed very interested, even abandoning the animated show. “I’m serious, Brother.”

Sang Yan turned around, sounding annoyed, “What is it?”

Sang Zhi earnestly asked, “Do you want to get plastic surgery?”

“……”

Sang Yan almost choked on his breath. Not wanting to see her anymore, he turned his back and sneered, “Remember the guy who came back with me last time? Do you still remember him?”

Sang Zhi’s action of chewing paused. She lowered her eyes and slowly said, “I remember.”

“He said you look like me.”

“……” Sang Zhi was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, “Did I offend him in some way?”

“What.”

Sang Zhi pursed her lips, unhappy. “If not, why would he call me ugly?”

“……”

Robbin: Advance chapter will start here. One chapter will be unlocked every Wednesday and Saturday.