Chapter 11: You’ve Crossed the Line, Brother

Shen Youwei had been editing videos all day today and felt that tomorrow would be a good day to go out and do something: “Tomorrow I have a few outfits I need to reshoot. If I go out, I might be back late.”

Lu Zhaoye saw her message and immediately replied, “No problem, I can wait for you.”

In order to make his message more lively, he even sent a sticker of a puppy wagging its tail.

Shen Youwei smiled at the little dog. To be honest, it really did look a lot like Lu Zhaoye.

Xie Mingqiu, sitting nearby, saw her smiling at her phone and deliberately asked, “Who are you messaging?”

Shen Youwei sent Lu Zhaoye an emoji back and put her phone on the table. “Coach Lu asked me to come to class tomorrow.”

“Oh… He’s pretty proactive, huh.” Xie Mingqiu’s eyes flickered, and he smiled at Shen Youwei. “Wasn’t there something about introducing you to some guys? I looked them up—they’re not as good-looking as Coach Lu. I won’t bother sending you their photos.”

“Oh, okay.” Shen Youwei almost forgot about that. Ever since Xu Kaicai left, she’d been handling everything alone. If she had to prepare for the studio later, she’d be even busier and wouldn’t have time to meet any guys.

Xie Mingqiu moved closer to Shen Youwei, speaking with a slightly suggestive tone, “The aunties in our neighborhood have great connections. How about I help you find out more about Coach Lu?”

“…” Those aunties really were enthusiastic. “No need. If I want to know something, isn’t it easier to just ask him directly?”

Xie Mingqiu blinked, as if he suddenly understood, “True, you young people should communicate more with each other.”

When Guan Shanyan came into the house, he saw the two of them whispering together. Guan Su, seeing him return, brought the dishes out of the kitchen: “Clean up a bit and come eat. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

“Mm.” Guan Shanyan took off his coat and asked Guan Su, “What were those two talking about over there?”

Guan Su leaned closer and whispered, “I vaguely overheard. Seems like it was about Coach Lu and Youwei.”

Guan Shanyan scoffed, “What could they possibly have going on?”

Guan Su said, “What else? It’s just the usual stuff between a guy and a girl.”

“…” Guan Shanyan thought his dad had a narrow mindset. There could be many other things between a man and a woman.

During dinner, Shen Youwei’s phone kept ringing several times.

All the messages were from Lu Zhaoye.

Guan Shanyan stared at her phone and mimicked Xie Mingqiu’s tone, “Don’t play with your phone during dinner.”

“…” Shen Youwei was too lazy to argue. He himself often handled work messages during meals. “Coach Lu is messaging me about something.”

“What does he want from you?” Guan Shanyan’s tone wasn’t gentle at all. “You’re just coach and student. Harassing a student’s private life—that’s crossing the line, isn’t it?”

“… He sent me some boxing gear to practice with. How is that harassment?”

Guan Shanyan replied knowingly, “Oh, he just wants to sell stuff.”

Shen Youwei: “…”

He was clearly kindly helping her pick out equipment, so how did it become “selling stuff” coming from him!

… Although, she did buy it directly at the boxing gym.

“We’re just brother and sister, not a couple. You interfering in my private life like this—isn’t that crossing the line too?” Shen Youwei raised her chin slightly, looking at Guan Shanyan.

Guan Shanyan’s mouth twitched downward again. Before they could argue further, Xie Mingqiu interrupted, “You’re right, Youwei. You’re both grown up now and really need some private space.”

Guan Shanyan snorted, and Xie Mingqiu added, “You’re just concerned about Youwei, which is understandable. But I’ve seen it for myself—Coach Lu is a good kid, so don’t worry unnecessarily.”

Guan Shanyan: “…”

Seen what exactly? Photos of Lu Zhaoye?

Shen Youwei chimed in, “Exactly, exactly! Coach Lu has a really good reputation!”

“Eat, eat. Your godfather cooked some good dishes today.” Xie Mingqiu gave each of them a serving of food, shifting the topic.

Before going to sleep that night, Shen Youwei’s alternate account received a help message from Guan Shanyan: “What to do when a little sister hits the rebellious phase?”

Shen Youwei: “…”

So this is how he slanders her reputation outside. 🙂

He Zhou: Isn’t your sister already 25? Still in a rebellious phase now?

Guan Shanyan: …Some people’s rebellious phase just comes late, I guess.

He Zhou: Then explain it to me. Let me judge who’s right.

Guan Shanyan: She recently started learning boxing. That coach, taking advantage of being good-looking, tricks young girls everywhere. I kindly warned her, but she turned around and blamed me.

Shen Youwei: “…”

How do you keep adding fuel to the fire? 🙂

He Zhou: Do you have any proof that the boxing coach is tricking young girls, or is this just your imagination?

He Zhou: If you have evidence, just show it to your sister so she won’t get fooled.

Guan Shanyan: No proof yet, he’s very good at pretending. 【smile】

Shen Youwei: “…”

So unreasonable, yet acting like he’s in the right.

He Zhou: This is hard to say. You think she’s going through a rebellious phase, but maybe right now she’s also complaining to her girlfriends that her brother is going through a rebellious phase.

Guan Shanyan: …

Now that you mention it, that actually sounds like something Shen Youwei would do. 🙂

He Zhou: Learn to let go. Your sister can’t stay with you forever.

Guan Shanyan stared at the message, his brow furrowing.

He had never thought there would be a day when he and Shen Youwei would be apart. Even three years ago, on the day he rejected her, he never imagined they would truly separate.

But when his mother said she wanted to introduce a partner to her, he suddenly realized Shen Youwei was already 25 years old.

Would she fall in love and get married, then completely leave his life?

He had to admit, he didn’t like that future.

That feeling weighed on him constantly, and the next day at work, his mood was even lower than usual. When Gu Fei had dinner with him, he couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong with you today? Broken up with someone?”

That was impossible—he was so busy every day he barely had time to breathe, let alone date.

Guan Shanyan said nothing. Gu Fei then tried another guess, “Could it have something to do with Shen Youwei?”

“…” Guan Shanyan’s chopsticks paused mid-air.

Gu Fei caught the detail, raised his eyebrows, and said in admiration, “I really didn’t expect you to be this attached to Shen Youwei. At 27, still a fan at heart—that’s truly remarkable.”

Guan Shanyan: “…”

Gu Fei was someone he met after going abroad. They hadn’t been in contact with Shen Youwei for three years, so Gu Fei didn’t even know he had a sister named Shen Youwei.

He didn’t bother explaining.

“But Shen Youwei hasn’t had any problems recently, right? She even clarified those posts and gained more followers.” Gu Fei rubbed his chin, puzzled.

“If you have time to worry about others, you’d better figure out why you don’t have a girlfriend yourself.”

Gu Fei: “…”

After work that afternoon, Guan Shanyan still drove home alone.

Passing by the boxing gym, he happened to see Shen Youwei coming out, with Coach Lu following closely behind, being especially attentive and escorting her outside.

Guan Shanyan turned the steering wheel and parked his car in front of the boxing gym.

Lu Zhaoye was still discussing the next class schedule with Shen Youwei when a tall, handsome guy with a serious expression got out of the car.

Shen Youwei was startled for a moment and looked at the newcomer with surprise, “What are you doing here?”

Guan Shanyan said, “I happened to pass by here and saw you, so I’m giving you a ride back.”

“…” It was only a few steps away, so there was no need to specially pick her up.

Lu Zhaoye looked at the two of them and tentatively asked Shen Youwei, “Who is this?”

Shen Youwei replied, “Oh, this is my brother.”

When Lu Zhaoye heard he was her brother, his little dog tail wagged again excitedly: “Oh, so you’re the brother! Hello, brother, I’m Lu Zhaoye, the boxing coach here.”

In contrast to his enthusiasm, Guan Shanyan still looked at him coldly: “I’m not your brother. Don’t call me that.”

“Oh, okay, okay,” Lu Zhaoye quickly agreed, but he still hadn’t changed his way of speaking, “Your brother looks kind of familiar?”

Guan Shanyan frowned, “I told you not to call me brother. I’m not your brother.”

“Ahem, his surname is Guan. Why don’t you call him Mr. Guan?” Shen Youwei introduced Guan Shanyan to Lu Zhaoye.

Lu Zhaoye smiled and agreed, “Okay, okay, Mr. Guan, do you want to come in and sit? Or have some water? I’ll get you a bottle!”

“No need.” Guan Shanyan didn’t want to correct him again. He opened the passenger door and said to Shen Youwei, “Let’s go, it’s time to eat at home.”