Chapter 11 – A Different Side of Him

“Shi… Brother Songyi, what are you doing here?” Zhao Yu blinked in surprise that Ning Songyi had shown up too.

“Why aren’t you calling me Brother Shitou anymore?”

“Well, this isn’t back home. I can’t be using such a childish nickname and ruin your image. I’m only thinking of you.”

“Then thank you, our little Yuyu.”

For some reason, those three words—our Yuyu—made Zhao Yu feel a little flustered.

“You still haven’t said why you suddenly came over.”

Ning Songyi looked off into the distance. His voice was calm and even, but somehow carried a faintly unsettling undertone.

“I came to see the pig.”

Pig?

Following his gaze, Zhao Yu spotted Ye Heng teasing Ning Songyun until she was hopping mad, while still carefully holding an umbrella to shield her from the rain.

“Ohhh~~ I get it.” Zhao Yu’s expression turned teasing. “What’s this, big brother’s concern for his little sister?”

“Ye Heng’s leaving for Heilongjiang tomorrow. No one knows when he’ll be back, or when he’ll see Songyun again. He just wanted to see her one last time before going.”

Zhao Yu nodded. “No wonder you came along to keep an eye on things, even if you didn’t step in… wait a second.”

She turned to him, raising an eyebrow. “Didn’t Songyun tell you? We’re going to be performing in different cities across Heilongjiang in half a month.”

“She did.” Seeing she was about to press further, Ning Songyi rushed to add, “But why should I tell him that?”

Growing up, though he sometimes teased Zhao Yu, Ning Songyi had mostly been a steady, dependable big-brother figure.

This obvious, slightly childish behavior—this was the first time Zhao Yu had ever seen it.

“Looks like you’re pretty satisfied with Ye Heng becoming your brother-in-law.”

As she spoke, she noticed one side of Ning Songyi’s shoulder was damp from the rain. Glancing up, she realized the umbrella had tilted toward her.

“Go on, get out of the rain!” Zhao Yu tugged him into the shelter under the eaves.

“Here, wipe off.”

He accepted the handkerchief she handed over and carefully dabbed the wet fabric at his shoulder.

“Ye Heng pretty much grew up in my house,” Ning Songyi murmured absently, speaking his thoughts without looking at her.

“When he first came back, I was jealous. Always felt like I was the one who didn’t belong in that family.”

The vacant, unfocused look in his eyes pricked something deep inside Zhao Yu’s chest.

As if realizing he’d shown too much, Ning Songyi turned away, brow furrowed and lips pressed tight, his expression both aggrieved and stubbornly withholding.

“Writing letters to someone and never getting a reply…”

It wasn’t Zhao Yu’s fault, but guilt still made her glance away.

He gave a short laugh at her ostrich-like avoidance, reached out, and patted her head.

“Later, Ye Heng came to me himself, laid everything out, and then had the nerve to say, ‘Even if we’re not family now, someday we will be.’”

The last words he practically ground out through clenched teeth.

Zhao Yu couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“What are you laughing at?” His eyes carried a half-hearted threat with no real menace.

“Nothing.”

She tried to swallow the laughter in her voice. “Just feels like the you I know is finally back. Before, you were nothing like the person I remember.”

“If I don’t act like that, I can’t keep that girl in line.”

“So you’re quiet and serious one moment, then sarcastic and sharp-tongued the next. Don’t you think that’s a bit… schizophrenic?”

“Oh? You even know the word ‘schizophrenia.’”

Chuckling in exasperation, he flicked her forehead with a snap of his fingers. “You think I’d be like this with just anyone?”

“Wh–what’s that supposed to mean?”

Her face instantly flushed bright red. She covered her forehead, turning away to avoid his gaze.

That was the scene Ning Songyun walked in on.

“Yuyu, did my brother… upset you?” she asked carefully, standing at Zhao Yu’s side.

“No! Come on, let’s go back.”

Zhao Yu brushed her hair forward to hide her still-reddened face and grabbed Songyun’s hand to lead her away.

“What’s wrong, made your childhood sweetheart mad?” Ye Heng drawled, strolling over with his umbrella.

“You think I’m you?” Ning Songyi shot back.

“You—!” Ye Heng swung a foot at him, but Ning Songyi slipped aside and walked off without a backward glance.

“Yuyu, what’s going on with you?”

Back in the dorm, Songyun finally noticed the blush on her friend’s cheeks. “Don’t tell me you caught a cold from the rain?”

“Huh? Oh… maybe a little.”

Zhao Yu, already fretting over how to explain, seized the chance and went along with it.

“I’ve got cold medicine somewhere, wait, I’ll find it.”

Songyun rummaged through drawers for ages without success. Zhao Yu, feeling her face cooling down, quickly grabbed her hand.

“Hot water will do me good.”

“That works too. But if you really feel sick, say so—the clinic’s always open.”

Outside, the rain poured harder. The two girls lay in their beds, resting.

Then Songyun suddenly spoke. “Yuyu, what did it feel like back when you liked Lu Jing?”

“I… don’t really remember.”

Zhao Yu tried, but the feelings she once had for Lu Jing were too far gone to recall clearly.

“Then what should liking someone feel like?”

“It should mean wanting to share your life with him all the time—carrying his burdens, sharing his joys and happiness.”

She rested her chin in her hands and looked at Songyun. “You’re asking because of Ye Heng, aren’t you?”

Songyun nodded silently. “He said he’s leaving today. I don’t know why, but I feel so heavy inside.”

“If your brother knew, he’d probably grind his teeth to dust.”

“My brother?” Songyun sat up with a start.

“Yeah, he was practically glaring at Ye Heng like a hardworking old farmer watching over his prize pig.”

“I can’t even picture that.” Songyun hugged her knees against the wall. “I always thought he didn’t care about us at all.”

“Why would you think that?” Zhao Yu asked, puzzled.

“Because my brother hardly ever shows affection.”

Once she started talking about Ning Songyi, Songyun had plenty to say—from when he first returned home, to fights with their parents, to brawls with kids in the compound, to the cold, distant person he seemed to have become.

Zhao Yu listened quietly, replaying what he’d said earlier under the eaves, piecing together the story of how he’d changed over the years.

When Songyun finally tired out and got up for a drink, she glanced back at Zhao Yu’s thoughtful face. Her eyes gleamed with mischief as she sidled up with her water glass.

“Yuyu, why are you listening so seriously to my brother’s story, hmm?”