A secret crush is a one-man show that a coward stages alone in the shadows. As for me, I want the whole world to know that she is my blatant favoritism, my well-known bias.
—Wen Yan
The September school season arrived, still carrying the lingering heat of late summer. Through the layered leaves of the phoenix trees, dappled light swayed and scattered across the ground.
Ms. Lin knocked gently on the door. “Tongtong, time to get up.”
A soft, warm voice came from inside. ”Okay, Auntie, I’ll get up right away.”
Ms. Lin nodded in satisfaction, then turned and walked to the other side of the hallway, banging loudly on another door—loud enough to shake it off its hinges. “Lin Zixuan, get up right now! If you don’t, you’ll be late!”
Hearing the banging outside his door, Lin Zixuan knew his mom was a double standard, but he hadn’t realized just how much so—gentle and soft-spoken with his little sister, yet roaring like a lioness at him.
Lin Zixuan: “Got it, Mom.”
At the breakfast table, Ms. Lin placed a fried egg in Hua Tong’s bowl. “Tongtong, eat more. I’ve already taken care of your enrollment paperwork. In a bit, your brother will take you to get familiar with No. 1 High School.”
Hua Tong: “Okay, Auntie.”
Ms. Lin turned to look at her son, who was wolfing down his food, and said with disdain, “Lin Zixuan, remember to get Tongtong to her classroom safely.”
Lin Zixuan’s mouth was too full to speak, so he gave Ms. Lin an “OK” sign.
Ms. Lin glanced at her son and felt even more disgusted. She almost didn’t want to admit she’d given birth to him—he looked like he hadn’t eaten in eight hundred years.
Then she looked at Hua Tong, who was eating gracefully, and nodded in satisfaction. It really was better to have a daughter. Daughters were soft and sweet, so pleasant to look at.
After breakfast, Ms. Lin poured the herbal medicine Hua Tong needed to drink at noon into a thermos.
Ms. Lin reminded her, “Tongtong, remember to drink your medicine at noon.”
Hua Tong frowned, looking at Ms. Lin with misty eyes. “Auntie, I’m almost fully recovered. Can’t I stop taking the medicine?”
Seeing the little girl acting cute with her, Ms. Lin nearly melted at how adorable she was. But cute or not, the medicine was non-negotiable.
Hua Tong had always been frail, and this herbal medicine was something Ms. Lin had an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor prescribe specifically to strengthen her health.
Whenever Hua Tong acted cute, Ms. Lin would soften—but she was stubborn about certain things, and no amount of sweetness from Hua Tong could change her mind. Drinking her medicine was one of those things.
In the end, Hua Tong hugged the thermos of medicine as Ms. Lin saw her off to the car.
In the car, Hua Tong glared at the thermos in her arms with a bitter face, tempted to throw it away.
Lin Zixuan noticed his little sister staring at the thermos in her arms with deep hatred, as if she wanted to hurl it out the car window.
He quickly snatched it from her. If his mom found out his sister had thrown away her medicine, his life would be forfeit. So for the sake of his own survival, it was safer to keep the thermos in his own hands.
Hua Tong looked at her brother, who was clutching the thermos protectively, and had no choice but to abandon her plan to toss it.
At the school gate, Lin Zixuan had his own backpack on his back, while carrying a white schoolbag in one hand and the thermos in the other.
Hua Tong stood beside him and tried to take her things back, but Lin Zixuan dodged her.
Lin Zixuan gave a roguish grin. “Sis, with your big brother here, how could I ever let you carry anything?”
Hua Tong turned her head away in disgust. Her brother clearly had something seriously wrong with him—a jock trying to act like a domineering CEO.
Lin Zixuan was wounded by Hua Tong’s reaction. He asked, puzzled, “Don’t all you girls like that kind of smile? I even went and learned it specially.”
Hua Tong hadn’t expected him to actually go learn it. She replied righteously, “Bro, I don’t like it, and neither do other girls. Don’t smile like that again—it’ll just make people look down on you.”
Hearing his little sister say this, Lin Zixuan’s heart instantly shattered into pieces.
Back then, he’d spent a whole week learning that devilishly charming smile, only to be scorned by his own sister.
Sure enough, Douyin couldn’t be trusted—it had claimed that smile was the most popular among young girls. He was going to uninstall it as soon as he got home.
Seeing her brother fall silent, Hua Tong wondered—could he be angry?
So she asked cautiously, “Big brother, you’re not mad, are you?”
Looking at his little sister asking so carefully, Lin Zixuan quickly said, “I’m not mad.”
Hearing that her brother wasn’t angry, Hua Tong broke into a sweet smile.
Watching his sister smile at him, the tips of Lin Zixuan’s ears turned a little red.
His little sister was so adorable.
So this was what a happy, joyful thing it was to have a little sister!
Lin Zixuan pretended to cough. “Alright, let me take you to see your classroom first.”
After the two of them left, the students behind started gossiping.
“Wow, who’s that girl next to Lin Zixuan? So pretty, so cute, I love her.”
“Right, right, she’s gorgeous! Like a little fairy.”
“And she has little dimples when she smiles.”
…
In no time, the news that Lin Zixuan had brought a pretty girl into school spread throughout the entire No. 1 High School.
The whole school was curious—who was that girl?
Even Wen Yan, who had already arrived at his classroom, was curious too. Just how good-looking could this girl be?
Could she possibly be more good-looking than him, the most handsome guy under heaven?