“Knock knock”
There was a knock at the door, followed by Lin Zixuan’s voice. “Tongtong, can gege come in?”
Hua Tong said, ”Come in, gege.”
Lin Zixuan brought in a glass of milk and set it on Hua Tong’s desk.
Hua Tong glanced at the milk, then looked at Lin Zixuan. ”You’re here because of Wen Yan and Jiang Xianshu, aren’t you?”
Lin Zixuan nodded. “Mm.”
Hua Tong lowered her head and said calmly, “It’s fine. I’m not angry at them. Gege, you don’t need to worry.”
Hearing his little sister say this, Lin Zixuan panicked inside. The calmer Tongtong acted, the angrier she really was—nothing she said right now could be trusted. His survival instincts kicked in immediately, and he raised three fingers. “Tongtong, gege was wrong.”
Hua Tong gave a small laugh, though there was sadness in her voice. She said slowly, “Gege, you weren’t wrong. I know my own body. Even if it hadn’t been made public today, it would have been discovered eventually. Honestly, it’s better that it’s out in the open now. After all, I’ve been through this kind of thing many times before.”
It turned out that at her previous school, she had once fainted during PE class. After that, the school strictly forbade Hua Tong from taking PE or participating in any activities, terrified that something might happen to her.
As time went on, the friends she’d once been close with gradually drifted away, until she easily became the one her classmates overlooked—the invisible girl in the class.
Listening to his little sister calmly recount her experience, Lin Zixuan felt as if needles were piercing his heart. He regretted it. He shouldn’t have helped Wen Yan and Jiang Xianshu. His little sister was so adorable and delicate—how could he have joined forces with those two? He should have been helping her keep outsiders at bay.
Watching Lin Zixuan, completely taken in by her act, on the verge of crying from guilt, Hua Tong rubbed her nose, feeling a little guilty herself. She hadn’t expected him to be so easy to fool.
Although what she’d said was true, she had exaggerated it somewhat. She just wanted to teach her brother a lesson—don’t go casually revealing her private information to others. Not even to his bros.
Besides, she had experienced boys spreading rumors about her before, so she was somewhat wary of them. Aside from family, she preferred girls over boys.
Hua Tong offered Lin Zixuan a few token words of comfort and then sent him away. She didn’t want to keep looking at her cousin’s guilt-filled eyes, or her own sense of guilt would become unbearable.
Back in his room, Lin Zixuan sniffled, wiped away nonexistent tears, and picked up his phone. In the three-person group chat named “Brothers for Life,” he posted a crying-kitten meme.
Jiang Xianshu:【……】
Jiang Xianshu:【What are you freaking out about this time?】
Lin Zixuan:【It’s all your fault. Little sis is mad at me now too. Waaah】
Wen Yan:【?】
Jiang Xianshu:【Xuanzi, what happened? Tell us in detail!】
Wen Yan stared at the chat, his eyes full of dejection. Did she not want to forgive him?
Jiang Xianshu scratched his head anxiously, while Lin Zixuan stared at his phone hard enough to burn a hole through it. What was wrong with Lin Zixuan? Why wasn’t he saying anything? He was dying of impatience.
Jiang Xianshu kept tagging Lin Zixuan in the group.
Jiang Xianshu:【Lin Zixuan Lin Zixuan Lin Zixuan……】
Lin Zixuan:【Little sis doesn’t waaah want me to tell you waaah her preferences. Isn’t that being mad at me?】
As expected, when Wen Yan saw Lin Zixuan’s message, the last trace of hope in his eyes was extinguished.
Jiang Xianshu: [Why?! Does our little sister really not forgive us?]
Lin Zixuan: [Tongtong is a bit slow to warm up to people. You’ve only known her for a day. Even though she seems very approachable, she’s actually quite guarded. I’m afraid she doesn’t consider you friends at all.]
Wen Yan clenched his fists. So that’s how it was—then he still had a chance. He could slowly work his way into her heart, become her friend, then her boyfriend, and finally her husband.
Wen Yan: [I will definitely earn her forgiveness.]
_
The next day, Hua Tong walked into the classroom and saw her new deskmate.
Judging from the back alone, she could tell her new deskmate was also a great beauty!
Hua Tong walked over to her new deskmate and spoke in that soft, sweet voice unique to girls, “Hello, I’m Hua Tong, your deskmate.”
Mu Xuewei, who was organizing her things, heard the voice and looked up at the girl before her. Her eyes lit up. Wow, what a pretty little cutie—like a soft, white glutinous rice ball.
Being stared at by a beauty the whole time, Hua Tong felt a little embarrassed. She gave a light cough, drawing Mu Xuewei’s attention back.
Mu Xuewei broke into a brilliant smile. “Hello, I’m Mu Xuewei, your deskmate.”
The two girls hit it off instantly, chatting away so enthusiastically that they didn’t even notice when Wen Yan and Jiang Xianshu arrived.
It was Mu Xuewei who finally noticed, greeting them with familiar teasing, “How come you two young masters are so late today? And you’re both sporting matching panda eyes—did you get beaten up?”
Just as she finished speaking, the bell for class rang.
Jiang Xianshu, with his panda eyes, replied listlessly, “Mu Xuewei, you’re back!”
Wen Yan had the same panda eyes, radiating a gloomy aura.
The carefree Mu Xuewei finally realized something was off with the two of them and sobered up. “What happened? Why do you two look like death warmed over?”
Hearing this, Hua Tong stiffened for a moment, then began loudly reciting classical poetry, acting as if she barely knew them.
Seeing this, Wen Yan stared darkly at the back of her head. What a heartless little thing.