The moment the young girl stepped forward, a faint, subtle fragrance caught Shen Yanli off guard as it drifted right to the tip of his nose.
He couldn’t tell if it was the scent of shampoo or her own natural body fragrance.
It was astonishingly pleasant.
Unable to help himself, Shen Yanli took a deep breath, his dark eyes narrowing slightly.
The girl was only around one meter seventy centimeters tall.
Standing in front of Shen Yanli, who was nearly one meter ninety, she only reached his chest, making it impossible for her to completely block his view.
Moreover, the girl was slender and petite, while the boy, though slightly lean, had broad shoulders and a narrow waist.
Standing one behind the other, the contrast in their body shapes was strikingly noticeable.
Su Nanye had never expected anyone to stand up for Shen Yanli, and his raised fist stopped abruptly just inches in front of the pretty girl’s face.
Irritated, he demanded, “What are you doing? Get out of my way!”
The people standing nearby all gasped.
How could this girl dare?
Su Nanye was Huizhong’s notorious school bully; even the teachers didn’t dare mess with him.
Wasn’t she afraid his fist would land right on her face?
Su Ning wasn’t scared at all.
Others might not dare speak up, but she knew her older brother’s character inside and out.
Even if he looked like a shamat punk right now, he would never lay a hand on a girl.
The corners of her mouth curved into a soft, sweet smile. “Brother, let’s talk this out. Don’t fight.”
The girl’s smile was like a spring breeze, effortlessly blowing away the anger in Su Nanye’s heart.
Yet, his brow still furrowed. “Whose brother are you calling? I don’t have a little sister!”
The arc of Su Ning’s eyes and brows deepened. “Well, you do now. Surprised? Shocked?”
Su Nanye: “What?”
Su Nanye began to doubt the girl’s mental state and didn’t want to waste words on her. “Move aside, or don’t blame me for being impolite!”
From childhood to now, her brother had never once been stern with her.
This was the first time.
Before Su Ning’s brain could even register it, a strong sense of grievance welled up in her heart, and big tears began to roll down her cheeks.
The girl’s sudden tears left Su Nanye frozen in place.
It wasn’t as if he had never seen a girl cry.
Given his looks and family background, many girls had confessed their feelings to him.
With no intention of dating, he would reject them immediately without a second thought.
Some girls felt they were losing face and cried on the spot.
Yet, he would always walk away completely unfazed.
If you wanted to confess to a handsome guy like him, you had to be prepared for rejection.
However, the moment the girl before him shed her tears, his heart was inexplicably clutched, aching sharply.
What on earth was going on? This was driving him crazy!
For the first time, Su Nanye was somewhat at a loss. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and said, “Hey, stop crying!”
Su Ning’s brain finally caught up to the fact that her brother from this time didn’t recognize her yet, but her tears still refused to stop, her voice choking up. “Why were you being so mean?”
Looking at the girl’s tear-stained, red-rimmed eyes and nose, she looked utterly pitiful.
Su Nanye inexplicably panicked completely, his tone turning somewhat stiff as he coaxed her softly, “Okay, okay, my bad. I shouldn’t have been mean to you. Stop crying, stop crying.”
Think of him, an upright and proud young man who never bowed his head to anyone.
Yet in front of the girl before him, backing down felt like the most natural thing in the world, an instinct deeply rooted in his subconscious.
Shen Yanli hadn’t expected the girl to suddenly burst into tears either.
Standing right behind her, he could see her wet, slender eyelashes with tears trembling on top like translucent little pearls.
Crying the moment someone yelled at her, she was so delicate.
Ji Yang nearby quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
He pulled a crumpled wad of tissues from his pocket, pulled one out, and handed it to Su Ning. “Um, why don’t you wipe your tears?”
The tissue was very rough.
Su Ning took it, raised her hand to wipe her eyes, and felt a slight sting.
She didn’t wipe anymore and very naturally handed the used tissue to her brother.
Su Nanye watched her actions and, under some inexplicable impulse, actually reached out and took it.
A second later, it dawned on him.
Damn it! Was he a recycling bin?
He immediately shoved the tissue back to Ji Yang. “Go throw this in the trash can!”
The chubby green-haired boy looked extremely shocked. “Boss, since when did you become so civilized? Wouldn’t it be easier to just drop it on the floor?”
Su Nanye: “Quiet!”
Su Nanye also realized with a start why he had become like this.
Yet, a subconscious thought told him he couldn’t casually litter in front of the girl right before him.
“I’ve always been this civilized! I told you to throw it in the trash can, so go throw it in the trash can. Why are you so full of nonsense?”
With that, he turned his gaze back to Su Ning. “Do me a favor and step aside. Shen Yanli and I still have unfinished business.”
He didn’t dare act fierce at all; he was extremely polite, and his voice was even gentle.
The surrounding shamat punks all widened their eyes.
The irritable school bully had transformed into a gentle older brother!
Su Ning shook her head. “No, you guys can talk about your business later. I have something to tell you right now.”
“What is it?” Su Nanye asked, puzzled.
Su Ning didn’t dare state in public that she had time-traveled from the future.
She was afraid of being handed over for scientific research or being treated like a lunatic.
“It’s a big deal. I need to talk to you alone.”
Shen Yanli was no longer standing behind Su Ning; instead, he stood side by side with her.
From his position, it was easy to see that her fair eyelids were red in one spot from her earlier wiping.
Her skin was extremely delicate, too.
So why would such a delicate little princess help him?
Was it out of pity?
Su Nanye wanted to refuse Su Ning, but the words wouldn’t come out. “Fine.”
After dispersing his lackeys, he glanced back at Shen Yanli and said fiercely, “Consider yourself lucky today, kid!”
Shen Yanli’s school uniform zipper was pulled all the way up to the top. He lifted his gaze, gave Su Nanye a cold look, and turned to walk away.
Both cold and cool.
Watching his proud and aloof figure, Su Nanye kicked the empty air.
When he turned back, he saw the girl looking at him with her mouth slightly open.
Feeling a bit awkward, he flicked his bangs. “Now that everyone’s gone, go ahead.”
In Su Ning’s memory, her older brother was a taciturn person whose emotions never showed on his face.
She had never seen such a vibrant brother before.
When their parents passed away, he was only twenty years old, and their mother’s company and father’s factory had ground to a halt.
Countless opportunists had stepped forward, eager to seize their parents’ lifeblood achievements.
He had been forced to shoulder heavy responsibilities while also taking care of her, a baby still in swaddling clothes.
People never grew up slowly; it happened in the span of a very short time.
Thinking back now, the family’s bankruptcy hadn’t been entirely without warning signs.
Over the past year, her brother’s smoking had increased, and his body had grown noticeably thinner, his once well-fitting shirts hanging loosely on him.
She had asked about it once.
Her brother had simply brushed it off lightly, saying the company had been busy lately with many social engagements.
Accustomed to a carefree life, she hadn’t thought much of it, refrained from asking further, and only expressed her own demands: “I have a European violin performance next month. Brother, you’re going to come watch, right?”
Her only worry was that her brother would miss her performance due to work.
Yet the reality was that her brother had never missed a single one of her performances.
Every time she went on stage, she could spot her brother’s figure in the front row.
Only this time, for the European tour, her brother hadn’t come.
She had been very unhappy on stage, almost missing a note, but she managed to finish the performance.
The moment she came down, she saw a missed call from her brother, but she was so angry she hung up immediately, refusing to listen to any of his explanations.
She was supposed to return home the next day, but she didn’t.
She deliberately went out with friends and turned off her phone.
It wasn’t until her brother tracked her down in a frantic state and personally apologized, saying he was sorry, that she threw a massive tantrum and cried.
Her brother had taken her shopping and out to relax, dedicating all three full days to accompanying her before her anger completely subsided.
Yet, looking back now, her brother had probably been tormented by company affairs and suffering from physical illness at that very moment.
Yet he had said nothing, sparing her from worry, while feeling deep remorse for missing her performance.
Her brother had stood before her like a towering mountain, shielding and lifting her up.
Her already dry eyes suddenly urged her to cry again.
Su Ning reached out and threw her arms around the rainbow-haired, single-eyed teenager in front of her. “Brother, please don’t leave me!”
Given a second chance at life, she would never let her brother’s tragedy repeat itself.
This time, it was her turn to protect her brother!
Taken aback by the sudden embrace, Su Nanye’s body stiffened.
For a moment, he didn’t know what to do.
Did he look that much like this girl’s brother?
For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to push the stranger away.
It wasn’t until he saw her wiping her tears on his clothes that the corners of his mouth twitched violently. “I literally just put on this new shirt today!”
Su Ning sheepishly stepped back a pace, blinked, and said, “The fabric is quite nice.”
It was much softer than the tissue from earlier.
Su Nanye was speechless for a moment, yet he couldn’t muster up any anger. He could only say, “I’m really not your brother. You’ve got the wrong person.”
Su Ning crinkled her nose and asked, “What year is it?”
Su Nanye: “2005, duh!”
Blinking her large eyes, Su Ning stated with absolute certainty, “I am your genuine, bona fide little sister, time-traveled from twenty years in the future!”