DM waited at the door for a while before it finally opened.
She took a step forward and saw Lin Fei and Ji Leyu walking toward her.
They were still in their usual outfits and hadn’t changed into wedding attire.
“Not changing?” DM asked.
“Mm.” Ji Leyu smiled, “We’ll stick with this.”
“Alright.” Although DM was a bit disappointed, she respected their decision.
The three of them went back to the original room.
Shi Qi, curious about their prolonged absence, asked, “Miss DM, why did you take them out?”
“Changing clothes,” Ji Leyu replied. “At the beginning, we were supposed to be newlyweds, so they had prepared wedding outfits.”
Shi Qi’s eyes brightened. “Then why aren’t you wearing them?”
“Who would you like to see in them?”
Shi Qi: … ‘Ah, how should I answer this? Of course, I want to see both!’
“Me?” Ji Leyu asked him.
“Is it okay?” Shi Qi asked with anticipation.
“Of course not,” Ji Leyu said confidently.
Shi Qi: …
“What about my brother?” Ji Leyu tilted his head.
“I’m not worthy,” Shi Qi quickly replied.
Ji Leyu seemed quite pleased with his answer. “At least you have self-awareness.”
Indeed, Shi Qi thought, after all these years, he had long understood that Lin Fei’s position in Ji Leyu’s heart was untouchable. Ji Leyu might not care about how others viewed him, but anyone who dared to speak ill of Lin Fei would be cut off from any connection with him.
He remembered what happened in middle school, recalled Zhang Yue, and how decisively and ruthlessly Ji Leyu had severed ties with him.
To be precise, he had known Ji Leyu and Zhang Yue since elementary school. Back then, they weren’t friends, just classmates. It was only later, when they all ended up in the same middle school and the same class, that they became familiar with each other.
In unfamiliar environments, people instinctively look for familiar faces.
Especially since Ji Leyu had always been attractive, with a sweet smile that made him look both cute and sunny.
As soon as he and Zhang Yue entered the classroom, they sat right in front of Ji Leyu, turned around, and started talking to him. They were surprised to find that they were in the same class and felt that it was quite a coincidence.
Ji Leyu smiled and nodded, his voice clear and pleasant. Soon, the three of them were playing together.
At that time, Shi Qi and Zhang Yue had planned to play with Lin Fei as well, but Lin Fei was reserved, spoke little, and often kept his head down reading, seeming uninterested in making friends.
Zhang Yue thought Lin Fei was aloof, and after several attempts to engage him and finding him cold, he stopped trying to talk to him.
Shi Qi, on the other hand, admired Lin Fei, thinking he was impressive for being able to read all day long. He secretly noted the titles of the books Lin Fei read and asked his mother to buy him a copy, only to find that he couldn’t understand it at all.
His mother laughed and said he wasn’t yet at the level to comprehend such classics.
He nodded, realizing that Lin Fei could understand what he couldn’t, which explained why his grades were so good.
The change occurred after the first mid-term exam. Lin Fei topped the class once again, which was quite usual for Shi Qi.
Having been classmates with Lin Fei for six years, seeing him come first every year, Shi Qi would be surprised if Lin Fei ever didn’t come in first.
But Zhang Yue couldn’t accept it. Having lived in Lin Fei’s shadow since elementary school, he had hoped that moving to middle school would allow him to break free from it. Instead, not only did he fail to escape it, but his declining grades had made the gap between him and Lin Fei even larger.
He felt jealous and resentful, and coupled with Lin Fei’s previous indifference, he increasingly believed that Lin Fei looked down on him. In a moment of impulse, he said to Ji Leyu during a physical education class, “Your brother doesn’t treat you well at all. You’re his sibling, but he doesn’t give you any consideration. He’s always focused on coming first, not thinking that every time he’s first, your parents will surely favor him over you, thinking he’s better and therefore liking him more, which means they’ll like you less.”
“He’s taken first place so many times. Can’t he give you a few wins? You’re so good to him. He has no friends except you, and yet he treats you like this, not thinking about you at all. If I were you, I’d have ignored him a long time ago.”
In his youth, Zhang Yue hadn’t thought too much about it. He just wanted to see Lin Fei suffer a setback, ideally failing to come in first because of this, to humble him and break his complacency.
He didn’t truly believe that his words would make Ji Leyu ignore Lin Fei forever, considering they lived together and would inevitably reconcile as long as they stayed under the same roof.
However, contrary to his expectations, Ji Leyu’s face turned cold the moment he heard Zhang Yue’s words. Without saying a word, he turned and walked away.
Zhang Yue hurriedly chased after him.
Shi Qi saw that Ji Leyu seemed upset and was worried that he might actually get into a fight with Lin Fei because of this. He hurriedly tried to smooth things over, saying, “But Lin Fei works so hard, it’s normal for him to come in first. Besides, he also helps Ji Leyu with his homework. He’s really a good person.”
Ji Leyu nodded and glanced at him, saying, “Yes, my brother is really good, exceptionally good.”
“But…” Zhang Yue began to speak.
Before he could finish, Ji Leyu interrupted him, “Don’t talk to me anymore, and don’t come looking for me.”
“Why?” Zhang Yue was confused.
Ji Leyu, who was both beautiful and cute, had always been liked by Zhang Yue. He even wanted to go to high school and university with Ji Leyu.
But Ji Leyu clearly didn’t feel the same way. He said, “Because I don’t like you.”
His tone was calm, as if he were stating the weather for the day, simply expressing his stance, “If you think badly of my brother, then I think badly of you.”
“I don’t like anyone who doesn’t like my brother.”
With that, he ignored Zhang Yue.
That morning, Shi Qi tried to persuade Ji Leyu for a long time, but no matter what he said, he couldn’t change Ji Leyu’s mind.
The next afternoon, Zhang Yue suffered an unfortunate accident. While going downstairs, he accidentally fell down the stairs. Fortunately, the steps weren’t very high, so he wasn’t seriously injured, but he did hurt his ankle and needed to rest at home for a few days.
Seeing Zhang Yue’s plight, Shi Qi asked Ji Leyu if he wanted to go visit him.
Ji Leyu shook his head and simply said, “We’re not friends anymore.”
He spoke as if Zhang Yue were an inconsequential person, someone who had nothing to do with him.
But they had been talking, playing, and discussing comics and TV shows together just recently.
Now, Ji Leyu couldn’t even be bothered to look at him.
At that moment, Shi Qi suddenly understood. For Ji Leyu, they were friends, but just friends.
He could talk and play with them, but he would never care about them as much as he cared about Lin Fei.
— He cared about Lin Fei more than anyone else.
If there was ever a conflict between them and Lin Fei, he would unhesitatingly choose Lin Fei.
However, this was to be expected. After all, they had grown up together, lived in the same house, attended the same school, and went home together. He called Lin Fei “brother” but only referred to them by their names. They were just friends and naturally couldn’t be compared to Lin Fei.
Shi Qi went to visit Zhang Yue and talked to him a lot but didn’t mention Ji Leyu.
Later, when Zhang Yue recovered and returned to class, he and Ji Leyu never spoke again.
Zhang Yue tried to approach Ji Leyu, but Ji Leyu ignored him.
Their friendship ended like that—one decisively, the other regretfully.
The one who was decisive was Ji Leyu.
The one who regretted was Zhang Yue.
Even before the midterm exams, when Zhang Yue asked Ji Leyu to sign the class yearbook, Ji Leyu still ignored him.
“Since we won’t be in touch in the future, what’s the point of writing this?” Ji Leyu said straightforwardly.
He packed his bag and left the classroom with Lin Fei.
He exited Zhang Yue’s world with such coldness and without a trace of reluctance.
After the high school entrance exams, Zhang Yue didn’t get into the top school and completely lost contact with Ji Leyu.
Meanwhile, Ji Leyu and Lin Fei’s relationship grew even closer.
The better their relationship became, the clearer Shi Qi saw Lin Fei’s position in Ji Leyu’s heart.
— He was Ji Leyu’s sacred and forbidden place, standing at the very core of Ji Leyu’s heart. No one could approach or desecrate it.
Author’s Note:
Xiaoyu: Cherish life and don’t try to sow discord between me and my brother, or between me and my father and dad! Got it?
Xiaoyu: How can anyone not like my brother? Are they blind?