Jian Yun had been absorbed in admiring her own beautiful photos when she suddenly heard a series of “thump, thump, thump” knocks on the glass wall behind her. The next second, her younger brother, who had been hugging her shoulder, let go.
Jian Yun looked up and happened to catch the spark of surprise lighting up her brother’s eyes. Just then, the cloud that had been blocking the sun drifted away, and sunlight poured down on them without obstruction—but the radiance on Xia Yiyang’s face was even brighter than the sunshine.
“—Brother Lin!”
If not for the glass wall between them, the teenager would have rushed over immediately.
Brother Lin?
Jian Yun sized up this “Brother Lin,” her internal alarms blaring. What Brother Lin? Where did this Brother Lin come from? What did he study, where did he work? Could this be the “Brother Lin” her brother kept mentioning—the one who took him out to play, treated him to good food, and gave him spending money?!
The man on the other side of the glass wall was simply dressed. His broad, solid chest filled out his T-shirt perfectly, with sleeves rolled up to his shoulders, revealing his tanned arms. His demeanor was cool and mature, giving off an air of distance. Just by appearance alone, he was the complete opposite of her brother.
The man’s gaze turned to Jian Yun. He nodded at her first, then looked at Xia Yiyang and pointed toward the entrance.
Xia Yiyang flashed an OK sign, and the man walked away.
Jian Yun: “What does that mean?”
Xia Yiyang explained: “We’re separated by the glass wall—I can’t hear him, he can’t hear me. He said he’s going around through the entrance and told us to wait here for him.”
Jian Yun: “…”
“Sis, why aren’t you saying anything?”
“What is there to say?” Jian Yun said meaningfully. “That you two have quite the rapport?”
They waited there, and before long, the man’s figure appeared in their sight, approaching quickly.
Xia Yiyang hurried over and whispered in their secret code: “Brother Lin, so this ‘big order’ today was here!”
“Yeah.” Sheng Lin also found it coincidental. “I didn’t expect you and your sister to be meeting here too.”
Jian Yun watched from the side for a while before finally finding an opening: “Yiyi, aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“Sis, this is Brother Lin. He’s someone I met in Rongcheng—uh, a friend.” Xia Yiyang stumbled. He couldn’t exactly tell his sister this was his boss. No one at home knew he’d been scammed by telecom fraud, and if his sister found out, that meant the whole family would know!
He frantically signaled Sheng Lin with his eyes, hoping he absolutely wouldn’t say anything extra: “Brother Lin, this is my sister.”
“Hello,” Sheng Lin extended his hand first, speaking sparingly and indeed revealing nothing: “I’m Sheng Lin. I’m Xia Yiyi’s friend.”
“Jian Yun.” Jian Yun shook his hand briefly, her gaze drifting meaningfully over her brother, a forced smile on her face. “The name ‘Yiyi’ is only used by family. Seems like Mr. Sheng and my brother are quite close—you even know his nickname.”
Xia Yiyang was baffled: “Sis, my nickname is right there in my WeChat name. Everyone knows it.”
Jian Yun thought to herself: Knowing it is one thing, but how many of your friends, classmates, or teachers have ever actually called you that? Only this man you’ve just met calls you Xia Yiyi.
She wasn’t overthinking for no reason. Her younger brother was genuinely naive and delicate, raised in the palm of the family’s hand, with a simple mind that had never been exposed to the world’s temptations. Yet at this meeting, Xia Yiyang couldn’t go three sentences without mentioning this “good friend,” making Jian Yun’s internal alarm bells ring—she was worried her brother was being taken advantage of.
Jian Yun couldn’t help but do a background check: “May I ask what Mr. Sheng does for a living?”
“A small business—selling desserts.” Sheng Lin replied calmly. “I didn’t expect to meet Miss Jian today, so I didn’t prepare anything. However, I happen to have a small gift—I’m not sure if you’d need it.”
As he spoke, he handed over an ordinary-looking kraft paper bag.
Jian Yun eyed the bag warily, wondering what this man was playing at.
She wasn’t like her foolish little brother, easily won over by a few nice meals, already turning his loyalty outward.
She took the bag with a cool expression and found several small photo cards inside.
Ha!
Just a few photo cards!
Just a few photo cards printed with her current husband’s selfies!
Just a few photo cards with actual autographs!
Just a few photo cards she’d searched for on every secondhand trading app but could never find!
“Wow, Sis, aren’t these the limited unreleased signed photo cards from the signing event’s lucky draw that you were wishing for in your Moments?” Xia Yiyang craned his head over, his sweet talk flowing like honey. “Looking at these, you and ‘brother-in-law’ really have that couple vibe. Look at this selfie—haven’t you taken one from the exact same angle?”
Jian Yun nearly floated away from her brother’s flattery: “Yizai, shush.”
She cleared her throat, forcing herself to stay composed as she looked up at Sheng Lin, not realizing her attitude had already softened: “Where did these come from?”
Sheng Lin: “I’m the refreshment supplier for today’s event. These are complimentary gifts from the entertainment company. I noticed you’re wearing fan colors, so I assumed you’re also a fan of this artist. I thought this gift set would be more suitable for you.” He pointed to one of the selfie cards. “A friend of mine who’s well-versed in the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams said this particular photo is very auspicious. If you keep it in your wallet, it’ll ensure career success and financial prosperity.”
“Oh.” Jian Yun barely suppressed the joy dancing in her eyes and brows. “Mr. Sheng, please thank your friend for me, and… thank you as well.”
Upon closer look, this Mr. Sheng had sharp brows and bright eyes, broad shoulders and a narrow waist—quite handsome. He knew how to speak, how to handle things, didn’t take credit, and was steady enough. Xia Yiyi was young, drifting alone in a foreign place—he really did need a good older brother to look out for him.
Please note: she was absolutely not being bought off by a few photo cards!
How could her pure, simple sibling bond with Xia Yiyang be swayed by an outsider just because Sheng Lin handed over a few signed limited-edition unreleased photo cards from a signing event’s lucky draw?
“Mr. Sheng is very thoughtful,” Jian Yun said. “I didn’t know my brother had such a good friend by his side, so I didn’t prepare any gift at all.”
Sheng Lin was about to say “You’re too kind,” when the next second, Jian Yun suddenly grabbed her younger brother’s hand and placed it into Sheng Lin’s.
Sheng Lin reflexively took it.
Xia Yiyang: “?”
“I don’t have any gift to express my gratitude,” Jian Yun waved her hand generously. “So let my brother work like a beast of burden to repay you!”
…Moo moo moo moo? Wait, no—aaaaah?
Sheng Lin was momentarily speechless, not knowing how to respond.
Xia Yiyang, however, reacted first, hopping up and down in indignation: “Sis, are you even my real sister? How could I work like a beast of burden—I was born to throw my weight around!”
He was the Little Emperor of Part-Time Jobs—if he wasn’t running wild over his boss’s head, that was already him being considerate of the common folk!
…
Soon, the staff announced that fans outside could enter. Jian Yun quickly said goodbye to her brother, carefully stored away the photo cards Sheng Lin had given her, and followed the crowd toward the ticket checkpoint.
“Oh, by the way,” Jian Yun suddenly remembered something, stopped and turned, asking Xia Yiyang, “When are you going back to Beijing?”
Xia Yiyang looked blank: “Huh? I’m doing just fine in Rongcheng. There are still so many places I haven’t seen. Why would I go back?”
“You’ve been out traveling for two months now—time to settle down.” Jian Yun gestured with her chin toward the bag in Xia Yiyang’s hand, which contained his Rongda admission letter. “It’s August now. You need to start preparing for the start of—”
“COUGH COUGH COUGH!” Xia Yiyang burst into a fit of exaggerated coughing, drowning out his sister’s voice. “Sis, aren’t they calling people in for the event?”
“I haven’t finished—”
“Whatever you have to say, just tell me on WeChat. Don’t let it delay you from seeing your ‘husband’!” The teenager was frantic, practically pushing Jian Yun toward the entrance. He didn’t dare look at Sheng Lin’s expression at all, terrified that he might catch something from their conversation.
In truth, Jian Yun was right. The university semester was approaching. Although Xia Yiyang had been admitted to Rongda, he still needed to return to Beijing to prepare for the start of school. For starters, he’d only brought a few sets of summer clothes when he came to Rongcheng. But he’d be spending four years here—at the very least, he needed to bring his winter clothes, along with all sorts of school supplies and daily necessities, all of which he’d have to pack himself.
What she didn’t know was that the young master was currently “deceiving both sides”—lying to his family that he was eating, drinking, and having a great time in Rongcheng, with more money than he could spend, living a vacation every day; and lying to Sheng Lin that he’d failed the college entrance exam, couldn’t get into university, and was a poor, hardworking little cabbage trying to support himself.
Xia Yiyang had been afraid that Sheng Lin would reveal he was working at the shop. Now, he was also afraid that his sister would expose the truth that he was about to pack up and go off to school.
Jian Yun was confusedly ushered through the checkpoint by her brother. As the crowd surged in, she was pushed into the convention center before she could finish speaking.
Separated by a glass wall—she on the inside, her brother and his “good brother” on the outside.
Neither could hear the other.
Jian Yun pulled out the photo cards, pointed at them, then pointed at Sheng Lin: “Mr. Sheng, I really like the cards you gave me. But that doesn’t mean I accept you as a person. At most, I accept… hmm, 40%. Still a long way from a passing grade.”
Sheng Lin: “What did she say?”
Xia Yiyang strained to read her lips but didn’t understand: “Something about thanking you for helping her get the limited cards?”
Sheng Lin replied steadily: “Don’t mention it. I had no use for those cards anyway.”
Jian Yun couldn’t hear him, but judging by his expression, she guessed he was saying: “I’ll prove myself through my actions.”
Jian Yun then turned to Xia Yiyang and said with a serious expression: “Yiyi, be careful being alone in Rongcheng. Don’t go losing your head and getting bought over by someone. Remember—a three-legged frog is hard to find, but three-legged men are everywhere.”
This time it was Xia Yiyang who didn’t understand: “What’s my sister mumbling about?”
Sheng Lin hesitated: “Did she mention something about a ‘frog’?”
“I get it!” Xia Yiyang said cheerfully. “She must be craving Sichuan-style pickled pepper bullfrog!”
Xia Yiyang patted Sheng Lin’s shoulder beside him and said to his sister: “Don’t worry, Brother Lin knows lots of specialty food suppliers. When you get back to Beijing, we’ll vacuum-seal it and send it to you!”
The cousins went back and forth talking past each other, each saying their own piece and arguing their own logic.
Surprisingly, the conversation flowed smoothly anyway.
Both were quite satisfied.
Behind Jian Yun, a staff member raised a loudspeaker, urging the fans lingering in the lobby to go through a second ticket check and enter the meeting room—the signing event would start in five minutes. Jian Yun immediately abandoned her brother and turned to dash off to see her “husband” on stage.
Watching his sister’s resolute departing figure, Xia Yiyang couldn’t help but remark: “How nice—my sister’s going to see her ‘husband’ again.”
Sheng Lin asked: “I’ve been meaning to ask—why do you call that singer your ‘brother-in-law’? Is he actually secretly dating your sister?”
“Of course not!” Xia Yiyang quickly explained. “Don’t you get the romance of it? Calling an artist on stage ‘husband’ is just for fun. When she was into female artists before, she called them ‘wife’ too… But too many artists catch her eye—she changes ‘partners’ every three months on average.”
Sheng Lin genuinely couldn’t understand: “Falling for someone new every three months? Isn’t that too fast?”
“Happy?” Xia Yiyang mused. “She really is happy.”
Sheng Lin: “…”
“Three months isn’t short, actually. My sister once said that her ‘crush’ is like a seed planted in summer. Every day, every hour, every second of those three months, it grows with all its might. By autumn, it’s ready to harvest. Since you’ve already witnessed its bloom, there’s no regret when it withers.”
Xia Yiyang suddenly thought of something and asked Sheng Lin: “Brother Lin, what about you? Have you never had that?”
What he meant to ask was whether Sheng Lin had ever followed celebrities—whether sports stars or e-sports stars—since he’d never heard Sheng Lin mention any.
But Sheng Lin misunderstood his meaning.
“I wouldn’t do that.” The man looked into his eyes and said in a low voice: “A three-month summer is too short. The seed I plant will keep growing until it becomes a towering tree.”
Xia Yiyang’s heart skipped a beat. The tiny seed buried in his soil was restlessly pushing out a tender sprout.
For a moment, neither spoke.
But the sound of branches growing wildly never stopped.
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