Chapter 27: She's Not My Real Sister Anyway

Cheng Xingye couldn’t hold back his laughter when he saw the look on his face, as if he’d just swallowed something foul.

After being teased by Cheng Xingye, Chen Shujie grew increasingly suspicious. Sure, Cheng Xingye spoke with the same irreverence as always, constantly joking at others’ expense, but the way he answered just now—saying he liked someone—didn’t have that usual perfunctory air.

He replayed their conversation in his mind and suddenly realized something.

“...Wait a minute! Whenever we joke about your ‘first love,’ you never bother to deny it, but today you were quick to explain it away. Why?”

Cheng Xingye narrowed his eyes, inwardly wondering what nonsense Chen Shujie was about to spout.

Chen Shujie, catching that look, felt even more certain of his suspicion.

“The person you like—isn’t it Lu’s little sister? No wonder you just asked if she could get into Jiangda…”

Cheng Xingye neither confirmed nor denied it. To be honest, his feelings toward Lu Qingyue were complicated.

The girl was certainly endearing. Sometimes she riled him up so much he wanted to smack her, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. But to say he actually liked her? She was just a kid…

As Lu Yi would put it, she hadn’t even grown up yet.

Could he possibly have those kinds of thoughts about her? Obviously not.

So he furrowed his brow, hesitated for a few seconds, and tried to explain it away, only making it more suspicious.

“Can’t I just care about a kid’s education?”

Chen Shujie clicked his tongue, unimpressed.

“Is that what you call caring about her studies? You’re more concerned about your own future happiness!”

They’d known each other not even two months, and he was already invested in which college she’d attend. If that wasn’t looking out for his own interests, what was?

Chen Shujie felt as if he held the entire script in his hands. He curled his lips in a knowing smirk and cackled, “You’re a real beast! How much are you going to pay me to keep my mouth shut? Otherwise, I’ll go tell Lu right now…”

Cheng Xingye wasn’t the least bit intimidated. He flexed his wrist with a cocky air, his tone slow and polite as he asked, “Go ahead, tell him. And while you’re at it, let me know where you’d like to be buried.”

Chen Shujie: “…”

Wuwu…Lu, I’m sorry!

He told me not to say anything!

…

Cheng Xingye didn’t think of himself as a beast.

His concern for Lu Qingyue was just like that of an older brother for his younger sister. At most, he found her cute and entertaining and enjoyed teasing her now and then.

It was nowhere near romantic affection.

If he really did harbor feelings for a sixteen-year-old kid, then he’d truly be a beast.

The thought made him realize he couldn’t keep on like this. For one, it wasn’t good for the girl’s reputation.

Secondly…if he kept spending time with her, he might actually develop those kinds of feelings.

With that worry in mind, he started deliberately avoiding Lu Qingyue. He knew her class had PE on Monday and Thursday afternoons, so he found excuses to stay away from the basketball court those days.

And just like that, more than a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Winter arrived.

As soon as December came, the streets buzzed with the festive atmosphere of the approaching New Year. Especially before New Year’s Day, there was Christmas—a holiday eagerly embraced by the young.

Compared to girls, who cared about ritual and celebration, the boys were indifferent. Even on Christmas Eve, their dorm was unchanged: some played games, others worked on reports—unaffected by the holiday. Only Lou Zhao had been called out by his girlfriend and was nowhere to be seen.

Halfway through his lab report, Chen Shujie grew tired, massaged his neck, and reached for his phone.

It was Christmas Eve, and many were chattering in group chats about their plans. Couples were off to enjoy the night together, and some hoped to use the occasion to escape singledom.

Chen Shujie was chatting with someone and, after a while, casually shared, “My brother says someone in his class is planning to trick the girl he likes into coming out tonight so he can confess.”

Lu Yi, irritated by debugging, stared at his laptop and retorted without looking up, “How old is your brother? Is he even grown up yet? Confessing his love…”

He recalled that Chen Shujie’s brother was still in high school. Kids these days, he thought, still years away from college and already thinking about romance.

Chen Shujie clicked his tongue, displeased. “My brother’s the same age as your sister! And it’s his classmate confessing, not him—why do you care if he’s grown up?”

Cheng Xingye hadn’t been paying attention to their conversation, but that last remark inexplicably brought someone to mind—Lu Qingyue, who, as they liked to say, still hadn’t grown up.

That little troublemaker hadn’t come looking for him lately.

He’d deliberately kept his distance, afraid he might develop feelings he shouldn’t have. Yet, as he avoided her, she never sought him out either.

For someone so lively and clever, she could be surprisingly composed.

He, on the other hand, couldn’t help himself—two or three times during morning runs, he’d found himself lingering near the high school track, glancing inside.

She wasn’t particularly tall, just over 160 centimeters, dressed in the standard blue and white uniform—nothing remarkable in the crowd. Yet he spotted her instantly.

She seemed sensitive to the cold: as soon as winter arrived, she wore a thick down vest, looking round and puffy, like a well-fed little quail among her classmates.

Cheng Xingye knew it was dangerous to keep watching her.

He forced himself to look away, swearing never to concern himself with her again.

But two days later, during another morning run, he unconsciously ended up by the high school track again.

Back and forth like this, he’d caught sight of her two or three times—without telling anyone, even feeling ridiculous himself.

He even worried about whether she was warm enough in winter, while she, that ungrateful little thing, probably didn’t even remember he existed.

Irritated, he stared at his lab report. After a while, he couldn’t resist reaching for his phone, but her “puppy ears” avatar had long disappeared from his chat list—she truly hadn’t messaged him for over a month.

Annoyed, Cheng Xingye flipped his phone face-down on the desk, determined not to check WeChat. But with his mind wandering, he couldn’t focus on his report at all.

As he drifted, he overheard Chen Shujie and Lu Yi chatting.

Chen Shujie’s brother had apparently sent him the girl’s photo. As he looked at it, he couldn’t help commenting, “Say what you will, but this girl is only fifteen or sixteen and already quite pretty.”

Mid-sentence, he suddenly noticed something, stopped abruptly, and slapped the back of Lu Yi’s chair, exclaiming, “Wait a minute, isn’t this your sister?!”

The words were barely out when the room was filled with the scraping of chairs—Cheng Xingye and Lu Yi stood up at almost the same time, their faces dark and incredulous as they both reached out, “Let me see.”

Chen Shujie glanced between them, then handed the phone to Lu Yi.

Cheng Xingye hesitated, withdrew his hand, and stuffed it into his pocket.

The moment Lu Yi saw the phone, he recognized his troublesome little sister. He laughed bitterly, mocking, “Damn! That brat really knows how to attract trouble!”

At the moment, it was just a boy’s one-sided crush, not necessarily the start of some teenage romance. Still, Lu Yi couldn’t help worrying about her.

That girl was a magnet for trouble. Take your eyes off her for a second and she might really get herself whisked away.

Lu Yi tossed the phone back to Chen Shujie, grabbed his jacket from the chair, and prepared to go keep an eye on things in person.

Cheng Xingye picked up his phone and slipped it into his pocket as well. He hadn’t even reached for his coat before Chen Shujie sidled up with a mischievous grin, deliberately provoking him, “Lu’s going to catch his sister in forbidden puppy love—what are you going for?”

Cheng Xingye glanced at him in exasperation.

Ever since Chen Shujie thought he’d seen through Cheng Xingye’s feelings, he’d loved to bait him with Lu Qingyue’s name at every opportunity.

His look was a warning, but Chen Shujie, holding his secret, wasn’t the least bit afraid. He even grinned wickedly, twisting the knife, “Why so tense? You don’t have anything to do with her. Besides, if the girl wants to experience young love, what’s wrong with that…”

Cheng Xingye didn’t rise to the bait. He calmly pulled out his phone, slouched lazily back in his chair, and said indifferently, “Fine, I’m not going.”

But Lu Yi was dissatisfied. He turned to see Cheng Xingye still lounging in his chair and immediately called out, “Cheng Xingye, what are you sitting there for? Come with me!”

Cheng Xingye looked down at his phone. “She’s not my sister. Why should I go?”