Chapter 1

My wealthy best friend was about to go overseas on a three-month business trip.

The day before she left, she called me, sobbing.

“Babe, I can’t bear to leave you! Who’s going to take care of you after I’m gone?”

“I’ve spoiled you into a little princess over the past few years. I wouldn’t trust anyone else to look after you!”

I was about to answer when a man’s low, slightly disdainful voice came from the other end.

“What kind of turtle is so precious?”

“Why don’t I take care of it for a while? You don’t need to cry like it’s the end of the world.”

My best friend immediately stopped crying.

“Brother, do you mean it?”

I froze, the words on the tip of my tongue slipping back down, because…

My best friend’s older brother was six feet tall, had a six-pack, and was as handsome as a movie star.

More than that, he was the man I’d secretly loved for six years.

On the other end, the man answered casually, “I mean it. I’ll take care of it.”

I said nothing. I just quietly began packing my suitcase…

1

My best friend was going away on a business trip—for three months.

“After I leave, you have to eat on time. And don’t eat all that takeout with no nutrition.”

“Remember to eat fruit, too. And take the vitamins A, B, C, and D I bought you every day.”

I couldn’t help interrupting her.

“I’m twenty-four this year. I’m an adult. I can take care of myself.”

So Ying: “Be quiet. I’m not finished.”

I immediately fell silent.

“Don’t stay up late. It’s bad for your health.”

“Mm.”

“It’ll get cold in a few days, so remember to wear more clothes…”

“Mm.”

So Ying’s desire to nurture me to this extent went all the way back to middle school.

Because of my family circumstances, I was a little malnourished back then—skinny, small, and sallow.

So Ying’s family was well-off. We were the same age, but she was already a head taller than me.

We met because she gave me a chicken leg from the cafeteria.

All right, the truth was I’d asked her for it.

Miss So thought the cafeteria’s chicken leg was too greasy and was about to throw it away.

I worked up the courage to go over and ask if I could have it.

That was how our lives first crossed paths. We gradually became best friends who told each other everything.

It took her two years to fatten me up from a scrawny kid into a fair, plump girl.

She was incredibly proud of that.

I never would have thought that by the time we got to college, I’d be doing everything I could to start losing weight.

After graduating, we entered the working world. So Ying still looked after me out of habit.

“You know? I’m so proud of how well I’ve raised you.”

She stroked my glossy black hair, then pinched the soft flesh on my cheek.

Her face was full of motherly affection.

“Look at you. You grew up so pretty.”

She sounded like she was admiring a fat pig that was almost ready for market.

Me: “……”

I was grateful to her.

And I could understand her, too.

So Ying came from a wonderful family. Her father was a brilliant businessman, her mother an outstanding designer, and her older brother had been exceptional since childhood.

If you compared them, she was the least remarkable one in the family.

Maybe that was why she’d always wanted other people’s approval. She was used to looking for a sense of accomplishment in every area of her life…

This overseas assignment had come out of the blue. It was for three months, and because it was her family’s company, she couldn’t refuse.

The reason she worried so much about me wasn’t only that she’d been used to taking care of me since we were young.

She also knew my family situation.

She knew that my father, who was addicted to gambling and had served ten years for intentionally causing bodily harm, had only been released from prison recently.

She was afraid he’d come looking for me and hurt me.

She cared a lot about my feelings, so she’d never brought it up.

I patiently listened to her go on and on.

Finally, So Ying let out a long wail.

“Maybe I should just let someone else go on this trip!”

“Babe, I can’t bear to leave you! Who’s going to take care of you after I’m gone?”

“I’ve spoiled you into a little princess over the past few years. I wouldn’t trust anyone else to look after you!”

Truthfully, I wasn’t that helpless.

I was confident I could take care of myself.

I was about to say a few things to reassure her when a man’s low voice came from the other end.

“Why are you howling in there like a ghost?”

“Are you raising a turtle? What kind of turtle is so precious?”

“I’m on vacation at home for a while. I can look after it for you.”

The hand holding my phone went still.

That voice…

So Ying’s voice grew more distant, as if she’d stepped aside to talk to the person near her.

“Brother? What did you just say?”

“I said I’d look after your turtle for a few days.”

His voice was lazy and casual. “I used to help Grandpa take care of his Sulcata tortoise. He said I was good at it.”

My best friend fell silent for a moment.

When she spoke again, her voice sounded a little odd.

“Although I have a feeling we may not be talking about the same species, if I leave her with you, maybe it really could work… You’ll really look after her for me?”

The man agreed at once.

“Yeah. I’ll take care of her.”

2

“Sweetheart, I want to discuss something with you. Do you want to stay at my place for a while…”

“Sure.”

“Don’t be shy! We’re practically sisters, right?”

“Sure.”

“My brother happens to be home. You know he’s been practicing sanda and Muay Thai since he was little. And although he’s sharp-tongued, conceited, has no sense of martial honor, and is terrible at reading the room, he’s a good person… Wait, what did you say?”

I laughed at her.

I repeated myself.

“I said, sure.”

…

After the call ended, the palm holding my phone felt a little warm.

No wonder So Ying had sounded so shocked.

I was the sort of person who hated being a bother. Most of the time, I’d have turned down an offer like that.

The only reason I’d agreed so readily this time was her older brother.

The older brother she’d described as sharp-tongued, conceited, lacking martial honor, and hopelessly insensitive actually had a whole list of other qualities…

Handsome. Clever. Righteous. Thoughtful. Humble. Heaven’s favorite.

So Ying’s brother, So Yi, was four years older than us. When we were in middle school, he was already famous among the high school students.

I was always able to see him giving speeches as the outstanding student representative at all sorts of school events.

Every time, So Ying would stand beside me and look disdainful.

“Hmph. Putting on airs.”

The So Yi she described was a completely different person.

After listening to her “brainwash” me over and over, for a while I really thought So Yi was an annoying little man who spent all day acting important.

Until eighth grade, when I fainted from low blood sugar during morning exercise.

So Ying panicked and called her older brother.

So Yi crouched in front of me and gave me a piece of candy.

The sweetness melted on my tongue.

“Would you mind if I carry you to the nurse’s office?”

I shook my head. The next second, he lifted me onto his back.

I smelled a clean, refreshing citrus scent on him.

…Nothing like the stench of someone who never showered, which So Ying had claimed he had.

I watched him bustle around the nurse’s office, ask the doctor questions for me, and request permission for me to miss class.

…He wasn’t cold-blooded and heartless like So Ying had said, either.

That was when I realized I couldn’t believe everything So Ying told me.

Especially when it was about So Yi.

To correct my mistaken impression of him, I started observing him, sometimes intentionally and sometimes not.

Then I discovered that So Ying was a master slanderer.

3

I didn’t realize I liked So Yi until I was in college.

One day, I suddenly heard So Ying mention that her brother might be dating someone.

I was stunned for a long time.

That night, I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

I circled around the subject and asked So Ying what kind of person her brother’s girlfriend was.

When I heard that she was a tall, gorgeous beauty with long legs, I angrily ate two bowls of rice.

But I was past my growing years. Two bowls of rice couldn’t change the fact that I was only five-foot-three.

Later, So Ying told me that her brother’s relationship had turned out to be a misunderstanding.

She angrily complained, “That gorgeous woman was chasing him, and he still turned her down. What is wrong with him?”

The corner of my mouth twitched. I wanted to laugh, but couldn’t.

Were So Yi’s standards really that high?

Ha, ha, ha… Boo-hoo-hoo…

I wasn’t deluded enough to think I could have anything with So Yi.

I just… couldn’t accept it.

I couldn’t.

He probably couldn’t even remember my name.

4

The next day, when I called So Ying, she yelled in surprise,

“What’s wrong? You’re not changing your mind, are you?!”

“I’m outside your door. Open it.”

A few seconds later, the door in front of me was yanked open.

So Ying stared at me, eyes wide.

Then she looked at the suitcase beside me.

She immediately grabbed my hand.

“Great! That’s more like it!”

“Come on in! My home is your home! Make yourself comfortable! Sit however you like! Lie down however you like!”

So Ying’s home was huge.

Her parents had bought her this apartment in Linjiang City.

She’d said her brother was staying there because it was too far for him to commute from home.

He also had a few friends in the city, so he could use his vacation to meet up with them.

I sat on the sofa, feeling a little nervous.

I glanced instinctively toward the guest room.

“Your brother…”

Before I could finish asking, the bedroom door opened.

So Yi stepped out in his pajamas, his eyes still sleepy as he looked over.

“Who’s here?”

His voice was a little hoarse from just waking up.

His loose pajama collar revealed part of his chest. His wheat-colored muscles were faintly visible beneath the fabric.

I stared blankly, then pulled my eyes away and shakily took a sip of water.

He noticed me, too.

He paused for two seconds, then turned around and went back inside without hesitation.

When he came out again, he was dressed neatly. He’d even tidied his messy hair.

So Ying introduced us. “Brother, this is my best friend, Le Qian.”

So Yi nodded and smiled at me.

“Hello.”