“Yuqian, I like you. Please go out with me.”

A plain-looking boy who seemed honest to a fault bowed at a full ninety degrees, confessing very formally to a girl with mixed foreign blood.

Her full name was Su Yuqian. Rumor said her father was British, and she’d lived in the UK for a long time. After her father passed away, her mother decided to move back to China for good. Of course, once she was back, Su Yuqian had to go to school.

Because of her hair and her striking looks, she instantly became popular—especially with the boys. No fewer than ten had already confessed to her.

But all of them had crashed and burned. And…

“Sorry. I’m not interested in your type.”

With that icy line, Su Yuqian turned to leave. By now, a decent crowd of students had gathered to enjoy the show.

“I really mean it, Yuqian. Please, at least—”

The boy straightened up, about to step in front of her.

Without a word, Yuqian drove an uppercut into his chin. Her fist looked soft and delicate, but the impact rocked his jaw. His whole body practically lifted off the ground—a perfect home-run pose. After hanging in the air for half a second, he landed hard on his butt. His face twisted with pain, looking utterly pathetic.

“So? Do I need to repeat myself, maggot?”

“Ahhh—s-sorry!!”

Tail tucked between his legs, the boy bolted. That was the end of that confession farce. Yuqian adjusted the single-strap bag that was about to slide off her seemingly fragile shoulder.

The Shen Yu Middle School sailor uniform suited her perfectly. It looked neither out of place nor old-fashioned, and it pushed her pretty-girl face and figure to the absolute limit.

So beautiful. Beautiful like a painting. Golden twin-tails, emerald-green eyes, slightly drooping outer corners that gave her a cold edge, making people hesitate to approach. The way she talked, the way she moved—everything screamed “tsundere twin-tail heroine straight out of a manga.”

A real-life girl like this existing in reality… anyone would feel their heart skip, right? I really wish she could be my girlfriend. If that happened, Haruki wouldn’t look down on me anymore, would he?

Off to the side, I was buzzing with excitement, full of stupid fantasies.

But the moment I started picturing myself getting rejected by Su Yuqian like that guy just now, my heart instantly went dark.

God didn’t bless me with exceptional talent or a stunning face. I carried a giant label that read “average.” Average looks, average smarts, average social skills, average speaking skills, average learning ability—anything you could name about me was tied to that word: average.

Someone like me didn’t have much ability to actually do anything. What I did have was the occasional daydream. But a fantasy is still just a fantasy. The first time I laid eyes on Su Yuqian, I liked her before I even realized it. When I saw other guys confess to her, I felt this weird sadness. When I saw them get rejected, I felt this weird sense of relief.

To outsiders, I probably seemed insane. But to me, it meant maybe there was still a sliver of hope. As the number of guys confessing went up, though, I gradually realized my dream of confessing to Su Yuqian and actually dating her was just a wild daydream.

So many guys had been turned down, some even sentenced by her fists to different levels of punishment. For someone like me, with average looks and average ability, how could I ever win Su Yuqian’s heart?

I still had this tiny bit of wishful thinking. But after watching that guy just now, who was about my level, get shot down, my dream shattered.

This isn’t a manga where even a fat guy can casually start a harem. This is cold, hard reality. You don’t just toss out a line and a pretty girl magically falls for you. One gentle gesture doesn’t win you a girl’s heart either. Reality is brutal. All I could do was cry bitterly in my heart.

Staring at Yuqian’s figure as she walked away, all I could do was sigh helplessly. I don’t think I’ve ever even had a proper conversation with her.

I really wanted to work up the courage to say something to her. But I was terrified she’d hate me and keep her distance forever. That’s the last thing I wanted. So for now, all I could do was watch from afar and pray that she stayed like this, and that no one actually succeeded in confessing to her one day. If that really happened, I’d cry my eyes out in regret.

I clearly hadn’t done anything, yet it felt like I’d already tasted defeat. Dejected, I dragged myself home. The moment I opened the door, I saw a short, still-in-the-loli-phase little girl—my little sister, Xu Feiya. She was only seven and in second grade.

With her innocent, adorable face and pink dress, she looked ridiculously cute. And I was the older brother of this cute little girl—name’s Xu Youjie, sixteen years old, quite a big age gap with Feiya. I’m a first-year at Shen Yu Middle School. “Ordinary” might as well be my middle name.

“Youjie-oniichan, you’re home,” Feiya said in her soft, sticky-sweet voice.

“Yeah, I’m back.”

“Youjie-oniichan, you look kinda down,” she said, staring up at me with big round eyes.

“Yeah? How can you tell?” I asked as I took off my shoes and slipped into my slippers.

“Um, how do I put it… mm…” She propped her chin on her hand, struggling to think.

“Intuition,” she finally forced out.

“Women’s intuition?” I asked, half amused.

“Women? I’m not a woman. I’m a little girl, and I’m still a virgin!” she said, puffing her cheeks in anger.

“Virgin? Where’d you even learn that word?”

A little kid knowing a word like that?

“I dunno…” Feiya shook her head quickly.

“Really?” I pulled a fake scary face.

“Eek… from… from a TV show I saw by accident,” she stammered, spooked.

“TV dramas, huh… they really do rot kids’ brains. You shouldn’t be watching that stuff.”

I walked into the living room, planning to put the remote away, but Feiya put up fierce resistance.

“No… no… Feiya can’t not watch TV!”

“If you watch too much, it’ll rot your brain,” I said, using just a bit of strength as we tugged back and forth.

“Feiya, Feiya’s got great self-control. I won’t… won’t get corrupted,” she said, pulling the remote toward her with all her might.

“But you just used the word ‘virgin,’ didn’t you?”

My words shook her a bit, but after a moment’s hard thinking, she shot back:

“But… but, Youjie-oniichan, it’s true, isn’t it? Just like how Youjie-oniichan is a virgin too. There’s no difference.”

“Ah! ‘Virgin’—” I let out a shriek. It’s not like being a virgin is some kind of shameful crime, but having it stated that bluntly still crushed my pride.

“Youjie-oniichan, your face looks even worse than before,” she said.

“That’s your fault. Why’d you have to bring up something so depressing?”

Who in high school isn’t dating these days? Some have already stepped into adulthood. The more I thought about it, the worse I felt. Tears started welling up.

“It’s just being a virgin. Why does Youjie-oniichan look like he lost his favorite doll? Feiya’s… Feiya’s a virgin too, you know. There’s nothing to be sad about,” she said.

What does a kid know, seriously? Looking at her confused eyes, I felt a bit ashamed and wiped away the tears at the corners of my eyes.

I loosened my grip on the remote. The moment I let go, Feiya hugged it to her chest like treasure, beaming. “I can watch TV again!”

She plopped down on the sofa, hit the power button, and the TV flicked on. A romance drama was playing. Feiya watched, completely absorbed, like her whole world was just that screen.

I had no idea what was so great about these cliché-filled romance dramas. Muttering that complaint under my breath, I walked to the fridge, opened it, grabbed a bottle of milk, and chugged it down. The sweet-and-sour, creamy taste was pretty good.

I licked the milk from the corner of my mouth and glanced at Feiya, still fully locked onto the TV. “Did you do your homework? Mom said you’re not allowed to watch TV unless you finish it, remember?”

Like any other family, my parents were pretty strict about studying. No homework, no playing, no TV—that was the rule. I suffered through that torture when I was younger. Now that I’m in high school, they’ve loosened up a lot. They barely manage me anymore, and instead focus all their energy on raising Feiya. Works for me—less attention means more freedom.

“Hey, Feiya. Did you finish your homework?” She ignored me, eyes glued to the TV.

“Huh?”

“Homework. Did you finish your homework?” As her brother, I had to at least pretend to manage her studies. That’s what a big brother should do, right?

“Homework? …Eh?” She suddenly remembered something and panicked.

“What, you didn’t do it?” I asked, imitating Mom’s stern tone.

“I forgot… I-I’ll go do it now.” She jumped up and ran to her room to start her homework hell.

With a little click, her door probably closed. And so began her endless homework torture.

I really felt sorry for her. As someone who’d been through it, I seriously pitied her, being buried under assignments. Thankfully, high school homework was way lighter. I didn’t even have homework today. Thank god.

I lounged on the sofa, sipping my milk. The drama on TV really wasn’t my thing, so I picked up the remote, ready to change the channel.

“W-wait!”

An abrupt voice reached my ears, leaving me a bit confused. I turned my head and saw Feiya, holding her notebook.

“Why aren’t you doing your homework in your own room?”

Feiya casually dropped her notebook on the coffee table and started writing while sneaking glances at the TV every few seconds.

“Hey… who taught you that? Aren’t you scared Mom will yell at you?” I tried to scare her a little.

“It’s fine… Mommy and Daddy aren’t home, so Feiya doesn’t have to worry at all,” she replied calmly.

Unbelievable. The moment she slips her leash, she goes wild.

“Uh… but as your big brother, I do have a duty to keep an eye on you…”

“Youjie-oniichan, you’re my good big brother, right?” Feiya grabbed my hand with her tiny fingers, eyes brimming with fake tears. She looked so emotional and pitiful that my heart melted instantly.

“Do whatever you want, idiot little sister.”

“Youjie-oniichan, I love you so much!” Feiya immediately threw herself at me.

“Hey! Kids aren’t allowed to say lines only adults can say.”

I scolded her right away.

“Tch… Youjie-oniichan has zero sense of fun. No wonder you come home with that bitter-gourd face every day. Bet it’s ’cause no girl likes you. Just like this guy.”

She pointed at a particularly ugly male character on the screen.

“Feiya, my dear sister, let me show you some big-brother love.”

I unleashed my patented temple-twisting technique. Feiya instantly clapped both hands over her temples.

“Eek—Youjie-oniichan, I know I was wrong!”