Saturday.
Yutianqiao was out playing badminton with colleagues—the only exercise he got all week.
Saturdays meant peak hours at the gym, so Chen Xiang was swamped.
Li Yuxin was home alone.
Weekends brought her no joy. She had no urge to hang out with friends, nor could she focus on studying. Not since her blowout with her brother.
Yumo and Liyu were probably sweating it out at the gym right now, living their best youth. *Lucky them. So lucky. Hmph…*
Just as she pulled something from her closet to shake off the gloom—
*Thud thud thud!*
“?”
Knocking. Mom or Dad? Coming home unexpectedly?
“Coming—”
She cracked the door open—
“…Hi?”
Liyu stood outside.
She hadn’t gone to the gym today.
“Sis Liyu…?”
“Hey, Yuxin. Can we talk?”
“…Is it about my brother?”
“Ahaha… well, yeah. Actually…”
Liyu gestured behind her. Yumo materialized like a ghost, awkwardly avoiding eye contact.
“!!”
Yuxin slammed the door—but Liyu was faster. She’d anticipated this, jamming her foot in the gap.
“Sis Liyu…!”
Yuxin yanked the handle, but hesitated—afraid of crushing Liyu’s foot. Liyu seized the moment, wrenching the door open.
“Don’t—don’t come in!”
“Yuxin! I just want to talk!”
“Not now!”
“Don’t be so stubborn!”
A tug-of-war erupted over the doorknob. But the contest ended quickly. Liyu outweighed her, and a month of intense training had boosted her arm strength. She forced her way inside.
As the door shut, she flashed a thumbs-up to the stunned Yumo outside. *Leave it to me.*
“I said don’t come in! This is my room!”
Yuxin was frantic.
“But where else can we talk? Like… secret best-friend stuff…?”
Liyu finally took in Yuxin’s room.
Yuxin clutched an oversized T-shirt—clearly not her size—trying to hide it too late.
*Wait… this looks familiar?*
An awkward silence settled.
“…”
“…”
“…That shirt. Looks like Yumo’s?”
“…Same brand.”
“Same brand?”
“Just… same brand. That’s all.”
“But the stain on the collar…”
“What about it?”
“We had lunch once. He spilled a vinegar packet on it. The collar’s still stained.”
“I got mine dirty too. What a coincidence.”
“Yeah. What a coincidence.”
“…”
“…”
“…Uh, what’s that on your nightstand?”
Liyu pointed to a small photo frame. Yuxin slammed it face-down—but not before Liyu glimpsed it.
“That looked like… Yumo’s photo?”
“…You’re seeing things.”
“But I’m not nearsighted…”
“It’s just a family photo from Chinese New Year.”
“You cut Yumo out of the family photo and framed him alone…?”
“You’re seeing things!”
“But—”
“YOU’RE SEEING THINGS!!!”
Yuxin’s face flushed crimson. She scrambled to stuff the shirt and frame into her closet—but the door swung wider, revealing more:
A pillow printed with Yumo’s face close-up.
A pair of mysterious men’s boxers.
An album stuffed with questionable photos.
Any one of these would mean instant social death.
Yuxin froze, emitting muffled, incoherent whimpers.
Even Liyu was speechless.
*Now I get why Chen Xiang complained that Yuxin never lets anyone clean her room. That well-behaved kid draws the line here. No wonder.*
*Real-life anime tropes actually exist.*
*So cringe it circles back to cool.*
---
Yumo waited outside the door.
Yuxin’s room was soundproofed. He only caught muffled arguing. *Are they okay? Should I step in?*
The door cracked open.
Liyu peeked out, her expression unreadable.
“Liyu? How’d it go with Yuxin? If you can’t convince her, don’t push—”
“Yumo.”
“Yeah?”
“…Can you give us space?”
“??”
“Just… leave the apartment. Take a walk. Buy a Coke. Something.”
“Why?”
“Please! Trust me—it’s better if you’re not here right now!”
“…………Fine.”
He’d wait outside. If nothing changed in ten minutes, he’d barge in.
---
“I… sent him away for now.”
“…………”
Yuxin dropped to her knees like a condemned prisoner.
“…Yuxin?”
“…”
“Uh… Yuxin?”
“…”
“Well… everyone has their… uh… *quirks*? I won’t judge…”
“…………Hic.”
“Huh?”
*Wahhhhh sniffle sob wail—*
Ah. She was crying.
“Don’t cry! Brother complexes aren’t—wait, you guys don’t watch anime? It means a sister who’s *super* into her brother!”
“I’m NOT!!”
“…Really?”
Liyu’s gaze drifted to Yuxin’s collection.
Some items bordered on illegal.
“……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Fine! I am! Okay?! I have been for years!”
Yuxin finally cracked. She slumped like a deflated balloon.
“Real-life brother complexes actually exist… But Yuxin—if you like him, why push him away? Why pick fights out of nowhere? Honestly, you’ve been kinda unreasonable…”
“You ask why? *Seriously?*”
Why the anger?
Why the tantrums?
*How could I be happy when my brother suddenly got a girlfriend?! Even fake smiles have limits!! Do you know how badly I wish I were in your place?!*
“But you love him! Why—”
“Because it’s weird! So weird!! Brother and sister—even if we’re not blood-related, it’s still messed up, right?! What would Mom think? Dad? The neighbors? This isn’t some trashy drama—no one would bless this!”
“…So you pushed him away. Kept your distance?”
“I’ve—tried—so hard! Since we were kids! Trying to hate him! ‘Distance will cool these feelings.’ ‘Forbidden love fades with time.’ I hoped… I wished… But it didn’t! It didn’t! It didn’t!”
Her voice trembled with tears.
“It backfired! The more I suppressed it, the more I craved him! The more I pushed away, the more I wanted him! When I found out about his girlfriend—I felt like I’d explode! Can you even grasp that restlessness?!”
“Uh… sorry?”
“Don’t apologize! It’s not your fault!”
“Right, thanks, but… these things… Yumo’s clothes, his boxers, photos… If you wanted distance, why collect this stuff? It’s kinda creepy…”
“I—I had to cope somehow! I can’t let my emotions overflow! What else was I supposed to do?!”
“And you told me to keep my distance too… even pushed him to break up with me…”
“I love him, but I forgot *why* I love him. Isn’t that strange?! He’s hiding something—something dangerous!”
“What do you *really* want?”
“Well… he doesn’t like you anyway. If you break up badly, you’ll both get hurt. It’s better for everyone if…”
“What do you *truly* want?”
“I was jealous. So jealous I couldn’t even pretend to be the good kid anymore.”
Yuxin laid her cards bare.
She collapsed onto the bed, face buried in her hands. The act was over.
Liyu said nothing. She just sat beside her, gently rubbing her back.
A long silence…
“……………Sorry.”
Yuxin’s voice was hoarse.
“Sorry… I was selfish. I threw tantrums. I took it out on you… hurt you… hurt my brother… I’m truly sorry.”
“It’s okay. Really. Just… getting this off your chest must’ve been heavy, huh?”
“Mm…”
Yuxin leaned her head weakly on Liyu’s shoulder. “Can this be our secret? Don’t tell anyone. Especially not him. *Please.*”
“Yumo’s reasonable. He’d understand.”
“But I’m not ready. And neither is he… so… please…”
“Okay. I’ll keep it secret. But on one condition.”
“Condition?”
“Apologize to him.”
“…I can’t.”
“Because you’re scared he’ll know how you feel?”
“…Yeah.”
“Then I’ll go with you. I’ll help you stay calm.”
“…………”
Yuxin peeked at Liyu through her fingers, then hid her face again.
“Sis Liyu… you’re weird…”
“Weird…?”
“He’s *your* boyfriend.”
“Well… technically just on paper…”
“A girl who’s lived under the same roof as your boyfriend for six years confesses she likes him—and you’re not even mad? I braced for you to slap me…”
“Uh… now that you mention it, I *should* be angry… but…”
Liyu gently pried Yuxin’s hands from her face, meeting her eyes warmly.
“I care about Yumo. And you… you swim with me, chat with me, hang out… No guy my age has been this kind to me in forever. So… both of you matter deeply to me.”
“…Really?”
“Really. That’s why I want you two to make up. More than anything.”
“You’re too forgiving…”
“And if I’m right… Yumo’s distance from Aunt Chen started when *you* pulled away from him, didn’t it? She saw her daughter reject her stepson. Misunderstandings built walls. And now…”
“…………”
“Yumo told me he bottles things up. His dad’s the same—blunt, kinda low EQ. Aunt Chen misunderstands him too. So at home… Yumo’s like a stranger. No one tries to understand him. He won’t ask why. If he hadn’t been provoked at school, he might’ve never spoken up. I don’t blame you—but ‘Yumo isn’t happy at home’… a big part of that is on you.”
Liyu spoke with quiet intensity. She saw deeper than she let on.
“So Yuxin… you get what I’m saying, right?”
“…I know.”
