Luo Chen continued staring into space.
He was genuinely afraid of Lin Yuqi. The hysterical state she'd been in years later had left an instinctive fear lodged in his memory.
In the end, he decided to maintain their friendship… If he got the chance, he hoped to find out what had caused her to change in the future.
He hoped he could do something to help her before that change came.
After all, cheesy as it sounded, he'd once loved her—loved her very, very much. No matter what, he hoped she'd find a better path.
Anything was better than sinking into a lightless mire.
…
…
Luo Chen was getting restless with nothing to do, so he pulled the books out of his desk drawer one by one and read them carefully.
The memories felt both familiar and strange, and the books were like old friends reunited.
Evening study hadn't started yet. It wouldn't officially begin until next week. At five in the afternoon, school was out.
He took the Chinese textbook he hadn't finished reading with him, got up from his seat, and walked to the hallway.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lin Yuqi saying goodbye to her friends.
“Why aren't they leaving together…?” Luo Chen was still caught off guard when Lin Yuqi had already skipped over to him in quick little steps.
“Hey, I'll buy you some milk tea… I've got just enough change.” Her voice trembled a little.
…
【Hey, hey, what's gotten into me…?】
【Am I… nervous? How could I be?】
【Will I seem too forward if I do this?】
【Will he… will he turn me down?】
…In that moment, the girl’s thoughts ran wild. As she kept thinking, a faint blush crept onto her cheeks, and her eyes darted away in a panic, unable to meet his.
“I'm still a little dizzy. Maybe next time. Thanks, though.” Luo Chen did his best to look like he had a fever that just wouldn't break.
“Mm-hm.” The girl gave a small nod, unable to tell whether she felt disappointed or happy.
“Well… I should get going?” Luo Chen asked.
Lin Yuqi froze for a moment, lightly bit her lip, then nodded.
She stayed where she was for a while, watching Luo Chen walk away, and watching her companions disappear into the distance below.
Now she was all alone…
…
…
Luo Chen was still just a freshman in high school. He had no homework today, and with a rare bit of free time, he had no plans to go anywhere else after school.
Luo Xi was waiting for him at home, after all. He couldn't wait to get back.
It was worth mentioning that Luo Xi went to the junior high attached to Luo Chen's high school. If nothing unexpected happened, she should have entered his high school that summer… and then, who knew? Maybe he would've gotten to hear his little sister call him “senpai.”
But there were no “what ifs.” Luo Xi had left with her family, and there was nothing he could do. That idle fantasy he'd once entertained had to come to nothing.
And now, after getting a second chance at life… Luo Chen still seemed unable to do anything.
He didn't have the means to live out the rest of his life with Luo Xi on the little inheritance they had left.
He also couldn't be sure that Luo Xi would stay in this home for his sake. And even if she were willing, Luo Chen wouldn't let that happen.
Because Luo Chen knew from the future that Luo Xi's biological parents came from a well-off family and treated her very well. It seemed they wanted to make up for everything she'd been deprived of over those ten-plus years.
At the very least, she'd be far happier there than with a useless older brother who was still at odds with her, wouldn't she?
One thing worth mentioning: Luo Xi also had an older sister.
…Her name was An Jinchu.
…………
Luo Chen hadn't known An Jinchu before. Even after Luo Xi and he parted ways in the future, he rarely contacted Luo Xi.
It came from the inferiority he felt deep down, and from the vast distance and estrangement between them—something he could almost reach out and touch.
That distance and estrangement were only natural… You already had a happy family, people who loved you, and plenty of spending money…
I was still working my way through school, gritting my teeth just to get by…
You once asked how I was doing. How could I bring myself to… how could I bear to look useless in front of you, right?
Even if I cried, I'd smile for you.
………………
He met An Jinchu at university.
They met by chance and gradually got to know each other. Then, one time when they went out together, An Jinchu said she'd bring her little sister along.
That was Luo Chen and Luo Xi's first reunion in three years…
But because Luo Chen was so awkward, they just stood there in silence. Before either of them could say, “Long time no see,” they parted on bad terms.
Fate really could be funny sometimes.
Luo Chen and An Jinchu stayed in touch and remained pretty good friends. Every now and then, An Jinchu would let him in on a little news about Luo Xi.
Luo Chen always put on a “Not listening, not listening” act, while his expression practically begged her to keep talking.
So An Jinchu was always calling him an awkward, hopeless tsundere.
……………………
Luo Chen practically ran all the way home.
He was going to see his little sister—and this might be the last time for the next few months. Of course he ran.
By the time he reached the door, he was panting. He braced himself on his knees and had just taken hold of the doorknob when the door opened by itself, strangely enough.
“Xiao Xi…” He hadn't even finished speaking when he suddenly froze.
In front of him was a delicate face, still touched with a hint of youthful inexperience, and impossibly beautiful all the same.
He remembered that face.
“Long time…”
The girl across from him murmured the words so softly. A trace of daze flickered in her eyes, but she quickly came back to herself and held out a slender, fair arm toward Luo Chen.
“It's nice to meet you. I'm… An Jinchu.”
