Naturally, Su Yuzhe hadn’t heard the conversation between his two younger sisters after he got home.

He took off his coat and casually hung it on the rack by the door. Then Su Yuzhe flopped onto the not-so-soft sofa like a beached fish.

Then... he stared into space.

To be honest, he felt a little lost. He had for quite some time.

He gazed at his own stunning reflection in the dark TV screen and suddenly fell into thought.

Before leaving the family home, he’d barely had a moment to himself. He was always learning this or that, practicing how to go toe-to-toe with different businesspeople.

Every now and then, he’d also be invited to all kinds of high-society banquets. To be honest, Yuzhe didn’t like such formal occasions. They were noisy, too. But his father said that his presence was the greatest courtesy they could show the other guests.

He was a genius. He did everything well, without a single mistake.

But he felt like nothing more than a tool.

He had no direction and no passion. Su Yuzhe had no ambition at all, and he was sick of it.

So he left the family home and came here.

He thought everything would get better. At last, he’d be able to start living his own life. The boy had been full of hope.

But now, all he could do was face the dark TV screen alone.

All day, the only thing he did besides draw manga was wait for time to pass.

It wasn’t that he’d never considered going to school. It was just that his experience in junior high had taught him that, with grades like his, showing up at school would be utterly pointless for him. Worse, it would seriously demoralize some of the people who were earnestly trying to study—and some of them might even end up with a twisted mindset.

To put it bluntly, they were just jealous haters. Su Yuzhe had put up with their cold stares for three years already. If going to school did no one any good, he couldn’t see why he should go.

He didn’t understand what he had to do to get the so-called life he wanted.

Should he give high school a try...? He didn’t even know the answer himself.

Knock! Knock! Knock!...

While Yuzhe was lost in thought, a soft, steady knock brought him back to reality.

Who could that be? At this hour...

It was after breakfast but before lunch. Who’d come by at a time like this?

“I’m coming!”

Yuzhe got up and hurried to the door in a few quick strides. He grabbed the handle and opened it.

A girl about as tall as him stood outside.

Because of his own looks, Su Yuzhe considered himself pretty hard to impress when it came to girls. But even he had to admit that the girl in front of him was absolutely top-tier—a bona fide beauty!

Her night-dark hair fell down her back, and her hands hung loosely clasped in front of her. Her simple, elegant white dress showed off her innocence and poise. Her big, equally dark eyes looked at him, shining with tears—and the instant she saw Yuzhe, a clear glimmer flashed in them, only to disappear a moment later. Most importantly, the swell of her chest was more than Yuzhe could handle.

Sorry, Zixiao. It’s not that I don’t think you’re attractive, but she’s just too stacked!

Of course, Yuzhe still thought Zixiao was cuter! But he had to say it again: the girl in front of him was just too stacked!

And Yuzhe actually knew this girl.

“Uh... Sister Ye. You’re here? Why didn’t you call and let me know first?”

“Xiao Zhe...” The girl in front of him suddenly looked away and glanced inside, hesitating.

Qi Xinye was the eldest daughter of the Qi Family. The Qi Family was nowhere near as powerful as the Su Family, but in Fenghai City, they were still a well-known family—one of the strongest around, second only to the Su Family.

When they were little, the Qi Family’s eldest daughter had often come over to play with Yuzhe. She’d been something like the big sister next door. She was two years older than him, so she should be a sophomore in college by now, right?

Because of a certain incident, he really hadn’t been in touch with her for ages...

But Qi Xinye stood at the doorway without making a move. She showed none of the excitement of a long-awaited reunion, and didn’t ask after him or reminisce.

She just stood there, completely still and painfully awkward.

Since she wasn’t moving or saying anything, Yuzhe had to break the silence.

“Um... Sister Ye, don’t just stand in the doorway. Come in and sit down. By the way, how did you know I live here now?”

“I... I can’t come in just yet, Xiao Zhe... I... I need to make sure first.”

Qi Xinye’s behavior left Yuzhe stunned. Wait, wasn’t this big sister next door always so easygoing, so gentle, and so decisive whenever something came up?

Why was she stumbling over her words like this now?

“Okay, Sister Ye. What do you need to make sure of?”

He had no idea what she meant, but asking her to explain seemed like the right thing to do.

Seeing Su Yuzhe pick up the thread, Qi Xinye immediately rose onto her tiptoes and leaned close to his ear. She shielded her mouth with one hand, as if she were about to whisper a secret.

Her warm breath brushed against Yuzhe’s ear, making him feel a little strange. And since Sister Ye had always been slow to get moving, it took her quite a while to manage the gesture. Was she really being this careful? What was she about to ask?

Still, Yuzhe gently swept the silver hair away from his ear, signaling that she could speak.

Qi Xinye lowered her voice as much as she could while making sure Yuzhe could still hear her.

“Um... Xiao Zhe, is Zixiao... home right now?”

“No, she just left for school.”

“Then... is Yuche here?”

When Qi Xinye mentioned Yuche, she took a step backward. Yuzhe could clearly tell she wanted to avoid her, and her eyes suddenly filled with panic.

“Yuche? She’s not here either. She only comes over on weekends.”

“So, Xiao Zhe, there’s... no one else at home right now, is there...?”

Yuzhe was getting more and more confused. Sister Ye had never been this cautious before. They’d all been friends once. Yuche and Zixiao hadn’t been too happy about this big sister getting close to Su Yuzhe, but surely they hadn’t made Qi Xinye feel like she was walking on eggshells?

“Yeah... there’s no one here. It’s just me, Sister Ye... you... Ah!”

It happened so suddenly.

Before Yuzhe could finish speaking, Qi Xinye—who’d been standing still until then—suddenly sprang forward and wrapped her arms around him.

Coach! She's charging with the ball!

See, I told you we couldn't hold them off!

Su Yuzhe was completely caught off guard. Qi Xinye’s hug sent him falling backward, but his first thought was to keep the girl safe. In an instant, the genius boy shielded her head with his arm so she wouldn’t hit anything.

At the same time, as he fell, Yuzhe kicked the door shut to keep Qi Xinye’s leg from hitting the sharp corner of the doorframe.

He did all of that in the brief moment they were airborne.

Then came two sounds.

The first was the door shutting. The second was the dull thud of Su Yuzhe hitting the floor.

It was fine. It didn’t hurt. Mostly because the surging softness in his arms had bounced against him.

What a score!

“Mmph... Sister Ye, are you okay?”

Yuzhe rubbed the back of his head and looked down at the trembling girl in his arms, still lying on the floor. Every now and then, she choked back a sob.

“Sister Ye...”

Her bangs covered her eyes, and from Yuzhe’s angle, he couldn’t really see what was going on.

After a little while, Qi Xinye suddenly lifted her head. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at Su Yuzhe with an expression of utter pain, though deep down, there was also a buried sense of happiness and relief.

Her little mouth opened and closed several times, but no words came out. Only tears rolled down her cheeks.

He didn’t know what was going on, but seeing her like that made Yuzhe’s heart ache.

Without thinking, he pulled the hand trapped beneath Qi Xinye free and wiped the tears from the corner of her eye.

Yuzhe didn’t say anything either.

After he gave her enough time to collect herself, the girl finally buried her face in Yuzhe’s chest again. She sobbed softly, repeating the same words over and over.

“Xiao Zhe... I missed you so much... I really missed you...”

“You know... I really... miss those days so much. I really missed you...”

“That incident... I really didn’t... I didn’t set it up on purpose. Yuche... Zixiao and the others all blame me... They won’t even talk to me anymore... It hurts so much...”

Sigh... As Yuzhe stroked the hair of the girl in his arms, a few thoughts crossed his mind.

People change, and nothing stays the same... Sister Ye, those days really were some of the happiest I’d ever had, too.

So it was still because of that incident...

He’d thought they’d simply lost touch over time, as everyone went their separate ways.

But if they were going to erase a memory over something that wasn’t even a misunderstanding—just a childish falling-out—

then that really was naive and such a shame.

Looks like they needed to talk this through properly.

“Sister Ye.” Yuzhe helped Qi Xinye slowly to her feet.

“Let’s talk this through properly, like we used to...”