Qian Wei and Qian Chuan had arranged to meet the next day at a Korean barbecue place.

By the time Qian Wei arrived with Liu Shiyun, Qian Chuan was already killing time playing a game on his phone. He looked up, saw Liu Shiyun, and his face went suspicious and a little startled.

“Qian Wei, weren’t you bringing me to meet your boyfriend? Wait — are you coming out of the closet???” He pointed at Liu Shiyun. “Her?” His face was a picture of disbelief. “Even if you’re coming out, couldn’t you find someone with a bit more taste?”

The phrase “a bit more taste” hit exactly the wrong nerve. Liu Shiyun shot back immediately, “How dare you question anyone else’s taste? Look at yourself — what is this outfit? Green top, red sneakers — don’t you know ‘red and green together’ is a fashion crime as old as time?”

Wait… Liu Shiyun, wasn’t the actual issue here the coming-out part, not the fashion sense…

“I’m a pretty tolerant, open-minded person, but Liu Shiyun — no. Absolutely not.” Qian Chuan’s face twisted with indignation. “She is not setting foot in the Qian family! No way! I’m the first one who’ll object! If she ever gets through our door, I’ll write my name upside down!”

“No, no, no.” Qian Wei’s head was spinning. She had no idea why, but these two could never be in the same room for five minutes without going at each other. “I just brought Liu Shiyun along to eat with us.”

“Then where’s your boyfriend? Why isn’t he here yet?”

Liu Shiyun rolled her eyes at Qian Chuan. “You think everyone has as much free time as you, you layabout?”

“Liu Shiyun, I need to use the restroom. Want to come with?” Seeing the two of them about to come to blows again, Qian Wei quickly found an excuse to whisk Liu Shiyun away.

The whole point of this meal had originally been for Qian Wei to formally introduce Lu Xun to Qian Chuan as her boyfriend. But since Liu Shiyun had just gone through a breakup the night before, Qian Wei didn’t want her sitting alone feeling miserable, so she’d invited her along too.

The restroom turned out to be a fair distance away — a round trip of about ten minutes from the restaurant. By the time Qian Wei and Liu Shiyun made it back, a line had already formed outside.

When Qian Wei got back to the table, she found Lu Xun had arrived. He’d originally planned to come with her, but their class advisor had pulled him aside at the last minute to discuss his speech as an outstanding student representative for A University’s upcoming 50th anniversary celebration, which had delayed him. He was now sitting across from Qian Chuan, and the two of them seemed to be getting along well.

Perhaps catching the sound of her arrival, Lu Xun turned and gave her a small smile. Qian Wei suddenly felt as though all the noise around her had gone quiet. Warmth bloomed in her chest, mixed with a flicker of shyness and nervousness — she wondered what he and Qian Chuan had been talking about while she was gone, whether Qian Chuan had been shocked to learn Lu Xun was now her boyfriend. The thought made her suddenly a little embarrassed.

“Hey! Qian Wei! You’re finally back.” Qian Chuan waved. “I already ordered.” He scratched his head. “So you invited Lu Xun too? I didn’t even know you two were close.”

“Huh?” Liu Shiyun looked puzzled too. “Isn’t Lu Xun—”

Just then, the sizzle of meat grilling at the next table drowned out whatever she’d been about to say. Qian Chuan, none the wiser, went on grumbling, “Anyway, where’s this boyfriend of yours? Still not here? What kind of guy is this, meeting his girlfriend’s little brother for the first time and showing zero effort? My time is precious too, you know!” Once he got going, it was like a floodgate had opened. “Today I, Qian Chuan, am going to teach him a thing or two about respect. Qian Wei, don’t you dare take his side later — I’m going to put him through the wringer, make him understand that meeting your girlfriend’s family for the first time is a big deal. This’ll set the tone — teach him to treat you right from now on. And if he ever even thinks about cheating, I’ll beat him black and blue.”

Qian Wei really wanted to warn him — you might want to stop talking, because my boyfriend is sitting right in front of you.

But before she could say anything, Lu Xun cut in first, smiling at Qian Chuan. “So how exactly were you planning to put Qian Wei’s boyfriend through the wringer?”

Qian Chuan, thoroughly pleased with himself, completely missed both Liu Shiyun’s complicated expression and Qian Wei’s frantic looks. “Well, first I’ll find some excuse to challenge him to an arm-wrestling match — loser has to call the winner ‘brother.’ I’ve got serious strength, so he’s bound to lose, and I’ll get him calling me ‘brother’ right off the bat, put him in his place from the start.” Qian Chuan spoke with real conviction. “This Korean barbecue place is famous for its beef hot pot — they’ve got this insanely spicy broth, supposedly even more intense than Sichuan hot pot. I can handle spicy food like nobody’s business, so I’ll get him to eat with me, watch him question his whole existence, hahaha. And then finally, we’ll do a drinking contest — my tolerance is huge, he’s definitely going down. After today, after these three rounds, that guy’s going to know not to mess with me, and he’ll know he’d better treat our Qian Wei right — otherwise this fearsome future brother-in-law of his won’t let him off the hook…”

Finishing his speech, Qian Chuan looked thoroughly pleased with himself. He glanced at Lu Xun. “So? What do you think of the plan?”

“Sounds great.”

Qian Chuan, basking in the approval, poured himself a beer and took a satisfied sip, then clapped Lu Xun on the shoulder. “Oh right, buddy, forgot to mention — Mo Zixin and I broke up. I know you used to have a bit of a thing for her, but seriously, don’t go after her. That woman’s a total viper. I was kind of hostile toward you before because of her, and that was my bad…”

Lu Xun pressed his lips together and smiled. “I’m not going after her. I’ve got a girlfriend.”

“Huh?” Qian Chuan looked surprised. “Who? Do I know her?”

“You know her.”

“Who’s the lucky girl? She’s probably about to become public enemy number one on this whole campus.”

“Qian Wei.”

Qian Chuan stared at Lu Xun blankly. After a moment, when Lu Xun didn’t say anything more, he couldn’t help but ask, “Why’re you saying Qian Wei’s name?”

Lu Xun smiled. “Qian Wei. My girlfriend.”

Qian Chuan’s face broke into an unmistakable “are you messing with me right now” expression. He looked back and forth between Lu Xun and Qian Wei for a long moment before finally asking, utterly baffled, “Okay, what exactly do you see in our Qian Wei?”

“…” Qian Wei thought, I don’t want this little brother anymore, can I throw him out with the trash…

“Everything about her is great.”

Qian Chuan eyed Qian Wei suspiciously, apparently still trying hard to figure out what exactly was so great about her…

“Well then, let’s get to the arm wrestling.”

Qian Chuan: ???

Lu Xun smiled and held out his hand. “Come on.”

Qian Chuan instinctively reached out too, and by the time he registered what was happening, Lu Xun had already slammed his arm flat onto the table. Qian Chuan’s grip strength was practically legendary in the athletics department, and yet… he stared at Lu Xun in disbelief. Was this guy born with freak strength? A liberal arts student having combat stats like that couldn’t possibly be legal.

“Ha-ha-ha, that’s — I stayed up all night gaming yesterday, so my hand’s not really warmed up today, ha-ha…”

“No worries. Two more rounds to go.”

“…” Qian Chuan’s tone turned strained. “You know what, let’s just call it even — we’re practically family here, no need for any of this. If I’d known our Qian Wei was lucky enough to land you, why would I even think about putting you through the wringer? Right? Ha-ha-ha-ha.”

But Lu Xun was persistent. He smiled. “For the sake of winning over my future brother-in-law — for Qian Wei’s sake — I insist on making it through all three trials.” With that, he called the waiter over. “Could we get the extra-spicy broth, please?”

Half an hour later—

Qian Chuan was a wreck of snot and tears. “Lu Xun, can we please switch broths? I can’t do this anymore… I give up. Brother. I’ll call you brother. Xun-ge. Please, have mercy…”

“All right, let’s clear the pot then. Time for the beer?”

Qian Chuan, on the verge of tears, said, “I take it back, I take it back, I run my mouth too much. From now on I will wholeheartedly support you, rally around you the way we rally around the Party Central Committee, and work hard to build socialism together. Having a brother-in-law like you is an honor. I’m moved! I’m thrilled! I’m indescribably delighted!”

Qian Wei thought — just a few days ago it was “that little punk Lu Xun,” and now suddenly it’s “brother-in-law”…

Lu Xun pressed his lips together in a half-smile, apparently deciding to show mercy and let Qian Chuan off the hook. “We’re family now. No need to get so worked up.” He casually draped an arm around Qian Wei’s shoulders. “When I’m not around, my silly Qian Wei is going to need you to look out for her.”

Qian Chuan blinked. Wait, “my”? Since when wasn’t Qian Wei part of his family?

But a smart man doesn’t pick fights he can’t win, so Qian Chuan nodded along agreeably. “Of course, of course.”

“Oh right! Qian Wei, I found that confession letter you asked me to find!” As if suddenly remembering something, Qian Chuan started rummaging through the bag hanging off his chair. After a moment, he pulled out a slightly wrinkled envelope, presenting it like a trophy.

Just as Qian Wei reached for it, Qian Chuan yanked it back, shooting Lu Xun a fawning look. “Qian Wei, I think we should report this to our brother Xun first, don’t you think? You’ve got a boyfriend now — you can’t just be accepting random confession letters from who-knows-who.” He waved the letter around as he spoke. “But don’t worry, Xun-ge, none of these people are any match for you, not even close! This letter, actually — I thought at first it was written to me, so I skimmed it. Super childish writing! And so cheesy! And honestly, what kind of man doesn’t confess in person and instead sneaks around writing secret love letters like it’s some shameful thing? Definitely someone way too ugly to show his face! You, on the other hand, are tall, strong, dashing — this guy’s probably some scrawny, shifty-eyed runt! Standing next to you, he wouldn’t stand a chance!”

“…” Under the table, Qian Wei kicked Qian Chuan hard. Dude, please stop talking — haven’t you noticed your brother Xun’s face going a little stiff? I get that you’re trying to butter him up, but you’re laying it on way too thick???

“Qian Wei?! Why’d you kick me?!” Unfortunately, Qian Chuan had no clue what Qian Wei was trying to signal. He glared at her. “If I hadn’t brought this up, were you even planning to tell Xun-ge about it?” He glanced at Lu Xun, fawning again. “Xun-ge, you’re looking a little off — don’t worry though, on this matter, I will absolutely put justice above family loyalty and stand firmly on the side of righteousness!”

Lu Xun held it in for a while, then finally couldn’t help himself. After a long silence, he spoke up, feigning nonchalance. “Modern life moves so fast. I think going back to that old-fashioned way of writing letters once in a while isn’t so bad, actually. Writing a confession letter — thinking back on it, there might be a certain charm to it…”

“No way!” Qian Chuan, completely failing to catch Lu Xun’s tone, kept piling on. “Everything’s paperless now! We need to go green! Environmentally friendly! Digital! What decade is this guy living in, still writing letters? So behind the times!” Once he got started, there was no stopping him. “And besides, this guy’s gotta be an idiot — not even signing his name on a love letter? What kind of move is that? Clearly not serious about our Qian Wei at all. Who knows, maybe he wrote a dozen of these and mass-mailed them to different girls!”

Qian Wei cleared her throat loudly. “Okay, everyone, eat some barbecue, come on, eat up.” She thought — someone please stuff this kid’s mouth with meat before Lu Xun’s face turns any more colors of the rainbow.

Liu Shiyun, who’d been listening to the whole exchange, had her curiosity thoroughly piqued. “Wait, so did you figure out who it was? Qian Wei’s such a homebody, her circle’s pretty small — could it be someone from our own law school?” As she spoke, she craned her neck to peek at the letter in Qian Chuan’s hand, which had unfolded slightly in his gesturing, revealing elegant, forceful handwriting.

“Huh… this handwriting looks really familiar…” Liu Shiyun scratched her head, looking puzzled. “Where have I seen this before? It’s got to be one of our classmates…”

Qian Chuan, still twisting the knife, kept going: “Anyone trying to steal someone from under Xun-ge’s nose! Next time I run into this idiot—”

“Lu Xun!” Right at that moment, Liu Shiyun slapped the table with a shout. “This is Lu Xun’s handwriting! This is definitely his!”

Qian Chuan glanced at Lu Xun’s darkening face and forcibly swallowed the word “idiot” that had been halfway out of his mouth. Right — Lu Xun was the very “idiot” he’d been talking about this whole time…

“Actually, now that I think about it, writing love letters is really quite timeless and classic. There’s that poem — how does it go? Oh, right! Something about how time used to move slower in the old days, when letters and horses and mail all moved slowly, and a person’s whole life was only long enough to love one other person. Writing a letter like that really shows the person has real depth of feeling, and that he’s the loyal, devoted type!”

Qian Chuan, with a tongue like that and reflexes like that — what a shame you didn’t go into law! The legal profession really lost out on a talent here!

“And thinking about it more, why confess through a letter instead of in person? It’s probably not because he’s not good-looking — it’s actually the opposite. He’s probably so good-looking that he’s worried the other person would only focus on his face and never see his interesting inner self. That just goes to show the letter-writer is a person of real substance, not shallow at all. He wants you to fall for his heart, not just his handsome face…”

“…”

Even Liu Shiyun couldn’t stomach this performance any longer. “Qian Chuan, is there something you’re trying to get out of Lu Xun?”

Qian Chuan declared, full of righteous indignation, “Do I seem like that kind of person to you?!”

Lu Xun took a sip of tea, arched an eyebrow, and smiled — every inch the domineering CEO in that moment. “Go ahead. Whatever it is, I’ll take care of it.” He glanced at Qian Wei. “Since you’re Qian Wei’s brother, after all.”

At that, Qian Chuan’s whole face lit up. “Xun-ge, I could tell right away you’re a straightforward, generous guy. I don’t need anything right now, but once we all graduate and head out into the real world — modern society, rule-of-law society, right — everything runs on the law one way or another, and there’ll be no shortage of legal issues coming my way in the future…”

“Say no more. Any legal issues you have down the road, I’ve got you covered.”

“Thank you, Xun-ge!!!”