In tenth grade, Lin Shilan ran to the Tan house constantly, practically treating their home as a study hall.

Lin Shilan didn’t talk to Tan Jin because she came to find Tan Ziheng. Sometimes she came to borrow notes and left immediately, sometimes she stayed at their house for half a day. The second floor was Tan Ziheng’s territory, with the kitchen, living room, and bathroom on the first floor—it was difficult for Tan Jin to find an excuse to go upstairs.

So even though Lin Shilan came several times a week, she remained completely unaware of his existence.

After much deliberation, Tan Jin decided to change the layout of their living room.

The sofa, TV, and TV cabinet were all moved by him to near the stairs on the second floor.

No one in the family ever told him what to do. Even when Tan Jin made such a big fuss, they didn’t ask him why he was moving furniture around. From then on, the sofa was monopolized by Tan Jin, and whenever Lin Shilan went upstairs to find Tan Ziheng, she could always see him.

Moreover, after the activity area became the living room, Tan Jin, being closest to the door, naturally became the person responsible for answering it.

Whenever the doorbell rang, he would lazily saunter over and ask: “Who is it?”

Lin Shilan would honestly state her name.

After Tan Jin opened the door for her, Lin Shilan would usually ask: “I’m here to study with Brother Ziheng. Is he home?”

If Tan Jin answered yes, Lin Shilan would nod and walk upstairs. If he answered no, she wouldn’t enter and would go straight home.

Their conversation stopped at just these two sentences.

In June, after Tan Ziheng finished the college entrance exam, Lin Shilan came to find him even more frequently.

Each time she brought a pile of books to his house, as if planning to study intensively, but the study atmosphere in his brother’s room was obviously much more relaxed than before. Bursts of laughter from upstairs reached Tan Jin’s ears—he didn’t know what Tan Ziheng said to make her laugh, but they sounded so happy.

On vacation, Lin Shilan no longer wore her school uniform.

Most of her own clothes were casual in style—various short t-shirts paired with loose pants. Her plain face wore no makeup, making her look clean, beautiful, and youthfully invincible.

She didn’t wear her hair in the meticulous ponytail from school days. Lin Shilan usually wore her long hair down or tied it in two simple braids.

Tan Jin thought her braided hairstyle was very cute.

Every time she wore her hair that way, he really wanted to say a few more words to her.

“I’m here to find Brother Ziheng. Is he in?”

Outside the door, half of the young girl’s face appeared, the tips of her braids perking up, impish and playful.

After answering with a single “yes,” Lin Shilan would leave. Tan Jin looked at her little braids, wanting to make conversation but not knowing what to say.

She tilted her head, looking at him strangely as he stammered.

Tan Jin also wanted to imitate his brother and say something witty to make her laugh. His brain short-circuited, and he said something shocking.

“He’s in. Hehe, you’re here to pretend to study with my brother?”

“Huh?” Lin Shilan suspected her ears had a problem: “Pretend to study?”

A pair of slightly annoyed almond eyes stared at him. Tan Jin’s limbs froze as he pulled his mouth into a stiff smile.

First speaking sarcastically, now with barbs hidden in his smile. In the silent stare-down, Lin Shilan’s unfavorable impression of Tan Ziheng’s younger brother gradually revived.

She wasn’t about to take this lying down. Her lips moved, and she threw those words right back at him.

“Even pretend studying is still studying—better than not studying at all.”

“…”

Tan Jin hadn’t expected that Lin Shilan had noticed he didn’t study. Rounding up, she had already paid sufficient attention to him.

He was thick-skinned—being told he “didn’t study” didn’t make him angry. In fact, he was quite happy that he finally had some sense of presence in Lin Shilan’s eyes.

After this day, Tan Jin began to have the courage to strike up conversations with Lin Shilan.

After this day, in Lin Shilan’s heart, she and Tan Jin officially became enemies.

Lin Shilan wore a new dress and ran into the Tan brothers at the residential complex entrance. She greeted Tan Ziheng.

Tan Ziheng didn’t notice her dress, but Tan Jin, passing by, came out with: “You’re wearing new clothes?”

She felt he didn’t mean well saying this and vigilantly assumed a defensive posture: “What business is it of yours?”

Scratching his head, he said: “Nothing much, just that the auntie selling watermelons under the tree is wearing the same outfit. Just giving you a heads up.”

Lin Shilan angrily put her hands on her hips. Tan Jin laughed happily like a fool.

A few days later, Tan Jin bought new basketball shoes and placed them on the TV cabinet to admire.

Lin Shilan, passing by, seized the opportunity for revenge. She glanced at his shoes and casually dropped a line: “Those shoes are fake, aren’t they?”

Not giving Tan Jin a chance to argue, she had already slipped out the door.

After they bickered many times, even Tan Ziheng noticed their discord. He intentionally staggered their meetings to reduce their encounters.

As summer vacation drew to a close, Tan Ziheng was accepted by his ideal university.

Before Tan Ziheng left, Lin Shilan took out money she’d saved for more than half a year and gave him a wallet.

She drew her feelings on a small slip of paper.

That slip of paper was tucked into the wallet and given to him together.

Eleventh grade. Holding onto her determination to test into the same university as Tan Ziheng, Lin Shilan continued studying diligently, throwing herself into a sea of practice problems.

After Tan Ziheng went to the big city, Lin Shilan no longer needed to go to the Tan house.

Tan Jin had thought their previous bickering was a signal of growing closer. Lin Shilan’s coldness brought him back to reality—she had no intention of getting closer to him.

Sometimes when Lin Shilan encountered Tan Jin at school or at the residential complex entrance, even if they were very close, she wouldn’t strike up a conversation. Having lost “Tan Ziheng” as their only connection, they returned to being distant.

The summer of eleventh grade, Tan Ziheng came back to Yan County for a few weeks during his break.

Having received the news, Lin Shilan couldn’t wait to come to the Tan house to find him.

She rang the doorbell, and it was Tan Jin who answered again.

His face full of interest, he used the same style he’d employed before to talk to her, trying to attract her attention.

“Well well, what wind blew you here?”

Lin Shilan didn’t take his bait at all: “Is your brother upstairs?”

As soon as Tan Jin said “mm-hmm,” she immediately went upstairs without looking back.

For several days in a row, it was like this.

However, Lin Shilan didn’t know: every time she rang the doorbell, no matter what Tan Jin was doing, he would immediately stop and run to the door at top speed.

Once, he was eating an orange when the doorbell rang.

Tan Jin hurriedly swallowed the orange segment, but the orange got stuck in his throat, choking him. While patting his chest, he rushed toward the door.

Using his usual leisurely posture, he opened the door for her. His throat uncomfortable, he burped.

Lin Shilan asked: “Is your brother in?”

Tan Jin nodded and waved his hand to let her go upstairs.

She walked two steps, felt his behavior was different from usual—though she couldn’t say exactly why—and Lin Shilan returned.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Tan Jin was about to reply “nothing,” but as soon as he opened his mouth, he burped again.

He’d swallowed the orange too quickly, making him hiccup non-stop.

Discovering Tan Jin’s discomfort, she waved her hand, telling him to sit down on the sofa.

Lin Shilan had an effective method for stopping hiccups. Seeing him suffering from hiccups, she didn’t have time to explain slowly and directly got to work. She stood beside him, plugging his left ear canal with her left middle finger and the right one with her right middle finger, then using both thumbs to press against his nose, blocking his nostrils.

Her hands were icy cold, yet very soft.

Tan Jin sat obediently, completely motionless. In this strange position, her hands spread across his face, sealing off his hearing and sense of smell.

He was extremely nervous, his two hands gripping the sofa fabric tightly, eyes lowered to look at the floor, not daring to look at Lin Shilan.

The air was thin. Tan Jin hiccupped, the sound pinched into something thin and small.

He asked in a small voice: “Are you trying to suffocate me?”

“Yes,” she said. “Close your mouth.”

Understanding that her instruction was literal, Tan Jin complied, holding his breath and closing his mouth.

Before long, Lin Shilan released her hands.

Tan Jin gasped for air in big gulps, stroking his chest to regulate his breathing.

After catching his breath, he discovered with surprise that the hiccups had stopped.

Lin Shilan’s eyes held a gleam of pride.

She crossed her arms, waiting for Tan Jin’s thanks.

On his face, a faint redness hadn’t faded, probably from the earlier oxygen deprivation.

He blinked, the small red mole on his cheek vivid, his lips moving with difficulty. What came out wasn’t “thank you”…

He said: “I really wish you wouldn’t look for Tan Ziheng anymore.”

All day long, Lin Shilan repeatedly recalled this sentence of Tan Jin’s in her mind.

Each word separately, she understood the meaning. Put together, she couldn’t quite grasp it.

After returning home, lying in bed and pondering carefully, she finally got it.

Tan Jin didn’t want her to get close to his brother anymore.

—So what he wanted to express was: he hated her! His family didn’t welcome her!

This conclusion—the more Lin Shilan thought about it, the more certain she became, and the more certain she became, the angrier she got.

—Why?!

Did Tan Jin dislike her that much? Why?

Because every time she rang the doorbell, he had to open it, so he was annoyed?

Because when she came to do homework with his brother, she talked too loudly and disturbed his TV watching?

Because as an outsider, she occupied the time Tan Ziheng could spend playing ball with him?

It all seemed reasonable.

But no matter what, she had just helped him, and he immediately spoke harshly to her, venting his resentment?!

Fine! He couldn’t stand her, and she was too lazy to deal with him either.

For people who couldn’t get along, they just wouldn’t interact in the future.

In her heart, Lin Shilan stamped the character of Tan Jin with the seal of “unfriendly.”

Twelfth grade.

Lin Shilan focused entirely on exam preparation, single-mindedly devoted.

That year’s rainy season had rainfall so abundant it was frightening.

In the college entrance exam, Lin Shilan performed normally and was accepted into the major and school her mother had always hoped for. It was a top-tier university ranked among the nation’s best—she had earned her mother plenty of face.

After receiving the acceptance notice, Lin Shilan slept for a very long and sweet time, with the sound of rain unceasing in her dreams.

July first, Lin Shilan’s birthday.

Lin Shilan didn’t celebrate birthdays.

She didn’t remember this date, her mother didn’t remember it either, but Tan Ziheng remembered.

In previous birthdays, Tan Ziheng had personally given her a canvas bag. For this birthday in her high school graduation year, he gave her a string of crystal beads, thoughtfully asking his brother to deliver it to her.

As soon as she opened the gift box and saw the bead bracelet at first glance, Lin Shilan loved it.

The color of the bracelet was exactly her favorite color—how could he have given something so perfect?

Lin Shilan couldn’t wait to put it on her wrist.

“Help me thank Brother Ziheng,” she called out to Tan Jin, the delivery person.

Tan Jin fled in panic.

This gift he had held onto for an entire high school period.

In the end, under his brother’s name, it was delivered into the hands of the person he liked.

He saw her happy smile, not knowing whether she loved the gift or the person who gave it.

He couldn’t think too deeply about it…

He had long known that Lin Shilan and Tan Ziheng were kindred spirits.

If he said his brother gave it, at least she would be willing to wear it.

Lin Shilan.

Tan Jin always secretly watched her.

The doorbell ringing ding-dong composed her name.

In the firelight of the small grove, her name was hidden.

The spectator seats at the basketball court were filled with her name.

He always secretly recited her name in his heart, then secretly buried it away.

“Lin Shilan, happy birthday.”

That rain on her eighteenth birthday.

When she smiled, he was smiling too.