In Qing Hang’s memory, the Cheng siblings fighting over a single word was a common occurrence.

Cheng Yuzhou had only transferred back to Baicheng No. 1 High School in his senior year, but like them, he could occasionally start fighting even during meals. After fighting, they would stand up, dust off their clothes, and continue eating.

When facing outsiders, the three of them were of one mind. However, when there were no outsiders, they were each other’s greatest danger.

In their freshman year, Cheng Wanyue was rehearsing a dance for the New Year’s Eve performance at school when she heard that Cheng Yanqing had been beaten up. She ran home without even changing her clothes, clearly not returning to mediate but to fan the flames.

Cheng Wanyue had just been harassed by a stranger that evening. Even just hearing her describe the situation made Qing Hang feel anxious, yet she didn’t seem to take it seriously at all. Even if she was brave and unafraid, she shouldn’t have forgotten about it so quickly.

She could be very vengeful about certain things, but at other times she seemed completely carefree.

Just as they arrived at the residential complex, the harassment incident had been completely pushed to the back of her mind. After getting out of the elevator, she consciously walked on her tiptoes so that her high heels wouldn’t make too much noise on the ground.

She gently inserted the key into the lock, even holding her breath before turning it.

The moment the door opened, Qing Hang’s eyes met Cheng Yanqing’s. The latter was frozen in the living room, keyboard in hand, his expression indescribable.

“Why are you back?” Cheng Yanqing tried to control his tone. “Qing Hang, you couldn’t even keep her for one night?”

Qing Hang’s expression remained unchanged. “She missed you too much and wanted to come see you first.”

Cheng Wanyue nodded in agreement beside him.

Cheng Yanqing’s mouth twitched, his slippers seemed glued to the floor, unable to take a single step.

“Zhizhi,” Cheng Wanyue tilted her body to greet Huo Zhi sitting on the sofa. She pulled Qing Hang into the house. “This is Qing Hang.”

Huo Zhi glanced at Cheng Yanqing, as if telling him to move aside and not block her view of the handsome man.

Cheng Yanqing took two steps back, taking the opportunity to hide the keyboard on a shelf.

Qing Hang finally saw Huo Zhi. She was wearing a white shirt with blue jeans, her chestnut hair flowing smoothly over her shoulders, looking like a well-behaved girl with an elegant demeanor.

But Cheng Wanyue had told him in the car that Huo Zhi’s appearance and personality were like the South and North Poles—she wasn’t easy to deal with.

“Ah, my future brother-in-law,” Huo Zhi smiled politely. “Hello.”

When she raised her hand, Qing Hang noticed the tattoo on the inside of her wrist. It was quite bold.

He suddenly understood why Cheng Wanyue had said Cheng Yanqing would suffer terribly.

“Hello.”

“Come in and sit down. We’re all family. Wanyue, have you two had dinner?”

“We’ve eaten.” Cheng Wanyue pulled Qing Hang to sit together on the double sofa to the left. “He worked overtime today and is just accompanying me to get some clothes.”

Huo Zhi looked at Qing Hang a bit longer. “Doctors must be very busy, right? Do you have time to date Wanyue? She’s not easy to pursue.”

Qing Hang said, “I just started working, so I indeed have very little time for her now. It should get a bit better in the future.”

“Just having time for her isn’t enough. Our Wanyue has many people who love her.”

“No one will love her more than I do.”

Huo Zhi had thought Qing Hang was the quiet type, but she didn’t expect him to be so direct, as if it wasn’t sweet talk for him, but an instinct etched in his bones.

“Well, work hard then. Let’s try to have our weddings together.”

Qing Hang’s gaze followed Cheng Wanyue as she moved. Cheng Wanyue and Huo Zhi were whispering to each other, and he couldn’t hear what they were saying.

Meiqiu sat on Qing Hang’s foot, its tail occasionally brushing against his ankle.

Left on the sidelines, Cheng Yanqing seemed superfluous. Huo Zhi hadn’t acknowledged him since entering the door. He gave Qing Hang a meaningful look, signaling him to take away Cheng Wanyue, who was like a bomb that could ruin everything.

“Weren’t you getting clothes? What time is it now? Hurry up and pack!”

“I’m packing,” Cheng Wanyue spared a moment to respond to him, then only got up after finishing her conversation with Huo Zhi. “Qing Hang, let’s go to my room.”

Qing Hang followed her lead. “What do you need to bring?”

She opened the closet. “Clothes and toiletries.”

The door wasn’t closed. Huo Zhi’s anger was increasing exponentially with time. Being able to argue with Cheng Yanqing would be a minor issue. The calmer she was, the bigger the problem. Cheng Yanqing couldn’t care about saving face anymore. They would be family sooner or later, and Qing Hang might be even more thick-skinned when it came to placating Cheng Wanyue.

Nothing was embarrassing about making one’s girlfriend happy.

“Honey, are you hungry? Let me cook some noodles for you.”

Huo Zhi played with the ring on her finger, looking bored. “I’m on a diet. Not eating.”

“What diet? You’re perfect in every way.”

“Still not as good as a female celebrity.”

“Who says? Celebrities just try to look good on camera. They’re too thin in private, which is very unhealthy.”

“Hmm, you must know better after hugging a female celebrity. What’s it like hugging an ex-girlfriend?”

Cheng Yanqing wanted to slap himself. “Honey, don’t be angry. I swear, it was just two seconds, three at most.”

Huo Zhi had recognized Cheng Yanqing in the photo just from his back. She and Qin Hua were merely acquaintances, not yet friends.

“Where did you hug her?”

“She was drinking and couldn’t stand steadily.” Cheng Yanqing’s attitude was very proper. “Just touched her shoulder.”

Cheng Wanyue enjoyed watching the drama unfold. “He hugged her waist. Qing Hang, you saw it too, right?”

“Yes,” Qing Hang nodded while picking up the suitcase, his other hand holding Cheng Wanyue’s as they walked out.

Cheng Yanqing had already glared at them four times. If they didn’t leave on their own, they would be kicked out.

Cheng Wanyue had packed all her identification documents. The day after tomorrow was the National Day holiday, so she could stay at Qing Hang’s place until Cheng Yanqing came to take her back to Nanjing.

There was no one in the elevator. She quietly leaned close to Qing Hang’s ear. “I told Zhizhi which drawer I put the leftovers from last time in. Cheng Yanqing will thank me for that.”

Waiting for the delivery person would be torturous.

Qing Hang was somewhat helpless. “You’ve also exposed yourself.”

Cheng Wanyue, “…”

A tactical error!

“Zhizhi is two years younger than I. How can Cheng Yanqing dare to lecture me?”

Qing Hang said, “Girlfriends and sisters are different.”

Cheng Wanyue suddenly remembered her senior year of high school, when Qing Hang’s grandfather was diagnosed with late-stage gastric cancer. To avoid affecting Qing Hang’s college entrance exam, he had kept it from him.

Cheng Guo’an had planned to adopt Qing Hang and gathered the whole family to discuss the matter.

If Cheng Wanyue hadn’t objected then, Qing Hang would have become her brother eight years ago.

“My dad wanted to adopt you before. Did you know that?”

Qing Hang was unaware. “Adoption?”

“Yes, but I disagreed,” Cheng Wanyue had cried and made a scene that day. She liked Grandpa Qing very much. Late-stage gastric cancer was untreatable, and he was Qing Hang’s only family.

But if Qing Hang became her brother, what would they be to each other?

“No matter what he said, I refused. I didn’t eat, starved for a day, and made a huge fuss. He had no choice but to drop the idea. Qing Hang, we were almost siblings. If he had asked for your opinion first, would you have agreed?”

The wheels of the suitcase made a dull sound as they rubbed against the ground, but they couldn’t cover Qing Hang’s firm answer.

“No.”

“Why? Didn’t you want a family? My parents were so good to you.”

“I couldn’t betray Uncle Cheng and Aunt Yang.”

“It’s just calling them Mom and Dad instead. How is that betraying them?”

He squeezed her fingers. “You know why.”

“Afraid of committing incest with me…” The rest of her words were stopped by Qing Hang.

The leaves above their heads rustled in the wind as they kissed under the streetlight.

After they parted, Qing Hang lowered his head and kissed her again. “We don’t have a blood relationship. Even if Uncle Cheng had adopted me, we wouldn’t be…”

He couldn’t say those two words.

Cheng Wanyue smiled. “Although in the end we would both call them Mom and Dad, the nature would still be different… What are you looking at?”

Her short hair was tucked behind her ear, and Qing Hang noticed that the moon earring she had worn for a long time was missing.

“You’re missing an earring.”

“Ah? It’s gone?” Cheng Wanyue touched her earlobe. “That was a birthday gift from A’Yu. I wonder if I lost it at the studio? Or maybe when that lunatic harassed me.”

“The streetlights are too dim to see clearly. Tell me the exact location, and I’ll go look for it tomorrow.”

“Don’t you have to work tomorrow?”

Qing Hang had been working overtime these past few days to free up tomorrow. “I’ll do rounds in the morning, and I should be free after the meeting.”

“Then I’ll go with you to look for it.”

“I’ll be up very early. You should just sleep at home.”

Although Cheng Wanyue easily grew tired of accessories, she always cherished the things Zhou Yu gave her.

Suddenly losing the earring made her dispirited all the way home.

After Zhou Heng moved out, the room was empty, but Qing Hang still took Cheng Wanyue’s suitcase to his bedroom. She had originally planned to offer some sympathy to Cheng Yanqing, but after losing the earring, she wasn’t in the mood anymore.

After showering, she sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed. Qing Hang placed a towel over her head and crouched down in front of her.

“Princess Rapunzel, I won the bet, so I can make one request, right?”

“But you’ve already taken an advance.”

“That night doesn’t count.”

“How can you cheat?” Cheng Wanyue pounced forward to grab his neck. He lost his balance and fell to the ground, with her sitting on top of him.

Qing Hang cushioned her knees with his palms. He wasn’t wearing his glasses, and his half-wet, short hair was somewhat disheveled. The dim light gave the smile at the corners of his eyes a hint of wildness.