A Little Misunderstanding

On the day of high school graduation, Xu Wei was asked to deliver a love letter from the class beauty to Lin Qing. If he felt the same way, he was supposed to come to the back gate at six that evening.

Everyone was certain that the two most attractive students at No. 3 High would become a couple that day.

Xu Wei was assigned to film behind-the-scenes footage. The air was sticky and stifling, like being shut inside a steamer. Mosquitoes had bitten a row of red marks into her calves. She waved her camera around, growing more and more irritated, with nothing but a constant buzzing in her ears.

At seven, Lin Qing still hadn't shown up.

The atmosphere on the sports field faded like a sunset drained of color, going dark in an instant.

Xu Wei thought, Maybe it's about time I went home.

Suddenly, the class beauty started crying, and the girls around her scrambled to comfort her.

"Oh, I know!" someone said, looking at Xu Wei. "He must have misunderstood and thought Weiwei was confessing to him, so he didn't come!"

Everyone turned to look at her. In that moment, a guess was arbitrarily nailed down as fact.

The class beauty stopped crying and smiled.

Xu Wei gripped her camera, awkward and at a loss. In the end, she even forced a laugh along with everyone else. "Maybe... there was just a mix-up."

That moment was like shards of glass stuck in her throat. Even at twenty-four, she still dreamed of them scraping at her insides over and over, leaving her in pain, angry, aggrieved, and on the verge of tears.

Later, she unexpectedly became roommates with Lin Qing. The handsome boy's school uniform had been replaced by a white shirt. He was cool and clean-cut. At night, he leaned on the balcony and drank water, the transparent glass in his hand reflecting colorful lines. He looked up at her with the same indifferent expression he'd worn when he received that love letter all those years ago.

Xu Wei could never stop herself from wanting to ask:

Back then, did you not come because you thought I was the one who'd delivered that love letter?

- Coming soon: Waiting for His Fever to Break -

After her parents remarried, Ying Jia gained a younger brother, one year her junior.

Ying Jia carefully disinfected his wound. When the cotton swab touched it, he instinctively tensed his muscles.

The boy lowered his lashes, his thin lips pressed together.

Feeling sorry for him, Ying Jia finished bandaging his wound, then opened her arms and embraced him. "We'll be a family."

She was so caught up in her sympathy that she didn't see the boy's Adam's apple bob, his gaze grow darker, or the hand around her waist tremble with excitement, like a greedy venomous snake anticipating the delicious taste of its prey as it slowly devoured her inch by inch.

-

As a family member, Ying Xu was beyond reproach. More than a younger brother, he was like an older one: caring for her in every way, protecting her without leaving her side, driving off the debt collectors who came around drunk, and handling her problems. He was considerate, patient, and practically perfect.

Ying Jia fell for him, confessed her feelings, went to his room late at night, and started a relationship with him behind their parents' backs.

-

He grew more and more clingy, always looking for chances to press his skin against hers. His fingertips brought a searing heat, leaving repeated red marks on her waist.

His need for her was frequent and intense. He pinned her wrists down with an unyielding grip and kissed and licked the side of her neck, like a beast marking what belonged to it.

Ying Jia grew afraid and cautiously suggested they return to their original relationship as siblings.

Ying Xu quietly looked at her, then smiled and agreed.

Ying Jia thought it was over. Who could have guessed Ying Xu was even more messed up than she'd thought?

Theme: Love life and never give up