☔️ Not biologically related siblings | Reunion after years apart | He has a secret crush | Long-planned pursuit
Sharp-tongued, soft-hearted older sister x scheming, calculating younger man
Hobbyist turned professional photographer x independent game developer
1.
Lu Xitong hated rainy days.
Forced to work overtime until nine at night, she pushed through the crowds and waded home to her apartment complex, where the power was out. It felt as if life had drained every last bit of strength from her.
On the roadside, she came across another unfortunate soul:
A tall young man had been kicked out by his landlord, along with all his belongings.
By the first flash of lightning of spring, she could make out his handsome features.
It was her younger stepbrother, from her broken, blended family.
She took him home, bedraggled and miserable.
2.
Five years after their parents' divorce, Jian Muhe was once again living under the same roof as Lu Xitong.
When they were young, they seemed to belong to different worlds.
He was easygoing and carefree; she was accomplished and disciplined.
They had once gotten on each other's nerves, argued countless times, and developed plenty of secrets they couldn't tell anyone.
But now they lived together in harmony, like a brother and sister who got along well.
At least, that's what Lu Xitong thought.
Until one night, after meeting her boyfriend's parents, she came home exhausted and fell straight asleep. She woke to a warm, damp tickle and found Jian Muhe tracing her features with his fingertips, his eyes full of unfathomable affection.
She jolted awake. "Jian Muhe, I'm your sister!"
"We're not even related by blood. What makes you my sister?"
His expression was obedient, but he held tight to her as she tried to escape.
"Choose me, Xitong. I'm the one who understands you best."
3.
Later, with a door between them, her ex-boyfriend begged her to take him back, while Lu Xitong was held captive in Jian Muhe's arms, his marks still on her collarbone.
He kissed her again and again. As their breaths mingled, he teased her, enunciating the word "sister" with deliberate emphasis.
"You have to take responsibility for me, sis-ter."
He wanted to become her family again.
Not as her younger brother, but as the one she loved.
[Reader's Guide]
1. They are step-siblings with no blood relation. Their parents are divorced, they are not on the same household register, and their family ties have been severed.
2. The heroine has a boyfriend at the start. They have broken up by the time she and the hero get together.
3. The heroine is not a virgin; the hero is.
*The title comes from the S.H.E. song "You Were Once a Boy," with lyrics by Xiao Yang: "Many years ago / you had a pair of clear eyes / as you ran / like a flash of spring lightning."
The first draft of this blurb was finalized on February 27, 2026, and a screenshot has been saved.
Theme: Good love helps people grow
