[Falsely old-fashioned, actually a perverted researcher x Falsely rebellious, actually obedient and timid college girl]
When Su Litang was eight, in a shabby house in a narrow alley, she lost the last person in her life.
At her most terrified and helpless, a hand wiped the tears from her face. A low sigh came from the darkness. “Come with me.”
Xu Mu became her older brother.
A controlling, old-fashioned older brother.
She had to be home by ten at night.
She had to wear a bra even at home.
She had to knock before entering his room.
He even tried to control her love life.
“Su Litang, you can date, but you can’t go home with him. Your dates can’t run past ten at night, and no kissing.”
“...?”
Su Litang figured that someone like her brother would probably never find her a sister-in-law in his entire life.
That was, until she found a diary in his room.
She opened it to the first page.
[Her skin is so pale. It looks like it would bruise easily. I want to try...]
Su Litang: ?!
*
After finding the diary, Su Litang lost her appetite and couldn’t stop thinking about it.
The sister-in-law she’d once imagined didn’t fill her with excitement and joy like she’d expected. She realized she wasn’t ready to share her brother with anyone else.
So, in a fit of rebelliousness, she started breaking Xu Mu’s rules one by one.
“Bro, it’s ten, and I’m not home yet. Come pick me up?”
“This bra is uncomfortable, Bro. Just for a little while.”
“I did knock, Bro. Didn’t you hear me? What are you doing, ”
“Stop fooling around.”
His hoarse voice came from the darkness. “Get out.”
Xu Mu seemed to have stopped caring about her. He hardly came home anymore and spent all his time in the lab.
Su Litang slung a bag over her shoulder and set off on a month-long trip with her friends.
One day, after staying out late, she returned to her hotel room and found an unwelcome visitor inside.
A black trench coat dusted with the elements, and dark eyes like ink gazing at her solemnly.
That night, she was pinned against the floor-to-ceiling window. Her cheeks were flushed, and mist kept appearing and disappearing on the glass.
Xu Mu reached around from behind, gripped her chin, and made her raise her head.
Through a gap in the curtains, she could see the room opposite. Her so-called boyfriend was kissing another woman as if they couldn’t bear to part.
“With taste in men this bad, you still dare to travel with him? Need your brother to help you?”
The voice at her ear held a desire she had never heard from him before, and the hand on her waist was warm with longing.
Heat spread through the room, which was in disarray. Reports that had not been put away lay scattered across the floor.
The word “addiction” stood out sharply on the report.
Su Litang’s eyes reddened at the corners. She struggled to turn her head. “Don’t you need my help to treat your illness, too?”
“We’re treating it, right?”
Xu Mu kissed her neck, leaving a mark, then lowered his eyes to look at her intently.
“Of course.”
*
The rebellious girl Su Litang, who had always loved to have fun, suddenly started missing group activities again and again, and was often nowhere to be found.
No one knew about the feverish entanglement between the two who were just ordinary siblings in public.
Su Litang trembled as she raised her foot and placed it on Xu Mu’s shoulder.
“I’ve already broken up with him. Your illness... when will you get better?”
Xu Mu’s movements remained unhurried.
“I won’t.”
[Reading Guide]
1. The female lead’s boyfriend isn’t really a proper boyfriend.
2. The leads aren’t blood-related and aren’t on the same household registration.
3. Single pairing, happy ending, one-on-one.
Core theme: Saving each other
