He had no idea that the “good kid” spent every day figuring out how to tear down his defenses.
In my previous life, I was the last one standing amid the ruins. In this life, I’m the boy entrusted to his care.
Lin Shen thinks I have no one, that I’m gentle and harmless, just an orphan who needs looking after.
He teaches me how to stir my milk, helps me button my shirt, and lets me sneak into his bed.
But he doesn’t know that those dewy eyes, that perfectly timed dependence, that breath against his collarbone at three in the morning...
It’s all planned.
“Big brother,” I say, tilting my face up, dimples faintly showing. “I’m an adult now. I really am.”
Lin Shen grips my wrist, the tips of his ears bright red. “...I know.”
“Then,” I tilt my head, my voice soft as melting milk candy, “have you fallen for me, big brother?”
In my previous life, I lost everything. In this one, I want to keep big brother all to myself.
Theme: Rediscovering the ability to love amid loss and rebuilding, exploring the bonds that transcend identity, form, and life and death, and considering the line between “being needed” and “being possessed.”
