A Quiet Crush

When An Yao was seven, her father brought home a clean-cut boy so handsome he warmed her heart. She stood obediently by the door, watching him. Her father told her he was Auntie Xi's son and would be staying with them for a while. He also told her to call him big brother. An Yao refused, pressing her lips together stubbornly. In a timid voice, she asked him what his name was. "Xi Zhi," he told her. Xi Zhi, An Yao repeated to herself, nodding firmly, her grape-bright eyes sparkling. Xi Zhi stayed at her house after that, and ended up living there for ten years. Then his family found him. He became Shen Zhian, and brought her and her father to bustling, prosperous Kyoto. New to Kyoto, An Yao was insecure and timid. The secret feelings that had sprouted in her heart at some unknown point only grew stronger. The longer she stayed with the Shen family, the more she felt she didn't deserve Shen Zhian, so she chose a university in a neighboring city without hesitation. Later, Shen Zhian brought a beautiful woman home. An Yao pretended nothing was wrong, but got completely drunk at a bar. The next morning, she woke up in Shen Zhian's room. Annoyed that he'd found out she had been drinking, she tried to sneak away, but Shen Zhian had just come in and grabbed her wrist, pinning her against the door. He looked down at her, his beautiful eyes filled with a desire that made her heart race, yet drew her helplessly in. "An'an." He leaned close to her ear, his cool voice tinged with a hazy huskiness as he told her: "You deserve anyone in this world." "Including me." Childhood sweethearts / mutual pining / all sweet, no angst / the leads are each other's one and only, body and soul [The leads are not related by blood in any way.] [The female lead's university storyline is mostly there to serve the plot. Please don't take it too seriously.] Upcoming: Indulging in Temptation Yu Yi is mechanical and meticulous. She does everything by the book, with an absurd number of rules that keep her tightly constrained. Her best friend says she's like a proper young lady from ancient times: pretty, but painfully boring. Until she meets Chi Yang. Hearing him call her "big sister" again and again in his low, seductive voice, she starts breaking rule after rule. They kiss on the street, run through alleys, and at the supermarket, she blushes as she puts on the complimentary rabbit ears and calls him "big brother." Yu Yi goes from absolutely forbidden to perfectly natural, transforming so much that she hardly recognizes herself. * When Chi Yang sees Yu Yi again, all he can think is how wonderful it would be if she were his. So what if she already has a steady boyfriend she's been with for a year? Everyone who knows Chi Yang knows he seems easygoing, but is cold and aloof deep down, and devious as they come... Every day he sweetly and brightly calls Yu Yi "big sister" to her face. Behind her back, he uses a few tricks to get her scumbag boyfriend to take the bait and get eliminated, with precise, clean efficiency. * On the street, Yu Yi is still dazed after Chi Yang sweet-talks her into a kiss. Convinced that everyone passing by is staring, she hides in his arms, too embarrassed to come out. Chi Yang chuckles above her head. Annoyed, Yu Yi pinches his waist. Chi Yang laughs even harder, spreading his shirt around her to hide her whole body. He lowers his head and whispers in her ear through the thin fabric, coaxing her. "My big sister is shy." "Should I hide her away?" Innocent, old-fashioned straight woman x sweet, clever, scheming man (slightly yandere) Completed novel: Read It to You, visit my profile! Premise: There is light in life.