At fifteen, Song Xile wrote down her ideal type in her diary:
Mature, gentle, and well-mannered.
And those words described her brother, Jiang Yanli, to a T.
Jiang Yanli was a celebrated graduate of Qing University and a rising star in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
His shirt buttons were always done up neatly to the very top, and he treated everyone with warmth and courtesy.
In Song Xile's eyes, he was a moon she could admire but never reach.
Her girlish feelings could only wither in a corner, unable to glimpse the light of day.
*
Then, on her twentieth birthday, Song Xile lost a game and had to send a message she didn't mean to the third person in her contacts.
Her eyelid twitched. Guilt-stricken, she sent Jiang Yanli:
[I don't like you anymore.]
Jiang Yanli was aloof and distant, but good-tempered. A few words of explanation should clear things up.
When she got home, Jiang Yanli was sitting upright on the sofa, his presence dark and heavy.
A little tipsy, Song Xile's soft voice sounded almost coquettish. "Big brother..."
She was about to explain that it was just a game when Jiang Yanli pulled her into his arms.
Her watery eyes misted over, and for a moment, she couldn't tell dream from reality.
He took off his silver-rimmed glasses and taught her how to undo his tie, deliberately leaning close enough for his breath to brush her ear. "Do you still like your big brother?"
*Nine-year age gap, scheming, alluring man x gentle woman with a prickly side
*One-on-one, both virgins, each other's first love
*An age-gap romance, but they aren't related by blood
Thesis: Become a better person
