Love at First Glance

[Blurb for the upcoming novel Top-Tier Boyfriend at the bottom ↓] [Blurb for this novel ↓] When Xu Zhixia was five, she was abandoned in a deserted alley. A young man in a school uniform jacket slung over his shoulder walked past, hands in his pockets. She timidly tugged at him, her childish voice thick with tears. "Big brother, can I come home with you..." The boy sneered. "Where'd a little scammer like you come from?" From that day on, Ji Huaizhou had a cute little sister as pretty as a doll. The little girl was sweet and well-behaved, following him around like a little shadow. Whenever she called him big brother, her voice was as sweet as honey. Everyone watched as the wayward son of the Ji family began taking the little girl to and from school every day, carrying her schoolbag, lining up to buy candy sculptures, and refusing to scold her when she did something wrong, instead coaxing her not to cry. His underlings: Has the boss turned over a new leaf and become a siscon? Thirteen years passed. Ji Huaizhou had become the renowned Mr. Ji, while the little girl he'd picked up had grown into a beautiful, fair-skinned campus queen at a dance academy. People are greedy, never satisfied with what they have. Just like Xu Zhixia, who harbored the forbidden, immoral feelings of a secret crush and was no longer content to be merely his little sister. Her confession was ambiguous. After a long, quiet pause, Ji Huaizhou pretended not to understand and smiled as if nothing were wrong. "Our Zhixia has grown up. You don't even like calling me big brother anymore." Heartbroken, Xu Zhixia went abroad to study for four years. When they met again, Ji Huaizhou watched one suitor after another appear at her side. Irritably, he loosened his tie, an inexplicable weight pressing on his heart. One day, after he'd stopped behaving himself. On the balcony, Ji Huaizhou held a cigarette between his lips and washed a white dance dress stained with some unidentified filth with his own hands. Xu Zhixia sat on the laundry counter with her legs dangling, sipping milk through a straw. Her cheeks were flushed, and the man's shirt hung loosely on her. "You eat my food and wear my clothes, and now you want to date someone else? I've spoiled you all these years for nothing," someone suddenly said, settling old scores. Xu Zhixia guiltily lowered her head and gave him a light kick. "Hurry up and wash it. I need to wear it tomorrow..." [His heart is a wilderness, yet he thinks of everything for her] * Redemption / raising a child / everyone's darling * Both are each other's first and only partner. They are not blood-related. While their familial relationship remains in place, and before the heroine reaches adulthood, the hero feels nothing for her but brotherly affection. * Blurb written on June 3, 2022 (I'm terrible at writing blurbs, so please don't jump to conclusions about the plot based on it.) [Blurb for the upcoming novel Objections Overruled ↓] (A next-generation story featuring the children of Faraway Return and All to Myself.) Sheng Junlin has an arranged childhood engagement. He's in the capital, while the girl is in the Hong Kong area, at opposite ends of the country. They only met once as children. He remembers her as spoiled and willful. Sheng Junlin never took the engagement seriously. With his temperament, he would never want to marry a little tyrant. That is, until the precious daughter of the He family comes to the capital to study. He is told, "If you don't bring her home as your wife, don't bother coming back to this house." So Sheng Junlin, the rebellious young master, rushes to the library on her first day of school to corner her and scare her into breaking off the engagement. The lackeys showing him the way point to a person quietly reading in the distance. "Boss, that's her!" Sheng Junlin toys with a Swiss Army knife and saunters over, insolent as ever. "Hey." The girl turns around. Her delicate, fair face is striking, and she wears a burgundy camisole. Her limbs are slender, and her skin is pale and cool-toned. Recognizing him, she calls out sweetly, "Brother Junlin." Then she suddenly steps closer, wraps her arms around his, and hides behind him. Her clear eyes hold a trace of lingering fear. "Big brother, those people are so scary..." Sheng Junlin stares at her, bewildered. After exchanging looks with her for a moment, he discreetly slips the knife into his pocket, clears his throat, and tells the group to get lost. The lackeys: ...? - Over the next three months, Sheng Junlin seems to have been bewitched. He finds it harder and harder to turn down each of this girl's requests. He has a vague feeling that this little sister could be the death of him. But before he can figure it out, he realizes that he may not be entirely opposed to this arranged marriage after all. Then one day, he accidentally overhears her talking on the phone... "Uncle Sheng, Sheng Junlin listens to me now. We agreed that if he did everything I said, you'd cancel the engagement. You can't go back on your word, okay?" Her roommate asks in surprise, "Baby, don't you like Sheng Junlin?" He Tingxue: "How could I possibly like that troublemaking jerk?" Sheng Junlin: ... Damn. That day, He Tingxue has no idea what's going on and orders him around as usual. "Brother Junlin, my shoulders have been hurting these past few days. Can you carry my bag for me?" Sheng Junlin sneers. "I'm a grown man. Carry your bag? Dream on." "Then just carry a small one today." Sheng Junlin resists the urge to strangle her. "Carry it yourself." He Tingxue holds it out to him. "Is the red one okay?" After three seconds of gritting his teeth... Sheng Junlin: "...It has to be black." [The heiress and her tsundere fiance who follows orders] Core theme: Someone will be there to accompany you through all the world's twists and turns, through the warmth and coldness of human nature.