After more than a decade of getting along peacefully as brother and sister, He Dingyuan discovers that he was adopted.
On Christmas Eve, the day they had planned to reunite, Luo Lingxi suddenly shows up with her boyfriend.
"Don't give him a hard time later, understand?"
On the phone, Luo Lingxi's tone is threatening, like a mother hen protecting her chick. He Dingyuan scoffs to show his disdain.
Four sets of bowls and chopsticks become five, and the table is filled with laughter and chatter.
He Dingyuan thinks everything is pretty great, except for the person sitting across from him...
Tsk.
He can't stand the sight of him.
When Luo Lingxi sends He Dingyuan's favorite blanched shrimp into the other guy's bowl for the third time, He Dingyuan is so jealous he could die.
He hears this is the junior who pursued Luo Lingxi for two years before finally winning her over.
Hah.
What a dope.
*
After doing something he shouldn't have, He Dingyuan is in a foul mood, standing outside the building and kicking at the snow.
By the little first-floor window, Luo Lingxi is on a video call with her boyfriend, her voice drifting through the gap in the screen window.
Her dopey boyfriend really is a dope. His girlfriend's lipstick is smudged, and he doesn't suspect a thing.
The culprit, tucked into a corner, listens with interest. In a daze, he remembers a snowy night in the winter of his senior year of high school. He had just finished showering and opened the bathroom door when a bright red apple blocked his view.
"The kid downstairs gave me a Christmas Eve apple. What do you think? Jealous?" Luo Lingxi looked thrilled. As she spoke, she took a big, showy bite.
A corner was missing from the bright red apple, revealing its yellow-white flesh and letting its sweet, fresh scent spread through the air. Luo Lingxi chewed, waving it in front of him again and again.
It was blinding.
Driven by some inexplicable impulse, he suddenly grabbed her wrist, leaned in, and stared right into her eyes.
Crunch.
A crisp sound.
The white area grew another ring wider.
Her triumphant, delighted voice cut off.
"Hey! Why'd you bite the spot I already bit?" she snapped. But a few seconds later, she asked with utter smugness, "Hmph, isn't it sweet?"
As she spoke, glistening juice still clung to her lips. He only glanced at it briefly before looking back at what was in front of him.
A shallow, tiny bite mark rested on the red apple. For a moment, his breath caught. Without thinking, he traced the edge of the bitten flesh with the tip of his tongue...
"Hey!" Her voice was right in front of him.
His throat tightened. He hurriedly savored the taste for a few seconds, then feigned nonchalance. "Oh." His eyes met hers for a second. "It's okay."
Heaven knew how fast his heart was beating when he said that.
Theme: Love
