Summer Night Tides

When Zhixia brought her arranged-marriage partner home, the person who opened the door was Yu Jingze, who had left without a word three years ago.

He wore a white shirt, the cuffs neatly rolled up, his posture straight and tall.

A summer shower came without warning.

It stirred the heart Zhixia thought had long since fallen silent.

"Brother, it's been a long time."

She bit down hard on those two words, as if deliberately taking revenge. "Let me introduce you. This is my boyfriend."

She thought she'd finally gotten her own back, but when she saw the look in Yu Jingze's eyes, her heart clenched again.

What did the grief of someone who had once left so decisively mean now?

Pretending not to care, she went inside and headed to the kitchen for a glass of cold water to quell the restlessness inside her.

She had just turned to leave when Yu Jingze, who had come in at some point, grabbed her.

Yu Jingze said, "Break up with him."

His voice was hoarse, and the hand gripping her wrist tightened against his will.

"What gives you the right to meddle in my life? Because you're my brother?"

"Mianmian, don't be like this..."

Zhixia sneered. "But you stopped being my brother a long time ago."

-

The forced engagement was called off, and in everyone's eyes, Zhixia was finally single again.

She worked nine to five and turned down every invitation, acting as if she had no interest in starting a new relationship.

"Keep this up, and people will think you still can't get over your former arranged-marriage partner."

Her best friend was the one most capable of hitting her where it hurt, so that very night Zhixia went to a party with her.

Quite a few people showed up, including Yu Jingze.

After several rounds of drinking games, Zhixia's turn to get unlucky finally came.

[Kiss any man here.]

She looked around, her gaze lingering briefly on Yu Jingze before she turned to the man beside her.

Before she could say a word, Yu Jingze tapped his glass against the table. "I'll drink for her."

Yu Jingze didn't say a word for the rest of the party.

Only after they got home did he stop Zhixia from getting out of the car, hold the back of her head, and kiss her.

"Did you really want to kiss another man just now?"

His kiss was forceful, full of uncontrollable anger.

Zhixia pushed against his shoulder. "Yu Jingze, have you lost your mind? You're my brother!"

Yu Jingze bit her lip in reprimand. "Wasn't it you who said I'd stopped being your brother a long time ago?"

-

Zhixia thought that ever since they got together, Yu Jingze seemed to enjoy comparing the woman she was now to the girl she'd been as a child.

After their passion had subsided, she wore his white shirt and leaned against the doorframe. "When will my clothes be dry? I'm not wearing yours."

Yu Jingze shut the dryer door and walked toward her. "When you were little, you were always sneaking into my clothes to play grown-up."

Zhixia tipped her head back and argued, "That's different. Back then, all you did was roll up my sleeves for me. Now you..."

She broke off halfway through, leaving only a flushed face and a racing heart.

Yu Jingze chuckled, lowered his head to kiss her, and slowly slid his hand to her waist. In an almost breathless voice, he said, "Why'd you stop? Because now I roll up your sleeves from here?"

[Reading Guide]

* They were once listed on the same household register, but no longer are.

* Happy ending, both leads are each other's first and only.

Theme: Unrequited love can be deeply insecure, but it's also the sweetest of all