Bright Days [Crime Investigation]

Faux stepbrothers, younger love interest, bold enough to love and make a move.

He schemes and pulls every trick in the book to chase away all the admirers around his older brother.

Only when you are close to darkness can you truly appreciate the preciousness of daylight! Things illuminated by light do not merely sparkle. They also nurture a dark side. All we can do is turn black into white and keep evil from wandering in the gray areas!

A prosperous age, endless daylight

On an ordinary day, Lin Shufan met an extraordinary person and encountered an extraordinary situation.

His dad had ordered delivery for him.

Ordering delivery was a perfectly good thing, of course.

Except his dad hadn't ordered food or clothes.

He'd ordered a living, breathing little boy who could be called little brother, named Qi Zhou, timid and adorable, with watery eyes and a nervous gaze!!!!

Wait, who is this kid? Wasn't he supposed to be the delivery?

Lin Dad: "That's right. He's the delivery. Take good care of him!"

Lin Shufan: "No, seriously, Dad, where did you get this kid? Kidnapping is a crime! Besides, how am I supposed to raise a child?"

A busy signal came from the other end of the phone.

Lin Shufan: "..."

But now that he was here, what else could Lin Shufan do, throw him out?

Since he'd come, he might as well raise him!

"Big brother." Qi Zhou, who hadn't reached puberty yet, called Lin Shufan that.

Lin Shufan said, "Don't call me that. I don't have a little brother."

But his actions told the truth. When Qi Zhou was bullied by his classmates, Lin Shufan immediately rushed to school and told him:

If they bully you, hit them back. Your big brother has money, so hit them as much as you like. I'll pay for the medical bills.

Qi Zhou: "Big brother, can I sleep with you?"

Lin Shufan: "No. You're a man, so you should be brave and sleep by yourself."

Qi Zhou: "But, big brother, you know I've been an orphan since I was little..."

Lin Shufan: "All right, all right. Get in."

Qi Zhou: "Big brother, will you tell me a story?"

Lin Shufan: "You're already this old and you still want a bedtime story?"

Qi Zhou: "My parents were busy when I was little. I never got to hear bedtime stories."

Lin Shufan: "Fine. Once upon a time, there was an old witch who ate children..."

"..." Hey, why are you shaking?

Qi Zhou: "Big brother, I want a bedtime story, not a horror story."

Lin Shufan: "But ghost stories are all I know. Take it or leave it!"

Qi Zhou: "Then can I hug you while I sleep?"

Lin Shufan: "No."

Qi Zhou: "You know I've been alone and helpless since I was little..."

Lin Shufan: "Fine, fine. Hug me, hug me!"

That's how Qi Zhou came to live in Lin Shufan's home.

Lin Shufan was busy every day, sometimes staying away from home for several days at a time. He often forgot that Qi Zhou was living there at all.

Every time he came home and saw Qi Zhou looking pale and thin, Lin Shufan's eyes filled with guilt and just a little bit of heartache.

Grrr. Qi Zhou's stomach growled.

Guilty, Lin Shufan gave an awkward grin, then rushed to the kitchen to show off his skills.

He served up a lovingly prepared dinner.

Qi Zhou stared at a pot of dark brown tomato and egg stir-fry.

Qi Zhou thought he'd be better off going back to the orphanage...

Lin Shufan glanced at Qi Zhou and blinked, waiting for praise.

Qi Zhou understood. Lin Shufan's culinary disasters weren't because he hadn't tried. He simply wasn't much of a cook.

Qi Zhou: "Big brother, I can actually cook. Just don't forget to leave me some money for groceries..."

"Oh, right, right, right." After years of being single, Lin Shufan had gotten used to being careless. He'd actually forgotten that money could solve just about anything.

Lin Shufan slapped a hand down. "Here, that's twenty thousand. Take good care of yourself at home."

Qi Zhou: "..."

A sharp-tongued but soft-hearted, lively little-sunshine young master, the pursued one.

An aloof, unhinged, loyal puppy-like orphan, the pursuer.

Lin Shufan had been quite puzzled lately.

Why hadn't he had any romantic luck all these years?

Even when he met someone he could get along with, or someone was introduced to him, they would inexplicably leave. Was he doomed to be alone?

So he went to a fortune-teller for a love charm.

But the love charm didn't work. He kept getting dumped.

So he went back for a luck-changing charm...

Fortune-teller: Are you sure the luck-changing charm he asked for is actually a marriage charm for him and me?

Absolutely, positively, one hundred percent sure. Bound together for all eternity, with no tricks. Satisfaction guaranteed.

Qi Zhou nodded, pleased.

One thousand yuan received via Alipay.

The fortune-teller smiled warmly. "Come back next time, young man!"

As a child, he loved clinging to the one he liked. As an adult, he looked perfectly serious, but beneath that calm exterior, all he thought about every day was cuddling up close.

Why is this person so shameless? Why is he always clinging to his big brother?

Hey, you! Where are you putting your hands?

Criminal investigation, faux stepbrothers, forbidden love, two equally strong leads

Synopsis written on December 8, 2024

[Criminal investigation story in the same series as Hidden Battle]

[Set in a fictional world, with many original settings]

[Some cases are adapted from real cases.]

[Northeastern Chinese dialect appears in the story. Please read with this in mind.]

[The pursued one is eight years older than the pursuer. Younger love interest!]

Theme: Uphold justice and grow toward the sun