She officially met Liang Siyu on a summer evening in early summer.
The cicadas buzzed noisily, and stifling heat pressed down on the city. Lin Youxia dragged her suitcase as she followed her mother to their new home on Yanling Alley.
Beside the damp, mottled stone wall stood a tall, slender figure. The boy wore a black T-shirt, his profile sharp and clean-lined, blending into the murky night.
Lin Youxia knew who he was.
Liang Siyu, the notorious delinquent from No. 9 High School: reckless, arrogant, and unruly. A regular on the disciplinary report and a hot topic on the school forum.
Her mother gestured toward him and introduced them. "This is your Uncle Liang's son. Call him big brother."
His dark eyes swept over the hem of her skirt. Liang Siyu raised his gaze with cool indifference and warned her without an ounce of courtesy: "Stay away from me."
Living under the same roof, they kept out of each other's way, until that late night...
It had just rained, and the air was thick with the smell of damp dust. After a fight with her mother, Lin Youxia climbed over the wall and ran away from home.
On the deserted street, she crouched with her arms wrapped around her knees. The minute hand completed two full turns before someone stepped into her view.
Dressed in black, Liang Siyu stood in front of her with one hand in his pocket. In the dim, unreadable atmosphere, the glowing red ember between his fingers stood out sharply.
A cold wind blew. He crushed out his cigarette and looked down at her reddened eyes.
In that frozen moment, a faint laugh slipped from his throat. His voice was low and husky as he held out his hand. "Want to come with me?"
"Little sister."
-
Years later, they meet again on another rainy day, in a bar full of revelry and excess, where her boyfriend humiliates and harasses her.
Her long dress is damp with spilled alcohol, clinging to her skin. Just as she stands there, awkward and miserable, a familiar, cool presence draws near.
Ignoring everyone else's gaze, Liang Siyu takes off his coat and carefully drapes it over her shoulders.
A busybody picks up on the tension and starts gossiping about their relationship.
Lin Youxia's lashes flutter, her back stiffening. "I don't know him."
Liang Siyu looks at her, his expression unchanged, and neither confirms nor denies it.
After several rounds of drinks, in a secluded corner where no one can see them,
Liang Siyu grabs her slender wrist, leaving a red mark, and forcefully pins her against the wall. "Pretending not to know me?"
His breath is hot as he bites her lips as if taking out his frustration. His voice low and husky, he demands, "Had enough of playing around?"
"I'm giving you one last chance."
"Him or me?"
[At eighteen, he had the word summer tattooed over his heart to commemorate a love that came to nothing.]
[He gave everything he had, waiting for his summer to return to him.]
Fake step-siblings / Reunion after years apart / Rekindled romance / Mutual redemption / Mutual secret crushes
Both are each other's first love / Both are devoted only to each other / Neither lead is perfect, and the boyfriend in the blurb is part of a misunderstanding
Cool and stubborn × Arrogant and unruly
Troublesome × Possessive
Lin Youxia × Liang Siyu
Theme: Only you understand me
