Chapter 1

At eight that evening, I posted on Moments: “I want to watch the stars at night with you.”

Then I added a comment: Visible to you only.

Only Song Mingqi could see it.

Given the speed at which Song Mingqi lived online, there was no way he could miss it.

But I waited from eight until three in the morning. No red notification dot appeared on Moments. No new message appeared in our chat.

His WeChat window had been glowing on my screen for ages when, fingers trembling slightly, I sent two words:

“Asleep?”

To my surprise, he answered at once.

With a smiley face. Another message followed almost instantly, carrying enough resentment to outweigh a ghost:

“Dead.”

I blinked. “Did you swallow dynamite or something?”

He sent three more deathly smileys. “Yeah. It kept me up till three.”

It was rare to see Song Mingqi crack, but this was no time to laugh at him. I had more important business.

“Did you see my Moments post?”

Another smiley. “No. I’m blind.”

I had no patience for his games. “What’s your problem? Quit being so passive-aggressive. Do you want to be together or not? Just say it.”

My courage lasted precisely until I hit Send. The instant after that, panic set in.

Had I been too direct? I had left myself no room to retreat. If he rejected me, wouldn’t that be unbearably humiliating?

And of course, he took forever to reply, stretching my torment without end.

Grinding my teeth, I typed: Song Mingqi, your hands had better be broken if that’s why you’re not answering me…

My thumb hovered over Send, unable to press it.

Most people grow from babies into children, teenagers, and adults. Song Mingqi was different. He had been a dog from birth.

When I was eight, his mother brought him back from abroad and asked my mom to bring my brother and me to dinner.

The moment I walked in, I saw a little boy with golden curls. He looked harmless, with huge round eyes that could melt your heart when he blinked.

Mom told me to call him big brother and sit beside him. He smiled, waved his little hand, and called sweetly, “Little Sister Haohao.”

That smile made me lower my guard.

With my stubby little fingers, I painstakingly peeled a shrimp and reached over to dip it in the sauce. I looked away for one second, and my chopsticks were empty.

I froze, then turned. Song Mingqi had already chewed and swallowed the shrimp. When he saw me staring, he blinked those long lashes at me in perfect innocence.

Being pretty was no excuse. With a howl, I grabbed a fistful of his hair.

His mother immediately tried to rescue him. Mine immediately tried to pull me off. My brother screeched excitedly from the sidelines.

I refused to let go and shouted furiously, “He stole the shrimp I peeled!”

The moment his mother began to frown, Song Mingqi clutched his head and spoke between sobs, his Chinese slightly accented. “I just didn’t want Little Sister Haohao to forget me. I thought whenever she saw shrimp in the future, she’d think of me. I didn’t know it would make her this angry.”

His eyes were red and brimming with tears. One hand covered his hair. He looked pitiful beyond words.

In an instant, everyone gazed at him with tender concern. I alone stood there dumbstruck, my grip forgotten, while several tufts of golden hair drifted through my fingers and fluttered to the floor.

That was my first encounter with the species known as a fake-innocent schemer.

They flew away the next day, but Song Mingqi left me with lasting scars.

It took Mom ages to cure me of guarding my food.

Just as I was about to forget him, his mother brought him back and transferred him into my class.

Seeing that harmless face again felt like being struck by lightning.

The third graders crowded around him, fascinated by his unusual looks. With their eyes glued to his face, they asked, “Are you an angel?”

I alone gave a cold snort. “Hmph. Little foreign devil.”

Song Mingqi’s eyes reddened at once. He looked ready to cry, though he was trying not to.

My highly principled classmates immediately pointed fingers at me. “Lu Haohao, why are you bullying the new student? Apologize to him!”

I widened my eyes and pointed at him, but before I could speak, Song Mingqi wiped his eyes and said nasally, “It’s fine, it’s fine. Little Sister Haohao surely didn’t mean it.”

I felt as though I had all this strength and nowhere to use it. Under my classmates’ accusing stares, my face flushed bright red. “Who asked you to pretend to be nice? I did mean it!”

He fell silent, looking terribly aggrieved. I stiffened my face and left the classroom.

Then I hid in an empty corner and cried in secret.