Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The first time I met Xu Ge was at the Xu Family Mansion.

I was 15, having just graduated from middle school, and my parents had died in a car accident only three months earlier.

I was taken home by Uncle Xu, my father’s long-time close friend.

Clutching my backpack, I carefully and awkwardly followed Uncle Xu out of the car and stepped onto the unfamiliar land of S City.

The Xu Family home was gorgeous-a large villa with a vast property, complete with a man-made lake.

In our Jiangnan water country, houses are all black tiles and white walls, built right by the water, and never more than two stories tall.

The villa’s front door was wide open, and before I even stepped inside, I could hear bursts of rowdy yelling from within.

It sounded like voices of people my own age.

I couldn’t help but lick my dry lips.

Uncle Xu stepped inside, giving the door a heavy pat. “You’re about to bring the roof down!” he said.

Though the group of boys were still grinning and teasing, they all promptly stood up with respectful looks on their faces.

“Uncle Xu, you’re back! How was your trip to W City these past couple of days?”

Uncle Xu adjusted his glasses and smiled kindly. “Went to pick someone up.”

As he spoke, his gaze swept past the others and landed on a young boy curled up on the sofa, not even wearing shoes.

His expression turned stern.

“Xu Ge, come meet your sister.”

At the mention of a sister for Xu Ge, the boys immediately perked up.

“Let me see her!”

“Let’s see if this sister is pretty.”

“Where’s this sister from? I’m Wu Qing, just call me Brother Wu.”

“I’m Zhang Ge. Just call me Brother Zhang.”

“Me too, me too! I’m Li Yangfan. Just call me Brother Li. We’re probably all a bit older than you.”

I lowered my head awkwardly, unsure how to respond.

So the people in S City are this warm?

Uncle Xu pulled me to his side and led me inside.

Then he called sternly to the boy on the couch: “Are you going to get up, you little brat?”

“Coming, coming, coming.”

It sounded lazy and rather spiritless.

He sat up.

So the first things I saw were his slender, upright back and his thick, jet-black hair.

He stepped into his slippers and stood up, taller than any of his peers.

He sauntered around the sofa, yawning lazily.

“Where’s this sister?”

And then I saw his face clearly.

A clean, delicate face, very pale skin, and very dark eyes.

There was a mole on the left side of his high, straight nose.

His hair fell over his forehead, tousled and messy.

A large white T-shirt was all wrinkled from being pressed down.

After finishing his yawn, seeming unused to the bright sunlight, he narrowed his eyes before opening them.

From less than a meter away, he looked straight at me.

The boy clicked his tongue, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and bent closer.

His bright, dark eyes swept over me from head to toe.

“So this is my sister?”

A hoarse, weary, slightly puzzled teenage voice.

In that moment, the cicadas were buzzing outside endlessly, the air conditioner humming on and on. I heard my own heartbeat.