Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Bai Yan and I have known each other since we were six years old.

Back then, he was like a delicate porcelain doll, while I was a wild monkey, constantly jumping and climbing all over the place.

I was a bit of an outlier from a young age. While other little girls liked slides, seesaws, and swings, I was obsessed with rock climbing, rollerblading, and Taekwondo.

I thought I’d be a tomboy forever, but a magical scene unfolded the first time I went to an amusement park with Bai Yan.

My mom said that when I led Bai Yan onto the slide, I had a look of sheer terror on my face. Then, acting like a total ‘green tea bitch,’ I whimpered, “Brother, I’m scared!”

I don’t remember it happening, but I can believe I’d do something like that.

After all, I’ve been a sucker for Bai Yan’s face since I was a kid.

I couldn’t help it; he was just too good-looking, like a child star on TV.

Through sheer persistence and pestering, I became Bai Yan’s best friend.

We went to school together, came home together, ate together, and did our homework together.

Sometimes, when both sets of parents were away, we’d even hide under the same blanket to give each other courage.

We were young then and didn’t understand the concept of ‘forever,’ yet we promised to stay together for the rest of our lives.

But all of that came to a screeching halt when we started high school.

He moved to another city with his parents, leaving me behind without so much as a goodbye.

It just goes to show that childhood promises don’t count for much.

Just as my thoughts were wandering, Bai Yan pushed the door open and walked in.

I checked my watch. Twenty minutes.

“Talk.”

Bai Yan handed me a piece of paper. “This is a paternity test,” he said. “Ranran and I are not biologically related.”

I took the report with a blank expression. The final conclusion confirmed what he said.

However, this report didn’t soothe my feelings in the slightest.

I set the paper aside. “Bai Yan, just give it to me straight. Don’t make me pull every answer out of you.”

I hated this ‘squeezing the toothpaste’ style of conversation. More importantly, I didn’t even know where to begin asking.

Bai Yan also seemed unsure of where to start.

After hesitating for a long while, he spoke. “Ranran is Xia Zhihuai’s daughter.”

Xia Zhihuai!

I knew that name.

We had met once before.

Even though it was only once, the memory was etched into my mind.

Because when I saw her, she was standing on her tiptoes, softly kissing Bai Yan.