Secretly, But Unable to Hide It

Chapter 41

After boarding the plane, Sang Zhi found her seat. Then after sending a message to Sang Yan on WeChat, she turned off her phone.

The plane taxied, roaring as it ascended into the air.

Sang Zhi opened the window shade and looked outside. She watched as Yihe City gradually shrank from view, enveloped in a white mist until it disappeared completely.

She retracted her gaze, closed her eyes, and tried to rest for a while. But she couldn’t fall asleep. Sang Zhi took a comic book from her bag and opened it to the page she had last read.

However, she couldn’t focus on its content.

Sighing, Sang Zhi suddenly closed the comic book.

She began to recall the events of the previous night.

She had been playing in the snow when Duan Jiaxu appeared. She started crying, saying she had someone she liked, and then threw up on him. After that, she babbled incoherently, crying and shouting, making a complete mess of herself.

He carried her back to the school and she had no further recollection of what had happened after that.

The memories appeared seamless and it felt like nothing was missing.

But Duan Jiaxu’s reaction today made it seem like she had blacked out and said something she shouldn’t have.

However, thinking this way didn’t quite make sense either.

If she had said something inappropriate, his reaction today wouldn’t have been so calm.

Sang Zhi remembered his odd smile after someone had splashed water on him and the fact that she had vomited on him yesterday yet he seemed to be in a good mood today.

Sang Zhi: “……”

Is that old man a bit mentally unstable?

———pr

At Nanwu Airport.

Sang Zhi got off the plane, followed the signs, and waited to retrieve her checked luggage. She turned on her phone and saw a reply from Sang Yan. She immediately responded, 【I’ve arrived. I’ll be out soon.】

After waiting for a while, she finally saw her suitcase and grabbed it before heading out.

Sang Yan stood outside the exit, wearing a black jacket. He was looking down, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a phone, seemingly replying to someone.

Sang Zhi approached him.

Noticing he didn’t look up, Sang Zhi remembered what he had said on the phone before. She swallowed the word ‘brother’ and instead greeted him warmly, “Sang Yan.”

“……” Sang Yan’s movements paused and he lifted his eyes coolly. “Are you trying to rebel?”

Sang Zhi blinked. “You told me not to call you brother.”

“I also told you to stop asking me for money, did you listen to that? And you’re telling me you’re living frugally.” Sang Yan looked her over, his tone indifferent. “Have you weighed yourself lately?”

“……”

“Next time you pretend to be pitiful,” Sang Yan took her suitcase from her, “remember to lose some weight first.”

Sang Zhi retorted, “I only weigh 80 pounds.”

“Uh-huh.” Sang Yan said, “But you still look chubby.”

Sang Zhi couldn’t help but snap back, “You look like you’re only 150 cm tall.”

Sang Yan shrugged indifferently. “Are you even 100 cm?”

“……”

———pr

Sang Rong was away on a business trip so only Li Ping was at home. There were already a few dishes on the table and she was still busy in the kitchen.

Hearing the door open, Li Ping immediately came out, her hands still wet.

Sang Zhi bounced over and hugged her mother.

They hadn’t seen each other in several months and Li Ping missed her daughter dearly. Frowning, she scolded Sang Zhi for losing so much weight, though she couldn’t hide her smile.

Soon, she noticed Sang Yan behind them and her expression changed instantly. “You stinky kid, you still know how to come home? Did you meet Aunt Wang’s daughter? She’s been waiting for you for over an hour!”

This was the first Sang Zhi had heard of this and immediately fell silent, her eyes darting between the two.

“Why are you setting me up on dates?” Sang Yan lazily responded, placing Sang Zhi’s suitcase to the side. “I already told you I wasn’t going.”

Li Ping muttered a few words of disappointment and went back into the kitchen.

Perhaps he had been scolded too many times about this, but Sang Yan didn’t care. He walked over to the sofa, sat down, and poured himself a glass of water.

Sang Zhi immediately followed, curious. “Brother, are you going on blind dates?”

“……” Sang Yan glanced at her. “What’s it to you?”

“I’m just asking.” Sang Zhi said, very interested, “Didn’t you go?”

“Do I need to go on blind dates?”

“But you don’t have a girlfriend.” Sang Zhi thought for a moment and found a reason. “Are you too embarrassed to go?”

Sang Yan leaned back on the sofa, ignoring her.

Sang Zhi remembered Duan Jiaxu’s request to help him find a girlfriend and hesitated before speaking, “Why don’t you go with Brother Jiaxu?”

Sang Yan’s eyelids twitched.

“He seems to be looking for a girlfriend too. You could go to Yihe to find him or have him come to Nanwu to meet you.” Sang Zhi suggested sincerely, “Then you could team up for blind dates.”

“……”

“But then,” Sang Zhi suddenly realized the flaw in her plan, “you might be at a disadvantage because you’d be making him look better…… Maybe you should—”

Sang Yan interrupted coldly, “Can you shut up?”

Sang Zhi swallowed her words and muttered, “Fine, stay single forever.”

Just then, Sang Yan’s phone on the table dinged. He checked it, a smile spreading across his face. “Little Brat, let me tell you something.”

Sang Zhi looked at him. “What?”

“There’s a girl trying to woo me recently.” Sang Yan said, “I don’t have time to deal with others, got it?”

“……” Sang Zhi was skeptical, her expression extremely difficult to describe. “Are you saying someone is chasing after you?”

“That’s right.” Sang Yan turned off the screen of his phone and said slowly, “So tell that Duan Jiaxu to happily go on blind dates alone with his cheesy pickup lines.”

Sang Zhi: “……”

Sang Yan had moved out not long after graduating from university, so after dinner, he didn’t stay long. He said goodbye to Li Ping and left.

Sang Zhi helped Li Ping clean up the table before going to her room to unpack her suitcase.

She had prepared clothes as gifts for Sang Rong and Sang Yan, which she had packed in separate gift bags. Seeing them, Sang Zhi remembered Duan Jiaxu promising to give her a New Year’s gift.

She wondered what it would be.

For her eighteenth birthday, Duan Jiaxu had sent her a set of cosmetics. At that time, she was preparing for the college entrance exam and had only thanked him without giving it much thought.

Since then, the cosmetics had sat untouched on her dressing table.

She hadn’t thought to bring them with her when she went to Yihe.

Thinking of this, Sang Zhi got up and took the makeup bag from her dressing table. She rummaged through it and checked the brand. It seemed quite expensive.

Considering this, it seemed his situation had improved a lot since his university days.

He had a car and lived in a good area.

He probably wasn’t struggling as much anymore.

Sigh.

So why did she still feel sorry for him?

Sang Zhi sat back on the floor and rested her chin on the bed, silently lost in thought.

Her thoughts were a bit blank.

After a while, she inexplicably recalled the words she heard while sitting in his car today, unsure if she had heard them correctly.

——”That’s fine.”

The previous sentence was, ——”Your age?”

“……”

Forget it.

She must have misheard.

Besides, he was probably just teasing her as usual.

But that didn’t seem quite right either.

He had never said anything like that before.

“……”

The more Sang Zhi thought about it, the more annoyed she became.

She climbed onto her bed, rolled over, and took out her phone, deciding not to think about it anymore. She sent Duan Jiaxu a WeChat message, 【I’m home.】

After thinking for a moment, Sang Zhi added, 【Brother Jiaxu, I think my brother has a girlfriend.】

【Brother #2: Mm.】

Sang Zhi scratched her head and tentatively typed, 【She seems quite young.】

【Brother #2: Your brother wouldn’t date a minor.】

Sang Zhi hesitated. 【Is it okay as long as she’s an adult?】

After a long while, Duan Jiaxu sent a voice message.

Sang Zhi’s heart inexplicably started to race and she nervously clicked on it.

The man’s deep voice came through the receiver, lazy yet matter-of-fact, “She’s of age, already graduated from high school and is in university now. Then isn’t she a young adult?”

Then he sent another one.

His voice carried a few chuckles, “So why not?”

Because Duan Jiaxu could say such things, Sang Zhi found it extremely unbelievable and couldn’t sleep well all night. But rationally speaking, she knew he was looking at it from an outsider’s perspective.

At least in people’s view, it made sense.

There wasn’t a significant age gap, just six or seven years.

But Sang Zhi was thirteen when she met Duan Jiaxu.

So there’s a possibility that in his eyes, she would always be that thirteen-year-old, without any change.

She met him when she was still a child.

So, in his eyes, she would always be a child.

Even if he thought it was possible to date someone her age, he wouldn’t include her in that possibility.

Sang Zhi couldn’t sleep. She got up in the middle of the night, pulled out a cardboard box from under the bed, and took out the items inside.

She saw the ugly stuffed toy that Duan Jiaxu had said he would give her if she wanted it from a few years ago.

Sang Zhi placed it on the bed and stared at it for a while.

After a long time, the corners of her mouth relaxed and she muttered a sentence, “If, I mean if, you didn’t see me as a child……

I still wouldn’t chase after you.” Sang Zhi poked the doll with her finger, emphasizing, “It’s not like I don’t have suitors. I’m so pretty and you’re so old. In a few years, you’ll probably have wrinkles.”

Sang Zhi mumbled, “You wish.”

———pr

Qian Fei’s wedding was set for the eighth day of the Lunar New Year.

Since he lived in Nanwu, and Sang Zhi was quite familiar with him, having been picked up by him a few times during middle school and occasionally visiting home with Sang Yan for meals during high school, he invited her to his wedding.

Sang Zhi specifically dressed up and went with Sang Yan to the event. She was seated at a table with Qian Fei’s university friends, most of whom were men.

Then, Sang Zhi saw Duan Jiaxu.

Knowing he would come, she wasn’t too surprised.

She just couldn’t help but glance at him a few more times.

Today, Duan Jiaxu wore a simple white shirt with a black suit, looking much more serious, with a bit of his flamboyant aura restrained. He was sitting across from her, talking to a woman beside him.

Sang Zhi looked away, feeling something was off, then glanced at him again.

That was when she noticed that he was wearing the tie she had given him.

As if sensing her gaze, Duan Jiaxu looked up, his peach-blossom eyes curving in an instant. The next second, he said something to the woman beside him, then stood up and walked over to Sang Yan.

After discussing with the man beside Sang Yan, they swapped seats.

Sang Zhi was sitting on Sang Yan’s other side.

She heard Sang Yan laugh in a particularly annoying way before he said, “Duan Jiaxu, I just sat down and you’re already eager to see your dad?”

Duan Jiaxu, without paying much attention to his words, lowered his head and changed his utensils.

“Call me Dad.” Sang Yan leaned back in his chair, reaching over to grab the red envelope Sang Zhi had placed on the table, his lips curling to one side. “It’s the New Year so Dad will give you a red envelope.”

The red envelope was actually given to Sang Zhi by a visiting relative just before she left the house.

Sang Zhi glanced at it, unable to openly take it back in public, so she reluctantly pretended not to see and drank her water.

Duan Jiaxu’s eyelids twitched and his gaze quickly flicked over Sang Zhi. Propping his face to the side, he looked at Sang Yan and drawled, “I can’t call you dad, how about calling you older brother^[1]Ge instead?”

Sang Yan raised an eyebrow. “That’s fine too.”

Upon hearing that, Duan Jiaxu looked at Sang Zhi again, his gaze intense and his eyes seemingly filled with affection. He chuckled softly, then with no baggage and without hesitation, he called out instantly, “Mm, Brother^[2]Gege.”

The call was shocking.

“……”

Sang Zhi almost choked, grabbing a tissue and coughing several times.

After a few seconds of silence, Sang Yan stared at Duan JIaxu speechlessly, as if he didn’t recognize him. His temple twitched, utterly speechless. “Who are you trying to disgust?”

“Brother.” Duan Jiaxu took the red envelope, tapping it twice with his fingers carelessly. “Thanks.”

Sang Yan replied expressionlessly, “No need to thank me. Give it back.”

“I’ll accept the red envelope as you said.” Duan Jiaxu, as if not hearing him, put the red envelope in his pocket, smiling gently. “So, it’s settled. From now on, you’re my older brother.”

Sang Yan’s expression became subtle. “What’s wrong with you today?”

“Nothing.” Duan Jiaxu smiled, dragging his words, “Thanks for your concern, Brother.”

“……”

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