Chapter 1 — Turns Out You Actually Like Me

I secretly harbored a deep crush on my older brother’s best friend. Yet, right at the moment I was preparing to confess my feelings, I discovered that the person he truly loved was none other than my brother's girlfriend. I was heartbroken before love had even begun. I wailed and wept in utter devastation. My brother, with his messy bird-nest hair, swayed as he walked over to comfort me.

"What are you crying for? Did someone dump you?"

I glared with bitter resentment at the disheveled man standing right before me. How could this lazy slob possibly sit at the very pinnacle of the romantic food chain?! I found it utterly incomprehensible.

"No! Exactly what on earth do you have going for you?!"

On the day of my nineteenth birthday, I decided to confess to the person I had secretly loved for the past three years. That person was Chen Che, my brother's ride-or-die best friend. Because of this, I had scraped the absolute bottom of my secret savings barrel just to throw a lavish birthday party. I had also repeatedly reminded my brother beforehand:

"You absolutely, positively must bring your best, best, best friends over."

That evening, I donned my most stunning "battle-ready" outfit, rubbing my hands together in trembling anticipation. The door swung open. My brother, Liang Xiao, walked in with his arm around his girlfriend, Nguyen Han. I craned my neck, peering past them into the hallway.

"Just... just the two of you?"

My brother put on a look that clearly said, "Are you still not satisfied?" as he raised a hand to slick back his hair with dramatic flair:

"With a brother as magnificent as myself attending in person, isn't this grand enough already?"

I fell silent for three full seconds. Then, I linked arms with Nguyen Han and strode straight inside:

"Sister-in-law, let's go in. Pay no mind to these hopeless narcissists."

My brother leaped up in protest from behind:

"Hey, hey, hey, Liang Dao Dao, can't you give your brother even a shred of face!"

"Oh, that's right, Chen Che is coming too. You know, the guy who always comes over to play video games and helped you with your studies a while back. Remember him?"

My expression flipped instantly as I turned back, pasting on the sweetest smile imaginable:

"Remember, of course I remember! My brother is truly the greatest sibling in the entire universe."

"Tsk, why are you suddenly acting so creepy?" He rubbed his goosebump-covered arm. "You two go on in first; I'll head downstairs to welcome him."

Wait obediently? Not a chance. After getting Nguyen Han settled in her seat, I stealthily slipped out of the room. The moment I reached the corner of the stairwell, I heard my brother's booming voice mingled with another crisp, laughter-laced tone. It was definitely Chen Che. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs. I held my breath, waiting for them to round the corner so I could pull off the ultimate, seamless "Oh, what a coincidence!" encounter. Then, I heard Chen Che speak, amusement dripping from his words:

"...Liang Xiao, let me tell you, if it weren't for Nguyen Han's sake, I wouldn't have bothered coming at all..."

Me: "..." My brain suddenly short-circuited. Ah, right. My brother, Nguyen Han, and Chen Che were famously known as the "iron triangle" since high school. For him to say something like that... Could it be that Chen Che—the boy I had secretly loved for three years, the one who always greeted me with a gentle smile—had actually only ever had eyes for my brother's girlfriend all along? My inner world at that moment was like a boiling pot of lemon juice, bubbling over with painfully sour bubbles. Before I could even fully digest those words, the two of them rounded the corner. While I stood there in a daze, my brother's punch-meable face leaned right in close:

"Well, well, aren't you eager? Coming all the way out here specially to welcome your dear brother?"

Chen Che stood right beside him. Today, he wore a light gray thin sweater and black-framed glasses, a long black coat draped casually over his arm. He looked handsome in an effortless, relaxed manner. He looked at me, his smile as gentle as ever, and extended a meticulously wrapped gift box:

"Happy birthday, little sister."

His voice was clear and melodious, like a stream trickling through mountain ravines. I had always considered this voice the most beautiful sound in the world, but hearing it now felt strangely agonizing. My brother stood next to him, pretending to retch:

"Chen Che, what on earth are you acting all dignified and proper for in front of my little sister?"

I stiffened, reaching out to take the gift as I forced a stiff smile:

"Th-thank you, Brother Chen Che."

Inside the house, my drooping spirits were painfully obvious. Nguyen Han noticed immediately; she gently touched my arm and softly asked what was wrong. I shook my head, squeezing out another fake smile. My brother instantly rushed forward with the birthday cake as the candles flickered into a warm glow. He shouted noisily:

"Liang Dao Dao, make a wish already! If you don't wish for something earth-shattering, you'll be doing a disservice to that fancy outfit you're wearing tonight."

All eyes converged on my face. A wish? Not long ago, my one and only wish had been crystal clear in my mind, but now it felt hazy and out of reach. I parted my lips, yet no sound came out. My brother clicked his tongue:

"Tsk, if you can't think of anything, just wish for something random. Like wishing your big brother gets super rich soon so you can live off him forever without working..."

Speechless, I squeezed my eyes shut, clasped my hands together, and announced loudly:

"My wish is to grant my brother the world's fastest-acting bottle of mute-inducing medicine."

"Pfft—" Nguyen Han was the first to burst out laughing.

Chen Che also lowered his head, pressing his lips together as his shoulders trembled slightly. My brother froze for a second before pretending to lunge forward and mess up my hair:

"You ungrateful little brat, is this how you repay your brother's love?"

The atmosphere quickly grew lively. Everyone ate cake, chatted, and played board games. My brother and Nguyen Han sat pressed close together, chatting and playing while effortlessly showering the room with public displays of affection. I didn't catch what my brother said, but Nguyen Han giggled and gave him a playful punch. He caught her hand, their fingers intertwining with absolute naturalness, their eyes and lips brimming with an intimacy that outsiders could never hope to pierce. Involuntarily, I glanced over at Chen Che. He was sitting at the edge of the group, holding a glass of wine, his gaze also drifting in that direction. Under the warm yellow lighting, his profile was slightly blurred, his eyes behind his lenses obscured. He simply watched quietly, then lowered his gaze and took a very light sip of his drink. At that sight, a grand melodrama instantly painted itself across my mind: He, Chen Che, was silently protecting the woman of his good brother. A love buried deep in the heart, maintaining a calm and detached exterior while battered and bruised on the inside. He could only stand by her side under the guise of a best friend, watching her smile brightly—a bloom meant entirely for someone else. What kind of agonizing forbearance, what level of painful restraint was this? Truly, the script of a deeply affectionate, tragic second male lead. At the same time, how despairing it made me feel. Grief washed over me out of nowhere, and I grabbed the wine glass right beside my hand. Fueled by the tragic pathos of "two wretched souls sharing the same sorrow," I prepared to chug it in one go. But before the rim could even touch my lips, a slender hand suddenly reached over, gently holding the edge of the glass.

"Children shouldn't drink alcohol."

Chen Che had walked over at some point, his voice still carrying that familiar gentleness. Yet those two words—"children"—felt like a sharp reminder of my own unrequited delusions. A wave of self-pity surged through me. My mouth puckered, and I burst into loud, heartbroken tears, startling Chen Che out of his wits.