Chapter 9: An Unknown Battle of Hearts

He ran away. He really ran away.

Yezhe didn’t tell anyone.

From a certain day on, there was one less clown at school, and one less eyesore at home.

And also, by her side, the only thing that interested her was gone.

—

“Did you have fun today?”

Turning his head, Yezhe looked at Liuyin, who was bouncing along behind him.

She was a completely different person from the one who’d been sitting on the public bench just moments before.

“Mhm! Thank you, big brother!.”

Liuyin smiled—a genuine, heartfelt smile.

The faintly upturned corners of her lips radiated the sunny smile unique to adolescence.

In her eyes was a shine Yezhe had never seen before, and her light footsteps grew even quicker, outpacing Yezhe himself.

“Big brother!”

With her shout from behind, Liuyin’s small hand reached out and, timing it perfectly, she snatched two shopping bags that weren’t very heavy from Yezhe’s grasp.

In the next moment, she left Yezhe trailing behind her.

“Liuyin, slow down, watch where you’re going.”

Unlike Liuyin, Yezhe was really starting to get tired.

A dull ache in his feet kept sending signals of protest to his brain.

Though his legs weren’t as heavy as if filled with lead, it didn’t feel much different from having bricks tied to them.

“Liuyin, don’t run so fast on the Street.”

Liuyin turned around and called out to Yezhe in a show-off manner.

“No…”

Usually, saying ‘it’s nothing’ means there is definitely something.

When Liuyin turned to greet Yezhe, she wasn’t watching what was behind her, and since Yezhe was a bit far, he didn’t pay close attention either.

Just as she turned, Liuyin collided headlong with a passerby.

“Liuyin!?”

Yezhe could only watch as Liuyin fell backward.

No matter how tired he was, Yezhe dashed over, dragging a pile of stuff with him.

Liuyin propped herself up with one hand on the ground, rubbing her reddened, swollen forehead with the other.

A faint whimper escaped her throat, and tears welled up at the corners of her eyes.

“Are you okay?!”

Yezhe tossed the shopping bags aside and hurried over to check on Liuyin.

Thankfully, aside from a bit of redness on her forehead, she was otherwise unharmed.

“Why doesn’t this kid watch where she’s going? Really…”

The person Liuyin had bumped into was a young woman, whom Yezhe didn’t recognize.

“Um… I’m her brother. Are you alright?”

The young woman hadn’t been knocked down, but that bump was clearly no small impact.

“Hiss… I’m fine, but how do you look after your sister? Doesn’t even watch where she’s going.”

Her tone dripped with annoyance, and her glare was sharp as she stared at Yezhe.

“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry. I just didn’t keep an eye on her…”

“Yezhe?”

A familiar voice called out from the crowd.

Yezhe turned his head, and at first glance, he was caught by a pair of legs hugged by light blue jeans and a certain very familiar black windbreaker.

Her left eye was partly covered by her bangs, and subtle makeup concealed the dark circles formed by long hours of work.

Her lips, thin as cicada wings, wore a hint of pink lip balm.

Unlike the usual ponytail she wore at the shop, Yudong had let her hair down today.

“Xiaoyu? You’re here! I was just about to—”

???

……

Awkward.

For some reason, it just felt awkward.

Bubbles fizzed up every so often in the Lemon Soda on the table. Aside from Yudong idly playing with her straw, the other two…

Yezhe sat with his head lowered, silent. Liuyin glanced at Yezhe one moment, then sneaked peeks at Yudong the next.

“Um, thanks for earlier…”

“She’s pretty clumsy at home too… haha.”

“Mm, it’s fine.”

Sharp and cold. Those were the only emotions Yezhe could hear in Yudong’s words.

……

Silence fell again.

“Um, what a coincidence running into you today. Don’t you usually not go out shopping?”

“I just happened to be free today, so I came with a friend. Didn’t expect this at all—turns out the girl you like is this type.”

“That’s my sister, don’t say things like that….”

Yezhe scratched his messy hair, then lifted his head to glance at Yudong.

Their gazes met just as he looked up. Yezhe quickly looked away, and the air grew even more awkward than before.

“How does an only child suddenly have a little sister?”

Her stinging gaze swept over the ‘siblings,’ and the chewed-up straw hit the rim of her cup with a dull thud.

“I guess family is what really matters. No wonder you keep running off faster every day, and always leave me with the work you didn’t finish.”

“What do you say to that?”

Yudong’s gaze, hidden by long lashes, suddenly fixed on Yezhe.

Her left leg lounged over her right, and every now and then, Yudong used her dark sneakers to nudge Yezhe’s calf under the table.

“So, you’d rather spend time shopping with some cute little loli who popped up out of nowhere than buy me the cake you promised someone who’s always by your side?”

The kick was much harder this time than before.

“I picked her up a couple of days ago… I just haven’t told you yet.”

With that, Yezhe looked up and flashed a grin at Yudong.

“Picked up?”

“Yeah, I just haven’t had a chance to tell you. But you, you don’t ask anything and just interrogate me like I’m a criminal…”

Yezhe sneaked a peek at Yudong.

Yudong, without warning, gave Yezhe another kick.

“I—I did help you out there! If not for me, you’d be stuck apologizing for ages!”

With a huff, Yudong turned her head away.

“So, how did you meet this little sister?”

She downed her Lemon Soda in one go, then shot the question.

The people on the Street gradually thinned out. The sunset that was barely visible just now had disappeared, and the Drink Shop turned on its lights.

“So… you adopted her?”

“More or less. She’s staying with me for now.”

“As for later… that’ll depend on whether Uncle Wang can get the paperwork done.”

“Oh… At first glance, I really thought you’d gone and found yourself a little loli girlfriend. But then she’s way too young… And your social profile too, you use that cutesy anime girl…”

The warm lights of the shop gently hid the blush on Yudong’s cheeks. The mangled straw was once again being abused in her hands.

Am I really not good enough…?

Yudong’s long lashes shadowed her eyes, concealing her disappointment. She quickly pulled herself together and went back to her earlier sharpness.

“You… sigh… do your best, you don’t even make that much and yet—”

Yezhe wasn’t even listening. As for why—

“Big brother, I’m a little hungry…”

Since they’d entered the Drink Shop, Liuyin hadn’t said a word.

The sound from her stomach was the first thing she’d uttered in the shop.

“Mhm, we’ll go eat in a bit. Big brother will treat you to something good…”

“Hey!”

Coming back to her senses, Yudong realized that not only was Yezhe not listening to her, but he was smiling at Liuyin in a way she’d never seen before.

Basically, the vinegar jar had been tipped over.

“Hey!!”

“Hmm? What’s up.”

Her tone was sharper than before, and her expression… looked like she could eat him alive.

A burning pain flared up in his calf. He didn’t need to guess to know Yudong was angry.

“I’m saying, could you at least listen when I’m talking?”

Yudong glared fiercely at Yezhe. Honestly, if Liuyin weren’t sitting there, Yudong probably would’ve kicked him again…

“I’m listening…”

A lie.

Because of the girl beside him, Yezhe lied to her.

Furious… utterly furious.

Her left hand clenched tightly around her sleeve, Yudong gripped her clothes like a beast tearing into meat.

She almost wanted to slap him… really wanted to.

“Um… you haven’t eaten yet, right?”

Yezhe forced another smile.

“You don’t look so great. How about I treat you to something nice?”