He was the prodigy son of the Xing family. She was the illegitimate daughter of the Xing family who was kept out of sight. Once, he was the arrogant and domineering younger brother in her eyes. Once, she was the insignificant older sister in his eyes. Once, their interactions were limited to this. In the later years, all of this became nothing more than a distant memory.
Cover text: No matter if it was ten years ago or ten years later, he never acknowledged her as his sister. Ten years, and then ten more years. No one understood it ten years ago, and no one could recall it ten years later.
Chapter 1: Brother’s Lover
- First Encounter
That summer, the sunlight was exceptionally brilliant, almost blinding to the eyes.
Xia Qianchi stood beneath the dappled, swaying tree shadows, slightly squinting her eyes, looking at the young boy standing before her, about her age. The boy had a pair of phoenix eyes slanting upward, revealing an innate nobility and domineering presence.
Those deep phoenix eyes forced their way into her sight, breaking into her life. She didn’t even notice Xing Yun beside him.
Some things in life seem predetermined from the start.
That summer, she entered his life as a sister.
But, just a sister, nothing more. And an unacknowledged sister at that.
If she were not Xia Qianchi, he not Xing Tuo, or her identity not the illegitimate daughter of Xing Shiyao, there would be no subsequent events…
“Tuo’er, Yun’er, this is Qianchi. Qianchi is your sister, you should get along well,” was how Xing Shiyao first brought the young Xia Qianchi to the Xing family mansion.
Xia Qianchi watched her father’s tall figure disappear at the end of the garden, facing the sunlight.
Xing Tuo stared at the little girl who was supposedly his sister, his lips tightly pursed, saying nothing.
“Qianchi,” the beautiful little girl stepped forward, taking Qianchi’s hand, smiled and said, “I’m Xing Yun.”
Her smile was beautiful, her black eyes crystal-clear.
Six-year-old Xing Yun was already as tall as her, with Xing Tuo slightly taller.
“Hello,” she said, “I’m Xia Qianchi.”
Xing Yun happily smiled at Xing Tuo: “Brother, we have a sister now, isn’t that great?”
“I don’t have a sister!” Xing Tuo coldly turned and walked away.
In the days that followed, similar words would frequently repeat in Xia Qianchi’s life. No matter if it was ten years ago or ten years later, he never acknowledged her as a sister.
Ten years, and then ten more years. No one understood it ten years ago, and no one could recall it ten years later.
Only the original tone scattered in gradually blurring memories.
Xia Qianchi and Xing Yun stood in place, blankly watching his figure disappear into the tree-covered courtyard.
“It’s gardenia,” Xing Yun suddenly said. “Gardenia is blooming.”
“Gardenia?” Qianchi repeated.
“Yes,” Xing Yun nodded. “Shall I take you to see?”
This was Xia Qianchi’s first time seeing gardenias.
Two small figures stood beneath the blooming gardenia trees, white gardenia flowers intertwining on the green branches, boldly blooming in the bright sunlight. Overlapping, complex petals stretched layer by layer under the sun, releasing a rich fragrance before dispersing with the wind.
Xia Qianchi looked up, gazing fixedly at the abundant beauty.
“Gardenia…” Xia Qianchi murmured.
“It smells good, right?” Xing Yun said. “Grandmother says she loves nothing else, just this fragrance.”
Xia Qianchi remained silent, quietly immersed in the flowing floral scent.
Many years later, even if she had forgotten the intensity of that day’s sunlight and the verdant green of the leaves, and all words had been washed away and gradually blurred in time, these once-flourishing gardenias would gently bloom in her memory, and that lingering fragrance at her nose seemed eternal.
That was their first encounter, the year they were eight.
He was the prodigy son of the Xing family. She was the Xing family’s illegitimate daughter kept out of sight. Once, he was the arrogant and domineering younger brother in her eyes. Once, she was the insignificant sister in his eyes. In the later years, all of this became nothing more than a distant memory.
- A Small Incident Before Transfer
Xia Qianyi obediently responded, putting on her coat, casually tying her hair back, and taking an umbrella to go out.
Xia Xinwei followed her to the door and asked, “Will you come back for dinner?”
Xia Qianyi said, “I’ll probably come back.”
“Be careful on the road and come back early, okay?” Xia Xinwei urged.
“I know.”
Xia Qianyi opened her umbrella, standing under a street sign waiting for the bus. The street was full of hurried pedestrians, but there were also couples intimately huddling under an umbrella walking in the rain.
Is this love? Having grown up in the shadow of being an illegitimate child, she never dared to have expectations or yearnings for so-called love. From the moment she understood, she had learned through her mother’s silence and others’ mockery and contemptuous looks that her family was different from others. And she was just an illegitimate daughter who couldn’t be shown in public.
At this moment, the long-awaited bus finally appeared. She closed her umbrella and got on, finding all seats occupied, so she could only stand holding the handrail. On the seat next to her, two girls of similar age were discussing a boy. She cast her gaze out the window.
Thirty minutes later, she got off at the last stop, walking up a quiet, broad road. Tall camphor trees covered the path. She walked slowly; the wind was light, carrying fine rain droplets brushing her face, feeling cold. This was a high-end villa area where buses didn’t reach, with luxurious villas nestled among the dense camphor trees. There were very few pedestrians on this road, with only occasional cars passing by.
A bright red Porsche sped from the distance, quickly brushing past Qianyi and splashing her with water before disappearing at the end of the road. She frowned slightly, silently taking out a tissue to wipe herself.
She knew who owned that eye-catching sports car.
Standing at the Xing family’s gate, she pressed the doorbell. Housekeeper Li opened the door: “Miss Qianyi, please come in.”
Following Li through the garden, she immediately saw the bright red Porsche parked among a row of cars. She asked, “Li, it seems quite lively today?”
Li replied, “Today is the young master’s birthday party. Many people have been invited, including his schoolmates and some of the old master’s business friends.”
Qianyi thought to herself, what unfortunate timing.
She stood in the main house’s corridor, able to see through the floor-to-ceiling windows the bustling scene inside. She told Li, “I won’t go in. Please tell the old master I’ll wait for him in the study.”
Li acknowledged and went to deliver the message.
She sat on the sofa in Xing Shiyao’s study – her father’s study – waiting quietly. She didn’t know why her father insisted she come, and now that she was here, it seemed she had arrived at an inconvenient time, uncertain if he would have time to see her.
Time passed. Thirty minutes later, she finally saw her father appear in the study.
Qianyi stood up, calling, “Dad.”
“Mm,” Xing Shiyao responded, nodding and gesturing for her to sit.
He sat on the sofa opposite her and asked, “How are your studies lately?”
“Fine.”
Xing Shiyao, nearly fifty, was well-maintained and must have been a handsome man when young.
“You’ll be entering your senior year next semester, right?”
Xing Yun said: “Shall we go say hello?” Xing Tuo replied: “If you want to go, you go. I won’t.”
“How can you be like this? She’s our sister.” Xing Tuo impatiently glanced at her and said: “Xing Yun, don’t bother me, go away!”
Xing Yun was so angry she couldn’t speak.
