The Older Brother of My Student is My Secret Crush

Xiao Chen laughed helplessly. Fine. She wanted to play? He would indulge her to the end.

Sitting on her bed, he tirelessly said, "Alright, go on, I'm listening." Glancing at his watch, he added, "It's 11pm now. If you don't compliment me until 12:30, I won't let you sleep."

Yu Na lowered her eyelids, very sleepy, seemingly about to fall asleep any second. Yet it also seemed like she had a lot to say, but didn't know where to start. As if no words could accurately describe him.

None of this surprised Xiao Chen in the least. He watched the show amusedly, quietly sitting on the bed and waiting for her to speak.

After a long pause, Yu Na slowly opened her mouth. She thought hard but could only come up with generic descriptions. Very earnestly she gushed, "You're handsome and nice."

Seeing her bright eyes, Xiao Chen chuckled.

"That's it?" He raised a brow, his tone mixed with disdain and mockery. Rascally, he said, "You're giving me a good person card? Or is your vocabulary too lacking for a teacher?"

Yu Na ignored his teasing and talked to herself, "Do you know when I first noticed you?"

"When?"

"It was when I had just arrived in the UK, you and Han Chengxun were standing under a tree."

Xiao Chen's heart quivered slightly, and his nonchalant attitude also mellowed a little.

"Like a striking landscape line, it attracted me especially."

"......"

Yu Na enunciated word for word, "Back then, Han Chengxun had An An. I was thinking, if I was the one who could stand by your side, that would be great. The four of us, two couples, wouldn't that be perfect?"

Her gaze dimmed, her tone also becoming depressed. "But you didn't like me. You said it yourself," she sniffed, mumbling to herself, "You said I wasn't from your world, you only saw me as...a sister..."

Xiao Chen remained silent, his palms slightly cold. For the first time, he truly felt that he had been a real jerk that year.

After a long pause, he seemed to have some sort of realization. Relieved, he smiled gently, defending her, and joking along with her, "I had no eye for people back then?"

There was no response, as Yu Na was drunk and muttering to herself incoherently, using him as a sounding board.

"But do you know, once the label of sister is slapped on, all the good treatment I get will be because of that label..."

Her voice gradually became choked up, but it seemed like she was trying her hardest to maintain her dignity, to not let the tears fall. Her nose just felt sour, her eyes wet.

"Because of that status, I didn't even dare to entertain a single fantasy..."

You sending me home, taking the chance to bring me breakfast, driving me to school.

Every good moment was only because I was a sister.

It was an instinctive desire to take care of me, and nothing else.

Thinking of this, feelings of dejection would spread through my body, something that could never be changed.

"I treat you as my white moonlight, but he saw me as his sister."

"I... whenever I thought that you would date, get married, I felt especially sad, especially extremely sad."

Xiao Chen's neatly trimmed nails almost dug into his flesh, a slight pain spreading.

"You silly girl," he said gently in the quiet room, his husky voice sexy yet distinct, "acting like you know me so well. Also, if I had really wanted to date, I would've dated long ago, would I still be single now?"

Yu Na no longer responded. Even when drunk, she was very well-behaved, not making any trouble or fuss.

Other than saying some irrelevant nonsense, she would then quietly fall asleep.

Seeing that she was asleep, he stopped disturbing her.

He turned off the big light in the room, leaving a small bedside lamp that emitted a faint yellow glow. A slight drunken air on her face.

Xiao Chen had wanted to leave, but his footsteps halted.

He half-squatted in front of Yu Na, carefully scrutinizing her for a good while, before intending to return home.

However, as soon as he stood up, the girl on the bed firmly grabbed his hand.

Yu Na's brows were slightly knitted, pitifully asking, "Where are you going?"

Xiao Chen was astonished, "...You're awake?"

Yu Na didn't respond to his words. In a nasal tone she said, "I don't want you to leave."

"......"

Xiao Chen instantly felt soft inside.

He changed the subject, "Sleep soundly, I'll be in the living room."

Having said that, he half-squatted before her again, raising a hand to lightly press on the space between her brows, copying what she did previously, "Also, stop frowning, didn't you say it causes wrinkles?"

The crease between her brows smoothed out. She pointed at the closet, mumbling fuzzily, "There are blankets."

Xiao Chen nodded. "Go to sleep, stop minding me."

He didn't take any blankets. Sitting in the living room, he ordered some disposable toiletries and towels.

After the items were delivered, he briefly rinsed off in the bathroom.

After his shower, the towel was draped around his neck as he casually toweled his hair a few times, water droplets dripping along his hair strands into the sink.

Xiao Chen pondered for a moment before messaging Qiao Rui: 【I have some matters tomorrow morning, staying at the company tonight. Eat breakfast yourself tomorrow morning】

Right after sending out the message, he also sent over a big red packet for Qiao Rui to order takeout for breakfast.

Qiao Rui wasn't asleep yet and replied: 【Got it! [laughing][squinting eyes]】

The two emojis clearly showed his disbelief, clearly convinced Xiao Chen must be with Yu Na. But out of respect for his brother, he perfunctorily played along.

The living room sofa was very soft, surprisingly suitable for sleeping on. But Xiao Chen didn't feel sleepy at all. He supported the back of his head with both hands, lying flat on the sofa, mind completely filled with Yu Na's drunken rambling from earlier.

He had rejected Yu Na in the past because they had no future together and weren't from the same world.

At the time, including for a long time after, he wouldn't feel anything. He just thought that relationships were based on mutual affection.

So during that time, his heart was unaffected.

Yet he never imagined that the timeline of this relationship would be prolonged until now.

Also, five years after his initial rejection, he instead now felt extremely guilty about it.

Did he still see her as a sister now?

He himself didn't know anymore.

In the past when he asked himself this question, he would answer without hesitation that he saw her as a friend, as a sister.

Exactly when did his firm answer in his heart slowly start changing?

Was it because of that time when he returned home exhausted and saw Yu Na tutoring Qiao Rui, gazing at the back of her head that was left for him?

Was it because of her highly infectious smile in the sports day photos?

Was it because of her shining bright eyes whenever she did something she liked?

Was it because ever since their reunion, seeing her frail figure repeatedly stimulated his protective urges?

He didn't know, he really didn't know. He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment his mentality slowly started shifting.

Like crystals perfectly strung into a precious beaded necklace, every single one had meaning and couldn't be ignored.

He had always yearned for freedom, unwilling to be shackled down, pursuing stimulating experiences.

Perhaps because he was used to being free and unfettered, no one could restrain him. He never imagined that all this time, he was the one who constantly needed her.

He unintentionally touched the card holder in his pocket.

"...Right." He had almost forgotten about this.

Xiao Chen took out the card holder. Inside was a lifetime free dining card for SongYue Restaurant at S Hotel. Printed on the black card surface were the words "Ms. Yu Na".

Inscribed on the back of the card were two letters——XC gifted.

This was because on the night of the parent-teacher meeting, he had the hotel specially pack a meal for Yu Na from SongYue Restaurant. That night while browsing moments, he happened to see her post of SongYue Restaurant's takeout bag logo and the packed food boxes, captioned with "yummy" and "happy".

He only saw it, without liking it.

Afterwards, Xiao Chen had this personalised free dining card specially made for her to use, just one copy, for her exclusive use. As long as she dined at the restaurant, regardless of the number of diners or amount ordered, it would be free of charge, without time limitation.

From the coffee table drawer, he found a piece of scrap paper and a pen that hadn't been used in who knows how long, already low in ink.

Xiao Chen wrote on the paper: 【The sole lifetime free card holder of S·SongYue Restaurant: Ms. Yu Na (p.s: Please do not transfer this card, valid only for the original holder)】