Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The cicadas outside the classroom window were chirping louder than usual, as if they knew the students were about to go on summer break and were determined to torture their eardrums one last time before they left.

Xu Qianqian stared at her barely-passing grade on the report card and clutched her head in agony. “I’m dead, I’m so dead. This summer is going to be a nightmare. I can already see the buffet of tutoring classes my parents are going to force-feed me.”

She wailed for a good while, then turned to look at her deskmate, who had scored about the same but was happily admiring herself in a mirror.

Xu Qianqian was speechless. “You still have the mood to look at yourself in the mirror? With this score, aren’t you afraid your parents are going to give you a nice ‘bamboo shoot stir-fried with pork’ when you get home?”

Zhao Yu pushed her bangs aside and examined her face from different angles. “That Chinese medicine really works! My acne is all gone!”

Xu Qianqian: “?”

After finishing with the mirror, Zhao Yu pulled out a small comb, gave her bangs a few strokes, then casually stuffed her disastrous exam papers into her backpack. “Habit is a terrifying thing.”

Xu Qianqian: “Huh?”

Zhao Yu: “When you’ve scored like this on every exam from elementary school all the way to high school, your parents get used to it and barely even react.”

Xu Qianqian: “…………”

So this was the legendary fearlessness of a struggling student?!

Xu Qianqian sighed as she packed her bag. “Easy for you to say—your mom is so gentle, your dad is so kind, neither of them are the type to bring out the big guns. I’m different… Wah, I wish I could swap parents with you! I want a ballet-teacher mom and a head-chef dad too QAQ”

Zhao Yu slung her backpack over her shoulder and patted her head paternally. “Dream on, that’s all you can do. I’m out, see you next semester!”

Xu Qianqian shouted at her retreating back, “Wanna hang out this summer? Or are you going to your uncle’s place again?”

Zhao Yu had already reached the classroom door and turned back to blow her a kiss. “Go have fun yourself—I’m going to see my little brother.”

Xu Qianqian rolled her eyes and went back to lamenting her own tragic summer ahead.

The girls in the back row leaned in curiously, poking Xu Qianqian’s back with a pen. “Who’s this ‘little brother’ Zhao Yu was talking about?”

Xu Qianqian answered weakly, “Her childhood crush since elementary school. I think he’s the neighbor of her uncle’s family.”

“Whoa,” the back-row girls exclaimed. “So the guys at our school don’t stand a chance?”

Xu Qianqian put her hands on her hips. “Do these ugly ducklings at our school have no self-awareness at all?! Yu Yu is a fairy—how dare they even think about her!”

…

Jiang Lei didn’t have class today, and by the time Zhao Yu got home, her mom was practicing yoga in the living room.

Seeing her daughter run in sweating, Jiang Lei went to the fridge and got her some chilled mung bean soup to cool down, then asked, “Where’s your report card?”

Zhao Yu flopped onto the sofa casually. “In my bag.”

Jiang Lei opened the backpack, fished out the report card, and looked it over. Though she wasn’t surprised by her daughter’s grades, she still sighed helplessly. “You’re already in your first year of high school—how can you still be as unfocused as before? Three years fly by. If you don’t work hard now, it’ll be too late when the time comes.”

Jiang Lei was the picture of a refined lady from a good family—well-off upbringing, graceful manners, a ballet dancer since childhood, with a gentle, warm temperament. Even her scoldings were delivered softly.

Zhao Yu wasn’t afraid of her in the slightest. She giggled and pulled out her phone to call her uncle.

Zhao Yu’s uncle, Jiang Yu, was a relatively well-known variety show director in the entertainment industry, involved in the production teams of several hit shows currently on air.

The Jiang family was originally based in Hangzhou, but after Jiang Lei married Zhao Yu’s father, Zhao Kangning, they moved to Sichuan. Zhao Yu had grown up in Sichuan and only returned to Hangzhou for summer vacation every year.

To be honest, she hadn’t really liked going to Hangzhou before. All her friends and classmates were in Sichuan, and over in Hangzhou she only had a few distant relatives. She could never find anyone to hang out with.

That all changed in elementary school, when she met a boy next door to her uncle’s house.

Zhao Yu swore she had never seen a boy as good-looking as this little brother in her entire life.

He wore a white shirt, hands shoved into black pants pockets, a lollipop dangling from his lips. When he walked over the bluestone path, his dark hair fluttered in the summer breeze.

His slender frame was wrapped in that white shirt, and the sunlight pooled into his beautiful eyes.

Zhao Yu was crouched under a tree, poking at an ant nest, when she watched him draw closer. She felt like even the wind carried the sweetness of that lollipop.

As he approached, he seemed to notice her gaze and tilted his head to look back.

Their eyes met, and he smiled at her—a friendly, refreshing smile that carried the very essence of summer. He pulled a mint-flavored Alpenliebe from his pocket and asked, “Want a lollipop?”

And just like that, Zhao Yu was conquered by a lollipop.

Before she even understood what love was, a seed of secret infatuation had already been planted in her heart. Year after year, it broke through the soil, sprouted, and grew, until finally it bloomed into a flower heavy with the scent of summer mint.

So every summer vacation, going to Hangzhou became the biggest expectation in her small life.

His name was Shen Junyi—the neighbor of her uncle’s family, living with his grandmother.

He was only three years older than her but towered over her by a head. He had a fun, optimistic personality, and after they got to know each other, he often took her through the streets and alleys to try all kinds of food. He’d even secretly help her finish her summer homework when her uncle wasn’t looking.

Eight-year-old Zhao Yu wrote secretly in her diary: When I grow up, I’m going to marry Junyi-ge!

Eight years later, Zhao Yu, now in high school, wrote secretly in her diary: After the college entrance exams, I’m going to confess to Junyi-ge!

But in the summer of her first year of high school, Zhao Yu—who had rushed all the way to Hangzhou and hadn’t even taken a sip of water before running next door to knock—did not see her little brother again.

Granny Shen came to the door in her reading glasses and smiled warmly when she saw who it was. “Yu Yu’s here.”

Zhao Yu asked, “Granny Shen, where’s Junyi-ge?”

“He was taken to Beijing by his mother,” the grandmother replied.

The evening sunlight suddenly felt blinding. Zhao Yu’s previously eager voice deflated. “When did he leave? Is he coming back?”

Granny Shen shook her head. “He left right after New Year’s. His household registration is in Beijing—he’s going there for the college entrance exams.” Her face beamed with pride. “The boy did well, too—scored well enough for a top-tier university.”

Junyi-ge got into college!!!

Zhao Yu’s first thought was happiness for him. Her second thought was mourning for herself.

What did college mean?

It meant freedom to date!

Her little brother was heading off like Tang Monk walking into the Spider Cave—he was about to be stripped clean!

By the time Zhao Yu said goodbye to Granny Shen, tears were already welling up. She went back to her uncle’s house, threw herself onto the bed in her room, and sobbed into her pillow.

By the time she graduated high school, Junyi-ge would probably already have a kid, boohoo…

After crying herself out, she rubbed her tears off on the pillow, sat up, and pulled out her phone, opening her contacts.

Staring at the name “Junyi-ge” in her notes, her nose stung with emotion. She thought for a long time before slowly typing out a message: I heard from your grandma that you got into college! Congrats!

After sending it came the long wait.

Secret crushes were always torturous.

Thankfully, her little brother didn’t keep her waiting too long. Five minutes later, he replied: Thanks /grin. Come visit Beijing sometime.

Zhao Yu: Okay! Wait for me! I’ll work hard to get into a Beijing school too!

Shen Junyi: Good luck!

I’ll work hard to get into Beijing too. To get to where you are. Wait for me.

It was in that moment that Zhao Yu, the struggling student, finally found the motivation to study.

Just two years. This separation now was for a better reunion later!

But Zhao Yu had her little schemes too. She’d occasionally text him, subtly probing from all angles to find out if he had a girlfriend.

The answer was always no.

Little brother said, “Isn’t being single freedom? Why tie yourself down with a relationship?”

Sure, the wording was a bit odd… but!

No girlfriend—she still had a chance!!!

And so Zhao Yu powered through those agonizing high school years in a state of overdrive, until she reached the final semester before the college entrance exams.

Over New Year’s, Jiang Lei and Zhao Kangning confiscated her phone and laptop to keep her focused on the final sprint. Zhao Yu sent Shen Junyi one last text and then went into total isolation, shutting out the world and burying herself in politics, history, and geography!

She’d never been the studious type, and those two years of effort hadn’t turned her into a top student, but she’d improved a lot from her earlier disastrous scores.

Jiang Lei was a ballet teacher, and Zhao Yu had grown up surrounded by dance, so she’d taken it up too. With her current grades, getting into a Beijing school through academics alone was still a bit of a stretch, so after family discussions, she applied to a dance academy. If she passed the arts admissions test, the culture score requirement would be well within reach.

Finally, in the sweltering heat of June, when the bell rang signaling the end of the last exam, Zhao Yu walked out of the school gates feeling refreshed and alive.

Goodbye, high school.

Goodbye, my secret crush days.

From today on, I can openly chase after my little brother!

And soon, I’ll have a sweet romance!

Even though Zhao Yu knew deep down that her little brother didn’t feel that way about her.

But the great Lu Xun once said: The road! Is made by those who walk it!

As the school beauty since childhood, as someone who was utterly convinced of her own beauty—a rare combination of looks and character among mortals!

If she tried hard enough and found a way, she could totally win him over!

Zhao Yu was beaming as she got into her parents’ car. She turned on her phone, which had been off for six months, and sent Shen Junyi a text: I’m done with my exams! I’m coming to Beijing next month—wanna grab a meal together?

She clutched her phone, heart pounding, grin stretching from ear to ear, but no reply came from her little brother.

Zhao Yu waited and waited, phone in hand, until evening finally brought a response: Congrats! But I won’t be free next month—I have a concert.

Zhao Yu: ?

You’re gonna do what???

The bewildered girl sat bolt upright in bed, then received another text: I’ll treat you to a meal when I have time.

Zhao Yu began to question her entire existence.

She read the phone number and the messages over and over, dozens of times.

She knew this number by heart—she hadn’t texted the wrong person!

In a daze, she opened her computer, took a deep breath, and typed in three words: “Shen Junyi.”

Countless news articles and web pages exploded onto the screen.

— Rising to Fame on Looks Alone! Shen Junyi Tells Fans: I Have Real Talent Too!

— Shen Junyi’s Unparalleled Debut Stage—A Born King!

— Shen Junyi Celebrity Profile – Shen Junyi Updates – Shen Junyi Latest Singles – All on Kiwi TV

— Top-Tier Idol in Just Six Months After Debut, Dominating the Entire Traffic Market with Millions of Adoring Fans—What Makes Shen Junyi So Strong? Click for the Latest!

— Pop Idol Shen Junyi’s First Solo Concert Six Months After Debut Sells Out in 48 Seconds, Breaking Industry Records!

— Serious Discussion: Where Did Huachang Find Such a Treasure Like Shen Junyi? The Domestic Traffic Market Just Opened Up and He’s Already Monopolized It—Is There Anyone Left Who Can Compete?

…

Zhao Yu felt her head spin, her vision went dark, and she nearly passed out.

Her little brother—in the six months she’d been holed up studying for her exams—had gone from an unknown pretty boy to a massive star with millions of adoring fans and a brilliant career ahead of him???!!!

Her fingers trembling, she searched his Weibo, his Baidu Bar, his Baidu Baike page, his videos.

It was him.

It really was him.

That bright smile, those beautiful eyes, that familiar tone—it was her little brother.

Not a dream.

Zhao Yu was crushed.

Author’s Note:
Hello again, my lovely readers! I actually have a backlog of chapters this time! puffs out chest proudly I hope this story brings you all joy and warmth!
Important warnings:

1. This novel is a spin-off of Wife Fans, and the male and female leads have been established characters from the very beginning—they are not based on any real person. Please do not bring up real celebrities in the comments, as it will affect other readers’ experience!
2. Male lead Shen Junyi had a crush on other girls in the early stages. Readers with a “pure love only” preference, please DO NOT read this! If you can’t accept this premise, DO NOT read! Do not read do not read do not read!!!
3. This is a secret-crush story: slightly bitter in the beginning, sweet only later. It’s sort of a “husband-chasing wife” trope, but it’s not too angsty—the comedic/silly tone runs throughout the entire novel~