Brother, isn't it good that you like me?

Lin Jianshen and Mu Mu chatted for a while longer.

As they parted, Lin Jianshen looked at the girl and suddenly said, "Um, I know you're shipping Shen Yan and Chi Yu right now."

"That 'bird breeding base' on Weibo, isn't that you?"

Mu Mu was stunned: "How did you know? Could it be that you also...?!"

Lin Jianshen coughed, pressing his fist to his lips, "I've been secretly shipping them too. I got into it after watching your CP recommendation video..."

The girl's editing style was delicate and heartwarming, and Lin Jianshen guessed who made the video as soon as he saw it.

At this point, Mumu became excited and tentatively asked, "What about our little parrot and little crow...?"

Lin Jianshen pondered for a moment before replying, "I feel there's hope. I saw a small wooden carving of Shen Yan's parrot on Chi Yu's desk last night..."

……

"Is this a gift for me?"

Shen Yan took the gift bag from Chi Yu, looked down and his eyes lit up.

It was an exquisite little parrot, painted with the same color as Second Uncle's feathers, down to the exact same blue on the tips of its wings. The parrot also wore a small, finely crafted, openwork crown on its head, which could be detached and handled.

"Mmm," Chi Yu responded, looking up at him and asking, "Do you like it?"

Shen Yan carefully held it in her hands, looking at it from left to right, up to down, for a long time. Then she looked up at Chi Yu earnestly and said, "Brother, thank you, I like it so much!"

His tone and expression made it seem as if he had given away not some worthless wooden parrot, but a priceless treasure.

Chi Yu's heart trembled slightly.

A slight smile unconsciously curved his lips as he nodded and said, "I'm glad you like it."

This gift was indeed well-chosen, Chi Yu thought, because even after everyone had finished breakfast and was preparing to go home after get off work, this person was still sitting on the swing in the yard, holding the parrot with obvious affection.

Her fingertips repeatedly caressed the fine lines on the crown, as if... she really loved it.

Even Jiang Ziyi noticed the man's unusual behavior. His right eyelid twitched, and he couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with him?"

It's just a small wooden carving, why are you so fond of it?

Chi Yu glanced at his younger brother, worried that he would be unhappy if he knew the truth, so he didn't dare to tell him that he had carved the wood carving himself. He only said, "Maybe it's because the wood carving looks like Second Uncle."

Thinking of the little parrot that someone posted on their WeChat Moments every day, Jiang Zi nodded, thinking it made a lot of sense.

He gave Shen Yan a thumbs-up and commented, "A very filial nephew."

She took the things from her brother's hand and walked towards her car, ready to go home with him.

Chi Yu didn't say anything and followed Jiang Ziyi out the door.

Just before getting on the bus, he turned his head back for no apparent reason.

She met Shen Yan's gaze, who had somehow appeared at the doorway.

The boy stood there, unconcealed and open. But his gaze was too intense, like the midday sun, falling directly on me.

The moment their eyes met, Chi Yu subconsciously wanted to look away.

It was as if they were truly burned by that gaze.

At that moment, a smile bloomed on Shen Yan's face. It wasn't a shallow, polite smile, but a warm and open smile that came from the bottom of his heart.

His eyes were curved at the corners, his mouth was upturned, and his whole face was radiant, as if light was shining from his body.

For some reason, Chi Yu thought of the summer before the rainy season.

The sun shone brightly, and the wind carried the scent of newly sprouted grass and trees. Everything was bright, hot, and had not yet been dampened by the rain.

That kind of summer.

For some reason, Chi Yu suddenly felt that a long time ago, there was also a pair of eyes that had been watching him, burning and passionate, yet silent.

But back then, I didn't look back.

Chi Yu was disturbed by this inexplicable feeling and his mind was in turmoil. It took him three seconds to come back to his senses, open the door and get into the car.

When I sat in the passenger seat, I noticed that my younger brother's face had suddenly darkened by a shade for some reason.

Chi Yu: "?"

"What's wrong?" he asked while fastening his seatbelt.

Jiang Ziyi gritted his teeth and said, "It's nothing, I just saw some unclean things."

"Something unclean?" Chi Yu glanced at him, assuming he was a hater on Weibo, and patted his younger brother's shoulder as a gesture of reassurance.

Jiang Ziyi gripped the steering wheel even tighter, nodding to her brother to indicate that she didn't care.

In her heart, she cursed fiercely: "You vixen, all you know how to do is seduce my brother!!"

……

On the other side, Shen Yan watched the car drive away, then skipped back into the house, clutching the gift his sweetheart had given him.

He wore the small, openwork crown on his ring finger and went to Wu Juben to show off, "Look, the ring my brother gave me."

Wu Juben: "…………"

Wu Juben: "You're hopeless, I'm telling you."

They're so happy about receiving a gift.

I can't imagine how happy he would be if Chi Yu actually agreed to be his boyfriend someday.

In ancient times, this would definitely be considered the behavior of a foolish ruler who would give up his empire for a beautiful woman.

"What do you know?" Shen Yan glared at him. "This is the first gift Brother Chi ever gave me, and it's handmade!"

In this fast-paced society, it's precious when someone is willing to slow down for another and spend time and energy doing something by hand. Regardless of its monetary value, the sentiment itself is invaluable.

Shen Yan twirled the small crown on his finger. "Moreover, this is the first time he's seen me without me even calling him."

So Chi Yu was so happy just by turning his head.

……

three years ago.

Shen Yan sat in a small restaurant by the river, waiting for Jiang Ziyi to arrive. The two had arranged to have dinner at this restaurant.

But just five minutes ago, that person sent a message saying that there was a traffic jam and it would take about half an hour to arrive.

Shen Yan jokingly scolded him on WeChat, then opened Weibo on her phone with peace of mind.

He was doing data analysis for his "baby wife".

Chi Yu has recently joined another film crew. He just posted a set of promotional photos on Weibo today. The young man is wearing a sleeveless vest, sunglasses, and giving a cold, peace sign to the camera.

Shen Yan first carefully admired the photos, saving them one by one into his album. Then he went into the super topic, checked in, posted, and retrieved posts—a smooth and efficient process.

He was still clumsy at this process a year ago, but now he can do it with his eyes closed, tapping away on his phone screen.

He was so focused on his work that he momentarily forgot—Jiang Ziyi was a man who loved to exaggerate. The "half an hour" he mentioned was less than ten minutes in a normal person's timeline.

So when Jiang Ziyi suddenly appeared behind him and slapped him on the shoulder, he trembled and threw his phone onto the table.

"Ha!" Jiang Zi jumped in front of him, grinning, "What are you looking at that scared like that?"

As he spoke, he lowered his head, his eyes unconsciously glancing at the other person's screen.

then,"……"

The smile froze on his face.

Shen Yan quickly raised his hand to turn off the screen, "Um..."

Jiang Ziyi stared at the black screen of the phone in the other person's hand, his voice changed from before: "So, the person you like is my brother?!"

"The person you like so much that you'd quit the talent show for him is my brother?!"

Shen Yan: "I..."

Jiang Ziyi placed his hand on Shen Yan's shoulder and said quickly, "I saw you post the words 'I like baby.' In this situation, you either have to admit that you like my brother, or admit that you have a crush on the old man."

Shen Yan: "..."

Shen Yan: "Yes, I like old man vests."

Jiang Ziyi's grip on his shoulder suddenly tightened: "Do you think I'm stupid?"

Seeing that he couldn't get away with it, Shen Yan quickly added, "I can explain."

"Explain what? Explain that you called my brother 'baby,' explain that you approached me just to use me as a starting point to seduce my brother?" Jiang Ziyi became increasingly angry as he spoke. "And I genuinely considered you a brother, and I even gave you advice on how to woo someone!"

He couldn't help but start to think back—did this person have ulterior motives from the very beginning? Did they never intend to be genuine friends with him from the start? How much of those late-night chats during the talent show, those days of drinking and playing games together, were genuine?

The more I think about it, the angrier I get.

Jiang Ziyi raised his fist and punched him.

Shen Yan turned her head away, "Don't be angry. I only found out that Chi Yu is your brother after we became friends."

But Jiang Ziyi was furious and wouldn't listen to anything. Shen Yan knew it was pointless to say anything, so he could only defend himself. The two of them started punching and kicking each other.

The commotion they caused attracted the restaurant owner, who, in a panic, broke into a breakdance at the entrance, shouting, "Stop fighting! Stop fighting!"

"It's okay! We were just joking," Shen Yan shouted as he blocked the way, "and we'll pay for it!"

"Oh, okay, then I won't bother you two any longer~" Seeing that the two weren't planning to kill or maim them, the restaurant owner left with peace of mind.

Before leaving, he kindly closed the door to the private room for the two of them.

After nearly half an hour of fighting, Jiang Ziyi calmed down temporarily. His hair was messy, his clothes were wrinkled, and he looked extremely disheveled sitting in the chair.

He looked up at Shen Yan, who was even worse off than him, with some bruises on his face and a cut on his lip.

For some reason, Jiang Zi suddenly calmed down when he saw the other person's expression. He looked at Shen Yan and said in a hoarse voice, "It's no use that you like my brother; he won't like you."

This wasn't just something I said out of anger.

"My brother has liked Lu Yufeng for so many years—he can't see anyone else when Lu Yufeng is around."

"Including you, including me."

As Jiang Ziyi spoke, he lowered his eyes, and Shen Yan also lowered his head, burying his face in his palms.

My palm accidentally brushed against my lips, and a sharp pain shot through the crack at the corner of my lips, which in turn made my heart ache.

He knew that Jiang Ziyi was right.

He had encountered Chi before, in fact, more than once or twice. But that man's gaze always swept over him, like a passing, insignificant breeze.

Occasionally, when he mustered the courage to greet him, Chi Yu would only glance at him briefly, nod, and wear a polite yet distant smile.

He seemed like some insignificant person.

"What are you thinking?" Shen Yan chuckled self-deprecatingly. He was originally just an insignificant person.

Chi Yu's gaze was always fixed on someone else.

His gaze was so focused, so quiet, as if no matter what happened, there would only ever be that one person in his eyes.

How could Shen Yan not be familiar with that kind of gaze?

She was looking at him in the same way.

Shen Yan knew that Chi Yu had a crush on someone; he had known for a long time. He had always known.

He just refused to admit it and kept deceiving himself.

"I advise you to give up on this idea as soon as possible."

Seeing that he remained silent, Jiang Ziyi lowered his head and said again, "Shen Yan, you are a public figure with so many fans. It won't do you any good if it comes out that you like my brother."

After all, they had chased their dreams together, and Jiang Ziyi understood his good brother quite well.

Shen Yan may seem carefree and easygoing, but deep down he's actually quite stubborn.

He would lock himself in his room for days to write a perfect melody, and he would leave the talent show stage because of an unrequited love with no certain outcome.

They would travel all over the country for someone who would never turn back.

That obsession extends to music as well as to people.

How could someone like that only gaze at someone from afar when facing someone he likes?

One day, Shen Yan will be unable to resist wanting to take it a step further.

"You'll disrupt his life, you'll disturb his unrequited love. Shen Yan, you—" Jiang Zi turned her head, then suddenly froze. "You...you're crying?"

Shen Yan stared blankly at the ground, letting tears stream down her cheeks.

What Jiang Ziyi said...

How could he not have noticed?

The photos in the album piled up higher and higher, and so did the emotions and possessiveness in his heart. And then there were those increasingly shameful dreams at night—all of them, every single moment, clamoring for him to take that next step forward.

Although that "further step" was nothing more than making Chi Yu remember him to him.

"I'll go see him one last time." Shen Yan raised her head, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, "and then, I'll choose to go abroad."

The acceptance letter from that overseas school arrived a long time ago. He just hadn't been ready to leave.

Three days later, at the launch event for a product of the Lu Group, Shen Yan and Jiang Ziyi stood in the back row. Chi Yu sat in the front row, and through the rows of dark heads, Shen Yan could only see the back of his head and a small section of his profile.

He just stared quietly at that figure from behind.

So focused, so serious, it seemed they couldn't bear to even blink.

Perhaps seeing his friend so dejected for the first time, Jiang Ziyi felt a pang of pity. He looked around and gestured towards a corner of the exhibition hall with his lip: "See that cactus?"

Shen Yan withdrew her gaze and followed his line of sight: "I saw it, what's wrong?"

"Sit down," Jiang Ziyi said sincerely. "That way, everyone will remember you."

Shen Yan paused for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head.

"Let's go."

He put his hand on Jiang Ziyi's shoulder and said with a grin, "Hey, Jiang Ziyi, I'm going abroad soon. Will you miss me?"

"Yue, only a dog wouldn't want to part with you."

The two walked out, bickering as they went.

The moment he stepped out the door, Chi Yu, who had been looking at Lu Yufeng, suddenly turned his head away.

"What's wrong?" the person next to me asked.

Chi Yu looked around, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, over the unfamiliar faces, and finally settling on a certain direction.

There was nothing there.

"It's nothing." He looked away and shook his head. "I just felt... someone was watching me?"

Chi Yu turned his head back to Lu Yufeng, who was not far away, and said softly, "It must be an illusion."