My sister never calls me brother.

Wang Linlin looked at Song Mingyuan beside her in surprise. She wanted to expose his lie, but she was intimidated by the contemptuous looks in her classmates' eyes.

Wang Linlin told herself not to care about Song Mingyuan; it was all his own fault and had nothing to do with her.

However, she was very grateful to Song Mingyuan for making fun of himself to get out of the predicament.

Because of Song Mingyuan's actions, he will bear the crime of embezzling class funds for his entire high school career, a crime he may never be able to clear his name from.

After the incident, Wang Linlin used her own money to make up for the class expenses. Although Song Mingyuan still had a carefree and playful attitude, he remained unchanged.

But she found herself thinking she might have fallen for him.

Every day after school, Wang Linlin would go online to see if Song Mingyuan was online and what he had updated that day, but it was all stuff from the otaku culture, which she couldn't understand at all.

Several times, Wang Linlin almost couldn't resist the urge to ask Song Mingyuan to chat with her, but she held back each time.

Wang Linlin felt like she was lovesick. Although she could see Song Mingyuan every day, she felt like he lived in another world.

A friend told Wang Linlin that if she folded a thousand paper stars and gave them to the person she liked, her dreams would come true. She believed it because the saying that a girl's IQ drops sharply when she's in love is absolutely true.

Wang Linlin was often ridiculed by Song Mingyuan for folding paper stars.

"Why have you been folding these things lately?" Song Mingyuan looked at the paper stars over and over.

"I want to give this to someone I like." Wang Linlin blushed.

"Pfft, hahaha." Song Mingyuan laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" Wang Linlin asked, somewhat displeased.

"It's nothing..." Song Mingyuan waved his hand with a grin and said, "Good luck."

With Wang Linlin's tireless efforts, he finally folded a thousand paper stars.

She stuffed the stars into a rabbit doll, intending to give it to Song Mingyuan.

On February 14th, Valentine's Day, Wang Linlin mustered up her courage and asked Song Mingyuan out to see a movie. Actually, she wanted to take this opportunity to confess her feelings and give the rabbit plush toy to the person she liked.

Unaware of the implications, Song Mingyuan agreed, completely ignoring the significance of a girl asking a boy out on Valentine's Day, assuming it was just a simple movie outing.

Wang Linlin made thorough preparations for today, wearing her prettiest dress and applying light makeup. Although her skills are not yet perfect, she looked exceptionally beautiful today.

She glanced at the sky, which was rather gloomy, and it looked like it would rain soon. This made Wang Linlin a little disappointed; it was such an important day, and it was going to rain.

Wang Linlin checked the time; the appointed time had arrived, but why hadn't Song Mingyuan come yet? She was very anxious.

Actually, when Song Mingyuan saw the gloomy sky outside and realized it was going to rain, he gave up the idea of ​​going to the movies and stayed home eating potato chips and playing games, which made him very happy.

Before they knew it, the sky had become overcast, and a heavy rain poured down, creating a misty atmosphere like a veil that obscured the lovers' vision.

Wang Linlin had been waiting at the movie theater entrance for a long time.

She kept telling herself he would come, constantly deceiving herself with this lie. She couldn't believe that she had been stood up on her date.

Time ticked by, and the movie theater had already closed. After a long wait, Wang Linlin finally gave up. She hugged her arms, feeling cold as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

She looked up at the sky; the torrential rain showed no sign of stopping.

Wang Linlin's eyes were somewhat blank as she slowly stepped into the rain, letting the raindrops fall on her.

She walked home in the rain, getting soaked, under the astonished gazes of the crowd…

A few days later, Song Mingyuan repeatedly apologized for standing Wang Linlin up, but Wang Linlin always responded indifferently, and their relationship reached a stalemate.

On the last day before the end of her first year of high school, Wang Linlin gave the rabbit doll to Song Mingyuan as a farewell gift.

This rabbit plush toy still lies quietly in the closet of the Seigaku office, next to Song Mingyuan's beloved possessions.

Perhaps Song Mingyuan will never discover the overflowing love within the rabbit doll—

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Mysterious Client

"Hahaha..." Song Mingyuan pushed open the door to the activity room and said with a smile, "I've received my third request!"

Song Mingyuan walked in excitedly, only to find that no one paid any attention to him, making him feel extremely neglected.

Zhou Han was playing on her phone, relaxed and carefree, as if she hadn't heard anything.

Airi Miyazaki kept bothering Lin Nianwei with a fashion magazine.

"Wei-chan, what do you think of this dress?" Miyazaki Airi nudged Lin Nianwei next to her.

Lin Nianwei looked up from the book, glanced at the fashion magazine, and said casually, "Ordinary."

“Really…” Miyazaki Airi frowned, then asked, “How about this cardigan?”

Lin Nianwei glanced at it and said, "Outdated."

Undeterred, Miyazaki Airi continued, "And what about this miniskirt?"

Lin Nianwei looked at the miniskirt in the magazine and remained silent.

Now you'll have to say it's good, right? Miyazaki Airi thought to herself.

"It's too short..." Lin Nianwei looked away and continued reading.

Miyazaki Airi was speechless, then suddenly felt a mischievous urge to tease Lin Nianwei, and asked, "Do you like wearing miniskirts?"

"I would never wear something like that," Lin Nianwei said, sounding somewhat embarrassed.

"If the guy you like likes miniskirts, would you wear one?" Airi Miyazaki joked.

Lin Nianwei glanced at Zhou Han secretly and said indifferently, "I won't like it."

"Oh? So you have a crush on a guy! Who is it?" Miyazaki Airi asked, her curiosity piqued.

"I don't have a boy I like," Lin Nianwei replied.

"Don't be so stingy! Tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone..." Miyazaki Airi kept shaking Lin Nianwei.

"Really not," Lin Nianwei said dejectedly, somewhat exasperated by Miyazaki Airi's persistent questioning.

Zhou Han overheard their conversation. Although he pretended to be indifferent, he had already imagined what Lin Nianwei would look like in a miniskirt.

A miniskirt seems nice, but knowing Lin Nianwei's personality, she would never wear it, Zhou Han thought.

"Hey—!" Song Mingyuan yelled, "Can't you guys listen to me?!"

“Urusai…” Miyazaki Airi gave her a disgusted look.

"Uh!" Song Mingyuan was embarrassed, it was the first time he had ever heard such a genuinely loud noise.

“Go play in the mud…” Zhou Han added insult to injury.

Song Mingyuan raised an eyebrow, furious. He thought to himself, "I have no choice but to use my trump card..."

"Ahhh~" Song Mingyuan's eyes were filled with tears, his expression cynical, as he expressed his bitter emotions, singing loudly, "The cornbread I'm holding in my hands~, not a drop of oil in the dish~..."

Song Mingyuan's hoarse, duck-like voice, with its incredibly piercing vocals, relentlessly assaulted the eardrums of Zhou Han and the other two.

Miyazaki Airi and Lin Nianwei frowned as they listened. They had heard bad singing before, but they had never heard anyone sing so badly!

"Enough!" Zhou Han finally snapped, "We're all allies, what's with all this talk?!"

"Ahem!" Song Mingyuan coughed lightly and said, "Can you listen to me now?"

“Please…” Miyazaki Airi’s voice trembled slightly, clearly still recovering from the enchanting singing that had just surrounded her.

"I've received my third commission. Once it's completed, our new club can be established!" Song Mingyuan adjusted his glasses and said, "What an exciting event!"

"Congratulations, congratulations..." Zhou Han clapped symbolically, looking completely unmotivated.

"Now that you've received the commission, where is the client?" Miyazaki Airi asked, puzzled.

“This request is a bit special; it’s a request in the form of a letter…” Song Mingyuan took out a pink letter from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Han, “You read it to everyone.”

Zhou Han took the letter, looked it over and over, and muttered, "Oh, it's pink, just like a love letter."

"When I first found it in my desk, that's what I thought too, but..." Song Mingyuan sighed and said quietly, "It turns out I was overthinking it."

"A shut-in like you expecting to receive love letters?" Miyazaki Airi scoffed.

Zhou Han took out the letter; the handwriting was beautiful and neat, like a girl's.

Looking at the contents, Zhou Han slowly read them aloud—

"Dear Senior Song, I am a second-year girl. I know it's not very polite to ask you this question in this way, but I'm a little embarrassed about what I'm asking, so this is the only way I can do it. Here's what happened: a few days ago, a boy in my grade confessed his feelings to me. After I accepted, we officially became a couple. But since then, he hasn't spoken to me. I think maybe I didn't convey my feelings, so I wanted to ask you, senior, if there's any way to make him realize my love? If you have a solution, please write it down on a piece of paper and put it in your desk. I will pick it up after school."

"Wow—!" Zhou Han exclaimed with a jolt after reading it, "What a girly request!"

"Hey!" Miyazaki Airi glared at Zhou Han and said with displeasure, "Don't make fun of her. Be more serious about love!"

Zhou Han realized that her attitude was wrong, so she quickly nodded and said, "Sorry, I forgot that girls are very sensitive."

"Do you have any ideas?" Song Mingyuan asked.

“Hmm… this…” Zhou Han looked up to think, then rolled her eyes. “No way! My mind is completely blank…”

"Tch! I wasn't even planning to ask you. What good ideas could someone with negative emotional intelligence possibly have about love? Go play in the mud..." Song Mingyuan waved his hand impatiently.

Zhou Han grimaced in anger to express her dissatisfaction.

"Why not just give a gift? If you don't want to express your feelings directly, give something that represents love, like homemade chocolates," Miyazaki Airi suggested.

"Homemade chocolates..." Song Mingyuan nodded. "That's good. What about Lin Nianwei? Do you have any ideas?"

"Chocolate will do, since the Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day) is just around the corner," Lin Nianwei said casually, looking at her book.

"That's right!" Song Mingyuan suddenly realized, "Qixi Festival is in a few days! It would be perfect to give chocolates."

"Qixi Festival is Valentine's Day!?" Miyazaki Airi was completely confused.

"Huh!?" Zhou Han was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Isn't Tanabata in Japan Valentine's Day?"

“No…” Miyazaki Airi felt like she wasn’t from the global village anymore. She continued, “In Japan, Tanabata is similar to the New Year. On Tanabata, we can make a wish. We write our wish on a piece of paper and hang it on a bamboo grove. The wish will come true. Of course, there are many other activities as well.”

"It sounds like it's going to be very lively, but our Qixi Festival is so quiet..." Song Mingyuan sighed.

"But I still don't understand, how did your Qixi Festival become Valentine's Day?" Miyazaki Airi couldn't figure it out.

“In the past, our Qixi Festival was not Valentine’s Day, but a festival for women to pray for wisdom and skill.” Lin Nianwei paused and continued, “Later, as times changed, Qixi Festival was recognized by everyone as the Chinese Valentine’s Day.”

"So what are you going to do on this day?" Miyazaki Airi asked.

“We’re not doing anything…” Zhou Han interjected, “I heard that in northern cities, people hide under melon trellises on the night of Qixi Festival to listen to the whispers of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. But these days, we do the same things on Valentine’s Day…”

“Is that so…” Miyazaki Airi sighed a little. She nodded and said, “Then giving chocolates on Tanabata would be even more appropriate. This request has a very high success rate.”

"What if the boy doesn't understand why we gave him chocolates?" Zhou Han asked.