The Enigmatic Brother

That afternoon, inside the classroom.

As a semi-boarding school, many students would return to their dorms to rest after having lunch in the cafeteria. Others, who didn’t reside on campus, would go home after school or choose to stay in the classroom for their afternoon nap.

Lin Ziyan, too lazy to head home, was one such student. Settling into her seat in the front row, she retrieved her hidden novel and phone from the desk cubby. Then, pulling out a small bun she’d bought from the cafeteria, she began to eat in quiet contentment.

“Ziyan, you’re here so early?”

Hearing someone call her name, Lin Ziyan looked up. A familiar girl entered from the doorway, a relaxed smile gracing her lips.

“Not bad. I just got back myself. Did you finish eating?” The girl’s voice was sweet, a tone she rarely displayed at home.

“Mm-hm.” Liu Yinuo responded with a gentle smile, taking the seat beside the girl. They were deskmates, three in a row, though the third hadn’t yet returned.

“Want some?” Lin Ziyan broke off a piece of her bun and offered it.

“Thank you, but no.” Liu Yinuo declined with a polite smile, as was her habit. She was always like an elegant, proper young lady, constantly graced with a gentle smile. Yet, anyone attempting to draw closer would find themselves encountering a barrier of polite distance, a girl impossible to truly touch.

Lin Ziyan wasn’t surprised by her deskmate’s response. She simply nodded casually before turning back to her novel.

“Ziyan, can I ask you something?”

“Hm?”

A hint of surprise flickered through Lin Ziyan. Liu Yinuo typically didn’t initiate questions; on the contrary, as the top student in their class, she was often sought out by others for help.

“What is it?” Lin Ziyan asked, her voice slightly muffled as she bit into her soft bun.

“It’s just…” Liu Yinuo suddenly straightened, her eyes cautiously sweeping across the otherwise empty classroom, as if the topic she was about to broach was highly private. Then, leaning closer to Lin Ziyan’s ear, she whispered, “About… your brother. Is he a boy or a girl?”

“Huh? Why would you even ask that? He’s definitely a boy!” Lin Ziyan exclaimed, her voice incredulous. “Seriously, why would you ask such a thing? It’s not like you think he’s so effeminate that you’d mistake him for… a girl disguised as a boy, right?” She unequivocally denied the possibility. After living under the same roof for over a decade, how could she not know whether Ye Xingmian was male or female?

“No… I just…” Liu Yinuo hesitated as she spoke, wondering if she was simply overthinking things. She recalled the morning’s scene: those timid, cherry-pink eyes, the tear-streaked face. The soft curves of his features didn’t look like a boy’s, no matter how she tried to see them.

‘…’ She fell silent, unable to voice another word for a long time. Each time she remembered those pitiful eyes, her heart seemed to clench. Her entire being felt enveloped by an unfamiliar emotion—was it pity? Or sympathy? It felt as if, only today, she was truly meeting ‘Ye Xingmian’ for the first time. Upon learning that he had been made to stand outside by their homeroom teacher for the entire morning, she had even felt a rare pang of guilt, a sensation utterly new to her.

“Hey, I’m talking to you.” Seeing her companion’s demeanor, Lin Ziyan frowned, her expression turning peculiar. “Yinuo, you haven’t fallen for that guy, have you?”

Shaking her head, Liu Yinuo softly denied, “No.” The girl neither blushed nor spoke unusually, making it seem genuinely untrue. Lin Ziyan reluctantly accepted her words.

“That’s good, then. Listen, you know he’s not my real brother, right?”

“Yes, most people do. After all, one of you is named Ye and the other Lin.”

“Exactly! And not only that, he’s also a bastard!” The girl declared loudly, seemingly unconcerned if others overheard, which made Liu Yinuo frown slightly.

Liu Yinuo scanned their surroundings, ensuring no one else had heard. After motioning for Lin Ziyan to lower her voice, she continued, “A bastard?”

“Yes!”

“What do you mean by that?”

“When he came to my house, I was probably only four or five. I was young then, didn’t understand much. He was brought over by his mother alone. I’m telling you, his mom seemed to be just in her early twenties back then. After entrusting him to our family, she went to work in another province. I heard my parents say his dad might still be rotting in jail even now!”

“Is that so?” Listening to the girl’s account, and combining it with her own observations of Ye Xingmian over time, as well as the unwitting disdain in Lin Ziyan’s tone when speaking of her ‘brother,’ Liu Yinuo had already woven a mental tapestry of a child fostered in another’s home, subjected to daily scorn and bullying.

Liu Yinuo unconsciously clenched her fists, then quickly composed her expression, careful not to let the girl beside her notice anything amiss. “You’ve lived together for over a decade. Isn’t it a bit harsh to speak of him like that?”

“Hmph.” Lin Ziyan scoffed, dismissive. “What, are you worried about him? Don’t be. He’s been used to it for years. Besides, he’ll be leaving after the college entrance exam next year. He’s perfectly fine; no need to worry.”

“Is that so…” Liu Yinuo’s voice sounded distracted as she idly scribbled on the open page of her book. Seeing that her companion seemed disinclined to continue the conversation, Lin Ziyan also fell silent, retrieving her phone from her desk cubby to chat with others.

Liu Yinuo remembered the timid boy from that morning, how Qin Haiyue had called him out. Although she hadn’t seen his face then, the fear and apprehension emanating from his entire being were undeniable. When he returned, his slender frame seemed to have suffered a profound blow; he was distracted throughout the entire class, and occasionally, when he turned his head, she could see his shoulders shaking as his head was buried on his desk, as if he were silently weeping.

Whether to believe Lin Ziyan’s words or not, Liu Yinuo already had her answer. Her pen strokes grew slower, and then slower still. Ye Xingmian’s image seemed to completely occupy her thoughts, refusing to fade. Her gaze unfocused; she couldn’t forget that vulnerable, timid, slender figure.

After hearing Lin Ziyan’s words, she naturally no longer doubted Ye Xingmian’s male identity. She simply wanted to change her attitude towards the boy, to shed her strong prejudices and treat him like any ordinary person in need of care. To be a little gentler, a little kinder.

‘…’ The classroom gradually filled with students as time passed, and before she knew it, it was almost time for class.

She found herself glancing back at the classroom’s rear door from time to time, remembering that he always seemed to enter through it.

‘Perhaps I’ll start this afternoon? I’ll approach him gently, to avoid startling him. If I recall correctly, his grades aren’t very good; maybe I could try tutoring him.’ Liu Yinuo even prepared a few greeting notes, editing and re-editing them, wasting half her lunch break.

However, she waited for a long time, but the boy did not come. The classroom gradually filled, but the boy did not come. Until the class bell rang and the homeroom teacher arrived to begin class, the boy still did not come.

After a class, she pursued the homeroom teacher for an explanation, only to learn that his adoptive father had requested leave for him, and he would not be coming today.

Returning to her seat, Liu Yinuo felt an inexplicable emptiness in her heart as she watched Lin Ziyan, who seemed utterly unconcerned by the matter. ‘Could it be Qin Haiyue’s doing? That guy always seems to bully Ye Xingmian. Perhaps that’s why he took leave?’

Regardless, this had become the day’s perplexing mystery for her. She would simply have to ask him herself tomorrow.

Glancing at the class schedule, she noted there was a physical education class tomorrow.