Chapter 1: He Has Always Been by My Side

Gu Nian realized for the first time—
Lu Chen didn’t feel like just “my brother” anymore, and it happened that summer in her senior year of high school.

That day was unbearably hot.

The cicadas made the entire alley sound as if it were about to explode.

She sat on the small stool outside her house, hugging a bowl of watermelon, eating while swinging her legs. The watermelon had been chilled, sweet just the right amount.

When footsteps echoed from the end of the alley, she didn’t even lift her head.

“Lu Chen, you’re back?”

She called out naturally.

The next second, a hand reached over and steadyingly caught the bowl that had almost slipped from her grip.

“Gu Nian.”
His voice was low. “Can you sit properly?”

She looked up.

The boy stood there in the sunset, his school jacket draped over one arm, his white shirt slightly damp with sweat, strands of hair on his forehead still wet.

It was the face she had looked at for over ten years.

The little boy who had snatched her red flower in kindergarten… now the Lu Chen that every girl in school secretly admired.

But to her, he had always been the same—
The Lu Chen who carried her school bag, fought her battles, and even remembered to peel oranges for her in the middle of doing homework at night.

“Why are you home so late?” Gu Nian asked.

“I was called in for a talk with the teacher.”

“Oh.” She nodded, then added, “Is it because your grades are too good again?”

Lu Chen glanced at her and snorted lightly. “You think everyone’s like you?”

Gu Nian was indignant. “My math score improved by six points this time!”

“Really?”
He looked down and placed her bowl of watermelon back on the table. “That really is a miracle.”

“Lu Chen!”

She raised her hand to hit him, but he gently held her wrist.

Not much force, but steady.

Gu Nian froze for a moment.

She noticed for the first time—
His hand seemed… bigger.

Not like before, when he was just a boy about her size.

Lu Chen also paused for a moment, then immediately let go.

“Don’t be silly,” he said.

His tone was still familiar, but for some reason, Gu Nian’s heart skipped a beat.

She lowered her head and continued eating watermelon, saying nothing.

The air settled into a quiet stillness.

After a while, she whispered, “Are you leaving during summer break?”

“Yes,” he said. “Training camp.”

“How long?”

“One month.”

Gu Nian said “oh,” slowing down her spoonfuls.

“Don’t want to leave me?” Lu Chen asked.

She immediately looked up. “Who wouldn’t want you?”

He smiled slightly as he spoke.

Not the bold, brash smile of before, but a soft, faint one.

“That’s good then.”

But Gu Nian didn’t notice—
As he turned to go inside, his ears were slightly red.

That night, Gu Nian lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

She suddenly realized something:

Lu Chen was no longer just “the one who had grown up with me.”

She started to care—
Would he like someone else?
Would he grow distant from her?
Would there ever come a day when he no longer only protected her?

And these thoughts made her feel something for the first time—
That childhood sweethearts might not be as safe as she had always believed.