The post-rain air smelled like a mud-stained camphor leaf.

Yue Zhishi was jolted awake by the orange cat jumping onto the bed and stepping on him. He dazedly opened his eyes and realized with a shock that he had overslept.

Of all the times to be late, which was only a few times a year, it had to happen on the first day of school. What terrible luck. Hearing Auntie Rong call him from downstairs, Yue Zhishi quickly answered a few times. The cat stepped on his stomach again before leaping gracefully to the floor. He quickly washed up, changed, grabbed his schoolbag, and ran out.

"Did your alarm not go off?" Lin Rong calmly rinsed out a milk cup. "Hurry and eat breakfast. I mixed the leftover sauce from yesterday's braised beef with rice noodles. It's pretty good."

By then, Yue Zhishi had already shot to the entryway, with no time to even think about breakfast.

"There's no morning self-study before the opening ceremony, so I forgot to set a new alarm. Auntie Rong, where's Brother Song Yu?"

The family's little Pomeranian pattered after him, sitting obediently on the floor to watch him change his shoes.

"Your brother left a long time ago. Isn't it the opening ceremony today? I think he said he was on duty. Do third-year high school students still have to be on duty?" Lin Rong put the cup away, dried her hands, and turned around. "Your Junior High Division's opening ceremony should still be held with the Senior High Division, right..."

When she turned back, Yue Zhishi had already opened the door. The Pomeranian was frantically scratching his leg, not wanting him to leave.

Lin Rong hurriedly called out to him, "Lele! You can't skip breakfast!"

Yue Zhishi crouched down, ruffled the dog's head, and gave it a kiss before rushing off. "I'll go buy some rice cakes. Bye, Auntie Rong~"

"Don't eat junk!"

After leaving his house, Yue Zhishi rode his bike straight to the breakfast stalls outside the residential complex. The old lady who always sold rice cakes wasn't there today. Yue Zhishi had heard her complain about back pain before, so he figured she was probably resting for a few days. He'd have to be sure to buy extra next time he saw her. The soup noodle shop next door, however, was wafting with aroma; the scent of well-stewed beef offal was noticeable from a great distance.

"Lele, have you had breakfast yet? Come have some noodles," the owner of the beef noodle shop called out as he lifted a strainer full of rice noodles from a large stockpot. The hot soup beneath the strainer was like white satin, rising and falling.

"I'm going to be late, Uncle Chen. I'll eat tomorrow!" Yue Zhishi stopped his bike and ran into the convenience store. With no time to choose, he grabbed a bag of rice bread, paid, and left. It was one of the few snacks in the convenience store that he could eat.

It had rained all through the night. The rain in this city was never gentle, always accompanied by lightning and thunder, which had kept him from sleeping all night. He remembered his first night at the Song Family's house was also during a storm like this, with lightning tearing through the night sky. The moment thunder cracked, he was so scared he burst into tears, ran straight into Song Yu's room, and climbed into his bed.

From that moment on, he instinctively began to rely on this brother with whom he had no blood relation.

Yue Zhishi's father, Le Yi, and Song Yu's father, Song Jin, were close friends who had grown up together.

Le Yi's parents passed away early, so before he moved to the United Kingdom, Le Yi was practically an unofficial member of the Song Family, eating and living with them. Le Yi loved extreme sports. During a rock-climbing trip, he met an English girl named Olivia. The two fell madly in love and had the adorable Yue Zhishi. But their happy times were too short. Eleven years ago, while skiing in the Alps, the couple was caught in an unexpected avalanche and both were killed.

Overnight, Yue Zhishi lost his parents. Even Song Jin, who flew to the United Kingdom to bring him back, didn't know how to explain it all to a three-year-old child.

At that time, Yue Zhishi would only cling to Song Jin's sleeve, sweetly call him "uncle," and didn't understand what death or foster care meant. He was brought back to the Song Family and had been rooted in Jiangcheng ever since.

A red light at the intersection forced Yue Zhishi to brake. He had gotten up too abruptly this morning and still felt a bit light-headed. His gaze fixed on the red light, and his thoughts skipped and scattered. Only shattered silhouettes of last night's dream remained in his mind. It seemed he had turned into a tiny little ball, trailing behind Song Yu, unable to even speak Chinese properly, only knowing how to be clingy.

Lin Rong always teased Yue Zhishi in a jealous tone, saying that the first Chinese word he learned was actually "gege"*.

*T/N: Brother

However, Song Yu had been a boy of few words since he was young, indifferent to everyone. Fortunately, although he didn't pay much attention to Yue Zhishi, he never pushed him away either, letting him cling. It was only when they grew older and started elementary school that Yue Zhishi's mixed-race features became more and more conspicuous.

Song Yu was already outstanding on his own, and now he was followed by a doll-faced "tag-along." He had to deal with gossip and questions about his family situation almost every day. Over time, Song Yu's patience wore thin. Coincidentally, they later moved to a new house, leaving their old school district and elementary school classmates behind. So, when he entered junior high, he laid down three major rules:

You are not allowed to call me 'brother' outside.

We are not allowed to go to school or go home together.

You can't let anyone know you live at my house.

At first, Yue Zhishi simply couldn't accept it. Song Yu going to junior high and being separated from him was a big enough blow, not to mention the rule about not calling him brother. But he had always been a child who followed Song Yu's lead, number one in obeying rules. After all, compared to being ignored, keeping a distance outside was something Yue Zhishi could accept.

In Yue Zhishi's heart, Song Yu was like a benchmark always standing ahead of him, one he had been chasing since he learned to walk. When Song Yu was six, he was three, stumbling after his brother to watch ants moving house. When Song Yu was ten, he was seven, going to elementary school with his brother for the first time, so happy on the bus that he started singing, only to have his mouth covered. When Song Yu was fifteen, he was twelve, holding a small electric fan under the scorching sun. The old man selling popsicles gave him a stool so he could sit and wait for his brother to finish his exam. He still remembered eating three popsicles that day, which Song Yu didn't notice. For his sake, Song Yu had given up taking the school bus, and they took a taxi to eat crayfish instead.

The crayfish that day were especially big. He ate 23 of them, 15 of which Song Yu peeled for him because he was told he was too slow. He remembered retorting, "Even though I'm not good at peeling shrimp, I'm good at hiding, right? None of your classmates saw me."

But Song Yu was dismissive. "But I saw you at a glance, so you're not good at hiding at all."

Yue Zhishi had always insisted that he was very good at hiding, including his relationship with Song Yu when they were outside. Later, he had to admit that Song Yu was right.

"The light's green, let's go."

A voice from the road interrupted his thoughts. Glancing at the time, Yue Zhishi pushed down on the pedals and sped up, his thin body arching as he pedaled hard. The early September wind was still warm, baking him all over and causing his summer school uniform shirt to puff up. Yue Zhishi's slightly curly brown hair glinted gold in the sunlight, fluffy and soft.

He raced all the way to school. Just as he parked his bike and saw the large group of students on duty at the gate, he had a nagging feeling he'd forgotten something.

"Lele!" A sudden slap on his shoulder made Yue Zhishi jump and turn around. It was his best buddy and deskmate, Jiang Yufan.

Yue Zhishi's surname was unusual. Many people would misread it as the "le" for "happy" instead of the "yue" for "music" at first glance. The frequency of this mistake gave him an extra nickname—Lele. Not just his family, but also his close classmates and friends all called him that.

Jiang Yufan looked smug after his successful prank, rubbing his freshly shaved buzz cut that his mom had forced on him. "Why are you cutting it so close today too?"

"Overslept." Yue Zhishi pulled Jiang Yufan towards the school gate. "There are so many people at the gate."

Jiang Yufan said with an air of nonchalance, "The more you don't have morning self-study, the more people are late." Seeing the student on duty with an armband in the distance, he checked his uniform and glanced over at Yue Zhishi.

"Hey, wait," Jiang Yufan grabbed him. "Lele, where's your name tag?"

Yue Zhishi, who had been walking quickly, suddenly came to his senses. He touched his chest and, sure enough, it was bare.

"Crap. Auntie Rong always takes the name tag off when she does the laundry. I was in a rush today and totally forgot about it."

"What do we do now?" Jiang Yufan stood on his tiptoes to peek at the gate. "Holy crap, Compass is there too."

Compass was the nickname of their Junior High Division's dean of students. Because he was tall and skinny, and extremely meticulous, everyone called him that.

Yue Zhishi became even more anxious. Compass was notoriously a stickler for the rules, even taking note of and announcing girls who altered their uniform skirts. And today, of all days, was the opening ceremony. He might end up on the list of students to be publicly called out.

He pulled his backpack strap over his chest, trying to hide it. "Jiang Yufan, help cover for me."

"Alright, we might be able to bluff our way through."

Jiang Yufan shielded half of his body, and the two moved quickly towards the school gate like conjoined twins, attempting to sneak through the crowd of students being inspected.

Compass's voice was shrill. "Tuck your collar out, that student. The opening ceremony will be recorded later and uploaded to the school's official website. Your image is the image of our Peiya School, understand?"

Yue Zhishi gripped his backpack strap tightly, burying his head and shuffling forward close to Jiang Yufan.

"What's with those pants?"

"Teacher, my uniform pants weren't dry, so I wore a similar pair..."

"Are two pairs of uniform pants not enough for you to wash and wear?!"

Yue Zhishi lowered his head even further, already preparing his apology.

"Stop."

He froze like a rabbit that had been struck motionless, not daring to look up.

'It's not me, it can't be me.'

"I'm talking to you."

Compass walked closer, a student on duty standing next to him. "The girl with the short hair, where's your name tag? What class are you in?"

Just as Yue Zhishi let out a sigh of relief, he heard Compass say, "I've told you countless times that you must wear your student name tag to school. Is that so hard to do? Who else isn't wearing one?"

'Me.'

Yue Zhishi's whole body went rigid, as if a giant, grotesque hand had suddenly plucked him from the crowd, dangled him in front of Compass, and pointed out the spot on his chest where a name tag was missing.

At this moment of peak tension, his arm was actually grabbed. His heart leaped into his throat, and Yue Zhishi subconsciously apologized, "I'm sorry..."

But in the next second, the hand slid down his arm, took his hand, and parted his fingers within the tightly packed crowd of students. A piece of metal, warm with body heat, was pressed into his palm.

It sounds strange, but Yue Zhishi recognized who it was just from the hand. He looked up and, sure enough, saw a cold yet familiar face.

The other person was wearing the Senior High Division uniform, a red armband around his sleeve, his brow slightly furrowed under the direct sunlight.

It was none other than the "brother" who lived under the same roof as him.

Yue Zhishi's eyes widened slightly, his light-colored pupils as translucent as amber beads in the sun. Seeing Song Yu sent a jolt of electricity through him. He instinctively wanted to speak, but the next second, he reflexively swallowed the "Ge" that was on the tip of his tongue.

Their eyes met. Song Yu let go of his hand and looked away, his gaze indifferent, as if their relationship was truly just that of a senior on duty and a rule-breaking junior. He glanced at his watch and took out a pen from his pocket to write down the names of the late students.

Everyone's attention was still on Compass and the girl being scolded; no one noticed this secret exchange. Yue Zhishi looked down at the name tag in his hand, on which were engraved the eight characters: [Peiya Junior High Division, Yue Zhishi]. Before Compass could notice, Yue Zhishi quickly pinned the name tag to the front of his shirt.

Just as he lowered his hand, he saw a pair of sharp eyes sweep over him. Yue Zhishi looked up and smiled at Compass. He had a naturally innocent face, with a pair of utterly guileless puppy-dog eyes. While good looks weren't a free pass for everything, it was indeed hard for anyone to be harsh with such a pretty face.

"You were almost late." Despite his words, Compass let him go. "Go on in."

"Okay." Yue Zhishi nodded obediently. "Thank you, Dean."

The school's Clock Tower chimed at that exact moment. He couldn't help but look back. In the crowd, Song Yu stood as tall and straight as a metasequoia, the kind of person who would sparkle when they appeared in a manga.

Time was running out. The whole class had to gather in the classroom before the opening ceremony. Yue Zhishi didn't want to be late again and ran desperately towards his classroom, but Jiang Yufan felt something was off. "No way, Yue Zhishi, stop! I saw everything!"

"I'm gonna be late, I'm gonna be late," Yue Zhishi panted as he ran, his heart pounding.

Jiang Yufan chased after him, out of breath. "Don't... don't change the subject, 'fess up. How did your name tag end up in Song Yu's hands?"