Brother-in-law

"Alright then."

"I'll head off first."

"Call me if you need anything."

Lin Yu patted Xia Yueshan's shoulder as he spoke.

Xia Yueshan nodded to show he understood.

After finishing his farewell, Lin Yu turned and left, intending to find Tang Qinqin, who was standing by a street food stall, and take her home.

"Is her sister really your girlfriend?"

Xia Yueshan's unwilling voice rang out behind him.

Lin Yu paused, glanced back at him, and after a moment of consideration, replied:

"Not right now."

"But it's close enough."

"If nothing goes wrong, I plan to confess and get together with her during college."

"As for high school, studying comes first."

"I don’t want to do anything that might affect my focus."

After saying this, Lin Yu wasn’t sure why, but facing this half-grown kid, he felt a strange pang in his chest.

Looking at Xia Yueshan, Lin Yu gave him an apologetic nod and a faint smile before turning away and striding off...

...

Lin Yu found Tang Qinqin in front of a crispy potato stall and stood quietly beside her, planning to scroll through his phone while waiting for the food to be ready before leaving with her.

But before he could even pull out his phone, Tang Qinqin smoothly assigned him a task.

"Brother-in-law, go over there."

Tang Qinqin pointed in a direction, her voice sweet and clear.

"That skewered sausage stall."

"I ordered two flour sausages—go pick them up for me."

Lin Yu followed her finger and quickly spotted the stall.

He turned back to look at Tang Qinqin, then at the stall again, his mind flooded with complaints—he didn’t even know which one to address first!

Lin Yu already had a poor impression of Tang Qinqin, and being ordered around by her, even in that sweet tone, made him reluctant to run this errand.

And another thing!

Didn’t I tell you to stop spouting nonsense?

Why won’t you listen?

Lin Yu was fuming, ready to scold and refuse, but the sight of Tang Qinqin’s face—so similar to Tang Manman’s—made the words stick in his throat.

The thought that Tang Qinqin might one day become his sister-in-law added a layer of caution to his frustration.

Fine.

To avoid future gossip, I’ll do it this once!

Just as Lin Yu was about to head to the stall, he stopped mid-step, wanting to seriously tell Tang Qinqin to drop the "brother-in-law" title—they weren’t at that stage yet!

His hesitation caught Tang Qinqin’s attention. She tilted her head and asked curiously:

"What’s wrong?"

"Brother-in-law?"

That crisp, sweet address sent a thrill through Lin Yu—he could barely suppress his grin!

Well, well.

You have to admit…

"Brother-in-law" does sound pretty good!

It was as if he’d leaped through time, straight into a future where he and Tang Manman were happily married, living their blissful daily life.

"Ahem!"

Clearing his throat, Lin Yu forced down the giddy excitement and said sternly:

"Stop calling me that."

"Your sister and I aren’t even close to being official."

"Wait—no!"

"We haven’t even picked up the pen yet—at most, we’re still grinding the ink!"

"What will people think if they hear you?"

Tang Qinqin frowned, her delicate willow-leaf brows knitting together. Instead of answering, she fired back in a pointed tone:

"What?"

"Are you saying you don’t plan to have a future with my sister?"

"I do!"

Lin Yu hurriedly clarified, then added:

"But that’s way later! It’s not appropriate for you to call me that now!"

Hearing this, Tang Qinqin relaxed her brows and waved dismissively.

"Fine, then I’ll only call you that in private, okay?"

Her peach-blossom eyes narrowed playfully, a teasing glint shining through.

"Just around you and my sister."

"No!"

Lin Yu refused firmly.

"I haven’t agreed to be with your sister yet."

"You can’t call me that!"

"Huh?!"

Tang Qinqin’s voice rose in shock, her mouth hanging open.

"You!"

"Haven’t agreed to my sister?!!"

"Yeah, so what?"

Lin Yu replied nonchalantly, side-eyeing her as if her sister were some unattractive girl.

Tang Qinqin stared at him silently, the word "unbelievable" practically written on her face. After a long pause, she finally spoke:

"Do you know how many days I spent mentally preparing myself to accept you as my brother-in-law?"

Lin Yu didn’t bother with lengthy explanations. He flicked her smooth forehead hard and retorted:

"Who asked you to waste time on that?"

With that, he turned and strode off to fetch the sausages, leaving Tang Qinqin crouched on the ground, clutching her forehead in pain, curled into a tiny ball.

When Lin Yu returned with the sausages, he was surprised to find Tang Qinqin had ordered even more snacks.

The two wandered through the bustling street of food stalls, Lin Yu’s hands soon overflowing with packages, until Tang Qinqin finally declared her shopping spree over.

Watching her munch on a skewer, Lin Yu asked, puzzled:

"You bought so much."

"Aren’t you eating dinner later?"

Tang Qinqin nodded bluntly.

"Nope!"

"Today, I’m stuffing myself with all the snacks that always tease me with their smells!"

Lin Yu caught onto something in her words and asked:

"Does your mom not give you much pocket money?"

"She does," Tang Qinqin replied.

"But it’s very little."

"Just five yuan a day."

"Only enough for breakfast."

Lin Yu frowned.

"What do you do when you’re thirsty at school?"

"There’s a water dispenser. I have a bottle."

"And when you’re hungry?"

Tang Qinqin hesitated before answering:

"I endure it. Lunchtime comes soon enough."

"If I’m hungry at night, I wait till I get home."

With that, she veered off the sidewalk and into a nearby park, plopping onto a random bench.

Lin Yu followed, setting the snacks beside her before sitting at the other end of the bench, leaving a pile of food between them.

Tang Qinqin ate slowly, sampling each snack one by one. When she found one she liked, her eyes crinkled with delight, her lips curling into a blissful smile.

Lin Yu scrolled on his phone, quietly waiting for her to finish.

The evening sun in early spring was always gentle, its golden glow brilliant yet soft.

The cool spring breeze drifted gently, carrying the fragrance of flowers and the vibrant essence unique to the season.

Aroma, sunset, the perfect temperature, and a relaxed heart—when these things came together, it almost felt as if happiness couldn’t get any simpler.

The sun dipped low on the horizon, its golden rays growing sparse as dusk approached.

By now, Tang Qinqin had finally finished devouring the pile of steaming-hot street snacks.

She stood up, blocking a large swath of the setting sun as she faced Lin Yu. Her youthful voice carried an unexpected touch of wistfulness.

“I’ve been dreaming of eating like this for so long.”

“Every day after school, the smell of those snacks is enough to make me dizzy with craving.”

“If I’d kept saving just a couple of coins a day, it would’ve taken me forever to afford this.”

“So… thank you.”

As she spoke, Tang Qinqin narrowed her eyes, her smile dazzling—brighter, it seemed, than the sunset behind her.

“Lin Yu.”