You Don't Understand My Brother at All

Thursday.

With the sports day approaching, the number of students attending regular classes had noticeably dwindled.

Long Aotian had just sat down when a figure appeared beside him.

He looked up, his brows instantly furrowing.

Seeing his frown, Shen Mengjie let out a soft laugh. "Sorry about last night."

Faced with her apology, Long Aotian replied coldly, "Was it fun?"

"What?"

"Playing with me—do you find it amusing?"

"I thought you’d like it. Besides, it’s been a while since I last kissed someone, so I figured we both enjoyed it." Shen Mengjie sat down on a nearby seat, her voice light as she explained.

"And even if you didn’t like it, there’s no need to be so angry, right? It’s not like you lost anything."

Long Aotian was momentarily speechless at her twisted logic. "You’re a girl. You use kissing as a game with guys?"

Shen Mengjie shrugged. "Because I thought we were the same kind of people."

"We’re not the same." Long Aotian denied it outright.

In response, Shen Mengjie merely smiled faintly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

If they weren’t the same, she wouldn’t have seen him walking out of a hotel with Lin Wanning.

Nor would she have witnessed Lin Wanning planting a kiss on his cheek while he remained indifferent.

He was just a little more restrained by morality than she was.

That was why he could maintain such perfect boundaries with the opposite sex, keeping everything so proper that no one could find fault.

Before this, Shen Mengjie had believed the same—until she saw that moment with her own eyes.

Now that she knew his little secret, Long Aotian no longer seemed so untouchable. If she just put in a little effort, if she just stood on her tiptoes, she could reach him.

The feeling was strange, like encountering a math problem she couldn’t solve, only to see someone else solve it first. All she had to do was copy the answer—after all, the result would be the same, wouldn’t it?

"If you don’t like it, I won’t do it again." Shen Mengjie knew when to yield. A little humility could easily sway a man’s emotions.

When it came to matters between men and women, she was far more experienced than anyone else here.

No one was flawless, and no one could be truly perfect. If such a person existed, they’d have to be the most hypocritical of all...

Long Aotian was just right—complex, mysterious, moral, responsible. He was practically the ideal partner.

And if someone like him ever felt indebted to you, he’d take responsibility without fail...

"If there’s a next time, I’ll tell Huang Fei."

Shen Mengjie nodded, feigning remorse. "Understood."

Whether she’d actually change was anyone’s guess, but her apology was always prompt.

The morning passed uneventfully, as if everything was meant to be this dull.

......

By the afternoon, Lin Wanning from the music department went out with her roommates, craving a cup of fruit tea.

"Wanning, you’re so stingy! Tell us what skincare you’re using!"

Lin Wanning’s fair complexion had always stood out, but after last night, even her roommates couldn’t help but envy her radiant skin.

Her usual cool demeanor now carried an inexplicable softness.

Lin Wanning lightly touched her cheek and sighed helplessly. "I really haven’t been using anything special. We share a dorm—if I had a secret, you’d know."

As she spoke, she spotted someone approaching.

All four of them stopped in their tracks.

Lin Wanning frowned slightly at the sight of the person before her. "Do you need something?"

From the depths of her heart, she disliked this woman.

Shen Mengjie, as if oblivious to Lin Wanning’s frown, smiled faintly. "Can we talk?"

"Us?" Lin Wanning clarified.

"Yes."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Trust me, it’ll interest you."

The way she phrased it made it clear she had an agenda—she’d been waiting for this. Lin Wanning couldn’t help but feel a flicker of curiosity.

She turned to her roommates. "Go ahead without me."

The three girls glanced between Lin Wanning and the equally beautiful Shen Mengjie before nodding. "Alright, we’ll get you a drink. Don’t take too long."

Shen Mengjie turned and walked away. Lin Wanning watched her retreating figure for a moment before following.

They stopped along a quiet campus path.

Lin Wanning crossed her arms. "Say what you need to say here."

Shen Mengjie took a seat on a nearby bench, cutting straight to the point. "You like Long Aotian, don’t you?"

Lin Wanning’s frown deepened. Without knowing Shen Mengjie’s intentions, she wasn’t about to reveal anything. She let out a soft laugh. "If that’s all you wanted to discuss, I’m afraid I’m not interested."

"Then how about this?" Shen Mengjie turned her phone screen toward Lin Wanning.

The moment Lin Wanning saw the photo, the smile vanished from her face, replaced by icy sharpness.

Shen Mengjie observed every shift in her expression, then smirked. "Now can we talk?"

Lin Wanning’s gaze remained fixed on the phone screen. Suddenly, she laughed—a rare sound, given her usual reserve. But in this moment, her smile was breathtaking.

The unexpected reaction caught Shen Mengjie off guard. "What’s so funny?"

"I’m laughing at how foolish you are." Her voice was cool, like melting snow from a mountain peak—clear yet carrying a faint chill.

"Did you really kiss him?" Lin Wanning countered.

"Isn’t this proof enough?" Shen Mengjie waved her phone.

Lin Wanning’s eyes lingered on the screen, her tone indifferent. "When my brother likes someone, he instinctively takes care of them. If it were him, he would’ve leaned down."

She remembered everything about him. Their first kiss had been when she tricked him into bending down, pretending she had a secret to whisper. Even then, she’d had to stand on her toes.

But if he initiated it, he’d lower himself—no need for her to reach up.

In the photo, Long Aotian stood straight, helmet in hand, while Shen Mengjie was on her tiptoes, arms around his neck, straining upward. It was obvious who had made the move.

Hearing this, the smirk faded from Shen Mengjie’s face. She hadn’t considered that detail.

Lin Wanning stood slowly. "He’ll never like you. Don’t waste your effort."

"Don't doubt it, because I understand my brother—better than you do, in fact..."

Watching Lin Wanning walk away, Shen Mengjie suddenly felt a pang of absurdity.

She had come today to test Lin Wanning's stance, but now it was clear—the woman was remarkably composed, far more rational than most. An ordinary person, faced with such photos, would never have remained so level-headed, much less pieced everything together so logically.

Yet, for someone so rational, her actions seemed oddly contradictory to that very trait.

Still, one thing puzzled Shen Mengjie. From Lin Wanning's words, she could sense a deep respect and protectiveness toward another person...