Chapter Three: Brother, Brother

At that moment, a force pulled Zhao Shi out of the water, dragging her from the lotus pond.

When she heard her mother’s voice and groggily opened her eyes, she met a pair of deep black eyes so close to hers, yet devoid of warmth.

They were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.

Profound and bottomless, yet with a subtle undercurrent of emotion.

Jiang Hao’en, who was performing artificial respiration on Zhao Shi, saw her cough up water and open her eyes. He then straightened up and stopped the resuscitation.

“Thank you, Young Master Jiang. Thank you for saving my sister-in-law, Zhao Shi,” she choked, expressing her gratitude.

Jiang Hao’en said nothing, simply rising and walking away.

Zhao Shi turned her head and saw her mother.

With a sudden cry of fright, she burst into tears.

Zhao Shi was shaken and suffered intermittent high fevers for several days. Her sister-in-law tried many home remedies to calm her nerves, but with little effect. In the end, Zhao Shi’s fever subsided on its own, and she recovered.

From then on, whenever Zhao Shi returned home during holidays, she liked to wander over to the courtyard where Jiang Hao’en lived, whether there was a reason or not.

Jiang Hao’en was busy with his own affairs and mostly ignored Zhao Shi, letting her roam about in front of him as she pleased.

It was as if Zhao Shi were invisible.

Whether it was because she was young and naive or for some other reason, Zhao Shi never minded at all.

If she wasn’t playing inside or outside his room alone, she was helping her mother bring snacks to him.

Sometimes, on a whim, she would sing or recite lessons to Jiang Hao’en.

Occasionally, Jiang Hao’en would furrow his brows in annoyance, but that was the extent of his reaction.

Zhao Shi was like a doll immune to scolding; unable to read others’ expressions, she simply loved to stick close to Jiang Hao’en.

“Zhao Shi, you mustn’t always bother Young Master Jiang,” her sister-in-law patiently told her.

“Mom, I’m not bothering him. I’m playing with him!” Zhao Shi said earnestly.

“Does Young Master Jiang play with you?” her sister-in-law asked, surprised.

“He doesn’t play with me, so I play with him by myself. I even sing songs and recite poems to him!” Zhao Shi said proudly.

Her sister-in-law couldn’t help but smile wryly and said,

“Just try not to disturb Young Master Jiang too much, alright?”

“Mom, I won’t bother him,” Zhao Shi insisted.

By the time Zhao Shi was in fourth grade, her grades had steadily improved.

Before that, she hovered around seventy to eighty points.

One day, she brought her test papers to Jiang Hao’en’s room to study, not caring whether he would pay attention to her or not. Whenever she encountered a problem she couldn’t solve, she would simply run over and ask,

“Brother, how do you solve this?”

“Brother, please teach me!”

At first, Jiang Hao’en ignored her completely. But perhaps after being pestered enough, he began answering her questions briefly a few times.

Gradually, no matter the subject, whenever Zhao Shi met a difficulty, she would directly ask Jiang Hao’en.