Being "Crushed" - Chapter 11

Time seemed to pass slowly before Song Yuhan finally tilted her head slightly, her gaze flickering, “What’s the coincidence?”

Apparently not expecting her to ask that, Lu Sifang rubbed his nose and replied with a question of his own, “Two lone souls in the same place—isn’t that a coincidence?”

Song Yuhan didn’t respond. She just stared at him, lost in thought.

Seeing this, Lu Sifang leaned forward slightly and raised his eyebrows with a sincere smile:

“—Want to team up with me? I promise I won’t drag you down.” He looked into her eyes and said each word clearly and firmly.

This time, Song Yuhan didn’t flinch at his closeness. Instead, she looked seriously into his eyes, listening to his vow-like words, and her heart inexplicably began to race.

But a moment later, she slowly lowered her gaze, and her voice became softer:

“If you’re only asking because you don’t have anyone else…”

“No.”

Before she could finish, Lu Sifang cut her off decisively, denying her ridiculous assumption.

“I just want to team up with you, that’s all.” He frowned slightly, a hint of confusion in his eyes, but still patiently offered an explanation.

Faced with such a direct response, Song Yuhan was stunned. Other than Zhou Su, this was the first time anyone had said something like that to her—especially someone she had just met and barely knew.

So she panicked. Her hands clutched the straps of her backpack tightly, as if trying to relieve her inner tension and helplessness.

“Why?” she wanted to get a clear answer. They weren’t even familiar with each other. If it wasn’t because he had no other options, why did he want to team up with her?

Lu Sifang was baffled. “Why make it so complicated?” He scratched his brow, and finally, unable to come up with a good reason, just said, “Because you’re Song Yuhan, and I’m Lu Sifang. Good enough?”

He wanted to—what more reason was needed?

“You only need to consider one thing: whether you want to or not.” He left those words hanging, avoiding her reaction and pretending to admire the scenery nearby.

Song Yuhan thought for a moment. Though teaming up with a boy she barely knew felt awkward, he had stepped in to help her and was so sincere in his invitation. If she still rejected him, would that make her seem cold and unapproachable?

And once word got out, people might start saying she was aloof and hard to get along with again…

“Well—okay, then.” After much deliberation, she agreed.

The moment she said yes, the boy’s rebellious but charming features lit up with delight. “Then it’s settled, partner.”

With that, he gave his skateboard a kick and rushed off to submit their names, leaving behind a carefree figure in motion—giving her no chance to back out.

When the supervising teacher saw the submitted team list with Song Yuhan and Lu Sifang’s names together, he almost spat out his water.

This was… ridiculous! The two of them had polar opposite personalities—how on earth did they end up paired together??

But the list had already been turned in, which meant the girl had agreed willingly. As a teacher, he couldn’t say much, so he simply prayed silently:

Please, let Lu Sifang not drag down our school’s last hope…

Back home, Song Yuhan was still lost in thoughts about the day’s events. She chewed her rice absentmindedly, taking ages to swallow. Across from her, the man with the gentle eyes behind glasses smiled slightly:

“Yuhan, what’s wrong? You rarely get distracted while eating.”

Snapped back to reality by his words, Song Yuhan shook her head and smiled. “It’s nothing, bro.”

“Really nothing?” Song Zhihan put down his utensils, his tone soft but somehow pressuring.

Being stared at quietly by him made her feel increasingly uncomfortable, so she ducked her head and focused on her food to avoid his probing gaze.

Very few people knew this, but… she was actually an abandoned child.

She couldn’t even remember exactly how old she was when it happened. From the time she had memories, her biological mother always seemed depressed, and she had never even seen her father once.

Before she turned six, her daily routine was sitting on the dusty stone steps in front of her house, watching kids around her age walk hand-in-hand with their parents.

Sometimes, pitying adults would let their kids share candy with her.

One family, in particular, gave her candy the most often.

In her memory, the mother in that family was tall and strikingly beautiful—so much so that she made the man beside her look weak in comparison. They always let their lively little son give her sweets.

Since she always sat on the steps, she would often notice details from that angle—like the conspicuous little mole on the boy’s neck.

But at some point, that family stopped appearing as a trio, then stopped sharing candy, and eventually vanished altogether.

She never tasted candy that sweet again.

Normally, receiving gifts should be a joyful thing. But whenever she shared her excitement with her mother, she was met with scolding and anger.

Eventually, she stopped accepting the candy. She told herself she didn’t like sweets.

By the time she had fully convinced herself that she naturally didn’t like sugar… one day, her mother suddenly bought her a lot of candy. Unfortunately, it was mango-flavored—her most hated flavor.

Still, she ate it happily. It was the first time her mother had ever smiled at her and bought her candy.

Then her mother held her hand and took her to a white building. She told her to wait there, that she would come back for her soon…

She waited for a long, long time, cradling those mango lollipops in her palms.

And then she saw that same little boy who used to give her candy walk out of the building—but this time, he was alone. The warm, sunny aura he once carried was completely gone.

She slowly walked over to him. They were now around the same height, and she immediately noticed that same dark mole on his neck…

Imitating the way he used to smile at her, she gave him most of her candy.

Later, the boy was picked up. She finished all her candy… but never saw her mother again.

From age six to eight, she lived in that white building. Many adults came and went, but they all preferred outgoing, cheerful children. Quiet and unnoticed kids like her were never chosen.

Over time, hope gave way to disappointment… again and again.

Until one day, she had given up all hope of ever having a real family—and that was when the Song couple arrived, along with their son, Song Zhihan. They were like a light shining into her dark world.

The Song couple were busy professionals and worried their son spent too much time alone. To ease their guilt, they decided to adopt a quiet little sister to keep him company.

There were many other girls her age in the building, some even more likable. But for some reason, Song Zhihan only chose her.

“From now on, you’re my little sister.”

Later, they got her registered, gave her a new name—and from that moment on, she became Song Yuhan.

The Song couple treated her well, almost no differently than their own son. But because of their demanding careers, they were often abroad. That meant most of the time, it was just her and Song Zhihan at home.

Song Zhihan was gentle, never lost his temper, and was a model big brother. So good that… he felt more like real family than her biological one.

Anything related to her, he handled personally, no matter how busy he was. Despite having house staff, he never left tasks to them. Because her legal guardians were often away, he was the one who signed her report cards.

Knowing she’d had a rough childhood, he regularly took her to amusement parks and bought her all kinds of cute gifts to cheer her up. Knowing she loved good food, he even hired chefs to cater to her taste…

There was only one thing—Song Zhihan was extremely strict about her social life, especially with boys. He especially disliked her interacting with any males aside from himself.

Any time a boy tried to pass her a love letter, he’d smile politely on the surface, then go report it to the boy’s parents behind their backs. He held grudges—hard.

That’s why she had been so flustered today—because of Lu Sifang.

So she didn’t dare mention a word about him in front of her brother.

But after living together for so many years, how could such obvious signs of distraction go unnoticed?

Song Zhihan watched her closely, and when she looked evasive after being questioned, he didn’t even need to guess—clearly, some brat had shown up again.

He knew that because of her childhood, Song Yuhan had grown into a reserved person, always hiding behind a cold facade. But deep down, she was simple and innocent—easily misled.

That’s why he wouldn’t allow her to be around other boys.

“Yuhan, you haven’t forgotten what I’ve told you, right?” he asked again, setting down his utensils. The sharp clink of metal struck her heart like a warning, and she tensed up.

“What… ‘don’t talk while eating’?” she played dumb, genuinely unsure where she’d slipped up.

“……”

Knowing full well she was pretending, Song Zhihan didn’t press her. He simply adjusted his glasses and smiled warmly, “It’s nothing. Eat first.”

“Oh…” She went back to eating quietly, not daring to speak again.

Song Zhihan then looked at the watch on her wrist. “The watch I gave you—you wear it every day?”

His tone was casual, as if making small talk.

“Mm-hmm, every day,” she replied obediently, not understanding the significance.

Only then did Song Zhihan nod with satisfaction. After reminding her not to study too late, he went upstairs.

Second Floor, Song Zhihan’s Room—

Once in his room, Song Zhihan took off his glasses, put on his Bluetooth earphones, turned on his laptop, and eagerly opened a hidden file.

He clicked on the latest entry—today’s recording.

Soon, a bright male voice came through:

“Lu Sifang. That’s my name.”

As soon as he heard that voice, all his actions froze. The only thing moving were his trembling pupils, something dark brewing in their depths… but it vanished in an instant, leaving only a faint, dangerous smile in the air.

Meanwhile, Song Yuhan, still finishing her dinner downstairs, had no idea what was happening above.

Back in her room, she turned on her phone and saw a new friend request.

As expected—it was from Lu Sifang.

His friend request bio matched his style perfectly: short and direct—“Mimosa. Add me.”

Song Yuhan frowned at the casual nickname. She didn’t accept right away and instead messaged Zhou Su.

“Susu! You won’t believe what happened today…”

“That’s what you get for ditching me and flying solo. Serves you right! See what happens without me around.”

“I was wrong…”

“Too late! Now you’ve caught the attention of that little tyrant… Ugh, if I’d known, I wouldn’t have gone along with the crowd. Maybe I could’ve snagged the same class as you. Now we’re in trouble!”

Hearing her bring up Lu Sifang, Song Yuhan tensed and quickly asked, “Why do you say that? You know him?”

“Heh. Who doesn’t know Lu ‘Little Tyrant’ Sifang at Yunsheng… (good luck, girl)”

At the same time, a new message popped up on Song Yuhan’s phone—none other than from “Little Tyrant” himself.

He had even changed his friend request bio. This time it read:

“Partner. Add me. I don’t get a question.”

Song Yuhan: “……”