Chapter 4

Chapter 4

During a meal, I accidentally choked on a Sichuan pepper. As I coughed, Noah poured me a glass of water.

I took the glass and gulped it down, but I still felt choked. I handed the glass back to him, and Noah understood right away—he poured me another glass.

We didn't say a word to each other the whole time, but our movements were so in sync it was like we'd been living together for over a decade.

Of course, I couldn't speak because I was coughing so hard from the pepper, and Noah was just a man of few words.

When I finally recovered from the coughing fit, I belatedly noticed my mom and stepdad staring at us in shock—with a hint of emotion in their eyes too.

Noah felt the stares on him. His ears turned pink, and he bowed his head to continue eating without a word.

I was struck by how shy he looked. I couldn't help teasing him: "Can you pour your sister another glass of water, please, little brother?"

Noah looked up and glared at me, but he still took the glass and poured me more water.

It was then that my stepdad remembered something. He said: "Xiaoling, isn't your birthday coming up? How do you want to celebrate this year?"

My smile froze. I looked at my mom instinctively—and sure enough, her expression changed too, though she quickly recovered her composure.

She definitely hadn't told my stepdad about that thing yet.

I downed the new glass of water Noah had poured me in one go. I still felt choked, but I forced a casual laugh. "Has it really been that long? I totally forgot! But I don't like birthdays anyway—every time I have one, I feel like I'm getting a year older."

My stepdad sounded helpless. "You're only 15. You're in the prime of your life—why would you think that way?"

I bowed my head and poked at the rice in my bowl. Maybe I'd drunk too much water, but suddenly I had no appetite. "Because I don't want to grow up. I want to stay 12 forever."

As soon as the words left my mouth, my mom called my name—her tone sharp, with a warning in it: "Linda Zhong!"

I quickly backtracked. "I'm just kidding! It doesn't matter if we celebrate or not, but I want to keep the daytime free, okay?"