Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lin Chengyan: "?"

Who's lovestruck?

Bai Yaxin asked, "Weren't you shooting in City C? Why are you back today?"

Lin Chengyan: "Mom I—*muffled*—I just thought—*muffled*—"

Bai Yaxin whacked him on the back and said sternly, "Lin Chengyan, speak properly."

Lin Chengyan looked at Bai Yaxin and the towel in her hand innocently. He *wanted* to speak properly, but Bai Yaxin wasn’t giving him the chance.

Every time he tried to speak, Bai Yaxin shoved the towel in his face.

Bai Yaxin folded the towel elegantly and said, "Explain. Why did you come back early?"

Lin Tingyue, who'd been shamelessly eavesdropping, secretly raised her hand.

"I know the answer! Because tomorrow is Second Brother's crush's competition."

In an instant, Lin Rusong, Lin Xiawan, and Bai Yaxin all turned to look at Lin Chengyan.

Lin Chengyan, who had also heard the voice: "?"

Who the hell is spoiling things here?

And the voice sounded familiar. Lin Chengyan turned to the only person among the four who hadn’t looked back—Lin Tingyue.

Feeling his gaze, Lin Tingyue stiffened.

"Second Brother, staring at me won’t help. What’s yours will be yours, and what’s not yours won’t be no matter how hard you try. Give it up, Second Brother. The world's crawling with simps."

Bai Yaxin snorted. She patted Lin Chengyan’s back gleefully as his face went through five shades of red.

Finally, Lin Chengyan exploded. "Lin. Ting. Yue."

Newsflash: *I'm* the oldest here~

Before he could blow up, Bai Yaxin pushed him. "Go shower. And change."

---

Lin Tingyue ambled over. She stood there all innocent-like in front of Lin Chengyan. "Second Brother."

Lin Chengyan looked her up and down. He'd heard his sister took a spill recently. After all, for twenty whole years, Lin Tingyue had been his biological sister. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh and instead asked awkwardly, "That bump on your head healed yet?"

Lin Tingyue: "?"

"Second Brother, this is who you are? Not just a love-struck fool, but also a clueless cinnamon roll?"

No wonder she thought that. In the original story, Lin Chengyan had ended up hating the original character the most.

Lin Chengyan gritted his teeth. "Lin. Ting. Yue."

He was done with her—first with the lovestruck fool bit, now calling him a simp?

You kidding me?

Lin Chengyan had no choice but to obediently head upstairs.

*Will that arrogant and aloof second brother listen to Mom and wear long johns in winter?*

Thinking this, Lin Tingyue watched Lin Chengyan climb the stairs with great interest. Lin Chengyan stumbled, grabbing the railing to steady himself, then turned around to hide all those long johns!

A playful voice came from behind: "Second Brother, be careful."

Lin Chengyan: *Dammit.*

After showering and coming downstairs, the hair dye in Lin Chengyan's hair had completely washed off. He had also removed his makeup, looking fresh-faced and every bit the star.

As soon as he sat down, Zhang Ma handed him a bowl of ginger soup.

Bai Yaxin stared at him, and Lin Chengyan had to drink it like a good boy.

"Listen to Mom..."

Lin Chengyan: *Cough! Hack! Wheeze!*

"What's wrong? Why did Second Brother choke? Are you okay—"

Lin Chengyan: *...*

Once he finished, Bai Yaxin said, "Now, explain why you came back early. Your eldest brother already said that if you keep acting recklessly, he won’t cover your penalty fees anymore."

Lin Chengyan grumbled, "I don’t need Eldest Brother. I have plenty of savings myself."

Lin Rusong jumped in: "Then be bold enough not to use the Lin family’s money either."

Lin Chengyan pursed his lips, his handsome brows furrowing. "This time, I didn’t run off without permission or breach any contracts. The production was on break anyway, so I came back to see Mom and Dad."

"Not true. You rushed back in the rain today because you were afraid of missing your crush’s competition, weren’t you?"

*Come rain or shine, that competition won’t wait~*

Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong exchanged a glance. Bai Yaxin said, "Since you claim you came back to see us, then stay home with Mom all day tomorrow. How about that?"

Lin Chengyan shot back: "No."

*Tch tch, even if we have to break Second Brother’s legs, he’d still drag himself there to see his crush compete.*

"Lin Tingyue, you—"

"Second Brother, what’s wrong?" Lin Tingyue looked at him, batting her eyelashes innocently.

Lin Chengyan clenched his fists. "Nothing."

When Plan A fell through, Bai Yaxin tried another: "If you insist on going out tomorrow, bring your little sisters along."

Especially Lin Tingyue. With her around, Lin Chengyan’s plans were doomed to fail.

This wasn’t the first time Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong had heard about Lin Chengyan’s supposed 'crush.'

That girl’s name was Cheng Jinshuang—stunning, graceful, and top of her class. If Lin Chengyan and Cheng Jinshuang truly had mutual feelings, Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong wouldn’t mind.

The problem is, Lin Chengyan has a one-sided crush and has even bailed on contracts repeatedly for Cheng Jinshuang. If he keeps this up, Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong worry it will affect Lin Chengyan's career.

After all, Lin Chengyan just won Best Actor, and his career is skyrocketing. So this time, at the suggestion of his eldest brother, his agent landed him a new project—a great one, but the filming location is in City C.

You'd think that would stop him, but no—it couldn’t shake Lin Chengyan’s determination to return.

Lin Chengyan didn’t expect Bai Yaxin to insist he bring Lin Xiawan and Lin Tingyue along. He admitted, "Mom, Dad, I actually came back to see Jinshuang."

Before Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong could respond, Lin Chengyan added, "Mom, Dad, I mean it this time. This competition is very important to Jinshuang—she can’t do without my support. After this, we’ll go our separate ways and wish each other well."

"Bro, my dear brother, cut out the self-help crap. 'She can’t do without your support'? She has plenty of other supporters."

Lin Chengyan: "..."

He wanted to bang his head against a wall.

Lin Rusong put his foot down: "If it’s that important, then you should definitely bring your two sisters. Consider it a sign of our family’s support."

"Wow, Dad’s bringing out the big guns now?"

"Don’t worry, Mom and Dad. With me around, Second Brother’s definitely gonna screw this up."

Lin Chengyan shot Lin Tingyue a death glare.

"Maybe… we can half-ass it?"

...

Cheng Jinshuang goes to the top university in City A. Lin Tingyue, Lin Xiawan, Lin Chengyan, and even the eldest Lin brother—who hasn’t appeared yet—are all students there.

Especially Lin Chengyan, who is already a big-name alum of A University. After all, he debuted as a dark horse and won Best Newcomer, was nominated for Best Actor in his second film, and by his third, cleaned up at all the awards to become the youngest Best Actor with both talent and looks.

Lin Tingyue looked at the introduction of her second brother in the alumni hall of fame.

"Actually, Second Brother is pretty talented."

Lin Chengyan, busy signing merch for fans, smirked: Of course.

"Just a few fries short of a Happy Meal."

Lin Chengyan: "..."

Do you have to drag out every sentence like a telenovela, Lin Tingyue?!

Oh, wait—that was Lin Tingyue’s inner monologue.

When Bai Yaxin first mentioned this in the family group chat (without Lin Tingyue), neither he nor his eldest brother believed it. Now… he’s convinced.

After finally fending off mobs of fans, Lin Chengyan made his way inside with Lin Xiawan and Lin Tingyue.

Cheng Jinshuang was now in her senior year, in the same grade as Lin Xiawan and Lin Tingyue, though they’re in different majors.

They entered from the new campus, while the competition was held in the east campus. The three boarded the school bus, where Lin Chengyan’s fans kept asking for photos with him.

"Hey, can I sell Lin Chengyan’s signed merch?"

"Even though I’ve already made bank at a young age, who would say no to more cash?"

Along the way, Lin Tingyue came up with a million schemes to cash in involving Lin Chengyan, to the point that even when he saw Cheng Jinshuang at the venue, all he could think about was the money.

Cheng Jinshuang majored in interpretation. This was an exhibition match, and she was dressed in formal attire, wearing glasses, looking sharp and professional. Upon spotting Lin Chengyan, she waved at him.

Lin Chengyan bolted toward her, but he was a step too late—Cheng Jinshuang got swarmed by people, while a crowd also surged toward him.

He tried to push through to Cheng Jinshuang, but the sheer number of people made it impossible. He could only helplessly call her name.

"Tsk tsk, the last time I saw a scene like this was probably in *The Legend of the White Snake*." [1]

Lin Tingyue pulled Lin Xiawan to a seat and pulled out binoculars from her bag.

Lin Xiawan blinked. "Why did you bring this?"

Lin Tingyue replied matter-of-factly, "To back up Second Brother, of course."

"Heh, obviously to get a front-row seat to the drama. How could I miss such a good old-fashioned love rivalry?"

She handed another pair to Lin Xiawan.

Lin Xiawan stared at the binoculars in her hand. "...Alright then."

Everyone froze for a second at the commentary, but nothing was more important than watching the drama unfold.

"First, let's welcome Bachelor No. 1—Cheng Jinshuang's senior. Even though he has a wife and kids waiting for him at home, he still came to watch her match without hesitation. Senior, oh senior, have you ever thought about your family?"

The crowd: *Ooooh.*

They all shot the so-called senior a disdainful look.

The senior felt everyone's judgmental stares, and even Cheng Jinshuang, who had been smiling warmly, inched away from him.

"Bachelor No. 2 has arrived!"

"Now, Bachelor No. 2 is quite the figure—he's the second son of the Yun family. His motto is: *Woman, being noticed by me is your blessing*... *barf*."

Yun Mingning, oblivious to the scrutinizing gazes, kept his cool.

"Approaching us is Bachelor No. 3, the one with the deepest bond with our female contestant. They grew up together, but alas, he only sees her as a plan B."

Just as Lin Tingyue was enthusiastically narrating in her mind, her second brother finally broke free from the crowd and crashed into view.

"Great, it's Lin Chengyan. We're screwed."

Lin Chengyan nearly faceplanted on nothing.

"Ah, what else can you expect from Second Brother, the lovable idiot? Only he could trip on flat ground."

"Honestly, among all the male contestants here, Second Brother still has his good points—he's rich, handsome, and completely head-over-heels for the female contestant. But..."

*But what?* Everyone leaned in.

"Second Brother, you're the eternal second male lead in a childhood-friends-to-lovers story. You're doomed to unrequited love forever. Sigh."

The words *doomed to unrequited love forever* kept replaying on loop in Lin Chengyan's head. He felt like he was about to faint.