Xiao Lele's struggle

17 Years Ago – Province Z, County Health Center

The rain wouldn’t stop.

The small clinic was packed. The generator sputtered. Power was unreliable, and the staff was down to one nurse: Lu Tianling.

She was exhausted, her uniform soaked, shoes caked in mud.

That night, two infants were brought in—both burning with fever, both barely a year old.

One was her own child—her husband, Jin Yulin, had run in with him wrapped in a wet towel, panic in his eyes.

The other was from a wealthy couple staying at a countryside villa: elegant, desperate, clutching their fevered baby like porcelain.

Both babies had the same symptoms: high fever, shallow breathing, weak cries.

Only one dose of the infant-grade fever reducer remained.

The other vial was adult strength—clearly labeled, dangerous in the wrong hands.

Lu Tianling hesitated.

Two cribs. Two babies. One right decision. No time.

She handed the proper dose to the wealthy mother and administered the other herself—to the second child.

Maybe it was exhaustion.

Maybe panic.

Or maybe something inside her shifted.

The baby who died that night wasn’t the one in her bloodline.

When the wealthy couple screamed, when the storm knocked out power, when the bodies were wrapped in white—Lu Tianling didn’t correct the mix-up.

She didn’t speak up when, in the chaos, they took home the wrong child.

She went home with a baby that wasn’t hers.

And she never told a soul.

Present Day – Province Z

Lu Tianling stares at Jin Wuxin across the dinner table.

He’s not laughing. He rarely does.

He’s too sharp, too composed for a 17-year-old boy in this village.

And sometimes, when the light hits his face just right, she sees a shadow that doesn’t belong to her.

A shadow she’s seen before—in a crying woman’s eyes on a stormy night seventeen years ago.

This twist sets up everything: Jin Wuxin being raised in the wrong family, and the Gu family’s real son still alive—buried under a false name and a quiet lie.

-------------------

Province Z Junior High – Final Exam Season

Jin Wuxin’s life was ruled by precision: study blocks, memorization routines, timed practice exams.

He had no room for distractions. No time for emotional noise.

But now, Jin Wu watched him differently.

Not just with the usual envy—but something sharper, quieter. Like he was trying to understand something he didn’t want to.

And Wuxin felt it.

In the way his brother’s footsteps hovered behind him when they walked home.

In the silence at dinner that now had weight.

In Xiao Lele’s curious glances when neither of them spoke up like they used to.

Lele sensed it.

“You two fought?” she asked one morning as they waited outside the gate.

“No,” Wuxin said flatly.

“Liar.”

He gave her a half-smile, the kind that never reached his eyes.

“Did you say something to him?” she asked again.

Wuxin hesitated. Then: “It wasn’t about you.”

Which, technically, was true.

In Class

Jin Wu sat two rows behind Wuxin, barely focusing on the practice test.

His pencil tapped. His gaze wandered to Wuxin’s back.

So composed. So distant.

How did he carry all that alone?

And why did knowing Wuxin’s secret make him… feel even more lost?

He told himself he was just confused. That maybe it was frustration.

But the truth?

He didn’t know what it was.

That Night

Wuxin caught Jin Wu watching him as he revised formulas in their shared room.

“If you want to say something, just say it,” Wuxin muttered without looking up.

Jin Wu flinched. Then spoke:

“I’m not gonna tell anyone.”

Wuxin stopped writing.

“I don’t care what you are. Or who you like. I just…”

He trailed off.

Wuxin didn’t move.

Jin Wu stood up, suddenly frustrated. “You think you’re the only one with pressure? With things you can’t say?”

Wuxin looked at him then. “No. I just know how to keep mine quiet.”

And in that moment, something cracked—not loudly, but enough to leave a gap between them.

Not enemies.

Not friends.

Just two boys sharing a room full of unspoken things.

The exam prep season had officially taken over their lives.

Piles of mock papers. Teachers with red pens and no mercy. Weekly timed tests. Everyone’s nerves were frayed.

Jin Wuxin kept his head down.

Study. Solve. Repeat.

He didn’t allow space for anything else—not even for Lele’s texts, which were coming in less often now. She was busy too. But there was also something colder in her tone lately.

After School Jin Wu was waiting outside the gate, back against the wall, arms crossed.

Wuxin stepped out, exhausted.

“You didn’t walk with her again,” Jin Wu said without looking at him.

“I had review,” Wuxin replied.

“She waited.”

“She didn’t say anything.”

Jin Wu scoffed. “She’s not gonna beg for your time.”

Wuxin stared at him. “She’s your crush. Why are you yelling at me?”

That shut him up—for a second.

Then: “Because she keeps looking at you like she’s waiting for something you’ll never give.”

Wuxin’s chest tightened, but he said nothing.

Jin Wu pushed off the wall. “She’s confused. And I hate watching her chase something pointless.”

“It’s not my fault,” Wuxin muttered. “I never asked for any of it.”

“No, you just stood there and let it happen.”

Later That Night Wuxin was deep into physics when Jin Wu threw his pen across the desk.

“I’m tired of pretending everything’s fine.”

“I never asked you to pretend anything,” Wuxin said calmly.

“You just want to be left alone, right? Always quiet, always perfect—like you don’t feel anything.”

Wuxin looked up.

“I feel everything,” he said softly. “I just can’t afford to break.”

Jin Wu stared at him, unsure if he wanted to argue or leave the room.

And in that thick silence, the truth settled between them:

They were both breaking. Just in different ways.

Perfect. This moment gives Wuxin a chance to gently step out of the triangle, while Xiao Lele starts facing the awkward truth she's been dodging. Here's how it plays out:

After Class outside the Library the air was heavy with late spring heat. Jin Wuxin walked beside Xiao Lele, both holding textbooks, silence stretching long.

“You’ve been quiet lately,” she said, nudging him.

“I’m always quiet.”

“Not like this.”

He stopped walking and turned to face her.

“Lele,” he said, voice low, “you should talk to Jin Wu.”

She blinked. “Why?”

“You already know why.”

She hesitated, lips parting. “He… likes me.”

Wuxin nodded. “And you’ve been pretending you don’t see it.”

“I didn’t want to hurt him.”

Wuxin gave a tired smile. “You already are. Just… be honest with him. He deserves that much.”

“What about you?” she asked, searching his face. “Why are you pushing me away?”

Wuxin looked away. “Because you’re like a sister to me, Lele. And I’m not who you think I am.”

She opened her mouth, confused, but he stopped her.

“I’m not broken,” he said. “Just… different.”

For a moment, she said nothing.

Then quietly: “Okay. I understand.”

And she did.

Later That Day at the Basketball Court Jin Wu was shooting hoops alone, earbuds in, when she walked up. He saw her and froze, the ball bouncing away.

“Hey,” she said.

He yanked his earbuds out, breath caught in his throat. “Hey.”

“I know,” she said.

“Know what?”

“Everything.”

He laughed once, short and sharp. “That I’m pathetic?”

“No,” she said. “That you feel something. And I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner.”

Jin Wu looked down, jaw tight.

“Do you like him?” he asked finally, voice raw.

“No,” she said honestly. “Not like that.”

A beat.

“Do you like me?”

She hesitated. “Not the way you want.”

Silence.

And just like that, the fragile thread between them frayed—but didn’t snap.

Because honesty doesn’t always fix things.

But it clears the fog.

At Xiao Lele’s room she lay on her bed, textbook open but unread. Her mind wasn’t on equations. It was on them.

Jin Wu, loud, impulsive, emotional. He made his feelings obvious, but he never really asked her how she felt.

Jin Wuxin, quiet, observant, always a step removed. He never flirted. Never hinted. But he listened. He remembered little things. He made her feel seen—even if he never looked at her that way.

She had liked Wuxin first. That calm certainty in his voice. The way he always seemed unshaken by pressure. But over time, she realized—what she admired in him wasn’t romance. It was how much she wanted to be like him. Steady. Independent. Strong.

Then she noticed Jin Wu.

Always chasing Wuxin’s shadow.

Always trying to smile when he was clearly hurting.

He liked her, yes. But Lele couldn’t tell if it was because he truly loved her—or because she was the only person who paid attention to him when everyone else looked at Wuxin.

And now?

Now everything was fragile.

She had hurt them both.

Not with lies—but with silence.

At School the next day she passed both boys in the hallway. Wuxin gave her a calm nod, like always.

Jin Wu avoided her eyes.

That hurt more than she expected.

She wondered if they’d ever laugh together again. Walk home together. Share snacks after cram class. It had always been the three of them. And now it felt like choosing either one meant losing both.

For the first time, Xiao Lele didn’t want to be looked at.

She wanted to disappear.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***