Chapter 9

After half a year apart, when I saw Jacob again, we had both changed quite a bit.

He was even thinner, had dyed his hair, but of course still looked as handsome as ever.

I've never been good at reading people, but my aesthetic sense has always been on point.

Otherwise I wouldn't have known to follow him around like a puppy since I was little.

I was only stunned for a brief moment before I smiled and greeted him casually.

"Hi Jacob, you're here too."

Jacob's hand froze in mid-air as he was reaching for my luggage, looking at me in disbelief.

Since we were little, both sets of parents had repeatedly told me to call him "big brother Jacob" many times.

I had stubbornly refused to ever call him that.

Now with a different mindset, it came out naturally.

But Jacob seemed to have a hard time accepting it.

It was a long time before he finally took my luggage with shaking hands.

Mom whispered an explanation in my ear.

"We came out to pick you up and happened to run into Jacob at the entrance. He insisted on coming along to help."

I smiled and gestured that it was fine.

In the car, I couldn't wait to share all the recent interesting stories from school with my parents, making them laugh non-stop.

No one paid attention to Jacob, but from the corner of my eye, I noticed his lips curling up in a secret smile the whole way.

That day he seemed to want to come sit at my house for a while, but all three of us politely declined together.

The entire winter break I was out early and back late every day to practice driving, and in the evenings I was always out with some high school friends.

I heard Jacob came looking for me a few times, but we always missed each other.

I was a bit surprised, not thinking there was anything we needed to talk about.

This year my grandmother and aunt had come back for the New Year.

On New Year's Eve, the house was especially lively.

After the New Year's Eve dinner, the older folks were watching the Spring Festival Gala on the couch, while the younger generation was learning to play mahjong.

But Jacob's family of three suddenly showed up at our house with bags of gifts.