The last golden rays of the setting sun washed over Evelyn Miller's flawless face as she slowly opened her eyes. A familiar, slender back sat at the desk before her. The boy had put on headphones, clearly trying not to disturb her rest.
At some point a blanket had been tucked around her—she remembered clearly that there hadn't been one when she dozed off.
Rubbing her eyes, she rose and walked over, slipping her arms around Noah Miller's neck from behind. She leaned in close to his ear and murmured softly, "Playing games on your sister's computer again, Nate."
"You're awake, sis." Victory flashed across the screen as the enemy base detonated. Noah removed the headphones and glanced sideways at her. "I saw you sleeping and didn't want to bother you."
"You didn't go digging through your sister's files, did you?"
"No, no way. Why would I look at your private stuff?" He clicked the corner X to close the game and returned to the desktop. "But sis, this wallpaper of yours…"
"Not nice?"
The image filling the entire screen was a photograph: a small boy sleeping soundly in his sister's arms, his little face nestled intimately against the girl's still-youthful chest.
"Why do you still keep pictures from back then?"
"Of course I have to keep them. Nate was so obedient and adorable as a child." Evelyn's fingers threaded gently through his soft, messy dark hair, her pale pink lips hovering near his cheek. "What would you like for dinner?"
"I have the physical fitness test at seven, so I'll eat after I get back." He pointed to the plastic container on the desk. "I picked up some food for you from the dining hall. It should still be warm. You should rest some more too, sis."
"All grown up now, aren't you."
Evelyn released him, opened the container still warm with steam, then took the mouse from his hand and clicked open two lecture slide files on the desktop. He scratched his head, puzzled. "Sis, what are these?"
"The slides from the classes your sister taught while you were hospitalized. You need to catch up, don't you?"
Noah let out a helpless laugh. "Sis, these…"
"What? Your sister rearranged her entire schedule around these two lectures. Watch them, and there will be assignments afterward."
"I'll go take a shower first."
He used the excuse to temporarily escape the dizzying numbers and formulas. Several complete sets of clothes that Evelyn had bought for him were kept in the faculty housing—from underwear all the way to socks. He set his things by the sink, stripped off his outer layers, and only then noticed his sister's freshly changed clothes still sitting unwashed in the basin.
Her top and pants formed the bottom layer, but right on top lay a sophisticated black bra and panty set with delicate lace edges. The sight instantly drew his gaze.
These were the garments that touched the most private parts of her body, carrying her scent and residual warmth.
A rush of ambiguous thoughts stirred in the boy's mind, leaving him momentarily stunned.
"Oh, Nate, your…" The bathroom door opened suddenly. Evelyn's words cut off mid-sentence as she caught him staring at her lingerie. The corner of her mouth lifted into a slow, knowing smile. "You shouldn't be using your sister's clothes to do anything improper, Nate."
"I wasn't… What did you need, sis?"
"I was going to tell you to leave your dirty clothes in the basin. I'll wash them together with mine later."
As she spoke, her eyes traced over him. He stood shirtless, his lean frame revealing the clean lines of developing muscle across his chest—the clear build of a young man.
She regarded him with that quiet intensity, the kind that always reminded him how completely he belonged to her. Even if he ever tried to push back with real force, she knew exactly how to keep him in place. He was like a dog that had been leashed for so long that freedom no longer tempted him to run.
Still, something in her gaze suggested she sometimes missed when he was smaller—easier to hold, easier to claim entirely.
"Got it. You can go now. I need to shower."
"It's not like I haven't seen everything before. No need to feel shy around your sister." Evelyn studied the faint blush coloring the side of his face. "Your sister used to change your diapers when you were little, after all."
She stepped out of the bathroom. After a brief pause outside the door, she called in one more reminder. "Make the water warmer. It's easy to catch a cold this time of year."
"Got it."
Back in the main room, after finishing the meal Noah had brought from the dining hall, she could hear the steady rush of water from the shower. Glancing up, she noticed he had left his messaging app open on the computer.
A notification flashed in the bottom corner—a profile picture showing a girl's silhouette. She opened the chat.
The contact was saved under Nora, the academic representative from their class.
"There's a cybersecurity competition being held by the department. Want to join, Noah? Every class needs at least two participants."
Another message followed right after: "No one else wants to do it. If I sign up, we're still one short… We could just go together to fill the spots."
With calm precision, she right-clicked and deleted both messages, confirming the action.
She would not allow anyone else near him. Not anymore.
Evelyn then skimmed through his other conversations. Most were harmless. Only after checking his entire history with Lila Vale and confirming his appropriately reserved replies did she finally log out of his account, satisfied.
Over ten minutes later, Noah stepped back into the room in fresh clothes. "Sis, I'm done with my shower."
She turned to look at him. His hair was still damp, his face freshly clean, those clear black eyes bright and unguarded.
"Come here. Let your sister dry your hair." Evelyn gestured for him to approach and retrieved the hairdryer from the cabinet.
Noah walked over and sat down in front of her, back turned, letting the warm air sweep through his wet strands.
He sat properly and asked in a low voice, "What time is it?"
"Six fourteen. Still plenty of time."
"Do you think I'll pass the fitness test?"
"The indoor events should be no problem. It's just that you're too skinny, Nate. Your BMI probably won't score full points."
She held the dryer steady while her other hand ran through his hair, ensuring every section dried thoroughly. "Your sister was underweight back then too. I barely made full marks."
"You're still really slim now, sis. You're too thin."
"Your sister stays slim in all the right places. Otherwise you wouldn't keep looking at me the way you do, would you, Nate?"
He knew precisely what she meant. Her waist, legs, and arms were elegantly slender without an ounce of extra softness, while her chest remained full and feminine. Her proportions were flawless.
Yet he had been deliberately avoiding those areas, keeping his gaze mostly on her face.
"That's not fair, sis. You're wrongly accusing me."
"I haven't even said what I thought you were looking at. Where did your mind go?" A quiet, knowing laugh drifted from behind him.
"I didn't mean anything… I haven't been looking where I shouldn't."
"Alright, alright. We'll say you weren't looking." She lowered the dryer's speed so their voices carried more clearly. "But your sister doesn't believe you one bit."
———
The university's indoor physical fitness assessment consisted of six components, including BMI measurement, standing long jump, lung capacity test, and several others. Boys completed pull-ups while girls did sit-ups, so each student ended up participating in five events total.
Once everyone reached the campus gymnasium, students fanned out to locate open stations for whichever tests they still needed, turning the space mildly chaotic. Noah Miller took his place at the very back of the line for height and weight, glancing ahead to count how many people remained in front of him.
The real ordeal for most was the outdoor eight-hundred- and one-thousand-meter runs that so many classmates dreaded. Noah, however, felt a low hum of tension before every single event. Clearing the minimum wasn't the challenge. What weighed on him was the automatic way he measured himself against Evelyn Miller.
His sister had excelled at everything since they were children—academics, character, household responsibilities, sports. No flaws anywhere. Adults had always held her up as the perfect example for him to follow.
He knew it would be almost impossible to match her stride.
Yet he kept chasing her shadow with everything he possessed. In any area open to comparison, he wanted to reach her level.
The words "He truly is Evelyn Miller's little brother" remained the highest praise he could imagine.
Lost in thought, the line advanced two more places. Noah noticed the long ponytail on the girl ahead of him looked familiar. He reached out and tapped her shoulder. "Lila?"
She turned around, and her clear eyes lit up the moment they met his. "You're here for the fitness test too?"
"Yeah. I just arrived."
"I already finished everything else. Look." She held up her phone, showing him the results. Every score sat well above eighty—solid numbers by any standard.
When he stayed quiet, she tilted her head and studied his face, a note of gentle complaint threading her voice. "Aren't you going to say something nice?"
"You did great. Keep pushing."
"You too." She offered a sweet smile, her slender brows curving like little moons. "Have you eaten dinner yet?"
"Not yet. I planned to grab something once I finished."
"Then let's eat together. I'll wait for you."
Noah knew he could not accept. Even though Evelyn had not stated it outright, he understood exactly what his sister expected: finish the test and return straight to her.
He shook his head and answered softly, "I don't think I can. I have something to take care of."
"Oh… all right."
Lila's lashes lowered. A faint shadow of disappointment crossed her features. She pressed her lips together, then turned away.
As the students ahead stepped off the scale and left, the line finally reached them. Lila slipped out of her pink-and-white sneakers. Plain white cotton socks hugged her slender ankles as she stepped onto the platform, spine straight and posture perfect.
The male student logging the scores glanced up at her when he took her ID, a brief spark of admiration in his eyes. He stayed professional, however, and simply said, "All set. Next," once he finished.
Lila put her shoes back on but did not leave. She lingered nearby until Noah completed his own measurement, then moved close enough to almost link arms with him. "How did it go? Full marks?"
A normal BMI range earned full points. Too light or too heavy pulled the score down.
"Close. You?"
"Same here."
Noah smiled. For a split second he nearly reached out to pat her head in comfort, but some deep-seated psychological cue made him pull his hand back. A quiet voice in his mind kept repeating the warning… Sister would be unhappy.
He could see she was quite slim. Her frame looked delicate, with almost no softness anywhere on her body. Even her chest showed only gentle curves, nowhere near average, let alone comparable to Evelyn's.
She seemed to notice the same thing. She glanced down at herself and let out a small, discouraged breath. All those papaya drinks she had been having for months had done nothing.
"I'll head to the next station," Noah said, gesturing toward the long-jump area.
"Okay. Bye."
Lila turned and walked out of the gymnasium, shoulders slightly slumped. Noah finished the remaining events on his own. At the exit he checked the newly updated scores on his phone. His BMI and pull-ups had come up a little short, but passing was never in doubt.
Outside, the winter night wind cut straight through every layer. Students who had finished hurried back toward the warmth of their dorms, coats pulled tight. Only one lone figure remained, sitting on the bench right by the entrance.
The girl breathed warm air into her cupped hands, her small face flushed pink from the cold. She held two wrapped spicy savory crepes close to her chest, gaze fixed on the gymnasium doors.
A familiar floral scent suddenly drifted past her nose. She looked around and found Evelyn Miller standing right beside her, staring down with a completely expressionless face.
"What do you want?" Lila asked, her tone sharp and unwelcoming.
Evelyn and Lila were not openly at odds, but they had never been particularly close either. Their connection existed mainly through Noah and the long-standing neighborly ties between their families. Evelyn had looked after her a little when they were younger.
Still, Lila could sense the clear difference in how Evelyn treated her versus Noah. As another girl, she had always felt the unusual intensity the older woman directed at the boy.
Lila understood that if she and Noah ended up together, she would eventually have to face Evelyn head-on. She believed that once everything was settled, she could push past any objections from the woman. Until then, she needed to pull Noah back into her own hands.
"Waiting for someone?" Evelyn's voice stayed cool and detached.
"Yes. Waiting for Noah."
Lila admitted it without hesitation, lifting her chin to meet the older woman's icy stare. The dim outdoor lighting left shadows across Evelyn's face, yet the chill in her eyes still cut through clearly.
"He won't leave with you. It would be better to give up now, before it gets too awkward."
"How will I know unless I try? At least I've been with him before. He cared about me. He loved me." She spoke with quiet defiance, standing her ground like a small tiger guarding what was hers.
Evelyn carried a heavy, oppressive presence. Even her usual indifferent gaze was enough to make most people step back instinctively. Her cold expression and tone revealed nothing—like the cruelest villain from a horror film, hands still wet with blood.
She could not yield. Lila repeated the thought to herself while refusing to retreat even an inch.
"Whatever you want."
Evelyn left it at that and turned, walking straight toward the gymnasium. Noah was just stepping out and she caught him perfectly.
Seeing the boy about to be led away so effortlessly, with Evelyn deliberately blocking his line of sight so he could not see her sitting in the distance, Lila gritted her teeth and walked over directly. She reached out and took his hand.
"Hm?" Noah turned in surprise, then broke into a warm smile when he recognized her. "You didn't leave, Lila? What's up?"
"I bought you some spicy savory crepes. And hot bubble tea too."
She held out the two paper bags. Noah accepted them without much hesitation. "Thanks. I'm actually starving right now."
—
"You're really going to eat that?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Noah pulled one of the spicy savory crepes out of the bag and took a hearty bite, chewing with genuine pleasure. "Damn, it's loaded with fillings and that sweet chili sauce. Want a taste, sis?"
He held the warm crepe toward her, his expression open and innocent. Evelyn shook her head, suppressing the dissatisfaction and irritation stirring inside her. "Go ahead and eat it. After all, she bought it for you."
"It's really good." Noah continued eating. "It's so cold out, and Lila still waited for me the whole time. She's actually pretty determined."
"Does that touch you?"
"A little. The food's still warm." He recalled the willful and overbearing Lila from before and compared her to the girl she was now. "She's changed a lot. She even looks prettier these days."
A soft, icy chuckle slipped from Evelyn's lips.
Suddenly, an ice-cold grip clamped around Noah's wrist. Evelyn's fingers tightened as her voice dropped to a low, merciless tone. "Stop eating it, Nate."
"Why? I've already eaten half of it."
"I said stop."
Noah couldn't understand her sudden change. A voice deep in his subconscious urged him to obey and submit, but his natural sense of reason made him resist. Conflicting emotions churned inside him, pushing him to push back for once.
"There's still a lot left. You want me to throw it away?"
"Throw it away. There's a trash can right there."
"Sis, what are you talking about? Why would you make me waste food for no reason?" He frowned, staring at her in confusion.
The lighting on the nighttime path was too dim. Evelyn's lovely features were shadowed beneath her bangs, her eyes dark and unreadable. Only the cold wind lifting the tips of her long hair hinted at movement, like a snake tasting the air.
"Last chance. You promised you would listen to me, Nate."
"But…" His throat tightened. He still refused to yield. "It's Lila's sincere gesture. You never taught me to act this way before."
"What did I teach you?"
"You told me never to let down someone's effort, never to trample on another person's kindness, and never to waste food."
Evelyn's lips pressed into a tight line. She stopped arguing with him and snatched the bag from his hand, walking forward and dropping it directly into the trash bin.
Noah stood frozen. He hadn't expected her to take it so forcefully. For the first time in his life, genuine anger toward his sister rose in his chest.
Holding back his resentment, he asked carefully, "Can you at least give me a reason, sis?"
"I don't want you touching anything she gives you." Evelyn offered no more explanation. She took a few steps before realizing he hadn't moved. Her voice turned frigid. "Come back with me, Nate."
"No! I'm not going!"
They stood on a quiet, tree-lined campus path. Mottled moonlight spilled down from above, stretching their shadows long and thin across the ground.
The night temperature had dropped sharply. A couple of students hidden in the darkness for a secret rendezvous were startled by Noah's loud refusal. They glanced over, ready to watch the show.
But someone must have recognized Evelyn. After a few whispered words, the couples quickly slipped away, not wanting to get involved.
"What did you say?" She stared directly at the slender boy in front of her. He glared back like an angered young animal, rebellion clear on his face.
"I said I'm not going. Why are you always like this? Telling me to listen, to be obedient. But so many things you ask me to do are just ways to control me. Even when I do everything you say, it's never enough for you. You even threw away my things. Evelyn Miller, what exactly do you want from me?!"
The instant the full name "Evelyn Miller" left Noah's mouth, she felt her control slipping. He had called her by her complete name—not by accident, not teasingly. This was pure defiance.
A wave of ruthless, violent thoughts flooded her mind. Countless filthy and even bloody ideas flashed before her eyes, pushing her dangerously close to the edge.
At the final moment of clarity, a crisp, loud slap rang out and pulled her back slightly.
She had never slapped Noah before. This was the first time—and it was the hardest.
One side of the boy's face flushed bright red. He stood there stunned and silent, yet his eyes remained stubbornly locked on hers, refusing to submit.
Evelyn's jaw clenched tight. Her breathing grew heavier with fury, her chest rising and falling noticeably. She reached out to grab him, but he stepped back, creating distance.
She was on the verge of losing it completely. The boy had actually rebelled against her—because of a girl.
"You've decided not to listen to me at all anymore, is that it, Nate?" Her voice sliced out like an ice pick between gritted teeth.
"At least not right now."
The moment the words left him, Noah turned and ran into the sparse darkness behind him. In the middle of her burning anger, Evelyn actually felt a trace of relief that he had fled.
Because she was truly afraid of what she might have done if he had stayed.
Watching his back disappear into the night, she brushed aside the strands of hair the wind had scattered across her face. Her long black skirt swayed gently in the darkness like a black rose quietly blooming in the shadows.
…
When Noah returned to the residence hall, three pairs of eyes turned toward him at once.
One of them immediately asked, "Noah, didn't you say you were staying at Ms. Miller's place tonight?"
"Something came up, so I came back."
After giving his roommates a vague answer, Noah pulled out a chair and sat at his desk. His breathing slowly evened out after the run back, and his mind began to calm.
Thinking back to the confrontation with Evelyn minutes earlier, his thoughts were in turmoil. He knew he shouldn't have snapped at his sister or talked back to her like that.
But she really had thrown away the spicy savory crepes and bubble tea that Lila had bought for him.
No matter what, they represented Lila's feelings. She had waited for him in the freezing cold. It was her gesture of care.
He wasn't sure whether he should apologize to his sister…
Evelyn seemed to harbor this obsessive possessiveness and need for control over him, wanting every move he made trapped within her line of sight so no one else could approach.
"Nate…" Miles suddenly spoke up cautiously. "You and Ms. Miller… did you two fight?"
Noah turned to face his roommate's curious look, surprised they knew. Caleb jumped in to explain, "A friend of mine saw Ms. Miller losing her temper at someone near the trees. You guys okay?"
"It's nothing. We're fine."
He waved it off and turned back to his desk. Seeing he didn't want to discuss it, the others wisely let it drop.
The laptop on the desk was one Evelyn had bought for him. She claimed it was so he would play fewer games, yet she had purchased a high-end gaming model.
She never told him the price, but after his roommates looked it over, they all agreed it was expensive.
Noah had always known how good Evelyn was to him—spoiling him to the point of indulgence, caring for him in every thoughtful detail.
He was always the one who was supposed to back down, right or wrong.
That night he thought about it for a long time. Even after the lights went out and he climbed into bed, he lay curled up under the covers, staring at the chat window on his phone. After hesitating several times, he finally sent the message.
Noah: Sis, I'm sorry.