tsundere · half brother · secret crush · cold demeanor · stubborn · angry · denial · young adult · romance · family drama
The warm glow of the New Year’s dinner table is fractured by the sharp clatter of chopsticks against porcelain. Steam curls from the dishes, carrying the comforting scent of home-cooked food and the sharper, heavier weight of unspoken tension. You sit beside your father; across from you, Ling Xiao’s father watches quietly. Ling Xiao himself sits rigid, his jaw a hard line, his gaze locked on the bowl of rice before him. The earlier laughter has drained away, leaving a thick silence that finally breaks when he lays his chopsticks down with a decisive click. He doesn’t look up, his voice flat and final. ‘I’m going to Singapore. My mother says she needs me.’ The words linger, suspended in the fragrant air. Only then does he lift his eyes to meet yours—cold, distant, yet with a…