The Stepbrother’s Hidden Desires

“FUCK!”

Perez pounded his keyboard, making a loud clattering sound. David, trying to prepare materials for his mentor’s research project the next day, was feeling increasingly annoyed by the noise.Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

Their accommodation was decent; they shared a room. While Perez was a bit hot-tempered, David was generally mild-mannered, and they got along reasonably well.

“Damn it, it’s dead again!” Perez cursed through gritted teeth.

He took off his headphones and slammed his laptop shut. “I’m done playing. If she weren’t so pretty, I wouldn’t bother with her.”

David glanced at him. Perez had said that eight times tonight, but whenever he saw that girl, he couldn’t help but try to please her.

Before long, Perez’s phone rang. Still seething with anger, he answered, “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you play properly?”

His voice raised a few decibels, and the room fell silent. David could vaguely hear the soft voice of the girl on the other end of the phone. Despite her apparent anger, her voice was gentle, and Perez’s arrogance immediately disappeared as he chuckled and coaxed, “Okay, okay, you’re right, alright?”

She was a girl in their class, petite and sweet. Whenever she spoke, Perez was utterly defenseless.

After finishing the call, Perez returned to his computer and asked her seriously, “What do you think are the chances of me successfully pursuing Sharon?”

David paused his typing. “She already has a boyfriend.”

“But she’s not married, so what’s the big deal?”

“You’re interested in so many beautiful girls, why go after one with a boyfriend?”

“Who doesn’t like beautiful girls? But it’s different with Sharon. I genuinely like her. Her happiness is my happiness, and I’m willing to do anything she asks.”

David smiled at this burly man.

“Come on, don’t torture yourself. There are too many guys who like her. It’ll be challenging.”

Perez grinned. “I can’t help it. I like this one.” Then he asked David cautiously, “You don’t like her too, do you?”

David chuckled and shook his head.

“What kind of girl do you like then?”

“I like girls who are natural and outgoing.” Like Lola, he thought, feeling a faint sadness welling up inside him.

Perez pressed on, “Is the pretty girl we met this afternoon that type?”

David thought for a moment. “Her? Sometimes she’s carefree and confident, but other times she’s quite willful. And when she’s in the mood for mischief, she’s full of mischief.”

Perez was called by the girl to continue playing games, and David stared at the data on the screen for a while. He had been stuck on these two pages all night; he couldn’t concentrate at all.

He calculated that military training would end at nine in the evening and tried calling her twice, but she didn’t answer.

The time in the bottom right corner of the screen showed 23:00. Unable to resist, he took out his phone to check. Hmm, good, she hadn’t replied to any of his messages.

David was getting annoyed. What was she doing?

He didn’t have any inappropriate thoughts about Annabel, and he had kept his distance from her for the past two years. But now that she was in front of him again, it felt like she had cast a spell on him. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of responsibility and an inexplicable duty towards her. He convince himself not to care, yet find himself unable to resist the next second.

He worried about whether she could adapt to communal living, take care of herself, and whether she would be ostracized.

Although it was late, the group chat with David’s university classmates was lively. Nancy was getting married soon, and apart from congratulations, there was a lot of gossip. She was marrying into wealth, and there was a hint of smugness in her messages.

Nancy had called him, inviting him to her wedding during the holidays. She apologized sincerely and reminisced about their college days, crying. She had spent the best years of her youth pining for him, and David eventually agreed to attend her wedding.

Past midnight:

Unable to resist any longer, he sent a message to Annabel.

“Are you asleep?”

After waiting for a while, she replied, “No, I have a headache!!”

He remembered her pouring ice water on her head in the evening, with her hat resting on her damp hair. It was no wonder she didn’t feel well after being exposed to the cold wind.

David was a little angry. How could someone her age not take care of herself? What will she do in the future?

“Is it severe? Are you running a fever?”

After ten minutes without a response from Annabel, he called her, but there was no answer. He felt disheartened.

He sent another message, “Which dormitory are you in? I’ll take you to see a doctor.”

Still no response. Now he was getting really anxious.

Subconsciously, he sent another message to console her, “Be good, listen to me.”

He had used these words to comfort her when she was sixteen, and she would instantly quiet down. But back then, he had seen her as a child. Now, saying those words felt inappropriate, and he quickly retracted the message.

Seeing David pacing back and forth, Perez glanced at him. “What’s wrong? You look restless.”

He hesitated, “Nothing.”

“Nothing? ” Perez grinned and asked, full of gossip, “Is the girl who didn’t answer your calls this afternoon the pretty girl?”

David glared at him, sat back down, and placed his phone on the table, feeling even more unsettled.

He sighed deeply. Was she just here to tease him by enrolling in this school?

As soon as dawn broke, David woke up and checked his phone on the table, feeling disappointed again.

Since he couldn’t sleep anyway, he got up, changed his clothes, and went for a run on the playground.

The sounds of slogans echoed across the field as the freshmen began their exercises.

David ran several laps around the field, subconsciously scanning the crowd. It was hard to find someone in such a large group all wearing the same clothes.

As David reached the third lap, he saw a group of freshmen sitting cross-legged on the ground in formation, seemingly sharing jokes and laughter echoed around.

Upon hearing the laughter, David immediately recognized it as Annabel’s. She was casually leaning on the shoulder of a nearby girl, looking refreshed and carefree, without a single worry. Everyone surrounded her, chatting happily, showing how well she adapted to communal living.

Feeling like he was the one with the problem, suffering from excessive worrying, David made a decision he wouldn’t bother with this little troublemaker anymore.

Just as David resolved to ignore her, Annabel stood up and reported to the instructor before running over to him.

She circled around him, then leisurely asked with a smile, “Up quite early, aren’t you? Did you sleep well last night?”