It rained all night last night. The rain in this city is never gentle, always accompanied by thunder and lightning, making it impossible for him to sleep the whole night. He remembered the first night he arrived at Ryan Cooper's house—it was the same kind of torrential rain, lightning tearing through the night sky. As soon as the thunder rumbled, he was so scared that he burst into tears, running straight to Ryan Cooper's room and climbing into his bed.

From that moment on, he instinctively began to rely on this older brother who shared no blood relation with him.

Ethan Clark's father, Henry Clark, and Ryan Cooper's father, Adam Cooper, were childhood friends who grew up together.

The elders of the The Clark Family passed away early. Before moving to the UK, Henry Clark was practically an honorary member of the The Cooper Family, eating and living with them. Henry Clark loved extreme sports, and during a rock climbing trip he met a British girl, Olivia. The two fell in love and had the adorable Ethan Clark. But happiness was short-lived. Eleven years ago, the couple were caught in an avalanche while skiing in the Alps and both perished.

Overnight, Ethan Clark lost his parents. Even Adam Cooper, who flew to the UK to bring him back, had no idea how to explain all this to a three-year-old child.

At that time, Ethan Clark clung to Adam Cooper's sleeve, only able to sweetly call him "uncle," not understanding what death or foster care meant. He was brought back to the The Cooper Family, and from then on, he put down roots in Jiangcheng.

A red light at the intersection forced Ethan Clark to brake his bicycle. He had gotten up too quickly that morning and still felt a bit lightheaded, his gaze fixed on the glowing dot of the red light, his thoughts jumping and scattering. All that remained of last night's dream were fragmented silhouettes in his mind. It was as if he had turned into a tiny bundle, circling around behind Ryan Cooper, unable to even speak Chinese properly, just clinging to him.

Grace Miller always teased Ethan Clark with a jealous tone, saying that the first Chinese word he learned was actually "brother."

But Ryan Cooper had always been reticent, neither warm nor cold to anyone. Fortunately, even though he didn't pay much attention to Ethan Clark, he never drove him away, letting him cling as much as he wanted. It was only when they grew older and started elementary school that Ethan Clark's mixed-race looks became more and more noticeable.

Ryan Cooper was already striking, and with a foreign-looking "tagalong" in tow, he had to deal with gossip about his family almost every day. After a while, Ryan Cooper completely lost patience. Coincidentally, they later moved to a new house, leaving behind their old school district and classmates. After starting middle school, he set three major rules:

No calling me "brother" in public.

No going to or from school together.

No letting anyone know you live at my house.

At first, Ethan Clark simply couldn't accept it. Being separated from Ryan Cooper when he started middle school was already a big enough blow, let alone not being allowed to call him "brother." But he had always been a child who followed Ryan Cooper's lead, a stickler for rules. After all, compared to being ignored, keeping a distance in public was still something Ethan Clark could accept.

In Ethan Clark's heart, Ryan Cooper was like a benchmark always standing ahead of him, someone he had chased after since he first learned to walk. When Ryan Cooper was six, he was three, stumbling after his brother out the door to watch ants move house; when Ryan Cooper was ten, he was seven, riding the bus to elementary school with his brother for the first time, so happy he started singing but got his mouth covered; when Ryan Cooper was fifteen, he was twelve, holding a small electric fan under the blazing sun, the old man selling popsicles gave him a stool so he could sit and wait for his brother to finish his exam. He still remembered eating three popsicles that day, and Ryan Cooper didn't notice. And because of him, Ryan Cooper gave up taking the school bus, and they took a taxi to eat crayfish.

The crayfish that day were especially big. He ate 23, 15 of which were peeled by Ryan Cooper because he was too slow and got complained at. He remembered retorting, "Even though I can't peel shrimp, I'm really good at hiding, right? None of your classmates saw me."

But Ryan Cooper disagreed, "But I saw you right away, so you're not good at hiding at all."

Ethan Clark always insisted he was good at hiding, including hiding his relationship with Ryan Cooper in public, but later he had to admit that Ryan Cooper was right.

"The light's green, let's go."

A voice from the street interrupted his thoughts. Glancing at the time, Ethan Clark stepped on the pedal and sped up, his thin body hunching forward as he pedaled hard. The early September wind was still warm, blowing all around him, puffing up his summer school uniform shirt. Ethan Clark's slightly curly brown hair glinted with a touch of gold in the sunlight, fluffy and soft.

He raced all the way to school, and as soon as he parked his bike, he saw the big group checking attendance at the gate and had a vague feeling he’d forgotten something.

"Liam Clark!" His shoulder was suddenly slapped. Startled, Ethan Clark turned around—it was his best buddy and deskmate, Jack Harris.

Ethan Clark's surname is unusual; most people at first glance pronounce it as the "le" in "happy" instead of the "le" in "music." The mistake happened so often that he ended up with a nickname—Liam Clark. Not just family, but also close classmates and friends called him that.

After succeeding, Jack Harris looked smug, running a hand over his freshly buzzed head, "How come you’re just barely making it to school today too?"

"Overslept." Ethan Clark pulled Jack Harris toward the school gate. "There are so many people at the entrance."

Jack Harris was unfazed. "The fewer people go to morning self-study, the more people are late." Spotting the student on duty wearing an armband from afar, he checked his own uniform and glanced at Ethan Clark.

"Hey, wait," Jack Harris grabbed him, "Hey, Clark, where’s your name tag?"