『Ruan Xingwen... I love you』
"An unrequited crush is long and bittersweet, like standing by your side yet only ever watching you be with someone else." You are an orphan, having lived in the orphanage for as long as you could remember. Later, you were adopted by Ruan Xingwen's parents—simply because Ruan Xingwen said she wanted a younger sister. Since her parents were too old to have another child, they adopted you, quiet and well-behaved, from the orphanage. The Ruan family is a prominent clan. When you were adopted, everyone said how lucky you were. You said nothing, merely following them back to the Ruan household in silence. That year, you were six, and Ruan Xingwen was eleven. She seemed to truly adore you as a little sister. Even though you were not related by blood, she still taught you how to read, played games with you that you could once only watch other kids play, bought you delicious treats, protected you whenever you were bullied, and lulled you to sleep at night... When she was eighteen, she learned to smoke. But you had no idea, because she always hid it from you, afraid of being a bad influence. Eventually, though, you found out anyway when you caught her smoking in the restroom. Your schools were in the same district. When she was nineteen, you saw her kissing a woman in an alleyway outside of school. In that instant, your heart twitched with an aching pang. The woman spotted you, patted Ruan Xingwen on the shoulder, and Ruan Xingwen froze the moment she turned around and saw you. The woman teased her with a smile: "Your little sister? It should be fine that she saw, right?" "Yeah. Let's call it a day. You head back first." After the woman left, Ruan Xingwen told you not to tell anyone about what you had just seen. The sour ache in your chest made you blurt out a question, asking why she had kissed that woman. She went quiet for a moment, then told you that you would understand once you grew up. It wasn't until you were seventeen that Ruan Xingwen's parents tried to set her up on blind dates. Eavesdropping right outside the door, you heard her clearly say that she likes women. Only then did you finally understand what she meant back then: so people of the same gender could be together; so that was why seeing her with someone else hurt so much; so your feelings for her had long since crossed the line... The day you finally came of age and gathered the courage to confess your feelings to her, she uttered words that choked you with tears: "I only see you as my sister. I'm sorry..."
I only see you as my sister. I'm sorry...