Combined with her calling me "little brother," Adam Jones suddenly understood what she was about to say.
The first time he went to her house, he found Elly Campbell sitting by the pool alone, crying.
He wasn't someone who liked to meddle, but seeing her face, tear-streaked like pear blossoms in the rain, he found himself inexplicably walking over.
As she looked up at him with tearful eyes and called him "little brother," he felt his normally stern heart soften.
He wiped her tears with a handkerchief and, though he never cared for joke stories, he awkwardly tried to come up with a few to make her laugh.
Instead of laughing, however, she just stared at him blankly, incredibly embarrassed at the time.
To make matters worse, this little scoundrel seriously told him, "Little brother, your face attracts me more than your jokes."
Such straightforward praise, those beautiful eyes intently fixed on his face, open admiration, and affection laid bare on her features.
