All Chapters of The Rising Temperature between Me and My “Step-brother”: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

173 Chapters

Chapter 11: 42°F

"Wendy Honey, come with me. Dad will tell you where all the food is stored at home."The moment they arrived, Sam Wu—busy in the kitchen—called Wendy over. He’d be leaving tomorrow for a five-day trip, returning only by the weekend. A day later, Simone would also be away filming a travel show."This is the freezer compartment. The frozen groceries we bought last week are in here..."Sam Wu gave Wendy an exhaustive kitchen tour—the placement of cookware, spice locations, stove safety protocols, oven preheating instructions—leaving no detail untouched.Their Chinese conversation flowed efficiently. Finally, Sam Wu handed Wendy the keys and began reiterating safety measures."Ask David Yang whenever you need to go somewhere. Don’t feel bad about bothering him. Also," Sam Wu glanced upstairs, "it’ll just be you and Asher at home these next few days. Dad hopes you two will look out for each other, avoid unnecess

Last Updated : 2025-06-18

Chapter 12: 43°F

Early morning.Asher jogged home to find Wendy eating breakfast in the kitchen, chatting with Simone."Simone, do we have another rice cooker? I just tried to make rice, but this one seems broken.""Broken? It hasn’t been used in ages. You know only your dad eats rice regularly, and he’s hardly ever home."Simone plugged in the rice cooker, but the indicator light stayed dark. "What a pain. But I think there’s a black one somewhere. Text your dad—he’ll know where it is."Noticing Asher, Simone waved with a smile. "Perfect timing. Wendy needs you."The girl who’d been leaning against the island counter whirled around, meeting a pair of curious blue eyes.Fresh from his workout, his forehead glistened with sweat, his shirt clinging transparently to his toned chest.Wendy’s eyes darted around before she forced herself to meet his gaze, masking her fluster."Morning."Asher cros

Last Updated : 2025-06-19

Chapter 13: 44°F

At 11 a.m., Wendy received a package at home—an electric rice cooker that someone had ordered online.Whoever it was, it definitely wasn’t Asher.Wendy messaged Sam Wu, who denied buying it and insisted it must have been Simone.Father and daughter were on the same page.Simone and her show crew had gone to Tallahassee, Florida, to film a new episode of Travel Guide and wouldn’t return until Saturday. Wendy wanted to thank her but, unsure of her filming schedule and wary of disturbing her, decided to wait until Simone was back to express her gratitude in person.That afternoon, David Yang drove Wendy to Syracuse University’s sports store, where they raided the shelves for Asher merchandise.The store’s theme was purple, with a giant yellow lightning bolt painted across the ceiling. David immediately lost all immediately restraint, hurling items into his shopping basket. Wendy knew intervention was futi

Last Updated : 2025-06-20

Chapter 14: 45°F

Hayden led Wendy directly to the largest lounge. Upon entering, Wendy was momentarily dazzled by the gleaming wall of golden trophies.Hayden: "There are several lounges here, but Asher likely meant this one—it's the closest to the players' locker room. You can message him to confirm."Wendy nodded. "Okay, thank you, Hayden."She sent the message but received no reply. Wendy recalled Sam Wu mentioning Asher wouldn’t check his phone during training. Now that he was back in the locker room, perhaps he hadn’t had time yet—Goodness, just how furious had he been to seize Neil’s phone and call Hayden to track her down?Wendy practiced smiling for two minutes in the trophy wall’s reflection, ready to greet Asher with a bright grin when he arrived.Ten minutes later, the lounge door swung open. Wendy, who had been idly sitting on the couch, sprang to her feet."Hi—" Wendy froze.The man who entered had changed out of his uniform, now clad in a snug black tank top and jeans. His shoulders wer

Last Updated : 2025-07-29

Chapter 15: 46°F

Friday afternoon. The sun scorched the sprawling green field without mercy.During a break, Neil passed the rest area where players were griping:"This sunlight’s brutal. I’d kill for sunglasses right now! I glanced up catching a pass earlier—my eyes are still burning.""Just wear tinted goggles.""And stick out? Asher doesn’t even wear them."The air rippled with heat, parched and stagnant. Neil tugged his collar—no lies detected; today was infernal.Temperatures had climbed all week, breaking records daily. At least it was Friday—two days of reprieve awaited."Speaking of," a player remarked, "Asher’s been weirdly cheerful lately, right?"Neil snorted. Cheerful? Had nobody noticed yesterday’s inexplicable rage session?Approaching the purple bench, Neil tossed a water bottle at the guy glued to his phone."Let me guess—texting your sister again?"Asher didn’t dignify that with a response. Neil plopped down beside him."Bringing your phone to practice just for her now?""Only check d

Last Updated : 2025-07-29

Chapter 16: 47°F

"Neil, what's up?"The restless electronic music and laughter from Neil's end contrasted sharply with the desolate loneliness around him."Hey, where are you? It's insanely lively here—Keith's pool is huge... Hey, watch it! I'm on the phone!"After a burst of static assaulted his eardrums, Neil's voice continued, "Dustin just got pushed into the pool, and he tried to drag me in too. But no way, I'm way too quick for that!"Asher: "I'm at the training base.""No way, are you at the gym again?"At this hour, most of the players were at the party. The rest were either on dates or off doing their own thing—hardly anyone was left at the facility."Come on! You're the quarterback. Your brilliant brain already makes the guys jealous. Now you're trying to steal the linemen's thunder too? You can't ace everything. They work hard to protect you, you know."As he spoke, Neil flashed a smile at Willow beside him. "Come have a drink with us. Keith hired a professional DJ—someone who claims to have

Last Updated : 2025-07-29

Chapter 17: 48°F

Following David Yang, Wendy squeezed through the crowded hallway into the living room. The room was dimly lit, with party lights flashing wildly, making it hard to see.Wendy had braced for worse—the scene was actually tamer than she’d expected. At least she could still make out faces. She spotted Neil, Dustin… Wait, a lot of the Lightning players were here tonight.Hold on—was this the same party Neil had mentioned in the apartment building on Monday? The one he’d asked Asher to bring her to?"David Yang, David Yang! Let me tell you—Neil is also at this party—"Amused, Wendy was about to share the news with her friend when she spotted two guys walking in through the door. Her smile instantly froze, replaced by a cold, disdainful expression.David Yang turned around. "What about Neil?"Wendy sighed. "Those two guys heading toward Neil—I met them at summer camp before."Antus and Owen—the ones who’d called her "nerd girl" at camp and mocked her for not understanding football."They’re t

Last Updated : 2025-07-29

Chapter 18: 49°F

"Beka, let me be honest, I'm not really his girlfriend. I'm just his friend, the most ordinary kind. Actually, it's you—when he heard you were at the party, he nearly lost his mind with nerves."Wendy glanced at David Yang. "This guy is crazy about football and Asher, but the moment Asher arrived, all his attention was on you. He—mmph—"David Yang's face flushed red as he tried to cover Wendy's mouth, desperate to stop her from airing his secrets. "Wendy Wu, why are you airing my dirty laundry like this?!"Wendy pushed him away again, panting as she switched to Chinese. "Because I can see she still likes you, still cares about you—and you feel the same way!"Caught up in the moment, Wendy seamlessly switched back to English. "Beka, I don’t want to get between you two or waste your time. He and I really are just friends. He asked me to pretend to just be his girlfriend—I don’t know if it was to make you jealous or just to save face."She pointed a thumb at David Yang beside her. "Serio

Last Updated : 2025-07-29

Chapter 19: 50°F

David exhaled in relief. Either way, he likely didn’t need to go anymore. That person could protect Wendy far better than he ever could.Wendy noticed the man before her too.Even in her pitch-black world, his sheer presence, his oppressive aura, loomed as large as ever.She lowered her head, ignoring him entirely, pretending not to notice Asher standing right before her—using his broad frame to trap her in this small corner of the spacious living room.After their earlier distance, she wouldn’t presume arrogantly that he’d returned just for her. But after a few seconds of listening to his steady, unmoving breath, she realized:He had come for her.And in those seconds, the sense of distance between them melted away strangely. Since she couldn’t see, this could be their kitchen at home, the hallway between their rooms, or even his bedroom."You’re in my way."Wendy shoved at the immovable wall of a man, her fingertips brushing his shirt and eliciting a faint, teasing itch."You’re in

Last Updated : 2025-07-29

Chapter 20: 51°F

After seeing Asher go to pick up Wendy, David stopped paying attention to the commotion downstairs. He was in a hurry to get back to Beka for some intimacy.But soon a new problem arose—he couldn’t remember which room was his.Keith’s mansion was too vast, with too many identical doors. He’d rushed out earlier, telling Beka to wait ten minutes, only to spend eight of those minutes wandering lost.When Keith finally texted Beka’s new number, David leaned against the hallway wall to call her—until two girls nearby screamed. He looked up to see Asher carrying a woman upstairs.As a fan, David was used to seeing Asher in football gear, dominating the field. He hadn’t noticed earlier that Asher was wearing a dress shirt—crisp white fabric stretched across broad shoulders, sleeves rolled to reveal forearms corded with muscle. With glasses and slightly less intensity, he’d be the very image of a aristocratic heir. Except...Since when did proper heirs cradle a girl’s bare legs over one arm?

Last Updated : 2025-07-29

1 2 3 4 5 6

...

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP