mtl008 Chapter 314 Obedient and Clingy Younger Brother (25)
Chapter 314 Obedient and Clingy Younger Brother (25)
People came and went all around, and a cacophony of sounds filled my ears.
Jin Shuhe couldn't hear what they were saying clearly; he was only focused on the short figure that had come into view.
He seemed to have been thinking about this scenario for almost ten years.
From a young age, after school, one by one, my classmates would be picked up by their parents, and the mothers would listen with smiles on their faces as they listened to their children tell them about the interesting things that happened at school.
The fathers took the children's schoolbags, and some even hoisted the children onto their shoulders.
He was the only one who squeezed out of the bustling crowd and walked home alone.
In junior high school, parent-teacher meetings usually took place in the classroom while the children played on the playground. After the meeting, they would go home together.
He, however, could leave much earlier.
At that time, a classmate looked at him with envy: "Ah...you can leave again! My mom is going to scold me when she comes out!"
Today he waited here, seemingly no different from the other students around him.
"Huh? Who are you waiting for?"
Wen Bei darted up behind him. He and two male classmates had just gone to an internet cafe to play games.
Now that it was almost time, he slipped back.
"Today..."
Wen Bei originally wanted to ask, "Is someone attending your parent-teacher conference today?" But after thinking about it, she felt that Jin Shuhe might have something else to do, so she swallowed her question.
Before he could even open his mouth to speak again, he saw Jin Shuhe raise his hand and wave awkwardly towards the school.
Wen Bei looked in that direction and saw a very pretty young lady who was standing on tiptoe, waving in this direction with great amplitude, her smiling eyes curving into a pair of crescent moons.
"Who?"
Boys of this age are always more interested in pretty girls, Wen Bei patted Jin Shuhe on the back.
"I……"
"what?"
"My sister," Jin Shuhe said, her voice trembling slightly.
"Your sister? When did you get a sister?" Wen Bei didn't care about being reserved anymore. He had never heard Jin Shuhe mention that he had a sister.
Or... her older sister who's so beautiful.
As they were talking, Lu Liruan had already come up in front of them.
She was carrying a bag in one hand. The bag was a bit small, and the stack of toilet paper couldn't fit inside; it was rolled up and half of it was sticking out.
"How long have you been waiting?"
"I just went outside with my classmates." Jin Shuhe naturally took the bag from Lu Liruan's hand.
"Hello, sister!"
Wen Bei, who was standing nearby, noticed that her older sister looked even prettier when she got closer!
Unlike other girls her age at school, she was very beautiful and had an "older sister" vibe.
Lu Liruan then noticed that there was someone standing behind Jin Shuhe.
Your son looks very strong and tall; his shoulders seem to be half a hand wider than Jin Shuhe's.
With a freshly shaved buzz cut close to his scalp, he grinned broadly, revealing his white teeth, and appeared exceptionally cheerful.
"Hello, are you Xiaohe's classmate?" Lu Liruan smiled at him.
“Yeah, we were in the same class, and we were in the same class in elementary school too. I’m his best buddy!” As he spoke, he put his arm around Jin Shuhe’s shoulder.
Then, Jin Shuhe pushed him down with his hand.
"Beibei!"
Wen Bei turned his head and answered his mother. A woman with long curly hair, wearing a light-colored business suit, walked over.
She was one of the parents who was behind Lu Liruan earlier, chatting with other parents about tutoring.
"Xiao He, would you like to come to Auntie's house for dinner today?" She smiled and patted Jin Shuhe on the back, as if they were quite familiar with each other.
“Mom, he came with his sister!” Wen Bei interrupted his mother.
"Oh! You're Xiaohe's older sister. I saw you in the classroom earlier."
The woman looked at Lu Li with some surprise, then regained her composure: "I'm Wen Bei's mother, hello."
"Hello." Lu Liruan didn't know what to call him.
According to her seniority as Jin Shuhe's older sister, she should call her aunt.
But... Lu Liruan knew that it was absolutely impossible!
"My surname is Zeng. What's your name?" The woman had the air of a strong woman and was very good at reading people.
“Oh, my surname is Lu, Sister Zeng, you can just call me Xiao Lu!” Lu Liruan replied smoothly, using her old classmate’s accent.
"Xiaohe and Beibei usually get along well, that's why I invited Xiaohe to my house for dinner. Why don't you all come over for dinner together?"
"No need, no need. Xiaohe and I have already agreed to eat out today. Let's do it another day, Sister Zeng."
"Okay, then we'll go first!"
The tall boy swayed behind, then turned around and waved to Lu Liruan.
"Your classmate is really interesting."
Jin Shuhe tugged at Lu Liruan's sleeve: "Let's go, Sister Liruan."
"Hey, how about we go out to eat?"
"Hmm?" Jin Shuhe sensed that Sister Li Ruan was inexplicably excited today.
Let's celebrate!
"Celebrate what?" For a moment, Jin Shuhe thought about his achievements. It shouldn't be something to celebrate, right?
"Celebrate your first day of school, and then celebrate me becoming an adult today!"
Jin Shuhe didn't quite understand, so Lu Liruan patted his arm and explained to him earnestly, "Look at me, I blended in with a group of parents today without showing any fear!"
“I spoke very calmly with your homeroom teacher and the students’ mothers, and I blended in very smoothly. You see, everyone accepted me very naturally, didn’t they?”
It wasn't very smooth; it still looked rather abrupt.
Jin Shuhe thought to himself, but thoughtfully didn't say it aloud.
“After the Spring Festival this year, one of my college classmates had a baby. She told us that whenever she heard a nurse call her ‘So-and-so’s mother,’ she couldn’t help but laugh. I can relate to that today.”
Jin Shuhe thought about how she usually was, and realized that... she didn't seem to have grown up much.
But Jin Shuhe felt a subtle yet clear sense of security around her, unrelated to her age, simply because of Sister Li Ruan.
She made Jin Shuhe feel as if... she really wasn't a burden, but was being happily and expectantly accepted into her life.
"And congratulations on officially becoming a senior in high school!"
“What’s there to celebrate?” Jin Shuhe said in a low voice.
"If I say we should celebrate, then we should celebrate! Let's go get some grilled fish!"
While waiting for the food to be served, Jin Shuhe took out the rolled-up paper and prepared to refold it neatly.
Lu Liruan's gaze involuntarily fell on the question again.
Experiencing it again, it's still so inexplicable...
"What's wrong, Sister Li Ruan?"
Jin Shuhe noticed that her expression was a little strange.
"I……"
"I feel incredibly strong right now," Lu Liruan murmured.
Jin Shuhe: ?
"It's alright, let's eat first."
The grilled fish at this restaurant tasted great. As Lu Liruan ate, she began to wonder what seasonings were used, planning to replicate it at home in the future.
The two strolled home slowly in the dim night. Jin Shuhe inexplicably recalled that time when they came back late and Sister Li Ruan hurriedly pulled him upstairs.
After they parted ways at the door, he closed the door and felt a strange sense of loss.
At that time, his most unrealistic thought was that he wished he could spend more time with Sister Li Ruan in the future...
But in reality, he was pulled into Sister Li Ruan's world by her.
For the first time, reality was gentler and more pleasing than he had imagined.
Jin Shuhe thought to himself, "I guess I used up all my luck in my life?"
The next morning, when Jin Shuhe quietly got up at six o'clock, it was just getting light outside.
The curtains on the large living room window were still drawn, allowing only a little bit of cool, bluish light to seep in.
Jin Shuhe went over and drew back the curtains and opened the window to let in some fresh air.
Even though nothing seemed to change when I looked down, my heart started racing as the brief coolness of summer air entered my body through my nostrils.
A sense of satisfaction and happiness pumps through my veins to every part of my body, leaving my fingertips feeling warm and cozy.
Everything seemed full of vibrant hope, unlike the mornings of the past.
On the light green tablecloth, there was a bag of whole wheat toast slices, with jam and a bag of pure milk placed next to it.
It was Li Ruan Jie who left it here last night after staying up late.
There was also a cow-patterned note on the milk: "Heat it up before drinking."
Li Ruan's handwriting, like her personality, has a touch of childishness, neatly arranged with straight lines, one after another.
Jin Shuhe suddenly remembered the note his mother had left for him that day at Wenbei's house.
At the time, I was... very envious.
Now I have it myself.
Today was Wenbei's turn to be on duty. When Jin Shuhe entered the classroom, Wenbei had already rolled up his school uniform sleeves to his elbows and wrung out a rag. He was all wet and tried to jump up and hug Jin Shuhe, but Jin Shuhe was quick and ducked to avoid him.
He missed his target, then howled and came back, pushing Jin Shuhe down in her seat: "Hey! Was it really your sister yesterday?"
"Ah."
"When did you get a sister? Your sister is so beautiful!" The second sentence then veered off-topic.
Jin Shuhe didn't speak, but after a moment's thought, he nodded seriously.
Sister Li Ruan is really beautiful.
"She's prettier than that girl in Class Two! Your sister looks like a celebrity! Hey, how old is your sister?" Wen Bei grinned foolishly, "How old is your sister?"
"In the twenties."
"Going to university?"
"I'm already working."
"I didn't realize that. I thought she was only two or three years older than us."
Jin Shuhe listened to him mention Sister Li Ruan in every sentence, and for some reason, she didn't want to talk to him anymore. Just as she was about to end the conversation, the girl in front of her also turned her face towards her.
"Jin Shuhe, why have you never mentioned that you have an older sister?"
The girl named Zhao Jingyi also had her hair in a ponytail today: "When I signed in yesterday, I heard her say that she was your parent, which I found strange!"
"What does it have to do with you what he does? What, you're a discipline committee member, do you have to worry about this?" Wen Bei retorted.
He and Zhao Jingyi didn't get along. Zhao Jingyi was always picking on him, and he would get criticized even for passing a note in class.
"I'm talking to Jin Shuhe, what's it to you!"
"Hey! Didn't you see I was talking to him? Why are you interrupting?"
The two got into a verbal battle, completely forgetting about Jin Shuhe, who was caught in the middle.
They only stopped when the bell rang for morning self-study, reluctant to leave.
After entering the senior year of high school, the atmosphere in the class became noticeably more tense.
However, because the students' grades were generally weak, the teachers always started with the simplest things during the review sessions, which sounded rather boring to Jin Shuhe.
Yesterday, Sister Li Ruan put on her glasses, leaned back on the sofa, studied her toilet paper roll for a long time, and then said to herself very seriously, "If there's anything you don't know, you can come and ask me."
"I'm terrifyingly strong!"
What did Sister Li Ruan study in college again...? Jin Shuhe held the pen between his fingers, staring blankly at the blackboard.
Wen Bei listened quite attentively afterward.
For the first time ever, he didn't go out to play ball after class. Instead, he stayed in his seat, clutching a vocabulary book, frowning and muttering to himself.
"It's over, I can't remember it at all!" he wailed.
What was your score in English this time?
"Ninety-six," Jin Shuhe answered honestly. His Chinese and English were indeed weak subjects, and for English, a subject requiring extensive memorization and reading, Jin Shuhe had very little time…
"At least I passed! I only got 72! I just couldn't memorize it at all!"
"Tch—with a brain like yours, it would be a miracle if you could even remember it!"
Zhao Jingyi then teased him a couple more times: "Jin Shuhe, do you want to see my English notes?"
"No need, thank you." Jin Shuhe added an auxiliary line to the diagram and politely declined without looking up.
"Do you see?"
Zhao Jingyi was surprised that Jin Shuhe rejected her so directly, and then asked Wen Bei in a casual manner.
"look look look!"
Wen Bei didn't notice anything and immediately shamelessly moved closer.
Zhao Jingyi's English grades have always been among the best in her class.
After lunch, Teacher He called Jin Shuhe to her office.
Jin Shuhe had a bit of a phobia about entering the office, so he sighed at the door before stepping inside. Fortunately, Teacher He didn't come up with any new ideas this time.
"Are you living with your sister now?" Teacher He was still very concerned about the student's situation.
"Yes."
“I spoke with your sister a few words yesterday, and she seems to be very responsible.”
Hearing this, Jin Shuhe raised her head and met Teacher He's serious gaze.
"Since she can provide you with a stable learning and living environment, you have to work hard, you know? Your teacher thinks you have great potential and can achieve even better results than you do now."
Teacher He hesitated for a moment, then said earnestly, "I didn't ask anything of you before, but now... Jin Shuhe, you have to work harder than others. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Jin Shuhe understood, of course.
But he hadn't really thought about it much before.
He was thinking about when to leave school, where he could find part-time jobs, and when... he could support himself.
But now, after Teacher He finished speaking.
Suddenly, Jin Shuhe's mind cleared up in an instant. He really should work hard.
Just like Sister Li Ruan said... change your own life.
This was his luckiest, and only, opportunity, like a dream come true.
He didn't want to disappoint Sister Li Ruan.
Not wanting to let down Sister Li Ruan's kindness, he had to... live differently than before, and make Sister Li Ruan feel that her efforts had been rewarded.
In that instant, Jin Shuhe had never had such a clear understanding and goal.
"I understand, Teacher He, thank you."
Teacher He looked at the silent, thin boy with some relief.
As his teacher, she unconditionally wanted the best for him, and she felt relieved when she saw that he promised to work hard.