Chapter 189 Extra Chapter 189

In 1969, Luo Yan was ten years old and had just started first grade.

Because classes have just resumed, this year's freshmen are the largest number in recent years.

The classroom, which was supposed to seat 30 or 40 students, was crammed with 60 or 70 people. On her first day of school, Luo Yan was too scared to go in, fearing she would be crushed into a meat patty. She hugged her brother and said, "I want to go to school with you."

Before the major school closures, Luo Hong had taken his younger sister to school.

These days, it's common for older kids to take care of younger kids. Those who want to can sit in the classroom with their older siblings, while those who don't can play on the playground.

Luo Yan has been quiet since childhood and can sit in the classroom all day.

But that was when she was little. Luo Hong, who was already thirteen and showing signs of becoming a teenager, said, "There's nowhere for you to sit."

Luo Yan looked at her brother with her big, watery eyes from crying: "There is one, I can sit in the middle."

She's sitting in the middle, what about the others?

Luo Hong said helplessly, "The stool is only so long. You sit in the middle, and Sanfang and I used to only have half of our butts touching. Now we've both grown taller, and look at how round your face is. How are the three of us supposed to squeeze in?"

Luo Yan felt rejected and began to sob even more.

Luo Hong patiently explained to her, "You're in first grade now, so you have to attend classes in your own classroom. That's the school's rule."

The word "rule" was Luo Yan's Achilles' heel. She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and looked at her mother.

Liu Yinfeng nodded and coaxed her, "You only have three classes, and your brother will pick you up after school, okay?"

Then she asked, "How about Mom buys you candied hawthorns for lunch?"

Luo Yan sniffled and said okay, then cautiously walked into the classroom.

After all, her daughter had to grow up. With a heavy heart, Liu Yinfeng turned around and went home.

But it wasn't time for class yet, so Luo Hong dragged his childhood friend to squat outside the window and observe for a while.

Zhou Weifang said irritably, "How old is she? She's starting elementary school and she's still crying and whining. It's not like she's in a special class for young children."

Luo Hong was at a loss: "She just loves to cry, what can you do about it?"

What could Zhou Weifang do? He could only say, "You can stay here by yourself. I'm going back to the classroom."

Luo Hong grabbed him tightly: "No, it's so boring for me to squat here all by myself. I'll treat you to some sunflower seeds."

With many children and sick elderly at home, and supplies being tight, Zhou Weifang usually just mooches off his snacks. He then squatted down and said, "I'm only doing this because of the sunflower seeds."

Luo Hong opened his schoolbag for him to take, and said very politely, "Don't spit on the ground, this is the designated cleaning area for Yan Yan's class."

Zhou Weifang looked closely and asked, "Where's your book?"

What book? They hadn't really attended school for many days before classes were suspended; Luo Hong's bag was full of slingshots and homemade spinning tops. Only now did he remember: "Oh, I forgot, I'll read yours."

The two were deskmates since childhood, and they were completely influenced by their surroundings.

Zhou Weifang said matter-of-factly, "I didn't bring any either."

"Alright," Luo Hong shrugged. "Then let's not go."

If they didn't go, someone else would. Luo Yan, clutching her schoolbag, faced a teacher she had never met before and, under her arrangement, sat at the back of the classroom.

The chairs in the first grade were also long benches. Luo Yan's deskmate was a boy who was taller and stronger than her. There was only half a seat left for her to sit on, and the table was completely full when she put her arm down.

Luo Yan felt that he looked fierce and dared not touch him, so she could only shrink into a ball.

Luo Hong looked out the window and felt uneasy, almost wanting to jump in: "Isn't this bullying?"

The teacher is still here. Zhou Weifang pressed him down: "They'll make things difficult for your sister later."

Luo Hong said, "Let's see who dares," and finally waited until the bell rang before running inside.

Luo Hong looked at his sister's new deskmate: "Move over a bit, we'll split it in half, you understand?"

Older children have a deterrent effect on younger children, and the younger children obediently give up their seats.

Luo Yan looked at her brother with admiration and took out some candy from her pocket to give it to him.

Even this small amount of candy now requires favors and connections.

Luo Hong unwrapped the paper and stuffed it into his sister's mouth: "Eat it yourself. If anyone bullies you, just tell me."

Luo Yan has been collecting candy wrappers lately. She reached out to her brother, asking him to give her a wrapper too, but because her mouth was stuck shut, she could only obediently nod.

Luo Hong pinched her round, chubby face, then dashed away like lightning, heading into the fourth-grade classroom with his childhood friend.

They could easily borrow a book from their friends and acquaintances here.

Luo Hong sat for two classes feeling like he was being pricked by needles, and as soon as school was over, he dragged his childhood friend to pick up his younger sister.

Luo Yan kept her brother's words in mind and stood under the big tree with her schoolbag on her back, waiting.

She was looking in the direction of the fourth-grade classroom when suddenly someone tugged her hair, and she immediately burst into tears.

Luo Hong was just a few steps away from his sister when he saw this and flew into a rage, lunging at her: "Little Luo, you've betrayed your promise!"

The boy nicknamed "Little Roundhead" retorted, "If I can't beat you, I'll beat up your sister!"

The two were tangled together. Luo Yan instinctively wanted to save her brother, but Zhou Weifang stopped her.

She sobbed as she said, "Third brother, brother."

Zhou Weifang understood what she meant: "There's no reason for two to fight one; people will look down on you."

Luo Yan didn't know what respect or disrespect meant; she only knew that her brother was fighting, and she pounced on him, wanting to go over.

To be honest, this girl grew up with good food and drink, and she actually has some strength when she gets angry.

Zhou Weifang pulled on her stomach and was hit, and subconsciously cursed.

Luo Yan thought she was being scolded, and the tears she had just wiped away started falling again.

Zhou Weifang couldn't call on God to save him, so all he could say was, "Radish, you'd better finish this quickly!"

Luo Hong could beat Xiao Luoquan with ease, winning in no time.

He brushed the dirt off his clothes, not really caring, and coaxed his sister, "It's okay, it's okay, let's go home."

Luo Yanzai carefully brushed the dirt off her brother's body, and her eyes widened with anger when she saw that his hands were scraped.

Luo Hong chuckled and said, "It's not like I lost."

Luo Yan pouted: "Fighting is no good."

Hmm, no, no.

Luo Hong didn't argue with his sister, saying, "The candied hawthorn is waiting for you at home."

As soon as Luo Yan was mentioned, she started running, her little braids swinging back and forth. Just by looking at her back, you could tell she was a clean and pretty little girl.

They were born of the same father and mother. Zhou Weifang looked at his childhood friend, who was covered in dust and dirt, and shook his head.

Luo Hong asked sharply, "What do you mean? Why are you shaking your head?"

Zhou Weifang ignored him and turned into his own courtyard.

Luo Hong still had to take a few more steps forward.

When he got home, his younger sister was already eating candied hawthorns. She could share two out of the five on a skewer, and even though she was missing a few teeth, she was still chewing them with a satisfying crunch.

Liu Yinfeng was looking at her daughter with a loving expression. Seeing her son enter the room, she was not surprised and said, "I'll get you some clothes. You can change in the living room. I just washed your blankets."

Luo Hong changed his clothes, washed his hands and face, ate his candied hawthorn, and waited for dinner.

The child's father eats lunch at his workplace, so it's just the three of them for lunch.

After finishing his meal, Luo Hong was about to run out, telling him, "Come find me later!"

Luo Yan eats slowly, and she tells her mother everything that happened in the morning, word for word.

After she finished speaking, she went to find her brother, only to find that they had climbed up the tree again. She said, "Brother! You'll fall!"

Luo Hong sat in the tree branch: "No, do you want to come up? I'll pull you up."

Luo Yan didn't want to go up, thinking that if she fell, she would be turned into a meat pie. She kept looking up and muttering to herself.

Zhou Weifang couldn't help but say, "Are you a sparrow, chirping away?"

Upon hearing this, he hurriedly scrambled downstairs.

But how can such flexibility compare to Luo Yan's tears that come so easily?

She cries out loud less often now, but when she sheds tears quietly, she seems even more pitiful, as if the whole world owes her an apology.

Zhou Weifang was one of those people in the world. Seeing his childhood friend still watching the commotion, he called him to come down quickly.

Luo Hong didn't move, and said, "Hurry up."

Zhou Weifang had only one trick for dealing with Luo Yan: "Don't cry, I'll make you a rabbit!"

He picked a bunch of foxtail grass from the roadside and quickly made it look like a rabbit.

Luo Yan held one up and said, "I want another one."

Okay, okay, it's just foxtail grass.

Zhou Weifang: "Wipe your tears first!"

Luo Yan wiped her hands with a handkerchief and then played house by herself with the two little rabbits.

Zhou Weifang breathed a sigh of relief, but just as he was about to climb the tree again, he felt a chill down his spine. He turned around and asked, "No, what else do you want?"

His tone was not good, and Luo Yan, poised to retaliate, choked out, "You are not allowed to climb trees."

She couldn't call people down, but no one could climb up in front of her.

Zhou Weifang gritted his teeth, decided to give up, sat down on the ground, and gave the middle finger to his childhood friends in the tree.

Luo Hong knew this would be the outcome, and laughed the most unrestrainedly.

Luo Yan looked up and snorted at her brother before continuing to play house.

The midday sun in September was still quite strong. Zhou Weifang noticed her flushed face and said, "Come over here a bit, you'll get heatstroke."

Luo Yan shook her head: "There's a hanged ghost."

The hanging ghost is a small insect that lives on locust trees and is most common in summer.

Zhou Weifang knew she was timid, so he said, "If I were here, I would have caught you."

Indeed, Luo Yan moved slowly, afraid that he wouldn't be able to catch her in time, so she squatted down next to him.

So agreeable! Zhou Weifang: "I thought I was going to have to argue with you again."

Luo Yan, who had grown up following him and her brother around, looked up and said, "You can't scare me with bugs."

Zhou Weifang dared not.

He usually says a few words to this girl and she cries her eyes out, but compared to the frenzy she gets when she sees insects, that's nothing. At that point, let alone two foxtail grass rabbits, even twenty thousand wouldn't be enough to appease her.

He stopped talking, but Luo Yan had something to say. She asked cautiously, "Third Brother, can I have two more rabbits?"

Zhou Weifang wondered why she had the right to do this, but looking into her eyes, he couldn't say anything. Frustrated, he rubbed his hair and said, "Wait."

This is when Luo Yan is smiling the most today; her cheeks are chubby and her eyes are curved.

Zhou Weifang wiped his two fingers clean on his pants and then pinched her cheek.

Luo Yan blinked, then brought her other cheek closer and said, "Two more, please."

Her face was so round it looked like a meat bun. Just thinking about it made Zhou Weifang a little hungry, and he subconsciously swallowed.

Luo Yan knew best what hunger felt like, so she took out some pastries wrapped in oil paper from her pocket and gave them to him.

This was clearly her afternoon snack. Zhou Weifang said, "No need, you can keep it for yourself."

Luo Yan imitated her brother's actions from that morning, stuffing the snack into his mouth.

But she was always very polite; even though she was offering food to someone, she would still say, "I'm sorry."

Zhou Weifang chewed and swallowed, pulling up all the foxtail grass in the area until it was bare.

That night, Luo Yan slept with a large group of foxtail grass rabbits.

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Author's Note: [The End]

The rest are all bonus chapters; I'll start updating with little Luo Yuanyuan tomorrow.

Feel free to leave a comment on this chapter; you'll receive a small closing gift.

P.S.: I'll be starting a new story soon, "Yellow and Blue Combinations," which is a modern story. I'm worried that if I stop writing, it'll be for a long time, so I'm writing a lot now that I've finally gotten back into the swing of things. Goodnight!