Chapter 2

You dragged your older brother to find the principal.

Just then, the Education Bureau came down for an inspection. The teacher who had been splashed with water was following behind you, cursing wildly. When you opened the office door, you saw the principal's dark face and a room full of teachers serving tea and water.

The scene was so spectacular that it could be considered one of the ten things you're most proud of in your life.

...

"Southward flight".

The older brother followed behind you, step by step, saying, "You're so brave!"

You sat on the mountain path with a basket on your back. The potatoes on your back were very heavy. The older brother walked along, picking potatoes out of your basket and throwing them into his own.

When you came out of the field, you had a full bag of potatoes, but when you got halfway up the mountain, you only had half a basket left. The older brother didn't think you were bullying him at all, and sat down next to you with great admiration.

The morning fog covered the fields, turning the earth into a vast expanse of white.

You said with a nonchalant smile, "It's because you're a coward."

The older brother said, "He is a teacher."

You're chewing on a blade of sage, your expression indifferent, and with a touch of childish eccentricity, you're looking up at the clouds: "So what?"

The older brother sniffed, took a carrot out of his basket, and crunched on it: "I used to think you didn't like me and your second brother. You didn't like anything, and you would just go into your room as soon as you got home and wouldn't talk to us."

No, actually I felt awkward, like I was the one being disliked, so I just couldn't be enthusiastic towards them.

You don't realize that in your older brother's eyes you are an arrogant, stubborn, and seemingly innocent person.

My older brother is obsessed with "Journey to the West: The Sequel" and his favorite character is Bai Lianhua. He even hates the character Biyou, thinking that she is a white lotus. This is clearly a problem in the way it is conveyed.

When you get home, there's only one potato left in your basket.

Your second brother stood on the roof of the bungalow to receive you. You handed him the basket, and he glared at you with a stern face. Your eldest brother followed behind you, covered in sweat, grinning from ear to ear.

...

After school this time, you didn't go into your own room. Instead, you sat at the big table where everyone was doing their homework, propping your chin up and looking at the two people next to you.

My older brother and second older brother are both in sixth grade, but in different classes. My aunt doesn't watch them do their homework. They usually just do a little bit, then pack their bags and run outside to play. So there's a reason why their grades are bad.

Today too.

The older boy took out his math book, flipped through it, and fidgeted in his seat for about ten minutes. When he heard the sound of the TV series "Journey to the West: The Sequel," he swept his stationery into his schoolbag with a clatter and jumped up: "I'm done!"

Your second brother followed slowly behind, packed his schoolbag, glanced at you, and said, "Take your time writing."

The two left the room one after the other. After you finished your homework, you casually flipped through the two sixth-grade students' blank assignments and went back to your own room.

When you went out for a drink of water, you smelled burnt rice. You stood outside the window, and two elementary school students were intently watching TV, neither of them reacting. You thought for a moment and then remained silent.

So when their aunt came back, the two elementary school students unsurprisingly got a few spanks and cried and wiped away their tears.

Auntie covered the TV with a gauze cover: "Look, look! All you do all day is watch TV. You don't even notice the food is burnt. Is that TV something you can eat? Huh? You two don't even study anymore. You should just pretend you're nearsighted! From now on, you're not allowed to watch TV when I'm not around. If anyone dares to turn it on, I'll have your dad break both your legs!"

You say, "Auntie, may I watch?"

Your aunt looked at you in surprise. You had never made any requests since you moved in. She awkwardly wiped her hands and said, "Sure, sure, go ahead and look."

The older brother rubbed his buttocks and said, "Mom, I want to see too."

My aunt immediately glared at me, hands on her hips: "You have the nerve to make demands, huh?"

...

That night, the older brother, hiding under the covers and wiping away tears, tossed and turned, asking his younger brother, "Does your butt hurt?"

The second brother stared at the ceiling and snorted, "It's all Nanfei's fault."

The older brother, preoccupied with his unfinished homework, ignored the complaint: "I haven't finished my homework. Remember to wake me up tomorrow."

The second brother was silent for a while, then suddenly said, "Eldest brother, after finishing elementary school, I don't want to go to junior high school. It's pointless to go to junior high."

The older brother exclaimed, his face blank: "Not going to school anymore?"

Where can he go if he doesn't continue his studies? Can he work? He actually quite likes going to school, especially after the teachers stopped punishing him.

The second brother turned his face, eager to try: "Think about it, we started school later than others. We're already fourteen years old. If we're not smart enough, we won't be able to concentrate on studying. Why don't we go out and make money earlier? Look at those people who are out there making a living. How awesome are they? They make money and drive motorcycles. Don't you want to watch TV every day and not have to do homework?"

The older brother fell silent for a while before finally sorting out his thoughts: "What about Mom? She definitely won't agree."

The second brother's eyes lit up, and he continued to persuade her: "Listen to me, as long as we insist that we don't want to go to school, Mom won't disagree."

No homework, just watch TV all day.

The older brother recalled the cool sequel to Journey to the West, which he could watch every day without fear of being scolded by his mother. What an amazing life that would be! He nodded in agreement: "Okay."

The second brother's voice was smug: "That's settled then. You can't let Mom and Dad scare you into giving me away. We're in cahoots, closer than blood brothers, so you can't say this to Nanfei either."

You stood by the window, listening thoughtfully to the entire conversation.

...

The next morning, while the whole family was having breakfast at the table, you didn't take your bowl to eat elsewhere like before. Instead, you picked up your noodle bowl, looked down at your older brother, and asked, "Big brother, don't you want to go to school anymore?"

The older brother, with a cheerful and unguarded expression, picked up some fermented bean curd and said naturally, "What I was thinking was that the second brother didn't want to study; he wanted to go out and make his way in the world."

Second brother: "..."

The aunt, her eyes blazing with fury, slammed her hand on the table: "Lin Jiangjun!"

The second brother, steeling himself, was about to have to lay his cards on the table: "I just can't concentrate on my studies!"

Her aunt slammed her chopsticks down: "What do you want to do if you don't study? Be a farmer for life, scraping food out of the soil?! Huh?! Trying to make it in society?! Did you get your brain squeezed by a door?!"

The second brother's face turned red, and his voice was a little loud: "I don't understand, I'm not smart, I can't learn, what can I do! Anyway, I've said it, I just don't want to go to school anymore."

The older brother was eating noodles when he sensed something was wrong. The atmosphere at the table was tense. Before his aunt could grab a broom, he finished the last mouthful of noodle soup, put down his bowl, and said, "If you don't understand, I can help."

...

The next day at school, you left early by yourself. Because you were thinking about something, you didn't hear anyone calling you. They called several times.

You turn around and see a boy you don't recognize carrying a backpack, his hands in his pockets. He looks a bit like you, trying to look cool, but he's not as cool as you.

He was dressed very well; the colors of his clothes and shoes were harmoniously matched. Back then, there was no concept of white sneakers, but he was wearing a pair of white sneakers with clean laces and uppers. His pants were light blue jeans, and his school uniform was neat and tidy, with a section of the round neck of his white T-shirt showing.

The school you attended was a school for the children of mine workers, and it was easy to spot them compared to the rural children who had unstable incomes and had to do housework.

But you're not interested in other people.

"Are you from Nanfei?"

You didn't answer, turned around and walked away. He followed, falling a dozen steps behind, and asked again, "Are you Nanfei?"

"My name is Qiu Li. Do you know me?"

You picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at him, hitting him near his feet. The meaning was very clear. Qiu Li didn't run away, but he didn't say anything either. He silently followed behind you. When you reached the school gate, you turned around. The crowd had grown larger, and you couldn't see him anymore.

This was just a minor incident; you'll forget about it as soon as you turn your back.

When you arrived at the classroom, you had just put down your schoolbag when you were surrounded by several people. You were the youngest in the class, but these people who were bigger than you didn't dare to bully you.

You dislike chaos, you've disliked it since you were little: "Can you all line up and take turns, instead of crowding here like a swarm of bees?"

The students lined up reluctantly and slowly. After they finished lining up, they took out a stack of exercise books, notebooks, and the little notebook you usually use to keep track of your expenses from their schoolbags.

"The Chinese homework is packaged together, five yuan per set. After deducting the deposit, give me four yuan back."

"For essays written separately, you can pay the original price. Math homework is one yuan and fifty cents per assignment. Cash on delivery."

"The class next door? We're not accepting calls from the class next door for now."

After you've finished keeping track of the accounts and assigning tasks, you suddenly remember that the guy might be asking you to do his homework.

Just then, Deng Yu from the back seat tearfully handed you a notebook and six yuan and fifty cents.

Your name is written on the notebook. Inside is a copy of a novel that you have revised and copied. It is currently being circulated among the girls in the class for a fee, and it is not yet finished.

Deng Yu wiped away her tears: "Nanfei, when will you finish writing the next chapter? I think I know what happened between the female lead and that general. Can you tell me?"

She hands you a drawing: "This is fan art drawn by Rabbit Teeth."

You take it, and there are two stick figures on the paper, locked in a love-hate relationship, with dialogue from a novel written next to them.

Deng Yu also said, "By the way, we've agreed that if the female lead dies, we won't pay her."

you:"……"