Chapter 69 (First Update)
Luo Hong went to great lengths to stop his childhood friend from continuing to like his sister. He even went to his sister's room to announce that he wanted to join a study group and express his desire to make positive progress.
He expressed himself very reluctantly, his face clearly saying, "I had no choice."
Luo Yan asked in surprise, "Why are you acting crazy for no reason?"
Luo Hong objected: "Can't I be studious?"
Luo Yan sneered: "No."
Luo Hong tapped the back of her head: "Just for that sentence, I'll learn it for you."
Forget it.
When he returned to the city, the college entrance examination was reinstated. Luo Yan wanted to carry her books around and chase after her brother every day, and their relationship almost broke down.
Given this premise, his sudden ambition is something we really have to be wary of.
Luo Yan said warily, "Keep making this up."
Luo Hong couldn't keep up the lie, so he started spouting nonsense: "It's not good for a young girl like you to always be the one to go and find the three parties yourself."
Upon hearing this, Luo Yan asked, "Who's spreading rumors again?"
There are no secrets in the world. Even if there are no clues at all in the alley, the old folks can make up a whole bunch of stories with a beginning and an end.
Luo Hongshun replied, "There are a few things I said. Anyway, if you're going, just call me. I'm free anyway."
Luo Yan nodded and turned another page of the book in front of her.
Luo Hong recognized all the Chinese characters on the bookshelf, but he couldn't understand any of the messy symbols in the middle, let alone the English mixed in. He glanced casually at his sister's desk, then his gaze moved to her bookshelf. A series of book titles hit him like bricks on the head, making him dizzy. He thought: The distance between his childhood friend and his sister must be the same as the relationship between himself and these books.
Then he scratched his head and went out.
Luo Yan glanced distractedly at her brother's back, tilting her head left and right. After completing this series of movements, she couldn't come up with anything useful. She rubbed the corner of the book's page and said, "Something's weird."
But she couldn't quite put her finger on what was strange. She scribbled a couple of lines on the draft paper and continued writing, quickly forgetting about it. However, she kept thinking about the calculus problem she couldn't solve before going to sleep, and even dreamed in the middle of the night that she was buried at the bottom by countless symbols and curves, and spent the whole night running away in her dreams.
She was so tired after running that she felt more exhausted when she got up than when she was asleep, and she was listless when she ate breakfast.
Liu Yinfeng: "Why do your teachers assign so much homework every day?"
Luo Yan: "We don't actually have much homework; it all depends on our self-discipline."
When it comes to self-awareness, who can compare to a daughter?
Liu Yinfeng: "But you can't study too late."
Luo Yan: "I'm one of the early ones. I heard that boarding students study until midnight with flashlights."
Everyone cherishes this hard-won learning opportunity.
Liu Yinfeng: "I thought I'd have plenty of free time after getting into university."
Luo Yan complained to her mother: "People who can get into a university are all about the same level. Just imagine there are more than thirty of me in my class. How hard do I have to work if I want to do well?"
Liu Yinfeng said with heartache, "Mom will get two chickens later and make some soup for you to nourish yourself."
He got excited about eating Luo Yan and even made a request: "I want to eat bamboo shoots too."
Liu Yinfeng: "I'll buy it for you after it rains."
Bamboo shoots only sprout after the rain.
Whether it will rain or not is anyone's guess, but this year's sandstorms have already arrived with great force.
Luo Yan had only ridden her bike to school when she felt disheveled and pulled down her scarf to dust herself off.
As she was taking pictures, she noticed a bicycle in the shed that looked a lot like Zhou Xiuhe's. Without making a sound, she unlocked the bicycle again, pushed it over, and parked it next to her.
Upon closer inspection, she could see a small "Zhou" character on the handlebars, and thought to herself, "Just as I thought," before locking the bike and heading to the classroom.
When she arrived, she returned Ji Ning's student ID first, and the two chatted for a few minutes before separating when the teacher came in.
The first lesson was an introduction to transportation.
This course has a pre-assigned summer assignment: to write a bus tracking report—analyzing the significance of this bus route's setup from aspects such as stops, routes, and passengers.
Luo Yan felt overwhelmed at the thought of this assignment, because this kind of social survey report was not her forte at all; she was more suited to writing and calculating within the prescribed scope.
But she has a great advantage: she always faces challenges head-on with any task assigned by the teacher, and in the end, she usually manages to complete it well.
Perhaps because of this result, Luo Yan's worries were short-lived. She focused her attention on the class and only stood up to stretch during the break.
Her classes were full all day. After school in the evening, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief, but then the wind and sand blew in her face, and she walked forward with her head down.
Zhou Xiuhe watched as she crashed headfirst into the bike shed, coughing as a warning.
Luo Yan wasn't surprised to see him here. After looking around and seeing no one, she said, "Actually, I can go back by myself."
Zhou Xiuhe: "I haven't seen you all day."
He was afraid someone might suddenly appear, so he lowered his voice, speaking softly as if whispering in his ear.
Luo Yan pinched her earlobe, carefully reached out and poked him, and looked at him coquettishly.
Zhou Xiuhe was in a great mood, and his gaze involuntarily fell on her fingertips.
Luo Yan put her hands behind her back and stammered, "Let's go, let's go."
The two of them left the school gate one after the other, and slowly started riding their bikes side by side, talking as they went.
The short two-kilometer stretch made Luo Yan realize for the first time that she shouldn't have chosen a college so close to home when filling out her application.
When they reached the intersection, she stopped and said, "Take your time going back."
Zhou Xiuhe hummed in agreement and helped her pull her scarf up to cover most of her face: "It's windy."
His fingertips lightly brushed against Luo Yan's nose, making a certain patch of her skin stand out.
She clenched her fists at her sides, blinked, and somehow her voice tightened. She brushed two messy strands of hair back and said, "See you tomorrow~"
Zhou Xiuhe waited until she was out of sight before returning to his dormitory. He ran up to the fifth floor in one breath and pushed open the door to room 502.
Their dormitory was the hangout for the boys in the class; some played cards, some played the harmonica, some read books, and so on.
When people saw him return, they greeted him in twos and threes.
Zhou Xiuhe was in a hurry to get to the bathhouse, so he just gave a few perfunctory replies and ran out with his basin. The remaining few people took the opportunity to discuss the matter, saying, "In our class, Zhou is the only Southerner who still insists on taking a bath every day."
The weather in the north is dry, and the temperature in March is still very low. In addition, the number of bath tickets issued by schools is limited, so most people in the south have changed their lifestyle.
But Zhou Xiuhe was a clean freak, and he would take a shower even if he wasn't sweating, and he would have to exchange shower tickets for them at the end of the month. The boys discussed everything from the differences in showering to what fillings to eat for zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), and by the time Zhou Xiuhe returned, the scene was in complete chaos.
He was hit squarely on the head by a pillow from who-knows-who, and since he couldn't catch the "culprit," he had no choice but to join the "war."
Collective environments are always lively, and alleyways are no exception.
Before Luo Yan even reached the courtyard gate, she saw a group of people gathered there. Thinking something had happened, she hurriedly rushed inside.
The neighbors made room for her, saying, "Yanyan is back."
Luo Yan agreed to everything and, together with everyone else, turned their attention to the back room. From the commotion, they deduced that Aunt Li and Sister Jianhong had quarreled again, though the reason was still unknown.
She parked the car and went inside. Seeing that only her father was in the living room, she guessed that her mother had gone to break up the fight. She asked in a low voice, "What happened?"
Luo Xinmin: "Jianhong has found a partner."
Luo Yan immediately grasped the key question: "With whom?"
Luo Xinmin: "Second-generation."
Luo Yan didn't like calling people by their nicknames, but for a moment she couldn't remember this idiot's real name, so she omitted it and said, "It seems that Sister Jianhong and the others get their goods from him when they set up their stalls."
Erchazi was a celebrity in Fengshou Hutong. He had been imprisoned twice for speculation and profiteering. He seized the business opportunity as soon as the reform and opening up began and became one of the city's earliest households with 10,000 yuan in income.
But if someone has a criminal record, they're not considered a good match by their elders, which explains why things escalated.
Luo Yan finally remembered Erchazi's surname in a few seconds and said, "The policy is different now, Uncle Hong is actually a very nice person."
In those years when supplies were scarce, almost every household in the alley would buy things from him privately, and he would charge them a lower price.
Luo Xinmin chuckled for some reason: "You call him uncle and Jianhong sister, that's a difference in generation."
Luo Yan: "I know that Sister Jianhong is six or seven years older than me, but I really didn't know that Uncle Hong was, but I've always called him Uncle."
Luo Xinmin guessed: "He should be in his early thirties. He was delayed when he was young, otherwise his child would be in junior high school by now."
Luo Yan: "He's at most four or five years younger than Sister Jianhong, but he looks a bit..."
Luo Xinmin: "Having been to labor camps twice and being exposed to the wind and sun, of course I look older."
Indeed, Luo Yan said, "I remember when he was a child, he always had those colorful candies to eat, which he would give to every child in the alley. Zhou Weifang always got the most. Uncle Hong said he would do great things in the future."
But Zhou Weifang said that eating sweets is not manly at all, so Luo Yan got all the sweets.
Luo Xinmin: "You know what, they do look a bit alike."
Luo Yan: "I think Zhou Weifang will soon become a millionaire too."
Luo Xinmin's monthly salary of one hundred yuan is considered high income in the alley. But now, self-employed individuals are springing up like mushrooms after rain. He said, "Society has changed. Maybe in the future, everyone will go into business."
Luo Yan: "Not everyone can do it. Your daughter is very smart and beautiful, but do you think I can do business?"
Luo Xinmin cheered for his daughter, saying, "Yes, of course you can."
Luo Yan: "I am very self-aware."
Her personality simply doesn't allow her to do this kind of thing.
Luo Xinmin: "Waiting for you to graduate is better than starting any business."
Stable and respectable, how wonderful!
Luo Yan was quite satisfied with the path she had chosen. After chatting with her father for a few more minutes, she went back to her room to read.
But with so many people in the courtyard, it was hard for her to calm down. She could only listen to the Li family mother and daughter arguing, which involved smashing stools and breaking bowls, while a bunch of people around tried to persuade them.
Amidst this uproar, Li Jianhong could still be heard shouting, "I'm going to marry him! You didn't care about me when you should have, but now you know I have a daughter!!"
Every family's situation is different, so it's understandable that Li Jianhong would say such things, but Luo Yan just wanted to sigh, and she couldn't explain why. She rested her chin on her hand and stared blankly out the window.
She didn't peek out of her room until her mother came back.
After a long and arduous conversation at the Li family's house, Liu Yinfeng's throat was almost dry. She first drank a large glass of water and said, "I think there will be more arguments in the next couple of days. Yanyan, if you want to study, stay at school a little longer, and then your brother will pick you up."
Luo Yan scratched at the door frame with her fingers: "Someone brought me back."
Almost forgot, Liu Yinfeng took another sip of water: "But it can't be too late, you know?"
Who doesn't know what a boy in his early twenties is thinking? She only has one precious girl, so it's never too much to be wary of her.
Luo Yan herself is very safety-conscious, and said, "I know!"
Liu Yinfeng still trusted her daughter, and then talked about the Li family: "Erchazi is really rich now. He has a small courtyard in Ertiao Hutong, a detached house, and he even bought a motorcycle. He's really well off. He's also a good person. Before, he would exchange three jin of sweet potatoes for one jin of high-gluten flour, which was more cost-effective than other people's."
He added, "Actually, everyone engages in private deals. It's just that he made the judgment, which is why your Aunt Li has objections."
At this point, Luo Hong pushed open the door, looked around, and asked, "What kind of meeting is it?"
Liu Yinfeng: "You're off work now, have you eaten?"
Luo Hong: "I ate it."
Liu Yinfeng guessed that was right, but she couldn't help but ask a question. Continuing with what had just happened, seeing that her son wasn't surprised at all, she said, "You knew they were dating all along?"
Luo Hong: "Yes, I know. My sister knows too."
"Nonsense!!" Luo Yan: "I don't know."
Luo Hong: "We mentioned it briefly at the car dealership last time, and I thought you overheard it."
Luo Yan: "I'm reading a book, who's listening to you guys?"
"Fine, she really is oblivious to what's going on around her." Luo Hong dusted himself off and said, "Next time we'll talk bad about you and see if you can hear us."
Luo Yan punched the air, but it wasn't enough to vent her anger. She ran over and punched her brother twice before hiding in her room and closing the door.
Luo Hong was shouting outside that he wanted to beat her up, but he didn't actually move.
Liu Yinfeng rolled her eyes at her son, then sat down and talked to her husband.
Luo Hong leaned closer to listen, but found his mother immediately fell silent. He asked curiously, "What secret can't I hear?"
Liu Yinfeng: "Oh, so you and your sister are allowed to whisper all day long, but we adults aren't allowed to have our own things to do?"
Luo Hong really couldn't refute it, and said sullenly, "Fine, you guys chat, I'm going to take a shower."
As soon as her son left, Liu Yinfeng said, "You should tell Section Chief Li about this tomorrow, or you'll offend someone."
Section Chief Li's nephew is also of marriageable age. Originally, Luo Xinmin wanted to set him up with Li Jianhong, but he thought it was fortunate that they hadn't set a meeting time yet: "I went to talk to him early this morning."
The couple chatted about random things, then, seeing it was almost time to go to sleep, they habitually locked the door from the inside.
When Luo Hong returned from his shower, he found he couldn't open the door, so he knocked on his sister's window: "Yanyan, open the door."
Luo Yan opened the door and spread out her hands: "A tip for your hard work."
What's so hard about it? Luo Hong slapped her: "I have no money, but you can take my life."
Luo Yan, not caring about her own life, just ground her foot hard on her brother's foot before whimpering and returning to her room.
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Author's note: The second update is still a little short.
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