Chapter 20
Auntie looked at Shen Yuqing standing at the door, smiled and opened the door for him: “Yuqing, you’re back.”
There was no room for him at his aunt's house, so he put his luggage next to the sofa and responded with a faint smile.
The cousin looked at him, walked over and sat next to him, looking at him curiously.
He is in his third year of high school and his cousin is already 7 years old.
Looking at his childish cousin, Shen Yuqing's eyebrows softened a little, and he said softly: "Weiwei, I am your brother."
Ever since he came back last time during his freshman year of high school, Shen Yuqing would stay in the dormitory if he could, and tried not to come back if possible.
He knew that although his aunt always greeted him with a smile, she actually preferred that he not come back.
Therefore, even during winter and summer vacations, he would only stay here for a few days before returning to school.
When the cousin saw him talking to him, he didn't say anything and hid behind his aunt, only sticking out his head to observe him.
Seeing this, the aunt pulled her cousin out and asked Shen Yuqing to help her take care of her brother while she went out to buy some vegetables.
Before leaving, she did not forget to remind Shen Yuqing: "Yuqing, Weiwei still has to practice calligraphy, remember to keep an eye on him and don't let him play all the time."
Shen Yuqing nodded to indicate that she understood, and she went out to buy groceries with peace of mind.
When his aunt left the house, Shen Yuqing looked at his cousin. He thought he would be afraid of him, but he was jumping around on the sofa like a naughty monkey.
Shen Yuqing laughed, grabbed him and brought him to his small desk.
"Weiwei, your mother asked you to practice calligraphy, so you should finish these two pages first." He glanced at his cousin's desk and found two calligraphy copybooks on it.
Who knew that my cousin would change his shy look, stand on the stool and touch his hair with his hand.
"Brother, can you buy me Ultraman after I finish writing these two pages?"
“…”
Shen Yuqing looked at his cousin with a 'sincere' face, and his expression was hard to describe.
Seeing that he was silent, the cousin looked at him with pleading eyes: "Brother, all the boys in our class have it, but I don't."
Looking at his cousin's puppy-like eyes, Shen Yuqing finally compromised.
He looked at his cousin and motioned him to write quickly. If he finished, he would go to the supermarket to buy him Ultraman.
"Yeah." Seeing this, the cousin jumped from the chair onto the bed again, jumping high, and his eyes vaguely showed the joy of his plan succeeding.
Shen Yuqing looked at him indifferently, having the illusion of seeing Xia Ruirui. The anxiety caused by separation from Xia Ruirui was relieved a lot at this moment.
He looked at his cousin who was still celebrating, with a look of kindness on his face that he hadn't realized was there: "Weiwei, hurry up and write. I'm going to the bathroom first and will come back to check your work later."
"good!"
Seeing his cousin's promise, Shen Yuqing went to the bathroom with peace of mind.
When the cousin in the room saw Shen Yuqing leave, he secretly took out the small ball he had hidden under the bed.
He had just hit the ball a few times when he heard his mother coming back. He tried to stuff the ball under the bed, but in his panic he tripped over the quilt and fell off the bed.
Because it hurt so much, he burst into tears.
When my aunt heard the crying, she rushed into the room without even putting down the food.
Shen Yuqing heard the noise and came out of the bathroom. When he reached the room, he saw his cousin crying loudly. He looked at his aunt again and saw that she was looking at him with a reproachful look on her face.
He opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but felt that the explanation was too pale, so he remained silent.
He watched his aunt pick up his cousin and asked him if he was hurt from the fall.
Only then did my cousin stop crying and look at my mother with a wronged expression.
"Weiwei, didn't mommy tell you not to play with the ball on the bed? Tell me honestly, who told you to play with the ball?"
The cousin glanced at the ball, then at his angry mother, fearing that his mother would punish him for this, he carefully pointed his hand at Shen Yuqing behind him.
"My brother asked me to play it, but he didn't buy me Ultraman."
“…”
His aunt turned around and looked at him reproachfully, but she didn't scold him.
Shen Yuqing saw the reproach in his aunt's eyes, and then glanced at his timid cousin, but did not say anything to defend himself, and felt a little cold in his heart.
He sat on the sofa. The most popular anime was playing on TV, but he found it noisy.
My aunt took my cousin out, and when they came back, my cousin was holding the latest model of Ultraman in his hand, his face full of joy.
The aunt glanced at Shen Yuqing, said nothing, and turned into the kitchen.
When his cousin saw him on the sofa, he couldn't help but come over and show off to him in a low voice: "Brother, Mom bought me Ultraman."
Shen Yuqing glanced at him indifferently and said in a serious tone: "Why did you lie just now?"
Seeing that he looked serious, his cousin's mouth corners drooped and tears welled up in his eyes.
Seeing his cousin's tearful face, Shen Yuqing slowed down his tone: "Weiwei, brother asked you to practice calligraphy so that your handwriting would look better, and..."
He paused, looking at his cousin with deep disapproval in his eyes: "Children should not lie. Be honest children."
"Ignorant wolf."
Shen Yuqing was stunned for a moment, looking at his seven-year-old cousin in disbelief: "What did you say?"
The cousin hugged Ultraman tightly in his hand and yelled at him, "Get out! This is my home. Mom is right. You are an ungrateful person."
...ungrateful person.
Shen Yuqing was speechless, his eyes were bloodshot and red, and he pointed at his cousin's right hand and looked at it carefully, which was still trembling.
"The house you live in was bought with my parents' insurance money, and my parents also provide a portion of your food and drinks..."
Before he could finish his words, he was pushed away. He turned to look at his aunt, who was covering his cousin's ears and looking at him coldly: "What are you talking about to a child?"
My cousin was still crying, and the room was filled with his sobbing.
Shen Yuqing finally calmed down and looked at his aunt with disappointment: "A seven-year-old child not only learned to lie, but also learned to call people ungrateful."
"I also want to ask my aunt, who taught him these words?"
My aunt's eyes evaded her for a moment, and she tried to raise her voice to make herself sound reasonable. "You've grown up so big, and how much of your tuition and living expenses haven't you used insurance money?"
Hearing this, Shen Yuqing sneered.
Starting from his second year of high school, he no longer received living expenses from his aunt. His living expenses and tuition were all earned by working part-time during the holidays.
As for tuition, he entered Jincai Middle School as the top scorer in the high school entrance examination. Jincai waived his tuition for three years and even gave him a scholarship of one thousand yuan per semester.
But he was too lazy to argue with her about these things. You can't wake up someone who is pretending to be asleep.
He walked silently to the grocery room and took out the luggage he had left at his aunt's house from a corner.
He knew that he would never come to this house again, and he was afraid that even if his aunt fell out with him, she would not let him in again.
That's fine.
He took his luggage, picked up the backpack he had brought with him from under the sofa, and left in silence.
My aunt just watched him leave coldly without trying to keep him.
When the younger cousin saw his brother leave, he looked up at his mother and asked naively, "Mom, will my brother come back?"
My aunt sneered, without a smile on her face: "It's better not to come back."
When Shen Yuqing, who had just walked out of the iron gate, heard this, he did not stop at all, but instead quickened his pace.
After leaving the community, Shen Yuqing carried his meager luggage and got on the bus to the city.
Today's bus was driving particularly bumpy. Shen Yuqing sat on the bus, looking out the window at the rapidly changing scenery, feeling a little confused about the road ahead.
After several long hours, he finally arrived in the city, and then he drove in reverse from the bus station to the school.
Looking at the plaque of 'Jincai Senior High School' at the school gate, his eyes were a little red.
When the school guard saw him returning to school after the holiday, he looked at him curiously. He remembered this child, and he seemed to be the student who always appeared in the posters at the school gate.
When Shen Yuqing finally returned to the dormitory, he felt unexpectedly relieved when he smelled the mixed smell in the dormitory.
All his roommates had gone home, and he was the only one left in the dormitory for eight people.
Thinking of his cousin's unintentional words, his heart still ached.
He mechanically took out his homework book from his schoolbag and tried to numb himself with studying.
I just wrote a few words when I felt that the exercise book was a little bumpy.
At this time, Shen Yuqing's emotions had reached the brink of collapse, but he still patiently found the uneven page, and when he opened it, he saw several red banknotes.
He looked at the banknotes, numbly picked up the note that had just fallen on the ground and unfolded it.
The handwriting is a bit sloppy, as if it was written in a hurry.
"That's not what I meant. I admire you very much, but I don't want Ruirui to suffer too much."
The word "but" was a little blurred, and it was obvious that the owner of the note was struggling internally when writing it.
At this point, Shen Yuqing also understood that the note was left by Xia Ruirui's mother.
She also put the money there.
For some reason, he suddenly thought of his uncle who was making excuses saying he was short of money, and his aunt who said with an embarrassed look that the one million insurance money was all spent on him.
Shen Yuqing glanced at it and saw that it was exactly one thousand yuan.
For him who was in financial difficulty, this was just the money that could help him out of his immediate crisis.
He looked at the small window in front of the table and was silent for a long time.
The old electric fan was still turning, and some dust fell from time to time.
Shen Yuqing picked up the piece of dust and twisted it with his hands.
He chuckled softly.
He felt that this damn fate was so perfect that it left him with no way out and no hope.
He took out a passbook from the deepest part of the closet. The pages of the passbook were a little yellowed due to being there for so long.
This passbook was left to him by Shen's father and mother. It contains Shen Yuqing's New Year's money since he was a child, as well as some scholarships and competition prizes he received since elementary school.
Although his life was difficult, he did not touch a single cent of the money in the passbook.
Because it was the last thing they left him.
Shen Yuqing stroked the cover of the passbook with his hand, his shoulders so heavy that he couldn't lift them.
"Mom and Dad, I suddenly missed you so much today." His voice became softer and softer. "...I wonder how you are doing over there, and whether you miss me."
"Today my cousin said I was... an ungrateful person, that Weiwei you guys loved so much...
Auntie also..."
His voice was so faint that it was drowned out by the sound of the electric fan.
He glanced at the banknotes and gently closed his exercise book.
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