Chapter 107: Spirited Young Man

Su Jin woke up at ten today, picking a waist-cinching, figure-flattering long dress from her admittedly “poor” wardrobe.

It covered the graceful lines of her legs and hips, paired with a pair of low-heeled shoes.

Gone was the cold, commanding aura of the mature woman; instead, she carried the fresh charm of a girl-next-door.

Hmm.

Maybe “girl-next-door” wasn’t quite right—Lin Ci was more like that.

Su Jin looked herself over in the mirror and felt pretty satisfied. No matter how you looked at it, she was the most ordinary girl in the class.

The kind without outstanding grades, without remarkable looks, and without a standout figure.

Her personality was neither good nor bad; the number of friends she had was neither many nor few.

She had very few friends she could really connect with.

She faced the troubles of adolescence and the daily grind of life.

She imagined her future, hoping to shine brightly, but she was simply the most ordinary existence in the crowd, unable to become the ideal version of herself.

If nothing unexpected happened, this was Su Jin’s normal life path.

What a pity…

Writing novels to change life.

Makeup was Su Jin’s armor—and now, she had taken off that armor.

She wore a mask and hat all the way to the small room, pushed the door open, and saw only Lin Ci and Shen Wen.

She glanced around.

“Why is it just you two again today? What about Shen Xiyan?”

… He went home to turn off the gas.

With Shen Xiyan not here, Lin Ci, as the elder sister, had to step up. They couldn’t expect Wenwen to mingle with others.

“… Oh~~ I was actually going to thank him.”

“What happened?”

“He helped me fix the air conditioner yesterday and got held up for quite a while.”

If Shen Xiyan were a hulking man, Su Jin would have praised him as a good person.

If he were a chubby shut-in, she would have just chatted a bit, given herself some unrealistic sweet fantasies, and then praised him as a good person.

If he were handsome… well, she would have thanked him sincerely.

Su Jin didn’t deny that she was somewhat a face-value person; most people were.

Like buying clothes, stylish and pretty ones always attract attention.

Of course, to go further, character mattered.

The “heartfelt” Shen Xiyan deserved to be treated that way.

Wenwen suddenly sat up as if near death, crawling up from the hammock and wide-eyed: “Ah! He told me he got held up on the way… Lies!!”

Wenwen got so excited she accidentally bit her tongue and rolled in pain on the hammock.

Su Jin awkwardly smiled: “Really? Helping me fix the air conditioner is that shameful?”

Lin Ci: “…..”

“Well, you two go ahead and sleep… I’ll leave first.”

Lin Ci frowned and asked, “Do you always come and leave right away?”

It made them feel like they were intruding, which was kind of awkward.

Su Jin shook her phone: “I have a bit of stuff today…

My brother is coming to school; I’m going to see him.

Remember to close the door and turn off the air conditioner when you leave.”

“Okay.”

At the school gate.

A fairly handsome young man spotted Su Jin from afar and waved to greet her.

Her parents hadn’t arrived yet, but her brother had come first, looking for her in an emergency.

Su Jin didn’t hesitate and agreed… or rather, she wasn’t that concerned anymore.

Throughout the school year, she kept in phone contact with her parents but felt more and more a sense of “family estrangement.”

Their attitude hadn’t really changed—neither warm nor cold—but Su Jin had.

The best way to end one relationship is to start another; that analogy wasn’t quite right, but it was this idea.

All her energy was focused on the novel now—after she earned money, she wouldn’t rely on anyone.

“Sis…”

“I still want to go back and take a nap. Didn’t Mom and Dad give you enough money? How come it’s gone again?”

The boy looked a little embarrassed: “Things are too expensive…”

Saying that, did her stuff not count as expensive?

If Su Jin hadn’t secretly seen it once, knowing he usually spent money recklessly, maybe she’d have actually pitied this brother.

After all, parental favoritism was their problem, not his.

He often gamed with the guys in the dorm, with keyboard clicks and rapid typing.

He logged into accounts while waiting for matches, smoking a cigarette, all with the same expression, as if the world revolved around him.

Su Jin could understand.

For boys, not surfing the internet or playing ball in junior and senior high made maintaining friendships difficult.

But him constantly asking for money… forget it, she was too lazy to care.

She’d hinted at it a few times, but he never listened.

Spendthrift is fine; just don’t commit crimes.

“How much do you want?”

“How much can you give me?”

Su Jin thought for a moment and held up two fingers: “200 at most.”

“That little?”

“I only make eight hundred a month. Giving you two hundred means twenty a day for three meals, not counting other expenses. You still think that’s too little?”

If this were a normal brother, even without him asking, she’d have helped out somehow, right?

But he wasn’t… just scratched his head: “That’s okay, I guess.”

Su Jin pulled out her wallet and deliberately found some small change exchanged at the convenience store, a bit worn.

“Be frugal with it.”

“Got it.”

The boy stuffed the money into his pocket and asked again, “By the way, sis… I saw your moments post, that Qin Sheng—are you really close? You even took pictures together?”

Su Jin frowned, staring at him disdainfully: “What do you want?”

The boy shyly scratched his head: “Nothing, I just thought it looked good. How could someone look that good?”

Su Jin sneered silently but only rolled her eyes: “If you want to add her as a friend, forget it.

My sister’s not that popular.

If you think she looks good, just look more.

I’m going back to sleep now… if Mom and Dad come, go to your place first and call me. Bye~”

Oh.

That was the end of the sibling banter; they parted ways.

Su Jin walked about twenty or thirty meters.

“Is that your brother?”

Someone suddenly spoke behind her.

Su Jin turned in surprise and saw Shen Xiyan leisurely following her on a shared bike.

For no reason, Su Jin’s mood lightened a bit.

“Did you turn off the gas?”

Shen Xiyan paused, then realized what she meant and laughed: “Turn off my ass! Went to the hospital to see Auntie’s surgery… Didn’t bring Wenwen along because she’d probably cling to her.”

Girls were emotional. What if Wenwen refused to leave?

Besides, he was worried about Auntie’s illness being exposed.

They had to wait until Auntie felt “this isn’t a big deal,” then confess.

Only then could Shen Xiyan and Wenwen grumble behind her back.

“Then why tell me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Wenwen?”

Shen Xiyan shook his head: “Is anyone really that gossipy? Even Qin Sheng wouldn’t joke about something this awful.”

“That’s pretty harsh…”

“But your brother’s kind of ‘country bumpkin,’ huh? Has a bit of the ‘spirited young guy’ vibe.”

No tight shirts or pants, but the bean shoes were on point, and he’d styled his hair with gel—one of those typical looks common in a third-rate middle school.

Shen Xiyan wasn’t interested in this kind of style—not just because of his aesthetic, but he felt a generation gap as a “middle-aged guy.”

Back in the day, it was just a bit awkward; now it was so embarrassing he wanted to roll on the floor.

Even bystanders felt this way—how could the person involved wear it out in public?

Of course, this was Shen Xiyan’s personal view.

In fact, among peers, he was seen as a dull, old-fashioned, uninteresting boy.

“You know nothing! That’s called handsome! He’s had several girlfriends already… What about you?” Su Jin sneered, “Sitting alone in an empty room, crafting a wife? Is that something to be ashamed of?”

Shen Xiyan scoffed loudly: “I’m not jealous at all!!”

“Prove it!”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I do! Why else would you reject Qin Sheng? Because you’re scared! Even when it’s handed to you, you won’t take it.”

Shen Xiyan rolled his eyes, thinking: This woman has zero sense of humor.

“You’re a girl, don’t talk so crudely, all day saying ‘take it or not.’”

Su Jin cast a coquettish glance: “Need you to teach me?”

Su Jin didn’t back down, so Shen Xiyan naturally didn’t.

“Of all people, you’re a novelist… Chinese is rich and profound.

You could use another expression, like ‘Guan Bao Zhi Jiao,’ or ‘Chuan Dao Shou Ye,’ or ‘Jianfeng Chazhen’…”

Su Jin rolled her eyes: “Now I believe you read ‘Jinyi Yexing’ too. I do, but you’re just using phrases from her novel to show off? Look at that female author’s skill at ‘driving’—F1 Formula…

But what I like best are phrases with strong imagery like ‘Daozu Qiechang’ and ‘Jigu Weihao.’”

Shen Xiyan let go of the handlebars, clasped his fists, and admitted defeat: “You’re right, I shouldn’t show off around you. I overestimated myself…”

Su Jin hummed triumphantly.

***

After walking another dozen meters, she suddenly realized and kicked the wheel of Shen Xiyan’s bike hard, almost sending him sprawling.

“Shen Xiyan!!”

“Don’t kick! Don’t kick! If you damage the shared bike, you have to pay…

Let’s liven up the atmosphere!”

Shen Xiyan stopped, set the kickstand down.

“I was wondering why you acted that way—turns out every family has its own difficult chapter.”

Seeing Su Jin scrimping to give her brother 200 yuan, Shen Xiyan could imagine many stories.

It’s said sibling relationships are the hardest—brothers rarely hate sisters, but sisters mostly hate brothers.

Shen Xiyan was skeptical because he and Wenwen got along fairly well.

Small things could be tolerated or let go; anyone could be the Onmyoji’s dear brother.

Plus, after years of “Japanese anime” poisoning, whenever siblings were mentioned, it seemed a bit ambiguous.

The culprit?

Yes! You two white-haired ones, where are you looking? I’m talking to you!

The key factors are family education and age.

This was Shen Xiyan’s conclusion.

Well-raised families taught “love and harmony” from childhood; families with a big age gap might not play together, but the older were always more tolerant.

Qin Sheng and Su Jin fell into the category of similar ages and average family education.

In this case, sibling conflicts between opposite sexes were all too easy.

Was Song Wan friends with Su Jin because she saw a bit of Qin Sheng in her?

“Are you close to me? Or am I just being selfish?”

“Not close, but I trust Song Wan’s judgment in making friends.”

“Thanks.”

Su Jin pointed far away: “… Now please disappear from my sight with minimal friction.”

“What do you mean?”

“Go away!”

Shen Xiyan shrugged and quickened his pace: “Your hair’s a bit greasy…

“Used a bit of conditioner, didn’t wash. Pretty messy, huh?”

“Genius! All your cleverness goes to your own family!” Shen Xiyan gave a thumbs-up.

Su Jin was furious—she heard the thick sarcasm in those words.

Today, Shen Xiyan was especially arrogant.

No choice… After the surgery, he felt stable inside, no longer tangled and confused like before.

Everything was ready, just waiting on Qin Sheng.

Weekend date… Pfft! Debt collection instead.