Ah-Qiao… Chen Qiao… little bro, time to wake up.
Chen Feifei pinched her brother’s cheeks and gently shook his shoulders.
His face had always been her favorite “toy” since childhood—soft and satisfying to squeeze.
Though I don’t remember when I went too far and made him angry last time…Now, she only dared to indulge when he was asleep.
“Mmm… what time is it?”Chen Qiao mumbled, blinking drowsily at the ceiling and his sister’s chin. His head felt heavy—post-nap grogginess always made him sleepier.
“Still early, just 1:30.”
The TV program was nearing its end, playing Bleach’s ED “For the Grown-Up You”—one of the rare non-hype tracks.
As a kid, he hadn’t appreciated it, but now it grew on him with each listen.
“We should head to school. I still need to check the cleaning duty.”
Chen Qiao tried to sit up, but his hand accidentally slipped between Chen Feifei’s thighs.
He yanked it back so fast he nearly toppled off the couch—thankfully, she caught him with a laugh.
“What’s the rush? Since when were you so enthusiastic about being a ‘disciplinary committee member’?”
“Weren’t you the same before?” Chen Qiao retorted, flushing slightly.
Luckily, Chen Feifei didn’t seem to notice.
“I’m a Communist Youth League member now,” she declared loftily.
After turning off the TV, they headed downstairs.
Like clockwork, Chen Qiao felt the urge to pee—a lifelong habit before leaving home or sleeping.
Their house didn’t have a proper toilet.
Instead, two urine buckets sat in a dim corner beneath the stairs.
As Chen Qiao undid his uniform pants, preparing to “speed things up” with a whistle (so his sister wouldn’t wait), Chen Feifei unexpectedly entered too.
She pulled down her pants to her knees and sat on the adjacent bucket, clutching a rough piece of toilet paper.
Though the stairwell was shadowy, daylight still offered glimpses.
From his standing position, Chen Qiao could now see the pale curve of his sister’s exposed thighs—ironically making him taller in this scenario.
His first instinct was to flee to the squat toilet near the pigpen.
But that’d be suspicious.
Should I fake a sudden need to poop?
Then he mentally scoffed.
I’m a grown-ass man inside.
What’s there to be shy about?
Plus, his harmless kid appearance was the ultimate safeguard.
When Chen Feifei’s light tinkling began, Chen Qiao reluctantly joined in.
The initial tension eased as the mingled scents—his sister’s familiar warmth and the unavoidable bucket odor—blended.…Or maybe my nose just got used to the stench.
After wiping, Chen Feifei tugged up her underwear and pants, then reminded him:”Don’t forget to shake it off. But not too hard—last time you splashed everywhere, and your pants reeked.”
Noticing his frozen stance, she tilted her head.
“Need help? I always did it for you when you were little.”
She even considered offering him toilet paper.
Why don’t boys wipe?
To save paper?
Shaking seemed convenient—girls have it so much harder.
“NO! And stop bringing up childhood stuff!”
“Aww, are you blushing?”
Chen Feifei giggled, her laughter like wind chimes.
“You know exactly what you’re doing.”
Grumbling, Chen Qiao yanked up his pants.
I really need to renovate the bathroom… though part of me’ll miss this.
After tossing the paper and washing hands at the sink, they locked up—stray cats and “spicy strips” (wild dogs) sometimes snuck in.
The road to school bustled with younger kids, plus a few middle-school “delinquents-in-training”—the kind who’d later steal copper wires from repair shops to sell.
Chen Qiao’s cousin Chen Huai and his gang were prime examples: societal dregs.
I’ll be a useful scoundrel.
Totally different.
The local scrap collector didn’t ask where cables came from—no heroes, no questions.
Chen Huai was beyond saving (a true “unliftable Ah-Dou”), like Zhang Dafu, his future brother-in-law: a walking disaster.
But some gang members eventually settled down—marrying, driving trucks, or factory work, raising daughters.
Those are the ones worth recruiting.
I’m short on manpower.
Near the school’s uphill entrance, the snack shop swarmed with kids.
There, Chen Qiao and Feifei bumped into Wu Xinyu.
“Fei-Fei jie… Chen… Qiao. Good afternoon.”
Wu Xinyu greeted them stiffly, surprised by the encounter.
As a member of the teacher’s “composition class,” she received printed homework instead of copying questions—hence her late arrival.
But Chen Qiao isn’t in the class.
Lazy.
And Fei-Fei jie’s missing noon study session?
He’s clearly corrupting her!
First slacking off, distracting his deskmate… now dragging down the top student?
(-100 points!!)
“What a coincidence, Xiao Yu!”
Chen Feifei clasped her hands cheerfully.
“Mhm.”
Wu Xinyu nodded, then shot Chen Qiao a “trash-tier” glare.
“Jie, I’ll go ahead.”
Chen Qiao waved breezily—mostly to escape Wu Xinyu’s judgment.
Can’t win?
Fine, I’ll retreat.
“Wait for Xiao Yu! You’re classmates, aren’t you? Ugh, zero gentlemanly manners.”
Chen Feifei planted a hand on her hip, exasperated.
Chen Feifei had no idea her brother was completely indifferent to a girl as cute as Wu Xinyu.
Good—no risk of him dating then.
Yet Ye Qinglan’s offhand remark had stuck in her mind like a burr.
Little did she know, Chen Qiao was already busy “taming” his plain-Jane desk mate.
“Fei-Fei jie, why are you going to school so late today?”
Wu Xinyu pressed, determined to confirm whether Chen Qiao was the culprit.
“Oh, I took a nap with Ah-Qiao at home,” Chen Feifei replied vaguely, omitting certain details.
So it was his fault!
Not gaming or cartoons this time—though Wu Xinyu knew Chen Qiao and Tian Zhen often chatted about those.
“I’ll head to class now. Bye, Fei-Fei jie.”
“Bye~”
Chen Qiao hadn’t gone far, lingering on the slope to watch them.
Only when his sister left did he wave from a distance.
This second life, I’ll live properly—no more rushing like a man possessed.
Wu Xinyu, however, sprinted to catch up.
At the school gate, Tian Zhen and Zheng Huijun stood guard as usual.
“You came together?!” Zheng Huijun gasped.
“Just ran into each other,” Chen Qiao said, nodding at Wu Xinyu beside him.
“Ohhh…” Zheng Huijun accepted this—their personalities were too mismatched for romance.
Tian Zhen fidgeted with his duty sash, eyes gleaming.
“Don’t even think about dumping your shift on me again!”
Chen Qiao bolted.
Let the brat shit his pants if he wants!
Morning duty was fine, but under this noon sun?
My tiny body’ll roast!
To his surprise, Wu Xinyu chased him.
Within seconds, a stitch burned in his side, forcing him to stop, panting.
She halted too.
What’s her deal?
Top student by day, stalker by noon?
Probably coincidence.…Unless she’s always been a closet weirdo.
How far would I need to corrupt her then?
Wu Xinyu, meanwhile, was gathering “evidence” to oust Chen Qiao as English class rep—her rightful role.
His slacker attitude polluted the class.
The classroom was hushed, filled only with the scratch of pens as students copied the blackboard’s assignment.
Silence bred silence; even the chatterboxes kept quiet.
Chen Qiao slipped in through the back door to avoid blocking anyone’s view.
Lin Na, engrossed in copying, didn’t notice him.
Her ruler-drawn lines were neat but slightly crooked.
Asking her to move would disrupt her focus—too petty a reason.
Time for a classic desk crawl.
As he crouched, Lin Na’s restless feet—pressed together, then apart, toes wiggling in pink sandals—nearly kicked him mid-squirm.
He grabbed her calf to steady himself.
“Ah—!”
Her shriek shattered the quiet.
The class whipped toward her.
Lin Na, unused to attention, buried her face in a textbook.
Chen Qiao, startled, smacked his head against the desk.
“THUNK.”
Pencils rattled in their cases.
“S-Sorry! Are you okay?” Lin Na whispered.
Rubbing the swelling lump, Chen Qiao forced a grin.
“My fault for crawling under like an idiot.”
This weak body’s a magnet for pain—yesterday a basketball, today a desk.
“It’s really swollen… Does it hurt?”
Before he could answer, Lin Na’s hand timidly covered his, gently massaging his scalp.
“Poke.”
The lump squished softly.
“It’s fine. I’ll live.”
Her touch was soothing—though Chen Qiao’s “head rub” was really an excuse to hold her hand.
The class erupted in whispers.
Romance-loving girls already ship them in their heads.
Co-ed seating in sixth grade? Scandalous!
Wu Xinyu’s suspicions solidified.
Just as I thought.
Both quickly noticed the stares.
Chen Qiao pulled away first.
“Thanks. All better now.”
He could handle gossip, but Lin Na—still a kid—needed shielding, both from physical harm and cruel whispers.
“G-Glad you’re… not hurt.”
Blushing, she tucked her “contaminated” hand under her arm.
“Were you sick at noon?” she asked.
Chen Qiao often missed school yet aced tests—a mystery she admired.
“Just napped too long.”
“Oh.”
“Did you finish copying the board?”
“Two left.”
“Mind if I borrow yours after? No way I’ll finish in time.”
He could skip copying and just write answers, but the teacher would question his effort.
Letting Lin Na “help” also made their dynamic seem mutual—not him overbearing, nor her indebted.
“But my handwriting is terrible…” Lin Na mumbled, self-conscious.
Chen Qiao leaned over to inspect her notes.
The characters weren’t calligraphy-level, but they were legible—far from the chicken scratch some classmates produced.
“As long as I can read it, it’s fine.”
He grinned.
“Honestly, yours is better than mine.”
Though he had been practicing his penmanship while drafting stories—not just scribbling for himself.
If I’m gonna improve, might as well do it right.
The afternoon classes weren’t particularly crucial—Moral Education and Natural Science, followed by a self-study period (which would likely still require the blackboard).
But with Lin Na’s notes, he could focus on his duties.
This exchange also served another purpose: it made their relationship seem mutually beneficial.
Not just him showering her with help, nor her feeling useless.
A perfect cover for his…less academic motives.