“What’s with the blood on your school uniform?”
With sharp eyes, Chen Feifei immediately noticed something was wrong.
She picked up the red scarf around Chen Qiao’s collar and examined it closely—there was a darker red bloodstain.
“Did you get into a fight? Got bullied by girls again? Useless. Are you even a boy? I told you to work out, but all you do is play video games all day.”
Why again?
Sure, he had a history, but from now on, he would be the one bullying girls—not the other way around!
“It’s not that. I accidentally got hit in the nose by a basketball. It was Wu Xinyu who threw it.”
Wu Xinyu was the daughter of a middle school teacher.
His older sister used to go on stage with her to receive awards when they were in elementary school.
Of course, she knew who she was.
“And you have the nerve to say that? You couldn’t even dodge a ball thrown by a girl. Are you dizzy? Did you lose a lot of blood?”
Chen Feifei reached out and touched Chen Qiao’s forehead with concern.
Chen Qiao had been a premature baby—frail and sickly since birth, practically raised in a medicine pot.
He got seriously ill two or three times a year.
He had anemia and low blood sugar and would sometimes nearly faint during PE class.
His butt had developed two little dents from constant injections, and he’d built up a high resistance to medicine.
These days, pills and shots didn’t help much—he went straight to IV drips.
In fifth and sixth grade, after eating stewed hen with longan and some bitter herbal supplements, his body gradually got stronger.
When he hit a growth spurt in eighth grade, he stopped getting sick so often.
Around then, the family also ran into trouble and became really poor.
He didn’t dare get sick anymore, afraid to add to the family’s burden.
“I’m fine. The bleeding stopped a while ago.”
“You know how much meat you’d have to eat to make up for that blood loss?”
Chen Qiao nudged Chen Feifei toward the kitchen.
“Alright, alright, the rice is almost ready, the veggies are washed—we’re just waiting on you to stir-fry them.”
“You already washed the vegetables?”
Chen Feifei glanced at the ingredients.
The water spinach was cleaned well, the cucumber was peeled, and the green beans had their ends trimmed and strings removed—broken into even pieces.
“Chen Qiao, why are you so well-behaved today? Usually, you’d run upstairs to watch cartoons the second you got home. Are you trying to borrow money again? I just lent you ten yuan the other day. What did you spend it on? Bubble Dragon again? Or those scratch-off cards and punch-hole games? Want me to tell Mom and Dad?”
Bubble Dragon was a gambling arcade machine disguised as a game.
Parents hated arcade machines, not just because of gaming addiction, but also because they looked just like gambling machines—nothing but a bad influence in their eyes.
Scratch-offs and punch-hole games were just child-sized versions of lottery gambling.
Sometimes you’d win a few yuan—twenty tops—or get some useless junk toy.
“It’s not that. I don’t mess with any of that. I hate gambling the most. I just wanted to help out around the house.”
“Little Uncle bought me candy, and I told him not to!”
Chen Xinyu chimed in to explain.
“Oh, right—Sis, do you want some candy?”
“I don’t want any.”
Chen Qiao took out a lollipop, tore open the wrapper, and shoved it directly into Chen Feifei’s mouth.
“Mm… I said I didn’t want it.”
“Is it good?”
Chen Feifei frowned.
“It’s so sour! Got any other flavors?”
It was a hawthorn-flavored lollipop.
“I’ve got chocolate, green apple, and blueberry.”
“I want the chocolate one.”
Truth be told, his sister really liked sweets, but she didn’t get to have them much as a kid, and once she grew up, she couldn’t bring herself to indulge.
“So what should I do with this hawthorn one?”
“You eat it! Don’t waste food. What, you don’t want it ’cause I already had a lick? You used to fight over my leftover instant noodle soup!”
“That’s not it…”No way he could say it’s because he liked eating things she’d already had in her mouth.
Chen Feifei tied on her apron, opened all the valves under the gas stove to strengthen the flame, and put a pan on.
“Big Sis, can you teach me how to cook?”
Chen Qiao asked.
He was laying the groundwork to cook for her in the future.
“Did Wu Xinyu’s basketball hit your brain? Why the sudden change?”
Well, not entirely wrong.
“I’m graduating elementary school soon, and you’re starting your third year of middle school. You’ll need to focus on studying, so I thought I could take on more chores.”
“How about you focus on your own studies first? Worry about yourself before you worry about me, or else Dad’s gonna lecture you again.”
“I want to learn anyway. I want to cook for Great-Grandma later.”
Xinyu was mostly staying and eating with their grandmother now.
But since Grandma was elderly, her cooking wasn’t exactly bad, just…everything ended up dark-colored and overly oily and salty.
Not ideal for kids or seniors to eat too much of.
They had considered rotating meals, but Grandma insisted on cooking for herself, saying she was still strong.
She also might not have liked the food from Chen Qiao’s house.
The burden on Second Uncle’s family was another factor—they often came over to Grandma’s for food.
Plus, First Uncle had passed away two or three years ago, and his wife and kids were working in Pengcheng, rarely even coming back for the New Year.
Third Uncle was said to have died young, and the two aunts had married into nearby villages—not far, but everyone had their own problems.
They’d stop by only occasionally when in town.
“Okay, Xinyu and I will learn together,” Chen Qiao said as he picked her up.
“Then stay back a little, or you’ll get splattered with oil.”
Feifei’s cooking wasn’t anything fancy—standard and neat.
She stirred with a spatula while explaining.
When adding salt or MSG, she first poured them into the spatula or her palm—very careful.
“Try it. Blow on it… here.”
Feifei picked up a piece of cooked cucumber, blew on it, and fed it to Chen Qiao.
It still had a piece of pickled mustard greens clinging to it.
Their family’s cooking style often involved adding pickled veggies to just about anything.
When the garden had nothing fresh, stir-fried pickles alone could be a dish.
“Too salty? Is it cooked?”
“It’s perfect,” Chen Qiao nodded.
As long as his sister made it, it was delicious—but he couldn’t say that out loud.
If he flattered her, she’d get suspicious.
“Xinyu, want some too?”
Feifei asked.
“I’ll wait until dinner.”
“Good girl, good girl,” Feifei said with a squinting smile.
Chen Feifei plated the dishes and said, “Go ahead and take them out first.”
There were three dishes but no soup: stir-fried pickled mustard greens with cucumber and sliced pork, lean pork with green beans, and water spinach.
The rice Chen Qiao cooked turned out well—the water ratio was just right, not too hard or mushy.
Before eating, Chen Qiao took Chen Xinyu to wash her hands, carefully cleaning the dirt from under her fingernails and in the creases, then wiped her face and neck with a towel.
She looked neat and tidy—cuter than ever.
Xinyu still didn’t know how to use chopsticks.
Her little hands clutched a spoon as she scooped rice into her mouth, getting grains all over her face—it was adorably messy.
Chen Feifei and Chen Qiao kept putting food into Xinyu’s bowl and said, “Eat more—you’re still growing.”
“You too! Look who’s talking,” Chen Feifei rolled her eyes at Chen Qiao and piled more food into his bowl too.
The three of them sat on a long bench.
Chen Qiao and Chen Feifei sat on either side of Chen Xinyu—partly so she wouldn’t fall, and partly because they were all small, so sitting side by side wasn’t cramped.
Their short arms made it easier to reach for food.
“We look like a family of three,” Chen Qiao couldn’t help but comment.
In truth, they’d had many days like this.
“What nonsense. I am family,” Chen Feifei replied, not reading too much into his words.
After the meal, Chen Qiao instinctively stood up to clear the table and wash the dishes.
Chen Feifei was slightly surprised.
Given how he’d been acting tonight, it wasn’t too shocking anymore.
She had occasionally hoped her little brother would grow up a bit—but now that he was suddenly acting mature and considerate, it actually made her feel a little lonely.
Chen Feifei took out a handkerchief and wiped the grease off Chen Xinyu’s mouth.
Just then, their mom arrived home right on time.
“I’m back. Oh, Xinyu’s here too?”
“Hi, Great Auntie,” Xinyu said sweetly.
Chen Qiao looked at his gentle-faced mother.
She wasn’t even forty, yet looked much older than her age.
She didn’t take care of herself, constantly busy with work, sometimes even working night shifts with her schedule turned upside down.
Unlike his childhood habit of running into his sister’s arms, Chen Qiao hadn’t really clung to his mom since elementary school.
He spent too much time with his sister instead.
He truly wished his mother could get proper rest.
Even if Dad hadn’t been in that accident, Mom would eventually break down from exhaustion.
“Mom, I want a little sister.”
“Not this again. Did you two get into another fight?”
The siblings always said this kind of thing when they were annoyed with each other.
“I don’t want such a fierce big sister. I want a little sister.”
“I don’t want such a naughty little brother. I want a little sister too.”
Just yesterday, it was Sunday, and Chen Qiao and Feifei had argued over the TV remote—something that happened all the time.
They only truly started getting along after the family went through hard times, when they had to stick together and understand one another.
In happier days, they bickered constantly.
And when it came to fights with his sister, Chen Qiao had never won.
In strength or height, he was no match.
He often ended up pinned under her.
Sometimes, if he got hurt or cried during their scuffles, she would instantly stop and comfort him.
“No, I’m serious. I really want a little sister. The policies have relaxed a bit, right? It’s not like when you had us—so strict. If you wait too long, it might be too late.”
“They might not lock people up anymore, but you’d still have to pay fines. Isn’t Xinyu like your little sister?Isn’t that right?”
Mom bent down and teased Xinyu.
“Xinyu is my niece. That’s different from a real sister.”
“It’s all my fault for not calling Little Uncle ‘big brother’… Now he doesn’t want me, just like my dad didn’t want me… Waaaah…” Xinyu suddenly burst into tears, sniffling sadly.
She was a strong and mature little girl, so it was rare for her to cry.
Chen Qiao panicked.
He hadn’t expected his “little sister plan” to backfire so badly.
He quickly picked her up and gently rocked her in his arms.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Xinyu. I’ll never leave you! Want me to buy you candy?”
He even pulled out a lollipop he hadn’t finished earlier—but Xinyu threw it on the ground and cried even harder.
“I don’t want candy! I want Little Uncle!”
“Okay, okay, I’m right here,” Chen Qiao said soothingly.
Chen Feifei picked up the dropped lollipop and said, “Xinyu, let Auntie hold you, okay?”
“No! I want Little Uncle.”
Xinyu clung tightly to Chen Qiao’s neck, refusing to let go.
“Then how about Auntie helps you spank Little Uncle, the bad guy?”
“Okay!”
Chen Feifei tapped Chen Qiao with the lollipop.
He exaggeratedly pretended it hurt, yelping and making funny faces.
Xinyu finally stopped crying and started laughing.
Before long, though, she began to feel sorry for him.
“Auntie, stop hitting him. Little Uncle is hurting.”
“He’s just hurting, not scared yet.”
Caught up in the play, Feifei suddenly glanced at the wall clock—6:10 PM.
As a top student, she couldn’t tolerate being late even by a minute.
She shoved the lollipop into Chen Qiao’s pocket and bolted for the door.
“Crap! It’s already this late? I have to get to evening study hall!”
“Big Sis, you’re still wearing your apron!”
Chen Qiao shouted.
“Huh?!”
Feifei rushed back, took off her apron, and threw it to Chen Qiao from afar.
“You kids…” Their mom looked at the chaotic scene and smiled warmly.
It was as if all the day’s fatigue had melted away.
This—this—was why she worked so hard.