Chapter 33
Proofreader: Akimi
This was the first time Ling Xuan had met a child who made her speechless at the first encounter. Although it seemed like he was very polite and understanding, in other people’s ears, it felt like he was saying: what’s the point of saying that when I’m here already? I know you wanted to pick me up, so I’ll give you a chance to drive me back home later. Thank me.
Ling Xuan maintained a slight smile and knocked on Shi Bufan’s room.
Zhen Yuanbai harshly kicked Shi Bufan in order to struggle, finally jumping up. He would’ve never thought that Zhen Youxiu would come over and he instinctively dodged to the side.
Shi Bufan rubbed his lower leg which was kicked and licked his lips as if it wasn’t enough. He stood up and opened the door, looking down to see Zhen Youxiu who was only up to his chest. He became angry right then and said, “Why did you come over?”
Zhen Yuanbai would definitely tear up after being kissed for more than 10 seconds. He didn’t even get time to admire his beauty when Zhen Youxiu had destroyed it.
“There’s a question that I need help on.” Zhen Youxiu pushed Shi Bufan to the side and walked in, placing his gaze on the door. He walked over and clapped the door, saying, “Brother, are you in there?”
“I’m here.” Zhen Yuanbai immediately responded and said, “I’m using the bathroom now.”
Zhen Youxiu turned around and glanced at their seats, pulling the seat that Zhen Yuanbai was just in over and sitting on it. He quietly took out his prep book from his backpack.
Shi Bufan walked over and sat down on his chair, smiling and said, “You’re just as impolite as you were before.”
“Same to you.” Zhen Youxiu flipped open his prep book while Shi Bufan supported his chin up with his hands, saying, “You’re treating my home like yours now, hm?”
“Don’t you treat my brother like your own brother?” Zhen Youxiu didn’t even look at him. After flipping open the prep book, he took out his notebook and started to work on the problem. Shi Bufan pushed the tray of fruits over and said, “There’s still a lot of wine chocolates. Do you want some?”
Zhen Youxiu finally glanced at him and said, “Are you a retard?”
Shi Bufan was speechless.
“Do you think that you can make someone drunk from eating wine chocolate? You should’ve thought about that before.”
“…” Shi Bufan knocked on the table and he started to appear rude and fierce. When Zhen Youxiu was about to retort, Zhen Yuanbai finally walked out from inside and said, “Youxiu, how did you come over?”
Zhen Youxiu’s eyes immediately landed on his face and said, “I obviously took the taxi over. Why? You think I walked over?”
The moment he started talking, he couldn’t close his mouth. Zhen Yuanbai stopped talking and sat by his brother’s side, softly saying, “Actually, you can just send me a picture of it. I can explain it to you over the internet.”
“Heh.” Zhen Youxiu said, “Then why don’t you just teach him his homework over the internet?”
Zhen Yuanbai was speechless.
He thought it was funny. Zhen Youxiu was like this as a child. Normally, he didn’t seem like he cared, but the moment he noticed that Zhen Yuanbai was intimate with someone else other than him, Zhen Youxiu would become very annoyed, like a dog who would bite someone if angered. Zhen Yuanbai detected Zhen Youxiu’s thoughts and didn’t think he was as annoying anymore. He said in a good attitude, “Ok, which question don’t you understand? I’ll explain.”
“I don’t get any.” Zhen Youxiu said, “Explain all the questions to me.”
Shi Bufan stabbed an apple and took a bite, glancing coldly at Zhen Youxiu and saying, “Aren’t you within the top 10 of your grade? Did you cheat?”
Besides when facing his brother, Zhen Youxiu would talk in a very calm tone, “Don’t you, someone who is beyond the top 500 ranks, feel shameful when you’re in front of me and my brother?”
After a short pause, they heard a snap.
Shi Bufan bit an apple and expressionlessly chewed on it as if he was doing that to Zhen Youxiu’s skin.
Zhen Yuanbai was worried that Shi Bufan might hit his brother, so he hurriedly tugged on him, saying, “Don’t say it like that.”
“What? Am I wrong?” Zhen Youxiu said, “Is he worth being your friend? He doesn’t deserve to be with someone as good as you.”
Shi Bufan who just picked up his pencil looked over again, clicking his tongue. The smile on his face faded.
Stupid child isn’t afraid of death. Before Shi Bufan did anything, Zhen Yuanbai reached over and patted his brother’s head. He reprimanded, “Stop talking!”
Zhen Youxiu stopped talking, but glanced at Shi Bufan in provocation. Shi Bufan twirled his pencil and suddenly realized something, smiling and saying, “There is a lot of junk food here. Youxiu, do you want some?”
This stupid kid was seeking a beating.
If Shi Bufan really beat him today, Zhen Yuanbai would say bye to him. Even if Zhen Youxiu was at fault.
Zhen Youxiu shifted his gaze and said, “Fake.”
Zhen Yuanbai didn’t know the two had tricks up their sleeves, but he was afraid that Shi Bufan might beat Zhen Youxiu up. Therefore, he slapped his brother’s head again and said, “Do your homework and stop talking.”
But, his stupid brother didn’t understand his elder brother’s worry at all. While dominating Zhen Yuanbai’s time, Shi Bufan would provoke him from time to time. A few times, Zhen Yuanbai had thought that Shi Bufan might beat Zhen Youxiu up. In the end, not only did he not beat him up, but he also even gave Zhen Youxiu some snacks after being triggered by his words. It felt as if he really treated Zhen Youxiu like his younger brother.
After a few times, Zhen Yuanbai slapped his younger brother’s head and became more and more rude. “Quickly shut up! Why are you so annoying?”
Shi Bufan didn’t buy that. Zhen Youxiu ended up just keeping quiet and he fiercely said to Zhen Yuanbai, “You’re a pig!”
What he got in exchange was his elder brother’s slap again.
Shi Bufan curled his lips up and felt extremely happy.
With Zhen Youxiu here, there was nothing Shi Bufan could do either. While being “bullied” by Zhen Youxiu, he continued to work hard. When he finally sent his stupid brother away, Zhen Yuanbai also followed along.
Shi Bufan immediately sent Zhen Yuanbai a message, saying, “Is your younger brother coming next week again?”
Zhen Yuanbai replied: probably not.
Shi Bufan wasn’t true with his words. He replied: he’s pretty cute. You can have him come over frequently.
Zhen Yuanbai glanced at the words, feeling a bit sorry. He tossed and rolled around for a while before he was able to sleep. Once he closed his eyes, he would see Shi Bufan’s gentle and patient gaze, feeling like he was a better and better person. On the other hand, Zhen Youxiu was a bit excessive.
In the end, in the second morning, the first thing that Zhen Youxiu said to him was, “Do you think that I’m very annoying?”
Zhen Yuanbai rarely said harsh words to anyone, not to mention his biological little brother. He said in a gentle voice, “No, don’t think about random things.”
Zhen Youxiu obviously wouldn’t do that and he said, “Are you going again next week?”
“I’m going since I already promised Mother Shi.”
Zhen Youxiu pushed the car and his face turned cold, saying, “Stupid.”
Zhen Yuanbai glanced at him and asked, “What are you saying?”
“What should I do? My elder brother is going to help tutor someone else now.”
Zhen Yuanbai didn’t allow him to act stupid, saying, “No, you scolded me.”
“You think I would scold you without a reason?”
“So, you admit to scolding me?”
“Why would I just scold you?”
Zhen Yuanbai subconsciously reflected on himself after he got retorted. Zhen Youxiu scolded Zhen Yuanbai as stupid because he promised Mother Shi to go again next week and also because he believed Shi Bufan didn’t have good intentions. It’s because…he was actually stupid?
He knitted his eyebrows and murmured, “Stupid child.”
Once the stupid kid brought him to school and said goodbye, Zhen Yuanbai went to buy breakfast. “Give me two orders. Mhm and pumpkin porridge.”
After he paid for the food, he suddenly heard noises behind him, saying, “Lil elder brother, you’re here. You’re making it quite easy for me to find you.”
Zhen Yuanbai immediately turned his head and said, “You. Why are you randomly calling me that?”
“Did you buy the porridge for me?”
“Mhm.” Zhen Yuanbai obediently delivered it to him and Shi Bufan laughed, saying, “Didn’t you want me to call you that? Why did you go back on your words now?”
Although he did say that… Zhen Yuanbai replied, “Can’t you just call me elder brother? Don’t add in extra words.”
“How was I doing that? Isn’t it a trend to call people lil elder brother?”
“That’s different.”
“How come?”
Zhen Yuanbai met Shi Bufan’s pitch-black eyes and his lips moved, face turning red. “It’s just…it’s just different when you’re calling me that.”
He quickly walked ahead.
Shi Bufan persistently chased after him, saying, “Different how? You didn’t even tell me yet.”
Zhen Yuanbai was angry and said, “Why don’t I call you lil elder brother? How does that sound? Sounds good?”
Shi Bufan’s heart tinkled and at that moment, everyone by their surroundings seemed to have vanished. He could only see the bright red face in front of him. When the voices returned, he found his voice and said, “Sounds good. It sounds so good.”
“…”
Shi Bufan moved closer and said, “Good brother, please call me that a few more times. The more extra you are, the better I like it.”
“…”
The pencil case in the backpack made a clang and Zhen Yuanbai ran off in fright.
Shi Bufan, this stupid brother. Why was he talking like that?
The beautiful Sunday was destroyed by a lightbulb and Shi Bufan could tell that it would be very difficult to get rid of Zhen Youxiu next Sunday as well. However, during the weekdays, Zhen Yuanbai was so busy with classes that 10 minutes in between classes wouldn’t be enough. Shi Bufan felt like they had less and less time with each other.
He asked Zhen Yuanbai, “Are you going to board at school?”
“No.” Zhen Yuanbai replied and said, “My house is near the school.”
“Board at the school next semester. The studies are going to get more and more heavy.”
Zhen Yuanbai subconsciously knew what he was thinking and he raised his head, saying, “We’re about to take the college entrance exam, so don’t let your imagination run wild. What Youxiu said isn’t completely wrong.”
Shi Bufan couldn’t help but think of what Zhen Youxiu had said and he touched his nose, saying, “Then, I’ll study. What do you plan on giving me as a present?”
“Your birthday isn’t until a week more or so.”
“What do you plan on buying me?”
“I’m going to buy you a nylon rope.”
Shi Bufan snorted and he reached over to poke Zhen Yuanbai’s white and delicate cheeks. “Don’t learn from Youxiu. You’re already getting badly influenced by him.”
Zhen Yuanbai glanced at him and this made Shi Bufan confused.
He lowered his head and bit his lips. Damn. It felt like whatever Shi Bufan was saying right now, he could get a different meaning out of it.
He rapidly completed the process of solving the problem and then passed the notebook to Shi Bufan, turning around to face the blackboard.
It wasn’t class time yet, so Shi Bufan threw a note over. Zhen Yuanbai reached over and grabbed it, seeing him persistently asking the same question. “Just what type of a gift are you planning to get me?”
Annoying.
Zhen Yuanbai wrote that and tossed it back.
Although he said that, Zhen Yuanbai paid attention to this. It was rare that he ended up using his phone to scroll through Taobao, searching for a present for Shi Bufan. He even specially asked for Shi Bufan’s opinion while the latter crazily hinted. “I hope it can be precious or valuable. Be more attentive and I want an unique gift. Better, I hope it can express how much you like me.”
Shi Bufan felt like his description was very detailed to the point where he might as well make it explicit: just give yourself to me and that’ll be perfect.
But Zhen Yuanbai sunk into deep thought.
It was really difficult to talk to Shi Bufan. He couldn’t afford anything expensive, but Shi Bufan might say he wasn’t being attentive if he casually just bought something. It was even more difficult to make it unique. What is unique in this world?… and he had to make sure the gift expressed how much he liked him.
So greedy.
He pulled the windows open to see the autumn-like and blue sky. The clouds were evenly distributed over the sky and far away, there was a yellow star under a red background that became visible.
That’s right. Containing unlimited expectation, the five-starred red flag was invaluable and unique.