Chapter Five The Younger Brother

“By the way, have you had breakfast?”
“No, but I brought cold milk and bread.” Lin Ning’s house was far from school, so she didn’t have time to buy breakfast.
“Gu Yan just gave me a bag of buns. There are too many, I’ll give you two.”
“Gu Yan gave them to you!”
“Shh! Keep your voice down!”
Gu Yan, who was diligently reading behind them, heard his name and looked up at Yu Sheng.
Lin Ning turned and saw Gu Yan watching them, so she said, “It’s nothing, don’t worry.”
“Mm.” Gu Yan replied.
“So he gave you breakfast? Could he be…” Lin Ning grinned mischievously.
“Don’t overthink it, he just bought too much.”
“He just bought too much? Who believes that these days? Ugh, I’m so jealous.”
“Stop being sour, you little lemon.” Lin Ning was nicknamed “Lemon” in their class.

At noon after class, Yu Sheng couldn’t shake the feeling that Gu Yan was waiting for her, though she wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination.

Yu Sheng was always the last to leave the classroom, but today Gu Yan was even slower than her.

“Gu Yan, I’m heading out. Remember to turn off the lights and lock the door when you leave.”
Hearing this, Gu Yan stopped dawdling with his things, stood up at once, and said, “I’m leaving too.”
Without another word, he turned off the lights and followed Yu Sheng toward the school gate.

Walking with Gu Yan made Yu Sheng a little awkward. She didn’t know what to talk about, afraid of another inexplicably embarrassing incident like before.

“Tomorrow is the monthly exam. Are you ready? This is your first test since transferring to our school. Nervous?” Yu Sheng tried to find a topic.
“I’m not sure how hard the exams are here, but it shouldn’t be a problem for me,” Gu Yan replied confidently.
Our exams are really tough, Yu Sheng thought. But seeing Gu Yan so self-assured, she didn’t say it aloud.
“That’s good then.”
...
Talking to Sheng Sheng is so nerve-wracking! What should I talk about? Did I just kill the conversation?
“How about you? Are you ready?” Gu Yan asked.

“Not bad.”
...The two fell silent again.

“Did you know? My deskmate’s mother said if she moves up more than fifty places this time, she’ll buy her a new phone,” Yu Sheng said.
“She won’t move up fifty places, and she’ll be using that phone for another year,” Gu Yan blurted out. As soon as he finished, he realized something wasn’t right.
“Why? How do you know?” Yu Sheng was puzzled by Gu Yan’s certainty.
“Because, um... just a guess.” Gu Yan didn’t know how to answer; he wasn’t ready to tell her everything yet.
“Just a guess? That’s not certain. Lin Ning may seem careless, but she works really hard.”
“Yeah, she’ll definitely make it this time,” Gu Yan echoed.

Instead of going home, Gu Yan went upstairs with Yu Sheng to her place for dinner.

As soon as the door opened, they found Yu Sheng’s father at home.
“Hey, Dad, why are you home today? Didn’t go to the station?” Yu Sheng happily hugged her father.
“There wasn’t much to do this morning, so I came back to cook for you. Your mom is busy at the institute and can’t make it home today.”
Wei Yabo worked at a local cultural relics restoration institute.
After speaking, Yu Sheng’s father noticed Gu Yan standing behind her.
“This must be Yan Yan. I’ve heard about you from Yabo. Don’t just stand there, come in and eat.”
“My dad’s cooking isn’t as good as my mom’s, you’ve been warned!” Yu Sheng said to Gu Yan.
“Hey, you brat!”

Just as they were about to eat, Yu Sheng noticed her younger brother, Yu Chen, hadn’t come home yet.
“Why isn’t my brother back yet?”
Gu Yan became alert at her words. If memory served, the incident Yu Sheng had once told him about Yu Chen happened around this time.
“He’s probably chatting with classmates on the way and lost track of time,” her father guessed, not knowing the kids’ exact schedule since he was rarely home.
“I’ll go check,” Gu Yan volunteered.
“I’ll go with you!” Yu Sheng insisted.

Normally, Yu Chen was even more eager to eat than she was. How could he be chatting on the way for so long? Yu Sheng remembered how odd her brother had been lately and grew worried, though she didn’t want her father to see it.
“I’ll buy some tea while we’re out,” Yu Sheng added.

“Alright, I’ll make some soup while I wait for you,” her father replied.
Unlike her mother, her father didn’t forbid snacks and drinks. Because he was rarely home, he spoiled the kids, letting them do anything that wasn’t against the rules.

When they got to the entrance of their apartment complex, Yu Sheng asked the question she’d been meaning to: “Gu Yan, why did you tell me to watch out for my brother? Do you know something?”
“Didn’t you say your brother’s been acting strange?” Gu Yan deflected.
“I never told you that,” Yu Sheng said, confused.
“You forgot, but you did say it,” Gu Yan replied. He’d intended to let them handle Yu Chen’s troubles themselves, especially since all he knew came from Yu Sheng’s old stories. He worried that if he intervened, it might affect what was to come. But since he’d already eaten and drank at their place—and this was, after all, his future brother-in-law’s problem—he was committed to helping.

Yu Sheng was about to argue back when she saw Yu Chen limping toward them, pushing his gear bike.
Yu Sheng rushed over and supported him.
“Big sis? Gu Yan? What are you two doing here?”
“We were waiting for you for dinner, but you weren’t back. What happened?” Yu Sheng asked, concerned.
When she asked about his leg, Yu Chen stammered, “I, uh, was biking home and accidentally crashed into someone. Fell and hurt my leg, but it’s nothing.”
“You crashed and you say it’s nothing? Come home, I’ll clean your wound.”

Seeing Yu Chen like this, Gu Yan quietly clenched his fists. These bastards—how dare they push it this far!
“Gu Yan, help my brother with his bike,” Yu Sheng said.
Hearing her, Gu Yan forced himself to calm down, took the bike, and followed them home.
This had to be stopped before that tragedy happened!

As the three reached the building entrance, they saw Yu Sheng’s father hurrying down the stairs.
Seeing his dad, Yu Chen avoided his gaze and pulled his arm from Yu Sheng’s hold.
“Dad, what is it?” Yu Sheng didn’t notice Yu Chen’s reaction.
“Sorry, kids, I just got word from the station—there’s trouble downtown, and I have to go now. The soup is ready, go on up and eat!” Their father patted both Yu Sheng and Yu Chen on the head before rushing off, not noticing anything amiss with Yu Chen.

“I can walk by myself,” Yu Chen shrugged off Yu Sheng’s help and went upstairs alone.
“No, your wound will hurt.”
Watching her brother’s stubborn figure, Gu Yan felt a pang of sympathy. He must not want to trouble his family, which is why he kept silent about everything.