The weekend passed like a trial.
Monday classes began.
“Students, the college has started preparing for the New Year’s Eve gala at the end of the year. Talented students are welcome to sign up enthusiastically,” the counselor announced with major news. “Additionally, the college will host its first bilingual Chinese-English event and needs to select two English-speaking hosts from our Foreign Language School.”
“Originally, freshmen like us wouldn’t have had the chance, but our year has many promising talents. So, the school made an exception to allow our class to participate in the host selection!”
Almost as soon as the counselor finished speaking, everyone’s eyes turned to Lin Xiaojiao and Sun Yizhi.
They were sitting one behind the other.
Jiangcheng Normal University’s English department had only one class this year—just over fifty students.
Everyone knew each other’s capabilities.
Lin Xiaojiao felt a bit amused.
Why look at her? She wasn’t interested.
In the end, the counselor was quite satisfied and submitted Lin Xiaojiao and Sun Yizhi’s names.
“Haha, truly the golden boy and girl of our class, excelling at everything!” a classmate flattered.
“Yes! With them there, they’ll surely bring honor to our freshman Foreign Language department.”
“With them around, you’ll never have a chance to shine,” someone muttered under their breath.
The voice was too low to identify.
But Sun Yizhi still glanced toward Hu Guozhi’s direction, who avoided his gaze.
Sun Yizhi calmly withdrew his gaze, squinted with a smile, and said to Lin Xiaojiao:
“Classmate Lin, I’ll need to learn a lot from you in the future!”
“Classmate Sun, you’re too kind!” Lin Xiaojiao replied without hesitation.
Still, she genuinely admired Sun Yizhi, who seemed to have no weaknesses.
She herself had the advantage of her previous life’s “Golden Finger,” but he was a “native” of this era.
Yet his overall abilities surpassed most college students.
He was undoubtedly the pride of this era.
“Sun Yizhi, enough! Can’t you speak properly?!” Jiang Wendi tapped his shoulder with a book.
“Sis! Take it easy!” Sun Yizhi pleaded.
“Who’s your sis?! You’re older than me!” Jiang Wendi tapped him again.
“Alright, alright! Little sister! Little sister, okay?” Sun Yizhi pretended to beg for mercy, dodging away.
“Daring to take advantage of me!” Another tap.
Zhou Yunyun leaned on Lin Xiaojiao, laughing so hard she nearly cried.
“Alright, alright! Stop fooling around, class is about to start!” Lin Xiaojiao reminded them.
She really liked this kind of classmate atmosphere.
…
“Lin Xiaojiao, someone’s looking for you!”
That afternoon, in the self-study classroom, Lin Xiaojiao hadn’t expected to finally see her second brother, Lin Xiangyang, whom she’d been longing for day and night.
Stepping out of the classroom,
before she could even react, she was enveloped in a tight hug by the young man in sunglasses.
“Xiaojiao! Did you miss your second brother?!”
After the bear hug ended, Lin Xiangyang stepped back slightly, ruffling his sister’s hair into a mess with his big hand before stopping.
Lin Xiaojiao let him fuss over her.
Her eyes instantly reddened.
It had been over a year.
Her second brother, who doted on her the most at home, had finally returned.
Floral shirt, bell-bottoms, curly hair, large sunglasses—
the most fashionable attire in the south during this era.
It stood out starkly against the university campus,
drawing sidelong glances from many students.
Lin Xiangyang removed his sunglasses with one hand, skillfully hanging them on his shirt collar.
“Xiaojiao, this isn’t the place to talk. Second brother will wait for you outside after class,” he gestured for his sister to go back into the classroom first.
Lin Xiaojiao shook her head repeatedly. “Second brother, wait for me a moment.”
She ran into her classroom. “Yunyun, please help me ask for leave this afternoon. My second brother is here. And bring my books back for me.”
Without waiting for Zhou Yunyun to agree, she ran out again.
…
The siblings found a pavilion on campus and started chatting nonstop.
Perhaps it was the bond of blood.
Lin Xiaojiao felt very close to Lin Xiangyang.
Back when she had left Gu Tingzheng, it had been a year apart, but even now, some awkwardness remained when they met again.
But with her second brother, it was different—there was no sense of unfamiliarity at all.
They hadn’t exchanged more than a few words before the siblings started bickering.
“Lin Xiaojiao, don’t let those bad men in the city fool you! I’m telling you, men are no good! I’ve seen plenty of them!”
“Lin Xiangyang! Watch your mouth! Don’t talk like some street punk!”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you! I’ll take care of you, just stay away from men.”
“…”
After fooling around with his sister for a bit, the faint melancholy of their reunion faded, and Lin Xiangyang began to talk about his experiences in Shenzhen.
After Gu Tingzheng’s comrade-in-arms retired due to injury, he started an import-export business there and was short on hands.
So, Lin Xiangyang worked under him for a while.
Later, after gaining a foothold and seeing how many buildings were being constructed there, he rented a storefront to resell decorative materials.
“…Xiaojiao, you know what? Money comes flying in like paper! My luck is just unstoppable!”
“Speaking of which, I really have to thank Uncle Gu. If it weren’tt for him, I’d still be rotting in jail.”
Mentioning Gu Tingzheng, Lin Xiangyang immediately became serious, his tone respectful.
“By the way, Xiaojiao, have you heard anything about him?”
“Uncle Gu is also in Jiangcheng.” We just met yesterday, Lin Xiaojiao thought to herself.
“Can we get in touch with him? How about we invite him to dinner tonight?” Lin Xiangyang was excited—Gu Tingzheng was truly his great benefactor.
“I’m planning to return to Nanyu tomorrow, so I’m only staying in Jiangcheng for one night.”
“Going home?” Lin Xiaojiao didn’t respond to the dinner invitation and instead asked, “Second Brother, did you come back for something specific?”
“Yeah, there is something.” Lin Xiangyang spread his hands. “Mainly, I don’t have enough reliable people. The ones I hired can’t be trusted, so I thought I’d come back and see if I could bring a couple of people I know well.”
Lin Xiaojiao nodded, hesitating to speak. After a moment, she said, “Second Brother, don’t waste the money you earn. It’s better to buy a house—at least you can live in it, and if you don’t, you can sell it…”
She put it… rather tactfully… right?
“Buy a house?” Lin Xiangyang looked at his sister suspiciously but didn’t dwell on it. “Alright, I’ll remember that. I’ll think it over carefully later!”
Lin Xiaojiao felt mostly reassured. Her second brother was clever, after all.
“Second Brother, come with me to the school convenience store.”
“Buying something? Let’s go to the state-owned department store!”
“Lin Xiangyang! Cut out that nouveau riche attitude!” Lin Xiaojiao turned around, hands on her hips. “If I hear another word like ‘I’ve got money,’ I want you to leave this school immediately!”
“Alright, alright! Little ancestor! I’ll do as you say. I’ll just give you all my money later…” Lin Xiangyang raised his hands in surrender.
“You’re still saying it!”
Lin Xiaojiao went to the convenience store to make a phone call.
To Gu Tingzheng.
The call connected.
Gu Tingzheng himself answered.
[Gu Tingzheng, who is this?]
[Uncle, it’s me…] Hearing his voice over the phone, Lin Xiaojiao was caught off guard and momentarily speechless.
[“Jiaojiao? Is something wrong?”] The voice on the other end of the line suddenly tensed up.
[“No, nothing!”]
Lin Xiangyang hadn’t expected his sister to be calling Gu Tingzheng. Seeing her acting so awkwardly, he simply took the phone from her.
[“Uncle Gu, it’s me, Xiangyang… Yes… That’s right, I just got back today… Everything’s fine… I’m at Xiaojiao’s school… Are you free tonight? I’d like to invite you to dinner… No, no need! We’ll make our own arrangements… Okay, okay…”]
After a round of pleasantries, Lin Xiangyang handed the receiver back to Lin Xiaojiao.
[“Uncle…”]
[“Mm, I have something on tonight. Take your second brother to Jiangcheng Grand Hotel. I’ll book a private room for you. You can bring your classmates too.”]
[“No need, we can—”]
[“Do you know Jiangcheng better than I do?!”]
[“Alright, go spend time with your brother.”]
After hanging up, Lin Xiaojiao’s cheeks flushed red.
She hadn’t said anything much, so why was she blushing like this?
His voice on the phone was so sexy…