Xu Qingyan naturally couldn’t argue with her.
Lin Jingshan had work to attend to, so he had the driver take the two children.
The clothes in the shopping mall all had fixed prices. Unlike ordinary markets, there was no haggling over ten or eight yuan for half an hour.
Except for those two difficult years when Lin Jingshan went bankrupt and passed away, Lin Zhinuo had spent most of her life with complete financial freedom.
When she was young, she had her father to support her; after marriage, she had Xu Qingyan as her safety net.
Lin Zhinuo moved through the men’s sections of several young fashion brands, carefully picking and choosing. Before long, she had selected five or six pieces.
She remembered that Xu Qingyan’s clothes had always been limited to two colors: black and white.
When her hand happened to come across a pink T-shirt, she picked it up without hesitation.
Xu Qingyan quietly waited nearby. Tall and slender, with an exceptionally handsome and eye-catching face, he attracted frequent sideways glances from several of the young sales assistants.
Everything she had picked was men’s clothing, so the cashier couldn’t help asking, “Is he your brother? He’s so handsome!”
“Yes, my real brother, no doubt about it.”
Lin Zhinuo glanced sideways at the boy beside her. He was pursing his lips and staring absently at the price tag, his eyes slightly unfocused.
She deliberately pressed the question. “Do you think my brother and I look alike?”
The girl was petite, with beautiful eyes that seemed to be filled with starlight.
Yet when the two stood together, their appearances and temperaments were completely different one as cold as ice, the other as warm as fire. They looked like characters from a fairy tale: a fallen young nobleman and a proud little princess.
The contrast was particularly striking.
The cashier smiled. “You two really are a lovely pair of siblings. It’s so pleasing to see you standing together.”
After paying, Lin Zhinuo had just reached out to take the bags when Xu Qingyan had already silently gathered several shopping bags into his hands.
Inside those bags were only a few pieces of clothing, yet they represented his entire living expenses for a year.
He lowered his long lashes, and his fingertips unconsciously tightened around the handles.
The only thing he could do was make his abilities grow a thousand, ten thousand times stronger.
On the way home, Lin Zhinuo deliberately asked the driver to circle around Yucheng No. 1 High School so they could familiarize themselves with the surrounding area in advance.
She knew all too well how fierce the competition at No. 1 High School was.
“Once you pass No. 1, the next street over is No. 2 High School. It’s also a pretty good high school in Yucheng. And there’s No. 5, too…”
She chattered on the entire way, simply wanting to tell him to relax. Even if he didn’t get into No. 1 High School, it would be okay. They still had other choices.
Xu Qingyan, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly asked softly, “You’re at No. 1?”
Lin Zhinuo nodded lightly.
She had only managed to get into No. 1 High School by the skin of her teeth after Lin Jingshan had paid a high price to hire a teacher to tutor her intensively for two months, combined with an unusually good performance on the entrance exam.
Xu Qingyan gave a quiet “Mm,” then fell silent again.
When they passed a stationery shop on the street, Lin Zhinuo went inside once more and picked out some pens, notebooks, rulers, and other supplies needed for the exam.
To be honest, she hoped deep down that Xu Qingyan would get into No. 1 High School. After all, with his abilities, he deserved the best place.
Lin Zhinuo had a mild case of pre-exam anxiety. As soon as it was nine o’clock that evening, she urged Xu Qingyan to hurry and get some rest.
The test was scheduled for eight in the morning, so Lin Zhinuo set her alarm for six.
After washing up and getting everything ready, she carefully checked Xu Qingyan’s pencil case once more. It was only six-thirty.
She quietly sat on the living-room sofa. Aunt Yang, who was about to prepare breakfast, was startled when she saw her.
“Zhizhi, why are you up so early today?”
The moment she finished speaking, Xu Qingyan also came downstairs.
Thinking the two children were hungry, Aunt Yang hurried into the kitchen to make breakfast.
Lin Zhinuo tilted her head back and looked at the boy.
Today, he was wearing the new clothes she had bought for him a simple white T-shirt. His handsome features were clean and cool, his brows and eyes clear and refined, making him look like the gentle, aloof young man who had stepped straight out of a novel.
She couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
If, in her previous life, she hadn’t injured her leg and had remained the Lin Zhinuo who shone brilliantly on the stage, he would still have married her in the end.
She thought that she would definitely be bewitched by his good looks.
“Brother, why didn’t you sleep a little longer?”
She called him “Brother” one time after another, the way it came so naturally and effortlessly to her.
Xu Qingyan felt a little uncomfortable under her frank gaze. His lashes fluttered lightly, and he turned his eyes away.
“I woke up.”
Lin Jingshan had deliberately taken a day off from work to accompany Xu Qingyan to the test.
Lin Zhinuo was worried, so naturally, she went along too.
Yucheng No. 1 High School stood behind imposing red walls, the campus solemn and dignified.
They had originally thought Xu Qingyan would be the only one taking the test, and that there would hardly be anyone at school during summer vacation.
But quite a few students who were about to enter their senior year of high school had already been trickling onto campus, beginning to grind away at their studies from every possible angle.
There were dozens of students in situations similar to Xu Qingyan’s strong academic foundations of their own, yet relying on various connections to get a chance to take the test.
Lin Jingshan froze for a moment.
He had originally thought he was simply bringing the boy over to meet the teachers and have him work through a few questions from No. 1 High School.
He hadn’t expected the competition to be this fierce.
“You two wait outside. I’ll go to the office and ask about the situation.”
It was the height of summer in August, and the sun blazed like fire.
There was no breeze in the corridor outside the office. The journey there had left the girl’s cheeks flushed from the heat. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, and a few loose strands had become damp with sweat, clinging softly to the skin at her neck.
Every now and then, she raised a hand to fan herself.
Xu Qingyan lowered his eyes. His fingers unconsciously tightened around the pencil case in his hand. He shifted slightly to the side, silently blocking the scorching sunlight from falling on her shoulder.
Faint voices drifted from inside the office.
“Yucheng No. 1 High School isn’t a place where just any student can get in through connections. How many parents across the entire city are desperate to get their children admitted? If anyone could make an exception simply by finding the right connections, then the reputation of No. 1 High School as a top-tier institution would have been worthless long ago. If a child doesn’t have genuine ability, they shouldn’t even think about crossing the threshold of No. 1. Not everyone has the qualifications to walk through these red gates.”
Lin Jingshan had looked through Xu Qingyan’s previous report cards and had also spoken at length with his former teachers.
His teachers spoke extremely highly of the boy, openly saying that he was exceptionally gifted. The only problem was that the educational resources in the county were limited, and they were afraid they would hold back his future.
Lin Jingshan was not short of money. He simply wanted to give such a rare and talented child a better platform, where he could fully develop his gifts and abilities.
That was why, from the very beginning, he had set his sights on No. 1 High School for the boy.
The teacher’s words were unpleasant to hear, but they were also the plain truth right in front of them.
There was a large tree outside the administration building, cicadas calling one after another, their cries sharp and unending.
Lin Zhinuo raised her eyes. Fine beads of sweat glistened across the tip of her delicate, upturned nose.
She looked at the tightly closed office door, then at the boy beside her. Her lips moved slightly, her throat dry and tight.
She called softly, “Brother…”
Xu Qingyan pressed his lips together. His lowered fingers curled into his palm.
“It’s fine.”
His voice was cool and calm.
When he was five or six years old, Li Li had run away with another man. Xu Changchun had become an alcoholic, sleeping wherever he happened to pass out.
The children his age at the town’s elementary school mocked him.
“Xu Qingyan, your mom ran away with another man. Nobody wants you anymore.”
No one would play with him.
When he was in seventh grade, a young teacher who had just been assigned to the town came to visit his home.
Xu Changchun was still passed out from drinking the night before, reeking of alcohol as he spoke.
The teacher frowned at the smell.
“Mr. Xu, can’t you spare a thought for your child’s feelings?”
Xu Changchun was sprawled in front of the doorway like a heap of mud, his eyelids half-open and half-closed.
“I care about his feelings? Who the hell is going to care about mine?”
That day, the teacher turned around and left.
Inside the office, Lin Jingshan continued to keep his attitude humble, speaking politely and trying to reason with the teacher.
“Teacher, you’re absolutely right. I was too presumptuous. No. 1 High School has a high admission threshold and strict rules. We never intended to pull strings or use connections to get in through the back door. The child genuinely admires No. 1 High School, and he has the ability to match it. We have absolutely no intention of breaking the school’s rules…”