“Brother, you cannot judge a book by its cover…”
After getting used to having someone sleep with me, the 1.2-meter [small] bed didn’t seem so crowded anymore.
For the first two days, Qin Yize slept very uprightly; he was either lying flat or sleeping back-to-back with Yan Jun. Two tall, seventeen-year-old boys occupied the bed fully.
Yan Jun, unable to bear the disturbance, always couldn’t help but elbow him away. However, today, after catching a glimpse of the fact that Qin Yize was unloved by his father and mother, he couldn’t help but feel compassion. At night, when this “fake child” hugged him again, Yan Jun silently rolled his eyes but did not push him away.
At 3:00 AM sharp, the two boys woke up from the bed, unmoved by anything.
Qin Yize’s biological clock had been completely changed by Yan Jun; he woke up as soon as it was time. Yan Jun went downstairs first, and shortly after, he would follow, rubbing his eyes and muttering, “Brother, I’ll help you knead the dough… knead the dough.”
Sweat beaded on the fake child’s face as he breathlessly grabbed the rolling pin and buried his head in rolling the dough into large, thin sheets, then rolled them into long strips to hand over to his brother for processing.
The most tiring work no longer had to be done by himself; Yan Jun felt very relaxed. He used a noodle cutter to slice the long strips into portions of about 40g, moving with fast “clack-clack-clack” sounds. Seeing his leisurely expression, Qin Yize’s eyes rolled, and he began to haggle:
“Brother, now that I’m helping you knead the dough, you can make more varieties of breakfast! Like tea eggs, or deep-fried dough sticks (youtiao)…”
Yan Jun was rolling the portions, and upon hearing this, he slanted a cold look over and raised his hand to uncover a basin to the side: “Take a look at what this is?”
The fake child poked his head to look: it was a basin of golden oil!
After being cursed at thoroughly, the fake child pouted in frustration, humming softly: “Fine, if I can’t eat it, I won’t…”
Taking the seasoned meat filling out of the refrigerator from last night, Yan Jun saw this guy looking pitiable, like a puppy soaked in the rain. After a while, he let out a frustrated “humph” and said, “I can only make a few for you to satisfy your cravings once in a while.”
The aggrieved puppy instantly perked up, as if a pair of non-existent ears had perked up, and he happily leaned against Yan Jun’s face, rubbing forcefully: “I knew Brother was the best~”
Yan Jun tightened his cheeks, but couldn’t help but reach out to rub his face.
But as everyone knows, the next step after a puppy gets cocky is to cause trouble. When Yan Jun was wrapping buns, Qin Yize was focused on observing from the side, practicing silently in his heart, when he suddenly felt he could do it too: “Brother, I want to try wrapping one.”
Fine sweat beads rested on the tip of Yan Jun’s nose as he amusedly glanced at him: “You want to wrap one? Fine, you have to eat whatever you wrap badly; I won’t help you clean up the defective products.”
“It’s not a defective product…” Qin Yize muttered unconvinced, burying his head to hold a dough skin, scooping a spoonful of filling into the center, and frowning hard as he tinkered with it.
Yan Jun couldn’t help but stop what he was doing and stretch his neck to watch him mess around. He saw this top student clenching his five fingers like he was catching a caterpillar, his muscles doing their own thing, panicking and becoming even more chaotic, kneading the dough skin into a complete mess.
Finally, when placed in the steamer, his bun was like an ugly duckling mixed into a flock of swans; it was ugly in a way that stood out.
“Hahahaha!” Yan Jun laughed out loud for a rare moment, “I told you that you couldn’t do it!”
The fake child pouted his mouth as high as the sky, frowned, and grabbing another dough skin in defiance: “I will definitely be able to wrap it well!”
That morning, Qin Yize made eight hideous, “laughing-mouth” buns.
As soon as the steamer was opened, Yan Jun showed a look of disgust, sighing and walking away with his hands behind his back: “It looks like you’ll have to eat these buns yourself~”
The fake child gloomily clamped the buns into a bowl, having to be careful not to let the filling fall out: “Brother, can you help me eat two? There are so many, I can’t finish them…”
“They are too ugly, I won’t eat them.” Yan Jun turned around and went upstairs mercilessly: “I’ll eat them the day you complete your apprenticeship.”
“Brother, Brother…” Qin Yize followed behind him, humming and hawing: “They are just a little ugly, the taste is still very good! You cannot judge a book by its cover, you know? You have to see their inner beauty…”
“Judge a book by its cover?” Glancing at his innocent, handsome face, Yan Jun gave a light hum: I have never been deceived by your appearance, you little smiling tiger!
Raising his hand, he flicked the fake child’s smooth forehead hard, and in a bad mood, he picked up an ugly bun and stuffed it into his mouth.
That afternoon, Yan Jun went to school for training as usual. After training and returning home, he hurriedly washed off the sweat and slipped into the kitchen to make dinner. Qin Yize was still sitting in the counter, helping Grandma solicit customers.
It had rained a bit at noon, and the ground was damp, but by now it had dried up. The children in the street couldn’t wait to pour out, following Xiao Hui to “sweep” through shop after shop. Every time they met an adult male, they would rush up to them, though it was unclear what they were asking for.
Qin Yize looked at them in confusion, his heart filled with curiosity. Not long after, these children came out from next door, their arms filled with colorful empty cigarette boxes.
Although he had some “conflicts” with Xiao Hui, Qin Yize still couldn’t help but lean on the counter, tightening the corners of his mouth to ask with restraint: “What do you want the cigarette boxes for?”
“Don’t you know?” Xiao Hui lifted his small chin proudly, with a look of superiority: “You can make cigarette cards out of this!”
“Cigarette cards? What is that.”
Qin Yize leaned on the counter, his eyes wide: “Where did you buy these cigarette cards?”
“They aren’t bought!” Xiao Hui tossed his head proudly again, “You ask others for the empty boxes and make them yourself!”
…You can’t buy them! The fake child looked at them unwillingly: “Sell me a few. I can pay.”
“Not for sale! If you want them, ask Brother Xiao Jun to find them for you!” Xiao Hui rolled his eyes with a pretentious tone, collected the cigarette cards from the ground into a box, and led the group of children off swaggeringly.
Qin Yize stared at them with resentment, then turned and rushed straight toward the kitchen.
Yan Jun was carrying a dish out and almost got knocked over by him: “Damn! What are you doing, being so reckless!”
“Brother!” The fake child followed closely by his side: “Do you smoke?”
“Why would I smoke? What a waste of money!” Yan Jun spat out without hesitation, thinking to himself: Unless someone takes the initiative to hand one to me.
Cigarette cards? Yan Jun had heard of this stuff; it seemed to be very popular among elementary school students. He set the food on the table and called Grandma over to eat: “Can’t you just buy a few from Xiao Hui?”
“He won’t sell!” The fake child was furious, “I know, he’s doing it on purpose to annoy me! He’s jealous that I’m your brother, jealous that I have dough sticks to eat!”
Yan Jun chuckled: “Then go ask Uncle Wu next door; I remember he smokes.”
“Okay!” Qin Yize was instantly energized, “I’ll go ask after I finish dinner!” He picked up his bowl and started shoving rice into his mouth frantically.
“Cant slow down!” The fake child ate until his neck stretched out, forcing the food down: “I need to get some cigarette boxes quickly and win all of Xiao Hui’s cigarette cards to see if he’s still arrogant!”
Yan Jun glanced at him sideways with a chuckle, thinking that this guy had truly turned into a child.
After he finished eating, Qin Yize tossed his bowl and chopsticks and rushed next door impatiently. Uncle Wu’s family was also having dinner, and he eagerly climbed onto the counter, noticing a cigarette box next to the table with a sharp eye: “Uncle Wu, can I have that cigarette box?”
“Cigarette box?” Uncle Wu understood instantly, then laughed loudly: “I can’t! Little Shu, the cigarette boxes on this street are all reserved by Xiao Hui. I have to give this one to him tomorrow; I can’t give it to you!”
…Ah, how could it be like this!
As if struck by lightning, Qin Yize walked back dejectedly and sat down listlessly at the dining table. Yan Jun was cleaning up the remnants and glanced at him: “Didn’t get any cigarette boxes?”
“They were all reserved by Xiao Hui!” The fake child was angry and aggrieved, slamming his hands on his knees: “How can he be so domineering!”
Sure enough, Qin Yize looked up, his eyes shining: “Where [can I get some]!”
“Then just buy them!” The fake child was very expectant.
Yan Jun glanced at Grandma’s leisurely back, then leaned over to Qin Yize’s ear and whispered instigatingly: “…Then go ask Grandma for ten yuan. I won’t pay for this kind of play money.”
The fake child paused, staring blankly, his expression naive. Yan Jun picked up the bowl and chopsticks, raised an eyebrow, and walked toward the kitchen leisurely: “I’ll take you when I’m done washing the dishes; don’t forget to ask for the money.”
Looking at his back, Qin Yize silently frowned, thinking: But, if I ask Grandma for money, she will hit people. Does Brother not know?
…Or is Brother trying to trick me on purpose?
Thinking this, he pursed his lips and stood up with a mysterious look, his eyes rolling around. A short while later, Yan Jun finished washing the dishes and walked out, wiping his hands. Seeing him safe and sound, he tilted his chin: “Why didn’t you get the money?”
Is that so? Yan Jun walked over suspiciously, thinking that Grandma had given Qin Yize money before—a yuan or two, sometimes a lollipop.
“You little coffin [brat], coming to steal my money every day, you’re addicted to stealing, aren’t you! I’ll beat you to death, beat you to death!”
“Ouch! Grandma, you promised to give Little Shu money, why are you still hitting me!” Yan Jun fled everywhere to escape, while Qin Yize? This brat had long ago taken precautions and ran outside the door, and now he was grinning with a mouthful of white teeth.
After a long time, Yan Jun finally escaped Grandma’s grasp and rushed toward him, gritting his teeth: “Yan Su! You, you actually dared to lie to me!”
The fake child crossed his arms and kept backing away: “It’s Brother’s fault! You knew Grandma would hit people, yet you coaxed me into asking for money!”
Yan Jun was choked into silence, his face stiff: “How did you know? Have you been hit before?”
“I have been hit!” Qin Yize pointed to his head with righteous indignation, “I was hit a couple of days ago. I wanted to take money to buy an ice cream, and Grandma hit me so hard! My head was even dizzy.”
“You were hit in the head?” Yan Jun gasped, his expression becoming nervous as he grabbed his collar, pulled his head down, and checked his scalp bit by bit: “Is it swollen? Are you dizzy? Do you want to vomit?”
Huh? Qin Yize enjoyed his brother’s touch in a daze, thinking: Brother isn’t holding it against me anymore?
“Um… not dizzy, and I don’t want to vomit. It hurt a bit at the time, but it got better quickly.”
After saying this, he heard Yan Jun breathe a long sigh of relief, sounding very scared after the fact. Looking up, the fake child saw his brother standing with his back to him, exhausted, hands on his waist. The thin, hunched figure looked like a dark silhouette against the sunset, his expression unclear.
After a while, the shadow raised his hand and waved at him powerlessly: “…Let’s go, I’ll take you to buy cigarette boxes.”
“Okay!” He hurried up and gripped his brother’s wrist tightly.