Lu Yan mumbled, “Nanxing, I really envy you. Even Ye Qian wants to curry favors with you, but you don’t seem to care about any of them.” This was the first time Lu Yan mentioned Ye Qian before me. In her eyes, Ye Qian should be the closest thing to an omnipotent god.
I smiled, “You should be envious of Ye Qian instead. She is favored by Mrs. Mai. As for me, you saw it yourself. I am now a thorn in Mrs. Mai’s eyes. After all, I was the one who led her precious daughter astray!”
“No, I think you are the better role model. You do not grovel, bend over and ruin your principles for others. I hope that someday I will be like you.” Lu Yan said hurriedly.
I was a little surprised.
Lu Yan twisted her fingers. She appeared to be at a loss. “I grew up in an orphanage. Since I was young, I learned to read people’s faces. The ability to read between the lines was necessary to survive. However, after doing that so long, you’d subconsciously lower yourself before others. Even after your life changes, that gene will still be there. Take, for example, Ye Qian. Even though her life is ten thousand times better than mine, when I saw her around Mrs. Mai earlier, it reminded me so much of myself when I was young. I really do not envy her at all.” She looked at me. “But I envy you. You live your life freely. You are transparent. You do not force others to compromise and you do not allow yourself to be compromised either. That is amazing.”
I smiled. “You are making me float with all these praises. Right, you said you grew up in an orphanage, what about now?”
“Now?” She was startled. “I am an adult now so technically I can already leave the orphanage, but because my two younger brothers are still underage, they can’t leave yet. They are physically challenged so I need to go back to the orphanage to help out whenever I can. I either help with the staff or donate some money. That way, life hopefully will be easier for my two younger brothers.” Lu Yan explained softly. Even though I already knew about her background, I was still shocked that she could relay everything with such nonchalance.
I thought that she would hide her background extremely deep like Ye Qian. In contrast, she brought up her past casually, she did not think that they were a stain or a burden on her life. It looks like I have misread her.
“Are they your biological brothers?” I asked, a little embarrassed.
Lu Yan shook her head and smiled sadly, “I don’t even know who my parents are, so how could they be my biological brothers? However, we grew up together. Because of their disabilities, they were always bullied. However, whenever they saw me, they would turn to me with a smile. When I was punished, they would skimp on their food so that they could share their portion with me. For that, I swore to take care of them as long as I live.”
I refilled her teacup. “This kind of relationship is even more precious because they are not bound by blood.”
Lu Yan sighed. “You are right. We are abandoned by our parents so it is rare to have other people treat us well. We are willing to give up everything for these kind people.
“Nanxing, you fought to get into M University for your dreams but I only got in for the scholarship. With the scholarship from the government, I can give my younger brothers a better life. I can also buy nutritious food for them.
“Other than them, I have two other younger brothers. They are working hard like me. However, they are not in university. Instead, they got into a vocational school and entered the workforce earlier. We pool our money together and we spend that on ourselves. We are children who have no home so we built a home among ourselves. Granted, it is totally different from you or Mai Qi’s home.”
She didn’t even bring up Ye Qian.
I patted her hand. “Lu Yan, we didn’t know about all these. If you need my help with anything, do tell me. I will do my best to help.”