"Qianqian, I’m scared, I can’t sleep..." Tomorrow is the middle school entrance exam, He Wenyu squeezed into the same blanket with Luo Qianqian: "Touch my heart, it’s beating so fast, even faster than the second day of the spring outing, and I still can’t sleep."
Luo Qianqian smiled and opened her eyes: "Xiao Yu, what are you afraid of? Are you afraid of not being able to go to the same school as me? Or afraid of doing poorly on the exams? Or is it because your godmother compares you to me?"
He Wenyu was at a loss for words. School wasn’t the problem; she had calculated the scores from previous years, and she was well above the admission line, so there was no need to worry. Doing poorly? As long as she performed normally, there was no question of doing poorly. How could she be distracted and perform poorly? Compared to Luo Qianqian? They had been compared since childhood. What was there to worry about? No matter the comparison, it couldn’t change the current situation.
"God is fair; whenever you lose something, you will be compensated in other ways." He Wenyu sighed softly, turning her head to look at Luo Qianqian next to her: "You are good in your studies, so you can’t cook. But why do I feel like you’re just lazy? Maybe cooking really requires a gift, considering very few people can make themselves sick from their own cooking. Poor in physical strength—I feel like you’re just lazy? I heard you don’t even attend PE classes." He Wenyu said, her lips twitching: "Qianqian, are you too lazy to do some things, so you don’t do them well?"
"No, it’s probably because heaven is jealous of my intelligence, so it gave me laziness, an incurable disease," Luo Qianqian nodded emphatically.
"Look at how awesome your brother is; he even received a scholarship. I’m not asking for a scholarship—I just hope not to embarrass myself," He Wenyu said reflectively.
Luo Qianqian nodded. Shufan’s results had been released a few days ago, and right after that, the school had called him in to collect a prize amount. What prize? As the top scholar in the provincial high school science exams, Shufan had received a significant scholarship from the school, a total of over five hundred. Of course, that wasn’t the end; following that, both the city and the province had awarded him, and he ended up receiving more than thirty thousand in prize money.
However, the Luo Family was currently not concerned about this money but about the Luo patriarch’s middle school exam issue. Since Shufan’s exams had finished, he had been coming up with various meals daily to ensure they ate well and drank well.
"Of course, that’s my brother." Luo Qianqian raised her lips proudly. She hadn’t expected her brother to actually become the top scholar. It had merely been a goal, but it turned into reality. It goes to show that it’s good to have dreams; what if they come true?
"You two need to go to sleep now; stop talking. There’s an exam tomorrow," Shufan listened from the living room to the talking coming from his sister’s room but knowing tomorrow was important, he could only knock on the door to remind them.
"Okay," Luo Qianqian responded loudly, then added after a moment, "Brother, I want milk and bread tomorrow morning."
Shufan’s lips twitched as he looked at the kitchen, where the ingredients already set out to be cooked the next morning. This kid really knew how to make someone work hard, resignedly picking up his keys to go downstairs, but the door opened unexpectedly.
"Zhuzi? What brings you back?" Shufan asked in surprise, looking at the newcomer.
"Why can’t I come back?" Seeing the room was very quiet, he lowered his voice, "Are they asleep?"
"Not yet, just lying down. I’m going to buy some milk and bread; Qianqian wants to eat it tomorrow," Shufan replied softly, looking at his sister’s tightly closed room door and speaking to Bai Yizhu: "Just sit, we’ll talk when I get back. Don’t wake them."
"I actually came back just in time; I’ve brought the milk and bread..." Bai Yizhu took out a case of milk and a box of pastries from his suitcase: "Indeed, someone asked me to bring this to Qianqian"
"How thoughtful..." Shufan was taken aback and then put down his keys: "Is this all you brought back?"
Looking at the two big suitcases next to Bai Yizhu, he wondered if they were all filled with food?
"How could that be? Oh, there are two more suitcases; wait, I’ll go downstairs and get them..." Bai Yizhu turned and went downstairs, returning shortly with two suitcases: "The contents are what I brought back; the suitcases are for our use, for packing to go to school."
"Did you check the results?" Shufan raised his eyebrows and nodded.
"You better not come here to show off. Don’t think I didn’t know, Mr. Top Scholar." Bai Yizhu playfully slapped Shufan’s shoulder: "Qianqian bragged in a group message, and both my brother and I received it. Of course, so did your cousins, and likely when you go over, you’ll have a big meal to attend."
Luo Shufan gave a wry smile and nodded. He knew about it because the message had come to his phone, and although it was only good news, the proud tone made it unbearable. However, being a reason for his sister’s pride was truly delightful, and he pursed his lips.
"Look, your grades aren’t bad either, hardly any different from Brother Jiayou’s," Luo Shufan shook his head, "Where have you been hanging out lately..." The two chatted as they entered the room, and the two little girls were already fast asleep.
The next day, Bai Yizhu didn’t show his face. Even his luggage and shoes were neatly packed, waiting to surprise everyone after the exams.
"Oh, this flavor." Luo Qianqian sipped her milk, her eyes brightening, recalling the taste she had enjoyed for three years.
"Why eat bread when there’s no meat in it?" He Wenyu bit into a meat bun, "I guess mom and dad are coming up." As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened, and Huang Yueran looked surprised at the three kids who were already eating. She turned back and exchanged a wry smile with An Zilan.
"They’re almost done," she said.
An Zilan watched her son in an apron, her eyes welling up with tears, "Really, why get up so early? Why didn’t you sleep in more?"
"Mom, we went to bed early yesterday and we’re feeling great now," Luo Qianqian said, flashing a big smile, "Having the Top Scholar’s lucky breakfast surely means we’ll start off on the right foot."
"Exactly, today we should eat the meal brother cooked," He Wenyu nodded in agreement, his face full of support.
"It seems our mom is being neglected," Huang Yueran said with a sense of grievance, "Usually, it’s just up and down the stairs and not coming home, now even the breakfast is being criticized, ah, it’s hard to keep a daughter at home."
"That phrase sounds so strange..." Luo Qianqian murmured, then stood up and called out, "Mom, godmother, come and eat quickly."
"No, what if we take away your luck?" An Zilan shook her head, her face beaming with a smile, "I’ll make something delicious at noon, come back early."
The coincidence was remarkable; their exam venue was their own elementary school. Although they were not in the same classroom, they were in the same school, which was already quite rare.
Two days passed, and Luo Qianqian joyfully joined He Wenyu in his exuberant celebration: "It’s finally over!"
Luo Qianqian whispered, "It’s not really over, the tougher challenges are still ahead. But such is life, with its ups and downs."
"Qianqian, I think I saw Zhuzi," He Wenyu stopped, pulling Luo Qianqian to stand at the elementary school’s entrance, watching the boy in sunglasses waving at them from inside a car.
"Driver, to my house," He Wenyu said to the man who took off his sunglasses. He laughed as he threw his backpack into the car and pulled Luo Qianqian inside.
"Brother Zhuzi, when did you get back?" Luo Qianqian also had a face full of surprise.
"I’ve been sleeping under the same roof as you for two nights already," Bai Yizhu laughed heartily, "I’ll take you guys to buy gifts, just say what you want; big brother will pay."
"You’re hopeless... It has to be a big cake at least," He Wenyu said, looking at Luo Qianqian’s smiling face bathed in sunlight, which was very tender. As the sunlight faded, so did their life in middle school.