"Okay, everything’s fine," Xu Nianhua replied without hesitation.
Walking behind, Xu Nian’an’s forehead twitched as he heard this; all the way home, he had been thinking about how to confess the situation so that his parents wouldn’t worry so much.
An unavoidable scolding was inescapable.
After a simple breakfast, the group immediately got into Ling Dong’s car. Xu Nian’an deliberately went to sit in Xu Nianji’s car, thinking of giving his elder brother a heads-up in case their parents got angry; having a helper would be good, right?
"Big brother, your driving skills have really improved,"
Praising him, Xu Nian’an felt completely steady sitting in the car driven by his elder brother, without feeling any jolts at all.
"You could learn it too." It hadn’t been easy for Xu Nianji to learn to drive, but now, having been delivering goods for so long, he was used to it. Throughout the journey, the brothers Xu Nianji and Xu Nian’an chatted.
Xu Nian’an also mentioned how he was selling hairpins and scarves at school.
Xu Nianji praised, "Nian’an, well done, making money while studying? But still, prioritize your studies, don’t worry about the money for school; we have enough at home."
"I don’t need to study 24 hours a day. I take out two hours to sell things, it doesn’t affect my schooling," Xu Nian’an explained, before inquiring about the situation at home.
As he drove, Xu Nianji responded, his face beaming with happiness especially when he mentioned his own son.
Arriving safely at Gaoliang County, as soon as the car stopped, Xu Nian’an confessed, "Big brother, I’ve kept something from the family."
"You mean the incident with the school equipment, right? The one about a thousand yuan? Don’t worry about it, the family isn’t like before, we can afford that kind of money," Xu Nianji said, patting his shoulder. "Just focus on your studies, and become a doctor someday—how great would that be?"
"I didn’t damage any school equipment." With his head hung low, not daring to look Xu Nianji in the eyes, Xu Nian’an blurted out in one breath, "I need a thousand yuan to buy a wheelchair and nutrition for our little sister. In December, when little sister and Yining went to see me at school, they had a car accident on their way back. Little sister was hit by someone."
"What?" Xu Nianji’s eyes widened, staring at Xu Nian’an’s guilty demeanor, wondering, how could he not tell him about something this serious?
She needs a wheelchair?
But when he saw little sister just recently, her legs were fine!
Xu Nianji had many things he wanted to say, but Xu Nian’an was very quick, not giving him the chance to ask, continuing, "After being taken to the hospital, little sister had seven stitches on her head and a broken leg. It took over a month to heal. Big brother, when we go home later, you really have to back me up; I didn’t mean to keep it from you all."
Looking pitifully at Xu Nianji, he said, "Life in Ningbei has been tough. The doctors said she was out of critical danger, and I was also worried about mom and dad traveling so far—it would be too exhausting, so I didn’t mention it."
"Nian’an, oh Nian’an, such a big thing, you can keep it from mom and dad, but why didn’t you tell me?" Xu Nianji said, his chest heaving with anger. Thinking of Xu Nianhua needing a wheelchair and having been healing for over a month without his knowledge, he glared at him fiercely, "I understand you want to spare mom and dad, worried it would be too much for them, but as your big brother, I’m strong and young, why wouldn’t you let me know so I could take care of little sister?"
"Well, it’s just that my sister-in-law had just given birth to Zhuangzhuang, I ..." Xu Nian’an wore a guilty expression; Zhuangzhuang wasn’t even a hundred days old then, how could he possibly inform his elder brother to travel to Ningbei?
Besides, if he had informed his elder brother, could he have kept it from their parents?