Not long after, the eldest cousin's case was sentenced.
My uncle and aunt had sold everything they owned to pull strings for him; what was originally a ten-year sentence was eventually mitigated to five years.
The second and third cousins separated from their parents and eldest brother, declaring that since they weren't responsible for the family's debts, they wouldn't be paying them back. As for the old family house, they insisted that if it wasn't sold, it should be kept, and if it were sold, they wanted their share of the money. The old couple was so furious they nearly passed out.
My mom had initially watched with *schadenfreude*, but seeing my uncle's family fall apart like that, she didn't have the heart to kick them while they were down. When my aunt and uncle came to borrow money for the fare to go north and find work, my dad gave it to them and even tore up their IOU. My mom didn't say a word.
Not long after my uncle's family left, my paternal aunt’s family began preparing for a wedding. The eldest cousin, carrying her dowry and sporting a pregnant belly, happily married a handsome penniless man in a second marriage.
The week after the wedding, I had just returned from school, and my mom couldn’t wait to share the gossip.
She said the guy my eldest cousin married looked like bad news from the start. Because the dowry remained in my cousin's hands rather than being given to him, he threw a tantrum right at the wedding. His group of groomsmen, a bunch of lowlife friends, nearly stripped the bridesmaids, scaring the poor girls to tears. His relatives, all penniless, acted like starving ghosts, stuffing their faces and pocketing food from the tables.
"My eldest cousin even lost her gold earrings; nine times out of ten, they were stolen by his people..."
My dad said, "Maybe they just dropped somewhere; tell them to go back and look carefully. Don't speak so harshly; they're family now..."
My mom snapped, "I don't have such trashy relatives! How much did you stuff in the red envelope this time?"
"Er, one thousand..."
"Humph, if you ask me, five hundred was enough! Looking at your niece's belly, we'll probably have to hand over another envelope for her kid before long! Getting married and popping out babies, it never ends!" As she said this, Mom looked at me. "If you ever dare to get pregnant before marriage, don't expect a single cent of dowry from me!"
Hearing her say that, I was happy. "Mom, you're actually preparing a dowry for me?"
I had always assumed she found me utterly annoying and was too stingy to ever set anything aside for me.
Mom froze for a moment, then looked away. "If you get married without a dowry, do you want people stabbing me in the back?"
My dad laughed. "Don't worry, no matter how poor we are, we won't shortchange either of you sisters on your dowries."
I said, "Then I want as much as Elder Sister's."
Mom said, "Get into Yunda University first! If you don't, you'll get nothing."
"I'll do my best!"
Chapter 66: The Frangipani Tree
Despite pulling out all the stops, after the third mock exam, I was still a dozen points short of the Yunda University cutoff.
I was worried to death.
My weakest subject was English, and for some reason, I’d disliked it since I was a child.
My vocabulary was poor, I didn't understand the grammar, and every time I took a test, I could only guess my way to a score just over 100. Now, with less than a month before the college entrance exam, I didn't even know where to start a cram session.
Yan Luo taught me to use roots and affixes to memorize words.
I couldn't remember them. I couldn't remember them at all—it went in one ear and out the other.
That day, I spent all four sessions of evening study doing English. When I checked the answers, I felt like I was going crazy.
As soon as the bell rang, I collapsed onto my desk and let out a howl, crying.
Why do Chinese people have to learn English anyway!
It's so annoying!
I can't learn it! I'm done!
Waa...
In a senior year classroom, breaking down and crying wasn't a rare sight. Someone tapped my back lightly, but I was too busy crying to pay attention.
After five or six minutes, I had no tears left. I looked up to see a circle of friends around me.
Element, Xiao Lan, and Xiao Min from my dorm were there, their own eyes red.
Yan Luo and Gaowen had come too, along with a few other close friends, either standing or sitting, waiting for me to finish crying.
Although they hadn't cried, they were all in the same boat.
Element patted my back. "Come on, Lian'ou, let's go have hot pot!"
I sniffled and checked the time. "At this hour?"
"What's wrong with this hour? It's not closed." Element pulled me up and said to our friends, "We're splitting the bill today, anyone who wants to come, come on!"
Everyone responded one after another.
"Count me in!"
"I'm going too!"
"And me..."
Eight or nine of us tumbled out—pretty much the same group as last time we went to the movies.
The boys even bought milk tea for the girls.
Sitting at the hot pot restaurant, everyone cursed the test-oriented education: the broken math, the damn English, the pits of biology, the hellish chemistry, and the killer physics.
No one complained about Chinese; after all, anyone with hands could handle that.
Once the food arrived, they stopped complaining and scrambled for the meat, five or six pairs of chopsticks clashing in the pot.
After a good cry and a lively meal, we walked out to find the school gate locked.
The group of us were stunned.
Pan Xiang waved his hand dismissively. "Piece of cake, follow me!"
He often snuck out to play video games and knew which wall to climb to avoid the cameras.
He and another boy climbed over first to scout and help. Yan Luo and Gaowen, who were taller, stayed outside, letting the girls step on their backs to climb up.
Finally, only Yan Luo and I were left outside. I had just stepped onto his back when the security guard’s voice rang out from inside: "Who's there!"
Pan Xiang shouted, "Retreat!"
The footsteps inside the wall were chaotic, and everyone scattered. The guard shouted and chased after them with a flashlight.
Yan Luo grabbed me and we ran.
In the May night, a gentle breeze blew, and we sprinted down the empty streets in the dead of night as if chased by wild dogs.
As we ran, I felt much lighter, leaving a string of laughter behind us.
Yan Luo kept a grip on my hand, running for three blocks straight before finally stopping under a frangipani tree by the roadside.
I collapsed onto the grass under the tree, splayed out, laughing until I was out of breath.
Yan Luo sat down, leaning back on his hands, panting toward the sky.
I turned to look at him.
The yellow light of the streetlamp filtered through the leaves, casting him as a silhouette against a dappled background.
It looked like a scene from a manga.
And he was undoubtedly the male lead.
Yan Luo, unable to hear my laughter, turned to look at me too.
With his back to the light, I couldn't see his face clearly, only his dark, shining eyes.
We stared at each other in silence for a while.
He looked at me until I felt a little shy.
I smiled, just about to say something, when he suddenly braced his hands on either side of me and leaned down to kiss me.
His soft, hot lips were like a feather, pressing gently against mine.
I widened my eyes.
Chapter 67: Don't Do Anything~
Yan Luo’s eyes were shut tight, his long, thick lashes fluttering slightly like butterfly wings.
Two seconds later, he opened his eyes and saw me staring at him. He grew shy and immediately sat up, turning his back to me.
I sat up too, looking at his thin back.
Under the dim light, his sweat-dampened school uniform shirt was covered in footprints from when our friends had stepped on him climbing the wall.
I grabbed his shirt and tugged it backward.
He turned his head. "What?"
I leaned on his shoulder, wrapped my arms around his neck, and nuzzled him. "Hehe... nothing~"
He kissed me, and I didn't feel repulsed at all.
I’d only be uncomfortable if he kissed someone else.
Yan Luo was ticklish and shrugged his shoulders.
I rested my chin on the hollow of his shoulder.
We stayed quiet like that for a while. I lifted my head and said, "Your shoulder is all bone; it's hurting my chin."
He chuckled, raised a hand to pinch my chin, and then interlaced his fingers with mine. He sighed, "I was just speaking off the cuff back then when I told you to consider Yunda; I didn't think you’d take it as your first choice... Lianhe, it's okay. You’ve already worked so hard; it’s fine if you don't get into Yunda."
I said, "How can that be? I can’t be the only one who isn't at a top university when you, Brother Qi, and my sister all are. I have to at least get into Yunda to get past my mom’s standards."
"Alright." Yan Luo pulled my hand down. "Actually, my English studies are just brute-force memorization; I can’t help you much. But my brother has a classmate who is a gold-medal English lecturer in tutoring. I’ll go ask him if he has a way to help you boost your score."
I hesitated. "A gold-medal lecturer? That must be very expensive. I heard they charge by the hour, several hundred an hour."
Yan Luo said, "If it can really raise your score, spending a little money is worth it. We can pool our New Year's money, and if we ask him for a discount, listening to a month of classes shouldn't be a problem."
Hearing him say that, I felt more hopeful about getting into Yunda and grabbed him, shaking him. "Yan-zi! How would I ever survive without you, Yan-zi!"
"Cut it out! Don't call me Yan-zi."
At this hour, we couldn't go back to school, and we definitely didn't dare go home to bother our parents, so Yan Luo took me to a small guesthouse.
He asked for two rooms. I tugged his arm. "One room is fine. We only need to sleep for a few hours before school, don't waste the money."
The Mediterranean-looking boss heard me and let out a chuckle, a gold tooth flashing in his mouth. "Students from High School No. 1, huh? Such a caring girlfriend."
Yan Luo frowned, blocked me behind him, and said, "One double room."
Walking upstairs, Yan Luo walked in front, hooking his finger through mine.
I watched his back, unable to stop my lips from curving upward.
All this time, my mom had been guarding against Yan Luo and me. I’d told her we were clean, just friends, but inside, I felt miserable.
There was an invisible line between us. I had never dared to test it, never dared to cross it, terrified that everything would vanish into thin air.
I’d rather be his good friend for a lifetime than take the risk of losing them.
But today, Yan Luo had stepped across first.
And I had nothing left to fear.
It was natural, like water flowing into a channel.
Yan Luo swiped the card to open the door and whispered, "Just bear with it for tonight. There's a blind spot in the surveillance here; it's not safe for you to stay alone."
"...Okay."
I watched the room light up, took a deep breath, and walked in.
Chapter 68: Shower
Once the door closed, we stood at the foot of the bed, silent for a few seconds.
Back at the Yan Family house, I would barge into his room and fall asleep on his bed in a heartbeat.
But opening a room outside today—even if it wasn't what the boss thought—felt awkward and embarrassing, as if I’d just realized Yan Luo was a boy.
Fortunately, Yan Luo broke the silence by taking the opportunity to turn on the air conditioner. "We ran all the way, it's so hot. You go take a shower first."
I said, "Okay."
Then I walked to the bathroom, stumbling over my own feet.
The door closed. I looked at myself in the mirror; my face was as red as if I had a high fever.
I covered my face with my hands, my palms burning.
This guesthouse wasn't far from home; if my mom found out, she’d break my legs.
But doing something "naughty" under the nose of my parents—it was so exciting...
Such a cheap guesthouse had no robes. I took a quick shower and looked at the dirty clothes hanging on the wall.
They were covered in dirt and sweat, and they smelled like hot pot.
Though I hated it, I shook them out and put them back on.
I couldn't just wrap myself in a towel; that would be too casual.
When I came out, Yan Luo’s gaze was shifty. He told me to go to bed and went in to shower himself.
I sat on the bed in the cold breeze, and when there was movement inside, I realized just how poor the soundproofing was.
I could hear the rustle of him taking off his clothes, the sound of the shower turning on, the pressing of the body wash bottle, and him rubbing his hair.
It was too clear; it was like the door wasn't even there.
Just thinking about him washing up naked made the blood rush to my head.
It was just a shower, and I was actually hallucinating him naked!
I even thought of the FBI!
I quickly pulled up the covers to hide myself, frantically kicking my legs under the blanket like a crazed rabbit.
I really am a pervert!
Soon, the sound of water stopped, and I let out a sigh of relief.
Yan Luo opened the door and came out. I peeked my head out and smiled: he had put his school uniform back on.
He stood at the foot of the bed, smoothed out the blanket, walked to the other side to sit down, and wiped his hair with a towel.
Seeing the footprints still on his back, I sat up and helped him brush them off. He sat with his head down, letting me pat him.
Once we were settled, we both lay down straight.
He didn't turn off the light and said with his eyes closed, "Go to sleep, it's two o'clock."
I said, "Okay."
Then I turned my head to sneak a look at him.
He was actually lying right next to me...
When we grow up and get married, will we sleep in the same bed like this?
Except then, we wouldn't be wearing school uniforms; we’d be...
Wearing nothing at all...
I started kicking my legs under the blanket again.
Yan Luo gritted his teeth, snatched his side of the blanket, and threw it over my face. "What are you fidgeting for? Go to sleep!"
I giggled under the blanket, and he turned off the light.
Once the room went dark, I soon grew sleepy and fell asleep in no time.
The next day, we pretended nothing happened and went to morning study. As soon as I sat down, Element used a book to cover her face and whispered, "Did you and Yan Luo go home last night?"
She was genuinely worried about me, but I didn't dare tell the truth, so I guiltily said, "Yes, we went home."
"That's good." She breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought you got caught; I was so scared I didn't sleep all night. I was really afraid you’d rat me out. We're graduating soon, and I don't want a disciplinary record..."
"...Hey!"
Because no one was caught and no faces were captured during the wall-climbing incident last night, the school didn't make a big deal out of it.
However, the school did install cameras on that wall that same day and even equipped the guards with a dog.
During the morning run, passing the brand-new camera, Pan Xiang beat his chest and stomped his feet. "It's all my fault for cutting off the path for the juniors!"
Chapter 69: Flattery
Yan Luo was very attentive to my situation. By Friday, he had contacted the gold-medal lecturer, and on our way home from school that evening, he said that since it was the weekend, he’d go with me to a trial lesson the next morning.
I asked, "Did you ask clearly how much an hour it costs?"
Yan Luo said, "The trial lesson is free. The official rate with a discount is 400 yuan per hour. If it can really raise your English score by over ten points, the money is well spent. If your family doesn't want to pay, I have 2,000 yuan in New Year's money; if that’s not enough, I’ll ask my brother for some..."
I said, "No way! I can't let you pay for my tutoring. If you pay, I’m not going."
"Alright, alright, stop keeping such close accounts with me." When we got downstairs to my apartment, he waved. "See you at eight tomorrow morning."
"Okay, bye-bye."
Watching his retreating back, I felt a bit distracted.
I used to think my sister and Juyan weren't very clingy, but it turned out we were all just like thin noodles in clear broth.
Back home, I dodged my mom and asked my dad for the New Year's money I’d saved over the years.
Although I usually bought this and that and couldn't keep much, I’d never spent anything huge.
Hearing I wanted my New Year's money instead of pocket money, my dad asked suspiciously, "What do you need so much money for?"
I whispered, "Tutoring. My English isn't good, and Yan Luo helped me find a gold-medal lecturer. He’s a classmate of Brother Qi’s, and it costs 400 yuan an hour."
My dad sucked in a breath. "Tutoring is that expensive now!"
Since it wasn't a small amount, I carefully gauged his expression. "He’s a gold-medal teacher, of course it’s expensive. We’re going for a trial lesson tomorrow. If it goes well, I’ll sign up; if I don't, it’ll be too late."
I knew 400 yuan an hour was way too expensive for our family. My dad was just an ordinary office worker; my tuition for a few lessons would be his entire month's salary.
Recently, between my dad gifting money to relatives, lending money, and taking time off work due to his car accident, the family didn't have much spare cash. But he still nodded. "Fine. Since it's a teacher Yan Luo found, he must be trustworthy. I'll go with you tomorrow. If it’s good, I’ll pay the teacher directly; you keep your New Year's money."
I said, moved, "Dad..."
My dad patted my shoulder. "Shh, don't let your mom hear. Go set the table; your sister and Juyan are coming home for dinner tonight."
Hearing Juyan’s name, I remembered I hadn't seen him in a while.
Even though his reckless driving had scared me to tears last time, whatever, he was coming, and if he came, he was the brother-in-law.
After seven, my sister and Juyan arrived. My mom welcomed them like a hostess at a club. "Oh, Juyan, you're here~"
I rolled my eyes from the kitchen.
So sycophantic, truly, it was nauseating.
I even suspected she was in love with Juyan.
Juyan never came empty-handed. This time, he brought a bouquet of perfume lilies for my mom. "Auntie, I wish you good health."
Mom clutched the flowers, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, what lovely flowers, beautiful. Auntie is so happy! Come in, come in! Her dad! Xiaohe! Serve the food!"
What a shameful woman.
I said, "I know, I know."
Then I placed the baby bok choy in broth in front of Juyan’s seat.
Mom smacked my hand. "No manners! You put the meat in front of yourself and leave the vegetables for guests!"
I rubbed my stinging hand and stared at her, speechless.
What’s the matter with you!
The dishes were placed randomly; it just happened that the bok choy landed in front of him!
If you love your son-in-law so much, are you going to feed him next?
Chapter 70: Why?
After Mom’s adjustments, the bok choy ended up in front of me, while the braised pork knuckle and oil-simmered shrimp were placed near my sister and Juyan.
It was so far away, I was embarrassed to reach for it.
I grumbled to myself while shoveling rice.
I thought I was just a background character, but after Juyan talked about work for a bit, he suddenly asked, "Can Lianhe’s score get her into Yunda?"
Mom said grumpily, "She's still a dozen points short after the third mock! I don't think Yunda is in the cards."
My dad tried to defend me. "There's still a month left, give the child some confidence."
"Humph, you think cramming at the last minute can add a dozen points?"
I thought to myself, of course it’s not just last-minute cramming; I’m also burning 400 yuan an hour in high-priced incense.
Of course, she couldn't know the price.
Juyan said, "I’ll hire a tutor for Lianhe. If she can really buckle down on her weaknesses in this final stretch, maybe she’ll see an improvement."
I looked up, surprised, for the first time since he walked in, I actually looked him in the eye. "No need!"
Mom kicked me under the table and quickly said, "A tutor is a great idea! Will it be very expensive?"
"Because the gift I sent caused your relative to go to prison, I’ve always felt very sorry. I’ll pay for the tutor as an apology."
Good grief, the way he put it—even though my eldest cousin went to prison because he stole things himself, Juyan phrased it as if it were all his own responsibility.
Of course, Mom had no objections. A freebie handed to her—only a fool wouldn't take it.