Chapter 1 — Choose your own family members

The day the college entrance exam scores were announced, my father stood in front of the phone store and loudly announced: "Add a zero after the score, which is your budget to buy a phone." My brother looked up the scores and got 600 points. Dad swiped the card without blinking and immediately bought the newest model for more than six thousand. Then, he turned around and asked the store staff: "Do you have an old phone? It's a little cheap, you can make calls." The young man looked at me and smirked: "Lin Hieu Than, your grades are like that, having a phone is great." The older sister stuffed an old phone into my arms: "Going to a tattered college, using a smartphone for anything, this one can make calls." The younger brother was playing with the new phone, not even raising his head. shouted: "Old people's phone? Doesn't grandma have one? It's still usable." Dad's eyebrows relaxed, as if he had just gotten rid of a trouble: "That's right, Hieu Than has been understanding since he was young, not picky." They didn't look at me anymore, surrounding their younger brother, laughing and chatting happily. I got 700 points in the exam, but no one asked me. I understood that for more than ten years, my father said there wasn't enough room in the house, so since elementary school I had to live in a dormitory. Dad said he didn't have money to pay tuition, so after taking the university entrance exam, I immediately went to work part-time. I stood frozen in place, watching their backs go into the distance. This time, I don't want to understand anymore. "Lin Hieu Than, why are you making such a face, why don't you quickly follow?" Dad turned his head to look at me, then turned to hold his younger brother's hand. I walked a few meters away from them, some of them were discussing my brother's wishes. The older sister patted his head: "Of course you're going to Jiaotong University, I'm also there, I can take care of you." Mai Thieu Tinh Nhien hugged her younger brother, her tone was gentle: "There are many girls in Jiaotong University, what if a simple and cute little brother like this gets lured away by someone, you should still listen to me, register for Shenzhen University, then we'll go see the beach together." I looked at the bustling stream of people, suddenly feeling in their eyes. They and I are no different from those passing by. They stopped at the intersection, dad took out his phone and called a car. The corner of his mouth did not lower, his cheeks were still pink: "My little brother did so well, he chose any school. Tonight I will take you all out for a delicious meal first, as an early congratulation." I finally caught up with them, but the moment my father saw me, his face immediately changed: "Lin Hieu Than, if you don't test well, don't show your face like that, if others see it, your good mood will be ruined." Thieu Tinh Nhien held his arm. I, my voice impatient: "Hieu Than, my younger brother did well, you should be happy." Before I could open my mouth, my younger brother's voice was tinged with choking, slowly saying: "Brother, I know you're angry, angry because I was better than you since childhood, but you don't need to make everyone unhappy like that because you're jealous of me." My lips moved, but I couldn't say a word. At this moment, the car called via the app. Dad sat in the passenger seat and read the car's license plate number. My sister glared at me fiercely, then sat down too. Thieu Tinh Nhien covered his brother's head, and the two of them sat in the back row. I stood in front of the car door, my mood immediately sank to rock bottom. My younger brother stuck his head out to look at me, blinked, with a hint of pride in his voice: "Brother, if the seats are full, there's no more room for you." Only then did my father notice me. He lowered the car window and said in a cold voice: "De Hao Hotel, I'll send you the location later, you can call the car yourself." I was about to say, Dad didn't buy me a phone, how did I get the location. But what answered me was only car smoke. Raindrops fell into the air, dripping into my palms. When I hid in the convenience store, the rain was pouring down

like a waterfall. This isn't the first time I've been left out in the rain. When it rains after school, I always don't get an umbrella. Waiting for me to get home in the rain, I pushed the door open, only to see my younger brother holding three umbrellas, with a reproachful voice: "How can I cover three umbrellas alone? I still have to take the two extra ones home." My sister smiled and said: "If you can't hold them, throw them away, next time I'll buy them for you." Dad dried his younger brother's hair, nodded: "That's right, quickly dry your hair, then drink some ginger soup to warm yourself up." There was a sound at the door, and the three of them looked towards it. At me, the corner of my father's mouth twitched: "Hieu Than, you didn't tell your father what grade or court you were in, this matter... I don't know where to take it." Having said that, he poured out the remaining ginger soup at the bottom of the pot, handily handed the bowl to me: "Come on, you also drink to warm yourself." I picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp, but my tears mixed with the rainwater and flowed into the hollow of my ear. That bowl of ginger soup, to this day, still stings in my throat. I took a seat next to the window in the convenience store, remembering the scene of checking scores. The moment the second hand pointed to exactly twelve o'clock, everyone gathered in front of their younger brother's computer. Immediately followed by several deafening screams. A few minutes later, she was surrounded downstairs. I came out of the kitchen, wiped soap bubbles from my apron, and with trembling hands entered my registration number and identification number. My eyes jumped directly to the last line, 700 points! But there was no one in the living room, only my very soft sobs remained. The tree branches outside the window swayed in the wind, as if congratulating me. I quietly turned off the check-in window and turned to go downstairs. The rain is fair, dispelling every passerby. The phone store is not far from home, so I could, like always, run straight into the rain. But I've been in the rain for more than ten years, this time, I don't want to let myself get in the rain anymore. As the street lights on the street lit up one after another, the rain finally stopped. I found an ATM nearby, withdrew two thousand five hundred yuan, which was my overtime salary after my university entrance exam. After that, I went back to the phone store and bought a phone for about two thousand yuan. This is the only item in the past eighteen years that has belonged solely to me. On the way home, my steps became lighter, but when I was a few meters away from the door, I suddenly stopped. The door was not closed, the laughter in the living room penetrated the hallway, turning into a sharp knife that stabbed into my eardrum. The older sister's laughter echoed: "Little brother, I still have to say that my eyesight is good, right? You can use this laptop, it won't be a problem if you use it for ten years!" The younger brother's voice was cheerful, but hesitatingly asked: "What about you?" Dad continued: "Don't mention that rotten boy to me, we waited for him for ten minutes and didn't see him coming to eat, and now I don't know where to go to play." "He's like that, go to work early! Need a computer! What are you going to do? I'm afraid I won't even know how to turn on the phone." The atmosphere was quiet for a few seconds, then came the younger brother's advice: "Dad, don't get angry because of unworthy people. Later, my sister and I will earn money for you to spend!" In his father's eyes, having an excellent son is enough. As for my achievements, he never asked. In the first grade of elementary school, I pulled a suitcase that was taller than me and entered a boarding school. Because there is no room for me at home. After the university entrance exam, I was as tall as two suitcases, but there was still no room for me in the house. Dad said: "Anyway, you're about to go to college. You'll only be here for a few dozen days. It's too much trouble to intentionally clean out a room. You should sleep in the living room." My steps became heavy, as if the place I was walking towards was not the door of the house, but purgatory. On the living room sofa, Ms

The girl was sitting on the pillow I used to sleep, laughing and joking with her younger brother. The blanket I covered myself with at night fell to the ground, with a few footprints printed on it. The atmosphere in the living room dropped to freezing point the moment I appeared at the door. I tightened the bag that came with me when I bought the phone, instinctively hiding it behind my back. Dad sighed deeply, rubbing his eyebrows: "Lin Hieu Than, no one cares about you. You spend too much money, right? Don't hide it anymore, I see it all." My sister suddenly rushed in front of me, grabbed the bag, threw it on the ground: "Using your part-time salary to buy it? Didn't I already tell you? I told you to buy a college graduation gift for your brother right away, now you say it's gone, it's all gone?" My eye sockets immediately became hot. I didn't answer my sister, but looked at my father: "Dad, didn't you say that adding a zero after the university entrance exam score is the budget to buy a phone? Do you know how many points I got on the exam?" "I passed the exam..." Before the words were finished, my younger brother screamed, squatted on the ground and cried: "Ah! That's enough! I, I know you blame me for robbing you and dad, you don't want to buy me a gift, can I? "My sister's eyes immediately burned, she pushed me hard: "Lin Hieu Than, you've had enough! Since childhood, you haven't been close to us, and when you come home you don't even have a smiling face. Now everyone is so happy, only you find bad luck." "I don't care what method you use, on the day of the college graduation party, you must prepare a gift for your brother!" Dad's eyebrows were already furrowed or knotted. ” Dad's eyebrows were already furrowed into dead knots: “Hieu Than, you've been understanding since you were little, it's just that your personality is a bit lonely, it's normal for your older sister to not like you. He picked up the bag on the ground and stuffed it into my hand: "If you buy it then buy it, just take it and use it." "If you don't want to choose a gift, then make a WeChat friend with your younger brother, and then send him a two thousand yuan red envelope, that's a bit of kindness." At this time, the younger brother stood up and pretended to be generous. Luong: "Brother, please scan my code." I looked at the scene before my eyes, my body could not control but trembled. Seeing that I wasn't moving, my sister suddenly tore the bag open and took out her phone to scan the code. A "beep" sound rang out, my sister operated the screen a few more times, then stuffed the phone in my lap. After that, she didn't give me another look, holding the laptop in one hand and leading her brother upstairs with the other. The younger brother's voice was clear and sweet: "My good sister, install some software for me to watch movies first..." Their voices disappeared down the stairs, leaving only me and my father in the living room. His hands were clasped together, the corner of his mouth carrying a bit of embarrassment: "Hieu Than, you... you said just now, how much did you get in the exam?" I bit my lip and muttered: "Not much." It doesn't matter anymore. A trace of joy flashed across Dad's face. He walked over and held my hand, sitting on the sofa, his palm giving me just enough warmth: "Hieu Than, I know you understand, in a few days you will fill out your application, just look at the city your brother chooses, then register nearby." "As for majors, nursing, or pedagogy, it's okay, it doesn't matter." "It's mainly convenient to take care of my younger brother, he lives alone, when the time comes we'll both go home together, you can also help carry the luggage..." My ears Suddenly, the warmth in my hand suddenly turned into bone-chilling cold. I didn't listen to the words that followed, I just looked at the person in front of me who looked somewhat similar to me, yet I felt so strange. Should my life and future also become a footnote for my younger brother? I slowly withdrew my hand and said softly: "I know." I don't want to continue this conversation anymore.