Chapter 4 — Journey of Love

Right after that, a few whispers suddenly sounded nearby, and I saw the mentioned protagonist approaching the achievement board, glancing at it briefly before preparing to leave. Song Ming Chuan, Lu Dinh Chu suddenly called out to him. Song Ming Chuan turned his head, his gaze sweeping across this side and resting on me for a second. What is it? I watched blankly as my brother broke into a villain-like smile: Yo, someone stole your first place this time, didn't they? Now you know there is always someone better than you? He patted my shoulder, showing off to the other person with immense pride: Come over and see who your opponent is, the top student of this month's examination. Therefore, Song Ming Chuan's gaze fell upon my face, and not just him, but many others as well. In that moment, I felt like a caged monkey in a zoo.

After walking a few steps, Lu Dinh Chu pulled me back from behind: Ye Jin He, people were just looking, why are you getting angry? Your older brother's younger sister taking first place makes him so happy he could go crazy, don't you know? You just transferred here, you have no idea how arrogant that Song Ming Chuan guy is, he practically monopolized the top spot for the first two years of high school... I turned around, wearing a half-smile as I looked at my blonde older brother, suddenly remembering something: I know my results, but what about you? Where are your scores and ranking? I didn't see your name on the honor roll just now. The honor roll only posted the top one hundred students in the grade. Now it was my turn to show concern for my dear brother. Lu Dinh Chu's expression instantly froze: ......

I thought Lu Dinh Chu's academic performance was bad, but I never expected it to be that bad. Looking at that score sheet over and over again, I still could not believe this was born on the same day and month as me. Could it be that while we were still in our mother's womb, I absorbed all the nutrients, causing him to develop unevenly? But looking at his stature, there didn't seem to be any problem; he was even half a head taller than me. I simply could not accept that my own brother possessed such scores, so that day after looking at the report card, I took a deep breath: Starting from today, I am going to tutor you.

Lu Dinh Chu immediately protested violently: That old Lu hired tutors for me before and I refused them, so don't even dream about it. I am still your older brother, you want to boss me around? I am only older than you by five minutes, we are not that far apart. Five minutes is still time! So I looked at him with deep meaning: You know you can be proud when I place first, so why didn't you think about how failing your exams would embarrass me? Lu Dinh Chu: ...... Regardless of what he said, I still based a study plan on his academic level. After that, I seized whatever free time he had—usually when he went out to play the delinquent school leader after class—to drill lessons into him.

That day, as soon as I entered the restroom and before I even came out, I heard voices chatting outside. Que Xue, right? I heard Lu Dinh Chu has been getting very close to the new student lately, doesn't he like her? Another female voice rang out: Who knows? You can't put it that way. How good was Lu Dinh Chu to you? Even after his confession failed, he still made you his younger sister and gave you all sorts of things. Lipsticks, skincare products, handbags—costing hundreds and thousands—were all bought by him. If he likes someone else, won't those things end up going to her? I even heard the new student took first place in the monthly exam and even surpassed Song Ming Chuan, and apparently Lu Dinh Chu gave her plenty of gifts too.

After those two sentences, there was silence outside for a moment, until finally the first girl spoke up: It was just beginner's luck, next time the top spot will definitely be Song Ming Chuan's. Hey, do you really have no feelings for Lu Dinh Chu? He is quite handsome and very generous too. How could Lu Dinh Chu compare to Song Ming Chuan? ......

I squatted until my legs went numb, and finally waited for the two of them to leave. I had heard of one of those two girls before—she was the girl that my blonde older brother liked. Unfortunately, she liked Song Ming Chuan instead, rejected my brother's confession, and even handed him the title of a good guy. Yet not only did my brother refuse to give up, he even took her in as a younger sister and gave her gifts all the time. Anyone normal could understand that this was a pursuit. Calling it brotherly affection was nothing short of a joke. Under the guise of sworn siblings, one enthusiastically gave gifts, while the other calmly accepted them. All things considered, one was willing to give, and the other was willing to receive. It was just a pity that the other party did not even want to mention my brother's name.

Lu Dinh Chu skipped class again. Not only did he skip classes at school, he also skipped my tutoring session. My face as dark as ink, I sent him a text message—no reply. My desk mate, Meng Shi Yun, looked at me, seeming as if she had something to say but hesitated, until she finally could not hold back: Jin He, what is going on between you and Lu Dinh Chu? What do you mean what is going on? Meng Shi Yun said very seriously: I advise you not to waste your effort on him, he likes Su Que Xue from Class One. I just heard people say that he skipped class to prepare a birthday surprise for her.

So today was Su Que Xue's birthday. Wonderful. Jin He, why are you smiling? Meng Shi Yun looked slightly worried, Your smile looks a bit terrifying. It is nothing, I smiled faintly. During evening self-study, I brought some problem sets to the physics teacher's office to ask questions, and happened to run into someone else asking questions too. And he looked familiar. Song Ming Chuan had just nodded and said, I understand, thank you teacher, when in the next second my problem set was handed over. Why is it this problem again? Did both of you get stuck on the same question? The physics teacher smiled, Ming Chuan, explain it to Jin He and see if you have truly grasped it yourself. Yes. In the office, I found a random empty desk and pulled over another chair. Song Ming Chuan's voice sounded, that same pleasant, cool teenage voice. Do you understand? he asked. I nodded, and while no one was paying attention, I asked in a low voice, Classmate Song, do you still remember me? I remember, Ye Jin He, we have met, he said.