After a half-hour drive, the family arrived at Lin Jin's residential complex.
Mom looked around, taking in the neighborhood where they had lived for several years which had hardly changed and she sighed deeply.
An old man in a security uniform walked past Lin Jin and the others but abruptly stopped. He adjusted his reading glasses and asked, "Wu Juan?"
"Uncle Chen" Mom broke into a radiant smile and greeted the man known as Uncle Chen.
"You're back? It’s good to be back, come hang out at my place tonight."
Uncle Chen was a retired man in his seventies. It felt like he has been the security guard for this community since its inception. He took on the job just to have something to do every day. It was more of a precautionary role, as a man in his seventies, he wouldn’t be much use if a thief actually showed up.
"Sure, I’ll take Lin Chen and Lin Jin to your place this afternoon for New Year’s greetings." Running into an old acquaintance seemed to lift mom's spirits. Holding Lin Jin in one hand and Lin Chen in the other, she cheerfully walked up the stairs.
Once back home, Mom looked around the entire house and found that there were even fewer pieces of furniture than before she left. Lin Jin's room didn't even have a table. She glanced at Lin Jin’s father with a slight frown but didn’t say much and directly entered the room that used to be hers.
Her room had already been arranged by Lin Jin, who had even bought a bouquet of flowers for the table. It looked very cozy.
"Lin Jin, why don't you have any furniture in your room?" Mom emerged from her room, her brows deeply furrowed. When she had left, the house’s furniture hadn’t yet been completely sold off by dad. There were tables, chairs, benches, etc. in the three bedrooms. They were all neatly arranged, but now it seemed as if the whole place reeked of poverty.
"Not long after you left, dad sold everything" Lin Jin said, sparing a glance at their dad who was awkwardly standing in the living room, neither sitting nor standing straight. "Only the stuff that couldn't be disassembled wasn't sold."
"Is that so?" Mom turned back to glare at dad, then turned to Lin Jin with a caring inquiry, "Why don't you come live with me? It's a bit far from your school, but it's much better than here."
"I have internet and a computer at my place. Once you move in, I'll set up a room for you and buy you a computer. We even have a maid for cooking. It's much better than having to buy groceries and cook for yourself here."
Lin Jin awkwardly glanced at dad. It seemed that Mom had no intentions of reconciling with him. She probably planned to pay Chinese New Year's visits to grandparents, relatives, and friends, then take Lin Jin away.
Originally, Lin Jin thought that mom had come back because she wanted to reconcile with dad, perhaps due to Lin Chen’s persuasion.
"Um, let me think about it" Lin Jin said, mimicking Lin Chen's way of playing dumb. He chuckled awkwardly and scratched his head, subtly changing the topic, "So, is younger brother sleeping in my room tonight?"
"Me?" Lin Chen paused for a moment. Sleeping with his brother wouldn't have been a problem when they were kids. Even if his brother were a tall and burly man, it still wouldn’t be an issue.
But the problem was that he, the younger brother, was the tall and burly man. And not only that, he was the type of guy who had hardly ever interacted with girls. Now he was supposed to share a bed with a brother who not only looked like a school beauty but also had a good figure?
Hey, hey, hey! Brother, are you trying to mess with your little brother's orientation or what?
"Your room is pretty empty, why don't Lin Chen sleep on a mattress on the floor? He’s strong, so he won't get cold" Mom said. Given that Lin Jin and Lin Chen used to share a bed when they were younger, she didn't think too much about it. She yawned, "I'll go make dinner, you guys go hang out for a bit."
"Sure."
Although Lin Jin initially planned to prepare a lavish feast for mom, he had to rush out to pick her up, leaving a pile of ingredients untouched in the kitchen.
As mom entered the kitchen, dad, who was visibly uneasy, looked toward Lin Jin with pleading eyes. He looked as pitiful as an abandoned puppy.
It was the first time Lin Jin had seen dad with such an expression.
Lin Jin shrugged, pointed toward the kitchen, and shrugged again, as if to say he couldn't do anything about it. Dad should take the initiative to help in the kitchen.
His father furrowed his brows in confusion. He didn't have a good tacit understanding with Lin Jin. Following Lin Jin's gesture towards the kitchen, he hesitated, thinking perhaps Lin Jin meant he should go and have a good talk with their mother. After pausing for a moment, dad walked briskly into the kitchen.
Lin Jin caught a glimpse of Dad's retreating figure, turned around, and went into his own bedroom. He locked the door out of habit and then saw Lin Chen, who was staring at him with a puzzled look.
"What's up?" Lin Jin sat down on the bed, stretched lazily, and turned his head towards Lin Chen, who was sitting next to him. "Why are you looking at me so strangely?"
"Am I?" Lin Chen sat there stiffly, his back straight. Although he wore a smile on his face, the awkward atmosphere was palpable.
"Why is your face red, then?" Lin Jin seemed to have discovered a new continent. He leaned his face closer to Lin Chen's, stared at him with wide eyes, and said, "Look at you, your face is as red as a monkey's butt."
"No, I'm not." Lin Chen awkwardly turned his head away.
"Really!" Lin Jin thought Lin Chen might not have realized it himself, so he leaned in again, half of his body pressed against Lin Chen. He pressed his hand against Lin Chen's forehead, muttering to himself, "Did you get a fever on the bullet train? Your face shouldn't be this red, right?"
"And it feels like you’re burning up." Lin Jin placed the back of his hand on Lin Chen's forehead. "Your forehead is also hot."
"I don’t have a fever" Lin Chen said, clearly uncomfortable. He glanced down quickly at his slightly elevated 'thing' swallowed hard, and hurriedly stood up to walk towards the wardrobe. Facing away from Lin Jin, he crouched down and asked, "Where are the straw mats and blankets? I'm going to sleep on the floor tonight."
"Why? What's the point of sleeping on the floor?" Lin Jin glanced at the bed under his butt, hesitated for a moment, and immediately backpedaled, "Actually, you should sleep on the floor! You're so tall, both of us sleeping on this bed...you might get kicked off by me in the middle of the night."
As the older brother, Lin Jin has always been very assertive when sleeping since young. According to their mom, when Lin Chen was just born, Lin Jin was already a year old. At that time, both were sleeping on the bed while mom was cooking. A few minutes after she left, Lin Chen got kicked off the bed by Lin Jin.
The same happened when they were five or six years old. They always slept together, and if the bed wasn't big enough, Lin Chen was usually the one who got kicked off.
"Exactly, your bed is so small." Lin Chen breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, his older brother didn't insist on sharing the bed, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sleep all night.
"By the way, Lin Chen" Lin Jin walked over to him. The conversation just now made Lin Jin feel that Lin Chen probably wasn't running a fever. "You're not..."
"shy around me, are you?"
After a half-hour drive, the family arrived at Lin Jin's residential complex.
Mom looked around, taking in the neighborhood where they had lived for several years which had hardly changed and she sighed deeply.
An old man in a security uniform walked past Lin Jin and the others but abruptly stopped. He adjusted his reading glasses and asked, "Wu Juan?"
"Uncle Chen" Mom broke into a radiant smile and greeted the man known as Uncle Chen.
"You're back? It’s good to be back, come hang out at my place tonight."
Uncle Chen was a retired man in his seventies. It felt like he has been the security guard for this community since its inception. He took on the job just to have something to do every day. It was more of a precautionary role, as a man in his seventies, he wouldn’t be much use if a thief actually showed up.
"Sure, I’ll take Lin Chen and Lin Jin to your place this afternoon for New Year’s greetings." Running into an old acquaintance seemed to lift mom's spirits. Holding Lin Jin in one hand and Lin Chen in the other, she cheerfully walked up the stairs.
Once back home, Mom looked around the entire house and found that there were even fewer pieces of furniture than before she left. Lin Jin's room didn't even have a table. She glanced at Lin Jin’s father with a slight frown but didn’t say much and directly entered the room that used to be hers.
Her room had already been arranged by Lin Jin, who had even bought a bouquet of flowers for the table. It looked very cozy.
"Lin Jin, why don't you have any furniture in your room?" Mom emerged from her room, her brows deeply furrowed. When she had left, the house’s furniture hadn’t yet been completely sold off by dad. There were tables, chairs, benches, etc. in the three bedrooms. They were all neatly arranged, but now it seemed as if the whole place reeked of poverty.
"Not long after you left, dad sold everything" Lin Jin said, sparing a glance at their dad who was awkwardly standing in the living room, neither sitting nor standing straight. "Only the stuff that couldn't be disassembled wasn't sold."
"Is that so?" Mom turned back to glare at dad, then turned to Lin Jin with a caring inquiry, "Why don't you come live with me? It's a bit far from your school, but it's much better than here."
"I have internet and a computer at my place. Once you move in, I'll set up a room for you and buy you a computer. We even have a maid for cooking. It's much better than having to buy groceries and cook for yourself here."
Lin Jin awkwardly glanced at dad. It seemed that Mom had no intentions of reconciling with him. She probably planned to pay Chinese New Year's visits to grandparents, relatives, and friends, then take Lin Jin away.
Originally, Lin Jin thought that mom had come back because she wanted to reconcile with dad, perhaps due to Lin Chen’s persuasion.
"Um, let me think about it" Lin Jin said, mimicking Lin Chen's way of playing dumb. He chuckled awkwardly and scratched his head, subtly changing the topic, "So, is younger brother sleeping in my room tonight?"
"Me?" Lin Chen paused for a moment. Sleeping with his brother wouldn't have been a problem when they were kids. Even if his brother were a tall and burly man, it still wouldn’t be an issue.
But the problem was that he, the younger brother, was the tall and burly man. And not only that, he was the type of guy who had hardly ever interacted with girls. Now he was supposed to share a bed with a brother who not only looked like a school beauty but also had a good figure?
Hey, hey, hey! Brother, are you trying to mess with your little brother's orientation or what?
"Your room is pretty empty, why don't Lin Chen sleep on a mattress on the floor? He’s strong, so he won't get cold" Mom said. Given that Lin Jin and Lin Chen used to share a bed when they were younger, she didn't think too much about it. She yawned, "I'll go make dinner, you guys go hang out for a bit."
"Sure."
Although Lin Jin initially planned to prepare a lavish feast for mom, he had to rush out to pick her up, leaving a pile of ingredients untouched in the kitchen.
As mom entered the kitchen, dad, who was visibly uneasy, looked toward Lin Jin with pleading eyes. He looked as pitiful as an abandoned puppy.
It was the first time Lin Jin had seen dad with such an expression.
Lin Jin shrugged, pointed toward the kitchen, and shrugged again, as if to say he couldn't do anything about it. Dad should take the initiative to help in the kitchen.
His father furrowed his brows in confusion. He didn't have a good tacit understanding with Lin Jin. Following Lin Jin's gesture towards the kitchen, he hesitated, thinking perhaps Lin Jin meant he should go and have a good talk with their mother. After pausing for a moment, dad walked briskly into the kitchen.
Lin Jin caught a glimpse of Dad's retreating figure, turned around, and went into his own bedroom. He locked the door out of habit and then saw Lin Chen, who was staring at him with a puzzled look.
"What's up?" Lin Jin sat down on the bed, stretched lazily, and turned his head towards Lin Chen, who was sitting next to him. "Why are you looking at me so strangely?"
"Am I?" Lin Chen sat there stiffly, his back straight. Although he wore a smile on his face, the awkward atmosphere was palpable.
"Why is your face red, then?" Lin Jin seemed to have discovered a new continent. He leaned his face closer to Lin Chen's, stared at him with wide eyes, and said, "Look at you, your face is as red as a monkey's butt."
"No, I'm not." Lin Chen awkwardly turned his head away.
"Really!" Lin Jin thought Lin Chen might not have realized it himself, so he leaned in again, half of his body pressed against Lin Chen. He pressed his hand against Lin Chen's forehead, muttering to himself, "Did you get a fever on the bullet train? Your face shouldn't be this red, right?"
"And it feels like you’re burning up." Lin Jin placed the back of his hand on Lin Chen's forehead. "Your forehead is also hot."
"I don’t have a fever" Lin Chen said, clearly uncomfortable. He glanced down quickly at his slightly elevated 'thing' swallowed hard, and hurriedly stood up to walk towards the wardrobe. Facing away from Lin Jin, he crouched down and asked, "Where are the straw mats and blankets? I'm going to sleep on the floor tonight."
"Why? What's the point of sleeping on the floor?" Lin Jin glanced at the bed under his butt, hesitated for a moment, and immediately backpedaled, "Actually, you should sleep on the floor! You're so tall, both of us sleeping on this bed...you might get kicked off by me in the middle of the night."
As the older brother, Lin Jin has always been very assertive when sleeping since young. According to their mom, when Lin Chen was just born, Lin Jin was already a year old. At that time, both were sleeping on the bed while mom was cooking. A few minutes after she left, Lin Chen got kicked off the bed by Lin Jin.
The same happened when they were five or six years old. They always slept together, and if the bed wasn't big enough, Lin Chen was usually the one who got kicked off.
"Exactly, your bed is so small." Lin Chen breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, his older brother didn't insist on sharing the bed, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sleep all night.
"By the way, Lin Chen" Lin Jin walked over to him. The conversation just now made Lin Jin feel that Lin Chen probably wasn't running a fever. "You're not..."
"shy around me, are you?"
