Chapter Eight: Reinforcements

Jin Xin burst through the door with his usual vigor, parking his mountain bike haphazardly in the courtyard before bounding into the living room. Tall and broad-shouldered, he wore a simple short-sleeved shirt and long pants. His thick eyebrows and large, bright eyes framed a square, sunny face brimming with cheerful greetings. “Aunt, Uncle!”

“Where’s my sister?”

“She’s upstairs, working hard at her studies. Keep your voice down when you go up!” Xu Meifeng pointed out the direction, her tone tinged with worry as she reminded him.

“Got it!” Jin Xin’s words barely landed before his feet did; by the time those downstairs heard the tail end of his sentence, he was already thundering up to the second floor and turning onto the third, his figure vanishing from sight.

“Such a big kid, nearly grown, and still so restless!” Xu Meifeng let out a sigh. “If he startles Tong Tong, I’ll deal with him myself!” All height and no sense!

“Our Jin Xin has a great temperament—big boys are all like this!” Jin Yu defended his nephew, blood ties endearing him further. “Ever since they were children, no matter how much Jin Xin liked something, if Tong Tong showed an interest, he’d share it with her. Didn’t need to be taught—so generous!”

Naturally, one’s own children always seem flawless. Her nephew was generous and honest, sunny and hearty, sturdy and never spoiled—much more reassuring than her own difficult daughter.

...

“Little girl, working so hard?” Jin Xin came up behind Wu Tong and patted her shoulder. He’d been watching her for a while—she hadn’t moved at all. Was she really so absorbed? No one knew his sister better than he did; he was intimately familiar with her usual tricks. Was this just an act?

“Big brother, you’re back!” Wu Tong was still immersed in her deep study, her mind tangled in problem-solving, so her reply was slow, almost reflexive.

That morning, she’d conquered the fifth mandatory module of her junior year, then spent the latter half of the day reviewing a slew of problems to test her mastery. In the blink of an eye, the morning had slipped away, and her brother was home from school.

After days of diligent practice, she could now maintain focus without the aid of the Insight Stele, staying in a concentrated state for quite some time. Even with her consciousness disconnected from the stele, she could sustain a period of intensive learning.

...

“Are you after something? Aunt and Uncle won’t agree to buy it for you?” Jin Xin’s first instinct was suspicion. Aunt always demanded progress before granting any out-of-the-ordinary requests.

He folded his arms, leaning against the desk, glancing at the door before lowering his voice conspiratorially, “Want me to sponsor you? I’ve got some pocket money I can front you.”

He had only one sister, and as her brother, it was his duty to be her knight. This was his moment to shine. This year, he was a senior—the toughest, most grueling year. Internet cafes, gaming consoles, all manner of entertainment were now out of bounds for a senior dog like him; his pocket money sat unused.

“I just want to study hard!” Wu Tong snapped out of her reverie, teasing Jin Xin for encouragement. “Brother, you have to work hard too—who knows, maybe we’ll take the college entrance exam together!” If all went well, she hoped to sit the exam a year early, right alongside Jin Xin.

“Little girl’s getting bold—ambitious, I like it! Come and catch up to me, maybe we’ll even end up at the same university. I’ll look out for you, just like always!” Jin Xin ruffled Wu Tong’s hair. He had no idea that, in the future, his words would prove prophetic.

He opened his drawer and pulled out six crisp bills, handing them to Wu Tong. “Take these, and when I save up more, I’ll give you extra.”

He’d splurged during the rare summer vacation, celebrating the impending hardships of his senior year, and had burned through most of his little stash. Now, he felt a bit embarrassed.

If only he’d known he’d need to help Tong Tong, he’d have spent more cautiously.

With electronic gadgets becoming ever more abundant, from MP3s and MP4s to the latest smartphones, everyone was gradually upgrading. Tong Tong surely wanted one too, but Aunt was strict and likely hadn’t agreed to buy it, nor allowed her parents to. Maybe, if he saved up through the year, he could gift her a phone?

“Alright, brother. I want to start self-studying the second and third-year courses. Can you make me a list of the study materials you’ve used? I want to get prepared ahead of time!” Wu Tong accepted Jin Xin’s offering without hesitation, planning to gather study guides for both herself and her brother.

Once she mastered the content for the junior and senior years, she would use a sea of practice problems to boost her brother’s grades!

Thanks to the family planning policy, their families had only the two of them—no siblings above or below. Wu Tong and Jin Xin were two years apart, not because there were others in the family, but because Jin Xin had always wanted to be the big brother as a child, prompting Wu Tong to insist on calling him “little brother.” The habit stuck and was never changed.

...

In the future memories she possessed, her brother had worked hard in his senior year, but his methods were flawed, leading to a vicious cycle. In the end, his college entrance exam performance was disappointing, and he only managed to get into a third-tier university—he didn’t repeat the year. The blow from failing the exam hit him hard; compounded by his lack of understanding of university life, he chose a disastrous major, which led him into years of gloom. He eventually returned, weathered and weary, to take over his uncle’s business.

At that time, family misfortunes and her uncle’s failed investments, coupled with fierce market competition, had shrunk the business considerably. The family worked tirelessly, barely making ends meet. The setbacks in life and hardships had erased the sunshine from her brother’s face and the spark from his eyes.

Now that she’d glimpsed this opportunity, Wu Tong resolved to start from the root—help her brother find effective study methods, improve his grades, ace the college entrance exam, and start afresh from a higher point.

...

The siblings finished their discussion with laughter, settling all of Wu Tong’s requests. Downstairs, the call for lunch echoed up, reminding Jin Xin that his midday break lasted only an hour and a half—he needed to return to school before one-thirty. With time tight, he had to eat as soon as he got home.

Xu Meifeng, Jin Yu, and Grandma Jin had prepared a feast: cold beef salad, marinated chicken feet, pig’s ear in chili oil, cucumber and preserved egg salad—refreshing appetizers to whet the appetite. The main attraction was a heaping basin of poached fish, its broth clear and rich, the flesh tender and fresh. Wu Tong had two bowls, delighting everyone.

“I knew Tong Tong would love this!” Grandfather Jin Yongning was happier to see his granddaughter enjoying the meal than eating well himself, and he carefully picked out the belly meat for Wu Tong.

His precious eldest granddaughter loved fish but wasn’t adept at eating it; other parts had too many bones and were easy to choke on, but the belly had just one main bone—eaten slowly, there was no risk. Knowing she would visit, he had gone to the market early and chosen a big fish, which was easier to debone.