153 Trivial Matters

Lin Miao’er was naturally clever and understood the meaning behind Lin Xia’s words. If she were truly a lion, would she be so noble as not to prey on antelopes? That was doubtful. Seeing her look half-understanding, Lin Xia gently patted her head.

In Buddhist terms, she was born with a sharp wit. Yet, as the saying goes, great wisdom often comes with great suffering. Since birth, the little girl’s health had been frail, with illness a frequent visitor, keeping her bedridden much of the time. It was only in recent years, as she grew older, that she had improved somewhat.

Lin Hui had been quite annoyed lately. Ever since moving here, the ugly little girl next door kept dropping by every now and then to bother his sister. The two would be locked away in the study, whispering back and forth. It had deprived him of the little gaming time he had left, although his sister had always limited his playtime. Every time that little girl came over, she carried a thick stack of reference books, claiming she had questions for his sister.

Hmph. Lin Hui knew his sister’s intelligence well enough. He also knew what that little girl was up to.

Whenever she came by, it was either their mother scolding him or his sister telling him to study hard. Thinking of this, Lin Hui glanced at the little brat hunched over her homework across the desk and scratched his head in irritation.

Noticing his gaze, Lin Miao’er looked up at him.

“Hey, don’t you have a home of your own? Why do you always come to mine? It’s so annoying.” Lin Hui grumbled. He should have been in the living room watching “Fire Hidden Ninja” but was now forced to do homework in the study, sitting face to face with this little pest. He really wondered why they even moved.

If only they hadn’t moved, he could still be playing soccer with his friends near his dad’s shop. He didn’t know what they were up to now, probably goofing around on the school playground. Unlike him, stuck with this miserable fate. Lin Hui sighed helplessly and reluctantly picked up his pen to write.

Knowing what was bothering Lin Hui, Lin Miao’er smirked to herself. Hmph. Let him scold me. If this semester he manages to watch cartoons, I’ll take his surname.

She forgot, at that moment, that Lin Hui’s surname was also Lin.

After writing a few more words, Lin Miao’er couldn’t help but glance at Lin Hui again. Girls generally mature earlier than boys, especially at their age.

Since Lin Hui had just transferred, many girls whispered excitedly in secret, and she had even joined in a few times.

“Wow, the new transfer student in Class 11 is so handsome, have you noticed?”

“Yeah, I heard his name is Lin Hui.”

“Did you hear? The class beauty from Class 6 wrote him a letter yesterday, but apparently he didn’t even look at it. He just threw it in the trash and called her ugly!” another girl said with a gleeful grin.

“Yes! And she always talks badly about our Miao’er behind her back,” one of Lin Miao’er’s friends nudged her and smiled. “Now you’ve got your revenge. That girl was absent today.”

Thinking of how Lin Hui called her an “ugly freak,” Lin Miao’er imagined how the Class 6 beauty must have been treated.

This made her curious about Lin Hui’s feelings.

At least he only scolded me at home, not in front of others. If he did that in front of so many people, it would be a huge embarrassment.

And he said I had Sister Xia Xia helping me, which made me luckier than that Class 6 girl.

People are strange that way. When you pity yourself and think you have it bad, someone else’s misfortune can instantly heal you.

There’s a famous saying: If you have something unhappy, say it out loud to make others happy.

Lin Miao’er’s mood lightened considerably. She whispered mysteriously, “Isn’t Lin Hui only a first-year? The girl from Class 6 is a third-year. How could she write him a letter?”

The girl beside her rolled her eyes. “You don’t get it. There’s a popular term now: ‘sister-brother romance.’ Besides, Liu Yan said age isn’t a problem, height isn’t a gap, even gender isn’t an issue—so what’s two years between them?”

Lin Hui, still doing his homework, felt the gaze fixed on him and looked up to see Lin Miao’er staring. He curled his lips disdainfully. “Ugly freak, why are you always staring at me?”

Lin Miao’er frowned. “Can’t you speak properly?”

Lin Hui tossed his pen aside, crossing his arms with a cold sneer. “Why should I speak nicely to girls like you who always cling to me?”

Since moving to Rongcheng, girls kept writing letters to him. If he spoke harshly, they’d tear up like he was bullying them. It was exhausting.

Since his sister bullied him and he couldn’t fight back, Lin Hui vented his anger on these clingy girls. Why bother being kind to them?

His harsh voice was like a swarm of flies. If he spoke kindly, that would be unbearable.

Knock, knock, knock—

Both turned their heads as Lin Xia smiled, “You’ve been writing for half an hour. Do you want something to drink? Juice, maybe?”

“I want orange juice,” Lin Hui quickly said. His sister’s freshly squeezed juice was rare and precious.

“What about you, little kitty?”

“I’ll have lemon juice, thank you, Sister Xia Xia,” Lin Miao’er said sweetly, her round eyes squinting like crescent moons, utterly adorable.

Lin Xia smiled, “Ah Hui, you better thank the kitty. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have bothered squeezing juice for you. Alright, you two carry on. I have to get busy.”

With that, she gently closed the study door and went to the kitchen.

Lin Hui shot Lin Miao’er a glare. “Why are you staring at me?”

Lin Miao’er pressed her lips, silently telling herself not to argue. Damn it!

“My cousin who studies in the high school told me Sister Xia Xia did really well on the exam. Not only did she snag first place in the whole class, but she also ranked within the top 100 in the entire school, making their homeroom teacher ecstatic.”

Lin Miao’er’s cousin happened to be in the same class as Lin Xia and praised the dark horse repeatedly. It was only after hearing this many times that Lin Miao’er’s mother allowed her to often come over and learn from Lin Xia.

Lin Hui propped his arms behind his head. His casual posture gave off an indescribable ease, and combined with his naturally handsome and mischievous face, it distracted Lin Miao’er for a moment.

“I thought you’d say something important, but that’s it.” He jumped up from his chair, stretched his neck and limbs. “Looks like big sis is slipping—just barely made the top 100. And you’re so eager to brag about it? Didn’t you notice she didn’t say anything?”

Lin Miao’er, who looked up to Lin Xia the most, retorted angrily, “You don’t know anything! Talent is abundant at Dinghai High, and making the top 100 is incredibly difficult. This score could rank citywide. Hmph, judging by you, your grades must be terrible, yet you dare insult Sister Xia Xia.”

Lin Hui sneered, about to fire back, when the door opened. Lin Xia entered carrying a tray with three cups of freshly squeezed juice and some cakes.

“What are you two chatting about? You’re so lively you even stood up.”

Lin Miao’er immediately tattled, “Sister Xia Xia, he said your grades aren’t good, only top 100 in the school.”

Lin Xia had ranked eighty-eighth in the entire school, the only student from a parallel class to break into the top 100, stunning teachers and students alike.

Due to the rotating system in experimental classes, where students are evaluated after each major exam to determine if they stay, the top 100 spots were always taken by the two experimental classes totaling 120 students.

Lin Xia was the first transfer from a parallel class to shatter this record, bringing pride and curiosity.

Who says parallel classes don’t have talent?

Lin Xia was like a star foreign player in a football match—a historic shot!

“Oh, so that’s it,” Lin Xia smiled, placing the tray on the glass coffee table. “Ah Hui’s right, I didn’t do well this time. I’ll try harder next time to break into the top 50.”

Lin Hui glanced at Lin Miao’er, grabbed the orange juice, took a sip, and glanced disdainfully at the cakes. “Sis, I’m going to watch some TV.”

With that, he dashed out.

“Hey—” Lin Xia had yet to finish speaking before he disappeared. “That guy…”

She turned to Lin Miao’er with a smile, “He doesn’t like sweets. Don’t mind him, you eat.”

Lin Miao’er took a cake from Lin Xia and realized why someone had secretly slipped sweets into his drawer before, only for him to throw them to his deskmate.

Seeing Lin Miao’er staring without blinking, Lin Xia quickly asked, “What’s wrong? You don’t like these either?”

Lin Miao’er shook her head. “They’re delicious.”

Then she added, “Sister Xia Xia, you’re really amazing—can cook, make juice, bake cakes, and have such good grades. You’re really amazing—”

“...” To hide a trace of awkwardness, Lin Xia lowered her gaze, holding her cup and juice.

She had grown used to praise over the years, almost numb to it, but looking into Lin Miao’er’s clear, innocent eyes made her suddenly nervous.

Ahem, if it weren’t for living this hard life again, what would I be talented at?

Please don’t look at me with such admiration—it puts a lot of pressure on your big sister.

Lin Miao’er paid no attention to Lin Xia’s expression. Thinking of her earlier bold claim that Lin Hui wouldn’t get to watch cartoons this semester, she quickly stuffed the cake into her mouth.

“Sister Xia Xia, I’m going to watch some TV now.”

With that, she slipped out of the study like Lin Hui.

Lin Xia truly had no idea about the little girl’s thoughts; she had long since passed that awkward age.

Two weeks had passed since Lin Xia adapted to her new school.

Today, Lin Xia packed up and took the bus toward the company where Chen Qing worked. This was the time Chen Qing had agreed upon.

Standing at the foot of the building, she looked up at the towering skyscraper piercing the sky, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.