Reborn in 1977, I will no longer be my brother's blood bag.

Chapter 35 It's him again.

The only sound in the warehouse was the rustling of paper.

The application form lay on the table, its edges already curled, clearly having been handled many times.

Lin Xiuhe turned to the last page of the paper. The application contained only one line of text—

We request the cancellation of Lin Xiuhe's college entrance examination registration.

Reason: Family disagreement.

Applicant: Lin Jianguo.

The sound of bicycle bells echoed past the window, one after another. Inside the warehouse, however, grew increasingly quiet.

Zhou Zhiyuan pulled out another document and placed it aside: "Someone found this yesterday when the county high school was sorting out the files. They were going to return it according to procedure, but I happened to see it."

Lin Xiuhe laid the application form flat again. She had known that name on the paper for two lifetimes.

In his past life, Lin Jianguo rarely took action. More often than not, he sat there, letting Wang Xiulan do whatever she wanted. But the one who actually made the decisions was always him.

"When was it submitted?"

The day before yesterday.

The day before yesterday? That was around the time of the whistleblower letter.

Lin Xiuhe folded the application form, stuffed it into the envelope, and did so with steady movements.

Zhou Zhiyuan leaned against the bookshelf, watching her intently: "What are you planning to do?"

"Let's go ask first."

"Ask whom?"

"My dad."

Outside the warehouse, the wind blew the curtains, and sunlight was cut into pieces, falling on the old textbooks.

Zhou Zhiyuan didn't try to persuade him; he simply handed over another document: "The reply from the county middle school."

Lin Xiuhe took it. At the bottom was a red stamp, and the message was simple: Application not accepted. The resumption of the college entrance examination is a national policy; adult candidates have independent registration qualifications, and guardians have no right to cancel on their behalf.

After reading it, Lin Xiuhe put the letter back in the envelope: "Luckily, it didn't work."

"Um."

"What if it succeeds?"

Zhou Zhiyuan pulled a political textbook from the bookshelf and dusted it off: "Then re-enroll. If that doesn't work, I'll go to the county with you."

Lin Xiuhe frowned. She suppressed the thought—now was not the time to think about such things. Lin Jianguo was.

In the afternoon, as soon as the supply and marketing cooperative closed, Lin Xiuhe rode her bicycle directly back to the production team.

The gate to the courtyard was half-open. Piles of firewood, freshly collected, were stacked in the yard. Lin Jianguo squatted by the wall, repairing a hoe; the hammer struck the blade, making a clanging sound.

Hearing the bicycle stop, he looked up and stopped moving.

"Why are you back?"

Lin Xiuhe placed the envelope on the woodpile: "Did you write this?"

Lin Jianguo wiped his hands and took it. He put the hammer down after just one glance.

He neither denied nor explained; he simply folded the application form again and put it back in the envelope.

"I wrote it."

A rooster crowed in the yard. Wang Xiulan came out of the kitchen, saw the envelope, and her face changed instantly: "Old Lin!"

Lin Jianguo raised his hand, signaling her to be quiet. Wang Xiulan stood there, her lips moving several times, but in the end she held back.

"Why?" Lin Xiuhe asked.

Lin Jianguo propped the hoe against the wall before speaking: "You already have a job, but Weidong doesn't. You're going to university, what will you do about finding a job? We can't let this go to waste."

The wind was strong in the yard, making the corn husks under the eaves rustle.

Lin Xiuhe suddenly smiled.

So that's how it is, it's still work. We've come full circle, back to the supply and marketing cooperative.

"So, you're planning to make me give up the college entrance exam and give up my job?"

"Weidong is a boy," Wang Xiulan finally couldn't hold back anymore. "He'll have to support the family in the future. It's good enough that you have a job; what's wrong with letting him go to university?"

Lin Xiuhe bent down, picked up a piece of broken wood, twirled it in her palm, and then tossed it back into the woodpile.

"When I was registering for the college entrance exam, you asked me to give up my job to him. Now that I've successfully registered, you're asking me to give up my university. What about next time?"

No one responded to that sentence.

The wind blew through the yard, and the top log of the woodpile rolled down and landed on the ground.

"Where is Lin Weidong?" Lin Xiuhe suddenly asked.

Wang Xiulan immediately became alert: "What do you want with him?"

"Ask him if he knows about this."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door to the east room opened. Lin Weidong came out, holding a math book in his hand, clearly having been listening for quite some time.

"I know," he said, "and I think Dad is right."

The courtyard suddenly fell silent.

Lin Xiuhe turned around and looked at her younger brother.

In his past life, he was used to accepting everything—his sister's salary, her care, and the whole family's favoritism. Over time, he truly felt that those things were originally his.

"You want me to give up too?"

Lin Weidong closed the book: "You have a job, I don't. You've already won once, you have to leave a way out for others."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiuhe suddenly burst out laughing.

"Leave a way out for others? I got the job at the supply and marketing cooperative through my own exam, I registered for the college entrance exam myself, I collected the books myself, I earned the money myself—which of these things did you steal from me?"

No one spoke in the courtyard; only the sound of the wind could be heard.

Lin Weidong stood there, his math book growing increasingly wrinkled.

Lin Xiuhe took the envelope back and turned to walk out.

Just as she reached the courtyard gate, a voice suddenly came from behind her: "Lin Xiuhe!"

She stopped in her tracks.

"You'll know when the college entrance exam results come out."

"Know what?"

"Who is the most successful person in the Lin family?"

The sun was setting behind the mountains, turning half the sky red.

Lin Xiuhe pushed her bicycle without turning her head: "See you at the exam hall then."

The bicycle slowly drove out of the courtyard gate.

Unbeknownst to her, at that moment, staff members in the county high school archives were organizing registration materials.