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

The next morning, Zhou Zhiyuan arrived as soon as the supply and marketing cooperative opened.

The bicycle was parked at the door, its wheels still covered in mud, clearly indicating that it had just returned from the county.

Lin Xiuhe was organizing newly received materials when she saw him come in. She put down the book she was holding and asked, "Has something happened again?"

Zhou Zhiyuan placed a brown paper bag on the table: "Take a look."

The paper bag was thin, and it contained only a few pages of material.

Lin Xiuhe pulled it out.

Page 1: Registration records from the county high school archives.

Page two, the materials used to file the complaint.

Page 3, Investigation Acceptance Form.

The report contained only four words: identity fraud.

The sound of turning pages filled the warehouse, one after another.

The whistleblower's name field was left blank, clearly indicating they did not want to appear in public.

The report was very detailed—from her work at the supply and marketing cooperative to selling used books, to registering for the college entrance examination, and even where she lived.

"It's someone I know." Lin Xiuhe put down the materials.

Zhou Zhiyuan nodded: "And it's very close to you."

Outside the window, someone rode by on a bicycle, the bell rang twice, and then they quickly disappeared into the distance.

"How will the county high school handle this?"

"It's not being processed yet." Zhou Zhiyuan pulled another receipt from the paper bag. "Because there are no problems with the personnel file, household registration, age, or employment relationship, we're putting it on hold for now."

Lin Xiuhe turned the receipt over.

At the bottom is the official seal of the county middle school's academic affairs office, a bright red one.

She put the materials back into the paper bag: "This time it's not Lin Weidong."

Zhou Zhiyuan looked up: "Why?"

"He can't write it."

Although the whistleblower letter was anonymous, it was logically sound and even knew where to send it.

Lin Weidong doesn't have that ability yet—at least not now.

"That's what I thought too." Zhou Zhiyuan put the paper bag away. "So I looked into it."

"What did you find?"

"Someone went to the county high school yesterday."

Lin Xiuhe immediately suppressed the thought, looking at Zhou Zhiyuan, waiting for him to continue.

"Who is it?"

Zhou Zhiyuan took a registration form out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

Visitor registration.

Name: Lin Jianguo.

Time: Yesterday afternoon.

Lin Xiuhe didn't pick up the paper; her gaze remained fixed on the name.

The day before yesterday, I applied to cancel my college entrance examination registration.

Yesterday, I reported someone for identity fraud.

The movements continued one after another without stopping.

"What did the people from the county high school say?"

"They said," Zhou Zhiyuan folded the registration form, "that your father came twice. Once to withdraw his registration, and once to report a problem with his identity. He also asked one question."

"What did you say?"

"What are the procedures if a candidate voluntarily gives up the college entrance examination?"

Outside the warehouse, the wind blew old newspapers up and then they fell back to the ground.

Lin Xiuhe stood there, suddenly recalling many things from her past life.

Every time, Lin Jianguo stood at the back. He didn't argue or make a fuss. But when it mattered most, he always handed over the knife with perfect precision.

Just then, the warehouse door was suddenly pushed open.

Zhao Xiaomei ran in, holding an exercise book in her hand: "Sister Xiuhe!"

She had barely uttered the call when she realized the atmosphere was off, and stopped at the doorway: "Did I come at the wrong time?"

Lin Xiuhe took the workbook and turned to the first page.

The page was full of math problems: "Which one don't you know how to do?"

Zhao Xiaomei pointed to the last question: "Here."

Lin Xiuhe picked up a pencil and wrote down the first step, the second step, and the third step on the draft paper.

The answer came out not long after.

Zhao Xiaomei leaned over the table, her eyes lighting up as she looked: "So that's how it can be solved!"

The atmosphere in the warehouse finally eased up a bit.

Zhou Zhiyuan leaned against the bookshelf, looking at the two of them, and suddenly said, "The county will organize a mock exam next week."

Zhao Xiaomei immediately looked up: "Really?"

"Yes. The rankings will be the same across the entire county and will be published."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Xiaomei's smile faded, and she was clearly starting to get nervous.

Lin Xiuhe closed the workbook and handed it back: "What are you afraid of? You'll know how bad you are after one test."

Zhao Xiaomei took the notebook and nodded vigorously.

But just as she finished counting, she remembered something: "Oh right, I went to the post office today and overheard two people talking. They said the Lin family has been inquiring about the college entrance exam lately."

"What do you want to know?"

"It sounds like a question," Zhao Xiaomei tried to recall, "If a candidate doesn't take the exam, can they give their spot to someone else?"

"Smack."

The pencil in Lin Xiuhe's hand broke in two. One half fell onto the table, and the other half rolled to the ground.

Nobody picked it up.

Zhou Zhiyuan unfolded the visitor registration form again; the edges of the paper were already somewhat wrinkled.

At the very bottom, there is a note.

He didn't have a chance to say it yesterday, but now he finally sees it clearly.

Note: The applicant requests that the examination admission ticket be collected on their behalf.

**********

The pencil rolled to the edge of the table, fell to the floor, and made a soft sound.

No one went to pick it up from the warehouse.

Zhao Xiaomei stood there, clutching her workbook. She didn't know what had happened, but she could sense that something was wrong.

Zhou Zhiyuan pushed the registration form over: "Look at the last line."

Lin Xiuhe accepted it.

The paper had softened, as if it had been turned over many times.

The remarks section contained only eight characters: "Request to collect college entrance examination admission ticket on behalf of someone else".

The warehouse window was half open, and the wind blew in, lifting a corner of the draft papers on the table.

Zhao Xiaomei leaned closer for a look, and the color drained from her face: "Can someone else collect it for you?"

"Normally, no." Zhou Zhiyuan took the registration form back. "That's why the county high school didn't agree. But he asked."

Lin Xiuhe capped her pen and placed it on the corner of the table: "When will the exam admission tickets be issued?"

"next month."

"Where to pick it up?"

"County Middle School".

"To be collected by myself?"

"In principle, yes." Zhou Zhiyuan answered quickly, clearly having asked beforehand.

Lin Xiuhe nodded and rearranged the exercise books on the table, stacking them one on top of the other into a small mountain.

In her past life, she always felt that Wang Xiulan was the most biased.

It was only later that we realized that Wang Xiulan was always at the forefront of many things.

The person who truly decided the direction was Lin Jianguo.

Work, salary, college entrance exam—his influence is present in every step.

Holding her book, Zhao Xiaomei finally managed to stammer out, "Why is he like this?"

Lin Xiuhe put the last document back on the shelf: "Because he thinks he's right."

"Is this correct?"

"In his eyes, his son was more important than his daughter. The family could only support one person to move up in the social ladder, and that person wasn't me."

Outside the warehouse, the sound of a bicycle bell rang and then gradually faded into the distance.

Zhao Xiaomei looked down at the exercise book in her arms and suddenly remembered her father—the man who was preparing to marry her off for the sake of the bride price.

Two courtyards, two households, but they were doing the same thing: pulling their daughter back home.

Just then, Li Hongmei rushed in.

"Xiuhe! The director wants to see you!"

"What is it?"

"The county high school called and wants you to come over."

The three people in the warehouse looked up at the same time.

Zhou Zhiyuan straightened up first: "When?"

"The call just ended."

Zhao Xiaomei clutched her workbook tightly: "Is something going to happen again?"

No one answered this question.

Because nobody knows.

Half an hour later, at the county middle school.

In the academic affairs office, a middle-aged man wearing glasses is flipping through files.

There was a thick stack of application materials on the table, and the one on top was Lin Xiuhe's.

"Comrade Lin Xiuhe?"

"it's me."

The man nodded and pushed the file over: "Take a look first."

Lin Xiuhe opened it.

Page 1: Application form. Page 2: Household registration certificate. Page 3: Employment certificate from the supply and marketing cooperative. All are fine.

She continued flipping through the pages.

On the fourth page, an extra sheet of paper suddenly appeared. The paper was a noticeably different color, as if it had been inserted later.

The top part reads: Explanation of the situation.

Signed: Lin Jianguo.

Lin Xiuhe continued reading.

The handwriting became increasingly familiar, but the content was laughable.

The notice stated: Lin Xiuhe is mentally unstable, has a poor relationship with her family, and has been engaged in speculative activities for a long time. She is not suitable to participate in the college entrance examination and it is recommended that her registration be cancelled.

Every sentence seemed to have been dug out of the mud, both dirty and absurd.

In the office, the scratching sound of a pen gliding across paper was particularly clear.

The middle-aged man took off his glasses and wiped them with a cloth: "Your father came the day before yesterday, yesterday, and again this morning. It's always the same thing."

Lin Xiuhe placed the statement back in the file, pressing the edges neatly: "What will the school do about it?"

The man smiled, took another document from the drawer, and placed it on the table—the detailed rules for the resumption of the college entrance examination.

Turn to one of the pages and point it out to her.

"Adult candidates have the right to register independently. No organization or individual may interfere, including parents."

In the office, sunlight streamed through the window and fell on the paper, making the red official seal stand out clearly.

Lin Xiuhe glanced at it for two seconds, then pushed the document back: "Thank you."

The man waved his hand: "Don't thank me, thank the policy."

After he finished speaking, he put the file back in its place and added, "But there's something else."

"What is it?"

The man pulled a receipt from the file folder and placed it in front of her: "It's best to come early when the exam admission tickets are distributed."

Why?

"Because your father came to ask for the third time this morning."

Outside the window, the school bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class.

Students poured out of the classrooms, their laughter and chatter mingling together like a gust of wind that swept across the entire campus.

On the desk, someone had already signed the receipt at the very bottom.

Lin Jianguo.