Oh no, the aloof school beauty has been reborn too!

Lu Xing sat at his desk, staring at the feedback log on the screen.

He marked the questions one by one and then put them into a temporary document with Zhao Lin.

After the winter break, user growth was even faster than they had anticipated.

After all, some people might develop a strange mentality when they're on vacation.

During class, I can casually tap the game a couple of times.

When holidays actually arrive, sometimes it feels like a hassle.

Especially during periods like winter break...

Various activities, check-ins, and limited-time tasks are all piled up together, and they are extremely repetitive.

Players' suffering increased almost visibly, and as a result, tool downloads skyrocketed.

For the past two weeks, Lu Xing has spent several hours each day maintaining the tools online with Zhao Lin.

Apart from that, life was very peaceful.

Liu Chunmei's small supermarket was busy for a while before the Lunar New Year, and Lu Xing would occasionally go over to help move goods and watch the store.

Lu Ningning soon started her winter vacation and spent her days bickering with him at home.

She would occasionally draw cartoon figures secretly, and when Lu Xing accidentally discovered them, she would try her best to hide it.

Every night, Lu Xing would secretly call Shen Qingyi.

Later, the sound of the keyboard was gradually drowned out by the dense sound of firecrackers.

The festive atmosphere in Nanhe is very direct.

Rows of red lanterns hung along the street, and gift boxes and firecrackers were piled up in front of the small supermarket.

Occasionally, a child would cover their ears and run past on the roadside, followed by a series of crackling sounds.

The winter break felt like it was fast-forwarded.

In the blink of an eye, it's New Year's Eve.

……

On New Year's Eve, the Lu family's living room was filled with warmth.

The Spring Festival Gala was playing on TV, and the hosts' voices mingled with the sounds of firecrackers outside the window, creating a particularly lively atmosphere.

The coffee table was piled high with melon seeds, peanuts, and tangerines, with a plate of freshly washed apples next to it.

Lu Shoucheng, unusually, poured himself a small cup of baijiu (Chinese liquor) and sat in a corner of the sofa, slowly sipping it.

Liu Chunmei was frying meatballs, and the sizzling sound of frying oil came from the kitchen.

The hot oil bubbled and sizzled, and the aroma of meat wafted into the living room.

She kept nagging even as she worked.

"Lu Xing, don't just sit there. Come and serve the dishes when they're ready."

"And Lu Ningning, eat less oranges, or you won't be able to eat dinner later."

Lu Ningning was peeling a tangerine when she heard this and paused.

She silently popped the orange into her mouth, then mumbled:

"I could eat a pound of that and still have a decent appetite!"

Liu Chunmei gave a cold laugh in the kitchen.

"How did I, all of me, end up giving birth to such a pig like you?"

Lu Ningning: "..."

Lu Xing, sitting next to him, couldn't help but chuckle.

Lu Ningning was so angry that she threw the orange peel into the trash can.

She snorted, hugged the apple, sat down on the other side of the sofa, and took a bite.

The stage lights on the TV screen just happened to cut to a landscape background.

Layers of verdant green unfold, with distant mountains, clouds, pavilions, and birds all slowly flowing within the lights and large screen.

Lu Ningning watched for a while, then gradually stopped.

She stared intently at the stage, her eyes unblinking.

Lu Xing turned his head and glanced at her.

In her previous life, her younger sister did not choose the path of art exams due to her family's financial situation.

But the things I couldn't learn when I was a child, I gradually picked up again as I grew up.

Lu Ningning is a very capable child.

But if she were given better conditions and a better environment...

Lu Xing shifted his position and sat down next to Lu Ningning.

The sofa sank slightly.

Lu Ningning snapped out of her daze and glanced at him.

"what?"

Lu Xing looked in her direction and gazed at the television.

"Didn't you say you liked drawing when you were little?"

Lu Ningning was taken aback.

"what?"

Lu Xing turned to look at her.

Do you still like it?

Lu Ningning opened her mouth.

She didn't expect Lu Xing to ask this question suddenly.

The song and dance performances on TV continued, and the green landscape on the stage resembled a breathing scroll.

Lu Ningning stared at the screen for a few seconds.

Then, she smiled and shook her head.

"I don't like it."

Lu Xing's gaze paused for a moment.

Why?

Lu Ningning looked down at the apple in her hand; the part she had just bitten into had oxidized and turned yellow.

After a while, she glanced at Lu Shoucheng not far away and whispered:

"For no reason..."

Lu Ningning looked up at the stage on the TV again.

"It must cost a lot of money to learn to draw, right?"

"You need to buy tools, sign up for classes and stuff."

"and……"

She paused.

"I can't guarantee that I can really learn it."

Lu Xing looked at her.

Lu Ningning was afraid he would laugh at her, so she spoke a little faster.

"It's not like I haven't looked it up online."

"There are many people online who are very good at drawing, but they don't seem to earn much money."

"Some people say that learning this kind of art is extremely expensive, and ordinary families... are better off not getting involved."

She lowered her head and took a bite of the apple, her voice muffled.

The living room was quiet for a moment.

Lu Shoucheng sat not far away, still watching TV, but he drank a little slower.

Lu Xing smiled.

Lu Ningning immediately looked at him warily.

"What are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing at you for thinking so much at such a young age."

As Lu Xing spoke, he reached out and ruffled her hair a few times.

Lu Ningning instantly bristled.

"My hair!"

"Stop ruffling my hair!"

Lu Xing withdrew his hand, his expression much more serious than usual.

"Lu Ningning".

Lu Ningning originally wanted to glare at him.

But seeing his expression, she subconsciously swallowed her words back.

Lu Xing looked at her and slowly said:

"You'll only know if you can learn it after you've tried."

"You'll only know if something will succeed once you try it."

"If you stop here just because of one or two ideas, you won't even have the right to fail."

Lu Ningning was stunned.

Lu Xing continued:

"Many things cannot be calculated clearly from the beginning."

"If you really like it, give it a try first."

"If you try it and find it doesn't suit you, that's okay."

"At least when I think back on it, I won't feel like I gave up because I was afraid."

Lu Ningning opened her mouth, as if to refute something.

But when the words were on the tip of my tongue, I didn't know how to say them.

In the end, he could only pout and mutter under his breath:

"They can spout grand principles so easily..."

"But, well, it costs money anyway."

Lu Xing glanced at the kitchen.

Liu Chunmei was scooping out the fried meatballs and didn't notice them.

He moved closer to Lu Ningning and lowered his voice to say:

"If you really want to learn, then go ahead and learn with confidence."

I will cover the costs.

Lu Ningning suddenly looked up at him.

Her first reaction wasn't happiness, but rather a look of suspicion.

"Brother, don't you have any concept of money?"

Lu Xing: "..."

Lu Ningning frowned and began to do the accounting in a serious manner.

"I've already checked."

"Learning to draw is expensive, classes are expensive, and if you go for the art exam, it will be even more expensive."

As she spoke, she became deflated again.

"Besides, you also have to pay for college, don't you?"

"You...you need to spend money to date, right...?"

Lu Xing remained silent for a moment.

Looking at the young girl in front of him, who was not very old but had already learned to plan, he felt a little uncomfortable.

When I was in junior high school, I never thought about these things.

Thinking about it this way, my younger sister really is a sweet and caring daughter.

Hmm... this cotton-padded coat is a little drafty sometimes?

Lu Xing smiled helplessly.

"Stop watching that junk stuff."

Lu Ningning blinked.

"what?"

"Many things said online sound like experience, but they are actually just other people's emotions after failure."

Lu Xing looked at the television and slowly said:

"You can't discern whether the underlying message of each statement is correct."

"You can refer to it, but don't believe it entirely."

Lu Ningning was silent for a few seconds, then whispered:

"But it really costs a lot of money."

Lu Xing nodded.

"I know."

That's why I said I'd take responsibility.

Lu Ningning still didn't believe it.

"Where did you get the money?"

Aren't they still students?

Lu Xing thought for a moment.

"I made some extra money, and it's hard to explain the rest in a short time."

Lu Ningning's gaze towards him suddenly became even more complicated.

Although she didn't quite understand, she had indeed seen Lu Xing sitting in front of the computer busy every day during this period.

Lu Xing looked at her and softened his tone.

"Don't worry about anything, it's all legal, your brother won't get locked up."

"If you really want to learn, I'll help you find some reliable foundational courses after the semester starts."

"You give it a try first."

"If we can persevere, we can talk about the rest later."

Lu Ningning gripped the apple tightly, her voice very soft.

"What if I don't do well in school?"

Lu Xing shook his head and chuckled.

"If you can't learn it well, then you can't learn it well."

"It's not like only geniuses are allowed to hold a pen in the whole world."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ningning slowly raised her head to look at him.

Lu Xing leaned back on the sofa, looking languid.

"If you really succeed in your studies in the future, just remember to send me a painting."

Lu Ningning was stunned for a long time.

Then, she turned her face away and looked at the TV.

"Dream on."

Lu Xing raised an eyebrow.

"I'll provide the money, you provide the painting, that makes perfect sense, right?"

"That makes sense, then I'll draw an ugly picture of you."

"That works too."

"Hang it in your room."

"sure."

Lu Ningning finally couldn't help but look at him again.

"Brother, why are you being so agreeable today?"

Lu Xing paused for a moment, and the image of the guitar he had smashed when he was a child flashed through his mind.

Before he could answer, Liu Chunmei called out from the kitchen.

"Land journey!"

"Don't just sit there, come and serve the dishes!"

Lu Xing immediately stood up.

"They're here!"

He took two steps, then turned back to look at his sister.

"Don't think too far ahead, just focus on maintaining your grades at school."

"If you really want to learn to draw in the future, just go for it."

After saying that, he turned and ran to the kitchen.

"Mom, I'm here!"

Liu Chunmei's voice came from the kitchen.

"Ouch, why are you so reckless? Watch out, it'll burn you!"

Another string of firecrackers rang out outside the window.

Lu Ningning sat on the sofa, looking towards the kitchen, her fingers gradually clenching.

After my older brother went to university, he seemed to have completely changed into a different person...

Is it because of Shen Qingyi?