They are still close to me today despite their negative feelings

"No, no, I'm really fine." Ning Ruoxin shook her head. "But, you study at Linwai School, right?"

"Oh, you're using the formal 'you' again! Hmm, I could tell from your school uniform, right?" the girl said with a smile. "My name is An Yu, I'm in Class F of Grade 1 at Linwai High School—if you catch that bad old man and settle scores, you can come to me and I can be your witness, okay?"

Class F, isn't that the same class as my brother? There are such pretty girls in my brother's class...

"Okay... but in that case... aren't you almost late?" Ning Ruoxin gently reminded her.

"Late? No, I don't think so. Although I do need to hurry, it's not that I'll be late—the school has recently switched to winter hours, you know?"

Um, so what exactly does my brother do every morning...?

Ning Ruoxin was puzzled.

……

It started raining heavily after school that day.

Although she only had a sliver of hope, Ning Ruoxin still sent a message.

Brother! I forgot my umbrella today. Could you pick me up on your way home?

There are club activities; you can find friends to share umbrellas with.

Just as she expected, the reply, which came half an hour later, was still a rejection.

She looked around; most of the people in the classroom had already left, and she wasn't very familiar with the few remaining.

With a soft sigh in her heart, Ning Ruoxin carried the bag on her head and ran to the store.

Sure enough, I was scolded by my mother when I got home.

"Oh dear, you're soaked to the bone! Why didn't you call me or your dad?"

"You guys have to go to work, right?" Ning Ruoxin said matter-of-factly while drying her hair, and Ning Ruoyu walked past her.

"Idiot." Ning Ruoyu glanced at her.

"How dare you talk to your sister like that! What kind of brother are you? Didn't I tell you to go and bring your sister an umbrella?" Mom was furious.

"I'm so busy with club activities! Please stop bothering me with these little things, okay? Forget it, you wouldn't understand anyway!"

*Snap.* The door slammed shut.

“…Ignore him, your brother is going through puberty.” Mom sighed.

"He's probably still angry that we won't let him move out, right? Getting up so early every morning must make him unhappy."

Ning Ruoxin glanced at the closed door, hummed in agreement, and nodded.

What is my brother doing every morning, going out so early?

This question remained buried in the girl's heart from that moment on.

Until that afternoon.

"Coming to deliver something? No, no, people from other schools can't just come in. You leave the things here and register them, then he can come and get them himself."

"But……"

"No buts. If we just let an outsider into the school and something happens, what will we do? Will you take responsibility for me?"

The older man still refused to back down.

Just as she was at her wit's end, a voice came from behind Ning Ruoxin.

"I...I'll go with her..."

"You mean... Oh, Guyin, you're still at school so late!"

Unlike before, the uncle now wore a fawning expression.

Ning Ruoxin turned around and saw a girl with long purple hair standing behind her.

The girl stood there in the sunset, her long hair cascading down, her doll-like face expressionless, her purplish-red eyes gazing at them with a clean and pure gaze.

Unlike the gentle temperament of the previous senior student, this was a pure and breathtaking beauty.

"Um...something came up...I'll be back later...I'll take her...in...that'll be fine..."

"...Of course, no problem." The uncle changed his attitude from before and smiled obsequiously, then waved to Ning Ruoxin, "Don't delay, go and come back quickly."

"Thank you!" Ning Ruoxin quickly bowed to the uncle, and then thanked the unfamiliar senior as well, "Thank you, senior!"

The senior student nodded and walked straight into the school without paying any further attention.

"It's nothing... I need to go find... the principal..."

"We can only... send you... to... someone we know..."

"Please... don't take offense..."

Although she spoke very softly, Ning Ruoxin still understood what the other person meant.

"It's okay, I can go by myself. I'm sorry to trouble you, senior."

"Is that so...? That's acceptable too..."

The girl nodded, her expression remaining blank.

"Um, my name is Ning Ruoxin. What's your name, senior?"

Walking down the street, Ning Ruoxin finally couldn't help but ask.

"Chu Guyin".

Ning Ruoxin silently memorized these three words.

"That's all for now... Class F is... upstairs..."

"Can one person... be okay?"

Ning Ruoxin nodded vigorously, "It's okay, thank you, senior!"

You're welcome... Goodbye...

The girl, who had a somewhat mysterious air about her, nodded slightly and walked into the office.

Ning Ruoxin touched her cheek and walked upstairs.

However... his older brother was not in Class F of the first year of high school.

This made Ning Ruoxin, who was already a little nervous, even more uneasy. She had come to this unfamiliar school alone, and as a junior high school student, she already faced all sorts of inquiring and questioning glances. Now, not being able to find her family, she suddenly felt as if she had lost her home.

The not-so-large Linwai High School seemed like an inescapable maze to her at that moment.

"Sorry, perhaps I'm being nosy. What are you looking for?"

As she was feeling lost and uneasy, a girl with long black hair passed by and finally couldn't help but call out to her.

"Ah, I, I..."

Ning Ruoxin's eyes were filled with tears, she was nervous and anxious.

"I'm looking for my brother; he forgot his subway pass."

"Don't rush, tell me slowly." The black-haired girl walked to her side. "What's your brother's name? Have you looked for him in the classroom?"

"His name is Ning Ruoyu! I can't find him in his classroom..."

"Ning... Ning Ruoyu... Could it be Ning Ruoyu from Class F of the first year of high school?"

For some reason, the black-haired girl had a rather subtle expression on her face.

"Yes! Do you know him?" Ning Ruoxin seemed to have found a lifeline.

“Although I don’t know him personally, I’ve heard of him, haha…” The black-haired girl sighed. “Why don’t you go look for him near the stadium? I heard he seems to be showing up there a lot lately.”

"So it really is a club activity?"

"No, it's not that. His club situation is quite complicated. Anyway..." The black-haired girl gritted her teeth, "How about I deliver it for you?"

Although she didn't know why this senior student looked so determined to die for her cause, Ning Ruoxin still shook her head.

"No need, I can go by myself. Thank you, senior."

"...Okay, go home early after you've delivered it."

The black-haired girl gave this strange, specific instruction, then hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

……

Upon arriving at the stadium, Ning Ruoxin gently pushed open the door and peeked inside. She quickly spotted her brother.

Just as she breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go over to say hello, she heard a commotion over there.

"Hey, are you bothering Ling Qingxue again today? Don't go too far, junior." A boy who looked like a senior frowned at his older brother and said.

"What's wrong with me watching a basketball game even if it's not the basketball team?"

Ning Ruoyu spoke to her own brother in a rather spoiled and unreasonable manner.

"Can you stop being so bored all the time? You've got nothing better to do than come here every day. Are you sick in the head?" The other team members couldn't stand it anymore.

"Yeah, Ling Qingxue is here to experience being an intern manager. She's just a nice person and that's why she's too lazy to argue with you. Don't be so ungrateful, okay?"

"**That thing**"

These insults were so grating to Ning Ruoxin's ears, but what she found even harder to accept was her brother's utterly indifferent attitude.

"Hey, I'm just bored, what's it to me? You're all crazy."

"I'm just bored every afternoon and like to hang around here, what's it to you? Go play your crappy basketball, you idiots! Your whole department's grades are terrible, and you still have the nerve to say you're representing the school in the regional competition!"

"What are you saying, brat!" the leader of the group roared angrily.

"Forget it, Captain Ma, don't bother with this lunatic. He's just a bootlicker. Let Qingxue go buy water while he starts barking like a dog, just ignore him."

"It's not worth getting angry with this bastard."

Ning Ruoxin looked at her brother, who was being talked about like that but was still smug. A thought that had been brewing in her mind finally came to her.

Why should I have an older brother like this?

This is the kind of "brother" who has plenty of free time but is unwilling to do anything for his family?

How ridiculous.

Thinking this, the girl didn't go inside, but quickly walked out with her head down.

From that moment on, she never called Ning Ruoyu "brother" again when they were alone together.

……

"Oh, I remember that child was..."

The long-haired girl holding a bag of drinks glanced at the middle school girl walking away.

"...This seems really interesting~~"

She smiled gently, and the mole at the corner of her mouth twitched.

[Next chapter preview: "That's certainly unsettling." I nodded.]

Well, someone who can say something like that probably doesn't have parents.

"If necessary, I'll grab a C4 bomb and fight that bastard to the death!"

Perhaps I'm still a scumbag at heart.

Chapter Twenty-Five: If I Were a Joke, I'd Be a Hellish Joke

It is the root of all evil.

When I heard those words from Ling Chuqing, I sighed from the bottom of my heart.

For others, hell is other people; for me, hell is hell enough.

Holding our coffees, we sat side by side at the bar facing the floor-to-ceiling windows, continuing our conversation.

Why do you think it's possible?

Bullying is something that is either very subtle or very overt, and Ling Chuqing's uncertain tone made me a little suspicious.

"Actually, I'm just guessing."

Perhaps she had just spoken out of bravado, but after going through the process of queuing to order and finding a seat, Ling Chuqing seemed to be having second thoughts about whether to continue discussing this matter with me.