Chapter 135

The sunlight outside the window shone through the glass and fell on her face.

She slowly opened her tired eyes.

What time is it?

She instinctively looked at her phone.

It was already past 10 o'clock...

She got up and realized that she felt dizzy, the aftereffects of alcohol still lingering after staying up late...

After putting on her clothes, she opened the door of the room and walked out.

The living room of the apartment was quiet, with no one around.

Waiwai was still sleeping soundly next to the sofa.

Beside it was Samson Nan's room, the door was open, and she quietly peeked inside.

It seemed like he was not there...

She turned around and wanted to find some water to drink.

Only then did she notice the milk and scrambled eggs on the dining table, with a note placed on top.

"Eat the food, I've gone to work."

It was written like this on the note.

She was stunned for a moment.

So today isn't a weekend...

After the college entrance examination, she felt that her daily routine was disrupted and time became a bit chaotic.

...

She quickly finished eating the food.

Then she took out a pen from her backpack.

"This tastes awful (#｀-_ゝ-)"

She wrote this on the back of the note and stood up.

She left the apartment.

...

She hadn't returned home after finishing the exam yesterday, and she didn't know if her mother was angry or not...

...

...

"Oh, you finally came back?"

"Mother..."

As expected, her mother started scolding her as soon as she returned home.

"..."

She bowed her head and didn't want to pay attention to her. After changing her shoes, she walked towards the living room.

She glanced left and right, it seemed like her father wasn't at home...

Her heart sank for a moment.

She thought, it's all over now...

"What? Do you think you did exceptionally well in the exam?"

Her mother didn't stop talking and followed her to the living room.

"You, no one is watching over you, so this time you really let loose, huh~"

"Mom, we were just having a graduation party, everyone went, it's not just me..."

She muttered softly, feeling a little wronged, and sat on the sofa, throwing her backpack aside.

"Don't give me those excuses! You were still wandering around in the streets at two or three in the morning, and you think that's reasonable?!"

"..."

"You didn't drink any alcohol, did you?"

"No, I didn't drink..."

"No? Raina Nan, well done, you can lie without even blinking your eyes~ Let me tell you, even your brother told me!"

"..."

She fell silent, there was no more sound.

That idiot... just wait...

"Hmph, don't start crying when the results come out~"

"..."

She didn't respond, and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to my room..."

"Why?"

"..."

She stayed silent, sighed, and turned back.

"To read."

"You finished the exams and you want to read now? Who are you trying to fool?"

"..."

"After you put your things away, come down and help me with the housework!"

"..."

She thought she could stay at home every day and do nothing after finishing the exams, but now she realized it was just wishful thinking...

...

From the end of the college entrance examination to the announcement of the results, it was an awkward period.

Waiting would only make people restless...

Wanting to do something, but not knowing where to start...

If she had to stay at home every day and help her mother with household chores, she might as well go back to school...

...

"You have such a long vacation and you don't know what to do? Are you studying yourself silly?"

At night, when she mentioned this to Samson Nan on the phone, she received this response...

"..."

She lay on the bed, turned to the side, and spoke softly.

"Then what should I do..."

Now there were only two words in her mind: confused.

"What about your friends?"

"Ruoxi is planning to work at a coffee shop during the vacation..."

"Really."

That maid cafe from before..."Why don't I give it a try too? It's boring at home anyway..."

"......"

He paused for a moment.

"Just forget it."

"Why?"

"You've seen that maid outfit before, the skirt is so short, do you dare to wear it?"

"......"

After he said that, she seemed to hesitate for a moment.

"What is there to be afraid of?"

"Forget it, even if you dare, I still wouldn't want to."

"......"

She paused for a moment.

Curling up on the bed, she leaned her forehead against the wall and remained silent...

...

After a brief pause, he spoke again.

"What about Bell Tong?"

"She enrolled in a driving school to learn how to drive..."

"Oh, right. You can do that too."

"I don't want to..."

"Why?"

"There are too many people learning to drive now, and the weather is hot..."

"What do you want to do then?"

He was speechless.

"I'm asking you because I don't know..."

She added an edge to her tone.

"I'll think about it..."

He scratched his head and pondered for a moment.

"You can learn something during the summer break. You've grown up but don't know anything besides studying... It's embarrassing for our Nan family."

"So, what should I learn?"

Although being told like this made her somewhat annoyed, she also felt that there was some truth in what he said.

"Let's see... how about learning the piano?"

"With whom?"

"With Luo Jia."

"......Huh?"

She frowned.

"Why?"

"Luo Jia is currently doing tutoring. Besides, it's always good for girls to learn one or two instruments. It's a good skill to have."

"......"

"If you think it's okay, I'll give her a call."

"It's not okay at all!"

She quickly stopped him.

"I don't want to owe her any favors..."

"Little One, who do you think you are? It's not free to learn. I'll definitely have to pay her. Besides, even if you're willing to learn, she may not be willing to teach."

"......"

She remained silent, hugging the pillow with a sense of grievance.

After a while, she whispered:

"Then I won't learn either..."

"Goodness..."

He rubbed his forehead.

"Tell me, what do you really want to do?"

"I don't know..."

"......"

He sighed deeply.

"Little One, I can tell you're just bored and intentionally bothering me since you're free now. But remember, you're liberated, but your older brother still has to go to work tomorrow. I won't waste time talking to you anymore. I'm going to sleep... Stop causing a fuss, ah~"

"Who's causing a fuss..."

"Go to sleep early, goodnight~"

"......"

She hung up the phone.

She turned over and buried her face in the pillow.

She didn't expect that after the college entrance examination, she would suddenly have so much free time and wouldn't know what to do...

Was it the same for everyone? Or was she just a little strange?

She didn't understand.

Maybe, as her brother said, studying had made her foolish...

As she thought about this aimlessly.

Before long, she fell asleep.

...

"Brother."

"Yes?"

A voice came from deep within her mind.

"... Will you stay with me?"

"......"

"No, why would I stay? Why would I keep you?"

"......"

"Little One, actually, I..."

"...What?"

She perked up her ears, wanting to hear what he had to say.

But the voice gradually weakened until it disappeared completely...

In the end, she couldn't hear anything...

...

"Little One!"

The voice seemed to come from beside her ear.

But this time, it felt more real...

She opened her eyes in a daze.

Was it a dream...

"Raina Nan!!"

"Huh?"She was startled, someone was really shouting this time.

"..."

...

She quickly jumped off the bed.

She pushed open the window and looked down.

"...Brother?"

"Come down!"

"Why are you here?"

She looked at him in surprise and then looked at the time on her phone.

It was only six-thirty in the morning...

Samson Nan was standing on the roadside, wearing a white t-shirt and black sweatpants, shouting towards this side.

"Come down and go for a run!"

"Huh?"

"Change your clothes and come down, I'll wait for you~"

"..."

...

...

"Why are you shouting so loudly early in the morning... disturbing the peace?"

She walked up to him and scolded him in a low voice.

"I called you but you didn't answer, so I had to shout."

"..."

She fell silent because she didn't have to go to school today. She turned off the alarm and put her phone on silent mode...

"But seriously, Yuyu, you really don't suit sportswear~"

He looked her up and down and chuckled softly.

The loose sportswear looked brand new, as if she hadn't worn it before.

"It, it's none of your business..."

"But your ponytail looks good, I like it~"

"..."

She was taken aback

She lowered her head slightly, turned her face sideways, and glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"...Why did you suddenly drag me out for a run? Did Mom ask you to come?"

"No, yesterday night, you complained to me that you had nothing to do, right? Now there's something to do~"

"..."

"I plan to come and pick you up every morning at this time from now on~"

"Don't you have to go to work?"

"It's still early. After running, I can go home, take a shower, and still make it in time."

"..."

So he actually remembered everything he said yesterday...

"But you don't have to do all this just for me..."

"I'm worried~"

He interrupted her and continued:

"I'm afraid that when you go to college, you won't be able to endure the military training and cry to come back home... that would be really embarrassing."

"Who would do that?"

Her face turned red and she clenched her fist.

"So we have to practice in advance, persist for a week, ensure that you can run a kilometer without difficulty, persist for a month, and train your abs to be strong! Let's see who dares to bully you!"

"Who wants to train those things?"

She kicked his calf without good grace.

But he easily dodged it.

"No hiding!"

"Haha, that's the spirit!"

He laughed and ran ahead.

"Wait, wait for me!"

...

...

20 minutes later...

"Brother, run, run slower..."

She followed behind, holding her stomach, running unsteadily.

"Can't go on like this?"

He slowed down, stepping back to her side.

"Want to take a break?"

"Um..."

She shook her head.

Although her breathing became irregular and her feet started to weaken, she persisted and didn't allow herself to stop.

"..."

He glanced at her sideways for a while, then looked ahead again.

"Okay then, if you really can't go on, just tell me."

"..."

She nodded.

She gritted her teeth and continued to run forward.

...

...

The one-hour journey ended quickly.

The process went more smoothly than he expected...

Raina Nan's performance surprised him. Despite her poor physical condition, she still kept running with occasional breaks and completed the entire course.

"Let's stop here today~"

"Huff... huff..."

Sweat dripped down her face and she was panting heavily, feeling a little exhausted as she squatted on the ground.

"Stand up, don't squat."

"...?"

She raised her head and saw him walking towards her with two frozen bottles of mineral water.

"Don't squat immediately after exercising. Your head will get congested. Stand for a while."

"Oh..."

"Come here, stand here."

"..."

Following his instructions, she stood up and walked over to him.He squatted down and reached out to roll up her pants leg, pressing the frozen bottle of mineral water against her knee.

"It's so cold!"

"Don't move!"

He patted her leg.

"You don't exercise often, and you ran so far in one go. Is your knee swelling badly?"

"Mmm..."

"Applying ice like this will make it better. It's not difficult. You can do it yourself in the future."

"Oh."

"..."

She lowered her head, looking at him.

Silent, but didn't say anything.

Thump--

Thump--

Thump--

At this moment,

A deep bell sound came from behind.

She turned her head.

There was a clock tower not far behind.

Underneath the clock tower, a crowd of people started pouring in to pray.

"There's a church here...?"

Although she had been to the outskirts of this city before, she had never noticed that there was a church here.

"Don't you know?"

He also lifted his head, looking towards the direction of the clock tower.

"Mmm."

"No knowledge~"

"You make it sound like you've been here before..."

"Haha, believe it or not, I have."

"Really..."

She looked at him half-believingly.

"It was exactly 8 o'clock just now, the sound of the bell marking the start of prayer."

He stood up.

"I heard that in order to commemorate the Catholic priest who built the church, the bell at the top of the tower will ring twice at 8 a.m. every morning."

His lips trembled as he spoke softly.

"..."

"The first ring represents 'reincarnation', and the second ring represents 'rebirth'."

"..."

The morning sunlight shone through the eaves of the clock tower, illuminating the gray tiles of the church.

Raina Nan remained silent, staring ahead for a long time.

...

"Stop staring, let's go."

"..."

"Little One?"

"Oh, okay..."

She snapped out of her thoughts.

Only then did she stand up, trotting after him.