After the National Day holiday ended, Jiang Yubai came to school carrying a gift bag.

Jiang Yubai’s playroom was filled with countless car models, airplane models, Transformers, and Lego blocks. However, he had almost no plush toys. He took his father as a role model. He believed that an iron-willed man like his father would generally not be obsessed with plush toys.

That day, after visiting the industrial park, Jiang Yubai found a plush kitten toy in the gift bag, so he decided to pass this on to Lin Zhixia.

This morning, as Lin Zhixia entered the classroom and walked to her seat as usual, Jiang Yubai immediately took out the gift bag and stuffed it into her desk drawer. This series of actions was smooth and seamless, and he explained simply and directly: “A gift for you, you’re welcome.”

“Is today a special holiday?” Lin Zhixia asked him, “Why are you bringing me another gift?”

Jiang Yubai couldn’t answer. His series of actions seemed like he was trying to win over a competitor. He couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

Lin Zhixia tugged at the gift bag and said seriously, “Jiang Yubai, you’re always giving me things, and I feel a bit embarrassed. Because I can’t repay you with gifts of equal value. When you give me things, it’s like you’re losing out.”

Jiang Yubai refuted: “No. My father says that money is not the only standard for measuring value.”

Lin Zhixia tilted her head: “Your father is right.”

Jiang Yubai nodded: “Yes.”

Lin Zhixia opened the gift bag and saw a plush kitten toy. She became so excited she could hardly contain herself. Her eyes were clear, sparkling with light: “A kitten, a fluffy little kitten.”

She continued to rummage through the bag and found a greeting card, as well as a vacuum-packed dairy pastry.

“Thank you, Jiang Yubai!” Lin Zhixia turned her head to tell him.

This gift was only something Jiang Yubai was passing on to Lin Zhixia, not something he had prepared himself. But he didn’t explicitly tell Lin Zhixia this. He felt an inexplicable shame and pretended as if nothing had happened: “These aren’t that great.”

Lin Zhixia suddenly tightened the gift bag, took out her “Human Observation Diary,” and eagerly wrote: Today in the morning, I once again received a gift from classmate Jiang Yubai. Between good friends, there should be reciprocity. When I find something that can repay Jiang Yubai, I will give it to him.

Jiang Yubai had everything he wanted. Any item that could be bought with money, he did not lack.

But he still had one urgent wish that had not yet been fulfilled.

He wanted to far surpass Lin Zhixia and hear her say with his own ears: Jiang Yubai, you’re amazing! I lost to you! I lost so completely!

So far, the hope seemed slim.

Nevertheless, Jiang Yubai would never give up!

Someday, Lin Zhixia would become his defeated opponent.

*

For Lin Zhixia, today’s school life was extremely pleasant.

During the afternoon class meeting, the students of Class 4(1) received another piece of good news. The school had decided to organize this semester’s autumn excursion in mid-October, and all fourth-grade students would visit the city’s marine aquarium under the guidance of their teachers.

Marine aquarium!

These two words made the students incredibly excited.

Lin Zhixia was especially happy. She had never been to a marine aquarium before.

She felt that today was truly her lucky day. She had received a kitten plush toy and could now plan for an aquarium trip. Moreover, she now had a good friend, and she could go observe all kinds of aquatic creatures with Jiang Yubai.

The only problem was that this autumn excursion operated on a “voluntary registration” principle, charging each student 76 yuan.

That evening, the first thing Lin Zhixia did after returning home was to find her mother and ask for money with slight shyness: “Mom, our grade is having an autumn excursion to the marine aquarium, and each person needs to pay 76 yuan. The teacher said this is the discounted group price, including lunch fees. Mom, can you give me 76 yuan?”

While Lin Zhixia was speaking, her mother was cooking. The iron knife swung down, chopping onto a piece of ribs, making a loud “bang,” which startled Lin Zhixia. She hid outside the kitchen door, showing half her face, looking at her mother with longing eyes.

“Mom, Mom,” Lin Zhixia wheedled in a sweet voice, “I want to go to the marine aquarium.”

Her mother finished dealing with the ribs, turned on the faucet, and quietly washed her hands.

At the bottom of the kitchen windowsill stood an old cast-iron water pipe. A water meter hung on the side of the old pipe. At the end of each month, workers from the waterworks would come to check the meter and ask users to pay. Many families had their unique ways of saving money, and Lin Zhixia’s mother was quite adept at this. She gripped the faucet handle, slowly tightened it, and the water meter stopped rotating, but drops of tap water still slid from the outlet, falling into a ceramic basin.

The water meter had stopped.

Water drops still dripped rhythmically, little by little accumulating.

Lin Zhixia walked over and grabbed her mother’s apron: “Mom, turn off the faucet. We shouldn’t steal water…”

Her mother finally answered her: “Xia Xia, your brother is in middle school, and in a couple of years, he’ll take the senior high school entrance exam, then he’ll need to go to high school and university. You, too, must continue your education, and your dad and I need to save money for you both. Your grandparents also want to renovate their old house. Your grandparents’ neighbors have all built new houses with red bricks and cement roofs…”

“How much money do we have left at home?” Lin Zhixia suddenly asked, “Can we buy stocks?”

Her mother’s cold, water-dampened fingers touched Lin Zhixia’s face: “How could stock trading be so easy? Your father and I don’t have secure jobs; we rely on this small shop to raise you two siblings. There’s already a Golden Prosperity supermarket in front of our community, a Century Union in the north street, and they’re building a Carrefour by the east gate. Once they finish building Carrefour, we’ll have even fewer customers here.”

In business, reputation is important, but so is luck.

Years ago, when Lin Zhixia’s parents first came to the provincial capital, they scraped together every penny they had to take over this shop. The first two years of business were the best; they indeed earned quite a bit and cleared all the family’s debts, leaving only a bank loan. But ever since legitimate chain supermarkets like Golden Prosperity and Century Union appeared near the residential area, the customer flow at the Lin family shop had noticeably decreased.

This was simply unavoidable.

Lin Zhixia’s mother turned on the gas cylinder and poured oil into the hot wok on the stove. While cooking, she said to Lin Zhixia: “If you want to buy books or tutoring materials, not just 76 yuan, even 760 yuan, mom would be willing to give you. But what’s the point of going to the aquarium? Xia Xia, during your first to third grade autumn excursions, you never went to such expensive places. Why has the price suddenly increased to 76 yuan in the fourth grade? Don’t other students’ parents have any objections?”

“I don’t know,” Lin Zhixia answered in her childish voice, “Mom, Mom, I want to go…”

“Stop whining! Acting like a spoiled child all day.” Her mother sternly reprimanded.

The oil smoke from the iron wok spread outward, giving off a choking smell. Lin Zhixia sneezed and clutched her mother’s apron tightly with her fingers: “Other classmates can all go, why can’t I go?”

Her mother held the spatula, stir-frying the braised ribs in the iron wok. Her tone became hurried: “Because your family is poor. Your family is poor! Remember that? Your parents aren’t locals from the provincial capital, we came here with nothing, no relatives, no friends. Is money so easy to earn? Don’t always compare yourself with other classmates at school. Are you going to school to learn, or to compare family backgrounds? If you must have everything others have, how are we supposed to get by? Think more about your father, mother, and brother, don’t be selfish.”

Lin Zhixia was full of grievance, holding back tears: “Our school is organizing an autumn excursion, I was just asking you, why does that make me selfish? If I can’t go, then I won’t go. I never said I must go.”

The spatula made chaotic collision sounds against the bottom of the wok. Her mother turned her back to Lin Zhixia and asked: “Do you know how much food 76 yuan can buy? You and your brother are both growing and need nutrition. The eggs, milk, pork, and fish at home can’t be interrupted. If you go play at the aquarium for a day, 76 yuan would be gone, is that worth it?”

Lin Zhixia remained silent. She stood there, waiting for her mother to comfort her.

But today her mother was in a bad mood. Lin Zhixia was about to cry, but her mother didn’t say a single soft word to her.

Her mother only said: “Your school is ranked number one in the city, and the leadership makes decisions without considering the economic conditions of students’ families. 76 yuan, it’s not that I can’t afford it, I just hate to see you waste it. Our family doesn’t revolve around just you; you need to consider others more, don’t make everyone revolve around you, seeing how selfish and useless you are! Understand?”

Lin Zhixia felt increasingly sad and began to cry silently.

She wasn’t crying because she couldn’t go to the aquarium. She didn’t know where this sad emotion came from. Why do people shed tears when they cry? This way, people who see her tears would know she’s very upset.

Lin Zhixia stood at the kitchen doorway, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Half a bowl of red chili peppers went into the wok, and pale white smoke swirled around. Her mother was also choked and sneezed.

A small fan was installed at the side of the stove. The axis of the fan had long been congealed with oil grime. Her mother used a chopstick to poke the fan blades, giving the fan initial momentum to rotate and blow away some of the smoke in the kitchen.

Lin Zhixia called out: “Mom.”

Her mother asked her, “Do you still want to go to the aquarium? Has everything I’ve said to you been for nothing?”

Lin Zhixia said listlessly, “I won’t go anymore. I don’t want to eat dinner tonight either.”

She failed to arouse her mother’s sympathy and instead increased her mother’s anger to another level.

The “buzzing” rotation sound of the electric fan stopped at that moment. Her mother put down the spatula and said without any emotion: “Don’t eat then! Who are you trying to scare? Go to your room now! Come out when you’ve come to your senses.”

Ever since learning about the autumn excursion in the afternoon, Lin Zhixia had been excited and thrilled. She had been looking forward to getting home early to share the good news with her parents, but she hadn’t expected it would end up like this.

Last semester’s spring excursion cost each student 34 yuan, and her mother had readily given Lin Zhixia the money.

And… the class fee, library borrowing fee, subway transportation fee, and provincial library internet usage fee from last month, totaling 74.45 yuan, were all paid by her mother.

Why couldn’t she go this time? Was it because 76 yuan was too much?

Lin Zhixia was very confused. She sat in her room thinking: So my happiness is built upon money. Have I studied transcendentalism and a priori principles? Both of these principles advocate for a person to abandon material enjoyment.

At 6:30 in the evening, it was already dark.

The moon outside the window was so round and bright, the stars had a soft halo, and Lin Zhixia saw the “Beta Andromedae” of the Andromeda galaxy.

The so-called “Beta Andromedae” is the brightest star in the Andromeda galaxy.

Recent scientific research has shown that the Milky Way and Andromeda are getting closer and closer. Billions of years later, the Milky Way will collide with Andromeda.

Lin Zhixia looked up at the sky and muttered to herself: “Andromeda, Milky Way, don’t be deceived by each other’s gravitational pull. The closer you get, the easier it is to be absorbed. Do you know why a term in the Lagrangian of quantum chromodynamics breaks CP symmetry? Have you understood the Peccei-Quinn theory? The mass of quarks cannot be zero. If there exists Peccei-Quinn symmetry, I think the universe would have dark matter. Can you sense the dark matter in the universe?”

Looking up at the sky and expressing her thoughts made Lin Zhixia feel relaxed. The only problem was that her stomach was growling with hunger.

Gurgle gurgle, it wouldn’t stop.

Being hungry was uncomfortable.

Lin Zhixia fell onto her bed, hugging a kitten plush toy, burying her entire face in the fluffy fabric.

She could hear the sounds of bowls and chopsticks from the living room; her father, mother, and brother were all eating.

Tonight’s dishes included stir-fried cabbage, asparagus with dried tofu, braised pork ribs, and tomato egg soup, all of which were Lin Zhixia’s favorites.

She felt so wronged and wanted to eat.

But she said she wouldn’t eat, so she wouldn’t eat!

A person of integrity doesn’t drink from a stolen spring, and an honest person doesn’t accept charity food!

Lin Zhixia would rather faint from hunger on her bed today! She absolutely would not run to the living room to grab a bowl of food!

Absolutely would not eat!

Lin Zhixia had principles!

*

In the living room, Lin Zhixia’s father said softly: “That’s enough, call her out to eat.”

Her mother spoke even more softly: “I’ve saved half of the ribs for her. The cabbage and dried tofu are in bowls, I’ll heat them for her in a while.”

“What happened?” Lin Zeqiu suddenly asked, biting into his chopsticks, “Why did you scold her and not let her come to the table for dinner? Is this some rural custom about not letting girls eat at the table or what?”

Her father glared at him: “Say less, don’t make your mother angrier.”

Lin Zeqiu sighed almost inaudibly: “Mom, why are you angry?”

Her mother looked at Lin Zhixia’s tightly closed door and replied with a tired expression: “Nothing major. I ran into some trouble when restocking in the early morning today, it’s all resolved now, I just have some pent-up frustration. You and your sister are both in school, your father and I need to support two children, some things are completely unnecessary to buy, unnecessary to spend on… Your sister’s school is organizing an autumn excursion, each person needs to pay 76 yuan to go to the marine aquarium. The aquarium tickets are so expensive, your sister wanted to go, I scolded her, and now she’s not eating dinner.”

“It’s all spoiling her. Letting her cool off is good, let her think about it herself.” Her father chimed in. He picked up his chopsticks and lunchbox, returning to the front door to continue watching the business.

Lin Zeqiu ate a few bites of rice, feeling very uncomfortable.

He was Lin Zhixia’s brother, having grown up with her, and knew her personality better than anyone. Lin Zhixia loved eating; her favorite fruit was strawberry, her favorite dish was braised pork ribs, and her favorite soup was tomato egg soup.

Tonight, she could give up braised pork ribs and even tomato egg soup, which showed she was unusually upset.

The family had three bedrooms in total, the largest belonged to Lin Zhixia, and the smallest to Lin Zeqiu. The family status was evident.

Lin Zeqiu originally didn’t want to manage Lin Zhixia. He had always felt that his parents were too biased, overly caring for his sister with an unusual intellect. But thinking that Lin Zhixia might be hiding in her room, crying her heart out, Lin Zeqiu found his meal tasteless.

The incandescent light in the living room flickered; perhaps his eyes were playing tricks on him.

The cold wind howled outside. Tonight, a cold wave was coming, the temperature dropped, and a thin mist formed on the glass windows. In such freezing weather, how could one not eat?

Lin Zeqiu finished his bowl of rice like a whirlwind, barely even picking up any dishes. Then, he returned to his room, hesitated for about two seconds before opening a locked drawer.

In the drawer lay an old, yellowed photograph.

This photo was taken ten years ago when Lin Zhixia hadn’t been born yet, and his parents had taken a family portrait with Lin Zeqiu. Lin Zeqiu sat on his father’s lap, his mother held his hand, and he looked like an only child who had received all of his parents’ attention.

Lin Zeqiu picked up the photo and found a hundred-yuan bill underneath it.

During last year’s Spring Festival visit to their hometown, his grandmother had secretly slipped Lin Zeqiu a hundred-yuan bill. But she hadn’t given Lin Zhixia a penny.

Grandmother told Lin Zeqiu: “A grandson is a grandson, a granddaughter is a granddaughter. Granddaughters will eventually become someone else’s daughter-in-law, you are the root of our Lin family.”

This hundred yuan, Lin Zeqiu had hidden for more than a year and never spent it. And now, he clutched the bill in his hand until his palm became slightly sweaty. He left his bedroom and pushed open Lin Zhixia’s door.

Lin Zhixia lay flat on her bed with her eyes closed, her hands crossed on her chest, as if shutting out all external sounds.

Lin Zeqiu was startled by her, and seeing that she had cried until her eyes were swollen, he felt a sourness in his throat. He called out: “Lin Zhixia, get up! What time is it, and you’re already sleeping, are you a pig?”

“Don’t bother me,” Lin Zhixia still didn’t open her eyes, “I’m cleansing my consciousness.”

“Cleansing my foot! Get up quickly.” Lin Zeqiu tugged at her.

She shook off his hand: “You’re so annoying.”

Lin Zeqiu reached out again and pulled at her pillow. She frowned and said, “Why are you a brother, not a sister? Other people’s sisters are all so gentle, you’re the most annoying brother.”

Lin Zeqiu was infuriated and simply lied: “A hundred yuan from Dad for you.”

He released the bill and placed it next to Lin Zhixia’s bedside table: “Whatever other kids can have, you can have too. You don’t need to envy others.”

After he spoke, Lin Zhixia immediately sat up on her bed.

She refused: “Thank Dad, but give the money back to him. I don’t want to go to the aquarium anymore. It’s unnecessary.”

Lin Zeqiu was at a loss, standing there fidgeting: “If I say you go, you go. Why so much fuss! Our family isn’t without money. It’s just that Dad and Mom, you know, they’re always thinking about saving money, with no foresight…”

The bedroom door was already ajar.

Her mother came carrying a tray with steaming food and soup. She kicked the wall with her foot and asked: “Both of you are here?”

The aroma of braised pork ribs wafted into the bedroom.

Lin Zhixia remained as still as a meditating monk, unmoved.

Lin Zeqiu was quick. He stuffed the hundred yuan into Lin Zhixia’s schoolbag. He relaxed his whole body, doing arm-swinging exercises, and seeing that Mom had brought food to coax his sister to eat, he quickly chimed in: “Lin Zhixia, your stomach is growling, I heard your stomach growling.”

“I’m not hungry,” Lin Zhixia insisted.

Her mother sat down on the edge of Lin Zhixia’s bed. She picked up a porcelain bowl, used chopsticks to scrape the meat off the ribs, then used a spoon to scoop up a spoonful of rice, added some cabbage, dried tofu, and rib meat, and held it to Lin Zhixia’s mouth: “Xia Xia, take a bite?”

Lin Zhixia shook her head: “No, I don’t want to eat!”

“Xia Xia, do you plan to never eat again?” her mother asked her, “Just because mom said a few words to you, you’re making mom upset like this?”

Lin Zhixia opened her mouth and bit the spoon.

Her mother murmured, “If you want to go to the aquarium, then go. Mom apologizes to you. Mom was in a bad mood today and got angry with you…”

Lin Zhixia ate and cried at the same time: “Why does Mom have to be fierce with me, and also call me useless… When you scold me, I feel like you don’t like me. Every harsh word you say to me, I can’t forget. My memory is so strange, but none of you understand, no one understands me, no one comprehends me. I feel so sad, Mom…”

Her mother wiped her tears with a tissue, and as she wiped, Mom almost wanted to cry too, saying more chokingly: “Never seen a child like you, don’t know how to raise you. When Mom was little, working in the fields, leeches would climb up my legs to suck blood, and I still had to continue working. The words your maternal grandparents scolded me with were much harsher than what I said to you.”

Lin Zhixia continued to sob: “Mom is so pitiful.”

Tears fell in large drops, and she hugged the dog plush toy tightly: “I can imagine that scene…”

“Go to the supermarket,” her mother called to Lin Zeqiu, “bring a bottle of strawberry milk for your sister.”

Lin Zeqiu ran very fast: “Going right away.”

Lin Zeqiu used the fastest speed he could achieve in his life. Dad heard that his daughter was wailing and let his son bring two bottles of strawberry milk and strawberry-flavored lollipops. The whole family used all their means and finally managed to comfort Lin Zhixia.

However, the next morning, after Lin Zhixia woke up, her eyeballs still had red bloodshot lines.

She adjusted her mood, carried a bottle of strawberry milk, stuffed a strawberry lollipop in her pocket, and happily went to school.

Today, Jiang Yubai arrived earlier than Lin Zhixia.

Following his daily routine, Jiang Yubai tore open a pack of disinfectant wipes and carefully wiped both his and Lin Zhixia’s desks. He wiped the desktop until it was spotlessly clean and shining.

Tang Leqin, the vice class monitor of Class 4(1), passed by and stopped, praising: “Jiang Yubai, your desk and your deskmate’s desk are so neat.”

Tang Leqin was one of the girls in the class who listened to the teachers the most. Teachers often praised her for being sensible, intelligent, meticulous, and attentive in class. Usually, when the class needed to collect class fees or miscellaneous fees, it was all handled by Tang Leqin. Today was no exception. Tang Leqin carried a sheet of white paper for names, a ballpoint pen, and a plastic bag for collecting money, and was going around collecting this semester’s autumn excursion fees.

She stood in front of Jiang Yubai and told him: “76 yuan, excursion fee.”

Jiang Yubai opened his schoolbag and took out a Dunhill wallet. Tang Leqin didn’t recognize the Dunhill brand, but she could tell at a glance that this wallet was not cheap. The leather itself was deep blue, and the zipper was golden; the two colors combined produced a harmonious aesthetic.

Jiang Yubai inserted two fingers into the wallet compartment. Tang Leqin saw a thick stack of hundred-yuan bills, too many to count.

She suddenly remembered the nickname “Class One’s richest, Jiang Yubai.”

Her expression became solemn, and she automatically stepped back: “One hundred-yuan bill is enough, Richest Jiang.”

The richest Jiang handed her a bill.

The morning sunlight was just right. Tang Leqin took the bill, held it against the light to verify the watermark: “I’ll give you 24 yuan change.”

Zhou Bufeng, sitting in front of Jiang Yubai, suddenly turned his head and said to Jiang Yubai: “Jiang Yubai, you’re so rich! I’ll just take that 24 yuan, you wouldn’t mind, would you?”

“I’ll immediately call the police and report you for robbery, you wouldn’t mind that either, would you?” Lin Zhixia had just walked to her seat and casually responded. From the moment she entered the classroom until she sat down, many classmates frequently glanced at her.

Because Lin Zhixia had tied her hair in twin ponytails today.

Her hair was black and thick, with slightly natural curls at the ends. She had tied pink strawberry hair ties on both sides, making her look very pretty and cute.

The reason she chose twin ponytails today was that she hoped her different hairstyle would divert her classmates’ attention from her bloodshot eyes. But she found that more people were looking at her.

“You’re so cute,” Tang Leqin praised sincerely.

“All thanks to the hairstyle,” Lin Zhixia responded modestly.

Tang Leqin lifted the plastic bag in her hand, letting Lin Zhixia see the bag full of money. Tang Leqin urged: “Excursion fee, 76 yuan.”

“I’m not going,” Lin Zhixia said.

Jiang Yubai, sitting beside her, asked: “Why aren’t you going?”

Before Lin Zhixia could answer, Jiang Yubai clenched his left fist: “Do you want to stay home and read books? Then I won’t go either.”