With a new good friend, the days weren’t so hard to endure anymore.
In the blink of an eye, it was the summer vacation of their first year of high school. The school placed all its hopes for winning Mathematical Olympiad medals on Chen An and even sent him to participate in an Olympiad training class organized by the provincial capital.
Before leaving, he didn’t directly say “remember to call me,” but instead said coolly, “I’ll only be free every evening at seven o’clock.” Quite like the manner of a leader who says half and keeps half hidden.
Cheng Lele felt a wave of disappointment. Chen An had been by her side every winter and summer vacation, and the two had never been separated for such a long time. Recently, she even felt like she and Chen An had become estranged. However, Cheng Lele still had a childish temperament—her disappointment only lasted a day. Besides Chen An, she still had Chen Xiaomu.
During the summer vacation, the two made plans to go out shopping every few days. Big Brother used to accompany her shopping too, but boys and girls were ultimately different. Playing with Chen Xiaomu brought an entirely different kind of joy. In the dazzling array of little storefronts, she and Chen Xiaomu could huddle together happily for an entire day. But if she went out with Big Brother, she was afraid he would grow impatient waiting, so she couldn’t help but restrain herself, always feeling somewhat dispirited.
After shopping, she would return home for dinner. As soon as the opening theme of the news broadcast started, Cheng Lele would call Chen An. She would tell Chen An about how fun Chen Xiaomu was, what interesting things they encountered that day, and even report in detail what color nail polish each of them had applied.
Chen An didn’t particularly like Chen Xiaomu, but he couldn’t resist Cheng Lele’s fondness for her. Thinking it over, he figured girls always needed a close girlfriend to share secrets with, so he didn’t interfere.
During each phone call, it was basically Cheng Lele doing all the talking. After she finished, she would also ask, “What about you, Big Brother?” Chen An would say, “I spent the whole day doing practice problems today.”
One sentence, taking three seconds to say. Pretty much the same answer every day.
Actually, his time in the provincial capital wasn’t going well.
After all, Taixi was just an eighteenth-tier small county town. Chen An could easily take first place here. However, when he arrived at the summer camp full of hidden tigers and crouching dragons and witnessed more naturally gifted and diligently striving peers in the vast world outside, he finally recognized the reality that he wasn’t a born king. He had to concentrate completely and give his all just to appear effortless.
Sometimes, even he, who had always been confident and composed, began to reflect on whether the goals he set were too ambitious and unrealistic.
After several rounds of this, Cheng Lele noticed something was off.
She called Chen Xiaomu: “My brother seems to be under a lot of academic pressure lately. From childhood until now, I’ve never seen my brother spend an entire day doing practice problems and be this gloomy.”
Chen Xiaomu: “What’s up? Do you need me, a technical school student, to give your brother some study advice?”
Cheng Lele made a “tsk” sound: “Didn’t you have a crush on my brother? Now’s the perfect time for you to seize the opportunity while he’s vulnerable.”
Chen Xiaomu said: “I only have a budding body to relieve your brother’s troubles. I really can’t help with studying.”
“You shameless hooligan.”
Cheng Lele hung up the phone and lay prone on her desk, thinking for a while.
Alas, it was only because Big Brother’s journey had been too smooth all along that she’d never had a chance to comfort him. Now that she suddenly needed to step up, she really felt somewhat at a loss. She pondered for quite a while and remembered the methods she used to support her idol. The next day, she custom-ordered several support items on Taobao.
A few days later, Chen An received a message from Cheng Lele. He clicked it open to see a video.
The background was initially pitch black. Chen An vaguely saw mottled railings nearby and realized this was the rooftop of an apartment building. As he was watching, the center of the screen suddenly brightened. Four large light boards displayed “Big Brother Is The Best.” Cheng Lele marched into the frame with her head held high and chest out in a goose step. A white silk ribbon was tied around her forehead with the blood-red traditional Chinese character “Kill” written on it. A waist drum was strapped around her waist—clearly a prop from Grandma Chen’s elderly yangge dance troupe. She stood still before the camera and began shouting with overwhelming momentum: “Chen An, Chen An!” After one shout, she beat the drum three times—boom boom boom—then another shout: “Fierce tiger descends the mountain!” Boom boom boom. “Chen An, Chen An!” Boom boom boom. “Knock them all down!” Boom boom boom. “Chen An, Chen An!” Boom boom boom. “Trample them under your feet!” Boom boom boom. “Chen An, Chen An!” “Never return until all enemies are slain!” Boom boom boom.
The final voice came from downstairs.
“Little Swallow, are you looking for death not sleeping in the middle of the night!”
“Pfft.” Chen An couldn’t help but laugh. If he had also been on that rooftop, he definitely wouldn’t have had the face to stay there. But watching Cheng Lele from such a distance earnestly doing such hot-blooded and cringeworthy silly things for his sake, his heart became like chewing gum—soft, sticky, and sweet.
Chen An missed the little tagalong at home. He wanted to embrace the little tagalong in his arms, ruffle her hair, and pinch her cheeks. He caressed the fierce-looking face on the screen, thinking how could this fool be so spirited, cute, and thoughtful. He suddenly felt as if he wasn’t fighting alone for their future.