Why did the boy come to her? Maybe he planned to find the real life of his brother, to step each corner he had passed? Let him be, she needed a good sleep now.
She fell asleep in the midnight. Several hours later, she was forced to get up by the rings of the clock. She had a cram school to take. If she missed the make-up examination of this subject, she would have to go back to the first year, taking all the courses again. What a terrible nightmare!
She still remembered the grading exam of English when she was at her first year in college. Lin shivered. She got an zero of the exam. She did know her English was bad, but she had never thought it sucked to that extent. Somebody said if you took guesses on all the questions, you would still have one forth of them correct based on the probability theory. Why did she get an zero? Anyway, she would not forget her good luck in the make-up exam of the English grading.
Her whole face pursed up when she thought of English. This lesson was her demise. If someone asked her to pick the grading exam or a poisonous snake, she would not hesitate to choose the latter. At least she could figure out a way to flee from the snake.
As a Sophomore now, she messed the subject of Protocols of public relationship. But she was happy enough to take the cram school. Or she should be back to freshmen year to have that English grading exam again.
“Sister, the breakfast is ready! Come to eat! ”
The boy’s calling surprised her. She forgot there was still another one in her room after a sleep. She went to the living room, dared not to believe that the boy could cook breakfast. But the bread was well cut into pieces. Two cups of hot milk and fried eggs were fresh and tasty.
“You made all this by yourself?”
Lin put down her washing tools and sat down. She heard the saying that men were good at cooking better than women if they wanted. But this boy prepared so many foods during such a short time when she came to wash her face, this surprised her. In a minute, she did want to keep him with her.
“Taste good?”
“Not bad, only a little bit worse than what your brother did.” She smiled when answering him.
The boy’s face turned blue suddenly. She thought her comment had hurt him, so she added a praise, “Much better than what I cook.” But the boy was still sad, she finally got that he was unhappy because she mentioned his brother. They must had a good relationship before.
“Lin Ziqi, I am sorry that I have mentioned your brother.”
“Sister, may I stay here?”
“Oh...I don’t think so.”
“I can make breakfast for you everyday, and I can help to wash your clothes. Besides...”
“No...Don’t try this kind of tricks.”
“Sister, I have lost my brother, now I am homeless. Please don’t drive me away...”
Homeless? She did not hear Lin Zifeng talk about his family when they were together. Now she got a little sympathy on this boy.
“Sister, if you don’t give me a home, I will be homeless. What if I was caught by any bad person to do some illegal things.”
Lin Ziqi lowered his face, with his hand rubbing the hem of his coat nervously.
Another poor saying!
Lin took a look at the clock, it was already time for the cram schoo. She had only one week to fix the lesson before the new semester. Or she’d take the horrible English grading exam and all the other subjects.
“I’d go to school now. You can stay here until I am back, ok?” Lin was perfunctory.
She rushed out. She had been living here for two years, but she did not have the intention to move out. Certainly the memory with her ex was still there.
When she left, the eyes on the cat’s eye inside of the door ceased back.
It was already noon after the classes. Lin asked for a leave to the part-time restaurant. She bought some rice dumpling as lunch and enjoyed her window shopping on a business street. Until the indicator of the clock of the highest business building turned to three, she started to go slowing to a supermarket to buy some storage.
When she was taking many bags home, the door was opened and Lin Ziqi’s face appeared again. He helped her to take all the bags in. “Come in, sister, let me take the bags for you.”
His attitude let her feel that she was a guest instead.
“You still here? I have thought that you might have gone...
Lin had thought that he understood the meaning of her roundabout language in the morning. She had wasted the whole afternoon hanging around here and there to give him the chance of leaving himself without the feeling that he was driven out. She had thought that anyone who had dignity should understand the meaning behind.
Definitely the boy missed her purpose.
“Sister, my only brother is your boy friend. I am his younger brother, you should take care of me.”
She became silent. Yes, that’s right! But it did not mean that she and he should be living together. Besides, Zifeng left...
Lin sniffed for a while. Then she took out her wallet to find some money to him, pointing at the door and said quietly, “The door is there, you can go now.”