Chapter 20
Jiang Mi picked up his phone. It was a call from Liang Xuping.
Aside from the beginning and end of the semester, under normal circumstances, vehicles other than teachers’ cars weren’t allowed to enter the school. Jiang Mi’s secondhand Volkswagen, worth only a few tens of thousands, was parked outside the school. Although Liang Xuping’s Cullinan was a hundred times more expensive than Jiang Mi’s secondhand car, unfortunately, it couldn’t enter Jing University either.
He had parked at the south gate closest to the Law School dormitory and said, “I’m at your school gate. Hurry out. Liang Jinyi’s plane will probably arrive in another half hour.”
“I’ll come out right away,” Jiang Mi said.
His roommates were still very understanding. Lu Tianyun said, “Then tomorrow. It’s not like you can run away anyway.”
“Exactly,” Zhang Dameng echoed. “But your little brother still doesn’t know you’re going abroad to study next year, right?”
Zhan Peng clicked his tongue twice. “Jiang Mi, you’re done for. Your little brother clings to you that much. If you don’t go home for a week, he comes running to your university dorm to sleep with you. How is he going to handle two years?”
At the mention of his little brother, Jiang Mi paused.
In these six years, the longest time he and Liang Jinyi had gone without seeing each other was twenty-three days. During the summer vacation after the college entrance exam, he had gone to his grandparents’ home in a small southwestern city for a month. The first half of the month had been fine, but during the second half, Liang Jinyi had called him several times every day, asking why he still hadn’t come back and when he would return.
By the fourth week of his stay at his grandparents’ house, even Liang Xuping couldn’t stand him anymore and directly brought him to Jiang Mi’s southwestern hometown.
But that was almost four years ago.
At the time, Liang Jinyi had only been seven. Now, Liang Jinyi was already eleven.
He probably wasn’t that clingy anymore.
Jiang Mi went to Jing University’s south gate. After getting into Liang Xuping’s Cullinan, they went to the airport to pick up Liang Jinyi.
They waited at the arrival gate for about twenty minutes before Jiang Mi first saw Liang Jinyi’s leading teacher. Behind the teacher was a group of little radishes of varying heights.
This time, Huaguo had sent thirty elementary school students to participate in the Mathematical Olympiad competition. There were quite a few parents coming to pick them up. After the leading teacher confirmed that Jiang Mi and Liang Xuping were Liang Jinyi’s guardians, she handed the child over to the two of them.
The standard height for an eleven-year-old boy ranged between about 1.34 meters and 1.55 meters. Liang Jinyi had only just reached the minimum qualified standard. His height barely reached Jiang Mi’s chest. He was still very fair, his skin like it was made of snow.
His eyelashes were long and curled, and he was as beautiful as a little prince.
Jiang Mi pinched the little prince’s cheek and said with amusement, “Little Liang Jinyi, you won second prize. Why are you still unhappy?”
Liang Jinyi was carrying a black backpack printed with an Ultraman design. All of his schoolbags had been given to him by Jiang Mi. Liang Jinyi’s birthday was August 27, right before the start of the school year. His first backpack for kindergarten had been given to him by Jiang Mi. Although he cherished it dearly, by first grade, that backpack had become a little too cute. Coincidentally, right before the start of first grade, it was Liang Jinyi’s birthday again, so Jiang Mi chose a new schoolbag for him.
From then on, every year on Liang Jinyi’s birthday, Jiang Mi would give him a schoolbag.
Of course, Liang Jinyi couldn’t possibly have only that one schoolbag. His aunt and uncle, as well as Uncle Lin, would all buy him schoolbags. But when he went to school, he only carried the one Jiang Mi had given him.
Jiang Mi was only a student. Even though his family background was decent, the schoolbags he bought were only ordinary ones worth a few hundred yuan. The schoolbags Liang Rong bought for Liang Jinyi often cost five or six thousand yuan. His father, when suddenly interested, would occasionally send over more than a dozen schoolbags costing around five figures each. Even so, Liang Jinyi only carried the schoolbag Jiang Mi had given him.
Though occasionally, he wouldn’t.
For example, when the school went on spring or autumn outings, or organized visits to museums or science and technology museums, Liang Jinyi was afraid of damaging the schoolbag Jiang Mi-brother had given him, so he could only carry one of the schoolbags worth over ten thousand yuan.
This time, going to Singapore was for an exam. Of course Liang Jinyi had carried the schoolbag Brother gave him.
But even after carrying the schoolbag Brother gave him, he still only got second prize!
The three of them got into Liang Xuping’s Cullinan. Jiang Mi rubbed the head of the unhappy little Liang Jinyi and praised him, “Second prize is already amazing. You already defeated more than a hundred smart children.”
“But one child defeated the smart me,” Liang Jinyi said unhappily.
Liang Xuping was driving in the driver’s seat. Hearing this, his teeth almost ached. He certainly didn’t belong to the category of idiots, but he also wasn’t the particularly smart type. Getting into Hua University had depended on extreme effort. So now, he found Liang Jinyi rather unpleasant to look at.
“Liang Jinyi, that’s enough. Being a smart egg chosen from one in ten thousand is already enough. Do you still expect to be a smart egg chosen from one in twenty thousand?”
Hearing Liang Xuping criticize him, Liang Jinyi looked at Jiang Mi aggrievedly and called pitifully, “Brother.”
When Liang Jinyi made such a gesture, Jiang Mi naturally had to scold Liang Xuping a little. After scolding his good friend, Jiang Mi pinched Liang Jinyi’s cheek again and said, “Our Jinyi isn’t one in ten thousand. He’s one in hundreds of millions. There are so many children in the world, but there is only one little Liang Jinyi.”
Coaxed by Jiang Mi again, Liang Jinyi leaned into Jiang Mi’s arms in satisfaction.
Liang Xuping clicked his tongue twice. “Fine, fine. You two are biological brothers. I’m the outsider.”
Liang Jinyi lifted his head from Jiang Mi’s arms and said with complete seriousness, “Brother and I are of course biological brothers!”
He knew very clearly that biological brothers were the closest people in the world. They had exactly the same blood flowing through them, so intimate. He and Brother definitely were!
Jiang Mi didn’t correct these ideas either. Mainly because correcting them was useless.
As they spoke, they arrived at the restaurant Liang Xuping had booked in advance. It was a Cantonese restaurant. Some time ago, Liang Xuping had come to this restaurant with classmates and found the food quite good, so he brought his not-biological-brother little brother and his good friend to try it.
They didn’t ask for a private room, only a quiet window seat in the main hall.
Liang Jinyi sat beside Jiang Mi and said, “Brother, next year I’ll definitely win first prize.”
Seeing that Liang Jinyi’s lips were dry, Jiang Mi asked the server for a bottle of Wangzai milk. After pulling open the can tab and inserting the straw, he handed it to him and encouraged him, “Then our Little Jinyi should work hard this year and strive to come back with a gold medal next year.”
Liang Jinyi took a big sip of the milk Jiang Mi handed him, nodded heavily, and gave an “Mm.” He said, “Next year, Brother can come pick up… me with a gold medal around my neck.”
Liang Xuping had ordered the dishes and had just handed the menu to the server. Hearing this, he laughed. “Your brother won’t be able to pick you up next year.”
“Why?” Liang Jinyi asked.
Liang Xuping glanced at Jiang Mi.
Jiang Mi said to Liang Jinyi, “Brother is going abroad to study next year. I won’t be in the country at this time.”
Liang Jinyi’s movement of sucking milk froze. A moment later, he placed the Wangzai milk on the dining table and stared at Jiang Mi.
“Brother is going abroad… to study?”
Jiang Mi gave an “Mm.”
“Which abroad?”
Jiang Mi said Country U.
Liang Jinyi had been to Country U before. His aunt was in Country U. Country U was very far. It took more than ten hours by plane, and sometimes, if the flight was delayed, it could take an entire day.
“Brother.”
Liang Jinyi suddenly reached out and hugged Jiang Mi. He was eleven now. Trying to circle Jiang Mi in his arms wasn’t as difficult as when he had been six.
He looked pitifully at Jiang Mi and said, “Can’t you… not go to Country U to study?”
After thinking for a moment, he added, “Your current school… is also very good.”
Jiang Mi had guessed that Liang Jinyi wouldn’t want him to go abroad to study. No one was willing to let a family member they liked go so far away. He rubbed Liang Jinyi’s head.
“Jing University is very good, and Brother likes it very much too. But Jinyi, Brother wants to go outside and take a look.”
“Do you have to go?” Liang Jinyi asked.
Liang Xuping couldn’t bear to watch anymore. “Liang Jinyi, do you know how hard it is to get an offer from H University? If your brother got one and didn’t go, he’d be a fucking idiot.”
“Brother.” Liang Jinyi still wouldn’t give up.
Jiang Mi’s attitude was very gentle, but what he gave Liang Jinyi was the definite answer the child least wanted to hear.
“Brother will definitely go.”
For the rest of the dinner, Liang Jinyi was somewhat unable to taste the food. Everything he ate felt dull and flavorless. After two bites, he would look at Jiang Mi resentfully, as though Jiang Mi had done something utterly unforgivable to him.
After dinner, Liang Xuping and Jiang Mi first sent Liang Jinyi home.
Liang Xuping planned to return to school, and Jiang Mi also planned to return to school. But after Liang Jinyi got out of the car, he looked at Jiang Mi with sorrow all over his face and said miserably, “Brother, can you sleep with me tonight?”
Jiang Mi: “…”
Jiang Mi’s heart wasn’t hard, especially toward people he cared about. Especially when Liang Jinyi was sniffling, standing in the dim night, looking at him pitifully.
Jiang Mi canceled his plan to go back to school to sleep.
Jiang Mi going abroad to study was something he should originally have only felt guilty toward his parents about. However, Ms. Liu Qin and Mr. Jiang Aiyu both behaved very cheerfully and happily about this matter, without the slightest sadness or grief.
Of course they wouldn’t be sad or upset.
After all, that was the famous H University.
Only Liang Jinyi looked at him full of sorrow and resentment. And so, after that, Jiang Mi often went to pick Liang Jinyi up after school, took him out to play, and slept with him at night.
Liang Xuping joked that Liang Jinyi was trying to cling enough in advance to make up for the next two or three years.
However, very soon, he would know that his thinking was completely wrong.
In mid-January, Jing University had already started winter break, and many of Jiang Mi’s classmates had entered companies for internships.
Jiang Mi had also received offers from excellent law firms, but he rejected them all. He planned not to polish his résumé for the next few months.
There were still many vulnerable groups waiting for legal assistance in the public-interest organization.
Recently, Jiang Mi had taken on two legal aid cases. Neither was difficult, but both were sufficiently trivial. After all, this was what a lawyer’s work was like. Beneath the glamorous surface was a massive amount of tedious, meticulous work.
After finally organizing the materials, Jiang Mi prepared to wash up and sleep.
His phone rang.
It was a call from Liang Xuping.
Jiang Mi took off his glasses and yawned after answering the phone. “Brother Liang, so la—”
Before he could finish, Liang Xuping’s excited voice came through first.
“Jiang Mi, my brother is going crazy at home.”
Jiang Mi: “?”
“Didn’t my dad come back from a business trip today? He told my dad that he doesn’t want to study in Bei City next year. He wants to study in California, Country U!”
Author’s Note
Question: What is little Liang Jinyi’s zodiac sign?
Answer: Of course, he’s a little sticky cake.
