Brother 56, you are a good person. I like you.

Aunt Lin thanked me for coming to visit Tietou, expressing her gratitude for letting them stay in the good apartment while I went to live elsewhere. I smiled and told her, “Auntie, there’s no need for such formalities. Since I’m here tonight, why don’t you head home? I’ll take care of Tietou tonight.” In truth, I couldn’t bear the thought of returning to Fatty’s bedding, which always reeked of sweat and mustiness; it was much better to stay here and look after Tietou in the hospital.

Aunt Lin exchanged a few more polite words, but she was clearly in a hurry today and had other matters to attend to, so she agreed to let me stay with Tietou for the night and promised to come back in the morning.

After Aunt Lin left, I choked up and said, “Tietou, I’m sorry! It’s my fault you ended up like this!”

Tietou looked downcast but replied, “Ah Feng, you shouldn’t blame yourself. This isn’t your fault. Besides, you’ve already done so much for my family! My mother told me everything—I’m truly grateful to you from the bottom of my heart.”

I said, “Tietou, don’t let your thoughts wander now. Focus on getting better—that’s what matters most. There’s plenty of time for everything else.” Tietou nodded, “I know. Having a brother like you, Ah Feng, I couldn’t ask for more.”

I chatted with Tietou for a while, but since he was still weak and needed rest, I didn’t disturb him further. As night deepened, he gradually drifted off to sleep.

I stayed by his bedside. There was a narrow cot for companions, but I couldn’t fall asleep.

Before dawn broke the next day, Aunt Lin hurried back to the hospital. She brought me some rice buns she’d made the night before, saying I could have them for breakfast. I took a few, bid her farewell, and left the hospital in haste.

My first stop was the apartment in the Oasis Community. When I opened the door, Fatty was still sound asleep, but Lin Xiaoyu was already up, eating some of Aunt Lin’s rice buns. Clearly, Aunt Lin had prepared breakfast for her too.

Seeing me return, Lin Xiaoyu looked concerned. “Brother Feng, how’s my brother?” she asked. I replied, “Little sister, your brother’s basically fine now, don’t worry.” She blushed a little. “Thank you for everything last night, Brother Feng.”

“It’s nothing,” I replied casually, then went to wash up. After freshening up and tidying my clothes, I packed some daily necessities into my suitcase and got ready to leave.

Lin Xiaoyu looked a bit downcast. “Brother Feng, why aren’t you staying here anymore? Is something wrong…?”

I smiled and said, “Don’t let your imagination run wild, little sister. I’m just heading to Hu City for business. I’ll be away for a while, so I need to take some things with me. Your job is to focus on your studies.”

She watched as I prepared to leave with my suitcase. “Wait, Brother Feng, I have to go to school too. Let’s go together.”

Since it was still early and there weren’t many people outside, I saw no reason to avoid anyone and waited for Xiaoyu to shoulder her backpack so we could leave together.

We took the elevator down to the ground floor. We passed a few residents, but since we’d only recently moved in, we didn’t know any of them. We just exchanged polite smiles as greetings.

Once we reached the community gates, Xiaoyu said, “Brother Feng, my backpack is a bit heavy today. Could you carry it to the school gates for me?”

“Of course,” I laughed, “it’s on my way anyway.” I took her backpack from her—it was indeed quite heavy.

“Studying is getting tougher these days, so much homework,” I joked.

“It’s true!” Xiaoyu agreed. “The teachers say the high school entrance exams are even tougher than college entrance exams. The results basically decide your university future, so there are loads of books and practice tests. My backpack can barely hold everything.”

I said, almost offhandedly, “School is important, but your health matters even more. If you wear yourself out, studying won’t mean anything. Take care of yourself and don’t overdo it.”

She nodded. “I know. By the way, I heard you got into Qingxi No. 1 High School, Brother Feng. That’s really impressive.”

Qingxi No. 1 High School was the best in the city, and one of the top three in Mingzhou. Many business and political elites had graduated from there. If you made it in, you were almost guaranteed a place at a first-tier university.

I answered awkwardly, “It was just luck, really.”

Xiaoyu pressed on, “But I heard your grades were great in high school. Why did you drop out in your second year?”

“I was just restless then, I guess,” I replied. “Didn’t want to study, preferred working odd jobs.”

“My brother always said it was such a shame,” Xiaoyu said. “If you hadn’t dropped out, you would have definitely made it into a prestigious university—and you wouldn’t have had so many troubles later.”

I smiled, “Don’t ask me about those silly things, little sister. What you need to do is study hard and aim for a top university. Make your brother and your mom proud.”

“I will, Brother Feng, don’t worry. For my brother, for my mom, for you, and for Brother Fatty, I’ll work hard and try to get into Qingxi No. 1 High School.”

We chatted as we walked, and soon arrived at the school gates. The doors were open, with a security guard standing by, and students were trickling in.

I handed Xiaoyu her backpack and got ready to leave. She leaned close and whispered in my ear, her voice barely audible from shyness, “Brother Feng, I know you’re a good person… I like you…”

Startled, I turned to look at her, but she had already lowered her head and was hurrying through the school gates. Just then, I heard a girl’s voice: “Xiaoyu, who’s that handsome guy who brought you to school?” With a note of pride, Xiaoyu replied, “That’s my Brother Feng.” Another girl chimed in enviously, “Xiaoyu, you’re so lucky to have a big brother who walks you to school.”

“My Brother Feng is the best,” Xiaoyu said. “When I was in elementary school and couldn’t walk well, he used to carry me to school!”

The girls around her looked at her with envy. One of them said, “Xiaoyu, you’re so lucky to have such a good brother to protect you.”

Another girl, in a teasing tone, added, “Xiaoyu, if your Brother Feng drove a BMW to bring you to school, that would be even cooler! But it looked like he was just waiting for the bus, haha!”

Yet another girl agreed, “Right! I think Lan Xiaohua is the luckiest—some handsome guy often drives her to school in a BMW!”

Not wanting to lose face in front of her classmates, Xiaoyu argued, “My Brother Feng is going out for big business deals! He lives in a big place in Oasis Community worth several million!”

I couldn’t help but shake my head. Little girls just love having a big brother to look after and protect them. In front of their classmates, they want to boast a little, while some of the others are just jealous and try to tease—that’s only human.

I hopped on a bus outside the school, heading for Mingzhou Railway Station, where I would catch the high-speed train to Hu City.