Big Brother / Da Ge / The Unknown

Chapter 33

In the blink of an eye, the semester came to an end, and it was time for the final exams.

On the day of the exams, students flooded out of the school like a swarm of bees. Xiao Bao's skirt got caught by a playful little boy running past, tearing a long gash as his backpack zipper snagged on the delicate lace trim.

Furrowing her brows in frustration, Xiao Bao watched the oblivious culprit disappear into the crowd, leaving her with the damage.

When Wei Zhiyuan returned home, Grandma Song hadn't arrived yet. He found Xiao Bao sitting on the couch with Grandma Song's sewing kit beside her. She had removed the torn lace from the bottom of her skirt and was clumsily attempting to mend it, folding the fabric carefully and stitching it with a crooked needle.

"What are you doing?" Wei Zhiyuan asked.

Startled by his sudden voice, Xiao Bao pricked her finger. She shook her hand, grumbling, "Oh, you scared me! I accidentally ripped this edge and can't sew it back. I have to tear it all off and start over."

Pausing for a moment, she tilted her head and glanced, "Oops, looks like it's a bit crooked."

Xiao Bao's sewing skills were far below average, and she had never sewn her own clothes before. Considering their current financial situation, buying branded clothes was out of the question, but getting a new outfit for the young girl wasn't a big deal.

However, the usually pampered Xiao Bao, who believed in "sulking when there's reason and creating a reason to sulk when there's none," didn't even mention it.

Wei Zhiyuan realized then that the disappearance of their eldest brother had put pressure not only on him but also on Xiao Bao.

Since the sewing went awry, Xiao Bao had to cut the thread with small scissors and start over, but unfortunately, it went crooked again before long.

She sighed in frustration, tossing the needle and thread back into the sewing kit. Clearly feeling aggrieved, she sniffled, but upon realizing that only Wei Zhiyuan was at home, she held back her tears — though she appeared young, she was no longer a child. In her eyes, Wei Zhiyuan and their eldest brother and grandmother were different; the eldest brother seemed more like a distant but powerful father figure, while Wei Zhiyuan was like an older brother of the same generation. She felt embarrassed to act immaturely in front of him.

After a while, Xiao Bao walked over and took Wei Zhiyuan's ruler. "Brother, let me borrow this long ruler."

With a slight bend at her waist, she leaned over the table, using the ruler to press the fabric edge and painstakingly sew to avoid another crooked stitch.

Wei Zhiyuan kept his head low, as if reading a book, but the pages remained untouched. Several times, he wanted to lift his head and tell Xiao Bao to stop sewing, that he would buy her a new skirt tomorrow. But he didn't dare.

Despite the apparent affluence at home, losing their eldest brother meant losing almost their entire source of income. Without a source of income, their savings would eventually run out.

Both of them harbored the same fear, silently understanding each other without explicitly mentioning it.

Just then, San Pang arrived.

San Pang always seemed cheerful, as if he could find joy in poverty day after day, as if there were endless reasons to be happy. In Wei Qian's words, he had a perpetual flush of happiness on his face, as if he had just finished drinking celebratory wine.

Peering around the room, San Pang asked with confusion, "Hey, hasn't your brother, the unlucky lad, returned yet? Did someone snatch him away to become a son-in-law somewhere, planning to live happily ever after?"