Big Brother / Da Ge / The Unknown

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Regarding that little girl, she's like a monkey born into the wrong womb, tough as nails from the get-go. In just over ten months, she completed the monkey-to-human evolution—walking upright. By one or two years old, she was already wreaking havoc around the house.

On Saturday noon, San Pang and his family arrived at Wei Qian's home.

San Pang carried his troublemaking daughter with one arm. Tan Ming was like a tailless fat rat, clinging to his arm with all four limbs, swinging back and forth as they walked, turning her father into a makeshift swing.

Lin Qing chased after them with some stuff, a chatterbox of a maid, constantly exclaiming, "Fatso, watch where you're going, don't drop her!"

San Pang lifted Tan Ming gently, tossed her lightly upwards, catching her again amidst her mother's exuberant screams, the little girl giggling gleefully as she was tossed around, thoroughly enjoying herself. "Could Dad ever drop you?" he teased.

Tan Ming was overjoyed, bubbles of laughter bursting from her.

San Pang freed up a hand and handed something to Lin Qing. "Wife, I can't carry all this, take it."

Lin Qing kicked his butt with her foot. "Just take care of your own kid, don't be so smug!"

"I have a daughter, he doesn't. If I'm not smug, who will be?" San Pang whistled and pressed the doorbell, a sense of pride swelling within. "Your third brother's here..."

Before he could finish his shout, the door swung open from inside.

Wei Zhiyuan took the stuff from Lin Qing's hand and raised a finger to his lips, shushing her softly. "He hasn't woken up yet."

San Pang stared blankly, "It's almost eleven o'clock, and he's still asleep? Is he planning to be a king who never holds court?"

Lin Qing heard her own prodigal husband starting his tractor engine again, so she quickly raised her fist and smacked him on the back, with a dull yet resonant thud. Tan Ming crawled onto San Pang's back, curiously peeking at the source of the noise with her toothy grin, clapping her hands in delight as if to say, "That sound is so nice, give me another one, mister!"

San Pang bent over and let his disobedient daughter roam around the house, then walked over to Wei Zhiyuan's side, glancing at Wei Qian's tightly closed bedroom door, lowering his voice to ask, "If I call him out—hey, there's nothing inappropriate for kids in there, right?"

Wei Zhiyuan didn't even blush, giving San Pang a knowing look, which left San Pang feeling quite embarrassed.

Once he had had enough of San Pang's discomfort, Wei Zhiyuan calmly said, "Of course not. He was up until three in the morning grading papers. Since he's free today, let him sleep."

After resigning, Wei Qian returned to his job as a graduate student while also working as a teaching assistant.

Remember how their Chairman Wei used to carry himself? His shirts were always neatly pressed, suits impeccable, shoes polished daily without fail—a walking epitome of sartorial elegance.

But now? After years of wandering, he had reverted to simplicity. He would venture out in oversized vests and baggy shorts, sporting a pair of flip-flops, sparing himself the chore of washing socks, shuffling around in a lazy gait, barely lifting his feet.

Can one person undergo such a drastic change?

San Pang pondered for days without a conclusion, finally arriving at one: "School is an insatiable destroyer of people."

Upon hearing Wei Zhiyuan's words, San Pang exclaimed in surprise, "Busy like this, for what? Just for that measly assistant's wage? Surely not."

"What a load of nonsense," Wei Zhiyuan said, taking out a candy box and placing it in front of Tan Ming. "He's quite the loyal user of ours. He started gaming as soon as he got back yesterday afternoon, played until half past twelve, and I had to practically force him to lie down and sleep. He hadn't been lying down for five minutes before he jumped up like a resurrected corpse, saying he had to finalize the grades and send out the mid-term exam results to the professors. I've never seen someone so adept at last-minute cramming. Where was he all this time?"