Chapter 2

Xu Qing, of course, had no idea what the beautiful landlady was thinking. He thanked her profusely and saw her off downstairs, feeling a warm sense of anticipation for the days of earning money ahead. He patted his empty pockets and made a silent vow in his heart: no matter how dirty or tiring the job was, he would grit his teeth and keep working. As long as he could earn money, his sister-in-law wouldn't have to work so hard...

For Xu Qing, who had lost both his parents at a young age, his elder brother Xu Bin and his sister-in-law Qin Bing were his closest family. Since his brother was diagnosed with uremia two years ago, all the burdens had fallen on Qin Bing's not-so-broad shoulders. Uremia is a disease that tortures its victims.

The cost of dialysis alone is exorbitant. Qin Bing quickly spent all their savings and borrowed from everyone they could, but Xu Bin's condition still progressed to the late stage. A kidney transplant was the only hope, and Xu Qing decided without hesitation to donate one of his kidneys to his brother. However, things often take unexpected turns.

The tissue match, the damned tissue match, the doctor told Xu Qing that the 'brothers' were not a match. In other words, the two of them, who had lived under the same roof for over a decade, were not actually blood-related.

This unexpected news struck Xu Qing like a bolt from the blue and shattered the last hope of the couple. Xu Bin passed away, and before he died, he held his wife's hand and instructed her to take good care of Xu Qing, at least to let him finish his studies.

Qin Bing, with tears in her eyes, promised. After a simple funeral for her husband, she, heavily in debt, resolutely chose to take this non-blood-related younger brother-in-law south to work. She also rejected Xu Qing's repeated requests to drop out of school and earn money. After much hardship, she finally got him enrolled as a transfer student in the senior year of Jiangcheng No. 1 High School.

For some people, a promise is just a roll of the tongue, but for Qin Bing, it meant a responsibility, another burden on her shoulders, even a few strands of white hair in her hair and wrinkles at the corners of her eyes...

Xu Qing's academic performance had always been outstanding, but that didn't mean he didn't have to pay tuition. On the contrary, to get him enrolled as a transfer student, Qin Bing had to endure many unknown hardships.

By the time Qin Bing, exhausted from a day's work, returned to the rental house at one o'clock in the morning, she habitually looked up at the window upstairs. Her brows furrowed when she saw the light still on, indicating that Xu Qing was still awake.

Xu Qing usually had a very stable sleep schedule. No matter how tight his studies were, he would always go to bed before midnight. It was undeniable that the boy had a talent for studying. He generally spent no more than two hours a day on his studies, and most of his time was spent reading other books. He learned a wide variety of things, such as home appliance repair, computer programming, cooking, bartending, and more.

To put it in Xu Qing's own words, he was like a super storage box. The more things he stored, the more useful they would be one day. When the time came, these things would all turn into money, and his sister-in-law could sleep with a pile of cash under her pillow...

When she went upstairs, Qin Bing gently opened the door, and her brows furrowed even deeper. She found Xu Qing hugging a computer and surfing the internet. On the screen, a penguin with a red scarf was jumping around happily.

Xu Qing was typing away on the keyboard, completely unaware that Qin Bing was approaching from behind. The chat on the screen was clearly visible.

Xu Qing's online name was "Xu Xu Qing Feng" (Gentle Breeze), and he was discussing love and values with someone called "Kan Po Hong Chen Bu Ti Tou" (Seen Through the Red Dust Without Shaving).

Kan Po Hong Chen Bu Ti Tou: "Bro, what's the point of a man struggling all his life?"

Xu Xu Qing Feng: "What men pursue is nothing more than career and love..."

Kan Po Hong Chen Bu Ti Tou: "Haha! These two things are so vulgar, even more vulgar than being a monk."

Xu Xu Qing Feng: "Vulgar? How are career and love vulgar?"

Kan Po Hong Chen Bu Ti Tou: "Career is about making money, and love is about having sex. Aren't these two things vulgar?"

Xu Xu Qing Feng: "... You're more of a bull than a cow."

Kan Po Hong Chen Bu Ti Tou: (Stealthy laugh) "A good career means making a lot of money, and perfect love is about having good sex. Men are all about these two vulgar things, and they can't escape them no matter how hard they try."

Xu Xu Qing Feng: (Thumbs up) "You're riding a little cow to the South Pole..."

Kan Po Hong Chen Bu Ti Tou: "Are you dating with Xiao Long?"

Xu Xu Qing Feng: "What?"

Kan Po Hong Chen Bu Ti Tou: "He Jie = He Jie? The little cow running to the South Pole to see the penguins?"

Xu Xu Qing Feng: "Bro, you're the most awesome!"

Pfft—

Qin Bing couldn't help but burst out laughing, which startled Xu Qing, causing him to turn his head sharply, his forehead instantly covered with black lines...

"Sister-in-law..." Xu Qing felt an overwhelming urge to dig a hole and hide. This was the second time today. He rarely went online and had only practiced one-finger typing. Because he was so focused on finding the keys, he was caught red-handed by his sister-in-law.

A faint look of displeasure appeared on Qin Bing's thin face. She frowned and pointed at the computer on the table. "Where did this come from?"

A computer was undoubtedly a luxury item for her. She was uneasy when her younger brother-in-law suddenly brought one home.

"From the Liu family on the second floor. They asked me to fix it," Xu Qing answered, rubbing his hands. In fact, this was the first job arranged by Aunt Zhu. The computer was easy to fix; the memory stick had an oxide layer, preventing it from booting. After removing the memory stick and rubbing the contacts with an eraser, everything worked fine. He earned thirty yuan easily and even got to use the internet.

"Fixed it?" Qin Bing looked at the penguin with the red scarf jumping around in the lower right corner of the screen and asked a rather silly question. If it wasn't fixed, could he be chatting about "men's love and values"?

"Um, earned thirty yuan..." Xu Qing answered subconsciously, immediately regretting his words. He wanted to slap himself for being so careless.

"Hmm?" The displeasure on Qin Bing's face deepened. Seeing that he couldn't hide it, Xu Qing roughly recounted the events of the day, appropriately omitting some details.

Just as Xu Qing was about to hand over the ten-yuan advance payment from his pocket to Qin Bing, a thunderous voice suddenly rang in his ears, and Qin Bing's eyes reddened as she began to sob.

"Who asked you to earn money? Who told you to go out and earn money..." Qin Bing's eyes were filled with tears, and her voice rose sharply. All the委屈 (grievances) and酸楚 (bitterness) she had endured burst out at that moment. Xu Qing was completely stunned, standing there with the ten-yuan note in his hand.

"Sister-in-law... I was wrong, okay? Don't cry... don't cry..." The usually eloquent Xu Qing was now a complete wooden chicken, awkwardly trying to comfort his sister-in-law. Unexpectedly, Qin Bing cried even harder.

"Wah... who cares about your money? Who asked you to earn money... wah..." Her sobs were so piercing in the silent night that Xu Qing's face turned pale. He understood that the pressure his sister-in-law had been under for the past two years was immense. She had to continue bearing this pressure for him, this non-blood-related younger brother-in-law. He shouldn't have! He shouldn't have!

Xu Qing felt deeply guilty and frustrated. All the negative emotions flooded his mind, and his brain went blank. In a daze, he clenched the paper bill and ran out.