Chapter 10

【ps: I've released a new book, and I'm very excited! Four updates on the first day! Two more updates in the afternoon and evening! Please give me your votes, I beg you~~】

Tong Yan struggled to drag his luggage bag. When he finally reached the bus station, the driver shouted at him to hurry up, "It's the last bus, quick!"

Tong Yan thought it was a joke. He had left school at two and taken a shortcut. How could it be... "It's 4:30!?" At this moment, Tong Yan saw the clock in the bus and then checked his own digital watch. It was indeed 4:30. "How is this possible!" He had walked non-stop from school, but why did he lose two hours in between?

Tong Yan got on the bus in a daze and returned home in a daze. It wasn't until he saw his adorable sister, Tong Shanshan, that he was freed from his confusion. No matter where the time had gone, as long as he and his sister were fine, and according to his sister, their parents were also fine, and the business at the shop was good, that was enough.

Tong Yan's father, Tong Hang, and mother, Liu Nian, ran a bun shop called "Childhood." The business was usually very good, and since Tong Yan was quite independent, they didn't pick him up during the summer break. Over the years, Tong Yan had gotten used to taking the bus from Yangping City to Qing County.

During meal times, the "Childhood" bun shop was always particularly busy, so the two children had to solve their own stomach problems. For this reason, Tong Shanshan had honed her cooking skills to perfection, while Tong Yan was content to be a parasite, relying on his sister to feed him.

Of course, Tong Yan was also very considerate of his sister. When Shanshan finished her work in the kitchen and turned around, she saw a box of chocolate on the table, a brand that couldn't be bought in Qing County, looking very high-end and making it hard to tear open the packaging.

"Brother, this chocolate isn't cheap, is it?"

"Exactly, I had a little money left from my living expenses, so I bought it. I don't like sweet things, so it's a good deal for you." Tong Yan didn't mention the price because every time he thought about it, his heart ached. If he hadn't accidentally misread the label, he would never have bought such expensive couple's chocolate for his sister, which was both expensive and inappropriate.

"Brother, you're so good to me." Tong Shanshan couldn't take her eyes off the box of heart-shaped Godiva chocolates.

Tong Yan smiled, "Alright, stop being silly. Let me taste your cooking. See how much you've improved compared to Mom."

"I'm already better than her now." Tong Shanshan proudly went to bring the dishes.

After the two siblings were full, their parents finally returned home, exhausted. Tong Yan naturally advised his parents not to work too late and to take care of their health. After catching their breath, his parents were more concerned about his academic performance.

Tong Yan was prepared, "Here's my report card for the end of the semester, fresh out of the oven. Please review it."

Tong Hang and Liu Nian went through it item by item, "Chinese is very high, math is good, physics is okay, English is a bit low... third in the class, eighth in the grade, better than the first semester!"

Tong Yan added, "My Chinese is the best in the grade. Although my overall score didn't make it into the top five, because of my outstanding performance in a single subject, my tuition for the second year of high school is waived."

Tong Hang was almost dancing with joy, "I'll open a bottle of wine!"

Liu Nian immediately said, "Xiao Yan can't drink."

"I know, I'll drink it myself. I'm happy today!"

The next day, Tong Yan offered to help at the bun shop, but his parents refused. They thought their son was already very hardworking in high school and should relax during the summer break. Since he wasn't in his final year yet, his studies weren't too intense, so he could go out and play.

"Son, our family's not well-off. If you want to travel far and wide, your mother and I can't afford it. But don't stay cooped up at home all the time. Go out, visit old classmates."

Tong Yan's father's words also applied to Tong Shanshan. This girl was very obedient. Since her parents had said so, she naturally felt justified in going out to play with her friends.

Tong Yan didn't have many familiar classmates in Qing County. His classmates were mostly in Yangping City. Because of his excellent academic performance, he had been studying in the city since junior high school, and he had little contact with his elementary school classmates.

However, he still had a place to go. He heard that his cousin, Liu Ming, had just opened a bookstore near Qing County High School. Since Tong Yan was a big book lover, he definitely wanted to visit this bookstore. Hopefully, this summer wouldn't be boring, and he hoped the bookstore would have some good books.

His sister specially left her bicycle for Tong Yan. Tong Yan quickly found the "Five Flavors Bookstore" near the high school. The name was nice, "Tasting the Five Flavors of Life, to appreciate the flavor of books," or perhaps it was a nod to Lu Xun's "Three Flavors Bookstore."

"Boss, do you have 'Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty'?"

"Yes."

"Liu Ge, do you have 'Bad Boy'?"

"Xie Wenden, yes!"

"Boss Liu, do you have the second part of 'The Legend of the Wind' now? I've been waiting for a long time."

"I'll check... Yes!"

Now that the high school was on summer break, this small bookstore was still bustling with many student customers. After entering the bookstore, Tong Yan hardly had a place to stand. To be honest, he was quite surprised.

Liu Ming wasn't surprised to see his cousin. His younger brother loved reading so much that calling him a bookworm wasn't an exaggeration. He had predicted that Tong Yan would come to his place as soon as the summer break started.

"Xiao Yan, you look around first. I'll take care of the customers." Liu Ming told his cousin and started helping a student find "The Legend of the Wind II."

Tong Yan didn't feel like a guest and started browsing the bookshelves on his own. His cousin's small shop wasn't very big, and the variety of books couldn't compare to Xinhua Bookstore, but it was very targeted, almost exclusively for nearby junior and senior high school students. Half of the books were for tutoring, and the other half were extracurricular reading, including magazines, comics, and martial arts novels.

Although Tong Yan read a lot, there were still many books he had never heard of. He would occasionally take one down to look at it.

" 'Heavenly Peng's纵横'?" Tong Yan saw a book. The title and the author's name, "Wandering Toad," both seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard them. He had a vague feeling that this was a very powerful book. He usually didn't read books with such flashy covers, but today he felt an inexplicable interest in them.

Next to "Heavenly Peng's纵横" was a novel called "Mad God." It didn't have the same feel as "Heavenly Peng's纵横," but its author was Tang Jia San Shao. Tong Yan stared at those four characters for a long time. Why did they feel so familiar? It seemed like someone had mentioned them repeatedly to him.

Heavenly Peng's纵横, Wandering Toad, Tang Jia San Shao, and then "The Legend of the Little Soldier," Xue Hong, "Jade Dynasty," these book titles and pen names kept swirling in Tong Yan's mind, but he couldn't make any sense of them. All the feelings were very vague, as if he had heard them in a dream.

Based on this strange feeling, Tong Yan wanted to read these thick novels, more accurately, "web novels." On the covers of these books, there were promotional phrases like "Most Popular Web Novels," and "web novels" was another familiar and dreamlike term.

After Liu Ming sent off this group of young customers, he saw his cousin engrossed in reading "The Legend of the Little Soldier."

"Little brother, is it good?"

"Um, very good, very good." Tong Yan answered without looking up.

Liu Ming snatched "The Legend of the Little Soldier" away, "You should read less of these. They can easily make you lose yourself. I have the Four Great Classical Novels, the Complete Works of Lu Xun, and some works by Shakespeare. Why don't you read those?"

"Forget it, I read those in elementary school. This one is pretty good. It's a bit absurd, a bit like a dream, but it's very satisfying to read." Tong Yan took "The Legend of the Little Soldier" back. Although it was labeled as science fiction, it didn't require much brainpower to read. For Tong Yan, who was used to traditional literature, this kind of book could be read at a glance without missing important details.

Liu Ming was also helpless. The possibility of taking a book from Tong Yan's hands was very small, "Read it, read it, just don't let Aunt know. Did you just get out of school yesterday?"

"Um, I came to your place on the first day of my summer break."

The two brothers, one reading and the other organizing books, chatted without stopping. Liu Ming had dropped out of high school and ventured into society, working in various jobs over the years. With some savings and family support, he opened this bookstore, which was very successful, making him very proud.

"See, I have a business mind. Students these days love these web novels. Every day, many come to rent books, and some buy them directly. They read one after another, can't stop. In just one month, I've already earned enough for a computer!"

"Ah, a computer? Where is it?" Tong Yan was surprised. He didn't have much experience with computers, but he knew they were very fun. He had experienced this in computer class at school, where he always wanted to play more but had to stop.

"I've earned enough for a computer, but I haven't bought one yet," Liu Ming sighed, "I want to buy one in the city, where there are more choices and it's cheaper, but the business here is too good, and I can't leave. What should I do?"

As Liu Ming spoke, he glanced at Tong Yan, his eyes full of expectation, but he hesitated to say more.