Lin Zhexia immediately exploded at that time.
When she was little, she had no gender awareness, didn’t know how to spell the word “restraint,” and didn’t know fear. She acted purely on instinct.
So after He Yang finished speaking, before Chi Yao could take any action, a girl they hadn’t seen before walked out from the side.
That girl of the same age shielded Chi Yao behind her, then picked up the ball from the ground and without a word threw it back at them.
There were many of them, so randomly throwing would hit someone.
—This unlucky person was He Yang.
He Yang covered his face, almost crying from being hit.
Considering his dignity as the boss, he endured the burning pain on his nose bridge: “Who are you? Why did you hit me?”
Lin Zhexia pointed to the sickly boy behind her: “I’m his big brother.”
“If you want to fight him,” Lin Zhexia said coldly and seriously, “you have to get through me first.”
He Yang was confused by this relationship: “Since when did he have a big brother?”
Lin Zhexia: “None of your business.”
“You’re a girl.” He Yang, though troublesome, wasn’t completely unreasonable. “My mom says we shouldn’t hit girls. Step aside.”
Lin Zhexia: “If you can’t win, just say you can’t win. Don’t make excuses.”
“…”
That evening, Lin Zhexia was sent out of the house by Lin He for fighting.
She stood hungry at the entrance of the building as punishment.
Wei Ping kept pleading for her: “It’s so hot, she’s been standing for an hour already. Let her come in.”
Lin He’s voice became sharp: “Let her stand! Who taught her to fight with people?”
Lin Zhexia stood for an hour until her legs were numb.
After Lin He’s voice had quieted down, she thought Lin He might not be watching her anymore, so she took a bit of a break and sat down on the steps.
As she massaged her legs, she sighed about the difficulty of being a “big brother.”
Just as her mind wandered, suddenly, a very beautiful hand and a packet of milk-flavored cookies appeared in her vision.
The milk cookies were her favorite brand.
The sickly boy had a cold face and still spoke arrogantly, but this time he looked away, deliberately avoiding her gaze: “Returning them to you.”
It seemed she and Chi Yao gradually became familiar from this moment—at this very special turning point in her life.
The sense of unfamiliarity brought by moving began to settle down from this moment.
“Lin Zhexia,” she took the cookies and gave her name, “the name of your big brother.”
“…”
“Zhe as in ‘to fold,’ Xia as in ‘summer.’ What’s your name?”
The sickly boy held back, finally suppressing his reaction to the “big brother” title, and coldly tossed her two words: “Chi Yao.”
Lin Zhexia: “Have you ever considered changing your name?”
“?”
“Your health is already poor, and your name sounds like ‘eating medicine.’ It doesn’t seem very auspicious.”
“…”
From that day on, she started frequently going to Chi Yao’s home.
There was no one at Chi Yao’s house, no adults nagging in her ear.
Although Chi Yao had a dog-like temper, sometimes staying with him also made her angry.
After moving to Nanxiang Street, she transferred to another elementary school.
Most of the children in the neighborhood attended this school because it was close.
Coincidentally, she and Chi Yao were in the same class, while He Yang’s class was next door.
When she was young, her relationship with He Yang was very hostile.
Every time she saw He Yang, she would curse at him.
He Yang, with his group of little followers, also resented her.
Before the birth of the title “Xia-ge,” chubby He Yang called her “tigress.”
So she learned that Chi Yao sometimes didn’t even go to school, often stayed in the hospital, and people in the class barely remembered there was such a person.
Lin Zhexia’s grades were consistently in the middle range during childhood. Once, during Chi Yao’s hospitalization, she volunteered to explain problems to him.
“I scored 80 points last week,” third-grade Lin Zhexia said with her head held high. “The final exam is coming soon. I’m afraid you won’t be able to keep up, so I’ll reluctantly teach you.”
Chi Yao lay in the hospital bed, receiving an IV drip, and put down the book in his hand.
Lin Zhexia didn’t see what book it was. If she had looked more closely, she would have discovered it was a middle school textbook that she couldn’t understand.