Qiao Yu sighed, stood up, walked to the door, and opened it.
Standing outside was a little girl about his age.
She must have just bathed, as her bobbed hair gave off the unique fragrance of shampoo, and her still slightly chubby face, with almost flawless skin, retained the blush from the hot shower. Young girls like her are just like that, naturally fresh as if they could squeeze out water.
When she saw Qiao Yu, the little girl blinked and her blushing face slowly blossomed into a bright smile like summer flowers, very clean and pure.
Qiao Yu frowned, putting on a stern face like an old scholar, and said, "Why didn't you go to the evening... mm."
As soon as the word "evening" left his lips, the little girl suddenly raised her previously hidden right hand and stuffed something into Qiao Yu's mouth with lightning speed. It tasted slightly bitter at first, followed by a sweet flavor...
He was ambushed, and she actually succeeded.
Fortunately, the tool of the ambush was just chocolate, with a slight soap scent.
Before Qiao Yu could react, the little girl gently squeezed through the gap beside him into the room, leaving only a whiff of fragrant breeze in her wake. After entering the room, she naturally sat next to Qiao Xi, displaying a sweet smile and greeting the adults, "Auntie, I've come to see you again."
"Keke has come to see Auntie again, Auntie is so happy." Qiao Xi smiled in response, but her gaze drifted over her cluelessly in-love son.
Keke, whose surname is Xia, is two months younger than Qiao Yu and lives just above the Qiao Family. She's a truly pure childhood friend.
Unlike Qiao Xi, Xia Keke's parents and grandparents all work on the railways.
The benefits of the railway job are quite good, but the work schedule is irregular. Often both parents need to go out, and once they do, they might be away for one or two days, so the Qiao Family's grandfather has a particularly good relationship with Keke's elders and often takes care of the child when she gets passed around.
So when the two kids were young, Keke would often follow around behind Qiao Yu like a joyful little sidekick, often sleeping in the same bed until she was seven.
The broken window of the old man's house on the first floor, the little dog that suffered unprovoked disasters in the community, and various bugs and grass scared by firecrackers witnessed the childhood of these two kids. If there were a chronicle of their years, the cats and dogs in the community would certainly find Qiao Yu the most annoying, followed by Keke, the little girl who's already undergone eighteen transformations.
Looking at Keke with a sweet smile, even Qiao Xi felt a little envious because, three years ago, she looked like a tomboy, and now she's become so gentle and charming.
In contrast, her own son still seemed to have not yet matured, even though he still had as perfect vision as 5.0 without glasses, yet there seemed to be something wrong with his eyes.
By this time, Qiao Yu had already shut the door, turned around, and impassively looked back at the two women on the sofa, who were laughing exceptionally cheerfully. The chocolate was already in his stomach, and luckily there wasn't anything strange stuck to it.
However, Qiao Yu harbored much resentment over how this girl always used visiting his mom as an excuse to pester him for no reason.
"What are you looking at, brother, come sit," Keke graciously patted the tiny space left on the sofa next to her.
Qiao Yu felt troubled.
Once, with his wealth of naughty experiences, he had a thousand ways to handle this little girl. But as they grew older, reaching the age when even the adults thought it wasn't suitable to sleep in the same bed, all those tricks seemed to become ineffective overnight.
Plus, this little girl, whenever she had time, would come under the pretext of seeing his mom every evening, staying for a while until the adults called her home to sleep, eventually forming today's scenario over time.
Actually, Qiao Yu didn't really hate this cute little girl.
In earlier times, the adults often joked about the idea of a child betrothal, making the two of them quite shy at first.
However, since his grandfather passed away and Qiao Yu smoothly entered the ranks of the slow class, Uncle Xia and Aunt Su hadn't joked about that anymore. Of course, theoretically, maybe it was because they both grew older, making such jokes inappropriate.
But Qiao Yu could distinctly feel a faint sense of estrangement coming from deep within their bones.
Yes.
Though they'd still smile and greet each other whenever they met, it was ultimately different from before.
After all, Xia Keke was always a top student, consistently ranking within the top fifty of her grade, whereas he was merely muddling through class thirteen.
Still, this little girl never changed, remaining as straightforward as ever, calling him brother without a care in the world.
Now, she was even tilting her head high, looking at him provocatively.
Of course, Qiao Yu had not developed any habit of indulging this girl. He walked to the sofa, sat down, and with his body, slightly nudged the little girl towards Qiao Xi, forcing Qiao Xi to sit up straight in the process.
Xia Keke still maintained her trademark sweet smile, but in the next moment, Qiao Yu suddenly felt his hand being grasped. The touch was soft and slightly chilly.
Even though this wasn't the first time, Qiao Yu still found it a bit hard to get used to it; like how his heartbeat suddenly sped up for no reason. It suddenly made him feel sad, as he used to hold this little girl's hand and run around during their childhood without ever feeling this way.
Maybe this is what they call the "Growing Pains"?
"Brother, I want to continue watching that 'Soul Catcher' movie from the weekend. Can you watch it with me?" A soft pleading voice sounded in Qiao Yu's ear.
"Why didn't you go to evening self-study?" Qiao Yu asked seriously.
"It's my grandpa's sixtieth birthday today, so my mom helped me get an exemption, and since I improved by 12 ranks in my last mock exam, Teacher Su agreed! So let's quickly watch the movie, yes?"
"No, I've got another important task today, one that will change the world. No time for your nonsense," Qiao Yu said earnestly, subtly withdrawing his hand from the little girl's grasp.
Yes, he planned to go back to his room and dive into the 'Introduction to Riemannian Geometry' book, trying to comprehend those abstract concepts and theorems.
Before making a firm decision, Qiao Yu might hesitate and repeatedly ponder the feasibility, but once he decided to try this path, he would only think about how to go further on the road he chose.
If Qiao Yu didn't have this almost terrifying level of execution, it might have been hard for the Qiao Family to live as freely as they do now. Mainly because Lan Jie hadn't yet told him that for the Olympic Competition, it wasn't immediately necessary to learn or understand such abstract knowledge.
However, no sooner had the words left his mouth, than Xia Keke's previously bright eyes were already misted over: "Auntie, see, Qiao Yu is lying to me again."
Qiao Xi tossed the wine bottle aside, her hand already resting on the little girl's shoulder.
"Keke, Qiao Yu isn't lying to you this time. You didn't know, did you? Today a Math teacher surnamed Lan from your school's high school specifically came to visit for Qiao Yu, saying that Qiao Yu's mathematical abilities are high enough to participate in the national Mathematics Olympic Competition and win a gold medal. That's why your brother has decided to seriously study math starting today."
"Really? That's awesome! Brother, I knew you were a genius! Okay, I'll allow you not to watch the movie with me today." Xia Keke blinked, her gaze towards Qiao Yu filled with an indescribable sparkle.
Seeing the little girl's joyful look suddenly moved Qiao Yu somewhat.
He thought, maybe Keke coming to his house, the slacker's place, every day, brought quite a bit of pressure to her side too? Now that he thought about it, 'Soul Catcher' also seemed to have an educational theme...
This girl is truly naive!