Lin Miao returned to the home screen after learning how to text and call on her smartphone.
It was originally the Young Master’s smartphone, and he had arranged all the app icons to the corners so as to not cover the wallpaper.
Lin Miao was met with a picture of her smiling under the sunshine.
The longer Lin Miao stared at the screen, the prettier she felt; the picture didn’t even look like her.
She fell in love with it.
The sun, the dogs, and the garden. Lin Miao was unsure of how she possessed such a beautiful smile then!
“Gege, you’re right, I do also look pretty.” Lin Miao laughed, her eyebrows curving into crescents.
Now, the Young Master affirmed with confidence, “Yes, that’s why I took you as my wallpaper.”
“Mhm, I also want to set myself as my wallpaper.” She was overjoyed by how pretty she looked.
The Young Master set the wallpaper on his new phone, and then moved all the apps to the corners to show the picture.
An idea sparked in Lin Miao’s head. “Gege, let me take a picture of you!”
The Young Master taught her how to take pictures.
Lin Miao proceeded to snap photos of the Young Master as she spoke, “So that I could look at them when I miss you during my competitions.”
The Young Master paused, then erupted with happiness..
Lin Miao continued to take photos, looking professional.
Looking at her older brother’s picture, Lin Miao asked him, “Gege, can I switch it to this?”
She didn’t know how to change wallpapers, so she asked her older brother how to change it to the picture of him.
The roots of the Young Master’s ears reddened before turning to teach her.
“Gege still looks the best.” Lin Miao said, “I definitely won’t lose my phone after this.”
Lin Miao was looking at the person on her phone screen with her hand to her chin when she spoke.
The Young Master didn’t know what to do with his heart. It was jumping all over the place even though Lin Miao had been staring at her phone and not him.
Fortunately, the two still remembered their main objective for the day.
They were here to buy presents for Lin Miao’s family.
The two strode around the mall finding the perfect gifts. They bought Lin Miao’s father a massage chair, since he always complained about his waist feeling sore and his back pain. They purchased a necklace for her mother, and a study tablet for her younger brother.
Apart from the massage chair, the two carried the rest of the presents.
They proceeded to buy candy.
They ended up with around 2.5 to 3 kilograms for all of Lin Miao’s friends in the village.
The Young Master thought for a moment. “Let’s get them some books as well.”
Lin Miao had developed an affinity with studying, so she naturally supported her older brother. The Young Master picked out a pile of storybooks, all with positive energy, and some workbooks.
The Young Master paid for those items.
The Young Master remembered that there was a school in Lin Miao’s village. He didn’t want her to have to carry all of the books back.
Since he bought so many, he found someone in the bookstore to mail it to the school.
He asked Lin Miao for the address before doing so.
It was gratitude for the kids who accompanied Lin Miao.
Unlike Lin Miao, who was quite naive, the Young Master perceived things in a very logical manner.
He understood the importance of learning for the children in the mountains, and it was also what drove him to tell Lin Miao to say that working outside of the village wasn’t fun when they asked her on the phone.
That night, the Young Master didn’t receive any messages or calls from Lin Miao’s phone.
For the past few years, he had few chances to reach out to her.
Lin Miao frequently travelled, and she only called with landlines. At home, she used her father’s phone.
It became habitual for him to wait for Lin Miao to call him, so it took a while for him to remember that Lin Miao owned a smartphone now. He messaged her as he was worried about disturbing her with phone calls. He didn’t know whether she was eating with her family or doing work.
She’d respond to his text if she wasn’t busy, and it wouldn’t distract her if she was.
“Shuishui, did you eat yet?”
“Yes! What’s Gege doing right now?” Lin Miao quickly responded.
“Waiting for Shuishui to message me.”
“Then I’ll message you now…”
The two continued to chat. Even though their conversations were plain, both sides were excited.
A few days later, everyone in Lin Miao’s family headed back to their village.
The ceremonies were held on the first, so they departed on the thirtieth of the lunar calendar.
They arrived in the evening. They had contacted the village head beforehand, so they stayed at his house for the night.
The village head wasn’t aware that Lin Miao was a badminton athlete. After all, there was little to no focus on these things here.
Lin Miao only learned during dinner that Da Mei and Xiao Mei were both married, and that they were returning on the second.
Xiao Mei was two years older than her, so she was seventeen. Da Mei was four years older than her, so she was nineteen.
Her friend, little Ling, also had someone...
No wonder no one came to welcome her when she returned this year.
During dusk before the New Year, Lin Miao had an indescribable feeling.
She shared rooms with her mother, and her brother shared rooms with her father.
Her mood wasn’t high anymore. She didn’t talk much upon arriving at the village, which her mother had noticed.
“What’s wrong?” Lin Miao’s mother asked.
“Time feels like it’s passing so fast.” Lin Miao hugged her mother. It felt as if everybody was still avidly discussing their futures the day before, but now she was the only one that remained.
Lin Miao’s mother sighed in her head. She began, “Life is a process of accepting this.”
However, more of her wanted to say that the real sadness will be when Lin Miao sees her friends now taking care of children and working hard.
Lin Miao rose up after her mother fell asleep. She couldn’t sleep.
It had been some years since she last visited. The place in which she spent her childhood had changed drastically.
Lin Miao snuck out of the room and climbed up to the house’s roof.
She and her friends loved to sit on top of this roof.
The same stars hung on the night sky. The distant mountains were now only black silhouettes. They would tell each other kid-eating horror stories from their grandparents.
Now, she was the only one left. She wondered how everyone else was doing.
Powering up her phone, she saw the Young Master smiling at her.
Lin Miao also missed him. He seemed to never have left her since they met.
He would find her wherever she went.
He found her with the three dogs when she was in town.
He visited her with snacks when she was in the sports school.
He even found her when she was competing abroad.
How can there be such a good older brother in this world!
Lin Miao was filled with love for her older brother! So full that it was overflowing!
She couldn’t help but message him: “Happy New Year, Gege! I like you so so so much! I hope we never separate from each other in the future!”
I will never leave Gege! Never ever! It really feels horrible. She thought.