Third Brother's Bet with the Teacher

The next morning, Fu Yanzhi got up early and found Third Brother already waiting for him in the kitchen. Puzzled, he asked, "Third Brother, why are you up so early today? It's only six. You can sleep for another hour. Go back to bed."

Wen Shiming shook his head. "Big Brother, I'm not sleepy. Can you teach me to make a tasty dessert today? Big Brother, I want to learn."

Hearing that Third Brother wanted to learn to make dessert, Fu Yanzhi teased him, "You're making it for your good deskmate, aren't you? Sure enough, a grown-up brother can't be kept at home."

Wen Shiming sidled up to Fu Yanzhi, took his hand, and said coquettishly, "Big Brother, my dear Big Brother, please teach your little brother. I'm begging you, pretty please?"

Seeing him like that, Fu Yanzhi hurriedly pushed him aside. "All right, all right, I'll teach you. Stop grossing me out. Keep it up much longer, and you won't have a big brother anymore."

Wen Shiming chuckled and immediately stood up straight. Fu Yanzhi tied on an apron and began preparing the ingredients. "I'll teach you to make tiramisu today. Kids usually love this dessert."

Wen Shiming watched his big brother's every move intently from the side, hardly daring to blink.

Whipping the egg whites, beating the yolks, mixing the ingredients—Fu Yanzhi worked with practiced skill, while Wen Shiming watched, itching to try. After what felt like forever, Big Brother finally said, "You try." Wen Shiming eagerly took the utensils.

But the seemingly simple steps went wrong in his hands. He overwhipped the egg whites and spilled quite a bit of the mixture while stirring.

Wen Shiming's head drooped in disappointment. Fu Yanzhi patted his shoulder. "That's pretty good for a first try. Take your time."

Encouraged by his big brother, Wen Shiming rallied, and under Fu Yanzhi's guidance, he finally finished making the tiramisu.

Looking at the finished dessert, Wen Shiming broke into a brilliant smile. He was already looking forward to his deskmate's reaction when he presented it to him.

Seeing Third Brother's smitten expression, Fu Yanzhi found it hard not to imagine him becoming a love-brain in the future.

After using the remaining ingredients to make breakfast, Fu Yanzhi went to wake his younger brothers. When Huanhuan came downstairs and saw Third Brother holding a cake, he smiled and asked, "Third Brother, is that cake for me? I want some."

Wen Shiming hurriedly hid the cake behind his back and shook his head repeatedly. "Be good, Huanhuan. This cake isn't for you."

Huanhuan immediately pouted, tears welling in his eyes. "Third Brother is mean. He won't let Huanhuan have any."

At a loss, Wen Shiming looked to Big Brother for help.

Fu Yanzhi walked over with a smile and patted Huanhuan's head. "Huanhuan, Third Brother is giving this cake to a friend. How about I make you an even prettier one later?"

Huanhuan sniffled. "All right, then. Huanhuan wants a bigger, prettier one."

Wen Shiming breathed a sigh of relief, carefully set the cake aside, and checked it again to make sure it hadn't been damaged.

Just then, Bo Qing sauntered downstairs. Seeing what was happening, he teased, "Oh, Third Brother, you've really put a lot of thought into this for your good deskmate."

Wen Shiming blushed and protested, "Th-that's not it. I'm just thanking him, that's all." But the corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily and gave him away.

After breakfast, Wen Shiming carefully packaged the tiramisu and set off for school, full of anticipation for the moment he would see his deskmate.

After Zheng Long dropped Bo Qing and Wen Shiming off at the school gates, Wen Shiming hurried back to his classroom without even saying goodbye to Bo Qing. Behind him, Bo Qing smiled and shook his head. "A grown-up brother can't be kept at home."

The bell for morning reading hadn't rung yet. Liu Xu had just opened his Chinese textbook when someone lightly tapped the corner of his desk.

He looked up and met Wen Shiming's smiling eyes. Wen Shiming was holding a square paper box, and the sweet scent of cream drifted over with the warmth rising from it. "Thanks for speaking up for me yesterday. I made this tiramisu myself, for you."

Liu Xu's fingertips instantly tensed, and he instinctively wanted to pull back. At his old school, no one had ever given her anything for no reason. All they had handed him were crumpled balls of paper, or snacks they pretended to share but had hidden bugs in.

But Wen Shiming's gaze was so clear, without a trace of mockery. A crooked note was stuck to the box, saying, "Chocolate flavor, not bitter."

His throat bobbed. He didn't dare reach out, only saying softly, "You don't have to thank me... I didn't do anything. Besides, you already thanked me yesterday, so I won't take it."

"How can you say you didn't do anything? We're good brothers, aren't we?" Wen Shiming pushed the box toward him. His fingertips brushed Liu Xu's uniform cuff, then quickly withdrew. His tone was as natural as if he were talking about the weather.

Liu Xu looked at the slightly melted cream on the box and finally reached out slowly. The moment his fingertips touched it, he suddenly remembered the strawberry lollipop in the side pocket of his schoolbag. He had hesitated for a long time at the little shop after school yesterday before buying it, intending to eat it secretly himself. Now, though, it seemed there was a better place for it.

He quickly unzipped his schoolbag and held out the lollipop in its pink-and-white wrapper. His voice was a little louder than before, with a hint of a smile he hadn't noticed. "Then I'll take it. This is for you. Strawberry flavor, not sour."

Wen Shiming paused. As he accepted it, he smiled, showing his little canine teeth, and twirled the wrapper between his fingertips. "Okay, then we've exchanged snacks."

The sound of morning reading gradually filled the room. Liu Xu looked down at the tiramisu on the corner of his desk. The warmth of the box seeped through his fingertips, making his heart swell.

He secretly pried open the box a little with his fingernail. The aroma of cocoa powder rushed into his nose, so sweet it hardly seemed real. He had always thought his long hair was a shadow he couldn't shake off, but now, as the morning light fell on its ends, even the sweet scent in the air seemed to grow a little gentler.

The warning bell rang abruptly, and the classroom door swung open. Wang Chenchen walked in carrying an English textbook. Her gaze swept across the classroom from behind her glasses and finally settled on Liu Xu.

Her brows immediately knitted, and her voice carried an unmistakable sternness. "New girl, why are you still hanging your head in class? And you haven't even tidied your hair. What kind of appearance is that?"

The classroom fell silent at once, and several gazes quietly landed on Liu Xu. His grip on his pen tightened, his knuckles turning white. He took a deep breath and said, not loudly but clearly, "Teacher, I'm a boy."

"A boy?" Wang Chenchen's voice rose sharply, her gaze prickly. "What's the meaning of wearing your hair so long? Neither a proper man nor a proper woman—what are you if not a pervert? Or do you want to be a ladyboy?"

Her words were like a stone thrown into water, stirring a murmur through the classroom. Liu Xu's face burned. He lowered his head even further, his long hair nearly covering his entire face, and crumpled the corner of his textbook between his fingertips.

Just then, the chair beside him creaked, and Wen Shiming shot to his feet. "Teacher Wang," he said, his voice not particularly loud, but it brought the murmuring in the classroom to an abrupt halt, "the length of someone's hair doesn't define their gender, does it? And no one has ever said boys can't have long hair. I think what you just said offended Liu Xu. You need to apologize to him."

Wang Chenchen froze. Her gaze swept toward Wen Shiming from behind her glasses, tinged with anger. "Why are you standing up? This is class time. Is it your place to speak?"

"But what you said was wrong." Wen Shiming didn't sit down. Instead, he moved closer to Liu Xu, his shoulder lightly touching Liu Xu's arm, as if offering him a little support. "Liu Xu didn't do anything wrong. You can't call him a pervert just because he has long hair."

Sitting in his chair, Liu Xu could feel the warmth from Wen Shiming's arm. He slowly raised his head, and for the first time, the usual timidity was gone from the eyes beneath his long hair.

Sunlight streamed through the window, falling on the tiramisu box on the desk and on the ends of his hanging hair, yet it no longer made him feel suffocated.

Wang Chenchen's face flushed scarlet. Humiliated and furious, she glared at Wen Shiming. "You're openly talking back to your teacher! Fine! You only score in the sixties or seventies in English, and you dare speak to me like that? Since you're so determined to defend him, I won't make things difficult for you. If you score 90 on next week's midterm English exam, I'll apologize to Liu Xu. But if you don't, you can withdraw from school."

Wen Shiming nodded without hesitation. "All right, I agree. I hope you keep your word when the time comes."

Wang Chenchen snorted coldly and began the morning reading lesson. During class, Liu Xu stole occasional glances at Wen Shiming, both touched and a little worried.

After class, he said softly to Wen Shiming, "You don't have to do this for me. You seem to have offended the teacher just now because of me."

Wen Shiming patted his shoulder and smiled unconcernedly. "Relax, you don't have to worry about me. I'll definitely score 90, and then I'll make Teacher Wang give you a proper apology."

Liu Xu was deeply touched by Wen Shiming's words. His eyes reddened as he said, "I'll stay with you. I'll help you."

Wen Shiming nodded happily, then said shyly, "Um, well, my English is a little poor. Please don't get angry teaching me and stop talking to me forever."

Seeing him like that, Liu Xu covered his mouth and laughed. "Don't worry, I won't. I believe in you."

Over the following days, Wen Shiming plunged headfirst into studying English. During breaks, while others went out to play, he memorized vocabulary and Liu Xu taught him grammar.

That evening, when Wen Shiming returned home, he told everyone what had happened that day. Xingxing teased him from the side, "Getting Third Brother to score over 90 in English is harder than climbing to heaven."

Huanhuan shook his head and chimed in, "Hard, hard."

Wen Shiming pretended not to hear them and said to himself, "I'll definitely score 90 and make Teacher Wang apologize to Liu Xu."

Seeing Third Brother's determined expression, Fu Yanzhi smiled. "Good, Third Brother, you've got ambition. I support you. I'll find you an English tutor to help you every day."

Bo Qing also said, "Don't worry. Second Brother can teach you too."

Wen Shiming's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly. "Great, great! Thank you, Big Brother. Thank you, Second Brother."

Yueyue and Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "We believe in you, Third Brother. Third Brother is the best! Go, Third Brother!"

Wen Shiming didn't dare pause for a moment that evening. As soon as he finished his homework, he started grinding through English exercises.

Meanwhile, after school, Liu Xu went home clutching his English textbook. His father wasn't home that day, and the house was so quiet he could hear the clock ticking.

He spread Wen Shiming's English notes on the table and took out the key grammar points he had organized, copying them stroke by stroke into a new notebook. Wen Shiming wasn't very good at English; he had scored only 75 on his last quiz. Ninety was far too difficult for him.

The desk lamp shone on the paper. Liu Xu's pen paused as he recalled Wen Shiming standing in front of him that day: the boy's ears had been a little red, but his back was ramrod straight, like a sapling facing the wind, shielding him from all the malice.

He sorted the materials he had prepared by question type and drew little strawberry marks beside the points where mistakes were easily made. Wen Shiming liked sweet things, so perhaps seeing the marks would help him remember better. By the time he finished, it was completely dark outside.

Liu Xu took out a new diary and turned to a blank page. As his pen touched down, the ink spread across the paper. "Today Teacher Wang called me a pervert. I was so scared, as if I'd gone back to the days when people bullied me. But Wen Shiming stood up and spoke for me. He stood so straight, like he was protecting me.

"I organized some English materials for her. I hope he can score 90, and I also hope... that someone will still be like him in the future and not laugh at my hair."

Liu Xu finished the last line and put down his pen. Moonlight shone in through the window and fell on the diary, while the warmth between the lines quietly spread across the page.

At midnight, Fu Yanzhi noticed that the light was still on in Third Brother's room. Seeing him work so hard, he felt both distressed and comforted.

Fu Yanzhi went downstairs, warmed a glass of milk, and brought it up to Third Brother. Handing it to him, he said, "It's late. Get some rest for now. Tomorrow's Saturday, so I'll get you a teacher. You can study with the teacher."

Wen Shiming took the milk and drank it in one gulp. He wiped the milk from the corners of his mouth and said, "I'll study a little longer, Big Brother. You go to bed first. I'll sleep when I'm tired."

Fu Yanzhi shook his head helplessly and returned to his room. Wen Shiming kept studying for a while longer, until he was so sleepy he couldn't go on, and fell asleep slumped over his desk.

The next morning, Wen Shiming found himself lying in bed. A knock at the door woke him with a start.

He opened the door to find Big Brother with a gentle-looking woman wearing glasses. "This is Teacher Zhang. She'll be tutoring you in English from now on," Fu Yanzhi said.

Fu Yanzhi smiled and said to Wen Shiming, "Third Brother, study hard at home. I'm taking the others to a competition."

Wen Shiming nodded, and Fu Yanzhi took his younger brothers to the Xiaoxiao Club.

Teacher Zhang greeted Wen Shiming with a smile and began their first tutoring session. Her teaching methods were distinctive, making difficult concepts easy to understand, and Wen Shiming studied diligently.

During a break, Wen Shiming took out his phone and messaged Liu Xu: "My tutoring started today. I can definitely do this!"

Liu Xu quickly replied, "I believe in you. I'm working hard to organize materials for you too. I hope they can help."

To help Wen Shiming better understand the concepts, Liu Xu had drawn the grammar lessons in comic form. He carefully colored each comic, and the strawberry marks stood out in particular.

He sent them to Wen Shiming one by one, saying, "That's all of them. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me, and I'll explain it to you."

Wen Shiming sent Liu Xu a sticker of a cute penguin thanking a big shot.

Liu Xu found the sticker Wen Shiming sent amusing. He saved it and chatted with Wen Shiming a little longer, then Wen Shiming went back to studying.