"Comrade He Xiaoping, you have been admitted to our academy's School of Dance..."
At the home Liu Feng shared with He Xiaoping, Liu Feng had rarely invited Wang Yan over for drinks. Wang Yan looked at the admission notice from the Central Institute for Nationalities and read from it.
After looking over the notice, Wang Yan smiled. "You'd better keep this notice safe. Later, get it framed and hang it on the wall. Wouldn't that be nice?"
He Xiaoping, whose belly had already begun to swell, took the notice in a daze. She looked at Wang Yan, then at Liu Feng.
"Big brother, my real brother, why are you doing this now? It says I have to report by February 27. There isn't even a month left..."
"Put out that cigarette. Xiaoping's carrying your child. Smoking affects fetal development—don't smoke around her."
Liu Feng looked like he was about to die, but he still stubbed out his cigarette. "I'm worried, okay? Besides, you were the one who got me smoking. How did the timing turn out to be this damn perfect?"
"Didn't I tell you? I'd handle it for you. Even if I couldn't, she could take the exam again after the child was weaned. If you don't have enough money for formula, I'll make up the difference. What are you panicking for?"
Wang Yan took a sip of liquor and ate two peanuts before asking, "How much money do you have?"
"Just three hundred. It's not like you don't know—right now, I'm the only one getting an allowance. Xiaoping's pregnant, and you said she needed extra nutrition. My family isn't well-off either, so I have to send them some money. Once I go there, food alone will cost forty a month. We're already living off our savings. You've got