The final exams had been a grand affair, but they lasted only a day. When the bell rang to end the last exam, Shen Yu slowly shuffled out of school, his face numb as he shook his boneless right hand.
"My hand is seriously ruined." Sprawled across the back seat, Shen Yu peeled off the layers of padded coats that had bundled him into a ball, then shook his unresponsive right hand with a look of utter despair.
"At least it's over." Shen Jin expertly put both their schoolbags in the front, then lay back comfortably beside him.
"Little Jin, your ears are so red." Tilting his head, Shen Yu noticed his younger brother's bright red ears and immediately leaned over for a curious look.
Warm breath brushed his ear. Shen Jin leaned his head back uncomfortably, then caught Shen Yu's pitiful expression and shrugged, immune to it. "Yours are even redder than mine."
Shen Yu rubbed his ears. Compared with his cold, aching hands, his ears really were giving off heat, flushed bloodred.
"I don't know why either. My ears always turn red during exams." Shen Yu sighed in wonder, then remembered to praise himself. "Maybe I was concentrating too hard. Hard work pays off."
He was praising himself before the results were even out. Shen Jin no longer knew how to respond to his shameless older brother and could only express his protest through silence.
Their shared space was as noisy as ever. Shen Yu's one-man comedy routine dispelled the emptiness that followed the exams. Shen Jin rested with his eyes closed, feeling that having an automatic player beside him was rather nice.
Although it rarely snowed in the south, the weather was dry and cold. Preparing to get out, they bundled themselves in layers again, then burst