12 Golden Brothers

  "How beautiful!"

  Looking at the beautiful scenery in front of her, Lin Peipei couldn't help but exclaim with genuine admiration. After a while, she let out a long sigh, feeling somewhat sentimental.

  "This is my second time watching the sunrise. The first time was with Jin Ge, that was still ten years ago... At that time, we were also sitting here, and sat through the whole night..."

  "Who is Brother Jin?"

  Qin Feng was somewhat curious about the person Lin Peipei mentioned, but it was just pure curiosity and nothing more, because he knew that over the past decade or so, there must have been others who appeared by Lin Peipei's side.

  Lin Pei Pei turned her head and looked at him, seeing his calm face, she continued to say, "Jin Ge, is a boy I met when I first started school. That year, after you and Qin Dad, Qin Mom moved away, I was very sad and heartbroken, as if I had grown up overnight, understanding many things that I didn't understand before, and never thought of. I understood that not everyone in this world revolves around me, I understood that even when everyone is together, it's good, but also will have to part ways, I understood that only by relying on my own efforts can I get what I want... You said, as long as I don't cry and be a strong brother like you, you'll come back to find me. So I didn't cry anymore. At the time, I thought that if I could surpass Brother, you would come back. I wanted you to come back quickly, thinking about how to surpass Brother, scratching my head and thinking, what's so great about Brother? He's good at fighting, every time he fights with other kids, he wins, so I went to learn Taekwondo; Brother is good at drawing little people, those little people can move, so I went to learn painting; Brother can jump high, jumping up to pick the fruit on the tree, so I went to learn dance..."

  Lin Pei Pei turned around and looked at Qin Feng, who had been staring at her all along. She smiled and continued, "Later, I went to school, and Jin Ge was in my class, sitting at the same desk as me. He was from H country, two years older than me, and his father was a diplomat stationed in M province at that time. He was very thin and small back then, always being bullied by some bigger kids in school. One time after school, he was cornered and beaten up, I happened to see it when I walked by. My brother often told me to help those who were weaker than myself, and stand up against those who were stronger, so I ran over to help him out. Of course, with my limited skills at that time, I couldn't really fight off the bigger kids, but they all knew my brother was protecting me, so they didn't dare touch me. Seeing me step in, they all ran away immediately. I remember scolding Jin Ge afterwards, saying he wasn't manly enough, and even if he couldn't win a fight, he shouldn't let others bully him like that, it was embarrassing for his parents. After scolding him, I left. Who knew that from then on, he would follow me everywhere? He'd wait for me after school to walk home together, stay at my place till dinner time before leaving, come over early in the morning to wait for me to go to school together... basically we were inseparable for those few years. People would often tease us, saying we were twins, and I was happy to have a companion, so I let him follow me around. Later on, his mom got sick and had to return to their country for treatment, but he refused to leave with them, instead ran to my place and stayed there for a year. That's how he kept following me until ten years ago when his dad returned to their country after finishing his term, and he had no choice but to leave. The night before he left, we sat here together, watching the stars till sunrise, and I didn't say a word to him, nor did I see him off. That night, I went out and got drunk, really drunk, to the point of being hospitalized... everyone thought it was because Jin Ge had left that I got drunk. But it wasn't. That night, there was this kid who often played with Jin Ge, he got into trouble with a woman from a local gang, and the gang leader wanted him to cut off one of his fingers as an apology. Jin Ge wasn't around, so I went in his place. The gang leader saw that I was just a young girl, so he bullied me, saying if I could finish 20 cups of wine in front of him, he'd let the kid go. I drank it all, not knowing what kind of liquor they had mixed into the wine... after two cups, I already felt something was off, but I still forced myself to drink on. The gang leader originally just wanted to scare me away, didn't think I'd actually finish the wine, so he was pretty impressed with me. Not only did he let the kid go, but he also declared that as long as I was around, no one would dare cause trouble in this area... not even his own people were allowed to come and stir up trouble. He asked if I had any other requests, and I just asked him to keep this whole thing under wraps, don't let anyone know what happened after we left the place. After that, while I was still a bit sober, I quickly pulled the kid away with me. The kid wanted to send me home, but I didn't let him, saying if he did, he'd have to explain why I got drunk, and this whole thing would get out again... so I told him to go back home, not tell his parents what happened, and definitely don't let them come find me. If they knew about this, it would affect his father's career... people in their line of work can't have kids who are mixed up with gangs, or else others would talk. So this whole thing had to be kept under wraps. I'd rather people misunderstand that I got drunk because Jin Ge left. Later on, the kid's dad found out about what happened and came to thank me secretly... I told him if he really wanted to keep this whole thing quiet, he should send his son away for a few years before letting him come back. The father did just that, and the whole thing was quietly settled. But because of Jin Ge, people still think I got drunk because of him, even my family members... maybe they still think so till now."

  Qin Feng quietly listened to Lin Pei Pei's words, recalling the events of those years. His heart was like a pot of boiling porridge, churning with emotions. He didn't know that his comforting words when he left had given her so many ideas beyond her peers; he didn't know she had made so much effort for the empty promise he couldn't fulfill; he didn't know about the entanglements between her and Jin Ge over those years. Regret, heartache, a hint of joy, mixed with jealousy, and some indescribable feelings intertwined, constantly churning, on the verge of overflowing. Despite the turmoil inside, his face remained calm, only revealing a hint of emotion in his eyes. From now on, he would make sure to be by her side, making up for not being able to participate in the past.

  Lin Pei Pei finished speaking and didn't make another sound. She just quietly gazed at the distant morning mist, which gradually dissipated in the sunlight as day broke.

  When going down the mountain, Qin Feng asked Lin Peipei if she had anything to do today and said that if not, he would go teach her how to drive. Lin Peipei wasn't in a hurry to learn immediately, saying that she still had an unfinished painting draft on hand and wanted to finish it first. Qin Feng said he would come over again in the afternoon to accompany her, but didn't send her all the way home, and the two parted ways at the gate, each returning on their own.

  Back to the dormitory, handled some official business, read a book for a while, it was almost noon, thinking about it, didn't know what this little girl was doing, so I made a phone call, at this time Lin Peipei was painting with oil paint.

  "Hey, Brother Feng, it's just in time. Can you help me order some takeout? There's no one at home and I'm busy right now... Don't forget to order for me... Anything is fine, just bring it over... Alright, I'll hang up."

  Put down the phone and continue to apply oil paint on the canvas, eat whatever, let Peak brother worry about it.

  Half an hour later, Qin Feng brought two fast food portions to the Lin's house. He opened the door and went in familiarly, put the food on a plate in the kitchen, and carried it to Lin Peipei's room together.

  "Pepe, come over and eat first, there's nothing good to eat outside, so I just made some stir-fried rice, come while it's still hot."

  Qin Feng handed one over to Lin Peipei and sat down beside her on the sofa with another, looking at her draft together.

  "Is the drawing done? Not bad! It's really beautiful."

  "Of course, and without even looking at who painted it."

  Lin Pei Pei was beautifully displaying her elegance while eating and talking with him about the past when she paid homage to her master.

  "You don't know, the year I submitted that application drawing, it was a sensation. Do you know what I drew? You don't know, right? At the time, I drew a plaster bust, but then I added a fly to the face of the bust. My teacher took me as his apprentice just because of that fly. He wasn't planning to take on students at first, he was only an examiner, but when he saw that fly on my drawing... Later, he told me that when he first looked at my application, he didn't think it had much originality, everyone was drawing plaster busts, and they thought the fly was just a random one that flew in. They swatted at it a few times before realizing it was painted on. He exclaimed 'genius!' and then I became his student.

  After that, my fly became popular for a while, and other professors called it the "Pipi insect". The students even made fun of it, adding "Pipi insects" to everything - still life with "Pipi insects", portraits with "Pipi insects", flowers with "Pipi insects"... anything that was drawn had one on it. Do you know what my first semester exam question was? When I saw the question, I wasn't depressed to death... it was actually another "Pipi insect"!

  After that, the "Pipi insect" became a required subject for testing new students' comprehensive quality. According to my teacher's words, if you can't draw a "Pipi insect", then there's no need to learn oil painting, because sketching is the foundation of oil painting. If the foundation isn't good, what else is there to say?"

  "You're really amazing."

  "Heh heh, not bad!"

  Lin Peipei saw Qin Feng flattering her, delighted to see her teeth not seeing her eyes, put down the plate and prepared to get up, but one foot kicked the tea machine bottom, body shape slanted, and fell to one side. Qin Feng, sitting next to him, stretched out his long arm and hugged her into his arms.

  Lin Pei Pei lay in Qin Feng's arms, and for a while she didn't react, just staring blankly at him with her eyes wide open. At this time, Wu Shu Lan's voice came from downstairs.

  Just arrived home, Wu Shulan wanted to ask her daughter if she had eaten yet. Seeing Qin Feng and her daughter coming out together didn't surprise her at all. She said that she was just about to have her daughter call him, so since he's here, don't leave, stay and help wrap dumplings. Then she walked into the kitchen, secretly delighted, thinking "Ah, it looks like something good is happening. Look at their red faces, maybe they were doing something earlier... Ah no, did I ruin things? Why didn't I come home a bit later?"

  Alas! Lin Mama, are you overthinking?