Brother! This is the adoption certificate. I don't want your sister-in-law!

Su Xiao held the yellowed note in her hand, motionless.

The writing on the note was very small, and some of the strokes were crooked.

When I wrote the word "dislike," I probably used too much force, and the pencil poked a small hole in the paper.

He could picture that scene.

A little girl was lying on her desk, carefully writing with a pencil. When she finished writing the last few words, tears fell from her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand.

Every day, she would slip the coins she saved into the seam of the pig's back, and with a clink, it was the money she had saved for her brother's computer.

Later, we didn't buy a computer, but my brother still went to the internet cafe every day.

That piggy bank had been sitting on her desk for a long time.

But she still deposited money into it every day...

Su Xiao stuck the note in her palm and continued picking up the coins on the ground with her other hand.

One.

One.

One more.

He gathered the broken porcelain pieces into a pile and neatly stacked the coins and banknotes on the coffee table.

Then he sat on the floor, leaning against the sofa, and stared at the note for a long time.

……

In the afternoon, Su Xiao entered the classroom right as the class bell rang.

When he pushed open the back door, the English teacher was already standing on the podium, chalk held in mid-air. She glanced back at him, said nothing, and continued writing words on the blackboard.

It seems that all the teachers have treated him like he's invisible.

Su Xiao didn't care and plopped down next to Xu Niannian, the chair leg scraping against the floor with a short, sharp scream.

Xu Niannian quickly moved her little bottom to the side.

It's not disdain, it's instinct.

Like a hamster that's been chased by a cat for a long time, even if the cat is in a good mood and doesn't attack, the hamster will still instinctively hide first.

After she finished moving, she secretly glanced at Su Xiao again, afraid that he would notice, afraid that he would be unhappy, afraid that he would glare at her fiercely again.

Then she secretly and little by little moved her little bottom back.

They moved a tiny bit closer than before.

Su Xiao seemed absent-minded, her gaze fixed on the desk, her fingers unconsciously twirling a pen.

Xu Niannian watched quietly from the side.

Her pen remained untouched, and the page of her textbook lying open on the table was still from the previous lesson.

She bit her lower lip, her fingers twisting the hem of her school uniform under the desk, twisting and loosening it repeatedly.

Then she reached out her finger and poked Su Xiao's arm.

It's very light.

It's like poking a balloon that could burst at any moment.

"What are you doing?" Su Xiao turned around.

He felt that his tone was quite normal.

But perhaps still thinking about the broken porcelain shards and the yellowed note from noon, his voice was a little deeper than usual.

Xu Niannian was startled by his tone and shrank back, her fingers quickly retracting and her shoulders hunching.

But she still didn't back down.

She took the bag from under her desk; it was an ordinary plastic bag, neatly folded.

She placed the bag on Su Xiao's desk, then took his school uniform jacket out of the bag, folded it neatly, and placed it next to the bag.

Then she took out a wad of cash from her pants pocket.

It's still the same hundred yuan, but it's been broken down into smaller coins.

She placed the money on her coat and pushed it towards her with both hands.

Then she lowered her head, her voice so soft it sounded like it was coming from a crack in the ground.

"I'll give you the money back... Please don't go to work anymore."

Su Xiao was stunned for a moment.

He looked at the stack of money on the table and the neatly folded coat, then looked down at Xu Niannian.

She wasn't wearing his coat anymore.

She still instinctively covered her collar with her hands, but not as tightly as before.

His gaze lingered on her bulging chest for a second, then he grinned.

"Did you buy underwear?"

Xu Niannian's face flushed red instantly.

My whole body, from my neck to the tips of my ears, from my cheeks to my forehead, was burning.

She suddenly covered her collar with both hands, shrank back into the corner, wishing she could squeeze herself into a crack in the wall.

She kept her head down, her chin almost buried in her chest, and her voice was so soft it was barely audible.

"……Um."

Seeing her like this, Su Xiao laughed even harder.

"How many items did you buy?"

Xu Niannian's fingers fiddled with the zipper of her school uniform, making a sound softer than a mosquito's buzz.

"...one item."

Su Xiao pushed the money back, pressed her fingers on the stack of banknotes, and pushed it towards her.

"Then I'll buy a few more when I get back, just in case I tear them again."

Xu Niannian's face turned so red it was almost bleeding.

She pushed the money back towards him, saying, "I...I don't want your money."

"This was originally intended as compensation for you."

"Then I don't want your compensation."

Xu Niannian lowered her head and spoke in a soft voice, but she finished in one breath.

It seemed like these words had been bottled up inside her for a long time, and if she didn't say them soon, they would rot away.

"If you break it, I'll just buy another one."

Su Xiao stared at the stack of money that had been pushed back and remained silent for two seconds.

This girl, who usually cowers in a ball when he glares at her, is quite stubborn now.

He suddenly had the idea to tease her, so he moved the chair half an inch closer to her.

Xu Niannian instinctively leaned back.

"Xu Niannian".

"……Um."

Do you know why I need to go out and earn money?

Xu Niannian fell silent.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly.

Su Xiao sighed.

"Because I felt sorry for you. I was really ashamed because I ruined your underwear last time, and I was thinking of going out to earn some money to make it up to you."

Xu Niannian was stunned.

Her lips moved, and the fear in her eyes was gradually replaced by another emotion.

She had never seen anything like it coming toward her before, something that no one else had ever seen.

She didn't know how to describe it, only that her heart was beating very fast, so fast that it hurt a little.

She thought it might be because he was rebellious, or that he didn't like studying.

I never considered that... he was making money for himself!

She lowered her head, her voice even softer than before, so soft it seemed she was only speaking to herself.

"You don't need to make it up to me... Just focus on your studies."

Su Xiao's eyes lit up.

He moved closer, instantly reducing the distance between them.

Xu Niannian could smell the faint scent of soap on his school uniform, and a hint of the chili powder from the fried skewers he had eaten at noon.

He turned his head and leaned close to her ear, his breath warm and ticklish against her earlobe.

"That won't work."

His voice was very low, so low that only the two of them could hear it.

"How about... you become my girlfriend? I'll make it up to you later!"

Xu Niannian suddenly raised her head.

Her eyes widened in terror, as if she had heard news of the sky falling.

Her lips opened and closed repeatedly, her whole face as red as a steamed bun just taken out of a steamer, her head practically steaming.

She froze there, too afraid to move, only her eyelashes blinking frantically.