I asked you to write a light novel, but you wrote about living?

The 13th Public Basic School in Xiacheng District.

The bell rang to signal the end of the second period in the afternoon.

The children in the classroom rushed out to grab a few electronic toys in the common activity area.

Chen Jianjia walked slowly into the classroom, carrying a stack of corrected homework.

She placed the homework on the podium and took out a paper bag wrapped in old newspapers from her cloth bag.

"I brought some more things for everyone today."

Chen Jianjia placed the paper bag on the podium and opened it.

Inside were a dozen or so palm-sized synthetic cookies, which smelled faintly of butter.

The classroom immediately became lively.

"Teacher Chen!"

"Me! Me! Me!"

"I'll go first!"

Tie Tou was the first to rush forward, grab a piece, and stuff it into his mouth.

Other children gradually gathered around.

Chen Jianjia smiled and handed out the cookies one by one, making sure each child got one.

Every week, she would pay out of her own pocket to buy some of these synthetic cookies and distribute them to the children in her class.

This stuff is very cheap in convenience stores in Midtown; you can buy a big box for just a few Star Coins.

But for these kids in the downtown area, a cookie with a creamy flavor was a rare treat.

When Chen Jianjia was assigned the last number, she found that Yu Yin was still sitting in her seat without moving.

"Yinyin, come and get it."

Chen Jianjia waved to her.

Yu Yin stood up and slowly walked to the front of the podium.

She looked at the bag of cookies that had only a few left and hesitated for a few seconds.

Then she looked up and whispered.

"Teacher Chen... I won't take it today."

Chen Jianjia was stunned for a moment.

"Um?"

Why don't you take it?

"Don't you like this?"

No!

Yu Yin quickly shook her head.

"I really like it!"

As she spoke, her face turned a little red.

"Well... I'm getting something delicious to eat today."

"Give it to another student."

Chen Jianjia raised her eyebrows slightly and smiled sweetly, saying:

"Oh?"

What's good to eat today?

Yu Yin pursed her lips.

She hadn't wanted to say it, but after being asked by Teacher Chen, she couldn't help herself.

She spoke softly, but with an undeniable pride.

"My brother said... he made money from his book."

"He gave me money in the morning and told me to go to the breakfast stall and buy meat buns and soy milk."

"That night he even said he'd take me to the black market to buy some good food."

At this point, the little girl's eyes lit up.

She looked up at Teacher Chen, and a pure expression of pride for others appeared on her usually timid face.

"Teacher Chen, my brother is really amazing."

Chen Jianjia looked at her and slowly smiled.

"Um."

She reached out and touched Yu Yin's slightly yellow hair.

"Then we'll share the cookies with others today, that's fine."

"The teacher will teach it again next week."

"Um!"

Yu Yin nodded vigorously.

She turned to return to her seat, but Chen Jianjia suddenly called her back.

"Yinyin."

"Teacher Chen?"

The lingering sound echoed back.

Chen Jianjia put away the remaining cookie bag, looked at her, and asked a seemingly casual question.

What book did your brother write?

What's the book's title?

Yu Yin was stunned.

She opened her mouth.

Then her face slowly turned red.

she does not know.

She never asked her brother what the book was called.

She had never even seen her brother's handwriting.

Every night she listens to her brother tell her stories, which are all impromptu stories he makes up to lull her to sleep.

But she had no idea what the book her brother actually typed in on the computer was called or what it contained.

All she knew was that her brother was typing on a keyboard every day.

All she knew was that her brother said the book could make money.

She didn't even know what the story in that book was about.

The little girl's face grew increasingly red.

She lowered her head, her little hands nervously clutching the hem of her clothes.

"I……"

"I have no idea."

Her voice was soft, tinged with a hint of shame.

"I didn't ask my brother."

She looked up, her eyes filled with an almost aggrieved embarrassment.

"Teacher Chen, I'm sorry, I'll go back and ask, and I can tell you tomorrow, okay?"

Chen Jianjia looked at her.

She suddenly felt sorry for the child.

A ten-year-old girl can be so proud of her brother's achievements that she refuses cookies, yet she doesn't even know the name of the book her brother wrote.

The brother who told the story of "The Little Prince" is probably the whole world in his sister's eyes.

But the younger sister never had the chance to truly enter her brother's world.

Chen Jianjia smiled and squatted down to be at eye level with her.

"OK."

"Teacher, don't rush."

"Go back and ask your brother."

"If your brother is willing to tell you, you can talk to the teacher tomorrow, okay?"

"Um!"

Yu Yin nodded vigorously.

Chen Jianjia straightened up and patted her head again.

"Go back to your seat."

"The next class is about to begin."

Yu Yin returned to her seat and sat down.

She lay on the table, looking out at the gray sky.

She thought to herself silently.

When I get home tonight, I must ask my brother.

What is the name of the book my brother wrote?

What kind of story is my brother writing?

Chen Jianjia stood behind the podium, slowly organizing her lesson plan.

Her gaze would occasionally sweep over Yu Yin's seat.

What kind of book will the person who can tell the story of the Little Prince write?

Chen Jianjia suddenly felt a little curious.

……

When the school bell rang, it was already getting dark in the lower part of the city.

In places like basements, the sun is already setting by four or five in the afternoon.

Yu Yin carried her tattered schoolbag and tucked the black card her brother had given her that morning into her pocket, heading home.

She didn't go straight home.

She took a detour and walked towards the familiar abandoned cargo spaceship building on the street corner.

The old blind man's black market pharmacy.

The hatch creaked open.

The old blind man sat behind the counter, his two cloudy mechanical prosthetic eyes focusing on Yu Yin with the slight turning of gears.

"...It's you again."

An ambiguous smile appeared on the old blind man's withered face.

"Little girl, you've come three times in two days."

"I've been in business for so many years."

"This is the first time I've encountered a teenager who treated me like a VIP."

Yu Yin smiled sheepishly.

"Uncle Blind, I need two doses of intermediate-level nerve blockers."

"I'd like two more vials of high-purity synthetic protein solution."

The old blind man's prosthetic eye flashed.

"Your brother is still alive?"

"Uncle Blind!"

Yu Yin was in a hurry.

"My brother is doing well!"

The old blind man chuckled, slowly turned his wheelchair, and took the items out of the temperature-controlled cabinet.

He pushed the goods onto the counter and looked at Yu Yin.

"Girl."

"Um?"

"I've been in the black market my whole life, I've seen all kinds of people."

"Last time you argued with me for ages over a bottle of inferior potion."

"You've come to buy intermediate-level blocking agents three times today."

The old blind man's prosthetic eye stared at her.

"Did your brother, that cripple, really make money?"

Yu Yin raised her head, and that undisguised pride resurfaced.

"Yeah! My brother made money writing books!"

He said his book had been selected by a platform!

"He even said someone was paying him to keep writing!"

The old blind man was stunned for a moment.

His prosthetic eye gears turned a few times.

These days, can you really make money by writing books by hand?

And he's a paralyzed boy who can't even afford medical insurance in the Xiacheng District?

The old blind man muttered to himself, but didn't say it aloud.

He spent his entire life in the black market business, and his biggest rule was—don't ask what you shouldn't ask, and don't utter a word you shouldn't utter.

But he recognized the light in the girl's eyes.

That's real, not fake.

The old blind man snorted.

"Alright, your brother's got guts."