Professor Xie, isn't this a case of forcing customers to buy products that don't match the

Holding that heavy umbrella, Shang Song ran back to his dormitory through the puddles.

He folded the umbrella and leaned against the door.

The second brother was playing a game when he heard him come back. He looked up, his gaze swept over the black umbrella, and then he saw Shang Song grab his clothes and go into the bathroom.

When Shang Song came out of the shower, he found the second brother squatting in front of the umbrella behind the door, touching the ribs of the umbrella with his hand.

"What are you doing?" Shang Song asked, wiping his hair.

The second brother didn't answer. He picked up the umbrella again, weighed it in his hand, examined it for a while, and then put it back in its place. He turned to the man and asked, "Shang Xiaosong, where did you get this umbrella?"

Shang Song: "Professor Xie lent it to me, what's wrong?"

The second brother opened the browser, typed for a while, and then turned the laptop screen towards Shang Song: "Look at this."

Shang Song hung the towel on the clothes rack before walking over.

On the screen is a genuine Rolls-Royce umbrella, which looks very similar to the black umbrella, but the weight indicated in the picture is over 400 grams.

The second brother tapped a few more times, brought up another page, pointed to the black umbrella in the picture, and said, "Look, it's made of Kevlar, bulletproof, and weighs a little over two kilograms."

The second brother looked at Shang Song and said, "Your umbrella has no markings, but its weight and feel are comparable to the bulletproof one. However, the folding structure of the umbrella ribs is more similar to the Rolls-Royce one."

Shang Song looked bewildered. "What's wrong?"

Second brother: "So what?! The Rolls-Royce one costs 100,000. This bulletproof one also costs 100,000."

He pointed to the umbrella. "Professor Xie lent you that one; it was a custom-made model. Doubling the price isn't unreasonable, is it?"

Shang Song stood there, stunned. "You mean Duo Shao?!"

The second brother said, "Two hundred thousand or more, and that's a conservative estimate. These kinds of custom-made goods require special channels."

Shang Song has fallen silent.

The eldest brother leaned out of bed: "Two hundred thousand? RMB?!"

The third brother was slurping noodles when a mouthful fell back into his bowl. "...Is this the world of the rich?"

Second brother: "Shang Xiaosong, you said you and Professor Xie are dating, right?"

Shang Song nodded.

Second brother: "Okay, now I know why you couldn't get Professor Xie to come out."

The third brother slurped up the last mouthful of noodles, put down the bowl, wiped his mouth, and said, "I understand."

Shang Song sniffed. "...I think I know too."

The eldest brother shrank back onto the bed, lay on his back staring at the ceiling, and sighed, "Sigh, Professor Xie casually lent you an umbrella for 20 yuan. I can't even imagine what kind of people he usually meets. How could someone like him possibly go out for barbecue in the back alley with you..."

Shang Song did not respond.

He walked behind the door, picked up the umbrella, went to the corner of the balcony, opened it, and shook it.

With its top-quality waterproof coating, the water droplets quickly dried up.

He grabbed a few more tissues, squatted down, and carefully wiped the umbrella handle and ribs.

Then I folded it up again, smoothed out the umbrella, aligned the ribs, fastened the straps, and hung it neatly next to my desk.

Next Thursday afternoon.

Shang Song took the umbrella to the reading room.

He placed the umbrella on the table. "Professor Xie, here's your umbrella back. Thank you."

Xie Jing glanced at the umbrella but didn't say anything more.

That day, after Xie Jing finished recounting the day's events as usual, he unusually did not leave immediately, as if he wanted to say something.

Shang Song packed his books and pencil case as usual. "Professor Xie, I'm going home for summer vacation. I won't be able to come next Thursday."

Xie Jing's eyelashes trembled.

He originally wanted to ask Shang Song what his plans were for the summer vacation and whether he intended to visit Genting Highlands.

Genting Highlands is... his residence.

But Shang Song said first that he was going home.

then.

He could only nod and say:

"Hmm, have a great holiday."

*

Shang Song returned to his hometown.

Xu Lao Er said he was bored and wanted to play for a while, so he went home with Shang Song.

During the first week, Shang Song still sent Xie Jing messages every day.

The sky over my hometown, the roadside shops, the dishes my mother cooks.

Xie Jing's reply remained the same.

Serious questions were answered in detail, while for everyday sharing, a simple "hmm" or "received" was enough.

In the second week, there were fewer messages from Shang Song.

He started taking his second son around the small town.

We hiked, waded in water, ate our way through the old street, and played online games with my second brother until midnight.

He exhausted himself to the point that he could fall asleep as soon as he collapsed on the bed.

That way, he won't have time to look at his phone.

In the third week, Shang Song sent even fewer messages to Xie Jing.

Sometimes it's one every two days, sometimes one every three days.

He didn't know what was wrong with him.

I really want to thank Xie Jing.

But every time I open that dialog box, I don't know what to say.

So he simply stopped posting.

One day at the end of August.

Shang Song was taking in the laundry on the balcony when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

He took it out and saw that it was Xie Jing.

Xie Jing asked:

When will we return to school?

That's all.

Shang Song suddenly felt that all the gloom of this summer vacation had dissipated.

He wants to go back to school tomorrow.

He squatted on the balcony, typing rapidly:

"I'm going back on Saturday!"

"Professor Xie, did you miss me?"

After a while, Xie Jing replied with a single word:

"Yes."

Shang Song stared at that word for a very long time.

Then, he put his phone back in his pocket and continued collecting the clothes.

As he kept collecting them, he started laughing like a madman.

As he gathered the clothes and looked out at the twilight, he suddenly realized that the 200,000 yuan umbrella wasn't all that impressive after all.

Not being able to go out on dates doesn't seem that important.

The important thing is.

Xie Jing said.

I miss him.

The next morning, Shang Song was woken up by a call from the courier before he was fully awake.

He groggily went to open the door, where the deliveryman put down a large box: "Shang Song, right? Here's your package."

He signed for it blankly and closed the door.

Upon opening it up, I found a digital display inside.

It was the one he had only ever dared to look at, never even dream of owning.

As he was looking for the sender's information on the package, his phone vibrated.

Xie Jing: "Did you receive the package? Happy birthday."

Shang Song held his phone, and a wide grin immediately spread across his face.

Today is the Beginning of Autumn.

It was July 23th.

It's his birthday.

His fingertips hovered over the phone screen, almost leaving afterimages:

"Professor Xie! I won't go back on Saturday! I'll go back tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow's Wednesday! Let's meet on Thursday!!!"

Xie Jing replied:

"it is good."

Shang Song spun around twice, then squatted down and picked up the digital screen.

Then, he strode into the bedroom and yanked off Xu Lao Er's blanket: "Xu Lao Er!! Get up! Look at my new digital monitor!!!"

The second son was still completely dazed. He squinted at the digital screen Shang Song had held up in front of him, then leaned back onto the pillow. "What's wrong with the digital screen?"

"Professor Xie gave it to me! A birthday present!" Shang Song shoved the digital screen in front of him, then peeked half his head out from behind it, excitedly shouting, "Cintiq Pro! 22 inches! 4K! Super expensive!!!"

The second child rolled over, turning his back to him. "...So?"

Shang Song announced loudly, "So let's go back to school tomorrow!"

Xu Lao Er suddenly rolled over, glaring at him: "Huh?! Isn't it Saturday?"

Shang Song replied confidently, "Tomorrow."

Second son: "Why?"

Shang Song: "Thursday, the day after tomorrow."

Second brother: "...Okay, you're awesome."