A is in StarCraft, just disembarked from the Zerg Prince spaceship.

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......

Lu Jianan woke up and struggled to open her eyes on the sofa.

My head felt heavy and aching, like it was filled with machines in a laboratory.

Waaaaah, the teacher is so cruel! I worked so hard in the lab yesterday, I almost died there. I don't even remember how I got back.

The room was dimly lit because the smart home system automatically drew the blackout curtains last night after detecting that the owner had fallen asleep.

I spent the whole night lying on the sofa, and my body aches so much.

Waaaaah, my ribs hurt so much too.

Lu Jianan struggled to her feet, feeling her ribs slightly dented and her bones cracking.

He hadn't had a drop of water for a day and a night. His throat was so dry it felt like it had been sanded, his eyelids were so heavy he couldn't lift them, and his eyes were sore that he was about to burst into tears with every blink.

Lu Jianan covered her eyes and sobbed.

Life is truly full of bitterness.

Fortunately, the little household robot detected that its owner had woken up and brought him a glass of water.

Lu Jianan gulped down the rest of the drink in one go and finally felt a little better.

What time is it?

He habitually reached out and groped around, his fingers touching the familiar, cold cube.

It was his terminal.

He picked it up and pressed the button on the side, but the screen remained completely black and unresponsive.

The power is out.

The power's out?!

Lu Jianan patted it twice in annoyance. She was too tired when she got back yesterday and didn't even notice that the terminal was out of power.

I haven't called Gao Tian back yet.

When did the terminal run out of power? Will it prevent my brother from making phone calls to him?

He leaned forward slightly, supporting his creaking body, and found the charging base on the side cabinet. With some effort, he placed the bottom of the terminal inside.

A small charging indicator light lit up in the dim light, a faint red glow.

The smart home system detected that he was awake and slowly drew back the blackout curtains, letting in some natural light.

The sky was bright.

Lu Jianan leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes to calm the dizziness.

After waiting a few minutes, the terminal indicator light turned from red to green, indicating that it was ready to be turned on. He pressed the power button.

The screen suddenly lit up, the white startup page spun twice, and then entered the standby screen.

Immediately afterwards, a string of very eye-catching red icons popped up at the top of the screen.

Missed calls notification. The number of red dots keeps increasing, like many small alarms.

Lu Jianan's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.

I had a strong feeling that something was wrong, so I quickly opened my call log.

Did my older brother really call him?

There are several missed call notifications in the call log.

The first few calls were from Gao Tian, ​​the ones he made during the day. He was thinking of calling Gao Tian back after get off work, but he was so exhausted after get off work that he lost consciousness as soon as he got back to his dorm and didn't know anything.

But why would Gao Tian call him so many times? Gao Tian couldn't possibly have anything he wanted to ask of him. What could be something that the Crown Prince couldn't do, but he could?

Is he going to call and yell at him with such a fierce tone?

Lu Jianan was looking at the missed call notifications when she scrolled to the bottom and saw two different ones.

Wait a moment, Gao Tian, ​​this is—

Two of them came from the "eldest brother".

The first call was made at 11:30 pm last night, and the second call was made this morning, with the time displayed as 6:00 am.

Lu Jianan couldn't believe it.

Lu Jianan stared at the screen.

Lu Jianan blinked.

Lu Jianan looked at it again.

Yes, confirmed, it's the older brother, twice.

Lu Jianan's drowsiness vanished, and her eyes widened instantly.

It's his older brother! His older brother called him!

One last night, and another this morning! Although he was asleep and didn't answer, his older brother really did call him!

What is this? Steps! Steps! I'm going down, down, down, down!

Lu Jianan felt her face suddenly become hot.

"Wow!" He couldn't help but grin, clutching the terminal tightly in his hand as if it were a precious treasure, and rolled around on the sofa twice.

His older brother called him! Two times!

The steps have finally arrived!

His previous bad feelings vanished instantly, and now he was only happy.

Wow—that's two communications!

Who said the older brother didn't want him anymore?! Step forward!

Look! Didn't my brother make two calls to him?

What time did you call, brother?!

Six o'clock in the morning?!

Wow, brother, you're up really early!

Getting up so early, no wonder you're the eldest brother!

Lu Jianan held the communicator and grinned happily.

My older brother called him as soon as he woke up this morning, hahaha...

Lu Jianan was easily coaxed by her older brother's two missed calls and finally came to her senses happily.

What's wrong with my older brother? He's perfect in every way!

Not to mention his older brother is willing to let him be number one, his older brother could even make him number zero on a whim! He thinks it's fine, totally OK!

What family background or skills does the eldest brother probably not care about?

He can cure mental health issues!

It's okay if it's a personality issue; maybe the older brother just likes him that way!

Xiao Lu stood tall and confident.

As long as he doesn't leave his older brother, he's fine. Really, he's very easy to take care of. His older brother just needs to give him a small space at home, and he'll stay there obediently and never cause any trouble for his older brother. He'll even make his older brother happy!

What is not that kind of feeling, it is that kind of feeling!

He wanted to be with his older brother for life, the kind of relationship where they'd bite each other all the time!

He jumped off the sofa, rushed to the mirror, looked at his messy reflection, and chuckled.

Like a disheveled puppy that had just returned from collecting trash, its hair was messy, its eyes were bloodshot, its face was pale, its lips were chapped and dirty, and it hadn't brushed its teeth or washed its face for a day and a night.

But my older brother called him, hehehe.

He wants to apologize to his older brother! And then tell him that's what those feelings were! He wants to take back what he said before!

Lu Jianan found her older brother's pinned name and pressed it.

The moment Lu Jianan pressed down hard with her fingertip, she could even hear the buzzing of her own blood rushing through her veins, her ear pressed tightly against the cold metal casing of the terminal.

You see, why don't you call me first, brother?

My older brother really does love me.

Gao Tian, ​​I'm sorry, please wait a little longer. I'll call you right away after I finish calling my brother.

beep--

The waiting tone was drawn out, both flat and long.

Lu Jianan held his breath, his mind racing to rehearse what he should say as soon as the call connected.

Should he take the initiative and ask his older brother in a coquettish way why he didn't contact him a few days ago? Or should he directly apologize to his older brother?

or......

Or you could just ask your older brother when he's getting married?

Oh dear, this isn't a good idea—

beep--

The second "waiting" tone sounds as if it's being pulled by something invisible, and the ending note is a bit ethereal.

Lu Jianan's silly smile faded a little.

Pouting.

Why isn't my brother answering yet?

Is she angry with him? Or is the signal bad?

No way, how could the signal be bad on Earth?

He moved the terminal slightly away from his ear; the screen showed a call in progress with full signal strength. He then put the receiver back on.

beep--

Third tone.

Just as he was getting impatient and almost thought his older brother was going to give him a taste of his own medicine by leaving him hanging, the monotonous waiting suddenly stopped!

"Feed?" Lu Jianan shouted almost immediately, his voice carrying an urgency and a hint of excitement that he himself didn't realize, "Big—"

Before he could finish saying "brother," he was abruptly cut off by another voice coming from the receiver.

The number you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.

Hey, where did you go, brother? Why aren't you answering the phone?

Lu Jianan took the communicator off the table, checked her watch; it was eight in the morning, time to go to the lab.

Lu Jianan then called her teacher to ask for leave.

Director Li was already incredibly busy, and when he received a call from him early in the morning asking for leave, he scolded him as a debt collector and refused to let him take leave.

Lu Jianan, in a fit of despair, started throwing a tantrum into her phone: "I don't care! I'm taking the day off! I have an urgent matter, a very, very urgent matter! I absolutely have to take the day off!"

On the other end of the phone, Director Li continued to berate him: "You've gone too far, Lu Jianan! What kind of attitude is this?! What urgent matter could be more important than the experiment?! You must come here today! Immediately! Right now!"

"I'm not going." Lu Jianan retorted, "If you don't grant me leave, then consider it skipping class! I'm not going to the lab today!"

He didn't care anymore! He was going all in!

Today, nothing is more important than the eldest brother.

He has to go see his older brother today!

"You...you're simply..." Director Li was so angry at his shameless attitude that she could barely speak. "Arrogant! Utterly despicable!"

"Teacher—I need to ask for leave—!" Lu Jianan shouted into the phone.

Director Li was really going to be driven crazy by this little beast.

He took a deep breath.

My own students, my own children.

After spending a long time mentally preparing himself, Director Li finally gave in, albeit somewhat impatiently.

"You stayed up so late yesterday, you're definitely exhausted. You're lucky, there's nothing urgent this morning... I'm giving you a day off. Just one day! You'd better be back by tomorrow! The report is due the day after! You hear me?!"

"I heard you, I heard you! Thank you, teacher!" Lu Jianan replied hastily.

With a "click," Director Li hung up the phone, not even bothering to say goodbye, clearly not wanting to talk to him anymore.

Lu Jianan listened to the busy tone on the receiver, completely ignoring the fact that her teacher had hung up on her.

Oh dear, that's just how his teacher is~

He jumped up from the sofa, his earlier displeasure vanished, and only one thought remained shining brightly in his mind.

Leave application successful!

I'm going to find my older brother!

After finding his older brother, he must cry to him.

Brother, why haven't you called me in so long? You're so heartless.