My IQ has been increasing year by year.

A black Santana 2000 drove out of the highway toll station.

The sunlight outside the window was blindingly white.

Chen Jianguo gripped the steering wheel with both hands and drove for five or six hours straight.

In the passenger seat, Liu Xiuying leaned back, her head nodding off.

Chen Zhuo sat in the back row, looking out the window.

The streets of Huizhou were much wider than those of Zeyang, and the trees on both sides of the road were tall and lush, casting shadows over most of the road. There were vendors selling popsicles from tricycles on the street, and several shirtless children were gathered around the carts.

The car turned at a large intersection and entered a long forest road.

Not far ahead, a tall, gray-white school gate appeared.

The words are engraved on it:

China University of Science and Technology.

Chen Jianguo eased off the accelerator and slowly pulled the car to the side of the road, stopping it under a tree outside the school gate.

He pulled the handbrake and removed the car key.

"arrive."

His voice was a little hoarse.

Liu Xiuying opened her eyes, sat up straight, and turned to look out the car window.

"Is this the University of Science and Technology of China?"

"Okay, let's get off."

As I opened the car door, a wave of heat swept in.

Chen Jianguo walked to the back of the car, took out the key, opened the trunk, grabbed the red suitcase with both hands, lifted it off, and placed it on the ground. Liu Xiuying took out a large plastic bag full of food from under the passenger seat, and also took two small cloth bags.

Chen Zhuo slung his black shoulder bag over his shoulder, opened the car door, and got out.

The school gate wasn't closed properly; the side gate was open, and the security guard was sitting in his booth with a fan blowing on him. He glanced at them but didn't stop them.

As you enter the campus, you are greeted by lush green trees.

Several red banners hung along the main road, bearing slogans welcoming new students, but because the majority of students hadn't arrived yet, the campus felt somewhat empty and quiet. Chen Jianguo stopped a boy pushing a bicycle.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where the orientation point for the gifted youth program is?"

The boy stopped, looked Chen Jianguo up and down, then glanced at Chen Zhuo, who was only ten years old, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"The gifted youth program... Just keep walking straight along this road, past an artificial lake, turn right and you'll see a small square with a few red tents set up there. That's the reception area for the gifted youth program; there aren't many people there today." "Thank you."

The family of three walked for about a few minutes following the directions the boy pointed out.

Several red sunshades were set up on the side of the square, with two long tables placed underneath.

A sign stood in front of the table: Reception Area for New Students of the Gifted Youth Program.

Under the awning sat a teacher in a short-sleeved shirt, half-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, slowly fanning himself with a large palm-leaf fan. On the table were several thick registers and a bunch of keys tied together with rubber bands.

Chen Jianguo carried the box over and put it on the ground.

"Hello teacher, we're here to register early."

The teacher stopped fanning himself, looked up, glanced at Chen Jianguo, and then at Chen Zhuo beside him.

He adjusted his glasses and smiled.

"Chen Zhuo?"

Chen Jianguo nodded.

"Yes, I am his father."

The teacher opened the drawer and flipped to the top roster.

"Director Fang instructed that you drive here yourself, and you should arrive this afternoon. Did you bring all the necessary documents?"

Chen Zhuo stepped forward, unzipped the shoulder bag, took out a transparent file folder, and handed it over.

"Teachers, they're all here."

The teacher took the document bag, pulled out the admission notice and a copy of the household registration book, and quickly compared them.

Teachers who lead gifted children's programs are used to seeing students of advanced ages.

He had checked the birth dates on the list several times. Ten years old was a bit young, but the University of Science and Technology of China's Junior Class had received even younger children over the years. He put the materials back in the bag, picked up his pen, and put a checkmark next to Chen Zhuo's name on the roster.

"The dorm assignments are done. Building 4, Room 215, a double room."

He handed Chen Zhuo a form and a key with a bronze plaque.

"Go south along this road, past two flower beds, and you'll see that row of red brick buildings. Today, only the first floor of the cafeteria is open. You'll need to exchange cash for temporary meal tickets to buy food. Official meal cards will be issued tomorrow." "Thank you, teacher." Chen Zhuo took the keys and put them in his pocket.

The three of them walked along the forest path toward the dormitory area.

Sunlight filters through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled patterns of light on the road surface.

Building No. 4 is a red brick building with renovated exterior walls.

The dormitory supervisor in the lobby glanced at the check-in slip in Chen Zhuo's hand and waved him on.

We went up to the second floor.

The floor in the corridor had just been mopped and was still damp.

Chen Jianguo carried the suitcase and walked ahead.

"211, 213...215."

He stopped in front of a green wooden door.

The door was open.

Before even entering, I could hear voices coming from inside, loud and with a strong Northeastern accent.

"Mom, could you wipe the table twice more with water? There's still dust on the edge of the table."

"All you do is open your mouth all day long. You don't do any work at home, but when you go out, you're giving orders like this. Hand me that basin!"

Chen Jianguo stood at the door and knocked twice on the door panel.

The sounds inside the room stopped.

A tall figure emerged from behind the door.

He's a boy who's not quite grown up yet.

He was very tall, over 1.75 meters, with broad shoulders, and was wearing a gray tank top and shorts.

His face still had a touch of childishness, and there was a fine layer of downy hair on his lips.

He paused for a moment, looking at the three people outside the door.

His gaze passed over Chen Jianguo and landed on Chen Zhuo.

"Oh my god!"

The boy grinned and laughed.

"You must be my roommate?"

Chen Zhuo looked at him and nodded.

The boy stepped aside and shouted into the house.

"Dad, Mom, my roommate's here!"

Chen Jianguo carried the suitcase inside.

The dormitory is spacious.

Upon entering, there is a separate bathroom and washroom, and outside there is a small balcony.

Two identical sets of light wood-colored furniture, with a bed on top and a table on the bottom, are placed symmetrically against the walls on both sides.

The bed on the right hasn't been touched yet, but the table on the left is already filled with all sorts of daily necessities.

A burly middle-aged man was squatting on the balcony, seemingly studying something. Hearing the noise, he stood up and wiped his hands on his trouser leg. A middle-aged woman with short, curly hair came out from behind the table, holding a rag.

"Hey, hurry up, hurry up!"

The woman smiled broadly as she looked at Chen Jianguo and Liu Xiuying.

Chen Jianguo put down the box.

"Brother, sister-in-law, I am Chen Zhuo's father, Chen Jianguo, and this is my wife, from Jiangsu Province."

"Wang Hai".

The burly man strode over, extended his hand, and shook hands firmly with Chen Jianguo.

"From Liaoning Province."

The woman quickly joined in the introduction.

"I am Dayong's mother, Li Mei."

Li Mei's gaze fell on Chen Zhuo, and her eyes immediately softened.

"This child is so pretty, how old is he/she?"

"Ten years old," Chen Zhuo replied.

"Ten years old?" Li Mei gasped. "Oh my god, that's way too young."

The boy next to him came over and slapped his chest, making a loud slapping sound.

"Brother, my name is Wang Dayong, I'm fourteen. From now on, we'll be brothers sharing a room."

"It's just the two of us in this room, so don't worry. From now on, I'll protect you in this school. If anyone dares to bully you, just tell me."

Standing behind, Liu Xiuying listened to these words and felt a slight sense of relief after being on edge the whole way.

Chen Zhuo looked up at Wang Dayong.

Wang Dayong has bright eyes and a carefree attitude.

Chen Zhuo smiled.

"Thank you, Brother Dayong."

Li Mei quickly pulled Liu Xiuying along.

"Young lady, please sit down, it's so hot today."

Li Mei turned around and walked to Wang Dayong's desk, then opened a huge bag.

She grabbed two large handfuls of things and stuffed them directly into Liu Xiuying's hands.

"Try some, these are from our own home. This is hazelnut, and this is pine nut."

She then turned and picked up a thick red sausage wrapped in kraft paper, handing it to Chen Zhuo.

"Xiao Zhuo, right? Here, some red sausage I brought from home."

Chen Zhuo accepted the sausage with both hands.

"Thank you, Auntie."

Chen Zhuo placed the red sausage on his empty table.

Liu Xiuying untied the plastic bag in her hand and took out the transparent plastic lunch box.

As soon as the lunchbox lid was opened, a rich aroma of soy sauce filled the dormitory.

"Sister-in-law, Dayong, try this. It's beef shank that just came out of the pot this morning."

Liu Xiuying handed over the lunchbox.

Wang Dayong was hungry, and his Adam's apple bobbed as he smelled the aroma.

Without being polite, he reached out, grabbed a large piece, put it in his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and Wang Dayong's eyes lit up.

"Auntie, it's delicious! This cooking is even better than what you get in restaurants."

The two families sat around the open space in the middle of the house, each eating a piece of beef and two pine nuts.

The initial awkwardness dissipated after just a few words.

Yang Shang.

Wang Hai took out a box of Changbaishan cigarettes, cracked one open, and handed it to Chen Jianguo.

"Hey bro, wanna have a smoke?"

Chen Jianguo took it, casually tucked it behind his ear, and took out a lighter from his pocket.

pat.

Flames shot up.

Chen Jianguo lit a cigarette for Wang Hai first, then took the cigarette off his own and lit it in his mouth.

He took a deep breath and exhaled a puff of smoke.

Wang Hai leaned against the iron railing of Yang, watching his son chatting with Chen Zhuo inside the house.

"Hey buddy, are you leaving today?" Wang Hai flicked his cigarette ash.

Chen Jianguo nodded, a cigarette between his fingers.

"Let's go. I only took two days off from work. Let's drive back tonight while there are fewer cars on the road, and we can make it to the early shift tomorrow morning."

Wang Hai sighed.

"It's not easy for anyone, we're leaving tonight too."

Chen Jianguo was somewhat surprised and turned to look at him.

Wang Hai exhaled a puff of smoke.

"We came here by plane, and we're taking a sleeper train at 9:30. We're leaving from the provincial capital, and it'll take us more than 30 hours by train to get home." The two middle-aged men leaned against the railing in Yang, and neither of them spoke again.

They looked into the room through the glass door.

One was fourteen years old, and the other was ten years old.

Two immature children will soon be facing their future on their own in this room.

"Dude, to be honest, I've always thought my son is pretty capable. Getting into USTC at fourteen is quite an achievement in our area." Wang Hai flicked his cigarette ash.

"Seeing your little Zhuo today, I realized there are always people more capable than you. At ten years old, how did his brain develop like that?"

Chen Jianguo had a cigarette between his fingers.

"Actually, this child has never been very talkative since he was little. He has his own ideas. As for his college entrance exams, my wife and I can't help him much." Chen Jianguo looked at Chen Zhuo, who was unpacking his suitcase.

"When a child is too smart, parents worry that he won't get along with the people around him and that he will suffer."

Chen Jianguo turned his head and looked at Wang Hai.

"I feel much more at ease now that I saw Dayong. Dayong is a straightforward and honest guy. I'm relieved that the two brothers will live together from now on." Wang Hai slapped his thigh.

"Dude, you're absolutely right. Da Yong is a good guy, he's just very protective of his own. Don't worry about him, with him around, Xiao Zhuo won't suffer any injustice." Wang Da Yong walked over.

"Xiao Zhuo, give me your bedding roll, I'll hand it up to you, you can just stand down here."

Chen Zhuo took out the bed sheet and mat.

"I'll go upstairs and lay it down."

Why bother with all that effort?

Wang Dayong grabbed the mat.

He climbed the ladder, using both his hands and feet, and in a few quick movements, he was on the bed.

He knelt on the bed board and quickly spread out the mattress, unfolded the straw mat, straightened the four corners, and straightened it along the edge of the bed.

They moved very quickly.

"Here, a pillow and a summer blanket."

Chen Zhuo passed it up from below.

"All done."

Wang Dayong folded the quilt into a square, placed it on the headboard, then jumped down from the ladder and clapped his hands.

He pulled out a chair from under his desk, plopped down, picked up a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed it, and took a big gulp.

"Xiao Zhuo, what score did you get into school?"

Chen Zhuo took out the clothes one by one and hung them in the wardrobe below.

"I didn't take the exam."

"Didn't take the exam?" Wang Dayong's eyes widened. "Special admission?"

"I participated in the national math and physics competitions, and the admissions office teachers came to my home to sign the papers."

Chen Zhuo pushed the wardrobe door shut.

Wang Dayong was stunned.

He recalled the casual conversation he had overheard at the admissions office.

"The one with two perfect scores?"

Chen Zhuo nodded.

"Damn, that's impressive."

Wang Dayong stood up and patted Chen Zhuo on the shoulder.

"I'm counting on you for my advanced math assignments from now on."

"No problem."

5:30 p.m.

The sun was close to the rooftop, and the light in the dormitory dimmed.

The cicadas outside were chirping a little quieter.

Chen Jianguo glanced at the watch on his wrist.

He went inside.

"Brother, sister-in-law, we're getting ready to head back now."

Wang Hai was wiping the window with a rag when he heard this, so he threw the rag away.

"What's the rush? Let's grab a bite to eat after we're done. We can also show the kids the way around while we're at it."

Wang Hai walked over and grabbed Chen Jianguo's arm.

"Our kids are all in the same dorm. Come on, let's have our first meal off campus. I'll arrange it."

Li Mei also joined in the persuasion.

"That's right, young lady, have a hot meal before you go, you've come all this way."

Unable to refuse, Chen Jianguo nodded.

"Okay, then I'll trouble you, brother."

The group locked the dormitory door and went downstairs.

Walk along the tree-lined path towards the school exit.

The sun was setting, and the sky was a deep red.

After leaving the school gate, I walked east along Keda Road for a while.

There are many restaurants along the street, and they all seem to cater to students.

Wang Hai chose a clean-looking Anhui cuisine restaurant.

Pushing open the door, I found the air conditioning was on, and the air was quite cold.

The proprietress greeted us warmly and wiped a large round table repeatedly with a rag.

"What would you like to eat? The menu is on the wall."

Wang Hai pulled over chairs for everyone to sit down, telling the proprietress to just watch what she was doing.

After speaking, Wang Hai turned to look at Chen Jianguo.

"Dude, since you're driving, I won't let you drink. Let's have some tea instead."

The food was served very quickly.

Liu Xiuying held her chopsticks and kept putting food into Chen Zhuo's bowl.

"Eat more, the food in the school cafeteria is probably not as oily as the food outside."

Wang Dayong ate half a bowl of rice while watching Chen Zhuo eat.

Chen Zhuo eats very properly. He picks up a piece of food with his chopsticks, eats a mouthful of rice, chews slowly and carefully, and eats all kinds of food without being picky.

The adults were chatting at the dinner table.

They chatted about the weather in Huizhou and about their livelihoods in their respective hometowns.

The two children sitting in the middle of them talked the most.

Li Mei put a piece of spare rib on Wang Dayong's plate.

"Dayong, you're used to being impulsive at home. When you get to school, you need to settle down and stop playing those computer games all day long." Wang Dayong mumbled, his mouth full of meat.

"Okay, okay, who can I play with? It's just me and Xiaozhuo in this room."

Li Mei turned to look at Chen Zhuo.

"Xiao Zhuo looks very reliable. Dayong, you should learn from Xiao Zhuo more in the future. If you dare to bully anyone in the dormitory, I'll take the train over and beat you up." Wang Dayong rolled his eyes.

"Mom, don't you know what kind of person your own son is? Do you think I'm the kind of person who bullies others?"

When I came out of the restaurant, it was already completely dark.

The streetlights came on, casting a dim yellow light on the road. A gentle evening breeze blew by, carrying away some of the daytime heat.

The group walked towards the main gate of the University of Science and Technology of China.

Walk to the parking lot outside the school gate.

The black Santana 2000 was parked under the tree.

Chen Jianguo took out his car keys and pressed a button.

The car lights flashed twice.

On the other side, Wang Hai stood by the roadside and hailed a taxi with its "For hire" sign on.

The taxi was parked on the side of the road with its hazard lights on.

Liu Xiuying opened the back door of the Santana.

She turned around and looked at Chen Zhuo.

Her eyes were a little red, and you could see the moisture in them under the streetlights.

He reached out and straightened Chen Zhuo's short-sleeved collar.

"Xiao Zhuo."

"Don't be stingy with money, eat well, and call home if you need more."

Chen Zhuo looked into Liu Xiuying's eyes.

"it is good."

"Wash your clothes frequently, and if you feel cold at night, take out a thin blanket from the closet and put it on."

"understood."

Chen Jianguo walked over.

He stood in front of Chen Zhuo and looked at him for a while.

They didn't say anything.

He simply stretched out his broad palm and gave Chen Zhuo's shoulder a firm squeeze twice.

Powerful.

Study hard.

"Dad, drive carefully on the road."

Chen Jianguo nodded.

He turned around, got into the car, and closed the door.

Liu Xiuying also got into the passenger seat.

The car lights came on.

The engine emitted a deep roar, and a wisp of white smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe.

The Santana slowly reversed and turned.

the other side.

With red eyes, Li Mei stuffed a wad of crumpled change into Wang Dayong's hand.

"Dayong, this is the allowance Mom left for you. Don't spend it recklessly. If you don't have enough money on your meal card, go to the bank and withdraw some yourself."

Wang Dayong put the money in his pocket.

"Mom, I understand. You should get on the bus, or you'll miss your train."

Wang Hai patted the back of his son's head.

"Don't cause trouble."

Wang Hai opened the car door and got into the back seat of the taxi with Li Mei.

The taxi started moving and headed towards the train station.

The Santana drove along Keda Road toward the highway exit.

Two cars, heading in opposite directions.

Chen Zhuo stood under the street lamp.

He watched the black Santana slowly drive away down the road.

The taillights flashed briefly at the corner ahead before turning around.

Disappeared.

Wang Dayong stood a few steps away from him, watching the taxi disappear into the traffic.

A night breeze blew by, stirring up a few fallen leaves on the ground.

The streetlights cast long shadows on them.

Occasionally, a few bicycles would ride by on the street, their wheels making a slight sound as they rolled over the asphalt.

Wang Dayong took a deep breath.

He turned his head and looked at Chen Zhuo.

"They've all left."

The voice no longer carried the carefree energy it once did, but instead carried a hint of emptiness, as if it had just left home.

Chen Zhuo looked at the empty streets.

He looked back.

He turned around.

"Um."

Chen Zhuo's voice was very steady.

"Let's go back to the dorm."