After dinner.

Brother Nan had already left.

Zhou Li and Old Zhou sat side by side on the sofa, expressionlessly staring at the TV, surrounded by the bustling Zhu Shuang, Zhu Bing, and Aunt Jiang.

They didn't need to bring much for this trip—just one bag each was enough. What they were packing now was everything for university. After leaving home tomorrow, neither of them would return, and their luggage would be sent directly to their respective schools.

One to Tsinghua, the other to Peking University.

The siblings were about to become archenemies.

Their mother always fussed. She worried they might leave something behind, or that they'd lack something. Even though reason told her everything was in order, she'd still rack her brains wondering if they had missed anything. She paced back and forth in the house, occasionally muttering to herself, creating an air of urgency.

Only Zhou Li and Old Zhou sat watching TV, silent, filtering out all the commotion around them.

「The next day, morning.」

When Zhou Li got up to wash, Zhu Shuang and Zhu Bing were already waiting on the sofa. He was surprised. "So early?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"..."

Zhou Li found it a bit amusing, but he didn't show it. He continued toward the bathroom and said, "That's fine. We'll be driving all day. You can sleep in the car later; otherwise, it'll be a very long drive."

Both nodded.

When Zhou Li finished washing up, Aunt Jiang had already prepared breakfast. She didn't eat, just watched them and talked.

"When you leave, I'll go back to work. I've been rusting away at home all this time."

"Be careful on the road, drive slowly, don't rush."

"You two youngsters listen to your older brother and sister."

"Don't go to dangerous places."

"Maybe buy some water at the supermarket to put in the car! The nearby vegetable market should have fruit, so buy some of that too. No need for bread and pastries; if you're hungry at noon, find a restaurant and have a meal—that's more reliable than those things."

"..."

The three listened silently, occasionally nodding, but mostly kept their heads down and ate.

「Around eight o'clock.」

Brother Nan had already driven to the entrance of their apartment building.

Zhou Li then picked up Tuanzi, leading Zhu Shuang and Zhu Bing downstairs. Aunt Jiang and Old Zhou also saw them off.

Seeing that only Brother Nan was in the car, Aunt Jiang asked, "Isn't Huai Xu coming with you?"

In front of Huai Xu, Zhou Li answered, "He won't be returning for a few days. He'll take the high-speed rail then; it's even faster than driving and less crowded."

"That's true."

Aunt Jiang then handed Zhu Shuang the bottled water and fruit she was carrying. When she saw that these items were already in the car, presumably prepared by Brother Nan, she couldn't help but smile and admonish, "Drive carefully."

...

Zhu Shuang had been out on trips more often, while Zhu Bing rarely had, let alone to such faraway places.

Moreover, going out with parents is different from going out with an older brother and sister figure, so the pair were very excited. Although they hadn't slept well the previous night, they felt no sleepiness in the car, each staring out their respective windows.

At first, the scenery wasn't remarkable, but it became much prettier after they passed Yibin. One stretch of the highway ran alongside the river, with mountains on both sides, the road almost level with the water's surface. After that, they would pass through Yanjing County, the 'single-line county town' famous on Douyin.

It was just after the flood season, so the water was a clear green.

"So beautiful!"

Zhu Shuang and Zhu Bing briefly exchanged a look. They were about to share their thoughts with their older brother when they saw Zhou Li carefully peeling a lychee and placing it into Brother Nan's mouth. A moment later, he held out his hand in front of Brother Nan to take the pit she spat out. The gesture was so considerate, his expression so tender.

The siblings exchanged another look, feeling a pang of hurt.

After leaving Yi Province, large mountains—the kind rarely seen in Yan City—flanked both sides of the road. There were also plains.

The siblings hadn't slept. They alternated between admiring the scenery, snacking on fruit and munchies, cuddling Tuanzi, and chatting. Time seemed to fly by.

As they were nearing Chunming, they stopped the car for a restroom break. Brother Nan, feeling a bit sore in her waist, handed the driving over to Zhou Li.

"Is it usually Brother Nan who drives?" Zhu Shuang asked.

"Mhm," Zhou Li nodded.

"'Isn't it usually... that men drive more?" Zhu Shuang wondered. At home, even if Old Zhou was timid, he still drove more whenever their family went out together. "Just like in our family."

"Don't sweat the small stuff."

A few dark lines seemed to appear on Zhou Li's forehead.

Actually, he didn't mind Zhu Shuang calling him timid. But being called more timid than Old Zhou? That insult was too great to bear.

Zhu Shuang blinked, looking at a car to their left. "You seem to be driving slower than Brother Nan..."

WHIR!

Zhou Li instantly accelerated to 120.

Brother Nan laughed heartily. She casually grabbed Tuanzi, who was squirming on her lap, and tossed it to the backseat for Zhu Shuang and Zhu Bing to play with. Then, she took a lychee, peeled it for Zhou Li, put it in his mouth, and said to the two in the backseat, "Are you excited about starting university?"

"Excited," Zhu Bing nodded.

"Is university really fun?" Zhu Shuang was full of anticipation for university life, largely thanks to Zhou Li and Brother Nan.

"It is a lot of fun!" Brother Nan said, also taking the pit Zhou Li spat out and tossing it into a garbage bag. "It beats the prison life of high school by a long shot."

"Brother Nan, what do you guys do for fun at university?" Zhu Shuang asked, looking at her.

"Just do whatever, play whatever you feel like," Brother Nan said. "I joined a bunch of clubs and went to them often, but I also skipped a lot of classes... You two better not follow my example. Other than that, going out biking, participating in club activities, having meals out on weekends, playing video games in the dorm, things like that."

"Are clubs fun?" Zhu Shuang asked.

"They're fun," Brother Nan said, imparting her experience. "Generally speaking, after you finish military training, it's time for clubs to recruit new members. You just need to pick your favorite club to join, have a good time, make friends, and flirt with people. Just don't join the student council."

"Why not?"

"It's rubbish." Brother Nan paused. "At least, the one at our school is rubbish. I have no idea what it's like at Tsinghua and Peking University."

"Did you join?"

"I did, and then I quit."

"Oh..."

"Is military training really hard?" Zhu Bing asked softly.

"I don't think it's tough; it's actually quite fun. Apart from the training, there's also a lot of game time, which is really enjoyable." Brother Nan glanced at Zhou Li. "Just don't follow your older brother's example and get into fights during military training."

"What?" Zhu Shuang's eyes widened.

"Hmm?" Zhu Bing was also somewhat incredulous. Although she hadn't interacted much with Zhou Li, she knew this older brother of hers was usually good-tempered.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Zhou Li denied.

"Indeed." Brother Nan didn't care about Zhou Li's attitude at all and continued, "Your brother became famous during military training. On the first day, he hit an instructor and then also fought the instructor who came to break up the fight. The next day, he beat up the class monitor of the Physical Education College's formation and then took on their entire dorm room, emerging without a scratch. He was just dragged away by his homeroom teacher to write two lengthy self-criticism reports."

The siblings were extremely surprised.

Zhou Li hurriedly defended, "That wasn't me!"

Brother Nan ignored his denial, only shifting her gaze to sneak a peek at him, her eyes twinkling with a hidden chuckle.

She didn't stop her efforts to ruin his gentle older brother image, continuing to fabricate stories: "And your brother, leveraging his good looks, thoroughly charmed the female class monitors from the Economics College and Foreign Languages College formations. I heard the Economics College class monitor even added his roommate on QQ, trying to get information about him indirectly..."

Zhu Shuang and Zhu Bing's eyes grew even wider.

Zhou Li, looking utterly exasperated, exclaimed, "So it wasn't just Chen Yang! Chang Xiaoxiang is one of your informants too!"

Brother Nan smiled triumphantly. The more anxious Zhou Li became, the happier she was.

She popped a lychee into her mouth. After eating the flesh, she didn't spit out the pit but sucked on it like a lollipop. She tilted her head, thinking hard, but couldn't recall any more embarrassing stories about Zhou Li; she even struggled to invent any on the spot.

Come to think of it, he really was quite reliable...

Brother Nan nodded in satisfaction and began to regale the twins with stories of her and Zhou Li's activities with the Bicycle Association.

The two siblings listened with envious expressions, wishing university would start immediately.

They were already under the illusion that as soon as university started, they too could lead a life as free and enjoyable as their older brother and Brother Nan.

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