Call Me Brother

Morning.

A group of people walked out of the teahouse, bidding each other farewell at the entrance, yawning incessantly.

The exhaustion of staying up half the night finally washed over them, urging the young people to go home and catch up on their sleep.

"Alright, I'll send the split bill in the group chat later," Fang Jun waved his hand.

One by one, they yawned, waved, and left.

Even though they were young, the sleep lost from staying up late still needed to be replenished with a full night's rest.

Unlike when they would grow older, where staying up for one night might take two or three days of good sleep to recover their energy and spirit.

Riding in Jiang Yunlu's car, they first dropped off Xie Yuling at her home.

Because in previous years, Xie Yuling would always have a birthday dinner with her mother and her uncle's family.

This year was naturally no exception.

Then they dropped off Chu Miaomiao.

Finally, Jiang Yunlu took Lin Mo home.

This was the exact result Jiang Yunlu had deliberately arranged, a little scheme of her own.

The space inside the car seemed to be instantly stripped of all noise, leaving only the low hum of the engine and the faint sound of their breathing.

"Focusing, on his love, too slow, the lover will lose their cuteness..."

Lin Mo hummed a song.

Jiang Yunlu cleared her throat, trying to take the initiative.

"Miaomiao said her birthday is on the fifth."

"I know," Lin Mo turned his head, looking as if it was a matter of course.

"Then... do you know my birthday?" Jiang Yunlu asked, feigning casualness, though the corner of her eye betrayed her anticipation.

"Your birthday, it's three days after mine." Lin Mo winked at her.

Jiang Yunlu's heart skipped a beat, and her mind began to race.

"Ah? So your birthday is August 24th?!"

"Oh, so your birthday is August 27th. Now I know."

Lin Mo looked as if he had suddenly realized something, but a suppressed smile hid at the corner of his mouth.

Jiang Yunlu instantly realized she had been played.

This guy didn't know at all; he was purely tricking her into saying it!

A wave of embarrassment and annoyance rushed to her head. Furious, she freed one hand and punched Lin Mo on the arm.

"You actually tricked me! Hurry up! Tell the truth, when is your birthday!"

"I'm telling the truth." Lin Mo didn't dodge the hit, but instead said seriously, "Three days before your birthday."

"Ah?!" Jiang Yunlu was completely dumbfounded, covering her mouth. "So... you really are born on August 24th?"

Lin Mo looked at her adorkable expression, feeling in a great mood, and reached out to rub her head.

"Alright, call me big brother."

Jiang Yunlu's cheeks felt a bit hot. She swatted Lin Mo's hand away and huffed, "I won't! I haven't heard you call Xie Yuling and Miaomiao big sister."

"That's different."

Lin Mo slowly withdrew his hand. "I'm a year older than them. I forgot to tell you guys, because I transferred schools, I'm a year older than the students in my grade."

"I don't believe you." Jiang Yunlu crossed her arms and turned her head away, wearing an expression of 'don't even think about tricking me again'.

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow. "Dare to bet?"

"Bet what?"

"I'll show you my ID card. If everything I said is true, you'll obediently call me big brother. Whoever backs out is a puppy."

"Alright!" Jiang Yunlu immediately turned her head back, a sly glint flashing in her eyes.

Lin Mo took out his ID card, covered the photo, and handed it over.

"Look, me, born on August 24th."

Jiang Yunlu leaned in, her gaze firmly locked onto that string of numbers.

The birth year was indeed one year older than hers.

The date of birth, August 24th.

"Alright."

Jiang Yunlu had actually seen some jokes online; it seemed boys really liked it when girls called them big brother.

She bit her lip and finally called out in a weak voice, "Big brother."

Uncle Zhao, who was driving in the front, couldn't help but cough violently.

He thought to himself, if President Jiang knew the young lady was calling someone that, he would probably burst a blood vessel.

However, Jiang Yunlu was more curious about the photo on Lin Mo's ID card that was covered.

So Jiang Yunlu looked at Lin Mo with a smiling face.

"Big brother~"

Lin Mo looked at Jiang Yunlu warily.

"What?!"

"I want to see the photo on your ID card."

Lin Mo immediately put the ID card back into his pocket. No matter what, he couldn't let Jiang Yunlu see it.

Seeing Lin Mo's reaction, Jiang Yunlu became even more interested.

She immediately added another line.

"Big brother~"

"I wouldn't show you even if you called me daddy."

"Cough, cough, cough!" Uncle Zhao coughed loudly again.

This was too much, but he couldn't say anything. In fact, he probably couldn't say a single word about what he had heard today.

Just as Jiang Yunlu wanted to continue pestering him, Uncle Zhao suddenly spoke up.

"Mr. Lin, we've arrived."

Lin Mo decisively got out of the car. "Alright, I'm heading home first. You guys stay safe."

Without waiting for Jiang Yunlu to say anything, Lin Mo hurried away.

Jiang Yunlu puffed her cheeks and said, "Uncle Zhao, why did you drive so fast?"

Uncle Zhao was powerless to retort and could only remain silent.

"Alright, Uncle Zhao, you must not tell my dad about what just happened."

"I understand, Miss."

I wouldn't dare tell President Jiang either; what if he really gets a brain hemorrhage?

Uncle Zhao started the car and drove all the way toward Sansha Island.

As soon as she got home, she saw Jiang Chengshan sitting in the dining room, eating breakfast and reading the newspaper.

"Back so early?" Jiang Chengshan put down the newspaper.

"Morning, Dad. We watched the sunrise, finished having morning tea, and then I came back."

Jiang Yunlu yawned. Even though she had slept for two or three hours, she still felt sleepy, especially after eating breakfast.

"Then hurry up and take a shower and go to sleep. Watching the sunrise is quite tiring."

At this moment, Jiang Yunlu suddenly thought of something.

"Dad, have you and Mom ever watched the sunrise?"

"Of course we have. Once, when your mom and I were on a date, we happened to meet at the foot of a mountain. Your mom came to find me at night and said she wanted to go up the mountain together, and then we watched our first sunrise together."

"So romantic," Jiang Yunlu's eyes sparkled.

She also wanted to watch the sunrise with just Lin Mo.

"Yes, we also went boating on the lake together, went to the matchmaking tree to draw lots together..."

As he spoke, Jiang Chengshan himself fell into reminiscence.

Seeing her dad thinking about her mom again, Jiang Yunlu quietly backed out of the dining room and went upstairs to wash up.

After taking a shower, she lay on her bed and turned on her phone.

Then she sent out all the original photos she had taken for everyone.

As for the group photo of herself and Lin Mo, she kept it and sent it to Lin Mo through a private message.

On Lin Mo's side, his phone buzzed three times in a row.

He picked it up and saw that they were all group photos, sent by different people.

"Not bad, they look pretty good."

Some classmates had already posted a nine-grid photo collage on their social media feeds.

Lin Mo merely saved a portion of the photos.

Just as he was about to put his phone down, it suddenly rang.

He glanced at the caller ID—Liu Zheng.

Lin Mo casually answered it and asked in an indifferent tone, "You wouldn't call without a reason. Run into trouble?"

The bad news is a convex meningioma, the gum inflammation is just me having excessive internal heat.

The good news is that the doctor said this thing is not big and is easy to deal with. The risk is low. I can get out of bed in three days and go back to work in five without a hitch. This timeframe is perfectly covered by my stockpiled chapters, so you guys are in luck!

However, the surgery needs to be scheduled, though they said it will be quick.

The doctor told me to relax and said that I will be able to write again once the surgery is over.

He even asked me what kind of novel I write. I asked him, Doctor, do you actually have time to read novels?

He said, Absolutely, I even watch short dramas.

Awesome!

I left the hospital chatting and laughing, and then I cried, fuck.

I almost had a mental breakdown. Alright, I actually did have a breakdown, but after coming back home, calming down, and typing some words, I rebuilt my mental defenses.

So, everyone, besides your regular health insurance, remember to buy some critical illness insurance. It is not expensive. It is just like antivirus software, when you actually need it, it becomes incredibly important.

That is all for now. I wish everyone good health. Love you all, Yin Cha.