Chapter 5: The Troublesome Little Sister

For Tang Yunle, college life was far better than he had imagined—fifteen-yuan braised chicken rice, three-yuan iced lemonade, and a group of compatible roommates with whom he hadn’t had any conflicts.

The three-day check-in period ended, a class meeting was held under the guidance of the counselor, and then the school’s arrangements for the freshmen were announced: one week of normal classes to familiarize themselves with the environment, followed by a twenty-one-day, three-week military training.

But just as Tang Yunle was feeling cheerful, a message from his sister sent his mood plummeting to rock bottom.

Tang Little Fairy: –Bro, send me another two thousand yuan.

Tang Little Fairy: –The money you gave me a while ago isn’t enough at all.

Looking at the new message popping up in the chat box, Tang Yunle, who had just finished class, frowned slightly.

Mole’s Manor Lele Knight: –Didn’t I just give you two thousand last time? You’ve spent it all so quickly?

Tang Little Fairy, that is, his sister who loved Xiaohongshu, Tang Yunke, was currently a first-year in high school, sixteen years old, and attended the same school as Tang Mingnuo.

However, she was a stark contrast to her brother Tang Mingnuo, who attended the same school—the former was obsessed with chasing celebrities, while the latter was timid and cowardly.

Tang Little Fairy: –I went to buy some merch of my idol with my best friend a few days ago, spent a lot of money, and also used up a lot of my living expenses. Bro, just give me a few thousand more. longing.jpg.

Mole’s Manor Lele Knight: –Do you really think my money grows on trees?! I’ve told you so many times to study hard, stop chasing celebrities, and stop hanging out with those bad girls. I’ve told you so many times, but you still won’t change.

Mole’s Manor Lele Knight: –disappointed.jpg.

Tang Yunle had originally intended to just criticize her a bit, hoping to get his troublesome sister back on the right track. But as soon as he sent these messages, she seemed to have swallowed gunpowder and been ignited, bombarding him with a series of emojis, and finally adding a sentence.

“Biological brother, I want two thousand yuan, are you giving it to me or not! If you don’t, I’ll tell our biological dad, and if he doesn’t give it to me either, I’ll go to the police station and accuse him of molesting me!”

This thuggish move really left Tang Yunle speechless and forced him to compromise.

He had no choice but to compromise, because Tang Yunke was truly capable of doing such a thing, and his father would truly refuse to give her the money and resort to family discipline.

If his father really had to go to the police station because of something like this, it would be an absolute scandal, and the neighbors would definitely be pointing fingers behind their backs.

Only after transferring two thousand yuan to Tang Yunke did Tang Yunle lean back weakly against his chair, his arms hanging down, and let out a helpless sigh.

‘When did our family become like this?’

‘Parents fighting over divorce, little sister running away from home, and younger brother being so weak and useless.’

‘Was it because his father had accumulated huge gambling debts? Was it because his mother was caught having an affair with her first love by his father? Was it because his little sister was corrupted by bad girls? Or was it because his little brother was so timid at school and at home?’

Tang Yunle didn’t know, wasn’t sure, and didn’t want to figure it out.

He only knew that as the older brother, he had to carry this family, had to maintain it, and not let it fall apart.

For this, he would pay any price.

Li Wei, who had also just returned from class and opened his computer, saw Tang Yunle’s dejected and listless expression and teased, “Ah Le, what’s wrong? Had a fight with your girlfriend?”

“I already told you, I’m a sigma male, I don’t do relationships,” Tang Yunle forced a smile. “It’s just some family trouble, but it’s nothing major.”

Hearing this, Lin Haiyu and Li Wei exchanged a glance. It was best not to pry into other people’s family matters.

After all, every family has its own problems.

“By the way, bros, military training is in a few days. We don’t have evening self-study tonight, how about we go out for a good meal?”

After a few seconds of silence, Li Wei was the first to bring up the topic. “I know a self-serve beef hot pot place in the university town. It’s fifty yuan per person, cheap and affordable, and the side dishes are good too.”

“I have no objection,” Lin Haiyu immediately agreed.

“Count me in.”

After Tang Yunle joined in, he turned his head and looked around, but saw no one else. He asked, “Where’s Ah Liang? Has anyone seen him?”

“Who knows? I haven’t seen him since class ended.”

“Maybe he went to buy lemonade. We can just send him our location when we’re having hot pot later.”

Nanchang Jiaoyuan College, a teacher’s office in a certain academic building.

“Yes, it’s me. Cousin, I understand.”

“I’ll take care of him, I promise.”

“Don’t worry, I’m a psychologist. I won’t let him go up to the rooftop.”

After the phone call ended, Zhang Junfang finally put down his phone, wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, and looked at the quiet young man sitting silently.

The young man was wearing a white t-shirt and black sweatpants, his face a bit sickly pale. There was no joy or sorrow in his ice-blue eyes, only quiet waiting. At first glance, the young man seemed like a protagonist from some angsty youth literature—lonely, detached, yet with a hint of melancholy.

‘This type of boy should be very popular with girls.’

But Zhang Junfang only felt a toothache.

‘Human relationships, human relationships. There are human relationships everywhere.’

To repay a favor, he had closed his own psychological treatment clinic and come here to be a psychology teaching assistant.

And now, because of human relationships, he had to pay extra attention to a student. But thinking about the student’s situation, Zhang Junfang’s originally dissatisfied gaze softened a bit.

‘Forget it, he’s a pitiful one too.’

“I’m your mother’s best friend’s cousin. By seniority, you should call me Uncle Zhang, but it’s best to address me by my title in class.”

“There’s one psychology class per week, and I’m in charge of it.”

“Call me anytime if you need anything—as long as it’s not a sky-falling-down kind of trouble, I’ll cover for you.”

“I’ll apply to the school for you to withdraw from the military training in a few days. You should be clear about your own physical condition.”

At this point, Zhang Junfang paused, looked at Qin Liang again, and softened his tone. “There’s a three-hour time difference between here and Wanqing City, and the customs and food are also a bit different. You’ve just enrolled, can you adapt?”

Qin Liang nodded. “Thank you, Uncle Zhang. I can adapt. The people in my dorm are all very nice.”

The sunlight slanted into the office, casting a mix of light and shadow between the two of them.

After a brief exchange, the young man with ice-blue eyes stood up and bid farewell. Zhang Junfang watched his retreating back, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the tabletop as he fell into thought.

He recalled his cousin’s repeated reminders on the phone and couldn’t help but sigh softly. He neatly organized the military training withdrawal documents on his desk and the corresponding medical records from the drawer, putting them into a file folder.

Just then, a tender, soft, childish voice drifted in from outside the office—

“Teacher, teacher, look! We found another stray kitten.”

“It’s so small and pitiful. Can we adopt it?”

A little boy wearing an oversized baseball cap and a blue and white robe ran in, cradling a skinny little kitten.

He held the kitten up high, his orange-yellow eyes filled with sparkling anticipation, as if they were full of shattered stars.

Zhang Junfang’s gaze swept over the restless little creature in the boy’s arms. Thinking of his home, which had already become a cat’s den, the corner of his mouth twitched.

He selectively ignored the topic, squatted down, and rubbed the little boy’s soft hair, asking in a gentle voice, “How have you been playing lately? Are you adapting well to the college?”

Little Shota Yan Qing tilted his head and thought seriously, then replied in a childish voice, “The school is very fun, and the big brothers and sisters are very enthusiastic. They feed the kittens every day. A few days ago, Big Brother Zhou gave me a fountain pen. It even has gold patterns on it. It’s very beautiful.”