Rising like the sun

After returning to school, the way the classmates looked at Li Xin changed.The rare sympathy quickly dissipated and was replaced by schadenfreude.

I don't know who started it one day, a nickname that made Li Xin have nightmares again and again - "Big brother-in-law".

When he heard this bitingly malicious address for the first time, he was almost so angry that he picked up his chair and was about to hit someone.

The few boys who picked on the pricks only showed a moment of panic, and then became even more presumptuous.They are just happy to see the collapse of the brilliant and calm Miyoshi students.

After realizing this, Li Xin had no choice but to remain silent.It seems that the less said and done, the slower the loss of dignity.

What they like to do most is post-it notes on Li Xin's back, and the second is to secretly change his name in the textbook to "brother-in-law".

The head teacher thought he would help him, so he solemnly announced at the class meeting: "I know some of you nicknamed Li Xin and called him brother-in-law. I will never be polite to anyone who lets me hear it again. Li Xin, you don't have to be afraid , whoever calls you brother-in-law again, you come and tell the teacher."

There were bursts of whispers and laughter around Li Xin, and for a moment he wanted to rush to the podium and sew the head teacher's mouth.This old teacher who is about to retire doesn't understand young people at all.

For the first time, Li Xin knew that when everyone's tiny malice merged into the group, such amazing power would erupt.He once imagined that he was crushed by all kinds of pressure, but he never thought that he would be nicknamed "Brother-in-law".

He couldn't tell his parents about such a trivial matter, let alone his sister.After Li Qing was discharged from the hospital, she fell into a long silence, lying in the bedroom for a whole day, doing nothing but staring blankly, as if her soul was out of her body.

After school, Li Xin would talk to her sister or read to her.Finally one day, Li Qing spoke up.She asked numbly: "Brother, we were born together, are you willing to die with me?"

"I am willing." Li Xin told her solemnly, "But you must tell me in advance."

"Is everyone talking about me at school?"

"I haven't heard of it."

Li Qing turned her head and fell into silence again.

Since the midterm exam, Li Xin has never been the first in the school. "If you want to blame, blame your brother. There are so many people in the whole grade, why is he always the first in the exam?" Brother Tong's best friend whispered in his sister's ear.

When she couldn't sleep, Li Xin would imagine torturing the three people in various ways, no matter what, she would regret it, because people would only be killed once.After finally falling asleep, I would be called "brother-in-law" by my classmates again in my dream.

Although it feels like stepping into an abyss every time he enters the class, Li Xin never asks for leave or misses classes—even the head teacher hints that he can adjust himself occasionally.He firmly believes that the lost dignity can only be regained by standing where the wounded is.

However, in the first two weeks of the final period, his stubbornness was defeated.

The head teacher suffered from a heart attack and was hospitalized. A young teacher who was originally transferred from other places in the next semester arrived early and took over Li Xin's class.This is a male teacher who is full of energy and can quickly get along with students, teaching mathematics.Probably inspired by the classmates in the class, on the second day of being the class teacher, he held up a piece of chalk in class and said to Li Xin in a humorous way: "Well, brother-in-law, come and solve this problem. "

The students slapped the table and laughed wildly, especially those who told the new head teacher that "brother-in-law" is a kind of affectionate name for boys.

The young teacher smiled along for some unknown reason, thinking that he had succeeded in getting closer to the students.

Amidst the uproarious laughter, Li Xin walked up to the podium expressionlessly, took the chalk, and calmly wrote down the problem-solving steps, then returned to her seat, picked up her schoolbag, and walked out of the classroom slowly.

"Where are you going?" The teacher's voice sounded behind him, but Li Xin couldn't hear it clearly.

There seemed to be a helicopter hovering in his mind, roaring endlessly.The string that had been stretched for nearly three months finally broke, just like the piece of chalk that snapped halfway through writing.

He walked out of the school, leaned against the fence and cried, the cold air kept rushing into his lungs, making him out of breath.

That night he told his parents that he was no longer going to school, nor would he be going next term.

"Transfer to another school, go to the city, or else..." Otherwise, I won't be able to stay any longer, my father didn't finish his sentence.

The place is too small to accommodate the catastrophe of a single family.When you go out to buy a bottle of soy sauce, you will encounter dozens of sympathetic and probing eyes.

Sarcasm is even more murderous.After the incident, Li Xin hated two words the most: Flies don't bite seamless eggs, and a slap doesn't make a sound.You know it's wrong, but don't know how to refute it.Every time I argue with reason, I tear up my own wounds for others to see.People don't care if you hurt or not, so in the end the only one hurt is yourself.After several months of fermentation, even the younger sister's outstanding appearance and normal clothes became the grounds for the crime.

Near Chinese New Year, there was a heavy snowfall.Li Qing looked out the window and said in a low voice, "Brother, come with me to have a look."

Li Xin immediately took her to the nearest park, and the two stepped shoulder to shoulder on the untouched snow. The creaking sound was like a person's thoughts.

They came to sit on a bench by the artificial lake. Many people were playing with snow on the frozen lake.Someone cleared a long, narrow ice track, and some children lined up to run and sprint, and then slid across it with open arms.

Li Qing smiled, bent down to pick up a handful of snow from her feet, and murmured, "It's so clean."

Then his expression became gloomy, "If only I were this clean."

Li Xin hurriedly diverted her attention, "Do you want to go on the ice?"

They came to the artificial lake and rolled a snowball amidst the frolic of children around them, which grew bigger and bigger.

Li Qing was about to take pictures with her mobile phone when she suddenly turned pale with shock and turned and ran towards the shore.

Li Xin followed up and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I want to go home," Li Qing's eyes were terrified, "I saw that person...the one I let go."

Li Xin followed her gaze, and indeed saw Brother Tong's cousin.He was laughing heartily, throwing a snowball at his classmates, looking so carefree, as if he would be happy for a lifetime.

Why?Why can he laugh?A tsunami of hatred surged up, drowning Li Xin in an instant.

"I'm going to kill him." Li Xin looked at his sister, "Follow me home and get the knife."

Li Qing froze for a moment, then nodded with a smile, "Okay."

When holding the cold kitchen knife in his hand, the blood around his body seemed to heat up a little.Li Xin imagined that the animal's blood was sprinkled on the white snow, that scene must be very satisfying.In order to prevent the kitchen knife from falling out after being stained with blood, he wrapped his right hand holding the handle of the knife tightly with scotch tape, one circle, two circles... Li Qing watched quietly from the side, eyes that had been dim for several months opened again Glory comes.

Li Xin put a piece of clothing on his arm to cover the kitchen knife, and then they went back to the park and came to the frozen artificial lake.

The boy was still playing, his face was flushed, and his down jacket was half open.Li Xin stared at his neck and approached him step by step.

Li Qing said fiercely from behind: "Brother, chop off his head..."

Li Xin clutched the clothes on his right arm, his mind was racing with thoughts.There were 1 voices shouting together: Come on, kill him, and vent your anger for your sister.There is also a weak voice saying: Don't go, use your smart head to think about it, you will be ruined if you go.

In the end, Li Xin turned around and walked back to the shore, sitting slumped on the snow.The younger sister's brown short boots stopped in front of her eyes, as if she was silently asking: Why don't you do it?

"I can't go..." Li Xin covered her eyes with her left hand, trying not to let her sister see her crying, "I'm sorry, I can't go."

The short boots stood quietly for a while, then the toe of the boots turned around and walked further and further away.A disappointed sarcasm pierced into the eardrums: "Coward."

Li Xin knew that the choice he made was absolutely correct, and he knew that his sister knew it too.But the frozen lake kept appearing in his dreams. He wrapped the kitchen knife around his hands again and again, walked towards the laughing beast again and again, and then gave up again and again.

After the Spring Festival, their family moved to the provincial capital, and Li Xin easily got into a good school with her excellent competition results.On the day of registration, the head teacher happily welcomed him into the class and introduced to everyone: "Starting today, Li Xin will join our class. His grades are very good, everyone should be like him, let us applaud and welcome."

The unfamiliar students applauded.Li Xin heaved a sigh of relief, finally no one would call him "brother-in-law" anymore.

The homeroom teacher pointed to the last row of seats by the window, and Li Xin walked over to sit down. The boy at the same table who had been looking out the window turned his head, glanced at him indifferently, and said nothing.

It was a face as handsome as a celestial being, and anyone standing with him would be overshadowed.Li Xin is conceited that he has read a lot of books and has a little ink in his belly, so he couldn't find any appropriate words to describe it.In ancient times, it was probably at the level of disastrous to the country and the people.

But his expression was extremely gloomy.

Li Xin noticed that his wrists were wrapped with thick gauze, protruding from the cuffs of his school uniform.

During the class break, the boy in the front seat turned around and showed him a very dazzling smile, "Hi, my name is Ji Ji. You can also call me Xiao Ji, just don't add it later. Don't say Ji Ji, civilized you and me he."

Seeing him smiling so happily, Li Xin couldn't help laughing too.

"Has anyone ever said that you look a bit like Takuya Kimura?"

"I don't know much."

"Your tablemate is a school girl."

Li Xin looked sideways slightly, and her eyes fell on the open title page of the textbook.That gloomy boy has a very fragile name, Lin Zhiye.

Probably, his mother's surname is Ye.

Li Xin sat beside Lin Zhiye for almost a week before hearing him speak to herself for the first time: "Can you play basketball?"

"It's a good game."

"You look sad," Lin Zhiye said indifferently, "just like me."

Li Xin opened his eyes wide in surprise, he thought he had acted peacefully.

"Is it obvious?"

"You can tell it at a glance."

Inexplicably, Li Xin felt a kindness, as if one heavy soul bumped into another.