Chapter 527: Falling Before the Exam

Liu Guangtian slumped by the edge of the kang, his eyelids drooping, as he reached out with his fingernail to pick at a patch of age-old grime on the tabletop, as if it were some deep-seated anxiety of his.

Liu Guangfu was frightened by his older brother's fierce, menacing appearance; the request for money that had reached his lips was swallowed back down, and he silently grabbed that cold, hard corn bun, gnawing on it in small bites until his jaw ached.

On Sunday, Liu Guangtian dragged Liu Guangfu, who was whimpering with hunger on the kang, out the door.

The two brothers walked a long way before entering a steamed bun shop.

Liu Guangtian took out money and bought ten large meat buns.

Liu Guangfu was so hungry his eyes were turning blue; he grabbed a bun and stuffed it into his mouth, eating nine in one go.

Only then did Liu Guangtian reach out to take the last one, laughing and scolding, "You little brat! If I didn't snatch this one, I'm afraid you wouldn't even leave me the crumbs, would you?"

Liu Guangfu puffed out his cheeks, giggled foolishly for a long time, and then said indistinctly, "Second Brother, the meat buns are so delicious... you're better than Big Brother."

Hearing this, Liu Guangtian's mouth curved, then he lowered his voice: "Guangfu, the day Mother left, I heard her talking to Big Brother. The living expenses she left for us weren't short by a single cent. But Big Brother... he pocketed the money to cook his own private meals. I'm not making this up; I begged Yan Jiefang to secretly follow him..."

Liu Guangfu widened his eyes, looking at Liu Guangtian in disbelief. In his heart, although Big Brother was strict, he had always been fair. "What? Second Brother, could Big Brother really do something like that?"

"Why would I lie to you? If I hadn't heard it with my own ears, I wouldn't dare believe it either." Liu Guangtian bit his lower lip, his eyes burning with anger.

Liu Guangfu stood up with a start, blood rushing to his head: "I'm going to ask him for the money! I won't live this kind of life with him anymore; why should he be the only one spending the money Mom and Dad left behind!"

"Stop!" Liu Guangtian grabbed him and pulled him back onto the stool. "You little brat, what's the use of talking tough? The money is in his hands; he spends it however he wants. When Mom comes back, he'll bite back and say we were the ones wanting to squander money and that he was just looking after us. What reason would we have to report him?"

Liu Guangfu breathed heavily, his fists clenched tight.

Liu Guangtian patted his shoulder, his voice softening: "Second Brother has a little private money here. From now on, I'll get you something to eat every now and then; I absolutely won't let you go hungry again. But you have to be clever and don't let Big Brother find out!"

Liu Guangfu looked at his second brother and nodded heavily.

In the days that followed, things were calm on the surface, but there were undercurrents moving beneath.

Liu Guangfu stopped making a fuss.

Whatever Liu Guangqi gave him, he ate; if he didn't give him anything, he stayed hungry without a word.

Liu Guangqi soon noticed that this younger brother had grown distant from him, avoiding conversation whenever possible.

As for that kid Liu Guangtian, he was like a dragon that only showed its head but never its tail; apart from coming back at night to sleep, one could barely see his shadow.

Liu Guangqi was stifled with pent-up rage, wanting to find an excuse to beat someone, but he couldn't even find a pretext.

He clearly felt that his bit of "authority" had no place to be put to use.

What made him even angrier was that Liu Guangfu often ate things in his quilt in the middle of the night; although he couldn't see clearly, the fragrance would drill straight into his nose. If he asked what he was eating, he wouldn't say.

"I'll cut off your food supply!" Liu Guangqi decided ruthlessly.

Once he discovered his brothers had hidden some food, whether it was a few fruit candies or half a pack of biscuits, he would always dig them out and stuff them into his own mouth without hesitation. The family's meals became even worse.

Strangely, when Liu Guangfu lost his food, he would at most shout a few times and then let it go. As for the poor food, they no longer complained either.

Time flew by, and it had been nearly two months since Sun Yumei left.

The high school entrance exam was right around the corner, yet their mother still hadn't returned, and the rage smoldering in Liu Guangqi's heart burned brighter and brighter.

Even more infuriating was that he had clearly stated he was going to take the exam and told his two younger brothers to cook, but those two acted as if they hadn't heard, preferring to stay hungry rather than lift a finger.

The day before the exam, Liu Guangqi studied all day, but those two "bastards" didn't come home at all.

He had no choice but to go to the street to buy some flatbreads and a few garlic sausages from Daoxiangcun, wanting to have a good meal to save up his energy for the exam tomorrow.

The door was pushed open with a "bang."

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu walked in laughing and joking, with Liu Guangfu's chest bulging.

"Are you two eating or not?" Liu Guangqi asked irritably.

Liu Guangfu replied with a grin: "We've already eaten, Yan Jiefang treated us!" As he spoke, he secretly stuffed an oil-paper package into a small wooden box in the corner.

Liu Guangqi's anger flared up to his forehead, and just as he was about to erupt, Liu Guangfu shouted excitedly: "Big Brother, the factory showed 'Guerrilla of the Plain' today, we went to watch the movie!" After saying this, the two brothers ran off like a gust of wind.

Liu Guangqi sat with a gloomy face, eating his flatbread wrapped with garlic sausage; the more he ate, the angrier he felt, and he couldn't stop hiccuping.

He endured the discomfort, wanting to sleep, when he suddenly remembered Liu Guangfu's sneaky behavior. He went over to open the box and saw it was his favorite almond crisps. Without hesitation, he took them all and stuffed them into his school bag.

The next day, Liu Guangqi got up very early, didn't make breakfast, and left with those almond crisps in his pocket.

On the way, he ate all the pastries in a few bites.

Just as he arrived at school, his stomach began to act up, rumbling loudly.

Soon, a sharp, twisting pain exploded from his lower abdomen, and cold sweat instantly covered his forehead.

He clutched his stomach and rushed into the restroom, emptying his bowels completely.

He hadn't even rested for ten minutes after returning when a more violent churning sensation struck again... In just half an hour, he had run back and forth four or five times; his legs felt like noodles, his complexion turned from red to white, and finally, a weak, sallow yellow.

Once again, he crawled out of the restroom as if drained of all life, collapsing onto a chair in the hallway, clutching his stomach, his mind racing to recall: he only ate those almond crisps in the morning, how could this happen!

He suddenly gave a start!

Laxatives!

Could it be that those two brats did it on purpose?

So that was it—all these two months when Liu Guangfu lost his food and didn't come to him, he was waiting for this moment?

He was terrified by the thought; with Liu Guangtian's brain, he might not have come up with this trick... there must be someone behind it!

Who was close to Liu Guangtian? Wasn't it Yan Jiefang and Xu Damao?

It must be Xu Damao! He was jealous of him, sowed discord between the brothers, and then sabotaged him so he wouldn't pass the vocational school exam and become a Cadre.

He had really fallen for it this time, but the pastries were eaten by his own hand in secret; he couldn't even find a solid reason to report them! Was he just going to accept his fate?

No way! If you stop me from becoming a Cadre, I will never let you, Xu Damao, have an easy life!

Another violent, twisting pain struck his abdomen, and Liu Guangqi curled up in agony.

He struggled, wanting to go to the restroom again, but the bell for the exam rang...

He managed two steps, his vision went black, and he collapsed limply at the entrance of the restroom, losing consciousness.