The name 'Da Mei' sounded feminine, but he was a guy.
He was the youngest of the three of them and had always been protected. Even the nickname 'Da Mei' had been jokingly given by Zhou Dalei: "Since you're my little brother, big brother will give you a name. How about Da Mei? From now on, we brothers will have neat and tidy names."
Because Da Mei was small-statured, he was always bullied by others and he often didn't retaliate.
Zhou Dalei protected him like he was protecting his young. When there were too many opponents for him to beat, he called Xie Yu to go with them.
Later Da Mei had a growth spurt, shooting upwards like bamboo. He reached 1.85 m. He felt that he had grown up. He had watched the others fighting for many years, and while he hadn't eaten pork he had seen pigs run.¹
One time he couldn't take it and stood in front of Da Lei and said, "Let me teach these idiots a lesson."
In the end, theory and practice were as far away from each other as heaven and earth. Da Mei couldn't hurt them and Zhou Dalei grabbed him, turned, and ran: "You teach them a lesson, my ass. Do you even know how to fight? Your skinny arms and skinny legs are longer than other people's but what good are they otherwise? —You'll drive me mad, you will."
"That little brat gave me a pot of shitty flowers. What did he give you before he left?" The more Zhou Dalei thought about it the angrier he became. "...No, this doesn't count as giving. At best, it's considered lending it to me to foster."
Xie Yu looked up at the electric lines, also seeming to remember things from the past. The corners of his lips lifted in a smile. "A Rubik's cube."
Zhou Dalei: "Ah?"
Xie Yu: "A little better than yours. Before Da Mei left, he gave me a Rubik's cube."
Xu Yanmei's cooking really wasn't all that good. It looked good, but always had its own unique flavor. Besides, she often forgot to add seasoning.
"This is really so good I can't describe it." Zhou Dalei swallowed the bok choy. "But I want to ask you something. Since you didn't put salt in the food, why did you make us go to a concession stand and get it for you?
Xu Yanmei didn't believe it: "Did I forget to put salt? Not possible. I think I did even better than usual this time around. I paid a lot of attention to every step."
Xie Yu said: "Try for yourself?"
In the end, the words "eaten their fill" could not be applied to this meal, and they ordered shrimp takeout to save the day.
"Come, cheers—" After several cups of wine, Aunt Mei almost stood up on the table. With one leg horizontally propped on the chair, she slapped her chest. "Come, come and drink! Xiao Yu-er is starting school tomorrow. Everyone, say something."
Xie Yu reached out and nudged the plate full of shrimp shells in front of Xu Yanmei to one side, worried that she'd knock them off the table.
Zhou Dalei took the lead and stood up with his glass of water: "Boss Xie, I'll go first. I give you good wishes. I wish that in Liyang Sizhong, you..."
"Sizhong?" Xie Yu couldn't hold it in any more and kicked him, laughing. "Si, your ass. I go to Erzhong."
Liyang Erzhong had stood for more than sixty years and was even a little famous in A City.
Its teaching resources were ordinary and its graduation rate wasn't great, either. It was located in the suburbs, which, to put it nicely, had a quiet, peaceful learning atmosphere with good air. It was close to several non-mainstream schools that had been built later and its position was really awkward.
