However, whatever you fear will come to you. The person behind him ate spicy strips every day.

That fishy, spicy smell of low-quality oil permeated the stuffy summer classroom. The empty wrappers were stuffed into some forgotten corner instead of being thrown away, causing the smell to linger, eventually driving this particular young master from the city crazy.

“From now on, eat outside,” Chen Chao said, turning around to face the chubby kid eating the spicy strips with a grim expression.

The chubby kid was probably a school bully in elementary school. He acted like the big boss in the classroom every day, so when someone openly challenged the boss’s authority, it was naturally unacceptable.

The chubby kid raised an eyebrow and replied dismissively, “Who are you talking to?”

Chen Chao said, “You.”

The chubby kid let out a cold sneer.

That afternoon, the chubby kid tore open another bag of spicy strips and deliberately came to sit next to Chen Chao to eat it.

Chen Chao glanced at him. The chubby kid smacked his lips provocatively and blew a breath in his direction.

Later on, whenever this incident was brought up, Ding Wentao would forbid anyone from mentioning it. He would cover the mouth of whoever brought it up in front of him.

The school was only so big, and the students were the same ones from elementary school. Even if they weren’t in the same class back then, they had all seen each other. Only Chen Chao was different. He was a brand-new face in this town, carrying an air that, in their eyes, seemed a bit pretentious. Many people had found him disagreeable for a while now.

Ding Wentao had long been looking for a chance to teach him a lesson and establish his dominance. This time, Chen Chao had delivered himself to his doorstep. Ding Wentao thought this was perfect; he didn’t even need to find a pretext.

Without going into specifics, after school that evening, Ding Wentao was clutching his ribs, his steps unsteady.

In the years before Chen Guangda’s business got so busy, the father and son duo had practiced Taekwondo for three years at a martial arts gym across from their residential complex. It was a trend for boys in the city to learn it back then, so Chen Guangda had joined in on the fun and brought Chen Chao along. He treated it as a workout, the only adult mixed in a room full of young kids.

Ding Wentao had the pride of a big boss. At least after getting beaten, he didn’t tattle at home, nor did he let his underlings tell the teacher. His first attempt to establish dominance in middle school was thwarted by Chen Chao. Having suffered a loss he couldn’t complain about, Ding Wentao surprisingly didn’t hold a grudge and didn’t bother Chen Chao again afterward.

No one ate around him anymore, and without the strange smell, the following period was much more pleasant for Chen Chao.

The weather finally cooled down. After a light rain, much of the sweltering heat in the air dissipated. Chen Chao no longer needed a fan to sleep at night; he could sleep well just by keeping the window open.

However, there were still quite a few mosquitoes in the room. Especially since he had to keep the light on at night to do his homework, the mosquitoes would find the light, slip through the gaps in the window screen, and leave a welt on Chen Chao wherever they landed.

Chen Chao scratched his arm, irritated by the itch.

Miao Jiayan’s light was also on, his curtains drawn. It was unclear if he was doing homework or something else.

Chen Chao stood up, walked to the window, and called out, “Miao’er.”

Both their windows were open, so Chen Chao immediately heard Miao Jiayan call back, “Hey!”

Two seconds later, Miao Jiayan pulled open his curtains, lifted the window screen, and poked his head out to ask, “Are you calling me, Brother?”

Chen Chao asked him, “Do you still have any cooling balm?”

“Yes, did you get bitten again?” Miao Jiayan replied.

The village was very quiet at night, and their voices echoed slightly. The two of them could hear each other clearly without shouting.

Chen Chao said, “Come out and open the door, I’ll come over to get it.”

Miao Jiayan waved his hand. “Wait for me, I’ll bring it to you.”

After speaking, he pulled his head back in and lowered the window screen.

Before two minutes had passed, Miao Jiayan pushed the door open and came in, wearing a set of blue pajamas with a frog print and holding a new jar of cooling balm.

He gave the cooling balm to Chen Chao and asked, “Are there mosquitoes in your room?”

Chen Chao said, “Lots.”

Miao Jiayan said, “You do your homework, I’ll help you swat them.”

“You won’t be able to catch them, forget it.” After this whole summer, Chen Chao was used to being bitten; he was already immune to the buzzing of mosquitoes.

“I can.” Miao Jiayan picked up the empty water bottle on Chen Chao’s desk and unscrewed the cap. “You do your work, I’ll catch them all for you.”

Miao Jiayan tilted his head back, searching for mosquitoes along the wall. Chen Chao watched him while applying the cooling balm to his mosquito bites. The pajamas Miao Jiayan was wearing were probably from last year or the year before; the pants were a bit short, revealing his ankles, making him look even more like a child.

“Are you done with your homework?” Chen Chao asked him.

“I don’t have any homework,” Miao Jiayan put a finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet, and answered softly, “There’s very little homework in the sixth grade.”

Chen Chao wondered what kind of rural custom this was. Why was there no homework in the sixth grade?

“I found a mosquito,” Miao Jiayan stated softly. He slowly brought the water bottle over to trap the mosquito. Once it was trapped, he shifted and shook the bottle, dazing the mosquito inside.

“You can catch them like that?” Chen Chao was quite surprised.

“Yes, this is how I always catch mosquitoes,” Miao Jiayan smiled. “It works really well.”

Miao Jiayan stayed in Chen Chao’s room for half an hour and caught six mosquitoes. Finally, he screwed the cap back on the bottle and took it with him.

“I’m going back now, Brother,” Miao Jiayan said with a yawn.

Chen Chao was about to walk him out, but Miao Jiayan had already run off. After going out, he skillfully reached his hand back through the small square opening in the door to slide the latch shut.

A few minutes later, the lights across the way went out.

In the short few months he had been here, Chen Chao had experienced all sorts of things he hadn’t in the past few years and was gradually adapting.

For example, prickly heat powder and cooling balm. He had become more and more tranquil in this environment. Perhaps Chen Chao’s last holdout on his identity as a city boy was that cucumbers must be sliced before being eaten.

During the October 1st National Day holiday, Chen Guangda came back once. Although he was still maintaining his grinning persona, it was still obvious that he was very tired. He stayed for two days and then left. Second Uncle’s family also came back. His younger cousin was a bit shy when he first saw Chen Chao and didn’t dare to speak to him, but after a short while, he became clingy.

When the younger cousin saw Miao Jiayan, he greeted him very politely, calling him “Sister.”

Chen Chao, who was sitting on a stone stool at the time, nudged him with his knee and said, “Call him Brother.”

The younger cousin looked back at him, confused.

Miao Jiayan also felt a bit awkward, put down what he was holding, and left.

His hair had grown a little, long enough to cover the back of his neck. He was once again wearing a thin black hair tie on his wrist, which he occasionally used to tie his hair.

“Why is he a brother?” the younger cousin asked, still bewildered, after Miao Jiayan had left.

Chen Chao said, “No reason. He just is a brother.”

After the younger cousin arrived, Miao Jiayan rarely came over anymore. He seemed a bit shy around strangers; he didn’t dare to speak much when there were other people around Chen Chao.

When Second Uncle came back, a friend visited and brought two tubs of ice cream for the kids. This was something Chen Chao used to eat often back home, something unavailable in the town here. The town’s supermarket only had cheap popsicles.

The younger cousin brought up two bowls of it. Chen Chao opened the window and called toward the house opposite, “Miao’er.”

Miao Jiayan answered with a sound and opened his window to ask, “Huh?”

“Come over,” Chen Chao called to him.

Miao Jiayan hesitated for a moment, then asked, “What is it?”

Usually, he would come immediately when called, but this time he was being reserved and asking what was the matter.

Chen Chao: “Come over.”

Miao Jiayan: “…Coming.”