236: Chapter 236 Don't Rush to Define Yourself

The setting sun scorched the streets of Jiangcheng into a golden red.

The sycamore leaves on both sides of the road were wilted and drooping.

Occasionally, a few drops of liquid—unsure if it was cicada urine or dew—fell, hitting the asphalt road and vanishing in an instant.

Lin Que's footsteps paused; Wu Di's mindless remark had accurately pierced the softest part of his heart.

In his previous life, it was also such a sweltering summer.

The College Entrance Examination ended, and the score rankings were revealed.

Lin Que was admitted to Southeast University in Jinling. Although it wasn't top-tier, it was still considered stepping through the gates of a prestigious school.

Meanwhile, because Wu Di's mental state collapsed in the examination hall,

he ended up going to an obscure second-tier college in Gang City.

That summer vacation, the two of them got dead drunk at a food stall by the river.

Wu Di clutched a wine bottle, crying with snot and tears, shouting that he would make something of himself in the future.

What happened later?

Later, contact indeed became less frequent.

It wasn't because they didn't want to stay in touch, nor was it because they found new friends and forgot the old.

Rather, it was the blunt knife of life that completely severed their circles.

The Lin Que of that timeline was busy struggling in the film and television industry,

writing scripts, revising outlines, and haggling with clients, working himself bald every day for a few measly silver coins.

As for Wu Di, after graduation, he naturally returned to Jiangcheng to take over the family building materials business.

Passing cigarettes to foremen by day and being arranged for blind dates by his parents by night,

he lived a life where the end was visible at a glance, yet he was free from worries about food and clothing.

Although every holiday he returned, Wu Di would carry a large bag of egg rolls and cured meats—specialties from Gang City—

and rush into Lin Que's rented apartment of less than sixty square meters,

dragging him to an internet cafe to play games, still shouting "Brother Que, carry me."

But this kid actually wasn't stupid.

He was just playful, and with a bit of family background, his parents' expectation was for him to just get a diploma and come back to take over, so he himself felt justified in "lying flat."

But the sense of loss behind that "lying flat" was something the Lin Que of his previous life was too busy making a living to understand;

now, living a second life, he saw it clearly.

It was the feeling of powerlessness from watching a brother he grew up with fly higher and higher,

while he could only stand in the mud and look up.

That feeling was more torturous than jealousy.

"Why so sentimental?"

Lin Que snapped back to his senses and reached out to grab Wu Di's chubby shoulder,

shaking him hard, trying to shake away the gloomy atmosphere.

"I'm going to Qingbei, not to the West to fetch scriptures.

How developed is transportation nowadays? What's so hard about meeting? For a holiday, just take a flight, and you'll be there in over two hours.

When the time comes, I'll treat you to Jingcheng Roast Duck, all you can eat."

Wu Di let him hold him and didn't jokingly retort "I want to eat three" like he usually would.

He turned his head and looked at Lin Que.

The setting sun shone on Wu Di's round face;

this kid's small eyes, which usually showed a hint of shrewdness,

were now drooping, with no light in them, filled only with the despondency that only adults understand.

"Brother Que, you know that's not what I'm talking about."

Wu Di twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile that looked worse than crying.

He held up two fingers and gestured in the air.

"Two thousand kilometers—that's a matter for a plane. I have money; I'm not afraid of that."

"But some distances can't be crossed just by buying a plane ticket."

Wu Di pointed at Lin Que, then at himself, his voice a bit raspy.

"You are a unrivaled national scholar, a wenqu star.

You're someone who's going to join the Writers Association, appear in textbooks, and talk and laugh with great figures.

Even your name will be carved on a stone tablet in the future."

"And me?"

He laughed self-deprecatingly and kicked away a pebble by his foot.

"I'm just a second-generation rich kid waiting to die, at most a small boss haggling with people in the building materials market later.

If I'm lucky, I'll make a bit more money; if not, I'll just be someone who maintains what's already there."

"The distance in between isn't something that can be crossed with a flight."

Wu Di lowered his head, his voice getting smaller and smaller, as if trying to shrink himself into a crack in the ground.

"Brother Que, you're a dragon; you have to fly.

I'm just a grasshopper on the ground; I'll run out of steam after a few hops.

In the future... we won't have anything to talk about."

This was the first time the young man faced the cruelty of growing up.

It turned out,

true separation refers not just to saying goodbye,

but to two worlds parting ways.

When one is talking about literature, ideals, and the country,

the other can only talk about steel bars, cement, and which bath center has a good buffet.

Often, the spiritual drifting apart is the most unsolvable dead end.

Lin Que looked at him, the smile on his face gradually fading.

The wind blew through the sycamore leaves with a rustling sound, like an echo to the youth's sigh.

He turned around to face the somewhat insecure fatty.

Lin Que didn't rush to speak but pulled out a pack of tissues from his pocket and handed one over.

"Wipe."

"For what? I'm not crying!"

Wu Di stubbornly turned his head away but still took the tissue and blew his nose hard.

"Wu Di."

Lin Que's voice was soft, yet it carried an unquestionable certainty.

"Who told you that a grasshopper can't fly?"

Wu Di froze for a moment and looked up at him, his nose still red.

"Huh?"

"As long as the wind is strong enough, even a pig can fly, let alone you."

Lin Que pointed to the sky dyed red by the setting sun.

"This world is huge; literature isn't the only road that leads to Rome.

You say you only want to be a boss selling building materials?

That's because you haven't seen other scenery yet."

"I..."

Wu Di opened his mouth, wanting to argue something.

"Don't be so quick to define yourself."

Lin Que interrupted him.

He looked at his somewhat dejected brother, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

There was no need for the regrets of his previous life to repeat in this one.

Although this fatty couldn't squeeze out three words for an essay, when it came to doing business and interpersonal relationships, his brain was sharper than anyone's.

Since he had restarted this life, there was no reason to let his brother go back to guarding a building materials store...