Chapter 343: – Barbecue
For Lin Jin, a drop in grades was a small matter. After all, the only thing that really mattered in college each year was the final exam. And if you didn't need this exam for a scholarship or anything, then all hail 60 points.
But for Lin Chen, a drop in grades was nothing short of a nightmare. He used to consistently rank in the top ten of his year. Although he wasn't as gifted as those who ranked first or second, he was still quite good at studying. If he worked hard, he could sometimes get into the top three. Almost everyone thought that even if he couldn't get into colleges like Tsinghua or Beijing University, he'd still be at a top college.
However, for some reason, Lin Chen found himself unable to concentrate on his studies recently. Every day, he would be in a daze, going to class, listening to lectures, and working through test papers. He was completely void of the initial passion and his grades in today’s mock exam plummeted.
His performance on this mock exam was actually so mediocre compared to before that even a first tier college would be a stretch. While it was normal for anyone to have off days, this was the first time Lin Chen had experienced it.
He left school early at eight and returned home with a look of despair. He had intended to rest a bit, but his mother kept questioning why he was in such a bad mood... As a kid whose life revolved solely around studying, a sudden drop in grades was certainly not something he could talk about with his mother. He was afraid that if he did, he would disappoint her who had high expectations of him.
Thus, Lin Chen unwittingly exploded and the frustrations that he had bottled up during this period erupted like a volcano. The result was him throwing things around and desperately smashing his fists against his bed, thinking the pain might make him feel better.
Sitting nearby, Lin Jin frowned after hearing what Lin Chen had said. She thought for a moment before asking: "Is it because of me?"
"Did I disturb you? Made you always think about going out to play with me and stuff, so you couldn’t focus on studying?" Lin Jin saw his mood had stabilized a lot and cautiously asked.
"It shouldn’t be?" Lin Chen hesitated. His emotions were relatively stable now, but his body couldn't stop trembling. He turned to look at Lin Jin, "It's probably just me. Maybe I'm just sick of studying."
Was that so?
Although Lin Jin hadn't lived with Lin Chen for nearly ten years so she didn't know him that well, she remembered how much effort he put into studying elementary school. Back then, Lin Jin only knew how to play every day while Lin Chen could spend the entire day studying without anyone supervising him. According to him, studying was his happiness.
But it was entirely possible that the pressure of a senior high school student was too much, causing Lin Chen’s emotions to be unstable, resulting in his grades dropping too, right?
"I'm leaving in a couple of days" Lin Jin saw that Lin Chen seemed fine now so she finally relaxed. Crossing her legs, she suggested "How we go hang out tonight one last time for a couple hours. Just relax and forget about homework and whatever. Too much pressure when studying isn’t helpful anyway."
"Look at me, your sister. Every day I’m carefree and playing around and I’ll never end up in your situation just now." Seeing him still hesitant, she grinned and added, "That's why you need work life balance! Have fun tonight and think about your studies tomorrow. Put your grades and whatever aside too."
"Okay." Seeing Lin Jin's insistence, Lin Chen stopped hesitating and agreed. He exposed Lin Jin’s motive in one go "You just want to quickly sneak out because mom isn't around, right?"
"Hey, how’s that possible! I'm totally doing this for my you, younger brother’s own good!"
Lin Jin triumphantly stood up: "Quickly get ready, we’ll leave in five minutes! I want to eat my way through all of Guangdong!"
These past few days, Lin Jin had been nearly driven crazy by their mother. Going out meant not only wearing thick cotton coats, but also enduring stares from strangers who wonder if she was mentally retarded. She wasn’t even allowed to run a few steps. She finally saw an opportunity with their mother out tonight and felt it would be too big a shame if she didn’t bring Lin Chen out for fun.
With a jacket and some short white socks on, Lin Jin in stunning women’s clothing left the house with Lin Chen.
It was indeed almost summer and the temperature had warmed up during the day, but the temperatures at night were still a bit chilly. Lin Jin, who only wore a short sleeved shirt and a thin jacket, shivered as they walked through the community garden.
"How about I go back up and get you some clothes?" Lin Chen quickly noticed Lin Jin's shivering.
"No need."
Lin Jin wasn't just taking Lin Chen out for fun tonight, she also wanted to help release some of the pressure he had been under. So, she planned to genuinely play the role of a doting sister instead of acting like the bossy sister she used to be.
Thus she reluctantly decided that tonight, she would be the one to spend all the money to make sure Lin Chen had a great time.
The streets near their community weren't a commercial area or a night market, but it was still bustling with people at around nine o’clock at night. In the alleys nearby, there were several food stalls and barbecue specializing in late night snacks. What Lin Jin ate the most during this time in Guangdong was this barbecue, tasting much better than the ones near her school. While not the best she had ever had, the barbecue from a stall in one of those alleys definitely ranked among the top three.
It might also have been because she hadn't eaten much...
Just like before, Lin Jin brought Lin Chen, who hadn't really eaten much, to the barbecue stall.
There weren’t many people at this stall, just a couple of tables where people were drinking beer, chatting, and boasting. Lin Jin causally ordered a few of her favorite skewers and then turned her attention to Lin Chen.
"Are you two older brother and younger sister or a couple?" The chatty stall owner smiled warmly at the familiar pair before him. "I don’t mean anything, just feel that one is handsome and the other is beautiful. You look good together."
"Boss, we're older sister and younger brother, okay? I'm the older sister!" Lin Jin’s fake voice was now out of this world, basically using it every day. It was at the point where she struggled to differentiate which was her natural voice. She glared at the stall owner in dissatisfaction, questioning, "Where do you see that I’m younger than him? I'm clearly a year older than him, okay?"
"Is that so?" The stall owner was unfazed by Lin Jin’s tone and picked up a cauliflower skewer with a smile "Beautiful girl, how about this as my apology?"
"At least you’re somewhat sincere." Lin Jin lifted her chin proudly.
Lin Chen rolled his eyes beside her, unable to comprehend how Lin Jin could be so shameless.
However, Lin Jin's antics did help dissolve some of the pressure he felt inside.
"Boss, also four beers" Lin Jin casually shouted after seeing Lin Chen had ordered his barbecue.
"Alright!"
So for most men, just accompany them to drink when they’re down! Speaking of which, Lin Chen was also this case!