Can I call you brother after Chapter 45?

The two walked to the bookstore on the third floor of the mall.

The bookstore is quite large and divided into several sections.

There weren't many people at this time; only a few students were browsing books on the bookshelves.

"Let's go take a look over there," Yu Heng said, pointing to the literature section.

Qin Ya followed behind him, carrying a large panda plush toy. The panda's ears swayed as she walked.

Walking into the literature section, Yu Heng casually picked up a copy of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" from the shelf, flipped through it, and then put it back.

He hadn't actually read many books like that. In his previous life, he was busy playing games and reading miscellaneous books when he was in school, and after graduation, he was busy working like a beast of burden.

In terms of literary literacy, they have absolutely no connection to famous works.

"Have you seen this?" Qin Ya suddenly asked.

Yu Heng turned his head and saw that she was staring at the book "One Hundred Years of Solitude" that she had just read.

"No," Yu Heng said honestly, "It's too thick, it makes me sleepy just looking at it."

"Oh," Qin Ya responded, reaching out to take the book down. She flipped to the title page and looked at it. "This one is actually not bad, but the names are too confusing. I've read a third of it and still can't figure out who's who."

Yu Heng raised an eyebrow: "You've seen it?"

"Hmm," Qin Ya put the book back, "I read it last year when I had nothing to do."

As she spoke, her finger traced the spine of a book, stopping at a copy of "Les Misérables".

"You've read this one too?" Yu Heng asked.

"I've read it," Qin Ya said. "I read both volumes; it took me the whole summer."

Yu Heng was a little surprised.

Isn't this girl a dropout at school?

I thought she spent all her time playing games on her phone.

"What else are you looking at?" he asked, intrigued.

Qin Ya glanced at him, walked to the bookshelf next to her, and pointed to it: "Dream of the Red Chamber, Jin Ping Mei... I've read all of these."

She paused, then added, "Foreign works include 'Pride and Prejudice,' 'The Count of Monte Cristo,' and so on..."

"Stop, stop, stop," Yu Heng interrupted her, "Are you showing off your reading list to me?"

But is it possible for someone her age to read the book *Jin Ping Mei*?

"Who's showing off!" Qin Ya retorted immediately. "You're the one who asked me!"

Yu Heng was a little puzzled and looked at her, asking, "Didn't you drop out of school? You're not good at studying, yet you love reading?"

Qin Ya looked up, her eyes filled with a complicated expression: "Who said I'm bad at studying? I used to be second in the grade!"

"Huh? If you're such a good student, why aren't you in school anymore?" Yu Heng asked, frowning.

Qin Ya fell silent upon hearing this, her expression somewhat disappointed.

"In eighth grade," she suddenly began, her voice very soft, "my parents started arguing."

Yu Heng didn't reply, but listened quietly.

"It wasn't a big fight," Qin Ya continued, "it was more like a cold war. The house was like an icebox; they didn't talk to me and barely paid any attention to me."

She paused for a few seconds.

"During that period, I was particularly afraid of going home, and I would wander around outside after school. Then, during a monthly exam, I deliberately failed and ranked in the thirties of the class."

Yu Heng understood.

"I wanted to see if they would notice," Qin Ya's voice was a little hoarse, "but my mom just said to try harder next time, and my dad didn't even come home that week."

She laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Later I thought, if no one praises me for doing well on a test and no one scolds me for doing poorly, then why should I work so hard?"

"So you deliberately didn't study properly?" Yu Heng asked.

"Yeah," Qin Ya nodded, "I just do my homework casually, daydream in class, and take the tests casually. I'm thinking, once my grades drop to the bottom, they'll finally take notice, right?"

Her fingers rested on the spine of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and pressed down hard.

"And then?" Yu Heng asked, squinting.

"Then my dad moved out," Qin Ya said, pursing her lips. "My mom cried every day during that time and couldn't take care of me anymore."

She turned around as she spoke, her face expressionless.

"Later, I just didn't want to study anymore. I just coasted through a year," she shrugged. "I didn't even go to the final exam."

Yu Heng looked at her; the girl spoke so casually.

"How foolish," Yu Heng said, "to risk your future against them."

"I know," Qin Ya said, forcing a smile. "I figured it out later, but it was too late. I don't want to study anymore!!!"

Do you regret it now?

"What's the use of regretting it?" Qin Ya retorted. "No one will hire you now, so you might as well stay at home."

"Alright," he reached out and ruffled her hair, "what's past is past. Aren't things going well now? You're even making money from live streaming!"

Qin Ya was startled by his rubbing, but didn't pull away, only muttering softly, "Don't touch my hair..."

She looked up at Yu Heng, a rare hint of uncertainty in her eyes: "Do you think I can keep streaming like this?"

"Sure," Yu Heng said confidently. "You've already become a captain on your third day. You have a lot of potential."

"real?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Yu Heng grinned. "Once you have more fans, you might earn more money than your parents do."

Qin Ya's eyes lit up for a moment, but then quickly dimmed again: "But that depends on someone watching."

"I'm here for you," Yu Heng patted his chest, "The boss will take you to new heights."

Qin Ya was amused by him; although the smile was faint, she did laugh.

"Yu Heng," she suddenly called his name.

"What's wrong now?"

"Thank you for playing with me today," Qin Ya said earnestly, "and for treating me to dinner and playing the claw machine."

Looking at her serious expression, Yu Heng felt a pang of emotion.

This girl is actually very easy to please.

A meal and a few dolls are enough to make her remember the good things.

"Don't mention it," Yu Heng waved his hand, "Just do your live streams well from now on and make more money for me."

"Yes," Qin Ya nodded, "I will."

The two strolled around for a while longer. Qin Ya paused in front of a row of comics, but didn't reach out to take one.

"Take it if you want to see it," Yu Heng said. "I'll give it to you."

"No need," Qin Ya shook her head, "I just want to take a look."

Yu Heng glanced at her; the little girl only reached her chest?

She's probably not even 1.5 meters tall, and she looks a bit forlorn. It's quite heartbreaking to see her like that.

Yu Heng finally bought her a set of "Demon Slayer," which cost several hundred yuan.

The two walked out of the bookstore; it was already getting dark outside.

Yu Heng glanced at his phone; it was almost five o'clock.

"Your mother should be here soon," he said. "Go wait at the door."

"Um."

As they approached the mall entrance, Qin Ya stood next to Yu Heng, clutching a doll and a comic book.

As the evening breeze blew by, she buried her face in the plush panda doll's fur.

"Yu Heng," she suddenly said, "can I call you brother from now on?"

Yu Heng paused for a moment, then said, "Whatever you want, call me whatever you want."

"Brother," Qin Ya called out softly.

"Um?"

"It's nothing," Qin Ya turned her face away, "I'll just call out once and see."

Yu Heng smiled and didn't say anything more.

At 5:30, Qin Lu's car arrived at the mall entrance on time.

She got out of the car and was taken aback when she saw Qin Ya holding a bunch of dolls and comic books.

"Mom," Qin Ya ran over, "Yu Heng got me a plush toy and also bought me a comic book."

Qin Lu looked at Yu Heng, her expression somewhat complicated: "How could I possibly accept this..."

"It's nothing," Yu Heng waved his hand. "Qin Ya performed exceptionally well in today's live stream, gaining two new captains. This is a reward."

Qin Lu looked down at her daughter, Qin Ya, whose face showed an unusually relaxed smile.

"Thank you so much, Yu Heng," Qin Lu said. "Thank you for your help today."

"No trouble at all," Yu Heng grinned. "Counselor, you should take her home quickly; it's getting chilly at night."

Qin Ya got into the passenger seat and waved to Yu Heng: "Brother, I'll be doing the live stream again tomorrow!"

"Okay, I'll wait for you."

The car drove away.

Yu Heng stood by the roadside and lit a cigarette.

I took two puffs, and my phone vibrated.

The design shop sent over the initial draft of the poster.

He clicked on the picture and looked at it; it was alright, quite in line with his requirements.

He replied "okay," and then stubbed out his cigarette on the trash can.

Today was a very fruitful day.

Not only did Qin Ya's live stream data improve, but their relationship also became closer.

This girl, if properly nurtured, might actually amount to something.

Yu Heng stretched and walked towards the school.

While waiting for Qin Lu, he and Qin Ya chatted about other things.

That's how I managed to get some information out of him.

Qin Ya's father teaches at the No. 1 Middle School in the city as a Chinese language teacher. Qin Lu was originally at the Tangcheng Polytechnic City campus, but because the couple didn't get along, she applied to move to the University Town campus to escape the noise.

Since Qin Ya had dropped out of school and was staying at home, they brought her along. Now the mother and daughter are renting a house in a nearby community.

The little girl is usually home alone, so she must be quite lonely.

He remembered what Qin Ya had said.

Using depravity to gain attention.

Tsk, that's really stupid.

But who hasn't been silly before?