The Workaholic's Journey [The Nineties]

Wu Ji was reborn and discovered that his younger brother had survived, growing up healthy to the age of six. Their parents had died in a car accident and had already been buried, and Wu Ji had just recovered from a high fever.

He didn't really want to do it all over again. He lay in bed doing nothing for ten minutes, but couldn't manage a second more. His little brother, clinging tightly to him at his side, had far too much presence. Wu Ji stared at the old-fashioned patterned paper ceiling, just like the one in his memories, and confirmed it: his brain had already been cooked by the fever. He'd remembered that pattern for thirty years.

"Big brother."

At the sound of that, a drop of water fell on Wu Ji's cold, hardened heart.

Great, one more thing confirmed: he was deaf in his right ear.

Bo Mu was a fashionable new transfer student in the small county town, cool and gloomy, and not much of a people person. But he was genuinely good at school, especially English. He was amazing!

Whenever Bo Mu drank, he turned into a chatterbox around Wu Ji. He complained about his idiotic mother and his seriously messed-up father, then went on to envy his half-sister, who had a smart mom, and curse his own father for being blind enough to choose his mother and have him.

Wu Ji was drenched in all that melodrama, so he gave Bo Mu a quick lesson in the law.

Bo Mu: He's in Hong Kong. I can't get anything on him, and he's loaded now. Tsk, heaven must be blind.

Wu Ji: Then... let's let him enjoy himself for a few years first.

Wu Ji, a born overachiever, never thought of himself as one. He was impressive without even knowing it. He kept pushing and pushing, until he pushed another overachiever right back home with him.

Along the way, we became a family!

A little snippet:

Fourteen-year-old younger brother: Big bro, why did you name me Wu Zidu? My deskmate says it's so cool!

Wu Ji: In ancient times, Zidu was used to refer to a handsome man. When I registered your name, I thought it suited you.

Younger brother: Hehehe. (So pleased with himself...)

The truth: When registering his name, Wu Ji glanced at his big-foreheaded little brother and thought, Tsk, too ugly. Better give him a good name to make up for it. It'll be hard for him to find someone otherwise.

A little snippet:

Eighteen-year-old younger brother: My brother's been setting me up since I was little!

Deskmate: Your brother's such a good person. Don't badmouth my idol!

Younger brother: Listen, when I was in third grade, my brother said he'd take me to see animals if I got perfect scores on both my final exams.

Deskmate: Oh, I remember. The zoo had just opened then, and my dad took me to see the tigers. I think they've only got monkeys left now. It's practically going under.

Younger brother: I got perfect scores, and my brother took me to see animals on the very first day of vacation. I didn't see any tigers or monkeys. He took me to the market to see chickens, ducks, and geese. Heh... That's your idol!

Deskmate: ...Actually, if you think about it, your idol didn't lie. You did see animals!

The truth: The chickens, ducks, and geese took center stage in his holiday essay, "A Day at the Zoo"! His Chinese teacher laughed so hard in the staff room she started honking like a goose.

This is a story about healing each other. It's a sweet little story, really. Wu Ji, the overachiever, never lies to you!

An overachiever who doesn't know it, Wu Ji, the uke, and Bo Mu, the seme who got pushed right back home.

This story is entirely fictional!!! I'll write, you read, and may you stay healthy and safe!

Theme: A brother can shelter you from the wind and rain just as well as a house can!