Brother

I am the youngest of three brothers. Although we are triplets, my body shape and appearance are very different from my two brothers. So much so that people often think that there are only two sons in our family and that I am the child of the relative who often comes to visit.

My parents were busy with work, so my grandfather had been taking care of us since kindergarten until we were in high school. He tried his best to take care of us in his own way, but my skinny body never improved, and my two brothers were getting bigger and bigger.

The three of us, with surprisingly large differences in grades, ended up being admitted to the same high school without any surprise, because my parents asked my two older brothers to take care of me more at school. It just so happened that this school had just changed its leadership team this year and was strictly enforcing the academic style. My parents thought this was exactly what they wanted, or at least what they wanted at that time, before that incident happened.

On the last day of summer vacation in the first year of high school, some boys and a few brave girls from the same grade went to explore an abandoned factory together. This matter had been planned for a long time, of course, without being known by the dean of teaching, Lao Liu. I heard that Lao Liu had been divorced for many years, and his child was awarded to his ex-wife. He usually lives alone. Lao Liu has an ugly face. Every time he yells loudly, it seems that his facial features are compressed together. Many students in our grade find it funny, so they are not really afraid of him. Therefore, whenever we see a senior student's face turn green and sweat coldly or even completely speechless under his scolding, we feel contempt for that person in our hearts. But when planning the adventure, we still try to be as low-key as possible, and it is better to have less trouble than more.

The three of us brothers were all in the abandoned factory that night, and my friend Chen was also there. Chen and I have been in the same class since the fifth grade of elementary school. At that time, my parents used their connections to let me skip from the third grade to the fifth grade. Because I was weak and sick since childhood, I went to kindergarten for four years. When my two brothers were about to enter the second grade, I had just graduated from kindergarten. Later, when I was about to enter the third grade, my body finally became a little healthier. In a parent-teacher talk, the teacher praised me for learning things quickly. My parents came up with the idea of ​​letting me skip the fourth grade and go directly to the fifth grade next year, saying that it would be easier for my two brothers to take care of me. In this way, I taught myself the content of the fourth grade in one summer vacation, and was promoted to the fifth grade with my two brothers, in the same class. Life in the upper grades of elementary school is much more difficult to adapt to than I imagined. For me, who was still in the middle and lower grades before the summer vacation, the fifth grade is completely an adult world. The girls in the class who have gradually begun to develop have their own small groups, and most of the boys in the class are ordered around by them, except Chen. Chen was the class monitor, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He was tall for a child of that age, had excellent grades, was good at sports, and was very popular with the teachers. When the get out of class was over, Chen was always surrounded by people. When I was a grade-skipping student and was still sitting in the corner of the first row, that level of popularity was beyond my reach. My dull life in the fifth grade finally took a turn for the better when the seats were reshuffled. That time, I sat next to Chen. Just when I was still struggling with whether to talk to Chen, Chen took the initiative to say hello and said that a few of his friends had made an appointment to go on a spring outing next week and asked if I wanted to join them. Just when I was flattered and was about to agree, I thought of my parents' gloomy faces when they heard about this, and I had no choice but to tell Chen the truth: I'm sorry, my family is quite strict, I probably can't go. Chen smiled after hearing this and said: It's okay, I can always go to your house to play with you next time. Just like that, Chen came to my house to play whenever he was free, we went to and from school together, and we always stuck together at school, and this relationship continued until high school.

Chen and I were in different classes from the beginning of the first year of high school, but we were not far from each other. He was in the next class. Chen agreed to my request to accompany me to the abandoned factory without thinking. I was quite surprised because I knew he was afraid of ghosts. Perhaps he could not bear it anymore. After two hours of groping in the dark, Chen said he couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to go out. I told the others to keep going and we would go back outside first. The second brother seemed to have expected it. He sneered: I knew you two little gays couldn't hold on. I pretended not to hear and pulled Chen's arm back. The eldest brother shouted: Your brother is talking to you, why are you being so disrespectful? I didn't stop. Chen shook my hand and asked me in a low voice if I was okay. I said firmly that I was fine. The second brother saw that I was almost at the stairs, and suddenly ran towards me quickly, grabbed me and dragged me to a vertical exhaust vent next to it. The exhaust vent was about three meters deep and about three meters in diameter, with a metal iron net underneath. My second brother pushed me down. Probably because he heard my scream, the others were stunned. Chen was so scared that he almost fainted. I heard my eldest brother shouting to the others to hurry up. I had been squatting inside with my arms clinging to a thick railing inside. I don’t remember how long it took before I heard Chen’s voice: Grab my arm and pull me up. When I saw Chen’s face, I found that his face was pale, his lips were trembling, and he asked me: Are you okay? I asked him if he was okay, and he smiled and said he was okay. When we returned to the outside, we saw a figure standing there. I looked closely and found that it was my second brother. He smiled and came over: Good brother, I was just joking with you just now. Don’t take it seriously, and don’t tell our parents. I said firmly: Don’t worry. Seeing my second brother’s back walking away, I asked Chen quietly: Is there a moment when you especially want to die alone? Chen seemed to wake up instantly, and his hand tightly grasped one of my shoulders: Don’t do anything stupid. I smiled back at him: Don’t worry. And thank you.

After the summer vacation, we entered the second grade, and the incident seemed to have never happened. However, since the beginning of the school, many people have asked for leave and never came to class again. None of us thought it was strange because the teachers said that everyone was sick one after another during the flu season. Some of the people who asked for leave came back to class, and they looked very bad, perhaps because they were still weak. Because they were worried about being infected, other healthy students did not dare to go forward to show concern. Until one day, my two brothers did not come to class, and the students in the front row asked me if they were also sick. I started to wander as if I had thought of something. I seemed to see the afternoon when the sunset filled the entire corridor again, and the door of the staff toilet was half-closed, tempting me to open it. I heard a familiar yet strange voice coming from inside, and it felt like it was distorted, floating out in waves and faintly. I had already grabbed the door handle, but then I put it down and turned around... Suddenly I saw my grandfather standing there with a puzzled look on his face: Didn't I say I would pick you up from school today? I waited at the school gate for a long time but didn't see you brothers, so I thought I'd come in to check. Hey, where are your eldest and second brothers? Why are you the only one there? I opened my eyes wide, tried to adjust my breathing, and then said calmly: They left first and went back first.

(over)