I was never smart, but the neighbor’s son was a once-in-a-century genius.
I spent day after day hunched over my desk doing practice problems before I finally got into a Project 985 university. He skipped class and dated the prettiest girl in school, yet the top universities fought over him.
I practically lived in the library, studying from morning to night, only to miss out on a guaranteed graduate school spot by one rank. He flipped through his books right before the exam and easily took first place in the entire department.
Whenever my parents scolded me, they would twist my ear and say, “Look at Little Lin! You’re both human, so how are you so much stupider than him?”
…
I spent the first half of my life living in his shadow. The moment I graduated, I couldn’t wait to leave home and run away from it all.
For three whole years, no matter how hysterical my parents got over the phone, I never went back.
On New Year’s Eve of the fourth year, I was carrying shopping bags back to my rented apartment when I saw him at the door.
His thin frame leaned against the wall, and he asked softly,
“Why won’t you go home?”
I didn’t answer.
The light in his eyes dimmed. Then he said, “Come back. Your parents miss you so much… and so do I.”
