Literary Master: Starting with Refusing to Be a Child Star

Chapter 22 The Little Rich Girl with Lime

Since filming hadn't officially started yet, Luo Jinnian still arrived at school as usual the next day.

"In the morning, from the hillside, from the open space, from the paths lined with pompom flowers and sunflowers..."

This article was originally published as "Ethnic Minority Primary School" and was written in the third person. Later, when it was selected for inclusion in the third-grade textbook published by the People's Education Press, it was renamed "Our Ethnic Minority Primary School" and the narrative perspective was changed from the third person to the first person.

As far as Luo Jinnian knew, when he transmigrated, this text was renamed "The Elementary School Under the Big Green Tree".

During morning reading, Luo Jinnian was dozing off when a pink envelope fell out of his book and startled him awake.

He looked around and, finding no one watching, slipped the envelope into his desk drawer. This was the third love letter he had received recently.

When the teacher started the lesson, Luo Jinnian unknowingly fell asleep on the desk, displaying a remarkable composure.

The sun is shining brightly outside, making it the best time of year to sleep.

When class ended, he stretched, and his deskmate said to him sadly, "The teacher wants to go to the office."

Oh no, but having been a student in both his past lives, he wasn't too worried about going to the office; it was just that he had just made a mistake.

Upon entering the office, in front of numerous teachers, he said in a loud voice, "I'm sorry, teachers, I promise I won't fall asleep in class anymore."

The homeroom teacher, nicknamed "Troublesome," looked at the boy bowing deeply and asked curiously:

"We'll talk about sleeping in class later. I called you here to ask about the class performance for National Day. What exactly are you going to sign up for?"

This time it was Luo Jinnian's turn to be dumbfounded.

"I didn't register."

"I asked my class monitor to recommend students in the class who were suitable for the role, and you were the first on her list."

Ma Liaofan saw the list and immediately selected the candidates. He really hated trouble and didn't think about having the students in his class volunteer. He just arranged for them all according to the list.

Ah...no, you, the class monitor with thick eyebrows and big eyes, were writing me love letters while plotting against me, weren't you?

"But I don't know how..."

Luo Jinnian wanted to express that he didn't have any special skills suitable for performance.

Unexpectedly, "Ma Le Fan" waved his hand and said, "I only asked you what you're going to perform, not what you can do. If you really can't think of anything, think about it carefully today and give me an answer by tomorrow."

Luo Jinnian walked out of the office. Outside, the class monitor, head down and carrying homework, rushed over. The two brushed past each other and went their separate ways.

Are you alright?

The older sister, who had been waiting at the door for a long time, walked quickly toward him with a worried expression.

Luo Jinnian smiled and shook his head.

He's over thirty years old across both his lifetimes, so why would he be afraid to go into an office?

However, Chu Qingning was very worried. She carefully examined him for a long time to make sure that her younger brother was really alright before she slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Little brother, you don't know how worried your sister was, she almost cried just now."

My sister's best friend leaked the secret with a wicked grin.

Luo Jinnian gently touched the girl's face. "I suddenly remembered I haven't gotten any water yet." Her best friend tactfully left.

"Let's go, let's just wander around."

The two walked around the teaching building and went into the convenience store, where Luo Jinnian bought two bottles of Assam milk tea.

One bottle for each person; once he received his royalties, he naturally wanted to treat his sister to a meal.

"I'll buy it."

Her stepfather always gave the girl living expenses, and she saved a lot because she was reluctant to spend them.

Luo Jinnian pinched her cheek again, "I know you're a rich girl, so you can take care of me when I'm broke, okay?"

Chu Qingning fantasized for a moment, thinking that if that were the case, she could feed her younger brother every day—no, no, how could she really think about her younger brother not having any money?

"Wait for me a moment."

Luo Jinnian found the chubby boy. He remembered that his good classmate had brought a pool racket, so he asked to borrow it.

The chubby boy deftly handed him two rackets and a ball, while asking, "Did the homeroom teacher give you any trouble in the office?"

Luo Jinnian shook his head and then nodded: "They said they wanted me to prepare a performance for the National Day celebration."

"Ugh, why didn't you come to me?!"

The chubby boy has been learning drums for two years, and he feels that he is just one more chance to perform.

"Should I give you the opportunity?"

"No need, no need..." The chubby boy actually knew in his heart that, putting aside what it was like for one person to perform playing the drums, just the thought of how to transport the drum set into the school was a huge hassle.

I deeply regret my past actions. My biggest mistake was learning to play the drums. No way, I'm going to play the drums for half an hour straight when I get home today to express my resentment.

The more you hate, the more you can't leave; hatred and love intertwine—isn't this also a kind of true love?

Knowing that his deskmate was all talk and no action, Luo Jinnian took the borrowed racket, held Chu Qingning's hand, and found a pool table.

They leisurely played billiards.

My sister's skills are quite good. Luo Jin had already honed his billiards skills in his previous life because he had to accompany his boss, but I didn't expect my sister to be able to go toe-to-toe with him. Although, this is probably also related to the fact that he plays commercial billiards.

"Again."

Chu Qingning had been practicing table tennis with her father since she was a child, and it could be said that she was the most formidable child player in the table tennis world, but she never expected her younger brother to be so talented.

It's only fun when you're evenly matched; letting each other win only spoils the fun. The most enjoyable thing about playing games with someone is when you're evenly matched and neither of you gives an inch.

The ball flew far away after she missed it. Chu Qingning went to retrieve it, but the wind picked up again, and she watched helplessly as the ball escaped and disappeared through the back gate of the school.

"At least it set us free." Luo Jinnian took her sister's hand. "Let's go to the convenience store and buy another ball."

Upon entering the convenience store, Chu Qingning first took two popsicles from the refrigerator, then picked out a sketchbook, and finally bought a table tennis ball.

The two popsicles were naturally one at a time. On this hot day, Luo Jinnian's eyes sparkled with happiness as she took a bite of the popsicle.

This is exactly what I wanted to see! Chu Qingning would take a bite of her popsicle, then steal a glance at the boy, taking another bite and then looking again.

The items were all bought with the money of the young rich woman, and showing them to others didn't hurt her at all. Luo Jinnian continued eating her popsicle with a normal expression.

"Little brother. You can give me a story now. I'll draw it for you... Okay. I didn't say anything."

The girl bought the sketchbook for a reason: she wanted her younger brother to test her skills.

She had previously made a promise with her younger brother that she would help him draw something, but her brother had been too busy to come to her, so she gritted her teeth and took the plunge.

"Then draw a cat that smiles."

A smiling cat—these simple words are like something out of a fairy tale.

The girl thought for a while and quickly drew a smiling yellow kitten on her notebook.

The kitten was ordinary, the kind of cat you see everywhere on the street, but it was laughing like a human.

Luo Jinnian was surprised. He did not expect that his sister could capture the essence of the original work so vividly with just four words, without knowing any background.

"Draw it again: laughing heartily at funny things, laughing triumphantly, sneering at bad guys, mocking human hypocrisy, and giving a forced smile to stop friends from arguing..."

Yes, what Luo Jinnian asked the girl to try drawing was "Laughing Cat Diary," which was a huge hit across the country in her previous life and belonged to the childhood of the post-00s generation.

If you bring a few copies of popular books like "Laughing Cat's Diary," "The Legend of Ah Shuai," and "Charlie IX" to school, they'll be very popular in elementary school.

The reason for choosing "Laughing Cat's Diary" is simple: it's primarily a storybook, and the illustrations needed are uncomplicated and secondary. Since it doesn't matter who gets the work, it's better to let my sister practice her drawing skills.

After hearing her brother's task, Chu Qingning didn't ask any questions and focused intently on drawing the little cat's various smiles.

She had no idea what kind of incredible fortune her brother had given her, or rather, she had no idea what she could possibly gain from it.

Chu Qingning only worried that her painting skills wouldn't be able to better help her younger brother. When she gave him the painting, she was very concerned, saying, "If it's not good, don't force yourself."

Luo Jinnian shook his head:

"Great drawing! I hereby announce that Chu Qingning, my little employee, will officially become my personal illustrator from this day forward."

Chu Qingning clenched her fist happily.

That's great. She can really help her brother now.