The Eye of Insight

Xu Qing naturally had no idea what the beautiful landlady was thinking. He gratefully escorted her downstairs, his heart brimming with anticipation for days of making money. He patted his empty pockets and silently vowed, "No matter how dirty or tiring the work is, I must grit my teeth and keep going. As long as I can earn money, my sister-in-law won't have to work so hard anymore."

For Xu Qing, whose parents had died when he was young, his older brother Xu Bin and sister-in-law Qin Bing were the closest family he had. Since his brother was diagnosed with uremia two years ago, all the burdens fell on Qin Bing's narrow shoulders. Uremia was a tormenting illness.

The cost of dialysis alone was exorbitant. Qin Bing quickly depleted their meager savings, exhausting all avenues for borrowing money. However, Xu Bin's condition worsened to the late stage, and a kidney transplant was the only hope. Without hesitation, Xu Qing decided to donate one of his kidneys to his brother. However, the situation took an unexpected turn.

Cross-matching. Damn cross-matching. The doctor actually informed Xu Qing that the "brothers" were not a match. In other words, despite living under the same roof for over a decade, they were not blood brothers.

This unexpected news hit Xu Qing like a bolt from the blue, shattering their last hope. Xu Bin passed away, but before he left, he held his wife's hand and urged her to take good care of Xu Qing, at least ensuring he completed his education.

With tears in her eyes, Qin Bing promised. After handling her husband's funeral affairs, burdened with debt, she resolutely chose to take her "unrelated" younger brother-in-law south to work. She also rejected Xu Qing's requests to drop out of school and work numerous times. After enduring hardships, she finally managed to enroll him as a senior three student in Jiangcheng No. 1 High School.

Promises were like a burden to some, but for Qin Bing, they represented a responsibility—a burden placed on her shoulders, visible in the few white hairs on her temples and the wrinkles around her eyes.

Xu Qing's academic performance was excellent, but it didn't mean he didn't have to pay tuition fees. On the contrary, to allow him to attend school, Qin Bing endured even more hardships, unknown to others.

After a long day of work, Qin Bing dragged her exhausted body back to the rented room. It was already one in the morning. She habitually looked up at the window upstairs, furrowing her brow. The light shining through the window indicated that Xu Qing was still not resting.

Xu Qing usually had a stable routine. Regardless of how tight his schoolwork was, he always went to bed before midnight. There was no denying his talent for studying. He spent most of his time reading various books on topics ranging from appliance repair, computer programming, cooking, to bartending.

As Xu Qing himself put it, he was like a super storage box. With so much knowledge accumulated, sooner or later, he would find a use for it. Then all these things could be turned into money, allowing his sister-in-law to sleep on a pile of cash.

Upon entering the room, Qin Bing gently opened the door, her brow furrowing even deeper. She discovered Xu Qing holding a computer, engrossed in browsing the internet. On the screen, a penguin wearing a red scarf was hopping around cheerfully.

With his head down, typing on the keyboard, Xu Qing was completely unaware of Qin Bing slowly approaching from behind. The chat on the screen caught her eye.

Xu Qing's screen name was "Xu Xu Qingfeng," and he was engaged in a conversation about views on love and values with someone named "Seeing Through the Red Dust Without Shaving."