Chapter 7: The Mourning Routine
It was around 7:00 AM when Duan Siqi returned home. After setting the alarm clock, he collapsed onto the couch.
To be honest, Duan Siqi wasn't particularly hardworking; in fact, he was rather lazy and preferred staying in his comfort zone.
At around 7:30, the alarm went off, signaling that it was time for him to make breakfast.
In Fuso Province, where the culture of bringing lunchboxes to school is prevalent, nearly 80% of students choose to bring their own bento, which meant that Duan Siqi had to get up early to prepare breakfast and lunch for the siblings.
Thankfully, schools in Fuso Province start later than most, which significantly eased the pressure on Duan Siqi.
He served breakfast on the table and packed lunch into the insulated containers for both himself and his younger sister. The next task, however, was the most challenging of the morning: waking Duan Siyue up.
Although Duan Siyue was Duan Siqi's proudest younger sister and undeniably a natural beauty, it had to be admitted—Duan Siyue loved to sleep in.
This was considered a difficult task mainly because Duan Siyue loved to act cute and throw tantrums when asked to wake up, which Duan Siqi, a complete siscon, couldn't resist.
He leaned down and gently nudged Duan Siyue's body while she slept.
"Yue, wake up," his voice was soft, making one wonder if he was even trying to wake her up.
When he noticed there was no response from the figure on the bed, Duan Siqi raised his voice a little.
Fortunately, it was already morning, and Duan Siyue was a light sleeper. After Duan Siqi's persistent efforts, she was finally roused from her slumber.
However, the battle was far from over.
Duan Siyue turned over, faced him, and clung to his arm, mumbling sleepily.
"Brother~ let me sleep a bit more…" Her voice was soft and sticky, with a cute nasal tone as though she had just woken up. However, she didn't even open her eyes.
"Breakfast is ready," Duan Siqi tried to tempt her with the prospect of food.
To his surprise, Duan Siyue tightened her hold on his arm and deployed her cutest tactic: "Just a few more minutes…"
Her words were fragmented, as if she could fall asleep again at any moment.
What difference would a few more minutes make?!
Though he was internally complaining, Duan Siqi didn't voice his thoughts aloud.
"You can't sleep anymore. We're going to be late." He glanced at the clock on the table and reluctantly said.
"Liar..." Duan Siyue wasn't moved, "The alarm hasn't gone off yet…"
Did you even set the alarm? But it's not ringing! Isn't it just a decoration?!
After some more procrastination, Duan Siqi decided to use some "special measures" to wake his sister up.
He pulled his arm out from her grip, then wickedly grabbed the blanket she was holding.
Just as he was about to pull it off, a pair of small hands pressed it back down.
"Hmm~ let me sleep a bit more…"
Ultimately, Duan Siqi had no choice but to deploy his secret weapon—"Pulling out the radish."
He slid his hands under Duan Siyue's armpits and gently lifted her up, moving at a slow pace to avoid causing any discomfort.
Thus, the sleepy sister was finally pulled out of bed.
"Hmm~ I don't want to wake up. I could just wake up at 8:00, that would be fine…" Duan Siyue whined, weakly batting at Duan Siqi's chest.
"No, you need to be at school by 8:30, and you need to eat. We'll definitely be late if you sleep in any longer…" Duan Siqi helplessly ruffled her hair.
The warm morning moments were short-lived, and after breakfast, the siblings parted at the street corner.
Duan Siqi pedaled his bicycle toward the school.
Honestly, he was feeling a bit tired now… He hadn't felt it before since he was busy with other things, but now that he could relax, the fatigue hit him.
Truth be told, the life of a high school student in Fuso Province was remarkably easy. There were no early mornings or late nights. The rhythm of the day was pretty slow.
Lost in thought, he reached the main road.
Speaking of which, Hachiman probably had to be on his way too… Should he wait for him?
Just as he was pondering, a bicycle emerged from a side street. The boy riding it was dressed in the uniform of Seizon High, his hair slightly messy with a prominent cowlick, and his dead-fish eyes stood out as usual.
As soon as Duan Siqi noticed him, the other boy also caught sight of him, and their gazes met before both subtly slowed down their pace.
"By the looks of it, you went to deliver newspapers again this morning?" Hachiman asked as they approached each other.
"Yeah, I woke up too early, so I'm feeling a bit tired now…" Duan Siqi replied.
Hachiman, impressed, couldn't help but comment, "You're really diligent."
"Heh…" Duan Siqi gave a wry smile, "It's not about being diligent, it's just that I don't have a choice."
Hachiman didn't know how to respond, and the conversation fell into a brief silence.
In the end, it was Duan Siqi who broke the silence: "But there's good news, the restaurant I work at raised my salary last weekend…"
However, Hachiman's expression shifted slightly when he heard this. "Wait, how many jobs are you working?"
Duan Siqi: "Is that what you're focusing on?!!!"
Classroom...
Duan Siqi arrived at his seat, which was near the back of the class, with Hachiman sitting right in front of him.
As soon as Duan Siqi sat down, he immediately relaxed, and the feeling of exhaustion hit him all at once.
He yawned loudly, not caring since he had a mask on, which gave him the freedom to do so without worrying about others seeing it.
In Fuso Province, most high schools held a 15-30 minute morning meeting before classes officially started. The meeting could either be led by the homeroom teacher or the class monitor.
For example, the morning meeting for Class 2F today was being run by the class monitor.
During the meeting, Duan Siqi couldn't stay awake and ended up falling asleep at his desk.
Fortunately, Hachiman was already used to this, and when the first class started, he woke Duan Siqi up.
Dazed, Duan Siqi woke up and, after confirming the morning meeting's content and the first lesson, took out his Chinese textbook.
To be honest, he didn't really need to study this subject. Though the material was useful and practical for daily conversations, Duan Siqi, as a proper and genuine mainland Chinese, didn't need to learn it at all.