Chapter 716: Big Brother and the Prince

"Is that so?"

Xu Jiahua, you might not know, although we're only eight years old, I've thought of you as a friend for the past five years. I just hope you can treat me as a friend for even just one day.

"Of course! From now on, we'll be best friends forever! Come on! Let's toast!" He held the glass bottle up to me. "Friendship forever!"

"Yes! Friendship forever!"

I mimicked the adults and gently clinked my bottle against his, then stole a glance at him.

Everyone says Coca-Cola is delicious… but this stuff is so dark. Can it really taste good? In my memory, only medicinal soups are this color.

Xu Jiahua was much braver than me. He picked up the bottle and took a big swig of the black liquid. The next second, his eyes widened, and he clapped his hand over his mouth.

Seeing his reaction, I was a bit confused: "Wh-what's wrong? Xu Jiahua… is it good?"

But he just kept his hand over his mouth, excitedly gesturing with his eyes for me to try it.

I knew Xu Jiahua wouldn't trick me, so I picked up the Coke and took a sip like he did.

As that fragrant black liquid hit my mouth, my eyes widened too!

Oh my gosh!

This Coke was bouncing around in my mouth, fizzing and bubbling like it was alive! It was tingling my tongue!

I was so startled I almost spit it out, but I quickly covered my mouth—Coke is expensive, after all.

We sat there with our mouths covered and eyes wide, staring at each other blankly until the Coke in our mouths stopped fizzing. Then we swallowed it in disbelief.

"Burp~~~"

A moment later, we both let out a loud burp at the same time. We looked at each other and burst into giggles.

"Wow!" Xu Jiahua laughed. "So this is Coke! It's so much fun!"

"It's so delicious!" I laughed too.

"I want to try some more!"

"But… wait, Xu Jiahua." I interrupted him. "If you treat me to Coke, then you won't have money left for food."

"Who cares about that?!" Xu Jiahua said with a carefree laugh. "Before we became desk mates, I often skipped dinner anyway! Besides, it's not me treating you—it's you treating me!"

After that brief moment of joy, we fell silent again, sitting dumbly on the bridge pier and sipping our Coke.

Coke was delicious, but the bottle was so small that we were sipping it drop by drop.

The sky was getting dark, and the moon had come out.

But today's sky was really funny—the light was half-gone, half-still there, with the moon right opposite the sun.

It looked like the moon had some company today too.

"Xu Jiahua… do you know about 'heroes'?" I asked.

"Heroes? Like Yue Fei?" He sucked on the bottle and mumbled unclearly.

"Not that kind of hero…" I shook my head. "I mean, like a 'hero' born in the city, where everyone in the city worships him and hopes he'll lead them forward, but the 'hero' doesn't know what to do. Have you heard of that?"

"That's so weird?" Xu Jiahua thought for a moment. "I don't really get this 'hero' you're talking about, but if I think about it, it's probably a lot like a 'big brother'."

"Big brother…?" I was stunned. Although I wanted to disagree, it sort of made sense.

I was the "big brother," with a group of "little brothers" following me.

"If I were that big brother… oh, wait." Xu Jiahua chuckled. "I mean, if I were that hero, the first thing I'd do is make sure all the little brothers are well-fed! Even if I starved to death myself, it wouldn't matter!"

"Well-fed…?" Suddenly, what Xu Jiahua said struck me as very true. Every ten days in my family, everyone went through in hunger.

Although the "Qing Xiang Zhe" in the family could produce some food, there were just too many people, and no one ever got enough to eat.

Next time I go back, I have to make sure everyone is full.

"Then what?" I asked.

"Then it's about 'unity'!" Xu Jiahua laughed. "Have you ever bought pirated DVDs? A lot of movies are like that!"

"I haven't watched any, but you can tell me about them," I said.

"Basically, you have to take care of his little… uh… I mean, his 'subjects,' I guess? Is that the right word?" Xu Jiahua scratched his head. "I think that's how it is in fairy tales…"

"Subjects?"

"Yeah!" Xu Jiahua took another small sip of Coke and nodded. "This hero sounds a lot like the 'prince' in fairy tales, right?"

"But I don't know what a 'prince' is either…" I said.

"What's there not to know?!" Xu Jiahua stood up. "Princes are easy to spot! They wear crowns, carry swords, and have capes. In lots of stories, princes are heroes, and heroes are princes!"

As he gestured, he held up the Coke bottle high: "It's definitely like that! They raise their swords and shout, 'I'm here to protect everyone! I'm the hero!'"

Watching the Coke bottle in his hand catch the sunset and gleam brightly, I finally understood what a "hero" meant.

"Huh…?" I paused. "Is that how it is?"

"It has to be!"

That day, Xu Jiahua and I talked for a long time. It was the first time I really understood what the word "friend" meant. He taught me so much.

But time doesn't stop, and as night deepened, we had to part ways again. This time, the separation would last another ten days.

I looked up and saw that, sure enough, the sun eventually disappears.

Even if it meets the moon, it still vanishes in the end.

Now, the sky was left with just a lonely moon, like me.

The sun has its own path; it won't stay in the dark night forever.

The long night ahead would be walked alone by the moon.

In the end, I returned to my own "prison."

I've heard adults say that going to work is like serving time in prison—after each stint, they get two days off.

So, I guess I've grown up already.

I sat in the room, with Si Wei Jie Jie reading a book beside me.

I think Si Wei Jie Jie is the most knowledgeable person I've ever met. In her free time, she's either reading books or newspapers, and she's the one who taught me most of the words I know now.

She told me she's just an ordinary university student. Can university students really know so much?

Watching her so focused, I couldn't help but ask: "Jie Jie, after reading all those books, is there any that says where you can find a 'crown' and a 'sword'?"

"A crown and a sword…?" Si Wei Jie Jie was taken aback. "That sounds like something from 'The Little Prince.' Why are you looking for those things?"

"I… I…" I felt a bit embarrassed to say it, because I just wanted to become that prince.

Si Wei Jie Jie seemed to read my mind and asked: "Hero little brother, have you heard the story of the 'Happy Prince'?"

"The 'Happy Prince'?"