On the morning of the eighth day of the New Year, Lu Shu was already awake. He started to get busy in the kitchen from 6 am onwards and was only done around 7 am. Carrying a pile of stuff, Lu Shu headed out to school.
Just before he left, he instructed Lu Xiaoyu, "There's food on the table, finish it quickly before going back to bed. Revise those textbooks I gave you and I will check on you when I get back home tonight. If I find out that you've been running around, I will send you back to Fu Li orphanage, you hear me?"
Lu Xiaoyu was sprawled out on the bed, holding onto her blanket, all silent. Lu Shu asked once again, "You hear me?"
"I heard you... I'll get up and eat it later," as she reluctantly replied
"It will be cold later, wake up right now!"
Lu Xiaoyu angrily sprung up and sat up on the bed.
"From Lu Xiaoyu's distress, +299..."
Lu Shu's eyes sparkled, so waking this little girl up every day would award him with so much distress points? Would this mean that he would make it big?
The two of them only had each other to rely on and Lu Shu always felt that he had to assume some responsibility for disciplining her. He was worried that this little girl would pick up a lot of bad habits in the future.
But from the look of it, other than being a glutton, she did not seem to have any other bad habits.
The reason that Lu Shu went to school early in the morning was so that he could earn some money.
The school which he studied in from was just one street across from the apartment he was living in. He had his entire education in this school, from the primary school, secondary school to high school. It was called Luo City International School.
Every morning, Lu Shu would push out his cart: to sell cooked eggs.
Upon being immersed in boiling water, an egg would be cooked entirely within 10 minutes, but if it were to be taken out in 8 minutes, the yolk would be runny. Once cooked, the eggs would have to be placed immediately in ice, cold water so that it would be easier to de-shell and the texture would be better.
Lu Shu was very particular about the eggs he sold. Pairing the eggs with the condiments he had chosen, it was surprisingly delicious.
The ingredients he used to make his sauce were nothing special. On a small dish, he mixed soy sauce and vinegar equally together with a few drops of sesame oil.
Last year when he first started pushing his cart outside of the school, only the primary school students would try them out. With an egg costing only a dollar an a half, it was not very expensive and these kids could afford them.
Lu Shu could earn several dozens of dollars each day and it was considered barely enough to support the family.
After a while, everyone had known that the eggs he sold were delicious and on their way to the coffee shop, they would buy one or two eggs from him. There were also some who knew of Lu Shu's circumstances and had intentionally bought some to help him out. As of now, quite a few people in the area knew of the existence of an orphan who was trying to earn his own tuition fees.
Truth to be told, there were quite a few kind-hearted people out there in this world which was why Lu Shu's business was doing rather fine.
Since today was the eighth day of the New Year, a lot of adults had to go back to work. They would go out to the streets to get breakfast, and since this was the area where all the coffeeshops had gathered, the town council had decided not to manage this area.
After selling all of his food, Lu Shud would be able to rush to school. In some cases where he could sell out earlier, he could even push the cart home before heading to school since it would be weird bringing this cart along with him to school.
Of course, at times where he could not make the timing, there was nothing he could do about it.
Most of the students passing by this street were basically his schoolmates and that was one of the reasons why they had stopped shouting out his name.
Rising up the grades was something one could decide on paper from the start as to who would be grouped together with who and they could all gather together.
The wealthy could be put together and there was no way you could join in the fun. Perhaps the daily expenses of these billionaires could amount up to millions.
This knowledge was something which comforted Lu Shu. The teenagers in this current age all liked to go to karaoke or the theme park together, costing them a few hundred dollars or even thousands. Lu Shu was unwilling to spend his money now and would experience these fun places if he had more money in the future. But for now, he understood the concept of suppressing his urges to enjoy life.
Lu Shu had always felt that the words "enjoy later" was a great phrase to live by.
When his schoolmates first saw him selling eggs on the roadside, they all thought that it was rather unusual. However, Lu Shu did not feel any pressure from them as earning his own money to support himself was not something to be ashamed of.
Finally, the only ones who felt awkward were his schoolmates. Upon passing by, they would pretend that they could not see him as they felt that neither greeting him nor ignoring him seemed to be appropriate. As such, their option was choosing to pretend to not see him.
Thus, Lu Shu was slowly sidelined.
This was the reason why when everyone was discussing who seemed the most probable to become a Metahuman, everyone's name was mentioned except Lu Shu.
In front of Lu Shu was a pot which was filled with the eggs he had just cooked and a small foldable table. On top of the table were small dishes, vinegar, sesame oil, and beside the table was a small bench made of plastic. The customers could either eat here or they could have them as takeaway.
"Shu, it's so early in the morning and you're selling eggs," as a middle-aged lady walked pass smiling, "Give me two eggs, I'll have it takeaway for my son. He still hasn't woken up, if only he could be as hardworking as you."
"Alright, two eggs it is," Lu Shu tore off a plastic bag and placed two eggs into it for the lady, "3 dollars please."
One egg cost $1.50, on average he would earn about $50 a day, so he would have $1500 minimally every month and a little more if his business went well. This was all they had to survive on for Lu Shu and Lu Xiaoyu.
However, they could not spend all of it since they had to pay their rent of $500 and bills of $100 as well as his school fees which he had to scrimp and save for. Furthermore, he had to consider Lu Xiaoyu's future tuition fees when she could independently attend school.
Truth to be told, Lu Xiaoyu was very mature. Even though she was a glutton, she would rarely ask Lu Shu to buy things for her to eat and even if he did not buy anything for her, she would not make a big fuss over it.
Lu Shu would occasionally buy snacks to please Lu Xiaoyu and every morning, of all the eggs he cooked, he would leave two behind for her which she loved to eat.
And whenever Lu Shu was not feeling well, she would slowly keep all of her stuff and carry on the business for him. She was familiar with the process of cooking the eggs as she had observed Lu Shu for so many times from long ago.
It could be because of Lu Xiaoyu's small stature and adorable look that people would ask her where Lu Shu was. And upon mentioning that Lu Shu had fallen ill and she had to sell these eggs all alone, those dozens of eggs would all be sold out within minutes…
Both of them looked similar to the snowmen they had built in the courtyard. One big and one small, they were relying on each other's warmth to survive this cold and cruel world.
For Lu Shu, it was very lonely being alone, too lonely. Such that when you had wanted to speak, there was no one beside to hear you. Thus, when Lu Xiaoyu sneaked out of Fu Li orphanage to be with him, he felt warm and comforted.
As for Lu Xiaoyu, Lu Shu was the only one who was concerned about her future, whether she had eaten properly or not and had always felt that tagging along with Lu Shu would make her life rather meaningful.
These two from rough backgrounds did not feel that they had suffered much deep down. This was the very foundation fuelling them to continue living on in this world.
At times, Lu Shu would think that it was fine this way as well, without any parents, they could still get by pretty well. In the future, if he were to win an ability from the lottery, he would pass it on to Lu Xiaoyu so that both of them can continue to be partners.