Literary Master: Starting with Refusing to Be a Child Star

Chapter 10: Cat's cradle is really fun, you know?

"Cough cough."

When Luo Jinnian returned home, she saw her sister in a flustered state.

Luo Jinnian was amazed that someone could fail at making scrambled eggs and helped clean up the mess.

"I feel bad that you cook at home, I'm the older sister..."

Perhaps it was the smoke that made her face flushed, Chu Qingning murmured, her head lowered and her small hands nervously rubbing together.

Luo Jinnian handed over the spatula: "Watch carefully."

He cracked the egg with one hand, poured the egg liquid into the bowl, and stirred it in one direction with chopsticks until it foamed.

Heat oil in a pan until it just starts to smoke, then pour the egg mixture around the edge of the pan.

"Don't flip it." He pressed down on his sister's hand.

The egg mixture quickly puffed up at the bottom of the pan, turning golden brown at the edges and as tender as freshly made pudding in the center. He gently pushed it a few times with a spatula, loosening the egg pieces and setting them in place before turning off the heat and removing them from the pan.

A plate of golden scrambled eggs, steaming hot.

"Try it."

Chu Qingning picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks, and her eyes lit up.

"What did you add?"

"Eggs," Luo Jinnian said with amusement.

"Oh," Chu Qingning responded softly, the tips of her ears turning red.

The two chewed on the pancakes like hamsters, and following her younger brother, the girl also developed the habit of eating pancakes.

After dinner, my sister took out a string and started flipping it by herself. She was practicing the kind of flipping star game that you play by yourself.

Things that become popular at school tend to be a trend, and recently, cat's cradle has become a popular trend at Luo Jinnian's school.

During breaks, everyone has a rope in their hand, and two people flip the rope against each other, from "noodles" to "bridge", and from "bridge" to "parachute".

The game is very simple—one person uses both hands to create a pattern, while the other person uses their fingers to pick, hook, and flip the rope to their own hands, creating a new pattern. Whoever breaks the rope loses.

Seeing her frown as if in thought, Luo Jinnian took the rope from her hand: "Let's play together."

He supported himself with both hands, forming a neat and orderly "noodle".

"turn."

Chu Qingning stretched out both hands, crossed her index and middle fingers to lift the middle intersection point, and successfully lifted it up, but her little finger slipped and hooked the wrong way, and with a pull, the entire rope slipped down.

"Let's start over."

The second time, Luo Jinnian flipped the "broom". Chu Qingning stared at it for three seconds, then reached out with her fingertips and carefully picked, flipped, and unfolded it—it actually worked, although it was crooked and uneven.

"It's done." Her eyes sparkled.

Luo Jinnian looked at it for two seconds, then reached out to flip her next hand. His fingertips brushed between her fingers, the rope changing shape back and forth between them, one after another, like two spiders weaving the same web.

After the fifth round, the rope in Luo Jinnian's hand had become a symmetrical grid.

"Do you know how to do this?"

Chu Qingning leaned closer to take a look and shook her head.

"Watch closely. Use your thumb and index finger to go in here, pick up these two lines, then your middle finger..." Luo Jinnian slowed down her movements, hooked her finger at a certain spot and gently flipped it, the mesh spread out and gathered again at her fingertip—a five-pointed star, perfectly straight.

"Star?!"

Isn't this the star-flipping puzzle that the girl just painstakingly studied all by herself?

"I'll take it all apart and teach you from the beginning."

Luo Jinnian shook the rope loose, straightened it again, and patiently began to teach the girl.

"To the left."

"This way?"

"You're going to the right."

Chu Qingning imitated her, clumsily slipping her fingertips into the seam, trying to hook it, but then unsure which way to turn it.

Then she turned it around and flipped it hard—the thread was taut, and then twisted into a tight knot between her fingers.

"You're wrong." Luo Jinnian reached out to untie her rope.

Chu Qingning simply stretched out her fingers, letting her younger brother play with them. After untying the rope, Luo Jinnian didn't return it to her. He flipped through the stars himself, then took his sister's hand and pressed her index finger and thumb onto the corresponding positions on the rope.

"Hold it down. Don't move. Hook the middle finger of this hand here."

"I found it." Chu Qingning smiled brightly.

…………

……

Cat's cradle was really popular at school. When Luo Jinnian returned to school, she found that both boys and girls in her class were playing cat's cradle.

Taking the string from the chubby boy, Luo Jinnian smoothly pulled out a "parachute," mainly because he hadn't played with one in a long time. After thinking for a while, he pulled out a "spider web."

"Someone in the class actually knows how to flip a parachute?"

"Brother Luo, what was the last thing you flipped over?"

Everyone in the class has just started playing with this thing; they're still in the Bronze Age. But unexpectedly, some people in the class already drive spaceships and are ahead of the curve.

Unfortunately, the concept of "dimensional reduction attack" doesn't exist in this world yet, otherwise you would know what kind of situation this is.

The girl came over and handed him the flower rope she couldn't untangle. Luo Jinnian waved his hand and led the male classmates out in a grand procession.

Boys should play with boys. Little Fatty felt he had finally understood Luo Ge a little.

Then they saw Luo Jinnian obediently call out "Sister" in front of a girl. The girl's friends looked at him curiously. They were also playing cat's cradle, but they had come across a knot that no one could untie.

Luo Jinnian patiently guided them, while the boys stood by idly in a daze.

"That is...?"

Little Fatty had never met or recognized Chu Qingning, and he didn't understand the current situation.

"That's Brother Luo's sister. Make sure you recognize her. Don't let the flood wash away the Dragon King Temple in the future."

Yang Ge, with a lollipop in his mouth, suddenly appeared.

"Want to play cat's cradle?"

Yang Ge is also practicing cat's cradle.

For some reason, seeing Luo Ge chatting and laughing with other girls made the brothers' mood less pleasant.

Are you guys going to play or not?

Brother Yang held up a flower rope, but no one caught it.

"Of course I'll play! I'll definitely play!"

The speaker was Luo Jinnian. When they saw him coming, everyone cheered up and gathered around to play cat's cradle.

Luo Jinnian taught Little Fatty some basic cat's cradle techniques, patted him on the shoulder, and pointed them out to everyone:

"If any of you have any questions, just ask him directly. If he doesn't know the answer, then come and ask me."

The small group has survived another test.

After playing for a while, Brother Yang got bored and led everyone to the convenience store without any trouble.

The convenience store has just received some popsicles. You can buy one, break it in half, and share it with two brothers.

With a wave of his hand, Brother Yang declared that everyone would get a share, and he would cover all the expenses.

Luo Jinnian took an extra portion and gave it to her older sister after they went outside. The girl received it just as the sunlight shone on her face.

Chu Qingning was a shy child, but she gradually got used to the boy's bold actions.

"Thank you."

The popsicles, fresh out of the freezer, are cool and sweet in your mouth and taste delicious.

Luo Jinnian waved his hand without replying, and continued to study how someone managed to climb out of the "arrow tower" by himself.

The girl ate her popsicle, not even glancing at the rope; her eyes were fixed on Luo Jinnian's profile.

"So that's how it is."

The boy lowered his eyes, his eyelashes half-hidden, his fingers slowly and deliberately picking, winding, unwinding, and turning the rope. When he encountered a stuck spot, his brow furrowed slightly, his lips pressed into a thin line, but he didn't rush, simply rewinding and starting again. Occasionally, he would unravel a new shape, his brow would relax, and the corners of his mouth would subtly curve into a smile, before quickly returning to their previous expression.

The popsicle melted, and a drop trickled down the stick without Chu Qingning noticing.

She just watched. When Luo Jinnian was focused, his nose bridge looked very straight, his chin had a clean and neat line, and he was quiet and still, like bamboo shoots newly sprouted on a rainy day.

"So that's how it is," Luo Jinnian said softly, finally pulling out the complete arrow tower from his hands.

She looked up at her sister and found her staring at her intently.

"...What are you looking at?"

Chu Qingning suddenly lowered her head and took a bite of her popsicle, mumbling indistinctly, "I didn't see anything."