Brainoid

Nick and Anton were both Bolsheviks who grew up in remote areas of the United States. They were both ethnic minorities who went to the same high school and were considered NERD. However, there are also differences within the proletariat, and individuals are different from each other.

Nick's parents are both in China, and although they are not rich, they are not very poor either. Therefore, they think more about personal development and don't think much about how to protect themselves in case of failure. And Anton had to consider the issue of safety, so he did not go to New York with Nick at first, but chose to stay in this small place and continue working in a Chinese restaurant.

But Nick didn't want his brother to spend his whole life in this little place. Although he knows that Anton adheres to the Chinese tradition in life consumption, he cannot consume ahead of schedule, cannot borrow loans that cannot be exchanged in the short term, and consumption must match the level of work income - in his own words, "planning" economy". But this always means that he can never do without this job of delivering food.

So when he came back this time, Nick actually wanted to persuade Anton to go to Mexico with him. As a Bolshevik, even if you cannot participate in the revolution, you should still create something big. He felt that even if they failed again, they could go to Cuba and join Nick's parents, which would be better than living anonymously in this little place all their lives.

But Anton found a girlfriend... This is a bit fatal.

In fact, Nick really hates those so-called Asian Americans. The reason why Anton always calls himself a "real" Chinese is to distinguish himself from the ABCs who also live in this small and broken place but feel that they are pure Americans. Especially some guys in high school, on the one hand, they must hang out with white people, but on the other hand, they exclude other minorities except black people.

When Nick was in New York, he also met many first-generation Asian immigrants. The overall quality of those people is much better than that of Asians in small and broken places, but since they have immigrated to the United States, it means that they do not want to immigrate back again. This is contrary to Anton's personal wishes. Moreover, most of these first-generation Asian immigrants consider themselves to be part of the middle class in the United States, work in "high-class" jobs, and quickly adapt to American life. Nick felt that if Anton found a similar girlfriend, even if he could maintain it, the future would be very uncomfortable.

So even though it is morally wrong to persuade people to break up, Nick did come back this time with the idea of ​​​​persuading Anton to seriously consider the matter.

He actually didn't know how a first-generation Asian immigrant who considered himself middle-class fell in love with Anton. After all, most of those Asian girls who left their native cultural environment and came here to look for the "American Dream" still want to integrate into the American lifestyle as soon as possible, so they will have a relatively lower evaluation of Asian NERD. This can be considered a kind of convert effect.

But looking at it now, after Anton took off his round glasses and spent two years in society, he looks more in line with the American aesthetic. The aesthetics of Americans are those of "converts", so maybe it is understandable that a first-generation Asian immigrant would like him? But in Nick's opinion, this will not last long. After all, Anton is still a real Chinese Bolshevik. If he has the conditions, he will definitely "de-Americanize" again and return to his original way of life as soon as possible.

But Nick is not a person with such low emotional intelligence that he would not tell his brother right away that he should consider that his girlfriend might not last long.

He just asked jokingly: "Brother, why isn't your girlfriend here?"

Originally, Anton didn't need his girlfriend to come with him when he picked up his friend, but to Nick's surprise, Anton replied: "Min was originally going to come together, but she often has something to do in the laboratory on weekends. This time Can’t come.”

"It doesn't matter if your girlfriend comes or not, as long as you come." Nick patted him on the shoulder, "To be honest, I really want to go to that steakhouse across from you now. I have been in New York for the past two years. I’ve never had meat so juicy.”

"That's good." Anton said happily, "I borrowed the restaurant's car. Let's pick up Min first, and then go to dinner."

When he heard that Anton's girlfriend was going to be picked up, Nick had to say: "If your girlfriend doesn't want to, there's no need to bother her."

Unexpectedly, Anton said in surprise: "What's the trouble? You can't leave her in school to eat in their restaurant that only has junk food."

This is quite true. But Nick always felt that it sounded like his girlfriend couldn't eat without him.

He found the old Ford in the parking lot of the airport. Nick stuffed his luggage into the trunk, and then Anton drove his best friend to school to find Qi Min.

On the way, he called Qi Min, but he didn't answer the phone again. He couldn't help but regret why he didn't remember the landline number of Qi Min's laboratory when he asked her colleague to borrow his mobile phone. But when he thought about what disgusting things the pedophile had seen on her mobile phone, he felt that even if it was too much, Just one look can take a mental toll.

Seeing that no one answered the four calls he made, Nick couldn't help but said: "Stop calling, brother, maybe something will happen."

“It’s always like this, and I don’t carry my mobile phone with me when doing experiments.” Anton complained to his brother, “I thought my working hours were long enough, but I didn’t expect that she works more hours per week than this. This is a loophole in the labor law."

This could indeed be understood as a loophole in labor law, but Nick couldn't help but think that maybe his girlfriend, a first-generation Asian immigrant, had no intention of having a good relationship with him in the first place. The salary of a doctoral student is low, so it is reasonable to find someone to share the rent, but if she dumps Anton after graduation, the damage will be too great.

Thinking of this, Nick suddenly asked: "By the way, are you planning to get married?"

"Why do you talk about marriage?" Anton asked strangely, "Real Bolsheviks do not need to rely on the marriage system under private ownership to restrain their partners."

"Uh..." Nick still had to say that word, "So, you have never considered the possibility of breaking up if you fall in love?"

Hearing what he said, Anton couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. Indeed, he had never considered breaking up, just like he had never considered falling in love before meeting Qi Min. But after Nick said this, instead of making him feel alert at all, it actually made him feel a little funny.

"All events in reality happen with probability, so nothing is impossible." Anton said with a smile, "But why should we consider the extremely small possibility?"

Extremely unlikely? Nick felt that his brother probably didn't understand the situation. The ideas of first-generation immigrants who belonged to the middle class were not exactly the same as those of the real proletariat.

However, Anton did not discuss this issue anymore, but asked Nick: "Stop talking about me all the time, why don't you talk about you? Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"I did, but not anymore." Nick revealed his scars simply and neatly, "I dated the Mexican girl who lived above me for half a year, and when she found a rich white man, she dumped me."

Unexpectedly, Anton said: "Fortunately, otherwise, wouldn't it be very disgusting for you to be with a money worshiper all the time?"