Chapter 12
At twelve noon, after their walk, the children gradually went down for their nap one after another.
The uncles and aunties in the kindergarten kitchen were excellent cooks. All the children had eaten their fill and, chatting and laughing with their little friends, drifted off to sleep.
Yu Chen had only drunk one bowl of shrimp soup, so his stomach was still empty. Outside the quiet nap room, he was the only one left still struggling to take off his cotton pants.
The cotton pants Li Huan had bought for him were not as thick as the ones his mother had sewn, but they were still very hard to take off. On top of that, his little legs were round and chubby, which made it even harder.
Yu Chen had practically used all the strength in his body. With his little face scrunched up, he wrestled with them for a long time before finally managing to tug the cotton pants off in a miserable, unsightly way.
At Yingzhuo Kindergarten, all the children neatly folded their clothes before naptime and placed them in front of their little beds inside the nap room.
Copying them, Yu Chen worked very hard and barely managed to fold his clothes into some kind of shape. Then, carrying them carefully, he tiptoed inside.
Teacher Zhao glanced at him from where she sat at the desk. “You’re the slowest one.”
Yu Chen lowered his round little face, pressed his plump lips together, and said cautiously, “I’m sorry, Teacher.”
Teacher Zhao said flatly, “Go to sleep.”
Hearing that, Yu Chen quickly climbed onto the bed and burrowed under the quilt, hiding himself inside.
The other children around him were sleeping sweetly, but he was not sleepy at all. Hungry enough that his stomach felt hollow, he licked his lips and covered his little tummy under the blanket, whispering to himself.
“Just wait a little longer. At night there’ll be meat to eat.”
In the afternoon, the wake-up bell rang.
Yu Chen could not wait to run to the bathroom and pull off his little underpants.
He was afraid of Teacher Zhao. He would rather hold in his pee than dare raise his hand.
When it came time to get dressed, Yu Chen ran into trouble. Taking off the cotton pants had been one thing. Putting them back on was much harder.
As he watched the other children go off one after another to eat fruit, Yu Chen grew so anxious that his little face turned bright red, but no matter what, he just could not get them on.
And at that very moment, one little chubby boy came over and mocked him. “Teacher, this new kid can’t even dress himself.”
“I can dress myself, it’s just that I can’t get them—” Yu Chen’s explanation was cut off as Teacher Zhao came over and said, “Jiujiu, come have strawberries.”
The little chubby boy ran over happily. “Coming!”
Teacher Zhao stood in front of Yu Chen, looking down at him from above. “If you don’t hurry up, we’ll be finished with snack time and going out to play.”
Yu Chen was terrified of being left alone in the classroom. Hearing that, his little hands desperately tugged at the cotton pants, but no matter what, he still could not get them on.
Thinking of the words He Zhen had taught him at home, he gathered up his courage and carefully lifted his little head. “Teacher, can you help me?”
At last, Teacher Zhao smiled, but there was something different in her tone now.
“No. You should do your own things by yourself. It’s not like you’re one of the little kids in the junior class.”
Yu Chen was so nervous that his shoulders trembled slightly. “But I… can’t put them on.”
Teacher Zhao did not say anything more and simply went back inside to look after the other children.
The sweet scent of strawberries and yogurt drifted into Yu Chen’s nose. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and the less willing he was to be left alone in the classroom.
Scalding tears dripped one by one onto the cotton pants.
Yu Chen pouted, and at last he could not hold it in anymore. He burst out crying loudly.
At the same time, He Zhen had taken two bites of his strawberry and was standing coolly at the classroom door, looking over everyone with aloof disdain.
That afternoon, the teacher was going to take everyone to play in the balloon castle. The children were all very excited, chirping noisily as they discussed who they wanted to play with.
He Zhen had not seen Yu Chen the whole morning, and his mood was terrible. He was currently thinking of how to use the opportunity to slip over to Middle Class Two for a look.
If they went to the play castle, they would pass by the second floor on the way downstairs, where Yu Chen’s class was. If he ran over to take a look, it should not matter.
Looking after his little follower was his duty as the boss.
What if his little follower had been beaten up?
The plan went very smoothly. He Zhen deliberately stayed at the very back of the line, and when his class passed the second floor, he shot off with a whoosh like an arrow released from the string.
Before he even reached the door of Middle Class Two, he heard a familiar crying voice.
“Go home? It’s not dismissal time yet.”
He Zhen frowned. With his little hand clutching the door, he immediately saw Yu Chen sitting on a chair with his bare little legs exposed, hugging his cotton pants and crying so hard he was hiccuping.
With a bang, the classroom door was pushed open.
The moment Teacher Zhao saw He Zhen rushing in, her expression stiffened. Especially when she saw him squat in front of Yu Chen and start wiping away his tears, she rose unconsciously to her feet.
“Yu Chenchen, why are you crying?”
Now reduced to a little tear-soaked mess, Yu Chen felt as though he had just seen a life-saving straw the moment he saw He Zhen. He hurriedly stretched out his arms.
Because he had been crying, his little face was flushed bright red, and his temples were damp with sweat.
“Boss, I want to go home…”
Yu Chen’s two little legs were bare and cool to the touch.
“Stick your legs out first. We’re leaving right now.” He Zhen glared fiercely at the teacher. While comforting Yu Chen, he helped him put on his cotton pants.
Teacher Zhao was full of suspicion. Slowly, she asked, “The two of you are…?”
He Zhen had experience helping Yu Chen get dressed before, so his hands moved very neatly. In no time at all, he had helped Yu Chen pull the cotton pants back on.
Because he was cold, Yu Chen’s whole body was icy. He pressed himself tightly into He Zhen’s arms, while tears still clung to his fluttering big eyes.
Holding him, He Zhen looked Teacher Zhao straight in the eye and said coldly, “We’re going home right now!”
Because of He Zhen’s status, Teacher Zhao kept her tone very polite. “Little Zhen, it’s not dismissal time yet.”
He Zhen did not want to talk to her, and he did not care what time it was.
Right now, all he wanted was to carry Yu Chen home.
“Teacher Yang, stop them.”
Teacher Yang, who had been washing towels in the bathroom, set down what she was doing and immediately ran after them.
At that moment, He Zhen was like a little hedgehog, his gaze fierce, full of caution and hostility toward everyone.
“Little Zhen, aren’t you in the senior class? Why did you suddenly come to the middle class?”
“Little Zhen, put Yu Chen down first.”
“I won’t!” Yu Chen was not exactly light, and after holding him only a short while, He Zhen was already sweating slightly. But even so, he still did not let go. Bracing Yu Chen’s bottom with all his strength, he pulled him even tighter into his arms.
Teacher Yang said awkwardly, “Listen to me, you—”
She had only gotten halfway through the sentence when Teacher Lin from He Zhen’s class came hurrying over after noticing that he had fallen out of line, only to stumble onto the complete chaos He Zhen had kicked up in Middle Class Two.
The moment He Zhen saw his own class teacher, the hostility and resistance in his eyes eased just a little. “Teacher, we’re going home.”
Teacher Lin naturally noticed the little one crying in He Zhen’s arms, then took in He Zhen’s puffed-up angry expression, and immediately understood a few things.
If she had guessed right, this was probably the so-called Second Boss.
Teacher Zhao was famously strict in the way she managed children. All the staff knew that.
Teacher Lin bent down and gently soothed He Zhen. “Of course you can go home. But can you come back to our class first?”
He Zhen refused. “I’m taking him with me.”
Teacher Zhao’s face looked terrible. What He Zhen was doing now was no different from openly challenging her authority as a teacher.
She stiffened her face and refused. “No. Yu Chen is a child from the middle class. How can he go with you?”
When Yu Chen heard that, he shrank in fear. His lifted little feet clung tightly to He Zhen’s waist, terrified that He Zhen would leave him behind.
He Zhen had never been one to fear trouble. His light brown eyes held a coldness and determination far beyond his age.
“I’m taking him with me!”
“You can’t stop me!”
Teacher Zhao’s face turned even greener, and the situation fell into a tense stalemate.
In the end, Teacher Lin quietly spoke to Teacher Zhao about the current situation. Wanting to avoid making matters bigger, Teacher Zhao finally relented, and Teacher Lin was allowed to take the two little ones back to Senior Class One.
On the way upstairs, Teacher Lin tried several times to take Yu Chen from He Zhen and carry him herself, but every time He Zhen refused.
He Zhen kept his small face tense the whole time. Even though he was tired enough to be panting, he never loosened his hold on Yu Chen.
Teacher Lin was very curious. Just what exactly was the relationship between this child in He Zhen’s arms and He Zhen?
Ten minutes later, the principal came hurrying over. The moment he saw the scene before him, his face filled with confusion.
He Zhen had Yu Chen sitting on his lap and was feeding him large strawberries one by one.
A moment ago, He Zhen had heard Yu Chen’s stomach growling. Only after asking did he learn that Yu Chen had only drunk one bowl of soup at lunch.
Teacher Lin felt terrible just seeing it and quickly brought Yu Chen some food.
The strawberries were big and sweet. Yu Chen had finally gotten food after all this time, and hugging a giant strawberry, he finished one in just two or three bites. Both cheeks, still streaked with tears, were puffed out full.
Before coming, the principal had already roughly learned what had happened in Middle Class Two. Looking at how close the two children seemed, he bent down and asked, “Zhenzhen, I’ve already called your family. But Uncle wants to ask—why did you want to go home immediately?”
He Zhen frowned. “Yu Chen was bullied. I want to take him home. We’re never coming back again!”
The principal took this issue very seriously and comforted him gently. “Don’t worry. Uncle will definitely help you solve the problem.”
After saying that, he asked his assistant to pull up the surveillance footage from Middle Class Two, determined to investigate the matter thoroughly.
Yu Chen had already finished the strawberry in his hand and finally had time to look at these unfamiliar teachers. Because he had been frightened, he clung timidly to He Zhen’s chest. His little legs were no longer lazily swinging like usual, but held tensely and stiffly, with no sense of security at all.
The principal discussed it with He Zhen. “How about this? Since you think little friend Yu Chen was bullied in Middle Class Two, we can switch him to another class, all right? If the two of you stop coming to kindergarten altogether, then how will you learn anything?”
The moment He Zhen heard that Yu Chen would still have to go to the middle class, he immediately shook his head in refusal. “I want to be with him.”
The principal knew He Zhen’s temperament very well. From junior class to senior class, no teacher had ever been able to handle him. Soft methods did not work, hard methods did not work—nothing worked. If He Zhen truly insisted on transferring or dropping out, the principal absolutely could not bear that responsibility.
After thinking for a moment, the principal asked again, “Then how about letting Yu Chen join your class? That way the two of you can stay together.”
This time, He Zhen hesitated a little, then lowered his head and asked the Yu Chen hiding in his arms, “Is that okay?”
Yu Chen blinked his wet eyes and nodded gently.
At last, the huge weight hanging over the principal’s heart finally dropped away. He lifted a hand and wanted to pat Yu Chen’s head, only for He Zhen to block him once.
The principal laughed helplessly and asked curiously, “Little Zhen, what is Yu Chen to you?”
Yu Chen had wanted to answer, but since Principal Uncle had asked He Zhen, he politely pressed his plump lips together and quietly picked at his fingers, while his little feet stayed tensely drawn in.
He was He Zhen’s little follower.
He Zhen was his boss.
After a moment, He Zhen answered in a clear loud voice:
“He’s my little brother at home.”
