Chapter 14
“Yu Chenchen, come here!”
He Zhen could not be bothered to deal with the other children. Wrapping an arm around Yu Chen’s shoulders, he mercilessly separated the two tightly clasped little hands.
Li Ye was the young master of the locally famous overseas Li family, and he was extremely popular among the children in class.
Li Ye was exceptionally tall for his age, spoke in a gentle and polite way, and was highly capable no matter what he did. He was one of the kindergarten’s famously well-behaved children.
The reason He Zhen disliked Li Ye was very simple: he thought Li Ye was fake. The way he spoke was strange and affected too, completely unlike a child.
Because of that, the two of them had always existed in class in a state of one king never seeing another king, with basically zero interaction.
“Children, we’re going to take part in the event now.”
The teacher’s words gave He Zhen the perfect excuse to take Yu Chen away. Keeping a straight little face, he stared silently at Yu Chen. “Yu Chenchen.”
Yu Chen, who was busy looking for lion pastries, answered, “Oh?”
He Zhen poked his cheek. “Do you like playing with Li Ye?”
Yu Chen, whose head was full of nothing but pastries, asked in a daze, “Who is Li Ye?”
He Zhen gave a light huff. “The boy who held your hand just now.”
Yu Chen smiled innocently. “I do.”
This time, He Zhen’s face turned completely black. Letting go of Yu Chen’s hand, he accused him in righteous indignation, “I’m so good to you, and you still like playing with other people?”
Yu Chen was a little muddled. His grape-like big eyes stared seriously at He Zhen, who looked like an angry little pufferfish.
After a while, he answered weakly, “Uncle said… when you go to kindergarten, you have to make friends.”
He Zhen still kept a stern face. “Then what about me? Once you make friends, you definitely won’t want me anymore.”
At last, Yu Chen realized what He Zhen actually cared about.
With his emotional intelligence online, he quickly spun his little brain and spread his arms wide. “I want you! You’re my most, most, most favorite boss!”
He Zhen’s expression visibly softened, though he still held his arms arrogantly. “Most?”
Yu Chen repeated himself at once. “Yes! Most most most most most!”
Pleasure climbed back onto the corners of He Zhen’s lips. Pretending not to care, he said, “If you don’t play with me, then I’ll go find someone else to be my little follower.”
Yu Chen immediately shook his little head anxiously, pleading like a soft little milk dumpling, “Boss, don’t go find someone else, okay?”
Holding back a smile, He Zhen proudly held out his hand to Yu Chen. “Fine. For now, I won’t go find anyone else.”
Yu Chen quickly and obediently moved close, letting He Zhen hug him tightly.
This Hanfu Delight Festival was a huge success. Not only did the children learn etiquette, they also got to eat exquisite and beautiful pastries.
Yu Chen especially had a great time. Holding the lion pastry He Zhi’an had brought him, he ate three in one go. His plump cheeks were covered in crumbs, and he ate until his smiling eyes curved into crescents.
He Zhen was not interested in sweets, but he was very interested in feeding Yu Chen. Seeing He Zhi’an find lion pastries for Yu Chen, he naturally refused to be outdone. Based on Yu Chen’s tastes, he quickly brought back sweet pomelo custard and soft osmanthus peach gum with gorgon fruit, feeding Yu Chen bite by bite.
When Teacher Lin saw Yu Chen eating so happily that even his little feet had lifted up, she laughed and said, “Little Zhen, if you keep feeding Chenchen this much, he might not be able to eat lunch.”
Pouting, He Zhen silently reduced the amount, but still said stubbornly, “He’s growing. He needs extra nourishment.”
After hearing that, Teacher Lin looked thoughtfully at Yu Chen’s chubby little legs.
Li Ye was also paying close attention to the new little classmate. After noticing that Yu Chen liked pastries, and once Teacher Lin had left, he specially brought him a piece of rose lychee cake.
The moment Yu Chen saw that beautiful pastry, he could hardly move his eyes away. His mouth was still full of the thing He Zhen had just fed him, but his big eyes had already drifted over toward Li Ye.
Li Ye smiled at him. “This one is tasty too.”
Before Yu Chen could even say thank you, He Zhen interrupted, “If you eat too many sweets, you’ll get cavities. My little brother isn’t eating anymore.”
Li Ye had a very good temper and only smiled mildly. “All right then.”
Although Yu Chen wanted to protest in a tiny voice, he did not have the courage. He could only stare longingly at that piece of rose lychee cake in a daze. Only after He Zhen turned his round little face back toward himself did he finally withdraw his gaze.
That evening after school, when Li Huan saw Yu Chen bouncing around so happily, the worry he had been carrying all day finally eased. Especially after seeing the wonderful group photos posted in the class chat, he hurried to save them all onto his phone like treasures. Not that he was boasting like a self-praising melon seller, but in their family, Yu Chen was absolutely the cutest child out of all of them.
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
Little friend Yu Chen’s life in Senior Class One was exceptionally happy. Every evening when he came home, his little tummy was round and full, and he would hug Li Huan’s arm and chatter about funny things that had happened at kindergarten.
All the children in class were a year older than him, but under He Zhen’s “gentle guidance,” no one dared bully him. As for Li Ye, although he very much wanted to be friends with Yu Chen, every time he got close to him, He Zhen would always notice, then immediately separate the two like a little lion with all its fur standing on end.
The last time, Yu Chen had missed He Jinglin’s party because he got sick, so this time, for He Zhi’an’s birthday, she kept calling over and over again to remind Yu Chen that he absolutely had to come.
To that end, Li Huan specially had a white little suit tailored for Yu Chen. On He Zhi’an’s birthday, he dressed Yu Chen up like a noble little prince and took him beautifully prepared to the He family home as a guest.
He Jinglin’s husband’s family was one of Hai City’s famous prominent clans, with generations devoted to cultural work. The guests attending He Zhi’an’s birthday banquet were all very important people.
Unexpectedly, He Jinglin’s two always-busy older brothers also rarely brought their children to attend, and both brought many gifts for He Zhi’an.
While the adults chatted, Second Brother He Jingtai looked at the children gathered together playing, and in the end, his meaningful gaze settled on the smile blooming across He Zhen’s face.
Holding a teacup, He Jingtai spoke with concern about He Zhen. “Little Zhen seems to have changed quite a lot. He smiles now.”
He Jinglin said with relief, “Yes. A particularly adorable little child came to his home. Forget him—even I like that child.”
He Jingtai stared at the one unfamiliar little face there and took a sip of tea. “Not bad. It’s good for him to have company.”
Third Brother He Jingcheng joined in. “Where did that child come from?”
He Jinglin explained, “The child of a winery worker.”
He Jingtai sighed. “Father really is something. No matter how resentful he is toward Eldest Brother, he shouldn’t distance himself from the child. The child is innocent.”
At the side, He Jingcheng chimed in, “But little Zhen is the same too. He’s prickly all over and won’t get close to Father either. The two of them are both stubborn.”
“Forget it. We’ll just take care of little Zhen as much as we can.” Looking at her own son foolishly calling He Zhen ‘Boss,’ He Jinglin smiled fondly.
At that moment, He Jingcheng and He Jingtai exchanged a tacit glance, and for an instant, a trace of mockery flashed through their eyes.
The two black teacups lifted toward one another in midair. He Jingtai finished his tea in one gulp, then got up and walked toward He Zhen.
The little sitting room where the children were gathered was extremely lively.
From the little mountain of gifts, He Zhi’an picked out a fluffy, adorable tiger hat. Without thinking too much, he directly put it on Yu Chen’s head, only to discover that it fit perfectly.
Yu Chen’s face was already naturally round and proper, and with the golden-yellow tiger hat on, he looked festive and playful. His adorably tigerish appearance made him look like a child who had jumped straight out of a New Year picture.
Sitting cross-legged with Yu Chen held in front of his lap, He Zhen was teaching him how to play chess. Yu Chen did not know how to play and only moved the pieces around at random. Whatever He Zhen kept rambling on about, he could not understand, and whatever He Zhen asked him, he simply nodded obediently.
Anyway, he felt that as long as He Zhen himself was happy explaining it, that was enough.
At that moment, He Jingtai walked up to the three little ones.
Squatting down gently, he first wished He Zhi’an a happy birthday. Then, in a tone of deliberate envy, he said, “An’an, when Grandfather heard it was your birthday, he specially bought you a lot of presents. They’re all in the car. Do you want to go take a look?”
He Zhi’an’s eyes lit up. “Yes!”
“Run slower! Your grandfather dotes on you most. He knows you love the strawberries from Strawberry Garden, so he specially picked a lot for you.”
He Zhi’an smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Grandfather.”
When He Zhen heard those words, the delighted expression on his face shifted slightly, and the movement of the chess piece in his hand noticeably slowed.
After He Zhi’an left, He Jingtai looked at He Zhen with a smiling face. “Little Zhen, it’s been so long. Did you miss your second uncle?”
With his eyes lowered, He Zhen coldly replied, “Hello, Second Uncle.”
At that form of address, Yu Chen’s eyelashes fluttered lightly.
He remembered that He Zhen’s uncles were all big bad people.
“I heard you’ve stopped taking horse-riding lessons?” He Jingtai’s tone was casual, as though he were discussing something completely ordinary. “Grandfather likes children who ride horses well the most. Is little Zhen really not going to take horse-riding lessons anymore?”
He Zhen did not respond to He Jingtai, only silently arranged the chess pieces.
“Then how about something else, like rock climbing?” He Jingtai’s tone was full of elder-like affection. “Your grandfather likes boys who ride horses, climb rocks, and do archery. You could learn all of those.”
This time, He Zhen responded with a cold face, “I don’t want to!”
With a pa, the chess pieces scattered across the board.
Clenching his fists, He Zhen got up by himself and left.
Yu Chen was still sitting on the carpet and had not yet fully reacted. His round black eyes quietly examined the pleased look on He Jingtai’s face. A moment later, he pushed himself up with a heave of his little hands and pattered after He Zhen.
In the courtyard, He Zhen stood with his head lowered in front of the fountain, kicking stones in boredom.
Holding a raspberry tiramisu, Yu Chen bounced over to He Zhen’s side. “Boss, the purple cake is super yummy.”
Still hanging his head, He Zhen looked listless and dispirited. “You eat it.”
Unwillingly, Yu Chen puffed out his lips and moved closer like a sticky little rice cake. “Boss, what are you thinking about?”
After a moment of silence, He Zhen suddenly asked, “Yu Chenchen.”
Yu Chen brought his little feet together and gave a salute. “Present!”
He Zhen was amused by his foolishly cute appearance and smiled. Resting his chin on one hand, he sat at the table and asked, “Tell me, should I take rock climbing lessons?”
He did not like horse-riding, but perhaps he could try climbing.
Holding out the little cake to him, Yu Chen asked, “Boss, is rock climbing high?”
He Zhen answered, “High.”
“Is it dangerous?”
He Zhen had always refused to admit defeat. “I’m this amazing. It wouldn’t be dangerous.”
Yu Chen asked again, “Do you like it?”
At that question, even He Zhen himself hesitated.
“I don’t.” Pressing his lips together, he answered with a trace of grievance hidden in his voice. “I don’t like it at all.”
Yu Chen grinned with his missing tooth showing. “Then don’t take it! You can learn those things when you grow up! Then we’ll have time to watch cartoons and play with erasers.”
He Zhen was so exasperated he laughed. “Yu Chenchen! Those aren’t erasers! They’re chess pieces!”
Yu Chen immediately lowered his little head and mumbled back in protest, “I was saying chess.”
At last, He Zhen took a bite of the cake, his expression carrying a loneliness far beyond his age. “I’m not taking it anymore. No matter what I do, Grandfather won’t like me anyway.”
Yu Chen asked with huge confusion, “Why?”
He Zhen replied, “If he liked me, then why doesn’t he come see me?”
Yu Chen said innocently, “Maybe he’s sick? Grandfather didn’t come today either.”
He Zhen thought about it carefully and felt that Yu Chen’s words actually did make a little sense. So he asked in return, “There are 365 days in a year. Grandfather can’t possibly be sick every single day. Then why don’t I ever see him come visit me?”
Yu Chen frowned his little brows seriously. “Then let’s go see him together.”
That thought had never once occurred to He Zhen before.
His pride was very strong. Since other people did not like him, of course he would never go out of his way to cozy up to them.
A trace of wavering flickered in his light brown eyes, but He Zhen still refused. “I’m not going to Grandfather’s place for no reason.”
“What does ‘for no reason’ mean?” Four-year-old-education-level Yu Chenchen asked the question from the depths of his soul.
Raising a brow, He Zhen said, “It means, if we go to Grandfather’s house, what would we go there to do?”
Yu Chen answered in a matter-of-fact tone, “To pick big strawberries!”
A look of disbelief flashed across He Zhen’s childish face.
“To pick… strawberries?”
Yu Chen licked his lips and smiled greedily. “I also want to taste yummy strawberries!”
A quarter of an hour later, one tall and one short little cub marched up to He Jinglin with heads held high and chests puffed out.
Bending down, He Jinglin asked, “What’s wrong with you two little ones?”
He Zhen cleared his throat, his little hands arrogantly behind his back. “Auntie.”
Yu Chen immediately chimed in noisily, “Auntie, we want to go to Grandpa He’s house to pick strawberries!”
Delight instantly appeared on He Jinglin’s face, while He Jingtai and He Jingcheng—who had thought they had successfully planted the right ideas—both froze slightly, their exchanged glance filled with astonishment.
