Chapter 24
The moment Yu Chen said that, everyone secretly turned to look at He Zhen, waiting for his answer. Xiao Yu clicked his tongue and tilted his head toward Fang Jingrao, whispering, “Yu Chen is so mushy. So childish.”
But after he finished speaking, he discovered that Fang Jingrao had vanished at some point without him noticing.
It was obvious that He Zhen had not expected Yu Chen’s sudden show of affection.
In kindergarten health class, they had been taught that you could not casually kiss other people, and you definitely could not casually let other people kiss you.
Young Master He, aloof and proud, had grown this big with only one person ever kissing him—his mother.
Without realizing it, the tips of his ears slowly turned red.
Especially when he met Yu Chen’s sincere, expectant big eyes, a trace of confusion suddenly appeared in He Zhen’s expression.
He lowered his gaze and was just about to refuse when the panting Fang Jingrao suddenly appeared beside Yu Chen.
“Yu Chen, this is for you.”
Fang Jingrao had just run all the way back to the dormitory and brought over all the snacks he had successfully smuggled past the teachers, just so he could give them to Yu Chen to eat.
The moment Yu Chen saw so much delicious food, his already bright eyes lit up even more. Pressing his hands together happily, he asked, “Really for me?”
Fang Jingrao gave an “Mm,” then scratched his head shyly, waiting for Yu Chen’s thanks.
He Zhen smelled danger.
Fang Jingrao suddenly acting attentive like this clearly meant he had ulterior motives.
“Fine, go ahead and kiss.” It was He Zhen who spoke at that moment, abruptly cutting off the exchange between Fang Jingrao and Yu Chen.
“But…” He lifted his brow slightly and said with disdain, “Wipe the oil off your mouth first.”
Yu Chen had just been drinking wonton soup, and his plump lips were coated in a thick layer of sesame oil. He Zhen did not dare imagine what it would feel like if that landed on his face.
“Okay-oh.” Yu Chen obediently pulled out a tissue and, following the mouth-wiping method his kindergarten teacher had taught him, carefully folded and dabbed until the corners of his lips were clean. Then he clumsily stood up, cupped He Zhen’s face from the side, and planted a little mwah on him.
After being kissed, He Zhen still kept a blank expression on his face, but his right hand hanging at his side was tightly clutching the hem of his shirt. Meanwhile, Yu Chen looked like a little kitten who had successfully stolen dried fish, his eyes curved into crescents as he happily resumed shoveling food into his mouth.
Watching the scene in front of him, classmate Fang Jingrao suddenly felt a little uncertain.
Had Yu Chen forgotten about him?
How come… there was no response?
“Yu Chen,” he tried to remind him, “this is a gift from me.”
The moment He Zhen heard that, he immediately glared at him in alert, as if seeing right through his thoughts.
Yu Chen, still sucking wontons through curved lips, raised his head and sweetly said, “Thank you, classmate Fang. You’re such a kind child!”
Having just been handed a kindness card, Fang Jingrao scratched his head and happened to meet He Zhen’s teasing, mocking gaze.
“Mm…” He nodded gloomily and went back to his seat.
“I’ve got yummy things too. Let’s trade!” Yu Chen was a child who loved sharing. Since Fang Jingrao had been so generous, he absolutely could not be stingy.
“Okay.” Fang Jingrao nodded slowly. Even though he had not gotten the little kiss he wanted, being given a gift personally by Yu Chen seemed… not bad either?
He Zhen withdrew his gaze from Fang Jingrao and looked thoughtfully at Yu Chen.
Actually, he really disliked Yu Chen making new friends. In just a few days of summer camp, Yu Chen had already become familiar with most of the class. Sometimes He Zhen worried terribly that one day Yu Chen would grow closer to someone else and abandon him. But now that Yu Chen had just kissed him, he also felt a little happy.
Yu Chen probably would not casually kiss other people.
To Yu Chen, he had to be absolutely unique.
Having thought it all through, classmate He Zhen suddenly felt enlightened. Resting his chin on his hand, he quietly looked at the chubby doll happily showing off his milk-yellow bun.
Yu Chen was just so cute.
Cuter than anything else in the entire world.
…
Time at summer camp passed in a full and happy blur.
Yu Chen had originally thought he would be miserable without snacks to eat, but instead, he won over the hearts of a whole bunch of teachers with his looks and became the richest child in the entire summer camp. And while serving as the teachers’ little helper every day, he also made more and more new friends, quickly becoming close with the whole class.
Of course, the only person Yu Chen remained somewhat cold toward was Li Ye.
Because he held grudges.
That day, Li Ye had said those things to He Zhen specifically to sow discord between the deep brotherly bond he and He Zhen shared.
Yu Chen absolutely could not tolerate such a thing!
That said, his way of giving Li Ye the cold shoulder was very simple and direct: whenever he handed out bottled water, he would only greet Li Ye briefly and would not bump little fists with him.
All of this was noticed by He Zhen.
Honestly, he was very pleased with it.
After returning to school, the second graders took their beginning-of-term placement test. Right after that, the class started preparing for the election of student class officers for the new semester.
In terms of grades, He Zhen was unquestionably first place. The lessons arranged for him at home had already advanced to seventh-grade material. He already knew much of what they were learning and was the sort of top student teachers loved to showcase in open classes.
But He Zhen’s personality was too strong, which also posed an unpredictable challenge for the teachers.
As for Yu Chen, he was younger than everyone else. Strictly speaking, he should have been in first grade, but because neither he nor He Zhen wanted to be separated, he had started primary school a year early. Fortunately, he was smart. Though his grades were not as outstanding as He Zhen’s, he still ranked among the better students in the class and was adored by many of the teachers.
During recess, after leading He Zhen to the bathroom, Yu Chen immediately wanted to make a run for the little shop. Ever since Li Huan discovered that Yu Chen had gained two jin after coming back from summer camp, he had been controlling his diet. He had even specially consulted a nutrition expert to scientifically place Yu Chen under weight-loss sanctions.
Li Huan knew very well that, given He Zhen’s personality, he would definitely indulge Yu Chen at school. Simply cutting off Yu Chen’s pocket money would not work at all. So he had spoken to He Zhen beforehand and told him about the dangers of becoming too overweight, hoping he would support him in helping Yu Chen slim down.
“Yu Chenchen.” Although He Zhen usually let Yu Chen fool around, he was very principled at crucial moments. “Uncle said no snacks for you.”
The moment Yu Chen heard that, his little face wrinkled up. He immediately switched to his usual spoiled tactic, rubbing his little belly and shoulder against He Zhen over and over.
“Pouting and acting spoiled won’t work.” He Zhen had matured mentally quite early and would not budge easily on principled matters. Especially when it concerned Yu Chen’s health, he absolutely could not indulge him.
With his hands behind his back, Yu Chen tried to negotiate. “Can I buy one bag of chips? Or one piece of chocolate?”
He Zhen remained unmoved. “Sure. Go buy it yourself.”
Yu Chen let out a little huff and lowered his head unhappily.
He Zhen clearly knew that Uncle had taken away all his pocket money. How could he possibly have any money to buy anything?
So, full of reluctance, he followed He Zhen back to the classroom and sat in his seat, gulping down several huge mouthfuls of water.
To stop Yu Chen from cheating, He Zhen had long ago already made things clear to Xiao Yu, He Zhi’an, Fang Jingrao, and the other little rich boys: no one was allowed to buy Yu Chen snacks recently. Once discovered, the consequences would be very serious.
Fang Jingrao and He Zhi’an were both timid, so naturally they listened to He Zhen. Xiao Yu, on the other hand, had some character and was unwilling to be He Zhen’s follower, so he had rejected the order on the spot. Still, after learning that Yu Chen’s weight loss was for health reasons, he silently kept it in mind.
When the class bell rang, Yu Chen was still sulking at He Zhen and deliberately kept his little face turned away from him.
Their classroom seating was arranged two to a desk. Fang Jingrao and Xiao Yu sat behind them, while He Zhi’an sat in front of them, so everyone in their little gang was still close by.
Seeing that Yu Chen kept his neck twisted to one side, Fang Jingrao stupidly asked, “Yu Chen, did you sleep wrong and stiffen your neck?”
At the side, He Zhen chuckled once and continued maintaining his cool.
Yu Chen’s little temper came fast and went fast. Still, He Zhen knew he must not soften his heart and buy Yu Chen snacks just because he felt sorry for him.
“I didn’t sleep wrong! I’m hungry!” Yu Chen answered irritably, his round little face trembling in grievance.
Fang Jingrao was an honest kid and curiously asked, “Why would being hungry make you twist your neck?”
Yu Chen pressed his plump lips together, looking deeply solemn.
“Fang Jingrao, I heard you want to run for sports committee member?” Xiao Yu looked full of disdain. “You’re not even that fast at running.”
Yesterday, the teacher had already assigned everyone a task: if they wanted to run for class committee, they were to prepare at home. The official election would take place during the second Chinese lesson.
Fang Jingrao did not like hearing that. He immediately pulled out his sports wristband. “Look, I’ve been running on the treadmill at home lately. I can run two kilometers every day!”
Xiao Yu argued back, “That only burns 360 calories. That’s not even as much as I burn playing kayaking.”
Yu Chen did not really understand uncommon terms like “calories.”
Just then, Fang Jingrao happened to be showing off his exercise record to him. Yu Chen silently examined the beautiful silver wristband and asked, “Can this make phone calls? My boss has one too.”
Fang Jingrao nodded. “Yes, and you can listen to music on it too.”
“All right, students, today we’re going to elect the class committee. The students who want to participate should have prepared at home yesterday. We’ll start with the class monitor election.”
Li Ye was the first to go up and give his speech.
At that moment, Xiao Yu kicked He Zhen’s chair. “He Zhen, are you signing up for class monitor?”
He Zhen said, “Why would I?”
In Xiao Yu’s eyes, whoever had the best grades should be class monitor. He Zhen had gotten full marks on every subject in the placement test and ranked first in the whole grade, so he was naturally the top candidate.
But then Xiao Yu thought about He Zhen’s temper again and shook his head to himself, turning back to prepare his own speech for discipline committee member.
The competition for class committee was fierce. Lots of kids had already started secretly giving little gifts the day before to win votes.
Xiao Yu disdained such petty moves and could only prepare his speech as best he could.
“Yu Chen, are you running for anything?” Fang Jingrao poked him.
“Me? I guess so.”
The night before, Yu Chen had told Li Huan about the class committee election. Father and son had schemed together half the night before finally producing a campaign speech for the life committee member position. Unfortunately, Yu Chen had been far too sleepy by the end and had not managed to memorize it, falling asleep hugging a pillow instead.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was time to elect the life committee member. Yu Chen straightened his collar and stood on the stage openly and confidently.
From beginning to end, He Zhen had not raised his head during the class committee elections, remaining focused on solving seventh-grade Olympiad math problems. Only when Yu Chen went up on stage did he stop writing and listen seriously. He remembered Li Huan saying that morning that Yu Chen had not managed to memorize his speech the night before.
“Hello everyone, I’m Yu Chen…”
“If I become life committee member, I’ll pick the tastiest oranges, strawberries, watermelon, and kiwis for everyone as after-meal fruit.”
“I’ll also take good care of the cherry trees in our school orchard. When they ripen, I’ll pick the biggest, sweetest fruit for everyone.”
“I’ve eaten lots and lots of delicious snacks. So if we ever hold a class party, I’ll buy everyone the most, most, most delicious cheesecake, matcha egg rolls, beef-flavored potato chips…”
“And when we have events, I’ll also respect what everyone wants to eat and buy it for everyone too.”
“Thank you, everyone!”
As soon as Yu Chen finished, thunderous applause erupted. It was even more popular than Li Ye’s bilingual Chinese-and-English speech had been.
Even the homeroom teacher clapped along and joked, “Everything classmate Yu Chen just promised sounds very practical.”
When it came time to count votes, Yu Chen was extremely nervous. His big eyes stayed glued to the tally marks on the board, terrified of being overtaken by second place.
When the teacher finally announced that Yu Chen had been elected life committee member, he instinctively grinned and looked toward He Zhen. Then, remembering that he was still supposed to be angry at He Zhen, he immediately pouted and folded his arms in a cool little pose.
He Zhen lifted his lips arrogantly and ignored him too.
…
Ever since receiving his life committee badge in the second lesson that afternoon, Yu Chen had fallen completely in love with it and refused to take it off no matter what.
This was an honor!
Out of their whole little gang, only he had successfully been elected as a class committee member.
He had brought glory to the gang!
School ended early that day, and the originally scheduled special school-based courses were canceled. The students happily ran out of campus, enjoying the rare afternoon free time.
He Zhen and Yu Chen stood at the school gate with their backpacks on, neither one speaking to the other.
He Zhen casually wore his sports wristband, which could make phone calls.
Originally, he had wanted to call the driver and ask him to come pick them up now. But secretly sizing up Yu Chen’s puffed-up angry face, a bold idea suddenly arose in his heart.
Just then, Xiao Yu pulled up beside them in a black Rolls-Royce Phantom. “Hey, need a ride? I can have the driver take you.”
Yu Chen secretly glanced at He Zhen, clearly waiting for him to decide.
“Thank you, but we have other plans.”
He Zhen turned to Yu Chen. “Yu Chenchen, do you want to go with me to the mall across the street?”
“The mall?” Yu Chen repeated in surprise, giving a look like he had never seen the world. They were only second graders. Could they really just go to the mall by themselves?
“Mm. I want to exchange this for the newest sports wristband.” He Zhen looked toward the Ginza Mall just across the road. “Do you want to come? If not, I’ll stay here with you and wait for the driver. After sending you off, I’ll go myself.”
“I…” Yu Chen was still remembering that they were supposed to be in a cold war, yet shamelessly clung right over. “I want to go too.”
He Zhen secretly smiled. Then he held out his hand to Yu Chen. “When we cross the street, you have to hold onto me.”
“Received!” As if he had been handed some thrilling secret mission, Yu Chen followed He Zhen in a sneaky, furtive way. He was only one mask and baseball cap away from becoming a high-level special agent.
Inside the bustling mall full of people, He Zhen silently walked forward holding Yu Chen’s hand, the two of them standing out somewhat awkwardly against everyone else around them.
Though Yu Chen often went to malls, this was the first time he had ever done so without adults following along, and the novelty instantly doubled.
“Boss, are bad people going to kidnap us?”
“No. Ever since we started primary school, the family bodyguards have been following me all the time. We may not be able to see them, but they must be nearby.”
Yu Chen could not help admiring it. “That’s so cool.”
When they reached the sports wristband store, He Zhen stopped.
A sales clerk was wiping down the display case. When she saw two little boys in pink short-sleeved uniforms walking in hand in hand, she warmly bent down. “Little friends, are you here to buy something? Where are your parents?”
He Zhen looked perfectly calm. “We’d like to buy two of the newly released sports watches.”
“All right, I’ll get them for you. When are your parents coming?”
“We came by ourselves. You don’t need to worry about payment.”
Filled with curiosity, the sales clerk took an extra glance at this little boy whose speech was so orderly and composed, silently pondering to herself.
These days, primary school students could already come to a mall by themselves to buy such high-end things?
But when she noticed the school logo on their uniforms, she instantly understood something.
Hongwen Primary School was practically a gathering place for the richest children in Hai City.
Perhaps the two little ones in front of her really were young masters from powerful families.
“Yu Chenchen, what color do you want?”
Yu Chen was already dazzled by the display in front of him. Hearing He Zhen’s question, he tilted his head curiously. “Boss, are you buying one for me too?”
He Zhen nodded. “Mm.”
He had heard the conversation between Yu Chen and Fang Jingrao earlier.
They had agreed that blessings and hardships should be shared alike.
And yet his little follower still did not have a sports wristband.
That was his mistake.
“If I wear this, can I make phone calls too?” Pointing at the light blue model, Yu Chen grinned at the sales clerk. “I want this one.”
He Zhen pulled up the payment code on his wristband. “Please help us with two light blue ones.”
The sales clerk smiled and nodded. While packaging them, she asked, “Little friends, would you like me to help you put them on?”
He Zhen shook his head. “Thank you. I’ll help him put it on.”
As he spoke, a beautiful sports wristband was already fastened around Yu Chen’s lotus-root-like little chubby wrist. Happily fiddling with the strap, Yu Chen had no idea that this sports wristband would someday become a nightmare in his weight-loss journey.
The sales clerk was simply too fond of the chubby little boy in front of her.
When no one was paying attention, she secretly stroked Yu Chen’s hair.
“Boss, does that mean I can text you now?”
“Yes.” He Zhen answered in a proper tone. While lowering his head to help Yu Chen adjust the settings, he muttered, “Yu Chenchen. The reason I won’t buy you snacks is for your health. If you weren’t this chubby, I’d be willing to spend all my money buying snacks for you.”
After hearing those words, Yu Chen instantly felt ashamed.
He had never actually blamed He Zhen.
He had just been greedy and then sulked on his own.
“Boss, I’m sorry.” Yu Chen lowered his eyes softly, the tips of his ears touched with a faint blush. “I’ll lose weight properly.”
“All right, let’s go.” He Zhen took Yu Chen’s hand, his gaze resting lightly on Yu Chen’s face. “If you get tired from walking, I’ll carry you.”
Though He Zhen kept saying he did not want to coax Yu Chen, in his heart he had actually been very worried that Yu Chen might stay mad at him.
If Yu Chen really ignored him, he would feel miserable.
“No need, I can do it!” As they passed an ice cream shop, Yu Chen swallowed very unevenly. Afraid he might lose control from craving it, he immediately covered his eyes and hurried away from the storefront.
He Zhen watched Yu Chen’s plump little bottom.
His mood suddenly improved quite a bit.
At dinner, Li Huan learned that He Zhen had taken Yu Chen shopping at the mall, and was so surprised that he could not speak for quite a while.
He remembered that the matter of bodyguards protecting He Zhen at all times should have been something He Zhen did not know about. After all, when He Zhen had been very young, he had especially hated being watched.
“That day after school, I saw a familiar shadow at the school gate.” He Zhen cut the kiwi into small pieces and fed them to Yu Chen. “So I guessed.”
Li Huan smiled silently.
He had not expected He Zhen to grow this much in just two short years.
Tomorrow was Friday, and the weekend was National Day. He Zhen was going to Old Master He’s place for dinner.
Seeing how hard Yu Chen had been working at losing weight these past two days, Li Huan promised, “Chenchen, if you can still stick to not eating snacks tomorrow, then Uncle will let you eat one piece of cake this weekend.”
The moment Yu Chen heard that promise, he visibly started shoveling rice into his mouth much faster. On ordinary days, it took him forever to finish the carrots and cauliflower in his bowl.
He Zhen thought for a moment. “Uncle, now that he has a sports wristband, he should be able to take more walks. It has heart-rate monitoring.”
Li Huan thanked him. “Thank you for giving Chenchen a gift.”
He Zhen replied, “You’re welcome.”
That evening, after dinner, He Zhen and Yu Chen went home to do homework.
By now, Li Huan’s fifty-square-meter single room was gradually becoming cramped. Ever since Yu Chen moved in, there were more and more things, slowly filling the entire room. Though living there was not exactly cramped yet, Yu Chen was bound to grow up someday. As a live-in butler, Li Huan could not leave the He family, so even the chances of buying a house and living elsewhere were slim.
He Zhen had once suggested that the two of them move into the main house and live there together, but Li Huan felt that would not suit proper rules, so the matter was shelved.
“Uncle, I finished my homework!”
“My Chenchen is so amazing.”
Although Yu Chen was already Li Huan’s son in name, he still had not changed the way he addressed him and did not call him Dad yet. It was not that Yu Chen was unwilling. He was simply too young and had not thought that far. Aunt Liu next door had reminded Li Huan before, telling him to teach Yu Chen to call him Dad. But Li Huan felt something like that could not be rushed. Whenever Yu Chen grew old enough to understand and willingly called him Dad, it would not be too late.
Nowadays, Yu Chen could already bathe by himself, though sometimes he still needed Li Huan to hand him a towel or pajamas.
After the father and son had finished fussing around, they lay on the bed together and continued playing with the sports wristband He Zhen had given Yu Chen.
The wristband had many functions, which Yu Chen found extremely novel. He did not even want a bedtime story anymore and devoted himself wholeheartedly to studying it.
Seeing that it was already close to eleven at night, Li Huan forced himself to stay awake and keep playing with Yu Chen.
On a summer night, the cicadas sang in accompaniment.
Suddenly, a miserable cry came from He Zhen’s bedroom.
Wrapped in the blanket, He Zhen panted heavily, his pajamas soaked through in patches.
The curtains in the room were highly blackout-proof, so much so that not even a sliver of light could pass through. Curling himself into the corner of the curtained bed, he slowly opened his eyes.
Just now, he had had a dream.
He had dreamed about the car accident in which his mother died.
At that time, he had only been three years old, and he had also been in that car.
He could no longer remember the details, but the dream just now made his whole body tremble, and he never wanted to recall it a second time.
The sound of tires skidding, screams, rainy night…
All kinds of sounds mixed together, like demons clinging to his ears.
He raised his wrist and discovered that it was only midnight.
There was still so long until dawn, and he did not want to stay alone in this room for even one second longer.
He Zhen gasped for breath and buried his head into the pillow. Fine cold sweat slid from his forehead down the side of his face and onto his neck.
After a long time, he tapped his wristband and sent Yu Chen a text message.
[Yu Chenchen, I’m scared.]
He did not know why he had sent that to Yu Chen, and he did not actually expect Yu Chen to see it at this hour.
But he just wanted to send it to him.
The hands of the wall clock ticked rhythmically onward.
He Zhen’s head throbbed in splitting pain, and his whole body kept trembling uncontrollably.
At that moment, there came a knock at the bedroom door.
A trace of alertness flashed through He Zhen’s light brown eyes. “Who is it?”
Yu Chen’s crisp voice came from outside. “Boss, it’s me!”
No matter what, He Zhen had never imagined that Yu Chen would really come over at midnight. Barefoot, he ran off the bed at full speed. The instant he opened the door, he pulled the pajama-clad little penguin Yu Chen tightly into his arms.
Li Huan looked at He Zhen, drenched in sweat, and frowned slightly. After a moment, he crouched down and lifted both little boys back into bed.
He Zhen closed his eyes and did not let go even once.
Though Yu Chen felt that He Zhen was holding him a little too tightly, he did not say anything. He simply knelt obediently on the bed and let He Zhen keep hugging him.
Still dressed in his own pajamas, Li Huan tucked the blanket around both of them, then silently left.
The night suddenly no longer felt so silent. The summer breeze drifted in through the curtains, and the room felt much more comfortable.
Yu Chen’s little chubby hand patted He Zhen’s back again and again, while his round little face kept rubbing against He Zhen’s ear.
“Don’t be scared anymore, okay? Chenchen’s here.”
Yu Chen felt that his boss must have had a nightmare, which was why he was this frightened.
Little by little, time passed.
Yu Chen could not remember when he himself fell asleep.
He only knew that when he woke up, he was lying in He Zhen’s arms.
And that He Zhen had been hugging him the entire time.
After school the next day, He Zhen led Yu Chen straight to Old Master He’s place.
He Zhi’an had originally wanted to go with them, but he had a golf lesson that evening and could only watch the two of them leave with longing in his eyes.
Still, he noticed that the relationship between Big Boss and Second Boss seemed even clingier now. Today, even when they went to the bathroom, Big Boss held Second Boss’s hand tightly and would not let go.
In the car, Yu Chen yawned, his little head filled with the thought that tomorrow he would finally get to eat a small cake.
He Zhen quietly rested his chin on Yu Chen’s forehead. From beginning to end, he had been absent-minded, clearly carrying a lot on his mind.
When they arrived at Old Master He’s house, He Zhen discovered that He Congxing was there too. Qin Zhi warmly greeted them. “Hello there, little Zhenzhen and chubby Chenchen.”
Yu Chen pouted. “Auntie, I’m losing weight now.”
“Really?” Qin Zhi handed them each a cup of sour plum soup. “Was it hot outside? Hurry and cool off.”
“Thank you, Auntie.” Holding the glass, Yu Chen’s big eyes had already drifted toward the beautiful box in He Congxing’s hands.
The box was exquisite, decorated with especially pretty little cakes.
There were even cute cartoon characters standing on top of the cakes, including Mickey Mouse, whom Yu Chen liked.
He secretly counted. There were four little cakes inside.
“Little Zhen, go play with Congxing for a bit. Congxing missed you.” Old Master He kindly beckoned to He Zhen.
He Zhen nodded and grabbed Yu Chen. “We’re going together.”
Yu Chen nodded his little head too and followed along like a tiny tail.
Among all the children in the extended family, He Congxing liked He Zhen most. It had been half a year since they last saw each other, and now he clung tightly to He Zhen, begging him to play international chess with him.
While playing, He Zhen kept glancing at Yu Chen beside them. He was worried Yu Chen might get angry again, just like last time, because he was playing with He Congxing.
This time, however, Yu Chen seemed fine. He quietly stayed by their side the whole time, his eyes repeatedly landing on the chessboard—
—or rather, on the cake beside it.
Playing chess required concentration.
He Zhen had a very competitive personality. In order to win the match, he could only temporarily collect himself and focus his attention on the game.
Sure enough, when the half-hour match with He Congxing finally ended, he discovered that Yu Chen had vanished again, just like last time.
“I can’t play chess with you anymore.” He Zhen jumped down from the tatami and ran straight into the courtyard, immediately spotting the familiar figure in the pavilion.
Yu Chen was leaning over the little table with his chin propped on his hand, looking somewhat lonely.
He Zhen hurried over, though there was a faint sense of satisfaction hidden on his face.
“Yu Chenchen!”
Yu Chen turned around blankly. When he saw He Zhen running over, he quickly stood up. “Boss! You’re not playing chess with He Congxing anymore?”
He Zhen, still slightly out of breath, nodded. “Mm. I know you want me to play with you.”
“You should go play with Congxing!” Yu Chen, very considerate, pushed at He Zhen. “Go spend more time with him.”
He Zhen caught Yu Chen’s hand, a little confused. “You’re… not angry?”
Yu Chen smiled and shook his head. “No.”
Looking at Yu Chen’s smiling little face, He Zhen felt puzzled. “Yu Chenchen, don’t you want me to only play with you?”
Yu Chen gave him a mysterious smile. “Boss, go play with Congxing! If he gets happy, maybe he’ll give you one of the little cakes from the box.”
He Zhen’s expression turned odd. “Hm?”
Yu Chen lowered his gaze shyly. “When he gives you one, remember to split half of it with me.”
He Zhen choked on the spot.
Was that really… the logic here?
It all felt a little strange.
After sorting through it for a long time, He Zhen finally understood.
He straightened his face and said very seriously, “Yu Chenchen, I’m going to ask you one question! You only get one second to think, and then you have to answer me immediately!”
Yu Chen nodded slowly, not understanding why He Zhen had suddenly turned so serious.
“If I fell into a river, would you eat the strawberry cake first or the mango cake first?”
“Save you first!”
Yu Chen answered almost instantly, with practically no hesitation at all.
This time, He Zhen’s expression clearly improved, and a bit of a smile slowly surfaced. Even so, he still asked uncertainly, “Why? Don’t you like cake?”
Yu Chen seriously began counting on his fingers. “I can still tell the difference between one meal of cake and being able to eat cake every day!”
He Zhen stiffened his little face. “What do you mean?”
Yu Chen lowered his head and fiddled with his hands. “If I save you, then you’ll buy cake for me every day. If I don’t save you, then no one will buy it for me anymore.”
After hearing that, He Zhen ground out through gritted teeth:
“Yu! Chen! Chen!”
