Chapter 6
A thunderous wail suddenly erupted through the banquet hall.
When Jiang Mi saw that Liang Jinyi had actually kicked Peipei to the ground, he quickly stood up, set him down, and turned to comfort Liu Peipei.
At that moment, Liu Peipei’s mother also hurried over. “What happened, Peipei?”
Liu Peipei sat on the floor, wiping her tears while looking at Liang Jinyi not far away. “Mom, he hit me.”
Jiang Mi apologized, “Auntie, I didn’t watch the two of them properly.”
Jiang Mi’s aunt checked Liu Peipei’s shoulder. There wasn’t actually any wound at all, so she didn’t take it to heart. “It’s normal for children to fight and mess around.”
After saying that, seeing that Liu Peipei was still crying nonstop, Jiang Mi’s aunt picked her up and coaxed her, “Didn’t you say you wanted candy just now? Mommy will give you one piece of candy. Stop crying, okay?”
Only after Liu Peipei was carried away by his aunt did Jiang Mi turn around and stare at Liang Jinyi, who had just attacked Liu Peipei.
Liang Jinyi seemed to know he had done something wrong. He stood in place and didn’t dare to come closer like before. He only called out softly, “Brother.”
“Jinyi, how could you kick your little sister?”
Hearing Jiang Mi actually scold him, Liang Jinyi said aggrievedly, “My brother.”
His answer had no logic to it, but Jiang Mi still understood the meaning behind Liang Jinyi’s words: You’re my brother, not anyone else’s brother.
He crouched down, looked Liang Jinyi in the eyes, and reasoned with him. “I’m your brother, but I’m also Peipei’s brother.”
Liang Jinyi looked even more wronged. His two small hands clasped together as he pitifully called, “Brother.”
Jiang Mi wasn’t someone with no principles who simply liked indulging children. He said, “You hit your little sister just now. Can you go apologize to her in a bit?”
Liang Jinyi said nothing, as if he wasn’t very willing.
Jiang Mi was still only a half-grown teenager himself. He liked children, but that fondness was only a little more than average. As for educating children, he had no experience with that at all. Seeing that Liang Jinyi was unwilling to admit his mistake, he momentarily had no idea what to do.
At that moment, Liang Xuping suddenly cut in. “Liang Jinyi, your Jiang Mi-brother doesn’t like children who make mistakes and refuse to apologize.”
Hearing that, Liang Jinyi instantly lifted his head and looked at Jiang Mi with those big eyes that so easily made people like him.
Jiang Mi turned around and walked into the distance, as though agreeing with Liang Xuping’s words.
Liang Jinyi immediately panicked. His short little legs pattered forward as he rushed up and hugged Jiang Mi’s thigh. “Brother, I was… wrong.”
Jiang Mi lowered his head and looked at Liang Jinyi.
Liang Jinyi said, “I’ll… apologize… to little sister.”
Ten minutes later, Liu Peipei had already calmed down. She was sitting in her mother’s arms, savoring the unparalleled sweetness of the corn candy she had just eaten, when she suddenly saw that annoying child coming over. She gave a hmph, hugged her mother’s neck, and turned her little head away.
Jiang Mi said then, “Peipei, Jinyi knows he was wrong just now. He shouldn’t have kicked you, so he came to apologize. Do you want to accept it?”
Jiang Mi lowered his head and looked at Liang Jinyi standing beside him.
Sensing Jiang Mi’s gaze fall on him, Liang Jinyi tilted his neck up and said to Liu Peipei, “Little sister, I’m sorry. I… shouldn’t have… kicked you.”
Hearing that, Liu Peipei gave another hmph and still refused to turn around.
Mother Liu said with a smile, “Peipei, your brother is apologizing to you. You can’t be rude.”
Only then did Liu Peipei turn around somewhat reluctantly and lower her head to stare at Liang Jinyi.
Liang Jinyi said again, “I’m sorry, little sister.”
“Fine, I forgive you,” Liu Peipei said magnanimously, like a little adult.
After saying that, she stretched her small arms toward Jiang Mi, who was standing beside Liang Jinyi. “Brother, hold me.”
Jiang Mi smiled and took Liu Peipei into his arms.
Liang Jinyi stood beside Jiang Mi, watching his brother hold someone else. His little fists clenched, but very quickly, he lifted his head and asked Liu Peipei, “Little sister, let’s… play together.”
Liu Peipei was quite interested in playing. She wrapped one arm around Jiang Mi’s neck and asked curiously, “Play what?”
Liang Jinyi said, “What do you want to play?”
Children actually liked playing with other children, especially pretty children. Liu Peipei kicked her feet twice in the air, signaling for Jiang Mi to put her down.
After Jiang Mi set her down, Liu Peipei raised the Barbie doll in her hand and said, “Then let’s change Barbie into a new outfit.”
Liang Jinyi said, “Okay.”
And so the two children ran to a corner of the banquet hall, found a chair, and began changing the doll’s clothes.
Mother Liu went to chat with relatives, so Jiang Mi and Liang Xuping sat not far away, watching the two children play.
But there really wasn’t much to watch when children played together. After glancing a few times and seeing that the two of them were playing quite well, they withdrew their gazes. Liang Xuping began talking about the school gossip he had seen in his QQ group last night.
He was getting into the story when, all of a sudden, loud crying came from not far away.
Jiang Mi and Liang Xuping quickly stood up and walked toward the corner where the two children were playing.
Liang Jinyi was sitting on the ground, covering his right hand with his left. He cried until his eyes were full of tears.
Liang Xuping asked first, “Liang Jinyi, what happened?”
Liang Jinyi didn’t look at him. He only gazed at Jiang Mi through teary eyes and extended the back of his right hand toward him, choking out, “Brother, it hurts so much.”
Jiang Mi crouched down beside Liang Jinyi and asked him where it hurt. After learning that it was his right hand, Jiang Mi took his right hand and carefully examined it. “There’s no injury. What happened?”
With red eyes, Liang Jinyi glanced at Liu Peipei and said, “She hit me.”
Liu Peipei was simply about to explode from anger because of Liang Jinyi. “It was because you kept trying to put red shoes on Barbie! I already said they were too ugly, but you still wanted to put them on her!”
After saying that, Liu Peipei was so angry that she didn’t want to stay with Liang Jinyi anymore. She picked up her doll and a big pile of accessories and walked away. “I’m not playing with you anymore. Hmph!”
Seeing Liu Peipei leave, Liang Jinyi lifted his head to look at Jiang Mi again. Trembling, he extended the completely unharmed back of his right hand toward him.
“Brother, my hand… still… hurts so much.”
Jiang Mi crouched beside Liang Jinyi, gently blew on the back of his perfectly fine hand, and coaxed him softly, “It’ll be fine in a little while.”
Liang Jinyi pitifully stretched both little arms toward Jiang Mi, his voice carrying a hint of a sob. “Brother, hold me.”
Jiang Mi reached out and picked Liang Jinyi up.
After the birthday banquet ended, at nine o’clock, the relatives and friends gradually dispersed.
Jiang Mi had originally intended to send Liang Jinyi back to the Liang family’s car, but Liang Jinyi refused no matter what. Hugging Jiang Mi’s neck with tearful eyes, he acted spoiled and said he wanted to go home with Brother.
Jiang Mi had no choice. He tapped Liang Jinyi’s little nose with his finger and said, “Then you have to obediently go home at noon tomorrow. Brother has to go back to school tomorrow afternoon.”
Liang Jinyi tightened his arms around Jiang Mi’s neck and answered in a crisp voice, “Okay, Brother.”
Jiang Mi brought Liang Jinyi home.
The hotel wasn’t far from his residential complex. It was only about a ten-minute walk. Jiang Mi’s parents were driving relatives who lived farther away home, and Jiang Mi didn’t get into the Liang family’s car either. He carried Liang Jinyi and slowly walked home.
After about ten minutes, they arrived at the residential complex where Jiang Mi lived. His family’s neighborhood was made up of row villas, and it was a new house his parents had bought the year before last.
Jiang Mi took out his key and opened the door.
He had only just opened it and hadn’t even had time to put Liang Jinyi down when an enthusiastic, fluffy creature pounced straight at him.
It was the Samoyed Jiang Mi’s family raised. The Samoyed hadn’t seen anyone for most of the day, and now that it saw someone—and its owner whom it hadn’t seen in ages at that—it wished it could wrap all four paws around Jiang Mi.
Jiang Mi hadn’t even had time to set Liang Jinyi down before he was pounced on by Yunduo. He told the excited Yunduo to move back a little, then set Liang Jinyi, who had just been sandwiched between him and Yunduo, to the side.
Yunduo panted with its tongue out and enthusiastically pounced over again. Jiang Mi also happily rubbed its head, then told it not to move. He pulled over the leash from the entryway and prepared to fasten it onto Yunduo and take it out for a walk.
“Jinyi, come walk the dog with Brother.” After fastening the harness, seeing that Yunduo couldn’t wait to go outside, Jiang Mi glanced sideways and asked Liang Jinyi, who was standing beside him.
“Walk the dog?” Liang Jinyi didn’t quite understand what that meant.
Yunduo stretched both front paws forward. It really wanted to go out, so it stuck out its tongue and enthusiastically licked the back of Jiang Mi’s hand, telling him to hurry up and take it outside.
Jiang Mi first said to Yunduo, “Don’t be impatient,” then looked at Liang Jinyi and explained, “It means Yunduo can’t stay at home all the time. He needs to go out for a walk. Will you come with Brother?”
Liang Jinyi looked at Yunduo, whose entire body was practically lunging toward Jiang Mi, and gave an “Mm” that was neither light nor heavy.
Yunduo was a stray dog Jiang Mi had adopted when he was nine. At that time, the doctor had said its bone age was around three or four. Seven years had passed, and Yunduo was already a dog more than ten years old. For a Samoyed, that wasn’t young anymore.
So Yunduo’s energy wasn’t as vigorous as before. Jiang Mi took it around the neighborhood once, and Yunduo’s pace slowed down. It wanted to go home.
Jiang Mi then brought Yunduo back. On the way, he also stopped by the neighborhood entrance to pick up Liang Jinyi’s toiletries that Uncle Lin had delivered.
Another seven or eight minutes later, Jiang Mi returned home. He first wiped Yunduo’s four paws clean, then took out a pair of fluffy slippers for Liang Jinyi to wear.
After that, Jiang Mi took Liang Jinyi to wash up. Once they were done, he put Liang Jinyi on his bed and told him to obediently wait for Brother.
Actually, Liang Jinyi really wanted to wait for Brother at the bathroom door, but he was also a little curious about Brother’s room. He had never been inside Brother’s room before. So he obediently sat on the bed and looked around Brother’s room.
But at that moment, a familiar sound of footsteps rang out. Yunduo had dashed up from the living room on the first floor to the second-floor hallway, then naturally entered Jiang Mi’s bedroom and lay down in a corner of the bed.
Liang Jinyi crawled to the edge of the bed and said to it, “You… go out.”
Yunduo didn’t understand what Liang Jinyi had said. Its tail gently wagged as it greeted Liang Jinyi in a friendly manner.
Liang Jinyi was just about to climb down from the bed and chase Yunduo out when Yunduo suddenly seemed to hear something. It abruptly got up and quickly darted out.
Liang Jinyi froze for one second. Then he hurriedly climbed down from the bed and pattered toward the door.
Sure enough, the moment he reached the doorway, he saw Brother, who had come up to the second floor. And Brother was currently stroking the large white dog lying in front of him and wagging its tail.
“Brother,” Liang Jinyi called anxiously.
Jiang Mi lifted his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Liang Jinyi wasn’t wearing shoes. The floor in late October was visibly cold, so Jiang Mi quickly walked over, picked up Liang Jinyi, who was stepping barefoot on the floor, and placed him on the bed.
Then he instructed him, “You can’t get down without wearing shoes.”
Seeing that Brother was no longer paying attention to that dog, Liang Jinyi obediently gave an “Mm.”
Just then, Yunduo suddenly dug one of its toys out from under the cabinet in Jiang Mi’s bedroom. Holding it in its mouth, it rubbed its chin against Jiang Mi’s knee.
Jiang Mi turned his head and saw Yunduo holding the toy in its mouth, looking at him expectantly. He knew Yunduo wanted him to play with it.
Ever since Jiang Mi had started high school, the amount of time he could spend with Yunduo had dropped sharply. Besides, Yunduo was already an old dog now, and it was rare for it to be this energetic.
Jiang Mi smiled, took the toy from Yunduo’s mouth, and threw it toward the door.
Yunduo immediately trotted over, then carried it back.
Jiang Mi scratched Yunduo’s chin, then threw the toy into the corner of the wall. Yunduo excitedly went to fetch it again.
Liang Jinyi saw that Jiang Mi’s attention was completely no longer on him, so he hurriedly called, “Brother.”
At that exact moment, Yunduo rushed back to Jiang Mi with the toy in its mouth. Jiang Mi reached out to take the toy from Yunduo’s mouth and threw it far away again, not noticing Liang Jinyi’s voice.
Liang Jinyi was furious.
He hurriedly clung to Jiang Mi’s body and climbed onto his lap.
Jiang Mi lowered his head and looked at Liang Jinyi with confusion in his eyes.
Liang Jinyi cupped Jiang Mi’s face with both hands and emphasized, “Brother, mine.”
Yunduo happened to run back again with the toy in its mouth.
Liang Jinyi pressed his whole body against Jiang Mi’s chest, turned his head, and looked at Yunduo as though declaring ownership.
Yunduo stared blankly at Liang Jinyi.
But it was a good-tempered dog, especially since Liang Jinyi was still a human cub. It didn’t fuss over the fact that Liang Jinyi had stolen its owner. Holding the toy in its mouth, it obediently lay down beside Jiang Mi’s leg and started playing happily by itself.
Only after Liang Jinyi saw that Yunduo was no longer fighting with him for Brother did he climb down from Jiang Mi’s lap in satisfaction.
But after climbing down, seeing that Jiang Mi was still looking at Yunduo, he quickly said, “Brother, look at me.”
Then Liang Jinyi supported himself on all fours on the bed. Like a little dog, he staggered forward hand by hand. As he crawled, he also barked in a milky voice.
At that moment, Jiang Mi was once again struck by Liang Jinyi’s cuteness.
Liang Jinyi also seemed to discover that Brother liked him like this very much, so he imitated even harder. He crawled on all fours to Jiang Mi, stuck out his soft pink little tongue like a puppy, and didn’t forget to pant heavily like one too.
Jiang Mi couldn’t hold back. He scooped Liang Jinyi up and kissed him on the forehead.
Liang Jinyi, who had been kissed, was clearly a little dazed.
He stared blankly at his pretty brother and covered his forehead.
Author’s Note
Treasure young Liang Puppy while you can. After all, his childhood doesn’t last long—and once he grows up, he’ll be very wild.
