Chapter 9
Liang Jinyi returned to his room dispiritedly and sat there for a while before listlessly playing with LEGO.
Uncle Lin secretly observed him from the doorway for two hours. When he came in to change the water in Liang Jinyi’s water bottle, Uncle Lin walked over to him kindly.
Liang Jinyi lifted his head and glanced at Uncle Lin, then lowered it again and continued playing with LEGO by himself.
“Jinyi, have you ever thought about going to kindergarten?” Uncle Lin bent down and asked.
Liang Jinyi had no interest in going to kindergarten at all. His answer was very cold. “Don’t want to.”
Uncle Lin persisted. “But Jiang Mi-brother likes children who go to kindergarten more.”
Liang Jinyi pinched a LEGO piece and lifted his head.
Uncle Lin pressed on while the iron was hot. “Because all children need to go to kindergarten. And your Jiang Mi-brother went to kindergarten too, so he definitely likes children who go to kindergarten more.”
Liang Jinyi had returned to the Liang family in early August. At the time, it had been summer vacation, so naturally, they couldn’t send him to school. In early September, Uncle Lin had wanted to send him to kindergarten, but going to kindergarten was something Liang Jinyi disliked.
The moment he heard he had to go to kindergarten, he went mad at home, frantically destroying everything he could destroy.
Combined with the fact that his personality wasn’t exactly normal, Uncle Lin and Liang Jinyi’s father, Liang Hong, could only temporarily set aside the idea of sending Liang Jinyi to kindergarten.
But during the past half month, because he had met Jiang Mi, Liang Jinyi had started speaking and communicating like a normal person. After Uncle Lin spoke with the psychologist at noon today, the psychologist had also suggested that they send Liang Jinyi to kindergarten so he could interact with children his own age.
Liang Jinyi stared unblinkingly at Uncle Lin, as though doubting whether his words were true.
Uncle Lin said gently, “Why don’t Jinyi call Brother and ask whether he likes children who go to kindergarten more?”
“I’ll call… Brother.” Liang Jinyi put down the LEGO in his hand.
At that moment, Uncle Lin said his phone was in his room and asked Jinyi to wait while he went to get it.
About ten minutes later, he walked back into Liang Jinyi’s room with the phone and called Jiang Mi.
Liang Jinyi held Uncle Lin’s phone. As soon as the call connected, he couldn’t wait to call out, “Brother.”
After easing his excitement a little, Liang Jinyi asked Jiang Mi on the other end of the phone, “Brother, do you… like children… who go to kindergarten more?”
Ten minutes earlier, Jiang Mi had already received a call from Uncle Lin, so of course he answered yes.
He added with a smile, “And every child should go to kindergarten and spend time with children their own age.”
“Then… Brother, craft homework… help me?” Liang Jinyi still remembered what had happened that morning.
Jiang Mi understood what he meant. “Of course Brother can help Jinyi with craft homework on weekends.”
Although Liang Jinyi’s clinginess was sometimes a bit too much for him, overall, Jiang Mi still found him very lovable.
And he was Liang Xuping’s little brother too. Liang Xuping seemed indifferent toward Liang Jinyi on the surface, but in truth, he still cared about this younger brother.
“So, does Jinyi want to go to kindergarten?” Jiang Mi asked with a smile.
But Liang Jinyi didn’t give an answer right away. He looked out the window with a melancholy gaze and said, “I still need… to think.”
Jiang Mi laughed softly. “Then Little Jinyi should think about it carefully. If you decide to go to kindergarten, Brother has a gift for you.”
Liang Jinyi became interested. “What… gift?”
The corners of Jiang Mi’s lips curved. “Jinyi will know when you go to kindergarten.”
After that, Jiang Mi talked with Liang Jinyi for a while longer. It wasn’t until Liu Peipei kept urging Jiang Mi from the living room to come in and color her dragonfly that Jiang Mi hung up.
Liang Jinyi thought about this for quite a long time. He was still thinking about it when he went to bed at night.
He knew what kindergarten was. It had been shown on television. It was a place where many children sat together in one room while adults told them to do this and that, and also managed them.
Liang Jinyi didn’t like being managed by teachers. Even more, he didn’t like staying together with a lot of people and playing childish, boring little games.
But his brother seemed to like children who went to kindergarten more.
In the past, Liang Jinyi’s worries had come from physical things. For example, the places where his mother had hit or thrown him hurt very much, and the feeling of hunger in his stomach wasn’t very comfortable either. But after enduring pain and hunger for a long time, Liang Jinyi would feel numb to them.
Liang Jinyi had been different from ordinary children from birth. He was naturally emotionally indifferent, lacked empathy, had a strong sense of self, and was unwilling to accept any restraint. He might also have inherited his mother’s bipolar disorder genes, so he was naturally bad at controlling his temper. Whenever he felt upset, he would vent without any hesitation.
So never before had any problem made Liang Jinyi toss and turn like this, filling his small head with an adult’s dilemma.
He didn’t want to go to kindergarten.
But Brother liked children who went to kindergarten.
Liang Jinyi struggled with it for a very long time, until the next afternoon, when Liang Xuping showed him two photos. They were photos of his brother helping Liu Peipei with her craft homework. Liu Peipei was sitting close beside his brother, while his brother lowered his eyes slightly and patiently colored Liu Peipei’s craft project.
Liang Jinyi made up his mind. “Uncle Lin, I want to go… to kindergarten.”
Once Liang Jinyi decided to go to kindergarten, he immediately couldn’t wait to call Jiang Mi and tell him about it.
At that moment, Jiang Mi was working on a chemistry paper. He temporarily put down his pen and said, “Okay. Which day is Jinyi reporting to kindergarten? Brother will come send you to school and give you your gift while I’m there.”
“Brother, won’t go… to school?” Liang Jinyi knew that his brother had to go to school from Monday to Friday. Kindergarten was also from Monday to Friday.
“Brother can take leave for Jinyi,” Jiang Mi said.
Liang Jinyi couldn’t control himself and cheered.
After hanging up, he eagerly informed Uncle Lin, “I want to go to school quickly.”
**
Back in August, Uncle Lin had already screened several kindergartens in advance, and the preliminary work had long been done. That night, after he communicated with Liang Jinyi’s father, who was far away on the other side of the ocean, he conducted an on-site inspection the next day and confirmed the kindergarten Liang Jinyi would attend.
On Tuesday, Uncle Lin completed all the procedures for Liang Jinyi. The day Liang Jinyi officially reported to school was Wednesday.
Jiang Mi learned this news a day in advance. On Wednesday morning, he and Liang Xuping took leave from two classes to send Liang Jinyi, who was going to school for the first time in his life, to kindergarten.
Kindergarten started at nine in the morning. It was Red Sun Kindergarten near the Liang family’s villa district, less than five minutes away by car. Jiang Mi and Liang Xuping arrived at the Liang house at eight in the morning.
Liang Jinyi was sitting in the dining room eating breakfast. When he heard an auntie call out “Young Master” and “Young Master Jiang,” he immediately braced both hands against the wooden chair, jumped down swiftly, and rushed into the living room.
Sure enough, he saw the brother he hadn’t seen for several days.
Liang Jinyi rushed over, hugged Jiang Mi’s thigh, and looked up at him with sparkling eyes. The adorable little dimple on his right cheek appeared as he softly called, “Brother.”
Jiang Mi still had to go to school later, so he was wearing his school’s blue-and-white uniform. He reached out and ruffled Liang Jinyi’s head, then handed him the thing he was carrying in his right hand.
“A first-day-of-school gift.”
The first-day-of-school gift Jiang Mi gave him was a little green dinosaur backpack. He had carefully chosen it with Liang Xuping at the shopping center near their school during Monday’s lunch break.
Liang Jinyi hugged the little dinosaur backpack, and the dimple on his right cheek became even more obvious. His voice was loud as he said, “Brother, I really like… this backpack. I like… this backpack the most.”
Naturally, Uncle Lin had also prepared a backpack for Liang Jinyi. It was a little yellow duck design, with a water cup, sweat towel, colored pencils, and a small booklet inside.
Holding the little dinosaur backpack, Liang Jinyi pattered upstairs, dumped everything out of the little yellow duck backpack, placed it all into the little dinosaur backpack Jiang Mi had given him, then carried the backpack on his back and asked Jiang Mi whether it looked good.
“It looks good.”
The six-year-old little dumpling already had a little angel-like face. His pupils were bright and black, his eyelashes even thicker and more curled than a doll’s, and his skin was as white as snow. A little dumpling like this would look good no matter what.
Liang Xuping finally found a chance to speak. He handed over the light blue, three-layer deluxe pencil case printed with cartoon animals and coughed once, pretending to sound unconcerned.
“Liang Jinyi, this is for you.”
Liang Jinyi’s gaze circled over Liang Xuping. He lowered his eyes to stare at the three-layer deluxe pencil case, glanced at Jiang Mi from the corner of his eye, then accepted it and said very politely, “Thank you, Brother.”
Liang Xuping crossed his arms, looking indifferent. “I just bought it casually. As long as you like it.”
They stayed at home for a while. At eight-forty, Uncle Lin drove them to Red Sun Kindergarten.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the kindergarten entrance.
Red Sun Kindergarten was a private elite kindergarten. For ease of management, parents were only allowed to send children to the gate, and the children had to enter alone. However, since this was Liang Jinyi’s first day at kindergarten, they could make an exception. His family members were allowed to accompany him inside.
Liang Jinyi had never gone to kindergarten before, but he had already turned six. After some communication, the kindergarten principal still arranged for him to join Class One of the senior kindergarten group.
After Jiang Mi and the others brought Liang Jinyi to the door of Class One, they indicated that he could go in by himself.
It was almost nine, and many children had already arrived in the classroom. Red Sun Kindergarten was a private elite kindergarten, so the classroom was arranged beautifully and exquisitely. In several storage cabinets at the back of the classroom, there were toys, picture books, and storybooks that children liked to play with and read.
Some children had already gathered in twos and threes and started playing happily in the classroom.
Liang Jinyi stood at the door with the little dinosaur backpack Jiang Mi had given him on his back. He glanced into the classroom, then withdrew his gaze indifferently. Lifting his head, he looked at Jiang Mi pitifully and called, “Brother.”
Jiang Mi crouched down and rubbed Liang Jinyi’s little head.
“Jinyi, attend class properly. Brother will come pick you up after school this afternoon.”
Liang Jinyi’s eyes instantly lit up. “Pick me up… after school?”
“That’s right. So will our Jinyi go in and attend class obediently now?” Jiang Mi said again.
Liang Jinyi knew that his brother was studying, and only had time off on weekends. So usually, he could only see Brother on weekends. On regular days, he could only call Brother. He had originally thought that after seeing Brother now, he would have to wait until Brother’s next break to see him again.
He hadn’t expected Brother to say he would come pick him up from school tonight.
Liang Jinyi clenched the straps of his backpack with both hands and promised Jiang Mi, “I’ll go to school… properly.”
“Go on in,” Jiang Mi urged.
Liang Jinyi gave a soft, milky “Mm,” then followed Teacher Li of Class One into the classroom.
Classes had not officially started yet, so Teacher Li arranged an empty seat for Liang Jinyi to sit in for the time being.
Liang Xuping liked photography, and he had brought his camera today as well. Along the way, he had taken several photos of Liang Jinyi. Seeing him sit obediently in the classroom, he took a few more photos of him before leaving with Jiang Mi.
The two of them were still rushing back to school for math class.
Liang Jinyi took off his backpack, placed it on the desk, and looked out the window. He saw Brother’s back as Jiang Mi turned to leave.
Liang Jinyi pursed his little lips and raised his hand to touch the pointed ears on the little dinosaur backpack.
The little dinosaur ears swayed gently.
Just then, a crisp little girl’s voice rang out in front of his desk.
“Are you the new classmate Teacher Li told us about? Hello, my name is Chen Ruoxuan. What’s your name?”
Liang Jinyi lifted his head and found that standing in front of him was a little girl wearing a pink rabbit sweater.
His heart and mind were full of his brother, and he didn’t want to pay attention to this child at all. So he lowered his head and continued playing with the little ears on his dinosaur backpack.
However, Chen Ruoxuan was an enthusiastic child. Seeing that Liang Jinyi didn’t answer the question, she good-naturedly asked again, “Was the person who brought you to school just now your dad?”
Thinking of the three adults she had seen beside Liang Jinyi at the door just now, Chen Ruoxuan, who was very good at expressing herself, added, “The one who crouched down and touched your head. The best-looking one.”
Liang Jinyi became a little unhappy and refuted her. “That’s my brother.”
Chen Ruoxuan’s eyes lit up instantly. “He’s your brother?”
She very kindly stated her wish.
“Then I’ll trade with you. I’ll give you my brother, and you give me your brother.”
After thinking for a moment, Chen Ruoxuan added, “Although my brother isn’t as good-looking as your brother, my brother has a lot of money and can buy you lots of candy and toys.”
Author’s Note
Liang Jinyi: Why are there so many people and dogs trying to steal Brother from me? ?.
