Chapter 1: The Fluffed-Up Hair Mystery
“Xixi, time to get up.”
The little figure on the bed was tucked under a soft goose-yellow blanket. His cheeks were lightly flushed, his lashes thick and curled, and he slept so peacefully and beautifully that he looked like a little angel.
Teacher Xiao Xu felt her heart melt at the sight. Gently, she lifted the blanket—
His chubby little hands were clenched into tight fists, his arms and legs thrown wide in a star shape. His pajama pants had ridden up to his knees, exposing his plump white calves. His left foot was stepping on a toy, and his right foot gave a forceful kick. The pose was domineering and mighty, as if in his dream he had already battled bad guys for eight hundred rounds and was currently pounding the enemy’s dog head into the ground.
“…”
You never know what kind of sleeping position a child is hiding under the blanket.
Teacher Xiao Xu could not help laughing. She bent down and picked up the warm, sleepy little dumpling in her arms.
Lin Huaixi was the sleepiest child in the kindergarten. He could never wake up properly after nap time. Every time, Teacher Xiao Xu had to settle all the other children first before coming back to wake him up alone. Fortunately, even when he was woken up, little Xixi never cried or threw a tantrum. He would simply sit there obediently, holding his plump ankle with both hands, small and round like a little triangular rice ball.
After folding the blanket, Teacher Xu brought over his jacket. Seeing Lin Huaixi dozing off while sitting up, she helped him get dressed and chatted with him at the same time. “Xixi, were you dreaming just now? What kind of dream did you have?”
…A dream?
That word made Lin Huaixi a little more awake. He tried hard to hold his eyelids open and instinctively searched his memory for the dream, but his mind was still foggy, as though veiled by a thin layer of mist.
When Teacher Xiao Xu did not get an answer, she did not press him. She only said softly, “Xixi, I’m going to tidy some things up first. Sit here nicely and wait for me. Don’t run around.”
Lin Huaixi lifted his head. Teacher Xiao Xu’s smiling face was reflected in his clear, drowsy eyes. Only after a few seconds did he nod blankly.
After Teacher Xiao Xu left, Lin Huaixi continued trying to remember that strange dream.
In some books, a few lucky people would awaken their awareness and learn the plot in advance. Little Xixi was one of them.
In the book, he was a tragic cannon fodder character, while the protagonist was his childhood sweetheart, Qi Wang.
Qi Wang was calm by nature, clever, and ruthless in his methods. He was clearly the powerful male lead of a no-romance novel. But for some reason, the author seemed to have suffered some kind of shock, suddenly gave up the exciting revenge arc and career storyline, dropped in three scumbag tops out of nowhere, and turned the story into a melodramatic abuse novel.
Each of the three scumbag tops was more criminal than the last. What began as “tragic love” and forceful possession escalated at full speed into imprisonment, brutal torment, heart-digging, kidney-stealing, and the attempt to crush Qi Wang’s pride, break his spine, and turn this favored son of heaven into a toy forever submissive to them.
And Lin Huaixi, as the protagonist’s childhood companion, was a perfect tool for killing the chicken to scare the monkey.
The three scumbag tops competed to show off their methods and power. First they destroyed the job Lin Huaixi had longed for, forcing him into enormous debt. Then they ordered thugs to harass his family, indirectly causing his grandmother’s death.
Lin Huaixi had also tried to save himself, but all hope was stripped from him. In the end, after being tortured until his mind became dazed and unstable, he wandered the streets and was hit by a car right in front of Qi Wang.
For Qi Wang, this was an enormous shock. But things did not unfold the way the scumbag tops had expected. Instead, it became a turning point. Qi Wang stopped enduring everything. Like a madman, he used extreme methods to take revenge on the three scumbag tops, and in the end, he died together with them.
…
Knowing the plot in advance was a rare opportunity. It could be used to change one’s own fate and the fate of others, even to take control of the world inside the book. Unfortunately, the current Lin Huaixi was only a four-year-old little radish.
He knew nothing of the world, was innocent and naive, and could not even recognize many words…
Still, fortunately, the contents of the book appeared directly in his mind, becoming part of his consciousness. Some scenes were even shown in his dreams like moving pictures, allowing him to understand the story’s main plot.
Even so, this was still the biggest problem little Xixi had encountered in his life.
Resting his chin on one hand, Lin Huaixi squished his baby-fat cheeks into a soft ring. He frowned like a tiny grown-up and let out a long sigh. Even the tuft of hair sticking up from sleep on top of his head bobbed up and down with the movement, as if it had worries of its own.
What is a scumbag top? munch munch. It seems like they hit people and yell at them. munch munch. Oh, he got it now. A scumbag top is a bad guy, a super bad guy!
That little tuft of hair suddenly shot upright like a radar antenna. Lin Huaixi’s eyes widened too, shining brightly.
Then he could be like the hero in cartoons—beat up the bad guys and protect his little bamboo horse. If he did that, all the other children would praise him, and his mom and grandma would reward him with little cake!
Little cake!!
When Teacher Xiao Xu returned, she saw the fair and adorable little dumpling sitting cross-legged on the floor, shaking his head and swaying around. One moment he was holding his face and sighing; the next moment he sprang up straight and punched at the air, busy all by himself.
Teacher Xiao Xu walked over and bent down to pick Lin Huaixi up.
Lin Huaixi had been raised very well. His body was soft and squishy. When someone held him, he would wrap his chubby little arms around their neck, rest his chin on their shoulder, and stay completely still, obedient as a little kitten.
Teacher Xiao Xu took every chance she got to cuddle with Lin Huaixi. Her heart trembled from how cute he was. “What were you doing all by yourself just now, Xixi?”
Using the height he gained in her arms, Lin Huaixi looked all around with alert caution like a little guard. “I was looking for bad guys. They bully people!”
After saying that, he even remembered to comfort Teacher Xiao Xu. Turning back to her, he said reassuringly, “Don’t be scared, Teacher. Xixi will protect you too.”
The kindergarten’s security was very strict. There was no way bad people could sneak in. Teacher Xiao Xu only treated this as innocent childish talk and did not take it seriously. She simply said, “Xixi is so amazing. You’re a real little man now.”
Lin Huaixi said, “Not really,” but in truth he was already grinning foolishly to himself, puffing out his chest high like a proud little rooster.
Teacher Xiao Xu laughed endlessly at his smug little look. Carrying him outside into the yard, she finally set him down with great reluctance and patted his head. “Go play with the other children, Xixi.”
Lin Huaixi waved politely at her and said in a sweet, milky voice, “Goodbye, Teacher Xiao Xu.”
His solemn little expression struck Teacher Xiao Xu’s cute point yet again. She had to hold herself back again and again to keep her face under control.
Who would have thought that going to work could also put your HP bar in danger of emptying?
Bright sunlight filled the little yard, along with children’s laughter and cheerful voices. But Lin Huaixi had serious business on his mind. Instead of going to play with the children he knew, he began searching for his little bamboo horse.
Very strangely, a bamboo horse was not actually a kind of horse, but a child who had only recently transferred in… Lin Huaixi walked all around the yard before finally spotting that small figure in the reading hut.
His little bamboo horse was dressed especially formally—a neat little suit, a blue bow tie at the collar, and polished leather shoes on his feet. He looked like a prince from a fairy tale book.
His features were delicate and beautiful. Soft black hair hung before his eyes. Those eyes were dark and heavy, without a trace of a child’s innocence, nor even the slightest bit of light.
For a child of only four to have such eyes was especially chilling.
Lin Huaixi did not understand any of that. He only felt that his little bamboo horse was unhappy.
He was a little sunshine with a natural gift for cheering people up. But this was the reading hut, and both teachers and his mother had said that he could not disturb people while they were reading, nor could he make noise.
Clinging to the doorway, Lin Huaixi’s little face wrinkled with distress. After a while, he finally thought of a brilliant idea.
He rose onto his tiptoes and carefully crept along the wall, sneaking quietly inside.
There were no tables in the reading hut. He picked up some crayons and paper placed nearby and simply squatted down on the floor, drawing away with great effort.
Qi Wang had originally been reading seriously. Suddenly, something white entered the corner of his vision. When he looked over, he saw that it was a small slip of paper.
The paper was tiny, with uneven edges and a fluffy-looking texture. On it, a yellow crayon had drawn a crooked smiling face.
Qi Wang frowned, not understanding why this piece of paper had appeared out of nowhere. Then, the next second, a small hand stretched in from the side and placed down another slip of paper with a sun drawn on it.
That little hand was chubby, with dimples of flesh on the back. The fingers were short and thick, and because the reach was not long enough, the fingertips had to push forward with great effort. After a lot of struggle, it finally managed to place the paper by his feet.
Turning his head to follow the hand, Qi Wang saw a round little butt.
…?
Only then did he realize that a child was kneeling beside him with his rear sticking up, crayons and paper scattered around him. The papers were covered in bright smiling faces, little flowers, and little grass. From Qi Wang’s angle, he could only see the fluffy top of the child’s head and that endlessly busy little hand.
“What are you doing?”
Hearing the voice, Lin Huaixi looked up blankly. His lips parted slightly, and his pupils were clear and watery, sparkling with light. “I’m giving you happy cards. If you get these cards, you’ll become really happy!”
On those little slips of paper, Lin Huaixi had drawn everything that made him feel happy, wanting to give that feeling to Qi Wang too. But Qi Wang looked at the pile of papers by his feet and did not receive any happiness at all. He only felt baffled.
With a stiff little face, Qi Wang stood up silently and looked down at Lin Huaixi, who was squatting there in a little ball. In a cold voice, he said, “I want to read. I don’t want to play with you.”
After saying that, he took his book and walked toward the corner, no longer paying attention to Lin Huaixi.
Lin Huaixi froze for a few seconds, then hurriedly picked up the cards and called Qi Wang’s name, wanting to explain that he had not meant to disturb his reading. He had only wanted to make him a little happier.
After taking a few steps, Qi Wang suddenly stopped. Unable to bear it any longer, he turned around and glared at Lin Huaixi.
He did not understand why this child was like a sticky little rice cake, insisting on clinging to him, and even barking like a dog behind him, wang-ing nonstop.
“Are you a puppy?” Qi Wang’s tone was a bit fierce.
Lin Huaixi blinked twice, and his thick curled lashes fluttered too.
He liked puppies. Was Qi Wang trying to say… that he was as cute as a puppy?!
Lin Huaixi instantly became happy. But he was an honest child, so with a touch of regret he said, “I’m not a puppy.”
“Then why are you barking like one?” Qi Wang pressed, clutching his book.
“Barking?” Lin Huaixi’s soft little face filled with confusion. Tilting his head, he thought for a moment, then explained very seriously, “I’m not barking. I’m calling you. Isn’t your name Wang Wang?”
“…”
Qi Wang puffed up in anger.
Lin Huaixi: (?_?)
Qi Wang’s fur exploded.
Lin Huaixi: o(^?^)o
Lin Huaixi’s eyes were big and round, beautifully shaped, with slightly upturned corners. His pupils were crystal clear, as if anyone could see straight through them, carrying a kind of pure and transparent foolishness. And the earnestness at the bottom of his eyes only made him seem more like the kind of little idiot who would make you die of anger if you tried to reason with him.
Qi Wang opened his mouth, then shut it again. He stomped on the floor hard with loud thuds, using that to express his emotions.
Three minutes later.
As Teacher Xiao Xu passed by, she saw Lin Huaixi standing all alone in the reading hut. She walked over and gently touched his little cheek. “Xixi, why are you here?”
Lin Huaixi was still staring in the direction Qi Wang had gone. With one little hand, he scratched his head until his hair fluffed up even more, then asked in a puzzled and curious voice, “Teacher, why did Wang Wang’s hair fly up like that?”
