Chapter 13
Lin Huaixi was the type who could never keep anything bottled up. Before school was even over, he was already gazing eagerly at Qi Wang, looking as though he wanted to wrap both arms and legs around him and hug him tight.
At first, Qi Wang had planned to ignore him, but Lin Huaixi was trailing after him like a little tail, even shoving his soft, squishy face right up in front of him. His intentions were far too obvious.
Qi Wang took a step back and said helplessly, “I still remember that I’m staying at your house tonight.”
Lin Huaixi was so happy he nearly jumped. Reaching for Qi Wang’s hand, he exclaimed, “We can finally sleep together!”
He had no brothers or sisters, so he had never gotten to experience what it was like to grow up with siblings. But he and Qi Wang lived so close to each other—he could be Qi Wang’s older brother.
That thought flashed through Lin Huaixi’s mind, but when he looked at Qi Wang, who was half a head taller than him, he suddenly felt a little unsure.
Mm. An older brother should be older, and taller too.
Lin Huaixi frowned in distress, and all his features scrunched together.
Seeing his mood change so quickly, Qi Wang paused, then asked blankly, “What’s wrong?”
“I want to be your older brother,” Lin Huaixi suddenly blurted out.
Qi Wang rejected the idea on instinct. “No. I was born a few months earlier than you, so you can only be the younger brother.”
Lin Huaixi refused to give up. Counting on his short, stubby fingers, he argued very reasonably, “The younger brother can also be born first, and then later become the older brother.”
Qi Wang: “…”
Looking at the bright smile on Lin Huaixi’s face, he could not bring himself to correct him. Instead, he changed the subject. “Hurry up and pack your schoolbag. Auntie will be here to pick us up soon.”
Lin Huaixi nodded his little head, hugged his small schoolbag, and stuffed his books and notebooks into it all at once.
He treasured his books, but he was clumsy when doing things, so some folded page corners were inevitable.
The moment Qi Wang noticed this, he frowned tightly, took the book from Lin Huaixi’s hands, set it on the desk, and carefully smoothed it flat. Only when the corners were neat again did the tension in his little face ease.
It was not just his neat-freak tendencies—Qi Wang’s obsessive streak was showing too. He simply took over the schoolbag and helped Lin Huaixi pack it. The whole time, he kept his back straight and moved in a neat, orderly, methodical way.
Lin Huaixi just stood there and waited obediently, showing no particular reaction.
He knew Qi Wang liked things clean and tidy and sometimes had little odd habits, but Qi Wang had never criticized him because of it, so he did not mind at all.
After Qi Wang zipped up the schoolbag, Lin Huaixi waved a little hand in front of his eyes and asked, “Can we go now?”
Qi Wang nodded.
Even though they were already in elementary school, their kindergarten friendship still remained. Every single time, Wang Xiaohu would dash all the way across the corridor just to come find Lin Huaixi.
Wang Xiaohu had grown sturdier, and his footsteps were heavier too. Lin Huaixi did not even need to turn around to know it was him.
A few little boys ran in circles around the yard, and the bunny backpack on Lin Huaixi’s back bounced wildly with him, its rabbit ears nearly flying off.
Qi Wang really could not stand watching any longer. He stepped forward, grabbed both rabbit ears, and Lin Huaixi naturally stretched out his arms, letting the schoolbag slide neatly into Qi Wang’s hands.
The whole motion was smooth as flowing water, without the slightest pause. It was obvious this had happened many times already for them to be this practiced.
Lin Yunmi was standing at the gate waiting for the two children to come out of school, and she saw the whole thing.
Gently smoothing down Lin Huaixi’s wind-tossed hair, she said with some helplessness, “Xixi, why are you letting Qi Wang carry your schoolbag again?”
Lin Huaixi had run until his cheeks were flushed and his chest rose and fell slightly with his breathing, his whole body seeming to radiate heat. “I’ll carry Qi Wang’s another day.”
Lin Yunmi laughed and patted Lin Huaixi’s head, then reached out and took both boys’ schoolbags, letting them run and jump freely.
In reality, it was Lin Huaixi doing all the wild playing, while Qi Wang stood nearby, keeping an eye on passing people and cars for him. Only when Lin Huaixi had played until he was sweaty all over and too tired to run anymore did he reach out with his warm little hand to take Qi Wang’s, insisting on pressing close to him again as if making up for ignoring him earlier.
Walking behind them, Lin Yunmi looked at the two little figures and felt rather conflicted.
Was her son really this skilled already? When he grew up, wouldn’t he end up charming a whole crowd of people senseless?
The thought passed through her mind, and even Lin Yunmi found herself ridiculous for it. She was using an adult’s logic to guess at the hearts of innocent children.
The one grown-up and two children soon made it home, where Grandpa had already finished cooking and was smiling as he called them over.
At the dinner table, Grandma asked as usual, “Did Xixi and Qi Wang have anything happy happen at school today?”
Actually, even if she did not ask, Lin Huaixi’s little mouth would never stop anyway. Even the tiniest, most trivial things would be dragged out by him and turned into a long stream of chatter.
Mealtime was very lively. Qi Wang had also gradually begun blending in. He listened very seriously whenever Lin Huaixi talked, and occasionally added a line or two himself.
After dinner, the two children went back to the study to do their homework.
First-grade homework was simple and did not require tutoring. Lin Huaixi and Qi Wang only needed half an hour to finish, then ran out to the living room to find Grandma.
Lin Yunmi had just bought a beanbag chair. Lin Huaixi sat in it, and his tiny body nearly sank all the way in. His feet dangled in the air, swinging back and forth without touching the floor at all.
Grandma patted Lin Huaixi’s head and said to him and Qi Wang, “Sit here nicely and watch TV. I’m going to warm some milk for you.”
After Grandma left, Lin Huaixi pushed hard backward with his bottom, even the soft flesh on his body straining with the effort, until he finally wriggled all the way into the deepest part. Then he patted the empty spot beside him, signaling for Qi Wang to come over and sit.
The two little boys curled up together on the beanbag chair and watched television.
Grandma was watching a business drama, and the plot was very deep and hard to understand. Lin Huaixi watched with a head full of question marks and pointed at the uncle on the screen. “He looks so fierce, and he said so many things. What does despicable mean?”
Qi Wang was precocious and loved reading, but that word was still beyond his level. He stared at the TV with knitted brows and said nothing.
Lin Yunmi happened to overhear their conversation and replied without thinking, “Despicable? It means shameless.”
Lin Huaixi thought for a moment, then bared his teeth and said unclearly, “But Xixi has teeth. None of them fell out.”
Grandma handed the two little dumplings their milk, glanced at her daughter, who specialized only in saying useless things, and quietly edged her aside with her body. “Despicable is easy to understand. For example, if another child plays rock-paper-scissors with you, loses, and then cheats and refuses to admit it. Or if someone agreed with you that little bunny cake could only be eaten at night, but secretly ate it at noon and did not leave any for you. Or if a child at school did something wrong, but then says you were the one who did it. That’s what despicable means.”
Lin Huaixi listened while gulping down his milk and nodded again and again. “I get it now. Only bad people are despicable. It’s not the cup wall I thought it was.”
Holding up the empty glass after draining the milk, Lin Huaixi peered at Grandma through the wall of the cup and even shook his head twice.
Grandma smiled. “That’s also a cup wall, but it’s written differently.”
“How do you write those two?” Lin Huaixi was very eager to learn.
Grandma felt those words were too difficult, so she only said, “How about Grandma teaches you later, okay?”
Lin Huaixi exchanged a glance with Qi Wang, then nodded.
After milk came bedtime. Grandpa was in charge of bathing the two little dumplings, while Grandma made the bed.
Lin Huaixi’s body wash was milk-scented. When he came out of the bathroom, his hair was still wet and his whole body was steaming with warmth, like a freshly made sticky rice cake that smelled of milk.
And yet he had no awareness of it at all. He jumped onto the bed and deliberately scooted close to Qi Wang. “Qi Wang, I washed nice and clean. I’m not dirty at all.”
Qi Wang shifted back a little, and only then did the milky scent curling around his nose grow fainter. “I know.”
They had just bathed together, after all. He had watched Lin Huaixi stubbornly wash himself twice, scrubbing until his skin had turned red.
Qi Wang knew Lin Huaixi had done that to accommodate him. With his eyes lowered slightly, his feelings were a little complicated, and he did not know how to say anything.
But Lin Huaixi, this carefree little fool, was never on the same wavelength as Qi Wang. Supporting himself with one hand on the bed, he took a deep breath and lifted his bottom, both arms and legs trembling faintly with effort, even the soft flesh on his calves tightening.
Out of all possible positions, he had somehow chosen the hardest one, something nearly acrobatic, stretching out his leg with all his might until his little foot was shoved right in front of Qi Wang’s face.
“I washed my feet three times too, so they’re not dirty at all. I even smelled them. They’re fragrant too!”
Hearing that, Qi Wang lifted his head and nearly bumped straight into Lin Huaixi’s toes.
“…”
Lin Huaixi’s toes were chubby too, round and cute, tinged with a faint pink, like little ornaments carved from soft jade. But no matter how cute, they were still just feet.
Qi Wang rolled away awkwardly before finally avoiding Lin Huaixi’s foot. Looking at him in speechless resignation, he said, “I know. You don’t need to specially show me.”
Lin Huaixi was tired too and plopped down onto the bed. “Then you should stay at my house more often in the future and sleep with me.”
Qi Wang glanced at him but did not answer, seeming not especially interested.
Fortunately, Lin Huaixi did not dwell on it. He happily burrowed into the soft blanket on his own, his eyes shining brightly as he looked at Qi Wang.
Qi Wang lay down beside Lin Huaixi as well.
The blanket was newly made and had been dried in the sun all day, so it was soft, fluffy, and warm. Printed on it were little rabbits surrounded by flowers, their short fuzzy tails looking adorably clumsy, but they were still not as cute as the two little boys curled up beneath it.
Half of Lin Huaixi’s face was hidden under the blanket, leaving only a pair of watery bright eyes exposed, fixed on Qi Wang without blinking.
Qi Wang had originally wanted to turn off the light, but when he met Lin Huaixi’s gaze, he paused and asked, “What are you looking at?”
“Can’t someone younger really be the older brother?” Lin Huaixi was still thinking about that question. He truly wanted to be real brothers with Qi Wang.
“No!” Qi Wang coldly switched off the bedside lamp, cutting off all of Lin Huaixi’s further words.
…
As the night deepened, Qi Wang had a terrifying dream. In the dream, he was being chased by an enormous rabbit. The rabbit leaped onto him and buried him in its fluffy fur.
Qi Wang’s eyes flew open at once. His chest rose and fell slightly, and his pupils jumped twice before settling back into place.
He tilted his head just a little and instantly understood why he had had that nightmare.
Lin Huaixi’s soft little face was sunk into the blanket, his plump cheek squished into a ring of flesh. His lashes were thick and curled, and his sleeping face looked like that of a little angel, but his sleeping posture was another matter entirely. He had wrapped both hands and feet around Qi Wang in a tight cling, and his lips were slightly parted, with a suspicious trace of moisture glistening on them.
Feeling the dampness at the crook of his neck, Qi Wang shut his eyes hard.
At this rate, he was not only a giant body pillow but also a human drool towel. Lin Huaixi had rubbed all his drool onto his shoulder.
Qi Wang’s breathing became unsteady. After opening his eyes again, he wavered between struggling free and calling for help, but in the end chose resignation.
He pulled the blanket up a little for Lin Huaixi and, enduring that bit of discomfort, tried to go back to sleep.
Lin Huaixi had slept very well and was in a wonderful mood.
In his understanding, sleeping in the same bed meant being real brothers, which meant he was no longer the only child in the family.
The moment he got happy, he turned into a little chatterbox. He wanted to pester Qi Wang and talk about this for the fifth time, but he was interrupted.
Lin Huaixi did not feel offended. Blinking his big eyes, he looked at the little boy standing in front of him and gave him a friendly smile.
“Your name is Sun Baiyi, right?”
Sun Baiyi let out a snort through his nose and glared at Lin Huaixi with a hostile expression.
He had been spoiled badly by his family. On top of that, his family was well-off, and he often handed out candy, so he was quite popular at school. Because of that, Sun Baiyi had become convinced that everyone had to fawn over him. But Lin Huaixi never bought into it and ignored him every time, which made Sun Baiyi very uncomfortable. In the end, he could not help coming over to demand an explanation.
He had just gone to the teacher to collect a handwriting practice notebook and had deliberately slammed it down hard on Lin Huaixi’s desk, making a loud sound.
“Why won’t you take my chocolate?” Sun Baiyi lifted his chin, looking aggressive and full of righteous indignation, as if he had come specifically to demand justice.
But Lin Huaixi’s reaction was completely different from what he had expected.
Lin Huaixi actually ignored him. Instead, he stared wide-eyed at the handwriting practice notebook on the desk as though he had seen a ghost.
“What’s wrong with you?” Sun Baiyi asked suspiciously.
Before he could even finish speaking, Lin Huaixi shot to his feet, even more worked up than Sun Baiyi, his little face flushed red. “So you’re that little white rabbit after all! You secretly changed your name. That’s so despicable!”
“You refuse to admit it when you lose a game, you secretly ate my little bunny cake, and when you did something wrong, you blamed it on me. You, you, you…” Lin Huaixi was so angry he started banging on his little stainless-steel water bottle, making the cup wall ring out with loud smacking sounds.
“See this? This is exactly what you are.” With his hands on his hips and chest puffed out, Lin Huaixi looked like a tiny fighting rooster going all out.
“Despicable!”
