Chapter 18
Lin Huaixi’s hand froze in midair. His mouth hung slightly open, and he stared fixedly at Sun Baiyi with a foolishly blank expression.
Sun Baiyi sniffled. He felt a little wronged, but he had genuinely come to apologize, so he lifted the gift a little higher and looked at Qi Wang as he said, “If you accept the gift, can you forgive me? Can we be good friends?”
Qi Wang’s gaze never once fell on the delicate gift box. He only frowned at Sun Baiyi. “Are you coming back to class again?”
Sun Baiyi nodded with only the slightest motion, his chin tucked in a little, looking exactly like someone who knew he had done wrong and was terrified Qi Wang would not agree.
After transferring to the new school, he had felt terribly out of place. He kept thinking of Lin Huaixi and the others every day, could not focus on anything, and even slept badly.
He had begged his father for a long time and even promised he would definitely correct his mistakes. Only then had his father agreed to let him come back to school here.
Qi Wang did not soften. He said nothing and did not take the gift either.
He had never taken Sun Baiyi’s targeting of him to heart, but after Sun Baiyi had said such things and deliberately hurt Lin Huaixi, Qi Wang could no longer tolerate him.
But he was only a child. He could not force Sun Baiyi to leave, and there was nothing he could really do.
Several thoughts spun through his mind, and Qi Wang instinctively looked toward Lin Huaixi.
Lin Huaixi sensed nothing at all. He was still happily grinning like a fool over Sun Baiyi’s change.
“…”
Qi Wang did not want the smile on Lin Huaixi’s face to disappear. Only then did he lower his eyes and unwillingly accept the chocolate.
At last, Sun Baiyi got what he wanted. That heavy feeling in his chest disappeared too, and his whole spirit changed. He became lively again, sturdy and bright-eyed, returning to his usual state.
But just one second after he got carried away, Qi Wang shot him a cold glance. The smile froze at the corners of his mouth, and he wilted again at once.
Sneaking a look at Qi Wang and seeing that he was not speaking, Sun Baiyi carefully shuffled over to Lin Huaixi. Reaching into his clothes, he pulled out another gift box as if performing a magic trick.
The weather had turned cold, and children were all bundled up so thickly that each one looked like a little ball. Sun Baiyi had hidden the gift box inside his coat, so it only looked a little bulky and had not been obvious.
Lin Huaixi had not noticed it at all before. He stared at Sun Baiyi in surprise, his round pupils widening beautifully. “How come you still have another one?”
Sun Baiyi eagerly held the gift box out in front of Lin Huaixi. Pressing his lips together, he said with a little embarrassment, “This is for you. I hope you’ll like it.”
Nominally, he was apologizing to Qi Wang, but the gift meant for Lin Huaixi was twice as large. Inside were all the things he had carefully chosen after a long time, all things he treasured. He had even wrapped it himself, so it looked crooked and uneven, far less delicate than the one for Qi Wang.
Lin Huaixi was very happy to receive a gift, but he did not take it right away. Instead, he asked curiously, “Why are you giving this to me?”
“Because…” Sun Baiyi could not find a proper reason. After thinking for a while, he stammered, “I’m apologizing to you on behalf of my mom.”
Lin Huaixi did not think too deeply about it. Pressing his lips together, he forcefully pulled his gaze back. “I can’t accept gifts.”
Sun Baiyi immediately panicked and nearly shoved his face right in front of Lin Huaixi’s. “Why? There’s milk candy in here that you like, and chocolate I couldn’t bear to eat, and the Transformer inside is something I begged my dad for a really long time before he finally agreed to buy it. It’s really good. Why don’t you want it?!”
Hearing that, Lin Huaixi’s ears twitched. He could not help licking the corner of his lips. He was almost completely defeated by the temptation, until Qi Wang took hold of his hand and only then did he come back to himself. “Mommy said I’m not allowed to casually take things from strangers.”
“I’m not a stranger.” Sun Baiyi was so anxious he was nearly hopping in place. “I’m your classmate, and I’m also your good friend.”
Because Sun Baiyi had bullied Qi Wang before, Lin Huaixi said firmly, “You’re not.”
The moment Sun Baiyi heard those three words, his expression went blank. Heat rushed up into his nose and eyes, and he looked so disappointed he was on the verge of tears.
“Don’t cry,” Lin Huaixi said, always having the strange feeling that he was the one bullying people. He stammered, “Not now, but maybe in the future.”
Sun Baiyi still had tears hanging on his lashes as he stared straight at Lin Huaixi. “Really?”
Lin Huaixi struggled for a while before finally nodding with difficulty. “Really.”
Sun Baiyi broke into a smile through his tears and immediately brightened up. Wiping away his tears with his hand, he shook the gift box in his hands. “Then after we become good friends, I’ll give it to you.”
Lin Huaixi asked curiously, “Didn’t you hate me the most? Why do you insist on being friends with me and even want to give me gifts?”
Sun Baiyi blinked, and there was admiration mixed into the way he looked at Lin Huaixi.
In his world, his mother was the person he admired and worshipped most. She was his great hero.
No matter what he wanted, his mother could give it to him. No matter how big a mistake he made, his mother could protect him. As long as his mother was by his side, Sun Baiyi felt incomparably secure.
But that day had made him realize that his mother could make mistakes too. His all-powerful hero mother had also been defeated by Lin Huaixi.
In his heart, Lin Huaixi’s image had grown infinitely larger, almost as if he were glowing. Sun Baiyi was full of curiosity and admiration toward him, and without realizing it, had developed a desire to get close to him. He wanted to be friends with Lin Huaixi, and he also hoped that when he was bullied, Lin Huaixi would protect him just like he protected Qi Wang.
This was Sun Baiyi’s little private thought. Too embarrassed to say it out loud, he simply looked at Lin Huaixi with shining eyes.
Lin Huaixi was utterly confused by that gaze. He reached up and touched his soft little face, then even turned to look behind himself in puzzlement.
Qi Wang stood to one side and took in the whole scene. His chest felt extremely uncomfortable, as if needles were pricking him.
He and Sun Baiyi were completely different in every way, but Sun Baiyi’s expression felt very familiar.
When Lin Huaixi had stayed by his side and handed him little bunny bread; when he had given him pebbles and told him they could draw a very big circle; and on that rainy night when Lin Huaixi had returned to him again… he himself had looked at Lin Huaixi with exactly that same expression.
All of a sudden, Qi Wang began to hate Sun Baiyi. He wanted to shove him far, far away, make him stop looking at Lin Huaixi like that, and keep him from appearing around them ever again.
Qi Wang’s breathing suddenly grew uneven. He glared fiercely at Sun Baiyi and shoved the gift back into his arms. “I don’t want it, and I don’t accept your apology. Stay far away from me from now on!”
The moment he finished speaking, he seized Lin Huaixi by the wrist and walked off without looking back.
Lin Huaixi wore a blank, dazed expression, unable to react in time.
He opened his mouth, but when he saw Qi Wang’s puffed-up cheeks, his survival instincts kicked in and he swallowed the words right back down.
Mm, it had been such a long time since he had seen Qi Wang looking all puffed-up with anger.
Although Sun Baiyi knew he was wrong, his temper could not change all at once. After being rejected so stiffly, he was so angry he wanted to throw the gifts away, and he also wanted to shout at Qi Wang, “If you don’t want it, then fine! I didn’t even want to be friends with you in the first place!”
But then he thought that if he really did that, Lin Huaixi might get angry with him. So he could only swallow the grievance and shut his mouth, obediently putting the gift away.
Hmph. He was not going to give up. He was absolutely going to become good friends with Lin Huaixi!
For the first time in his life, Sun Baiyi had truly set his mind on doing something. He thought it over again and again for several days until his little head hurt, and only then did he finally come up with a whole series of plans.
The night before yesterday, he had picked the milk candies out of the gift box, then during the day pretended to “happen” to run into Lin Huaixi.
“I just happened to bring a few milk candies. Do you want one?” Sun Baiyi was so nervous that his whole body was stiff, and he even accidentally bit his tongue. The pain twisted his expression, and tears nearly came to his eyes.
Lin Huaixi had no idea what was going on. He looked at him with both concern and fear. “Are you okay?”
For the sake of his manly image, Sun Baiyi sniffled and forcibly endured the pain in the tip of his tongue, answering vaguely, “I’m fine.”
He could not wait to pull the candy out of his pocket, palm up, holding it in front of Lin Huaixi.
This was Lin Huaixi’s favorite kind of milk candy. His eyes immediately went straight, his throat bobbing twice, and his saliva nearly overflowed.
His last shred of reason went offline. Under Sun Baiyi’s expectant gaze, Lin Huaixi unwrapped the candy and popped it into his mouth.
The familiar rich milky sweetness spread across his tongue. Lin Huaixi narrowed his eyes slightly, looking so blissful he seemed about to bubble over with happiness.
Until he saw Qi Wang standing not far away.
“…”
Oh no, he had been caught sneaking candy!
Meeting Qi Wang’s dark eyes, Lin Huaixi felt as if someone had grabbed him by the throat. The candy in his mouth was impossible to spit out, but also impossible to swallow comfortably. He could only hold it there awkwardly, and suddenly even the milk candy no longer tasted sweet.
Qi Wang walked over to his side. He said nothing, and his cheeks did not puff up either, but Lin Huaixi was very sure that Qi Wang was angry.
With the candy still in his mouth, one side of his soft face bulged out, and his words came out all muddled. “I-I don’t like this milk candy at all. Really, I don’t like it even a little!”
Looking at how utterly unconvincing Lin Huaixi was, Qi Wang gave a snort through his nose and walked back toward the school building with his book in hand.
Qi Wang had just agreed to play games with him, and seeing him suddenly change his mind, Lin Huaixi immediately forgot all about Sun Baiyi standing beside him and ran off after Qi Wang.
Sun Baiyi had never expected his milk-candy plan to fail. He puffed his mouth up high in anger until he looked like a little duck.
Hmph, he still had the “hand out candy” plan!
Sun Baiyi got back to the classroom ahead of time and sat there ramrod straight, his hands properly placed on the desk, waiting for Lin Huaixi and the others to return.
But he waited and waited without seeing Lin Huaixi. Growing restless, Sun Baiyi kept wriggling around on his chair, lifting his little bottom from time to time until he was practically sitting on air.
Wang Xiaohu happened to come by looking for Lin Huaixi and asked curiously, “Is there something on your chair?”
Sun Baiyi glared at him and was just about to say something when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Lin Huaixi returning, sticking warmly close to Qi Wang with a smile on his face.
Immediately, Sun Baiyi became excited. But instead of standing on his chair like before, he stood upright very properly, cupping the milk candies in his hands, and called out loudly, “I’ve got candy here! Does anyone want some?”
He had wanted to see Lin Huaixi’s reaction, but the children in the class were all little gluttons, and they immediately swarmed over, blocking his view.
Sun Baiyi had no choice but to give up and continue. “Everyone can take one piece, but you have to agree to one condition.”
Wang Xiaohu thought of something, and his whole face scrunched up. “Ah, you’re not going to make us stop being friends with Xixi again, are you?”
Trying hard to prove himself, Sun Baiyi shook his head vigorously. “No. My condition is that everyone has to be friends with Lin Huaixi and treat him very, very well!”
Wang Xiaohu’s eyes lit up at the milk candies on the desk as if they already belonged to him. “Then I can do that. Lin Huaixi and I were already good friends.”
Hearing this, Sun Baiyi generously grabbed two candies and put them into Wang Xiaohu’s hand.
No tasty food could survive more than a second in Wang Xiaohu’s possession. He immediately tore off the wrappers and tossed both candies into his mouth, puffing up his cheeks.
The little boy beside him was unhappy. “Why does Xiaohu get two pieces?”
Sun Baiyi replied with full confidence, “Because he was already Xixi’s good friend.”
The moment they heard this, the children all rushed to say:
“I was already Xixi’s good friend too. Can I have two pieces?”
“I was even in the same kindergarten as Xixi. Can I have three?”
“I lent Xixi an eraser today, and Xixi even said thank you to me!”
Anyone who mentioned Lin Huaixi got two pieces, sometimes even more. A few of the little boys started scheming while sucking on their milk candies.
To them, Lin Huaixi was like an NPC you could grind for experience. As long as they leveled him fast enough, they could exchange that for more candy rewards.
While they were all looking around for Lin Huaixi, Sun Baiyi also struck what he thought was a handsome pose, lifting his chin and narrowing his eyes as he waited to be praised.
But the sound he wanted to hear never came from around him.
Puzzled, Sun Baiyi opened his eyes, and out of the corner of his vision he just happened to see Qi Wang walking out with Lin Huaixi’s water bottle in hand.
A terrible premonition rose in his heart. Leaving behind all the children waiting for candy, he went out too, and from the doorway he happened to see Lin Huaixi playing at the end of the hallway.
Xixi had actually! really! completely! not! noticed!!
Sun Baiyi could not believe it. Like an eggplant struck by frost, his back bent down, and he could not even lift his eyes anymore.
He returned sadly to his seat, looking as though all life had been sucked out of him. He sprawled weakly on the desk and completely shut down.
How could this be? He really did know he was wrong, and he really was trying hard to change and make up for it, so why still couldn’t he become good friends with Lin Huaixi?
He really, really wanted to. Just give him one chance!
Sun Baiyi considered himself very manly, but the blow made his eyes turn wet. At such a young age, he had already developed a talent for melancholy and began doubting his whole life.
After that, he sank into this mournful mood and did not recover for a long time. Even during free activity time, he did not go off to play leader, bringing his little followers around in a wild run.
But his luck was actually not bad. Even just sitting on the steps in a daze, he still managed to see Lin Huaixi.
Lin Huaixi had been dragged over by Wang Xiaohu to play games.
After playing it so many times back in kindergarten, Wang Xiaohu had already gone from initial resistance to complete habit and now said naturally, “Let’s play house. Qi Wang will be the dad, and Lin Huaixi will be his male wife.”
Lin Huaixi had no objection, but this went beyond the understanding of the other children. One by one, they all looked bewildered.
“What is a male wife?”
“Are you stupid? That means old wife—like a grandma!”
“You’re the stupid one. A dad’s wife is a mom.”
These few children were not objecting to Lin Huaixi being the male wife. They were only arguing over what the term meant.
They surrounded Lin Huaixi in the middle, each one speaking over the next, and all very quickly. Lin Huaixi could not answer them and ended up completely frazzled.
Sun Baiyi was standing too far away and could only hear a few scattered words, but the phrase that came up the most was “male wife.”
His whole face scrunched together.
He understood now. Lin Huaixi must have wanted a “male wife,” but no one was willing to be one, so they had started quarreling with him!
As his good friend, in a moment like this, of course he had to protect him!
At once, Sun Baiyi’s body filled with heroic spirit. He was no longer sulking. Holding his head high and chest out, he marched over with a very determined expression.
“Stop arguing already!” He forced his way into the middle and stood in front of Lin Huaixi.
Using his eyes to intimidate the “bad guys” bullying Lin Huaixi, and looking like he was about to brave knives and fire for his friend, he gave a grand wave of his hand and declared heroically, “It’s okay. I’ll be Xixi’s male wife!”
“…”
The scene fell silent. This was far beyond what the children could understand. Wang Xiaohu’s thoughts got tangled into a knot, and even after counting on his fingers, he still could not sort out the complicated relationship.
“Wait a second.” Slowly pointing at the three of them, Wang Xiaohu said, “Qi Wang is the dad. Lin Huaixi is Qi Wang’s male wife. Sun Baiyi wants to be Lin Huaixi’s male wife. Then Sun Baiyi, what relationship do you have with Qi Wang?”
Sun Baiyi let out an “Ah,” only then realizing that he had misunderstood.
The whole scene froze again. Lin Huaixi was very popular among the children, and everyone turned to look at him in unison. “Xixi, then what exactly is everyone’s relationship?”
Lin Huaixi looked blank and innocent. Scratching the back of his head, he hemmed and hawed for a long while before finally saying in a small voice, “I don’t know either. Before, when we played house, there wasn’t a Sun Baiyi.”
Everyone turned to look at Sun Baiyi in unison again. Knowing he had only added to the trouble, Sun Baiyi blushed all the way from his neck up and turned bright red.
Although he was trying hard to change, some bad habits were too deeply rooted. In his panic, he slipped back into the old little tyrant pose, craning his neck and saying forcefully, “What’s so hard about that? I’ll be the dad, and Lin Huaixi can be my male wife!”
Wang Xiaohu asked innocently, “Then what about Qi Wang?”
In order to become good friends with Lin Huaixi, Sun Baiyi no longer cared about anything else. Without hesitation, he said, “He can be the uncle.”
Wang Xiaohu looked troubled. He did not want to decide for Qi Wang and only said, “Then you should ask him.”
Sun Baiyi had already completely forgotten that he still needed Qi Wang’s forgiveness. Turning around, he said casually, “You—”
Then his gaze met Qi Wang’s.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
…
Sun Baiyi tried hard to hold himself together, but under Qi Wang’s gaze, his body betrayed him and he gave an involuntary shiver. Like a mouse spotting a cat, he turned and ran in panic, hiding behind Lin Huaixi.
Just moments ago, he had been swearing solemnly that he would protect Lin Huaixi, but now he could only beg him for help. “Xixi, I’m scared. Qi Wang looks like he wants to hit me.”
“Qi Wang won’t hit you.” Lin Huaixi wanted to explain clearly, but before he could say anything, he heard Qi Wang calling him.
Lin Huaixi’s lashes trembled twice. He looked at Qi Wang with smiling crescent eyes. “What is it?”
Qi Wang stared fixedly at Sun Baiyi’s hand gripping Lin Huaixi, and the feeling of being pricked by needles in his heart only grew stronger. Frowning, he forced the words out through clenched teeth, “Xixi, tell him that you’ll only ever be my male wife.”
Before Lin Huaixi could answer, Sun Baiyi got anxious too. But the moment he straightened up, Qi Wang frightened him right back down again, and he could only shrink behind Lin Huaixi pitifully. “Teacher already said that as long as you correct your mistakes, you’re a good child. I know I was wrong, and I’m really trying to change. Teacher also said everyone should get along well. Then Xixi, why do you only want to be good friends with Qi Wang?”
Lin Huaixi did not want to reject Qi Wang, but he was also drawn into Sun Baiyi’s words. His brain turned completely to mush, and he could not get out a full sentence.
Sun Baiyi and Qi Wang both pressed him at once, calling to him together. Caught between two different voices, Lin Huaixi felt his head grow an entire circle bigger, and his face crumpled into an expression that looked almost ready to cry.
This was way too hard. Xixi had no idea how to choose. T^T
