Chapter 21
A week later, Sun Baiyi eagerly came to find Lin Huaixi.
He was extremely confident, feeling that he had already done his best to apologize and make up for things, and that no one could find any fault with him. He shook his little head, his soft hair rising and falling with his breathing like a little puppy, looking at Lin Huaixi with eager eyes as if begging for a “bone.”
“Now you can be good friends with me, right?”
Lin Huaixi thought about it for a moment but did not answer right away. Instead, he looked behind him, his big eyes shifting around as if searching for someone.
Sun Baiyi did not even need to ask to guess who it was. His cheeks puffed up in dissatisfaction.
Over the past week, he had deeply felt just how close Lin Huaixi and Qi Wang were. Not only were they seatmates, they also stuck to each other affectionately all the time, and most importantly, they even held hands and walked home together!
Sun Baiyi had already forgotten his original purpose and said sourly, “Why does Qi Wang always stay at your house? Doesn’t he have his own home?”
As he said that, he suddenly remembered that on the day in the office, he had never seen Qi Wang’s parents. The one who came had been Lin Huaixi’s grandmother.
Even though Lin Huaixi still did not fully understand, he instinctively felt uncomfortable and immediately explained on Qi Wang’s behalf, “Qi Wang lives next door to me, and in the future we’re going to be real brothers! Qi Wang’s mommy is a pretty auntie. The desserts she makes are super delicious, and she can paint too. My mommy says she’s an artist.”
“What’s an artist?” Sun Baiyi pressed.
Lin Huaixi narrowed his eyes a little, thought for a moment, and only then said, “An artist is… a very, very beautiful person. Their job is to discover beauty and let other people see it too.”
Sun Baiyi did not really understand, but he thought Qi Wang’s mommy sounded amazing.
Unlike his own mother.
Before, he had thought his mother was an “all-powerful great hero,” but now he had realized that she was not like what he had imagined at all. She had done so many, many wrong things.
His father and mother argued every day now, and every time his mother saw him, she would become hysterical and say lots of things he could not understand. Now he was even a little afraid of seeing her face.
Sun Baiyi lowered his head more and more, sinking into his own emotions. His eyes gradually reddened, and his shoulders began trembling.
Just then, he suddenly felt a weight on his head. When he lifted it blankly, he saw Lin Huaixi’s smiling face. “Don’t be sad. I know you haven’t been bullying the other children lately, and that you’ve really been trying to correct yourself.”
Lin Huaixi was standing with the sun behind him, his hair dyed amber by the light, his whole outline glowing as if he were a child born from the sun itself.
Sun Baiyi was still young. How could he ever have seen something like this? His soul was immediately snatched away, and he could only stare at Lin Huaixi in a daze, eyes fixed straight on him.
Lin Huaixi looked way too much like the hero of a cartoon. The fondness and admiration in Sun Baiyi’s heart only grew stronger. If he could become good friends with Lin Huaixi, maybe he could get assigned a monster too and become a great hero!
Just imagining that scene made Sun Baiyi bubble over with happiness, and he could not stop grinning foolishly.
He was about to become Lin Huaixi’s friend right away.
Sun Baiyi shoved his face right up close to Lin Huaixi’s, his little bottom sticking out slightly, that invisible tail wagging back and forth full of longing. “Hurry up and agree already!”
“Agree to what?” Lin Huaixi could not keep up with Sun Baiyi’s thought process.
“Agree to be good friends with me!” Sun Baiyi said righteously.
Lin Huaixi blinked. “Has Qi Wang accepted your apology yet?”
Sun Baiyi’s head had been full of beautiful dreams, but the moment he heard Qi Wang’s name, it was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him. His whole person went blank. “What does that have to do with Qi Wang?”
Lin Huaixi was also getting confused by him, his head now full of question marks. “Didn’t you say before that you’d work hard to change and earn forgiveness, and only then could we maybe become good friends?”
Sun Baiyi nodded frantically. “Yeah, so you still won’t forgive me?”
“It’s Qi Wang who has to forgive you!” Lin Huaixi thought Sun Baiyi seemed a little silly and could not help looking at him with a sort of pitying fondness. “You had a fight with Qi Wang, so of course it’s his forgiveness you have to ask for.”
Sun Baiyi had been desperately trying to earn goodwill only because he wanted to be friends with Lin Huaixi. In the end, it turned out he had been apologizing to the wrong person all along.
Sun Baiyi looked like his whole worldview had shattered. “Huh?”
Lin Huaixi nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
Sun Baiyi still could not accept reality. “Huh!”
Lin Huaixi nodded even harder. “Mm-hmm.”
Sun Baiyi was on the verge of tears. He did not want to become good friends with Qi Wang at all. He thought Qi Wang was annoying, always wedged between him and Lin Huaixi, and also had that sort of…
Sun Baiyi did not have the vocabulary to describe it well. But if he had to put it into words, he felt that Qi Wang was very stuck-up, always keeping his face stiff. What was he acting so smug for?
Sun Baiyi’s little brain was about to stop turning. He was so anxious, but his mother had spoiled him too much, so whenever he ran into trouble, all he knew how to do was wheedle and act spoiled. Softening his voice, he pleaded with Lin Huaixi, “Then can’t I just apologize to you?”
Lin Huaixi slowly shook his head. “No. The person who needs the apology is Qi Wang, and the only person who can forgive you is him.”
At last, Sun Baiyi fully understood. He lowered his eyes slowly, unable to hide his disappointment. “So only if Qi Wang forgives me, you’ll be willing to be good friends with me?”
Lin Huaixi nodded his little head. “Then the three of us can play together.”
The moment Sun Baiyi heard the words the three of us, he felt that his future had gone completely dark. No matter what, that annoying Qi Wang would always be there.
“T-then what if Qi Wang never forgives me…” Sun Baiyi’s voice became very small, his eyes watery as if he were about to cry.
“He will. Mommy and Teacher both said that as long as you truly put your heart into doing something, you’ll definitely succeed.” Thinking Sun Baiyi looked very much like a little black puppy, Lin Huaixi softened and reached out to pat his “doggy head.”
Sun Baiyi sniffed and courage rose in him again. “Then I’ll keep trying. If once doesn’t work, then twice. One day Qi Wang will definitely forgive me!”
Lin Huaixi was very happy about Sun Baiyi’s change and smiled.
Things went even more smoothly than he had imagined. Just as Lin Huaixi finished speaking, he caught sight of Qi Wang behind Sun Baiyi.
At once, Lin Huaixi stood on tiptoe and waved toward him with his eyes curved in a smile.
Qi Wang stood still and did not move. After three seconds, he turned around and left.
Lin Huaixi froze. Thinking that Qi Wang had not seen him, he called Qi Wang’s name louder, but Qi Wang still did not stop. Instead, he only got farther and farther away.
Confusion filled Lin Huaixi’s soft, sweet little face, and an uneasy feeling rose in his heart. Immediately, he abandoned Sun Baiyi and ran after him.
Lin Huaixi was running, while Qi Wang was only walking, yet Lin Huaixi’s short little legs still could not catch up.
“Qi Wang, where are you going?”
“Qi Wang, wait for me.”
“Qi Wang, why are you ignoring me?”
“…”
Hearing Lin Huaixi’s voice, Qi Wang shut his eyes tightly, but only walked faster and faster, wanting to escape.
That day, he had promised Lin Huaixi not to get angry. But when he saw Lin Huaixi standing together with Sun Baiyi, when he saw Lin Huaixi smiling so happily, that prickling feeling in his heart only grew stronger.
An unfamiliar emotion was growing in the bottom of his heart, spreading through him and filling his small body. Qi Wang could not control his emotions. He felt like a balloon about to burst, something that might even hurt the people around him.
Before, he had accidentally gripped Lin Huaixi’s hand too hard and hurt him. He was afraid that this time he might hurt Lin Huaixi too. He did not want to see those pretty, bright eyes of Lin Huaixi’s flooded with fear, so the only thing he could do was get far away from him before he exploded.
Things went just as he wished. Sure enough, he could no longer hear Lin Huaixi’s voice.
But Qi Wang was not happy.
Inside him, there was only an empty hollow feeling, and the wind blew straight through that huge hole, leaving behind a sound like weeping.
He suddenly stopped. Blankly, he turned around and saw, far in the distance, a small little lump crouched on the ground.
Lin Huaixi had his head buried in his knees, his shoulders trembling slightly, his fluffy hair quivering nonstop with his sobs. He looked pitiful beyond words.
Qi Wang froze. No matter how clever and precocious he was, he still could not understand what was happening now.
He clearly had not gotten angry at Lin Huaixi, much less hurt him. Then why was Lin Huaixi still crying?
That strange emotion filling his heart disappeared on the spot. Panic seized him. His eyes held only Lin Huaixi’s figure now, and he ran over as fast as he could.
As he got closer, the wind carried broken little sobs to him. Qi Wang’s pupils trembled lightly twice. Standing in front of Lin Huaixi, he was completely at a loss. He reached out a hand, then did not dare touch him, afraid of making him even sadder.
“Xixi, d-don’t cry…” Qi Wang had lost all his principles by now. As long as Lin Huaixi would stop crying, he would do anything.
Lin Huaixi was crying so hard and so deeply involved in it that he did not hear Qi Wang at all.
Qi Wang felt terribly guilty. He did not dare leave, yet he was also worried Lin Huaixi’s eyes would swell from crying. In the end, he could only crouch down and gently shake Lin Huaixi’s shoulder.
Only then did Lin Huaixi raise his head. His whole little face was wet, his pretty eyes veiled in mist, and large tears kept falling.
“Y-you…” Lin Huaixi only managed a single word before he lost control of his emotions again and threw back his head with a loud wail.
Qi Wang was stunned by the sudden outburst of crying. He stood frozen for several seconds, then began fumbling through his pockets in a panic, pulling out tissues and carefully wiping Lin Huaixi’s tears.
Lin Huaixi seemed to be made of water. The tissues were already soaked through, and still the tears would not wipe clean.
Qi Wang’s nose turned sour and his eyes grew hot. Tears swirled in his own eyes too.
He did not know where he had gone wrong, yet he felt that it was all his fault.
Lin Huaixi had been smiling when looking at Sun Baiyi, but Qi Wang had made him cry. He was not even as good as Sun Baiyi. He should not go on clinging to Lin Huaixi anymore.
Qi Wang lowered his head and stared at the ground. He bit his teeth so hard his jaw hurt before he finally came back to himself. As if he had made up some sort of decision, he forced down his sobbing voice and said, “Xixi, I’m sorry. From now on I’ll stay far, far away from you. I won’t ever again—”
Lin Huaixi suddenly shot his head up and looked at Qi Wang through tear-blurred eyes. Then, with another loud wail, he cried even harder, his crying so earthshaking it seemed fit to move heaven and ghosts, echoing all through the little courtyard.
Even Qi Wang’s bad ear was ringing from the noise. He was utterly dumbfounded, completely unable to understand what he had done wrong now.
Clutching the corner of Qi Wang’s clothes, Lin Huaixi cried as though the sky itself were collapsing. “D-don’t go.”
Qi Wang’s first reaction was disbelief. He shook his head and leaned closer with the ear that still heard well. “Wh-what did you just say?”
Taking advantage of the chance, Lin Huaixi wiped all his tears and snot onto Qi Wang’s collar. “You ignored me and even said that from now on you’d never play with me again. Why?!”
All the grievance in Lin Huaixi’s heart burst out, and those final words were practically shouted, with a huge snot bubble appearing too.
“So that’s why you were crying?” The blood that had seemed frozen all through Qi Wang’s body began to flow again. It felt as if he had come back to life. If Lin Huaixi had not been crying so miserably, he might have laughed out loud.
So Lin Huaixi cared about him that much. Even if there were countless Sun Baiyis, those bright, shining eyes would still reflect his figure.
Qi Wang never mentioned what he had just said again. His pockets had no tissues left, so he wiped Lin Huaixi’s tears with the back of his hand instead. “I’ll never say something like that again. As long as you call my name, even if you speak into my left ear, I’ll still hear you right away and come find you.”
Lin Huaixi had cried until his eyes were swollen. He opened a tiny slit to look at Qi Wang. He had meant to ask if that was really true, but he had cried too hard and could not catch his breath. His body kept hiccupping with sobs, and no sound would come out.
“Stop crying, okay? I have milk candy. Let’s eat candy together, all right? Grandma said tomorrow is the weekend, and she’ll make us little bunny cakes. I’ll give you mine too, so you can eat two, okay? A-and tonight I’ll stay at your house too, and I’ll read you as many fairy tale books as you want!” Qi Wang poured out basketful after basketful of promises, but Lin Huaixi still could not stop crying.
Qi Wang was completely out of ideas. Desperately, he spun around Lin Huaixi in a panic. Then, in that urgent moment, he took the initiative to perform the very popular “Little Duck Apology Dance” that children loved.
Before, Lin Huaixi’s eyes had always shone whenever he saw it. But all the other children liked him too much, so no one had ever fought with him, and thus no one had ever had the chance to do the “Little Duck Apology Dance” for him.
Qi Wang had thought it far too childish and embarrassing. No matter how wildly Lin Huaixi had hinted before, he had always pretended not to understand. But now, in his desperation, he danced it with complete seriousness:
One hand in front shaped into a little duck beak, body leaning slightly forward, little bottom sticking out, and the other hand wagging side to side like a tail.
Lin Huaixi’s attention was drawn away by the movement, and he blankly lifted his head, staring at Qi Wang through tear-blurred eyes.
The moment Qi Wang saw it was working, he danced even harder, even craning his neck and singing along, “Little ducky wagging its tail, quack quack quack, little ducky nodding its head, quack quack quack, little ducky swims under the big bridge, splash splash splash, little ducky says he knows he was wrong, can you forgive him now?”
Qi Wang had no talent for dancing at all. Every movement was overdone. The parts that were supposed to be little wings fluttering lightly turned into a full-on “struggling upward,” and the part of gliding across the water looked instead like “a big rock plopping into the lake.” His footwork was clumsy too, and he nearly tripped over one foot with the other.
Lin Huaixi’s attention had been completely hooked away, and he had entirely forgotten about crying. He stared straight at Qi Wang, with tears still hanging from his lashes and nose tip.
Seeing that it was working, Qi Wang danced it twice in a row, hard enough to sweat even in the cold winter air. Only then did he walk over to Lin Huaixi and softly ask for forgiveness. “Xixi, can you forgive me?”
Lin Huaixi’s gaze shifted up to his face. Then he opened his plump little arms, his voice still soft and sweet from crying. “Hug.”
The moment Qi Wang heard that word, his heart finally settled back into place. He bent down and lifted the little dumpling from the ground, then copied Lin Yunmi’s example and gently patted his back in comfort.
Sure enough, Lin Huaixi quieted down. He rubbed twice against Qi Wang’s arms. The tears and snot all over his face were a little cleaner now, though his eye rims were still red. “We said it already. We’re always going to be good friends.”
Qi Wang had been thoroughly frightened by Lin Huaixi’s crying. He nodded again and again, afraid Lin Huaixi might not believe him.
Lin Huaixi’s emotions came and went quickly. Rolling his eyes a little, he asked in confusion, “Was that the Little Duck Apology Dance just now?”
“Yes.” Qi Wang now cherished it like treasure, without the slightest trace of the disgust he had once felt.
Lin Huaixi blinked, and only then let out a breath of relief.
Good, good. He had almost thought the little duck was drowning in the river.
