Chapter 25
Lin Huaixi kept going to martial arts class for a whole month, and it really did work.
During PE class, faced with Sun Baiyi’s nonstop questions, Lin Huaixi pressed his lips together. On the surface he looked calm, but inside he was already blooming with pride. He rolled up his sleeves and strained so hard that his arms were trembling slightly before he finally managed to squeeze out the line of a bicep.
Before, Lin Huaixi had still carried baby fat on him, like the cream on top of a little bunny cupcake. His arms had been soft and fair, and if you pinched them, they would leave little dents. But now there was already the firmness of muscle there.
Sun Baiyi’s eyes lit up at once. As long as Lin Huaixi had even the tiniest good point, Sun Baiyi could praise him straight into the heavens. “Xixi, you’re way too amazing. You actually did what you said you would, and you built muscle definition this easily. If other people found out, wouldn’t they die of envy?”
What Sun Baiyi never lacked was enthusiasm. He kept changing up the way he praised him, and his eyes were full of utterly sincere admiration.
Lin Huaixi was being so thoroughly flattered that he nearly floated away. He puffed out his chest and lifted his chin, and the invisible tail behind him seemed to fluff itself up and stand straight like a little radar.
And that was exactly what Qi Wang lacked most. He could never be as overflowing with energy as Sun Baiyi, nor as simple-minded.
Once Sun Baiyi had set the mood just right, Qi Wang seized the chance and asked, “Xixi, do you like martial arts? Is it hard when you practice?”
At first, Lin Huaixi had only started learning it so he could protect Qi Wang. But as time passed, he gradually came to like martial arts itself, immersing himself in it and feeling a great sense of accomplishment. “Of course. I’m the student making the fastest progress in class now, and my movements are really standard too. Every class, Teacher asks me to come to the front and demonstrate. It’s not hard at all.”
Only after hearing Lin Huaixi say that without any guard up did Qi Wang finally relax.
Sun Baiyi had not noticed Qi Wang’s probing in the slightest. Looking like a little fanboy, he stared at Lin Huaixi with stars in his eyes. “Xixi, can you teach me a few moves?”
“No problem.” Lin Huaixi dropped into a beautiful horse stance and suddenly threw a punch. The movement flowed with force, his muscles pulling taut, containing real inner strength rather than empty showy motions.
Sun Baiyi was so amazed his eyes went straight. He let out a huge wow. “Xixi, teach me, hurry and teach me. That move is way too cool!”
As soon as he said that, he copied Lin Huaixi and tried the horse stance himself.
Lin Huaixi frowned slightly, his expression serious, and very responsibly pointed out Sun Baiyi’s mistakes with the air of a little teacher. “Move your feet out a bit more. Tighten your muscles, tighten them. Yours are still all loose.”
Sun Baiyi instinctively grew nervous and nearly cried. “I can’t control it.”
“It’s your own legs. How can you not control them?” Lin Huaixi got anxious and directly started using his hands to correct him. Under his guidance, Sun Baiyi finally managed to engage the right muscles and form a proper horse stance.
The commotion between the two of them drew over the PE teacher, who stood there looking at them for a while before walking over.
Sun Baiyi said very proudly, “Teacher is definitely here to praise you.”
Lin Huaixi was infected by the same foolish excitement and started grinning too. “This is just the most basic move.”
Only Qi Wang, standing behind them, correctly understood the PE teacher’s expression. He quietly made a hand gesture and pulled out Lin Huaixi’s student ID.
Only then did the PE teacher realize he had misunderstood. Scratching the back of his head, he smiled at them.
“See? The PE teacher really does think we’re amazing. Xixi, this counts as getting a professional’s approval now, right?” The more Sun Baiyi spoke, the more outrageous he got.
Lin Huaixi still had the tiniest shred of reason left. “Is that really it? How come I feel like…”
Qi Wang quietly hid all his merits and interrupted Lin Huaixi. “Didn’t your martial arts teacher praise you already? That means your movements are very standard. Both insiders and outsiders can tell.”
Sun Baiyi always wanted to compete with Qi Wang in everything, so he deliberately stepped forward and said, “Xixi, I’ll go buy some snacks so we can celebrate.”
Eating snacks during class time was forbidden, but outside the stadium railing, an old granny sold little snacks, and lots of students would go buy from her.
Before Lin Huaixi could say anything, Sun Baiyi had already run off like a gust of wind.
The three of them had grown up together and been classmates for six years in elementary school. Sun Baiyi knew Lin Huaixi’s tastes extremely well, so he came back carrying all kinds of sweet little snacks.
Lin Huaixi looked at them and swallowed hard, but after stretching his hand out halfway, he pulled it back again and said with firm resolve, “No, I can’t eat them.”
Sun Baiyi was dumbfounded. “Aren’t these your favorites?”
Lin Huaixi said awkwardly, “I do like them a lot, but they’re too sweet. The doctor said I need to change my bad habits and can’t eat too much sugar.”
Sun Baiyi was just as much of a little foodie, so he sympathized completely. His whole face drooped. “That sounds way too miserable. Xixi, how have you managed to hold out?”
Lin Huaixi gave a bitter little smile. “I didn’t really hold out. I made Mommy take all the snacks out of the house.”
“What about little bunny cakes?” The first time Sun Baiyi had ever tasted one, he had already crowned it the greatest delicacy on earth and wished he could eat it every day instead of meals.
Little bunny cakes were Lin Huaixi’s deepest sore spot. Sighing, he said, “I told Grandma I can only eat one per month.”
Sun Baiyi was bad at studying, but very sensitive to numbers, and immediately blurted out, “That means 720 hours, 43,200 minutes, 2,592,000 seconds! That’s way too long!”
“…”
Originally, Lin Huaixi had felt that maybe he could hold on. But after hearing that horrifying string of numbers, he suddenly felt the waiting time become unbearably long.
Wuwuwuwu, in this lifetime would he ever get to eat little bunny cakes again?
Noticing Lin Huaixi’s mood, Qi Wang patted his shoulder. “You’ve already lasted half a month. In another ten days, Grandma will make you a little cake.”
As he said it, at an angle Lin Huaixi could not see, he shot Sun Baiyi a vicious glare, telling him to keep his mouth shut.
Sun Baiyi had also realized his problem of speaking without thinking. Smiling all over his face, he rubbed up beside them like a happy little dog. “Time goes by very fast. Xixi, do you remember anything from ten days ago?”
Lin Huaixi shook his head.
Time always slipped away quietly whenever he did not notice it, but the moment he cared about it, it became unbearably slow.
Only after Lin Huaixi had waited until he started hallucinating—seeing little bunny cakes waving at him and saying they were leaving for another world—did Grandma finally make him one.
Holding the little bunny cake in his hands, Lin Huaixi’s eyes even turned wet. He took a huge bite with an “aoo” sound, and his face immediately filled with bliss.
Grandma laughed at him. “Is it really that delicious?”
Relishing the milky flavor on the tip of his tongue, Lin Huaixi could not bear to open his mouth, so he only nodded frantically.
Seeing how much her precious grandson loved it, Grandma felt deeply accomplished, but she also had another kind of worry. “But Grandma can’t keep making this for you forever. Later, when you go away for school, how will you still be able to eat little bunny cakes?”
Lin Huaixi had always believed family ought to stay together forever and had never thought about this problem before. “Aren’t there universities nearby?”
Grandma laughed. “Silly child, where would there be any universities nearby?”
“Then I’ll go to the closest university.”
Grandma took off her glasses and slowly shook her head. “Xixi, when you grow up, you won’t only need to go to a good university and enrich yourself. You’ll also need to go see the world outside. You can’t stay forever by Grandpa and Grandma’s side.”
Lin Huaixi looked at Grandma eagerly and pleaded, “Then can’t you come with me?”
How could Grandma not want to? But she had lived through that age herself and knew better than anyone that the lesson one must face with loved ones was separation, even the separation of life and death.
She felt Lin Huaixi was still too young and could still grow up under her protection, so she deliberately joked, “You’re already this grown, and you still make Grandma make little bunny cakes for you. Don’t you ever think Grandma works hard?”
Knowing he had said the wrong thing, Lin Huaixi immediately wrapped himself affectionately around Grandma’s arm and started acting spoiled. “That’s not what I meant. I just don’t want to be apart from Grandma.”
Grandma hooked a finger under his nose. “How about this? I’ll teach Xixi how to make little bunny cakes. If you can do it yourself, then you’ll always be able to eat them whenever you want.”
The moment they heard this, both Lin Huaixi and Grandpa froze.
Lin Huaixi was very clever and understood things at the slightest hint, but cooking was the one exception.
Last time, on Grandma’s birthday, Lin Huaixi had wanted to surprise her by cooking himself. Not only had he produced several dishes from the dark-cuisine dimension, he had also burned two pots black and nearly set the kitchen on fire.
Ever since then, Grandpa, as a witness who knew the truth, had never again allowed Lin Huaixi to step even one foot into the kitchen.
Although Qi Wang had not been there in person, he had heard Lin Huaixi talk about it before. Seeing the atmosphere freeze, he took the initiative and said, “Grandma, teach me instead. My house has lots of kitchen equipment.”
Wen Qianshu did not know how to cook, but she loved desserts very much. When she was lucid, she could stay in the kitchen all day long. It was just a pity that her clear-headed periods were too rare, and all those kitchen tools were almost gathering dust unused.
Grandma said in surprise, “You want to make them for Xixi to eat?”
Qi Wang nodded.
Grandma’s gaze moved between the two children, and she was smiling so broadly her face nearly bloomed.
No wonder they’d grown up together. Their bond really was good.
Though Lin Huaixi was clever and sunny, he was too careless in what he did. If Qi Wang could stay by his side all the time, she would feel much more at ease.
“All right. Since both Qianshu and Yunmi are away on business, you might as well stay tonight. It just so happens I can teach you how to make little bunny cakes.”
After getting Qi Wang’s agreement, Grandma led him into the kitchen.
Lin Huaixi’s eyes lit up at once. Like a little tagalong, he trailed right behind, not leaving even half a step between them. But he also had enough self-awareness not to actually go in and instead only clung to the doorframe, poking his head around and peering in.
Taking advantage of Grandma not looking, Grandpa waggled his eyebrows meaningfully at Lin Huaixi.
Lin Huaixi immediately understood what Grandpa meant. With a solemn face, he gave him a salute, expressing his unshakable resolve never to step into the kitchen in this lifetime.
Only then did Grandpa laugh. More eager than either of them, he bustled around helping as an assistant and turned into Grandma’s personal praise machine at every opportunity.
Qi Wang learned quickly and was good with his hands. The very first time he made little bunny cakes, he already won Grandma’s praise, and the taste was not much different either.
As the official judge, Lin Huaixi went wild and devoured two cakes in one go. The stomach that had been waiting a whole month was finally soothed, and thoroughly satisfied, he went off to wash up.
The two boys were older now, and sleeping in the same small bed was too crowded. Grandpa and Grandma had noticed the problem long ago, only they had not yet had time to replace the bed. Feeling a little embarrassed, Grandma said to Qi Wang, “Make do for tonight first. After the weekend, we’ll go get a bigger bed.”
Qi Wang nodded. “It’s okay. Xixi sleeps very properly. The two of us sleeping in one bed doesn’t feel crowded.”
Grandma: “…”
Grandpa: “…”
Lin Huaixi literally boxed in his sleep. And that still counted as sleeping properly?!
The old couple looked at each other, completely shocked by Qi Wang’s filter when it came to Lin Huaixi.
Grandma only took it as polite words and patted his shoulder. “Good child. It’s already late now, so you should go sleep too.”
Qi Wang answered and, after taking a bath, returned to Lin Huaixi’s room. The moment he pushed open the door, he saw the little bulging lump on the bed.
His movements paused. He vaguely guessed what had happened, then quietly walked over and, sure enough, found Lin Huaixi deeply sunk into the soft blanket, sleeping beautifully.
When Lin Huaixi was awake, he could never stay still for even a moment. But when he slept, he was very quiet. His breathing was light, his skin clear and fair like polished jade, and the soft yellow lamplight at the head of the bed fell gently over him. His thick curled lashes cast faint shadows, and even the outline of his features became blurred, giving him a fluffy sort of softness.
The corner of Qi Wang’s mouth lifted slightly. Looking downward, he noticed that Lin Huaixi was sleeping on top of the blanket and had not even changed out of his clothes.
Three hours of martial arts class had taken too much out of him. Most likely, after soaking in hot water, all that exhaustion had rushed up at once, which was why Lin Huaixi had been so sleepy that he simply lay down on top of the blanket and fell asleep.
Qi Wang did not wake him. He only lifted the blanket from the other side.
The moment he moved, Lin Huaixi’s rosy lips shifted twice and he murmured, “Qi Wang, you…”
Qi Wang only caught his own name. One knee bent on the bed and one hand propped against it, he leaned close to Lin Huaixi to hear what he was saying.
Lin Huaixi must have dreamed of something agitating, because he suddenly frowned hard and shouted loudly, “Let’s see who dares bully Qi Wang!”
As soon as he said it, he opened his mouth and bit down fiercely on the corner of the blanket, even grinding it between his teeth as though venting his anger.
“…”
At times like this, Lin Huaixi looked especially like some weak little baby animal. Without sharp claws or fangs, when cornered too far, all he could do was bare his tiny teeth and bite down on one little corner.
Qi Wang quietly watched Lin Huaixi for a few seconds, then let out a helpless sigh.
He had long since gotten used to Lin Huaixi dreaming about all kinds of bad people bullying him. With one hand, he gently patted Lin Huaixi’s back in comfort. With the other, he softly pinched his squishy cheek and, after a great deal of effort, finally rescued the poor blanket from his bite.
Still immersed in the dream, Lin Huaixi licked the corner of his mouth, muttered something, then turned over and fell back into sleep again.
Qi Wang pulled the other side of the blanket over him and then fetched another new blanket for himself.
After turning off the light, he lay under his own blanket, looking at Lin Huaixi in the darkness. He did not disturb his sleep and only held onto one corner of the blanket.
Then he slowly closed his eyes. His lips moved twice, and though his voice was very soft, it carried the solemn weight of a vow.
Xixi, I’ll protect you too.
