After breakfast, Wen Niao dug out that set of puzzles from his treasure room. Once he spread the pieces out evenly on the floor, he invited Luo Jin over to his bedroom to work on it together.
This was Luo Jin’s first time stepping into Wen Niao’s room. Luo Jin’s own room was decorated mostly in cool tones, making it feel oppressive and heavy.
Wen Niao’s room, on the other hand, leaned heavily toward warm tones, looking cozy and exquisite.
A scattering of puzzle pieces lay across the warm yellow carpet.
Wen Niao handed the completed reference picture to Luo Jin, introducing it with enthusiasm:
“Brother Jin, this giant panda is Huahua. She looks a lot like a triangular rice ball, and not only is she adorable, but she is also exceptionally pretty. In a bit, I will take care of the background, and you can focus on putting Huahua together. Alright, let’s get to work.”
Matching the puzzle pieces, the two of them divided the labor clearly and got started.
The background was the easiest part of the picture to recognize, and Wen Niao finished assembling it first. Once his section was done, he moved over to help Luo Jin with Huahua’s portion.
With their tacit cooperation, they managed to complete the basic shape within an hour, leaving only four puzzle pieces remaining.
Those four pieces felt awkward no matter where they tried to place them. Following the hints on the reference image, Wen Niao and Luo Jin compared everything carefully and realized that two pieces in the already completed sections had been put in the wrong spots.
After swapping them to the correct locations, the final four pieces easily slid into their designated places.
Through their joint efforts, the complete puzzle was finally finished.
Having sat for an entire hour, Wen Niao felt his lower back aching terribly, so he rolled over and flopped flat onto the carpet.
The Wen family spoiled Wen Niao immensely, terrified of him bumping or bruising himself, so the carpet in his room was extra thick.
Lying on it felt soft, like being wrapped inside a cloud, and the warmth from the underfloor heating radiating through the carpet made Wen Niao narrow his eyes in pure comfort.
Wen Niao patted the space beside him.
“Brother Jin, this carpet is super soft. You should lie down and rest for a bit too.”
Luo Jin lay down beside Wen Niao and closed his eyes.
The habit of growing sleepy after breakfast, combined with an hour of intense puzzle building, caused Wen Niao to drift off to sleep without realizing it.
Hearing the breathing of the person beside him grow light and steady, Luo Jin turned his head and saw that Wen Niao was fast asleep.
Fearing that Wen Niao might catch a cold sleeping on the floor, Luo Jin got up and carefully scooped him up, carrying him over to the bed.
The person in his arms was as light as a small cat. Even though he usually looked like he ate plenty, Luo Jin had no idea where all that food went or how he stayed so thin.
After tucking the blanket securely around Wen Niao, Luo Jin gently closed the bedroom door behind him. Just as he prepared to head back to his own room, he ran into Wen Jingyu, who was about to knock.
Seeing Luo Jin emerge from Wen Niao’s room, Wen Jingyu didn’t ask any questions. Instead, he simply instructed Luo Jin to follow him to the study, saying he had something to discuss.
Inside the study,
Wen Jingyu handed Luo Jin a photograph. In the picture, a tall boy was holding a child who looked as exquisite as a porcelain doll, smiling brightly at the camera.
Luo Jin felt the child in the arms looked somewhat familiar, though he couldn’t quite remember where he might have seen him. The boy holding the child looked rather like him too, resembling a pair of brothers.
Sensing Luo Jin’s confusion, Wen Jingyu spoke up to explain:
“Xiao Jin, the child in this photo is what Niao Niao looked like when he was little, and the boy holding him…”
Wen Jingyu’s voice choked up slightly. Pausing to steady his emotions, he continued:
“The boy holding him is Wen Niao’s older brother, Wen Yu. Yu Yu passed away due to an accident when he was young. That accident happened right when Niao Niao was five years old.
Ever since then, due to unknown reasons, Niao Niao lost all his memories from before the age of five.
Wen Yu’s departure has always been a regret for your Aunt Tang and me, and we never wanted Niao Niao to remember Wen Yu and blame himself for the rest of his life, which is why we kept the fact that he had an older brother hidden all this time.
We adults can bear the pain. Niao Niao is still young, and we only hope he can live freely and unburdened.”
“Uncle called you here today to lay everything out in the open. The reason we adopted you is partly because of Niao Niao, and partly because you are around Wen Yu’s age and share a certain resemblance to him.
The Wen family has failed you in this regard, but we never intended to treat you as a replacement for Wen Yu. Although you are not our biological flesh and blood, since we adopted you, we will definitely take responsibility for you.
Uncle doesn’t want you to get hurt if you accidentally found out about this later on, so telling you in advance is only fair to you. If you have any thoughts or concerns, you can tell Uncle right now.”
Though Luo Jin felt a slight pang of disappointment in his heart, he harbored no resentment toward the Wen family.
“Wen Uncle, I don’t blame you. The Wen family adopted me, gave me warm clothes and plenty to eat, and I am already more than satisfied. Furthermore, everyone in the house treats me with great care, offering warmth I never experienced before. I am deeply grateful for everything you have given me, so I don’t feel like you’ve wronged me in any way. You don’t need to feel this way.”
“Good. I am very relieved that you can understand, Uncle. Alright, I’ve said what I needed to say, so you can go back to whatever you were doing.”
After Luo Jin left, Wen Jingyu gently traced the outline of Wen Yu’s face in the photo, his eyes misting over. Pulling himself together, he tucked the photograph inside a book and locked it away in the safe.
Back in the bedroom,
Wen Niao was not sleeping peacefully. He dreamed of a pair of brothers playing and bickering together.
The brothers had a very close bond. The younger brother loved clinging to the older one, while the older brother, despite looking impatient on the surface, always watched over the younger one to make sure he didn’t trip or fall—a classic example of someone whose actions were far softer than his words.
Wen Niao tried to make out the faces of the two figures, but they remained blurred no matter what he did. He could only watch the scenes unfold like an outsider.
When he tried to rush forward to see the appearance of the older boy, some invisible force blocked his way.
Wen Niao was forced awake from his dream. A thin layer of sweat covered his forehead, and his breathing was somewhat ragged.
After regulating his breathing, Wen Niao walked unsteadily to the bathroom and splashed some warm water on his face. His head cleared up a bit, and he shook off the messy thoughts lingering in his mind, warning himself not to dwell on them.
Seeing Wen Niao come downstairs, Luo Jin stood up and pulled out a chair for him to sit comfortably.
Wen Niao offered him a grateful smile before sitting down in silence, staring blankly into space while sipping his fish soup.
Tang Miao noticed Wen Niao’s low spirits from the side and asked with maternal concern: “Niao Niao, your complexion looks a bit poor. Did you have a nightmare?”
“Mommy, I wanted to ask… um, do I have any childhood playmates, or brothers and sisters, or anything like that?”
Wen Niao almost slipped up and gave away his secret, managing to pull himself back just in time.
Clatter.
Hearing Wen Niao’s question, Tang Miao lost her grip on her chopsticks, and they clattered against the edge of her plate.
Luo Jin’s heart skipped a beat, his hand tightening around his chopsticks as he waited for Wen Niao’s next words.
Though flustered, Tang Miao forced herself to look as calm as possible.
“Darling, why are you asking that? Did something happen to upset you?”
Because of the lingering effects of the dream, Wen Niao’s attention was drifting, so he completely missed Tang Miao’s unnatural expression.
Feeling rather down, Wen Niao shook his head at Tang Miao and didn’t say anything further.
Realizing that Wen Niao hadn’t actually recovered his memories, both Luo Jin and Tang Miao collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
To change the subject, Tang Miao proposed taking the two kids out to watch the New Year fireworks display that evening.
Though Wen Niao didn’t feel much enthusiasm for it, he agreed to go along so as not to make things difficult for Tang Miao.