“–How could Su Tang possibly endure this…”
Li Xingchuan bolted out of his classroom the exact second the dismissal bell rang.
Scanning the back door of Class 2 of the First Grade for a fraction of a second, his gaze locked onto a soft, little figure sitting in the third row.
And then his expression darkened—
That cute silhouette was indeed Su Tang, no mistake about it. But what on earth was that guy sitting right next to Su Tang doing—slumped over his desk with his head tilted like a sunflower, staring at Su Tang and occasionally letting out idiotic “hehe” laughs? Was he bullying Su Tang?
Li Xingchuan strode quickly forward—intending to serve that idiotically grinning face a punch first.
Yet before he could even get close, as if possessed by telepathy, Su Tang suddenly turned his head, then sprang entirely to his feet and lunged toward him: “Brother! Brother!”
Su Tang’s small hand grabbed Li Xingchuan’s sleeve and shook it.
And then—Su Tang secretly glanced at that idiot and let out an idiotic “hehe” laugh right along with him.
Li Xingchuan’s gaze turned somewhat vacant for a moment.
Lowering his head, Li Xingchuan glanced at Su Tang, then glanced back at the idiot who had followed them over with a silly smile still plastered on his face.
An unfavorable feeling welled up in his heart.
He asked Su Tang warily: “Who is he.”
Sure enough, lowering his head, Su Tang introduced him with a bit of shyness yet a touch of small pride: “Brother, he’s my new friend~”
“His name is Li Qian.”
“He was the first person in the class who said he wanted to share a desk with me, and the first person who accompanied me to the restroom.”
Having said that, he raised his watery eyes and added in a soft voice: “He wants to have lunch with us… is that okay, Brother?”
Lowering his head, Li Xingchuan looked at Li Qian expressionlessly.
——Not a single word came out for a long, long time.
The protracted silence seemed to make Su Tang somewhat uneasy.
Lifting his face, Su Tang gazed at Li Xingchuan with watery eyes, the initial little burst of eagerness in those eyes gradually extinguishing.
Li Xingchuan suppressed that inexplicable, churning irritation deep in his heart.
Before the starlight in Su Tang’s eyes could completely die out, he reached out and roughly tousled Su Tang’s soft, back-of-the-head hair, his voice sounding somewhat stiff:
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s eat lunch together.”
The stars in Su Tang’s eyes reignited in an instant.
Happily spinning a tiny circle beside Li Xingchuan, his voice burst with joy: ” Yay, yay! Getting to eat lunch with a new friend~”
The brilliance of a wish fulfilled burst forth in Li Qian’s eyes as well. Watching Su Tang’s cute appearance, he subconsciously imitated him, starting to spin circles around Li Xingchuan while chiming in with shouts at the top of his lungs: “Yay, yay! Yay, yay!”
“…”
Furrowing his brow tightly, Li Xingchuan sidestepped to avoid this spinning “little top,” expertly grasped Su Tang’s small hand, and turned to walk straight toward the cafeteria.
Lost in his spinning, Li Qian didn’t stop until he heard Su Tang’s voice growing further and further away: “Li Qian, Li Qian!”
“Hurry up and keep up, we’re going to eat!”
Only then did Li Qian stop, bounce once in place, and stretch out his legs to chase after them: “Coming, I’m coming!”
So noisy!
Li Xingchuan gripped Su Tang’s hand even tighter, the unfathomable sense of irritation in his heart quietly wrapping around him like vines, tightening a few notches.
Qinghe’s cafeteria was huge—so huge it exceeded Su Tang’s imagination.
Aside from independent Chinese and Western food areas, there was also a hybrid buffet section.
Some areas featured food stir-fried on the spot, and even noodles and rice vermicelli were ordered and boiled fresh.
There were even pastries and fruit platters!
Glancing at Su Tang’s cute expression with his mouth hanging open, Li Qian puffed out his little chest and said: “This meal is on me today, my treat! Eat whatever you want, swipe my card!”
Yet, when they truly arrived in front of the payment counter, the cartoon meal card that Li Qian stood on tiptoe to push forward while straining his arm could ultimately never beat the “beep” sound of Li Xingchuan casually lifting his wrist and touching it lightly against the sensor.
Holding his meal tray in one hand, Li Qian still had his uncollected meal card raised in the other.
Turning his head, he sighed softly to Su Tang beside him: “Your brother is so generous, he even swiped mine! I can eat a ton, a single meal of mine is worth two people’s, and he didn’t even blink an eye!”
Trailing behind the two of them, Li Qian walked along while chuckling foolishly with glee.
He noticed that every time Li Xingchuan finished swiping his card, he would very naturally take the meal tray Su Tang was holding and carry it himself.
Consequently, after the three of them sat down at the table, Li Qian couldn’t help leaning closer to Su Tang and lowering his voice to say: “Your brother is so thoughtful!”
Stealing a glance at his brother, Su Tang pressed his lips together as well, smiling with his eyes curving into crescents.
Su Tang and Li Xingchuan sat right next to each other.
Li Qian sat across from Su Tang.
Every time Li Qian wanted to switch to a clean pair of chopsticks and couldn’t help wanting to pick out some good dishes from his own plate for Su Tang to express his care as a new friend, he would discover—Li Xingchuan had already beaten him to the punch, steadily placing the exact same dish, or even an even better portion of it, right into Su Tang’s bowl.
Moreover, he also discovered that every time he secretly looked over at Li Xingchuan, Li Xingchuan was already looking right back at him.
——A weird gaze, not necessarily gloomy, but just… making his heart feel a bit prickly.
Reflecting on himself, Li Qian thought: Does Su Tang’s brother feel that I’m not good enough to his younger brother, and therefore dislikes me?
He understood.
His mom was just like that, only liking kids who treated him well.
So after finishing their meal, while Li Qian was chatting and laughing with Su Tang, he suddenly pulled a little box out of his pocket, meticulously selected a small sticker card, peeled it open skillfully—and stared at the back of Su Tang’s hand, getting ready to slap it right on.
Only to have his arm clamped by Li Xingchuan, interrupting the spellcasting.
Su Tang was given a fright.
Li Qian was scared out of his wits: “Aiyo, let go, ouch ouch ouch, I just wanted to stick a decal on Su Tang!”
Lowering his head, Li Xingchuan asked Su Tang in a tone devoid of emotion: “Do you want to stick it.”
Curious and eager, Su Tang nodded like a pecking chick and extended his arm.
Waiting with eager eyes for Li Xingchuan.
Li Xingchuan released his grip, and with a “pop” and a goofy grin, Li Qian slapped the peeled decal onto the back of Su Tang’s hand.
And so, on the way to the nap room, it suddenly turned into two children chattering away ahead of them.
Instead, Li Xingchuan became the tagalong following closely behind step by step.
Holding his arm up the entire way, Su Tang stared foolishly at the cartoon character on the back of his hand and giggled.
Seeing Su Tang happy, Li Qian thought Li Xingchuan should finally be satisfied with him!
To his unexpected dismay, Li Xingchuan said: “Ugly to death.”
Startled for a moment, Su Tang unconsciously lowered his hand.
Scratching his ear, Li Qian asked: “Ugly…?”
“I still have lots of styles at home, all brand new!”
“When I go home this weekend, I’ll bring all of them for Su Tang to pick from!”
Not only did he dig himself out of the awkwardness, but he also cheered right back up: “There’s bound to be one Su Tang likes!”
Lifting his face, Su Tang gave Li Xingchuan a watery look.
Carrying a trace of a cautious, accusatory implication.
Mustering his courage, he comforted his new friend: “I… I think it looks nice~”
Enduring Li Xingchuan’s gaze, he slowly raised his arm once more, shaking it against the sunlight to show Li Qian: “It even glows…”
Li Qian burst into more idiotic “hehehe” laughs.
Yet the corners of Big Brother’s mouth pressed together even tighter.
As a boarding student, Li Qian’s nap schedule was different from Su Tang’s.
At the fork in the path, the two children politely wished each other “see you this afternoon.”
Only then did Su Tang realize that Brother was acting somewhat different.
——Brother wasn’t even holding his hand anymore.
Obediently sliding his small hand into Li Xingchuan’s large one, Su Tang waited, but Li Xingchuan didn’t grip it back right away.
A trace of grievance welled up in Su Tang’s heart.
Normally, he would definitely lift his face and ask: “Brother, why aren’t you holding my hand?”
Yet at this moment, Su Tang had an instinctive inkling of the answer to this question in his heart.
Li Xingchuan wasn’t gripping Su Tang’s hand.
So Su Tang wrapped his small hand around two of Li Xingchuan’s fingers, holding on obediently while following him with his head drooped down.
——He used the hand that didn’t have the decal on it.
Along the way, Su Tang lifted his face several times, parting his lips to call out “Brother,” but ultimately never dared to make a sound.
Arriving at the day students’ nap dormitory—
A spacious room, half fitted with comfortable single beds and half with common bunk beds.
Finding the bed number, Li Xingchuan picked Su Tang up and placed him on a single bed, bent down, and silently helped him take off his shoes.
Only then did a rush of heat hit the rims of Su Tang’s eyes. Hugging Li Xingchuan’s arm tightly, he called out in a voice both soft and trembling: “Brother…”
“Brother…” Raising his watery eyes, a thin layer of moisture rippled across his pupils.
Glancing at him, Li Xingchuan looked away.
He simply uttered a “Mn” in an extremely flat tone.
Yet when he took off Su Tang’s socks and touched those icy-cold little feet, he still furrowed his brow subconsciously. Too hurried to think much more, he grabbed the hem of his own shirt—jacket and undershirt together—and shoved those little feet directly into his own warm embrace, pressing them right against his belly and warming them with his body heat.
Nervously, Su Tang watched Li Xingchuan.
Until those icy feet were thoroughly warmed up, Li Xingchuan finally took off Su Tang’s school uniform jacket and tucked him entirely into the soft quilt. Unable to hold back any longer, Su Tang asked again: “Brother… why aren’t you sleeping in here? You… where are you going?”
With his back turned to Su Tang, Li Xingchuan spoke in a flat tone: “I’m not sleepy.”
Su Tang let out an “oh,” lying down obediently with only a pair of watery, pretty eyes exposed, blinking unblinkingly at Brother’s retreating back.
When Li Xingchuan’s figure truly turned and walked away, the moisture accumulated in Su Tang’s eyes finally breached the levies, turning into large teardrops that silently smashed onto the pillow. He began to sob low and cluelessly.
Only then did he notice there were quite a few other people in the room. The dormitory supervisor didn’t seem to be around, and some kids weren’t properly sleeping, talking and laughing noisily in lowered voices.
This commotion made Su Tang feel extremely uneasy and lost.
Having cried for less than five minutes, Brother’s figure unexpectedly reappeared in his blurred line of sight.
As if startled for a moment, Li Xingchuan rushed over in long strides. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he scooped Su Tang—bedding and all—into his arms, a trace of imperceptible panic in his voice: “Why are you crying?”
Reaching out to touch Su Tang’s wet cheeks, he found the temperature wasn’t burning up, and only then did he relax.
Placing a box of milk he had just warmed up on the bedside table, while clumsily wiping Su Tang’s tear ducts with his fingertips, he explained anxiously: “I saw there was a vending machine and microwave downstairs, and went to warm some milk for you.”
Looking at Su Tang’s slightly red and swollen eye rims, his voice deepened, carrying vexation: “I should have told you first.”
A deeper wave of irritation seized him.
He simply shouldn’t have failed to keep his temper in check.
He must have lost his mind, what was he pouting in anger with Su Tang for? How could a child like Su Tang possibly endure this?!