“I’m here.”
Li Xingchuan indeed opened the tightly closed room door for this.
Yet he only pulled the door open to a narrow crack, blocking the doorway with his 1.3-meter frame, and looked up toward his father who was 1.8 meters tall. On that still childish face, however, was an insubordination that didn’t match his height, almost condescending in its defiance.
He frowned and asked, “What words?”
Li’s father’s gaze passed over him, glanced into the interior of the room, and suddenly asked: “Why is it that every time you smash things, you never smash your own room?”
Li Xingchuan didn’t answer, only stubbornly repeating: “What words did he ask you to bring?”
Li’s father’s expression darkened.
He wasn’t someone with a lot of patience either.
If it were in the past, his cane would have already landed on this child.
Yet today, he truly did see a trace of changing signs in his son—and precisely because of this, he obeyed Dr. Chen’s repeated injunctions: to exercise restraint, and to try changing a different way to get along with Li Xingchuan.
Therefore, he didn’t flare up, only saying: “He asked you whether you would still go find him to play.”
This sentence wasn’t entirely deceiving Li Xingchuan.
Before they left Su Tang’s house, that child had indeed raised his small face and carefully asked this very sentence. Li’s father’s reply had been “Perhaps.”
Having gotten his answer, Li Xingchuan slammed the door shut.
Only to be blocked by Li’s father’s hand suddenly thrusting inside.
The force of the collision wasn’t light, and in just a split second, a clear red mark welled up on the back of Li’s father’s hand.
A trace of tension flashed across the depths of Li’s father’s eyes, but it was immediately covered up by an even denser irritation: “What are you doing!”
Li’s father paused for a moment, and rather stiffly spat out two words—the tone Dr. Chen had repeatedly taught him:
“Good night.”
With that, he withdrew his hand, turned around leaning on his cane, and walked away in a brisk stride, his back actually appearing somewhat hasty.
Li Xingchuan stood frozen in place for a full five minutes.
The expression on his face turned from bizarre to confusion, then from confusion to irritation, and finally landed back into a blank perplexity.
Leaning his back against the door panel, he raised a hand to scratch his head, muttering in a low voice: “What the hell.”
——This father, who had always viewed him as a “monster” and routinely wished he could break both his legs, was tonight bizarrely acting as if something had possessed him.
Li Xingchuan “snorted” with disdain.
Yet when he lay back down on the bed pillowed on his arm, staring at the dim ceiling, that stiff “good night” uncontrollably echoed repeatedly in his ears.
Until Li Xingchuan irritably gave himself a punch.
Whether he punched himself unconscious or was just too exhausted from raising a ruckus downstairs earlier,
he closed his eyes and fell asleep in seconds.
The next day, Li Xingchuan swaggered up to the dining table.
He didn’t want to smash things today, figuring he’d just put on a performance of a hunger strike.
To thoroughly disgust Li Shenglan.
Unexpectedly, on the dining table filled with delicacies, two out-of-place dishes bizarrely appeared:
A bare plate of plain-stir-fried potatoes, and a similarly bare plate of plain-stir-fried bean sprouts.
The only decoration was a pitiful sprinkling of scallion bits floating on top.
Li Xingchuan glanced toward the other end of the table.
At the other end of the table, his father was using a knife and fork to cut a steak.
He didn’t seem to be paying attention to his arrival.
Hesitating for a moment, Li Xingchuan sat down as if driven by some ghost.
Awkwardly, he picked up his chopsticks, picked up a piece of potato, and shoved it into his mouth.
Chewing twice, he frowned and spat it out into the bone dish.
Cut too delicately, with too many layers of flavor. It looked like what that child made, but didn’t taste as good as what that child made.
Without changing expression, Li Xingchuan grabbed a handful of fruit soft candies from the table and stuffed them into his pocket.
Then he swaggered to his feet, and amidst the silent hush of a crowd of servants, swaggered out the door.
——He was waiting for Li Shenglan to stop him, to scold him, to have someone pin him down, but he was almost about to walk out of the dining room, and Li Shenglan still made no move.
Unaccustomed to this, Li Xingchuan turned his head to glance at Li Shenglan.
With his back facing him, Li Shenglan said: “Considering that you are growing and require some necessary activities, this morning I had people expand your range of movement a bit.”
“It won’t trigger the alarm as easily anymore.”
Li Xingchuan lowered his head to look at his left ankle.
Hidden under his casual trousers, that electronic foot shackle had bound him for three years.
For three years, Li Shenglan had finally remembered to lengthen the chain?
With a bizarre expression, Li Xingchuan scratched his head, as if afraid Li Shenglan would go back on his word, and broke into a fast run.
Just as Li Xingchuan left, Dr. Chen happened to arrive.
Standing by the door, watching the direction where Li Xingchuan’s figure disappeared, he cast a knowing smile toward Li’s father, who was sitting composedly:
“He went toward the direction of the small stone bridge.”
At this moment, it was exactly eight o’clock in the morning.
Su Tang had just opened his eyes from bed, his dewy, watery eyes full of the disorientation of just waking up.
After a good while, his gaze finally focused on the ceiling.
Su Tang was frail, possessing almost no strength at all upon just waking up.
His small arms and legs softly propped himself up to a sitting position on the bed, and in a small, hoarse voice, he called out: “Grandpa~”
Grandpa Su let out an “Aiya,” and hurriedly pushed the door open to come in from outside: “Tangtang’s awake? Grandpa will fetch warm water for you to wash your face and brush your teeth!” Walking to the bed, he gently patted Su Tang: “Sit for a while first, rest a bit before getting out of bed, you know?”
Picking up clothes to dress Su Tang, Su Tang instead twisted his body: “Grandpa, I can dress myself~”
Grandpa Su pinned him down: “Grandpa will dress you, it’s the same.” Never stopping his hands, his mouth also chattered incessantly: “Breakfast is in the pot, still keeping warm.”
“There’s milk to drink today!”
“Grandpa has to go to work.”
“Not sure if I can come back at noon, your medicine is warming on the small stove, drink it before lunch.”
“Grandpa will make dinner when he gets off work and comes back, you just practice writing characters at home. Since it snowed yesterday and the roads are slippery, don’t go outside today.”
“Look at these little hands, they’ve even got frostbite.” Holding Su Tang’s icy fingers, Grandpa Su rubbed them with a heartaching expression, “Don’t touch cold water anymore. You don’t need to tidy up the house either, grandpa will take care of it when he gets back, did you hear me?”
Su Tang nodded his small head, his voice soft and sweet: “I heard you.”
“I’ll be good~”
Yet as soon as grandpa left and he finished eating breakfast, he picked up a small bucket and started washing dishes just like usual.
Winter water was icy and biting to the bone, but Su Tang was already accustomed to it as if it were nothing.
Just as his little hands were laboriously scrubbing a plate, the wooden door was suddenly knocked “bang-bang-bang.”
When Su Tang propped himself up against the stove to stand, a slight dizziness swept before his eyes.
Catching a rag to wipe his hands, he flew over to the door side, pressing his small face against the door crack to peer outside.
The next second, his eyes lit up, and he couldn’t wait to pull the door open, calling out in pleasant surprise: “Big brother!”
Li Xingchuan had been waiting somewhat impatiently, just leaning close to the door crack to peer inside, when this little bean of a child suddenly opened the door and lunged over, circling around him before hugging his arm with zero boundary-awareness, looking up at him with wide, fluttering eyes: “Big brother~ After you went back yesterday, did you get beaten again?”
Li Xingchuan didn’t withdraw his arm.
Standing straight, he frowned upon hearing this: “Beaten?”
“How is that possible.”
Turning his face away, his tone was stiff: “It’s always me beating others. Yesterday… was an accident.”
Su Tang raised his small face, blinking his deer-like eyes.
He understood; big brother meant he hadn’t gotten beaten again.
That’s great! Su Tang was overwhelmingly happy, his eyes curving into crescent moons.
Unexpectedly, Li Xingchuan added: “From now on, you are not allowed to beg others.”
Su Tang asked in a small voice: “Can’t I even beg them to spare big brother?”
Li Xingchuan lowered his head, looking at Su Tang: “No.”
“And you are even less allowed to say things like being willing to take a beating for me.”
Su Tang felt Li Xingchuan had suddenly become so serious.
Feeling somewhat aggrieved inside, he wondered: Was pleading for mercy wrong?
His eye sockets instantly turned red, moisture welling up in his deer eyes. His little mouth opened slightly, hands and feet at a loss, not knowing what to do.
Just right as a cold gust of wind blew in, Su Tang shivered, breaking into a soft cough and panting.
Grabbing Su Tang’s small hand, Li Xingchuan pulled him into the house and closed the door with his backhand.
Looking at those pretty eyes of Su Tang’s that were on the verge of shedding tears, he awkwardly reached out to wipe the corner of his eye, asking abruptly: “Want to eat candy?”
Sniffling, Su Tang answered without even thinking: “Want to~”
Li Xingchuan pulled a handful of fruit soft candies from his pocket, intending to place them into Su Tang’s hand.
Yet Su Tang’s hands were far too much smaller than his own; Su Tang simply couldn’t hold his “handful.” With no other choice, he stuffed the fruit soft candies respectively into the two small pockets on the left and right of Su Tang’s clothes, leaving only one in Su Tang’s palm: “Taste and see if it’s sweet.”
These fruit soft candies were specially customized supplies regularly sent to investors by a certain major brand.
Different colors meant different flavors, and their shapes were also different. They ought to taste very good.
Yet Li Xingchuan had never tasted them himself, because being accustomed to going against Li Shenglan, he never touched the pastries at home in the past.
Lowering his head, he watched Su Tang.
Su Tang peeled off the candy wrapper, his damp eyes narrowing into slits of satisfaction once again.
His soft voice was full of elation: “So good! And so pretty, so sweet, so sweet!”
Li Xingchuan uttered an “Mn,” his gaze fixing upon Su Tang’s hands.
Just now he had merely felt the little bean’s hands were too cold, but looking closely now, he noticed they were covered in frostbite.
Thinking to himself, next time he would bring a few bottles of hand cream and a couple of pairs of gloves.
Just as he was thinking this, he saw that pair of small hands shrink back, hiding themselves behind his back stealthily. Su Tang asked in a small voice: “Does big brother also think my hands are very ugly… Can you not dislike me…”
“They’ll be fine when spring comes.”
“They won’t be chubby and ugly anymore in spring, really!”
An inexplicable vexation suddenly welled up in Li Xingchuan’s heart.
This irritability wasn’t directed at Su Tang, yet it came swiftly and heavily. He asked in a deep voice: “Who said they were ugly?”
Biting his lip, Su Tang blushed slightly, hiding his hands even tighter in the back.
Big brother was serious again, and Su Tang didn’t dare speak recklessly.
Li Xingchuan almost wanted to ask directly: Was it that bunch of scumbags who bullied you yesterday?
Yet Su Tang only lowered his head, speaking not a single word.
Even if he didn’t answer, Li Xingchuan had already concluded in his heart that it was indeed them.
He stopped asking, only resolving in his heart that if he ran into that group of people next time, he would definitely beat them until they couldn’t crawl up, and then drag this little one over to watch with his own eyes.
Walking a few steps inside the room, Li Xingchuan caught sight of a notebook on the counter that was one more than yesterday. Walking over and flipping through two pages casually, he asked: “Your name is Su Tang?”
Su Tang nodded hurriedly, his eyes sparkling: “Big brother knows my name too! Is big brother a senior student?”
“I don’t go to school,” Li Xingchuan said. His father wished he could lock him inside this villa estate forever, how could he possibly let him go out to study? It was just hiring a few private tutors to come regularly to give private lessons according to the school’s progress.
“What about you?” he asked, “Are you in preschool?”
Su Tang shook his head, his pretty, wide eyes brimming with longing: “Grandpa said I’m old enough to start first grade.” His tone turned somewhat dejected, “But my health isn’t good, and grandpa doesn’t feel at ease sending me to school. So I haven’t started school yet.”
Looking down at him, Li Xingchuan asked: “Want to learn?”
Su Tang nodded vigorously: “Especially want to!”
A mischievous idea that could simultaneously satisfy Su Tang’s desire to study and satisfy his own desire to raise a little human as a pet sprouted from the bottom of Li Xingchuan’s heart.
Suddenly full of enthusiasm, he said: “Get a pen for me.”
When Su Tang fetched a pencil, Li Xingchuan put on a serious demeanor.
He said: “I’ll teach you.”
“Wow~”
“Yay, yay~”
“Big brother is so amazing!” Sitting on the small square stool beside Li Xingchuan, Su Tang raised his small face in pleasant surprise, his deer eyes full of adoration. It made Li Xingchuan feel as if he were looking at twinkling stars.
The little fellow even straightened his back, neatly stacking both arms on the table in the posture of a good student listening attentively.
Li Xingchuan fell into a momentary daze, immediately after which the trace of playful amusement in the depths of his eyes faded, replaced—without even his own awareness—by a hint of seriousness.
He decided to teach Su Tang the three characters “Li Xingchuan” first.
Yet before the pencil in his hand could trace a complete stroke on the paper, a clamorous shouting suddenly sounded from outside the door:
“This is the place, right?”
“Must be! Such a heavy medicinal smell, exactly the same as that kid’s!”
“Damn it, it’s this brat’s grandpa who made my dad lose his job! My dad only embezzled that tiny bit, and actually got investigated! Why was it fine before? It must have been screwed over by someone!”
“——My dad was targeted by his grandpa; if it wasn’t his grandpa pulling strings, who else could it be?!”
“My dad is already packing his bags and rolling out, fuck! Before rolling out of this estate together with my dad, this grudge has to be avenged! Taking advantage of that old man not being around, let’s beat his little grandson into a real ‘grandson’ right now! Go on and smash the door open!”
These words were heard by Li Xingchuan.
And naturally heard by Su Tang as well.
Frightened wide-eyed, Su Tang clenched his small hands tightly, his body trembling uncontrollably.
At this moment, a palm gently pressed down on his shoulder. Lifting his damp eyes to look toward Li Xingchuan, Su Tang heard Li Xingchuan pat his small hand, his voice calm and steady:
“I’m here.”
“Don’t be afraid.”