He lowered his gaze in thought. When a little girl bared her little tiger teeth and smiled at him, the high walls he had built in his heart slowly began to loosen without him realizing it.
Half a box remained, which he handed all to Zhou Chiyu. He himself only tasted half a piece. He wasn’t interested in the cookies, but he was interested in Zhou Chiyu eating them. Zhou Chiyu ate a bit hastily, crumbs scattering all over his little chest, his whole body carrying a faint milky fragrance.
Gu Yuan suddenly raised his hand and rubbed the corner of Zhou Chiyu’s mouth. Zhou Chiyu lifted his chubby little face and said contentedly, “These little cookies are so yummy.”
It was the time of day when the morning sun was at its brightest. A beam of light shone through the floor-to-ceiling window into the classroom. Zhou Chiyu was facing the window sideways, his soft little curls seemingly edged with gold by the sunlight, his dark eyes sparkling with innocent joy.
Gu Yuan let out an “Mm” and proactively took Zhou Chiyu’s hand.
“The teacher said it’s time to go outside. Let’s go.”
The playground at Haicheng No.1 Kindergarten was very large. During the best sunlight hours, all the kindergarten children were out playing with their friends.
As the new student, Gu Yuan became the focus of all the teachers’ attention. Word had spread that the Gu Family Little Young Master had red lips, white teeth, and deep, handsome features, so many people gathered to sneak peeks.
Gu Yuan stood in the center of the playground, watching the others chase each other freely, a hint of envy in his eyes.
Although his health had improved somewhat lately, reaching the level of a normal child was still very difficult.
“Little Fish, come play with the little car.”
Zhou Chiyu heard Little Mango’s call and anxiously ran over on his short legs. The little car was one of the hottest toys in the kindergarten, and it was rare to get a turn.
“Coming, coming.” Zhou Chiyu sat in the passenger seat and grinned. “Thanks, Little Mango. I’m going to pick up my brother.”
“But I also want to sit in your passenger seat.”
Little Mango was a shy and introverted child with few friends. He got along best with Zhou Chiyu in the class. He couldn’t drive, but he liked having Zhou Chiyu take him for rides.
“Alright.” The little car only had two seats. Zhou Chiyu gentlemanly opened the passenger door for Little Mango. “Beep beep beep, we’re off!” His driving skills were good, and the little car made two sharp turns toward the next destination— the Big Slide.
Gu Yuan finally spotted Zhou Chiyu. When he saw him carrying a little boy away, the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.
Zhou Chiyu had clearly promised to play only with him.
At that moment, other children from the class invited him to play on the swing. He slowly shook his head and found a patch of grass to sit alone.
The temperature was high that day, and he soon broke out in sweat after sitting for a bit. Many children wanted to play with him during that time, but they were all deterred by his aloof and cold demeanor.
“Little Yuan, come over. I’ll help you change into a new set of clothes.”
Gu Yuan’s family doctor had been specially approved to accompany him. Seeing that he was uncomfortable, she took him back to the rest room to monitor his vital signs and take medicine.
By the time Zhou Chiyu dropped Little Mango off at the destination, he could no longer find Gu Yuan.
Zhou Chiyu returned to the classroom and discovered Gu Yuan sitting in the Library Area reading a book. “Brother, why didn’t you call me?”
He grumbled unhappily. “I drove the little car around looking for you for a long time.”
“Don’t you have friends?” Gu Yuan didn’t look up and said lightly, “If you have friends, why come find me?”
“What kind of talk is that!” Zhou Chiyu got a bit angry. His little face, flushed from searching under the sun, puffed up slightly. “I’ve been looking for you the whole time!”
Gu Yuan’s finger paused. He lifted his gaze to look at Zhou Chiyu. The other was covered in sweat, his fine soft curls almost sticking to his scalp.
He opened his mouth but said nothing.
All the way until lunchtime, the two little ones were locked in a silent cold war.
“Teacher, I don’t want the rape mustard greens.” Zhou Chiyu held his tray and kept dodging the teacher’s serving spoon. “I don’t want the lettuce either.”
“No picky eating allowed.” Teacher Tangtang rejected Zhou Chiyu’s coquettish pleas and mercilessly scooped two spoonfuls of vegetables onto his tray.
The kindergarten had a rule for lunch: no leftovers allowed.
Zhou Chiyu propped his chubby cheeks and started worrying before he even began eating.
So many greens—he couldn’t eat a single bite.
He was a little fish, after all, and little fish ate fish food.
What was fish food?
The answer was meat!
Zhou Chiyu’s cheeks bunched up like little buns. He opened his mouth as wide as possible and barely managed to swallow one mouthful of greens.
He chewed and chewed, but couldn’t swallow for the longest time.
