Chapter 12: Sharing
Fei Luo took a spoonful of soup and took a sip.
The pork rib soup was savory with a hint of sweetness from the corn. The piping hot broth slid down his throat, making Fei Luo squint his eyes slightly from the heat.
It really does taste much better than the previous soups, Fei Luo thought, his mind wandering.
Just as he looked up to check on his little brother, he found that Nuonuo had already closed his eyes. There was no food left in his mouth, but his little mouth was still chewing unconsciously. The pork rib in Nuonuo’s hand seemed a bit heavy. Finally, with a soft plop, it fell onto his plate.
Nuonuo’s head tilted, and his cheek slumped onto the plate. His breathing was light and shallow; he had clearly fallen asleep.
Fei Luo put down his white porcelain spoon and went over to gently shake his brother’s shoulder.
“Little brother.”
Fei Luo called out, his eyes wide as he looked down at his brother.
Nuonuo’s pink lips were parted, warm breaths escaping from them. His cheek was pressed against the table, squishing out a little ball of flesh.
Fei Luo’s fingertips twitched. For some reason, he felt a slight itch in his heart. He reached out his finger, slowly moved it forward, and poked the flesh on his brother’s cheek.
Nuonuo’s little cheek was fair and tender. Poking it was like pressing into a ball of cotton, unbelievably soft.
Fei Luo thought about it. His own face had no such flesh, nor did the faces of his eldest and second brothers.
Perhaps only little brother has it.
Discovering this, a hint of joy appeared in Fei Luo’s large eyes. His heart felt as if it were filled with a ball of cotton, light and soft.
Just as he finished poking, he looked up and saw Auntie Wu walking over with a plate. Fei Luo quickly retracted his hand, his heart pounding a couple of times. He stood to the side, feeling a little guilty, as if he had been caught doing something wrong.
Auntie Wu came over, put down the fried pancakes, and turned to see that Nuonuo had fallen asleep. With a little “oh my,” she quickly picked up the little one.
“How did you fall asleep in your plate? Look at this little face, all covered in oil.”
As she spoke, Auntie Wu took out a wet wipe and cleaned Nuonuo’s little white face.
When she looked down, she saw Fei Luo staring at her with his dark, heavy eyes, and her heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.
To be fair, Fei Luo was also very cute, with a small, delicate face and light-colored, fluffy curly hair that made you want to reach out and touch it. But his eyes were frighteningly large. Although she knew he was just a child, Auntie Wu was still occasionally startled by Fei Luo.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Auntie Wu finally spoke. “Little Luo, I’m taking Nuonuo upstairs to sleep. You should hurry up and finish your meal.”
Hearing this, Fei Luo’s gaze remained on Nuonuo, and he shook his head at her.
Auntie Wu didn’t understand what Fei Luo meant, but she didn’t pry. She carefully carried Nuonuo upstairs.
Fei Luo followed behind Auntie Wu, watching her put his little brother back in his bedroom, cover him with a small blanket, and close the door before he finally averted his gaze and went downstairs to eat his own meal.
Auntie Wu also went to do her own things. Fei Luo finished his meal quietly and sat on the sofa, waiting to go to school.
The chef came over to clean up. Seeing Fei Luo sitting there, he rubbed his slightly balding head and walked over.
“Little Luo, do you want to watch some TV?”
The chef hadn’t paid much attention to the Fei family’s affairs before, always feeling a sense of distance from them and not wanting to overstep. But recently, the atmosphere in the house had become noticeably more relaxed, and the chef was not as reserved as before. Plus, he really liked that endearing child, Nuonuo, and by extension, he felt a little concerned for Fei Luo.
Hearing the chef’s words, Fei Luo shook his head.
The chef scratched his face, thinking that Fei Luo completely lacked the liveliness of a seven- or eight-year-old. He lived his life as if he were completing tasks every day, didn’t like to play or watch TV, and just sat quietly by himself after eating. It was a bit too lonely.
“It’s still a while before you have to go to school. I’ve noticed Nuonuo really likes watching a cartoon about a little train recently. Why don’t you watch it for a bit, Little Luo?”
Auntie Wu also came over at this moment. Remembering how much Fei Luo seemed to care for his little brother, she tried to suggest it.
Hearing this, Fei Luo indeed looked up and blinked. “Then I’ll have to trouble you, Auntie.”
Auntie Wu smiled and said it was no trouble, then went over and turned on the TV for Fei Luo.
The rousing theme song began to play, and the red, yellow, blue, and green little trains appeared one by one, starting a new episode.
Fei Luo wasn’t actually very keen on cartoons. He preferred to be alone, preferably locked in his room until the world ended. But after watching one episode of his little brother’s favorite cartoon, he found that the little trains in it were actually quite silly and cute.
But not as cute as little brother.
Fei Luo thought.
Nuonuo slept all afternoon. He had cried so much in the morning that he was exhausted. It wasn’t until the red sunset filled the sky that he woke up with a small yawn.
Auntie Wu was relieved to see that Nuonuo didn’t wake up crying for his brother. It seemed that as long as Nuonuo didn’t see his papa and brother leave, he wouldn’t cry.
A dazed Nuonuo was carried by Auntie Wu to wash his face and paws. When he went downstairs and saw the TV on in the living room, Nuonuo lifted his little hand and pointed.
“Twain!”
Nuonuo still remembered that he hadn’t finished watching his little train today.
Auntie Wu chuckled and pinched Nuonuo’s little nose. “You remember this clearly.”
Usually, Nuonuo was a silly little cub who often forgot what he was doing.
Nuonuo giggled and hid in Auntie Wu’s arms, even scratching his nose, which had been tickled by her touch.
After watching the cartoon, before Nuonuo could even take out his blocks to play, he heard the sound of a car stopping at the door.
Fei Luo came home from school with his backpack. Because the weather was so hot, he was still wearing his school uniform jacket, and the little curls on his forehead were damp with sweat.
Nuonuo called out “Bwo-bwo” in pleasant surprise and ran over to hug Fei Luo.
Looking up and seeing the sweat on his brother’s head, Nuonuo even took out the tissue from his pocket and wiped it for his brother. Nuonuo’s little pocket was filled with all sorts of good things he had stuffed in it—tissues, small candies, cookies, blocks… He was usually reluctant to take them out.
Fei Luo pursed his lips shyly. His already flushed face from the heat was now even hotter.
After Nuonuo finished wiping his sweat, he turned his head away and said in a low voice, “Thank you, little brother.”
Nuonuo, on the other hand, was very happy. He had seen his brother not long after waking up and felt so happy he could fly.
Taking his brother’s hand, Nuonuo led Fei Luo back to the living room, wanting to play his favorite block game with him. In Nuonuo’s heart, his favorite things were to be shared with his brother!
Fei Luo was pulled to the living room by Nuonuo. Seeing that his little brother wanted to play with blocks, he couldn’t help but tighten his grip on his backpack strap. He had never played with blocks before.
Fei Luo now felt a little annoyed. If he had known, he would have learned to play with them before.
But fortunately, Nuonuo also played randomly. He would just stack the blocks as high as he could, thinking that the higher, the better!
Fei Luo watched from the side. Just as Nuonuo’s fourth block was about to fall, he reached out and straightened it.
“Wow! Bwo-bwo is gweat!”
Nuonuo’s fourth block often fell when he was building. In his eyes, a brother who could stack the fourth block was as amazing as the transforming little train in the cartoon!
Fei Luo looked at the sparkling light in Nuonuo’s eyes and, for some reason, felt as if he had drunk another bowl of scalding hot soup, the heat spreading all the way to the bottom of his heart.
Coughing lightly, Fei Luo shyly lowered his little head.
After praising his brother, Nuonuo started happily building blocks again. His hands were chubby, and although the blocks were small, Nuonuo could only pick up one at a time. Unlike Fei Luo, whose build was already becoming slender, he could pick up three or four blocks at once.
And so, with one person picking up and one person placing, Nuonuo played until dinner time and still felt he hadn’t had enough fun. Especially this time, playing with his brother, it was so much more fun than when he played with blocks by himself.
If it weren’t for Auntie Wu calling him to eat three or four times, Nuonuo would have been reluctant to put down the little blocks in his hand.
After dinner, the sky was completely soaked in black. The lights in the living room were on, as bright as day.
Nuonuo was showing his brother the little ball he had been playing with the most these past few days, happily flashing his pearly white teeth. Fei Luo would also gently push the ball back to Nuonuo whenever it was rolled to him.
Just as Nuonuo was having fun, the sound of leather shoes on the floor came from the doorway, followed by a slightly cold voice. “It’s so late, why are you still playing?”
Hearing Fei Zhiyan’s voice, Fei Luo’s body immediately stiffened, and his little hand couldn’t help but clench his trousers.
When it came to Fei Zhiyan, Fei Luo was always more nervous than close.
Fei Zhiyan handed his suit jacket to the butler and, before Nuonuo could lunge at him, picked him up in his arms.
“Still playing? Don’t you know it’s time for bed?”
Fei Zhiyan tapped Nuonuo’s forehead, making him giggle. “Playing dumb, are you?”
Fei Zhiyan couldn’t help but smile and pat Nuonuo’s little bottom. He had discovered yesterday that Nuonuo could understand many things, but for things he didn’t want to hear, Nuonuo would always pretend not to understand. He was a bit of a “silly little genius.”
This time was no different. Faced with his papa’s questioning, Nuonuo buried his head in his little arms in Fei Zhiyan’s embrace, pretending he hadn’t heard.
Fei Zhiyan didn’t argue with the child. He sat on the sofa and asked Auntie Wu about Nuonuo’s day.
Auntie Wu told him how Nuonuo had cried so much that he was exhausted and had slept all afternoon, her words tinged with a bit of heartache. “Nuonuo’s tears just wouldn’t stop. Aiya, he’s still so young, he can’t bear for his papa to leave.”
Fei Zhiyan lowered his eyes and saw the child burying his head shyly. He sighed softly. “I understand. It’s late, you should go to bed too.”
Auntie Wu nodded. She was afraid that Fei Zhiyan would think Nuonuo was being spoiled and wanted to say a few more words, but in the end, she just opened her mouth and said nothing more.
Seeing Auntie Wu leave, Fei Zhiyan patted the little bottom of Nuonuo, who was playing ostrich. “Still not getting up? Auntie Wu is gone, little crybaby.”
The little crybaby pouted and lifted his head, babbling a few words to say that he was not a little crybaby.
Fei Zhiyan scoffed. “You’re not? Then who cries every day?”
Nuonuo turned his head with a whimper, fiddling with his little hands and not speaking.
Fei Luo saw that his father seemed to be displeased with his little brother. After some thought, he mustered up the courage to step forward. “Father, little brother… he’s very good.”
Hearing Fei Luo’s voice, Fei Zhiyan looked up in slight surprise.
If he remembered correctly, this was the first time Fei Luo had ever spoken to him on his own initiative.
