Back to 1988 41

Chapter 41: Feeding

The little boy opposite him reached out his hand. Mi Yang subconsciously wanted to step back, but he immediately steadied himself and stood there without moving. The little boy glanced at Mi Yang strangely, his hand landing on the yarn wrapped around Mi Yang’s arm. He touched it curiously a couple of times, as if testing the softness of the yarn. Mi Yang looked down and only then remembered that he was still acting as a “frame.”

Seeing that the two little ones were already playing, Mrs. Bai smiled. “I forgot to introduce you. This is our family’s Mi Yang. He grew up with Luochuan, and I’ve watched him grow up too. This child is very good at his studies. Last year, when he was in the first grade, he skipped two grades after only a month. He’s very smart!”

Luo Jiangyuan looked at Mi Yang with some surprise and also praised him with a smile, “That’s really amazing. He’s a little genius. Luochuan is also in the first grade now, right…”

Mrs. Bai said, “Not at all. The two of them haven’t been separated for more than a few days since they were little. With one skipping a grade, the other couldn’t sit still either. This spring, Luochuan also skipped to the third grade, and they’re still deskmates.”

Luo Jiangyuan hadn’t known that there was another child in her sister’s house when she came. But she had brought many gifts for Bai Luochuan. She picked one out and gave it to Mi Yang, saying with a smile, “Come, come, Mi Yang, this is a gift from Auntie. You must accept it. Auntie is staying here for a while with your little brother. You should also guide him and show him how to study… Bai’an?” Luo Jiangyuan called out a couple of times, then looked back. Her precious son had somehow found a loose thread on Mi Yang’s yarn and was secretly pulling it. She was so angry that she shouted again, “Ji Bai’an, being naughty again. Do you want your hand slapped?”

Ji Bai’an smiled, casually tucked the thread back in, hugged Luo Jiangyuan, and called out “Mommy” in a soft and sweet voice. He blinked his eyes and turned back into a little angel.

Luo Jiangyuan said, “Aren’t you going to greet your little big brother?”

Ji Bai’an then reached out his hand and, with wide eyes, said, “Hello, big brother.”

The corner of Mi Yang’s mouth twitched. If it were a dozen years later, let alone calling him “big brother,” he would have run away at the mere mention of the word “hello.” But this was the Ji Bai’an of 1996, still a little kid, and he didn’t look very aggressive. Mi Yang quickly shook his hand and nodded vaguely. “Hello to you too.”

Mrs. Bai patted Mi Yang’s shoulder. “Go and play with your little brother.”

Mi Yang could only nod in agreement and took Ji Bai’an to the second floor. That was basically the young master Bai’s territory, and there was a room specially for toys.

On the way, Mi Yang kept regretting not having gone to school with Bai Luochuan. He should have begged a couple more times in the morning. No, he should have cried and said he wanted to go to school the first time Bai Luochuan asked. That way, the young master Bai would have definitely softened and would have taken him no matter what.

As Mi Yang was lost in these random thoughts, Ji Bai’an, beside him, was tilting his head and looking at him. He suddenly said, “Do you all usually play with yarn here? How do you play? Do you all play cat’s cradle together?”

Mi Yang: “…!!”

Only then did Mi Yang remember that he had been too nervous seeing Ji Bai’an and had forgotten to take the yarn off his arms! He turned his head to look. A line of yarn snaked from the living room on the first floor to the stairs. Mrs. Bai and Luo Jiangyuan had gone to the small reception room on the first floor to talk, and no one had noticed yet. Mi Yang quickly went back and tidied it up, collecting all the yarn, taking it off, and placing it on the sofa. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Ji Bai’an, beside him, had been watching with a smile. When Mi Yang looked up, he poked Mi Yang’s cheek with his finger, making a shallow little dimple. Mi Yang froze, not daring to move, and said carefully, “What’s wrong?”

Ji Bai’an giggled to himself. The elders in his family had been endlessly praising the child in front of him for being smart, which had annoyed him a little. But seeing him become clumsy again, he suddenly wasn’t so annoyed anymore. Ji Bai’an’s eyes darted around. “Your name is Little Good Boy?”

Mi Yang: “…No, don’t call me that.” It sounds too creepy.

Ji Bai’an asked him again, “Then what should I call you?”

Mi Yang said, “Just call me by my name.”

Ji Bai’an nodded in satisfaction. He wasn’t happy about suddenly having another older brother either. Although he didn’t have a clear concept of it, children always liked to be the older one, especially with someone of a similar height. Ji Bai’an glanced at his own height and that of the fair and soft child in front of him and thought they were about the same.

In his previous life, Mi Yang had heard this person call him “poor and sour” and “idiot” all the time. He had rarely ever called him by his name, always playing tricks on him, both openly and secretly. His methods of toying with people were particularly excessive. One time, he had even locked him in the archives room overnight and hadn’t let him out until someone came the next day. Of course, his own names for Ji Bai’an in his heart were no better. He would usually secretly curse him as a little beast. He hadn’t liked running into Ji Bai’an when he was in school. Compared to this person, the young master Bai’s willfulness was nothing. At least you could tell when he was angry. The person in front of him was a smiling tiger, unpredictable. One second he would be smiling at you, and the next he would turn on you.

Mi Yang himself didn’t know how he had provoked this master, who persistently used him for his own amusement.

Now, running into him again, Mi Yang didn’t want to have anything to do with him at all. He handled him carefully, racking his brains to think of past events, trying to figure out how to make Ji Bai’an find him boring.

Ji Bai’an offered Mi Yang a snack to eat. Mi Yang subconsciously wanted to refuse, but after thinking about it, he took it and ate it in small bites.

If he’s more obedient, Ji Bai’an will probably find him particularly uninteresting and won’t want to play with him, right?

Thinking this, Mi Yang sat uneasily, gnawing on the lotus cake in his hand. When he was nervous, he would blink more often. His long eyelashes had already fluttered several times, and his black and white pupils looked particularly innocent.

After finishing one piece, Ji Bai’an opened a new box of pastries and enthusiastically grabbed several date paste plum blossom cakes for him.

Mi Yang wanted to say no, but looking at the other’s sparkling eyes, he was afraid of arousing his interest again and could only say with a stiff upper lip, “I’ll, I’ll have one.”

Ji Bai’an rested his chin on his hand and watched him eat the cake, his little face very happy. He felt that this person was just as he had imagined, particularly soft and fair, and particularly easy to bully.

Like the little white and soft puppy he had at home, its chubby baby fat hadn’t receded yet. When it looked up at people, its eyes were filled with a pool of water, and he couldn’t bear to bully it. Occasionally, when his hands were really itching, he would poke it, and the little dog would tremble all over, its fur fluffy, which was very cute.

Especially the way it looked up at him, begging for food, was even more endearing.

His mom always said he fed it too much, that it was too fat. But this time, it should be fine to feed a child, right? Ji Bai’an’s eyes darted around, and he was about to open another pastry, but Mi Yang had already eaten a lot. This time, when he was offered more, he just shook his head, refusing to eat no matter what.

Ji Bai’an was a little disappointed but still leaned closer and asked him, “How is it? Delicious, right?”

Mi Yang nodded. His stomach was full of pastries, which was too rich, and he was feeling sick now.

The little boy sitting opposite him said proudly, “I knew there wouldn’t be anything good to eat in this poor place. I brought a lot. There’s pudding, potato chips. You haven’t had those either, right? Hey, have you ever had a kiwi?” He said as he enthusiastically brought one over. “You have to scoop this one out to eat. The shopping malls here are so run-down. It must be hard to buy good fruit, right?”

Mi Yang: “…”

Mi Yang felt that this person and Bai Luochuan were truly cousins. How could their words be so equally infuriating!

Ji Bai’an held up a spoon, enthusiastically wanting to continue feeding Mi Yang, a bit like playing house. The spoon touched his lips. Mi Yang hesitated for a moment, then still turned his head away. “I’m full. I don’t want to eat.”

Ji Bai’an probably didn’t have many playmates. Now that he had finally found one, he held up the spoon and brought it to his mouth again. “Just one bite. You’ve definitely never had it before, right?”

With a “thud,” a schoolbag was thrown to the ground at the door. Mi Yang was startled and looked up to see Bai Luochuan standing there, saying with an impatient expression, “Come here!”

While Ji Bai’an was in a daze, Mi Yang had already nimbly gotten up and run over. Bai Luochuan looked at him, still a little awkward, but the green kiwi juice on his mouth was even more awkward. He furrowed his little brow. “Go get my game console for me. My mom said she wants to play with him.”

Mi Yang was only too happy to go out. He agreed and ran out.

Bai Luochuan stood there, looking at the new little guest, his expression not very friendly.

Ji Bai’an was also looking at him, his eyes darting around, not having any good ideas in his mind.

Bai Luochuan looked at the few bags of snacks scattered on the carpet and asked him, “Did you feed him all of this?”

Ji Bai’an nodded and said with a smile, “Yes, Little Good Boy and I played all morning. He was very obedient.”

Bai Luochuan warned, “You’re not allowed to call him that.” Little Good Boy is what I call him. Not just anyone can call him that.

Ji Bai’an raised an eyebrow and stood up slowly. “Oh? Why not?”

Mi Yang found several game consoles in the bedroom. He didn’t know which one the young master Bai liked now, so he simply brought them all over. When he pushed the door open with the game consoles in his arms, he saw that the room was in a mess. The opened bags of pastries were scattered and crushed on the floor, and several large toys were also knocked over. The young master Bai, taking advantage of his height advantage, had already pinned Ji Bai’an to the ground and was hammering him. That one was also a tough nut, not making a sound, still thinking of a chance to turn the tables. But a year’s age difference was still a big difference, and now he could only be pinned down and taught a lesson.

Bai Luochuan probably didn’t feel that it was enough to vent his anger. He took the kiwi he had just forced Mi Yang to eat and smeared it all over the child’s face. “You want to eat it, huh? I’ll let you eat your fill! Are you sick? Who hasn’t had a stupid kiwi before!”

Ji Bai’an was still young. He could still get away with it by being cute with adults, but he was helpless against a violent peer. When he turned his head to dodge, his snow-white little shirt was smeared with a patch of green fruit juice, and he was furious!

Bai Luochuan let go of him. “Will you dare to do it again next time?”

Ji Bai’an lowered his head, his eyes darting around as he wiped his clothes, not saying a word.

Bai Luochuan kicked him with his foot and raised his voice a little. “I’m asking you, will you dare to do it again?!”

Ji Bai’an immediately said, “I won’t. Cousin, I won’t dare to do it again!”