“Children, please be quiet.”
Teacher Tangtang spoke up and patted Zhou Chiyu’s little curly hair. “Gu Yuan is indeed Little Fish Baby’s brother. Little Fish’s brother sometimes felt unwell and needed a wheelchair. I hope everyone can be united and loving.”
“That’s right, that’s right!” Zhou Chiyu felt that he had received the teacher’s approval and raised his head proudly. “We are all good friends!”
In front of the monitors, the Director Lady sighed emotionally. “Little Fish is truly a lovable child.”
Bai Wenran and Gu Cheng both nodded. Gu Cheng said, “Our family’s Little Yuan is very fortunate to be Little Fish’s brother.”
There were many fun toys in the classroom, but Gu Yuan was not interested in them. Although he had never attended kindergarten, he received special educational toy training at home, and his mental level had already reached around eight years old.
From the end of the self-introduction segment, Gu Yuan had been holding Zhou Chiyu’s hand the whole time. Wherever Zhou Chiyu went, he followed. Fluffy, the one who had clashed with him, kept avoiding him and occasionally whispered with her friends.
“This toy is called Little Duck Crossing the River. It’s extremely, extremely difficult. Zhou Chiyu, do you want to compete with me?”
Zhou Chiyu was suddenly called out. He curiously poked his head over and discovered it was a new toy that the teachers had introduced.
“If you can beat me, I’ll give you the cookies I brought back from Switzerland!”
The child who spoke was Abu, the one in the class who knew the most Chinese characters. He pulled out a box of biscuits from his cubby and showed them off proudly. “Do you want to play with me?”
Abu liked Zhou Chiyu and knew his weaknesses well. He was confident he could win the game and also wanted to see Zhou Chiyu begging pitifully for a cookie.
“Can my brother play with you?”
Zhou Chiyu knew Gu Yuan was smart and wanted him to make friends faster, so he pulled Gu Yuan’s little hand and moved closer. “He’s really good too.”
Gu Yuan stared at Abu, nodded thoughtfully, and agreed.
“No, he can’t.” Abu rejected him mercilessly. He only wanted to beat Zhou Chiyu.
“Aren’t you the best?” Zhou Chiyu used a provocation tactic and stuck out his tongue. “I bet you’re just afraid of losing.”
“Yeah, yeah.” The other children chimed in from the side. “Abu must be bragging.”
Abu had thin skin and couldn’t stand others saying he wasn’t capable, so he puffed out his little chest. “Fine, let’s play. I can beat anyone.”
Five minutes later, a showdown between boys officially began.
The rules of Little Duck Crossing the River were actually simple. There were two boats in total. Whoever got the little ducks and their friends across the river first won. Of course, there were restrictions, like not taking the little rabbit across when there was a wolf opposite, or not letting the kitten and little mouse ride together, and so on.
Abu had been very confident at first, but when he saw Gu Yuan move four little animals across in just three steps, sweat started beading frantically on his forehead.
Watching the child in front of him scratch his head madly, Gu Yuan propped his cheek and quietly thought about his next move. At the same time, he grew increasingly curious about Abu’s motives.
He felt that Abu liked Zhou Chiyu.
When he had been reading picture books earlier, several children had wanted Abu’s cookies, but Abu had refused them all.
He guessed that Abu’s cookies were saved for Zhou Chiyu.
But who didn’t like Zhou Chiyu?
“Lost! Abu lost!”
As Gu Yuan’s final boat reached the end, Abu hugged his head in frustration and slumped over the table in annoyance.
Zhou Chiyu hugged Gu Yuan’s arm and danced around in celebration. “Brother, you’re so awesome.”
Awesome?
Gu Yuan didn’t really think so.
This toy was truly a bit childish for him.
But seeing Zhou Chiyu’s excited and delighted energy, he felt a bit happy.
“Your cookies.”
Gu Yuan raised his hand to remind Abu to fulfill his promise.
Abu was very sad, especially seeing Zhou Chiyu hugging Gu Yuan so intimately.
“Here, take them.”
Abu tossed the cookies down in a huff and turned away. “I have plenty more at home.”
The box of cookies wasn’t big, and it was just right for Zhou Chiyu to hold and open.
The moment the blue tin box opened, a rich buttery aroma filled the air around them.
The other children were a bit tempted and stared at Zhou Chiyu eagerly. “Little Fish, can I have a taste?”
Zhou Chiyu handed the cookies to Gu Yuan and said proudly, “My brother won them for me, so he should decide who gets them.”
Gu Yuan stared at the box of cookies for a long time before finally giving one to each of the surrounding children. The children were all very well-behaved. They lined up without pushing or shoving, and said thank you to Gu Yuan when they received their cookie.
Gu Yuan held the cookies and remained silent the whole time. Occasionally, he curiously observed the happy expressions on the other children’s faces as they ate, and an indescribable emotion slowly began to sprout in his heart.
