Chapter 118
The little boy from Class 3, tears streaming down his face, looked up and wailed.
“Who hit me?! Show yourself! Who hit me?!”
An Zimuo, waving the little red flag, pulled Xing Nuo over and stuck his tongue out at the boy.
“Bleh! Must be the Justice Angel! You lied!”
The boy from Class 3, his face red with anger, shook his head vehemently.
“I didn’t lie! It was you! You hit me!”
Just as he finished speaking, he yelped, clutching his nose, which had been mysteriously pinched.
Then, his hair was pulled, and his leg kicked.
He stumbled and fell to his knees in front of Xing Nuo.
Xing Nuo, his little hands red from the cold, tucked them inside his hand warmer, and, startled, took a step back.
“What you doing?”
An Zimuo laughed, pointing at the boy.
“He knows he’s wrong! Kneeling to ask for forgiveness!”
The boy, his shoulders pushed down by an unseen force, struggled to his feet, his face red, tears streaming down his cheeks.
“Waaah! There’s a ghost! I want Mommy!”
He ran towards the teachers, crying.
Little Fatty, seeing this, scared, although he hadn’t pushed Xing Nuo, quickly apologized.
Xing Nuo just shook his head, his voice soft.
“You should ‘pologize to Qingqing and Yiyi.”
Little Fatty had bumped into them several times during the race, almost making them fall, their clothes getting dirty.
Qingqing, walking over, her hands on her hips, her expression haughty, like a little queen, snorted.
“I don’t need your apology. And I won’t forgive you!”
She was proud and wouldn’t be intimidated by the class bully!
Xing Nuo clapped his hands, cheering for Qingqing.
“Qingqing so stwong!”
Qingqing, her chin held high, puffed out her chest like a little swan.
Xing Nuo and An Zimuo had won the three-legged race.
An Zimuo eagerly went to get their snacks, and Xing Nuo slowly walked back to the classroom.
He suddenly turned and, looking down the empty hallway, asked:
“Big Brother, you there?”
Wen Xingxue, invisible, his eyes heavy with sleep, having not slept in days, but still crouching down, watching the little one, hummed.
“I’m here.”
Xing Nuo, seeing that the other children were still outside, lowered his voice and asked:
“Did you help me just now?”
He had almost fallen, but a mysterious force had steadied him.
He couldn’t think of anyone else besides the invisible monster Big Brother.
Wen Xingxue hummed again and reached out, his hand passing through the air, ruffling Xing Nuo’s knitted hat.
“No one can bully you.”
Xing Nuo felt a strange sense of security, a warmth spreading through his chest.
He couldn’t explain it.
Listening to the monster’s hoarse, grating voice, he suddenly wanted to know more about him.
“Big Brother, your voice always like this?”
Wen Xingxue’s voice didn’t sound human, more like a rusty old bellows,
more monstrous than some monsters.
Wen Xingxue crouched down, his eyelids drooping, his tone casual.
“No, something happened. My throat is just…damaged.”
He didn’t want to elaborate. The dangers of the dungeon world couldn’t be explained in a few words.
In some ways, he and Shen Wen shared the same sentiment.
They both wanted Xing Nuo to have a happy and carefree childhood.
The horrors and dangers they had experienced weren’t suitable for a child. It was better for him to forget, or not know at all.
Xing Nuo just nodded, then asked:
“Big Brother, you come see me tomowwow?”
Wen Xingxue often went to dungeons. He wanted to become stronger, to break free from this horror world and return to the real world permanently.
So he could only visit Xing Nuo occasionally, knowing the little one was safe and well, giving him the motivation to continue his arduous journey.
But since it was Xing Nuo’s request, he wouldn’t refuse. He nodded.
“I’ll come tomorrow. Eat your meat at lunch. You’re too skinny.”
While others gained weight in winter, Xing Nuo, finding the cold food greasy and unappetizing, ate even less, his chubby cheeks disappearing.
This wouldn’t do.
Xing Nuo smiled shyly and nodded.
“Okay. I eat well today.”
Wen Xingxue, reassured, stood up.
“I have to go.”
Xing Nuo wanted to wave goodbye, but, sensing the presence disappear, he just lowered his hand.
An Zimuo, carrying a bag of snacks, ran over excitedly.
“Xing Nuo! Xing Nuo! I got them! Let’s go! Snack time!”
Xing Nuo followed him back to the classroom, where Qingqing and Yiyi were waiting.
The four little ones gathered around a small table, looking at the soft, sweet sponge cakes, their noses twitching.
“So sweet! Smells so yummy!”
“Qingqing and Yiyi eat mine!” Xing Nuo generously placed two cakes in front of his friends.
Qingqing, touched, hugged Xing Nuo, her eyes welling up.
“Xing Nuo, you’re so nice! Only you and Mommy and Daddy share food with me!”
She took a bite of the soft cake and declared:
“When I gwow up…I mawwy Xing Nuo!”
Yiyi, also holding up her cake, clapped her hands and said excitedly:
“Me too!”
An Zimuo, his mouth full of cake, said matter-of-factly:
“Xing Nuo and me both boys. We get married.”
Teacher Xiao Song, watching them, chuckled, amused by their childish declarations.
“Alright, alright, eat your snacks. Don’t talk with your mouth full, you’ll choke.”
She brought them some water, her lips twitching, and couldn’t resist pinching Xing Nuo’s soft cheek.
Xing Nuo, holding his cake, looked up at the teacher, puzzled.
Teacher Xiao Song coughed, looking at Xing Nuo’s innocent eyes.
“Nothing. Eat your cake.”
Xing Nuo looked down and continued eating.
He ate half of it, then gave the other half to a little boy who was looking at him longingly.
The little boy quickly ate it, his eyes wide with gratitude, and patted his chest.
“Xing Nuo, you so nice! I mawwy you too!”
Teacher Xiao Song, seeing their “marriage proposals” escalating, chuckled and led them away to play a game of “Eagle Catches Chickens.”
With the colder weather, a warm soup had been added to their lunch menu.
Today, it was corn, lotus root, and pork rib soup, savory and delicious, and Xing Nuo finished it all.
Having promised the Big Brother he would eat well, he even ate the ribs he usually disliked.
Yiyi, seeing his empty bowl, her eyes wide with surprise, reached out and touched his forehead.
“Xing Nuo, are you sick? You ate everything!”
Xing Nuo shook his head, his eyes crinkling into a smile.
“No. Played a lot today…need eat more.”
After lunch, his tummy full and round, he waddled slowly, his little legs struggling to carry his weight.
For the first time, Teacher Xiao Song took him for a walk after lunch to help him digest.
The two trees in the kindergarten playground were bare, their leaves gone.
Xing Nuo circled the trees and the slide, then, panting, patted his tummy.
“So full. Next time…no eat so much.”
Teacher Xiao Song chuckled and poked his tummy.
“So round! You really did eat well today.”
Usually, he would always leave some food.
She gave him a little red flower sticker as a reward.
Xing Nuo, beaming, placed the sticker on his shirt and waddled back to the nap room, struggling to take off his thick jacket.
He had just lain down when nap time was over.
Shen Baizhou, having left school early, arrived on his scooter to pick him up.
Although it was cold, Xing Nuo still loved riding on his brother’s scooter.
He sat in the small seat in front, wearing his helmet and mask, his muffled voice reaching Shen Baizhou.
“Big Brother, let’s buy somefin’.”
Shen Baizhou, focused on riding, hummed and took him to the shop Xing Nuo wanted to visit.
During dinner, Shen Wen, while packing Xing Nuo’s backpack, noticed a small jar inside.
But he didn’t ask and carefully put it back.
The next day, Xing Nuo, his backpack unusually heavy, waited patiently at kindergarten, and during nap time, he sensed the familiar presence of the monster Big Brother.
A gentle breeze ruffled his hair, and he opened his eyes, knowing the monster was there.
Not wanting to disturb the other sleeping children, he quietly got dressed and went to the classroom.
“Big Brother, why you come so late? After nap time…school finished.”
Wen Xingxue, having slept all day in his rented house, his energy restored, had come to see Xing Nuo as soon as he woke up.
“Live far away. Next time…I come early.”
Xing Nuo nodded and, taking his backpack from his locker, pulled out a small jar of pear and loquat syrup.
“Big Brother, you can take…gift from me?”
He placed the jar on the floor, unsure where the monster was, and looked up.
Wen Xingxue, seeing the jar, was stunned.
He hadn’t expected a gift from Xing Nuo and smiled, his usually gloomy face brightening.
“I’ll find a way.”
His interdimensional travel prop had limitations, preventing him from materializing, but taking a small jar wasn’t a problem.
Xing Nuo, seeing the jar disappear, sighed in relief, then added, his brow furrowed with concern:
“Doctor Uncle said…you need dwink more…for youw throat. I bought sweet pear syrup…wemember to dwink.”
Afraid of raising his expectations too high, he added:
“If no work…it’s okay. Youw voice…not bad even if hoarse.”
Wen Xingxue, holding the jar, his heart warmed by the little one’s words, almost felt dizzy from the sweetness, even before taking a sip.
“I know.”
He wasn’t a man of many words. He looked at Xing Nuo and, unable to resist, hugged him.
“I have to go.”
Although reluctant to leave, he had to go to his next dungeon.
