Chapter 64
Even though only one night had passed, sitting at his small wooden desk, Xing Nuo felt like a whole month had gone by.
He carefully wiped his desk and chair with the small cloth his dad had packed for him.
The chubby boy, who usually arrived at kindergarten crying, stopped crying the moment he saw Xing Nuo, his light golden curls bouncing, already seated at his desk.
He rubbed his eyes, puffed out his chest in a show of masculine bravado, and strutted into the classroom.
Xing Nuo turned to say something, but before he could, the chubby boy tripped over the threshold.
His ear-piercing wails echoed through the classroom.
Xing Nuo scratched his cheek, looking at the crying chubby boy, and shrugged.
Zaizai wanted to warn him, but too late.
Teacher Xiao Song hurried over to comfort the crying children.
The classroom was filled with wails and cries of “Mommy!”, louder than the market down the street.
It took almost an hour for the children to calm down.
Teacher Xiao Song, exhausted, clapped her hands and started the lesson.
Today, besides singing, they were also learning characters.
Xing Nuo, staring at the identical-looking squares on the blackboard, his chin resting on his hand, felt his vision blurring.
“Down…up…” he repeated after the teacher, his head bobbing, his eyes drooping.
He almost fell asleep, his head hitting the desk.
“Ow!” He jerked awake, clutching his forehead, and yawned repeatedly.
His yawns seemed to be contagious, as other children started yawning too.
The chubby boy next to him was even worse, his face pressed against the corner of his desk, leaving a small dent, but still fast asleep.
He clutched his pencil, mumbling incoherently, as if still reciting the characters.
Teacher Xiao Song walked over, her hands behind her back, and, seeing the chubby boy, coughed loudly.
The chubby boy startled awake, wiped his drool, and looked up, his neck craning.
“I not sleep! I not sleep! I was reciting!”
Xing Nuo and the other children giggled, covering their mouths.
Xing Nuo’s eyes curved into a smile, sparkling like a starry sky.
The character lesson was short. As soon as the bell rang, the children scattered like little radish sprouts.
Xing Nuo was pulled by the apple-cheeked little girl to the playroom.
The moment they entered, the little girl put her hands on her hips and huffed.
“My mommy lied to me!”
Her friend, a little girl with short hair, tilted her head and asked:
“What did she lie about? I’ve noticed grown-ups always lie to us!”
The apple-cheeked girl gritted her teeth and stomped her foot angrily.
“She said my baby brother is getting more handsome! I went home yesterday, and he’s still so ugly!”
And stinky!
She crossed her arms and continued stomping her foot.
“I’ve decided! I’m not talking to Mommy today!”
The short-haired girl also stomped her foot, the wooden floor vibrating from their combined force.
Xing Nuo, standing nearby, felt the vibrations even though he wasn’t moving.
His head, already dizzy from the character lesson, started to spin, and he clutched it, his vision blurring.
“Zaizai…sick!”
He stumbled towards Teacher Xiao Song, calling out to her.
Teacher Xiao Song, who was mediating a squabble between two children at the door, saw Xing Nuo and hurried over, placing her hand on his shoulder.
“Xing Nuo, what’s wrong? Did you hit your head?”
Xing Nuo shook his head and pointed at his head.
“Teacher Xiao Song, my head dizzy…must have fever!”
He had felt the same way the last time he had a fever and went to the hospital!
Teacher Xiao Song crouched down and placed the back of her hand on Xing Nuo’s forehead.
She frowned, then used her other hand.
Xing Nuo, watching her switch hands, blinked and asked obediently:
“Teacher, Zaizai sick?”
Teacher Xiao Song withdrew her hand and tilted her head, unsure.
“I can’t tell. Maybe a low-grade fever?” she wondered.
Fevers were common in children. The kindergarten usually contacted the parents and sent the child home.
Teacher Xiao Song led Xing Nuo to the office to call his parents.
Shen Wen didn’t like carrying his phone, and the call went unanswered.
Remembering that Shen Yan had left his contact information when he picked up Xing Nuo before, Teacher Xiao Song called him instead.
Shen Yan’s deep, magnetic voice sounded from the phone, slightly distorted.
“Hello?”
Xing Nuo, hearing his brother’s voice, feeling aggrieved from being sick, said quickly:
“Big Brother, Zaizai sick~”
Shen Yan paused, then the sound of a chair scraping against the floor could be heard.
“Okay. Are you at kindergarten? I’ll come and get you.”
Xing Nuo hummed, his voice soft and sweet, unusually well-behaved when sick.
“Okay. Zaizai wait at kindygarten.”
Teacher Xiao Song poured Xing Nuo a glass of water, affectionately ruffled his curls, then, unable to resist, ruffled them again.
Xing Nuo’s already messy hair was now a complete bird’s nest.
Teacher Xiao Song coughed, embarrassed, and sat down on the other side of the sofa.
“Drink some water, Xing Nuo. Your brother will be here soon to sign you out.”
Xing Nuo hummed and coughed weakly, curling up on the sofa.
Zaizai always has no energy when sick, he thought.
Teacher Xiao Song, seeing Xing Nuo’s pale face, the flush gone, sighed softly.
“I’ll get your backpack.”
Xing Nuo, too weak to even move his feet, slowly lifted his head and mumbled, “Okay.”
When Shen Yan arrived from his company, he saw the little one curled up on the sofa, clutching his backpack, looking small and pitiful.
Xing Nuo’s skin was fair, his eyes usually bright and sparkling.
But when he was unwell, his eyelids drooped, his eyes dull, his skin pale, his whole being radiating misery.
Shen Yan walked over and wrapped him in his jacket.
He gently scratched Xing Nuo’s nose and, holding the limp little one, asked:
“Why are you suddenly sick?”
Xing Nuo leaned weakly against his brother’s chest and shook his head, his mind foggy.
“Don’t know. Zaizai see things…dizzy.”
Shen Yan signed the necessary forms and carried Xing Nuo, who felt like a soft bundle of cotton, out of the kindergarten.
“The temperature has been fluctuating a lot lately. Maybe you caught a cold.”
He placed the back of his hand on Xing Nuo’s forehead, checking his temperature.
“But you don’t feel feverish.”
He wasn’t sure. He wasn’t human and didn’t know what a normal temperature for a human child was.
He shielded Xing Nuo’s head and carried him to the car.
“Let’s go to the hospital and get you checked.”
Xing Nuo, who had been happy about leaving kindergarten, suddenly turned his head, hearing the word “hospital.”
He imitated his brother and teacher, placing his hand on his forehead, then smiled sweetly.
“Big Brother, Zaizai not hot~”
He snuggled closer to his brother, fidgeting in his arms.
“Big Brother, you touch Zaizai’s head…not hot, wight?”
Shen Yan, his gray eyes calm and knowing, chuckled softly.
“I can’t tell. We still need to go to the hospital and have the doctor check your temperature.”
Xing Nuo shook his head vigorously, his curls flying.
“No need! Doctow Uncle vewy busy! Zaizai not dizzy anymore!”
Hearing the word “hospital,” he suddenly felt fine, his energy returning.
He patted his skinny arms and clenched his fists.
“Zaizai super healthy now!”
He rolled up his sleeves, showing his brother his arms.
“Zaizai stwong!”
Shen Yan, looking at the little one’s rapidly changing moods, couldn’t help but smile.
He patted Xing Nuo’s arm, trying to calm him down.
“If you were dizzy, just sit still. The doctor will tell us if you’re sick or not.”
Xing Nuo, lightly smacked by his brother, pouted and mumbled “Oh.”
He cupped his cheeks and sighed dramatically.
“Zaizai shouldn’t have said dizzy…”
Shen Yan, hearing the little one’s strange logic, shook his head.
“After the checkup, what does Xing Nuo want to eat? Big Brother will buy it for you.”
Xing Nuo swung his feet and patted his backpack.
“Zaizai has yummy wed bean bun! But…but…”
He then smiled sweetly.
“Zaizai also want…sweet cloud bwad!”
Shen Yan couldn’t refuse. He took Xing Nuo’s backpack and slung it over his arm.
Dressed in his suit, he carried Xing Nuo to the hospital.
Ever since their partnership with Shen Yan’s company, the private hospital had always kept a VIP ward reserved for him.
The doctor, looking at Xing Nuo’s temperature reading, pushed up his glasses, examining it carefully.
Finally, unable to find anything wrong, he said cautiously:
“No fever. Perhaps he just inhaled some cold air and felt a bit dizzy.”
Xing Nuo looked up at his brother, his face beaming.
“Big Brother, Zaizai okay!”
Shen Yan, pinching the little one’s nose, was speechless.
“You were acting so sick just now.”
He was a natural at feigning weakness.
