The rocking horse was his least favorite toy. This kind of boring toy was something only Youyou would like. Maybe because he thought of Youyou, the cool little boy finally deigned to grab the two horns of the rocking horse. Hua Zhao patted his head, then gently started rocking the horse.
“Youyou likes rocking horses too,” Pei Xu suddenly said.
Hua Zhao thought to herself, of course he does, otherwise I wouldn’t have picked this one out of all the toys to bring out for you.
There were about a dozen children in the play area. Everyone had noticed this little boy who was wearing a cold expression, refusing to come in, and playing on a rocking horse by the door. That little boy was really strange. He didn’t smile even when playing with a toy. Whenever someone looked at him, he would look back, and he looked very fierce. In any case, no one dared to approach him.
A few curious children did gather around, waving the colorful plastic balls in their hands in front of him, trying to invite him to play. Pei Qiqi turned his face away, giving no response. In his world, only Youyou wouldn’t hurt him. He didn’t want to play with anyone else. If he played with others, they would steal his toys and scold him.
Pei Yi nervously rubbed his hands together, took a deep breath, and asked heavily, “Doctor, please tell us. How is Qiqi’s condition?”
The doctor interlaced his fingers and rested his arms on the desk. “Qiqi’s condition isn’t too severe. At least he’s willing to communicate with us.”
“But he refuses to go to kindergarten no matter what,” Pei Yi said, a little distressed.
As a qualified uncle, he was genuinely worried that Qiqi would fall behind other children his age academically. But his child’s mental health was equally important. All in all, this issue had made Pei Yi so anxious that he’d lost a lot of hair. The kind-faced psychologist naturally understood the reason behind Qiqi’s condition.
Not just Qiqi, even he, as an adult, might not have been able to maintain a healthy mental state after experiencing something like that. He had heard from Qiqi’s uncle that Qiqi had survived the accident only because his father had used his own body to protect him during the crash.
“Qiqi instinctively rejects kindergarten. My advice is that the parents shouldn’t force him to go for now. It would be best if a parent could stay with him full-time, strengthen his sense of security, and gradually help him get to know some children his age. You mentioned he has a good friend, is that right?”
A cute little curly-haired child popped into Pei Yi’s mind. He nodded. “Yes, the neighbor’s child. His name is Youyou.”
The psychologist also smiled. When he had chatted with Qiqi earlier and mentioned this friend, Qiqi had shown a very gentle expression. His tightly pursed little mouth had also relaxed into a slight smile. He must be a very well-behaved child who could give Pei Xu a sense of security.
“His willingness to make friends is a good sign. He’s getting better, slowly.”
Pei Yi breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately worried again. Qiqi couldn’t stay home forever playing with Youyou, could he? Youyou would have to go to kindergarten too. After talking with the doctor for about half an hour, Pei Yi couldn’t quite say what his feelings were. Healing psychological trauma couldn’t be rushed. It had to be done slowly. He walked to the door and stood in the hallway, his gaze falling on the end of the corridor, outside the children’s playroom.
Qiqi, dressed in a grey tracksuit, was sitting with his legs apart on a small blue rocking horse. His little body leaned forward, his hands gripping the horse’s horns, swaying with the rocking of the horse. This was actually the first time Pei Yi had ever seen Qiqi ride a rocking horse. And beside him, Hua Zhao was smiling as she played with him, rhythmically helping to rock the horse.
As he got closer, Pei Yi saw that his usually aloof nephew had a faint smile on his face. Pei Yi stood to the side, hands in his pockets. He firmly believed Qiqi would get better. When they got home after seeing the psychologist, Pei Xu saw Youyou playing on his little ride-on car at the entrance.
Qiqi’s eyes lit up. “Youyou.”
The little guy turned his head from his car. Seeing him, he immediately turned the steering wheel and drove over to him.
“Brother Qiqi, did you go to the hospital again?”
Faced with the little guy’s concern, Qiqi nodded with an “Mm.” Then he saw two people following the little ride-on car: one was Brother Xiao Tang, and the other person he didn’t recognize, a very thin, pretty auntie. Qiqi instinctively stepped back, refusing the little guy’s invitation to get in his car.
Chu Ying put a smile on her face. “It’s okay. You can play with Youyou.”
Pei Xu was noticeably stunned when he heard her words. She had clearly heard that he was sick, yet she still let him play with Youyou. Wasn’t she afraid that Youyou would catch it from him? Pei Qiqi, at only four years old, didn’t yet understand that children who are sick aren’t necessarily contagious, especially with mental illness.
He just remembered that when he was in kindergarten, once when he was sick because he’d worn wet clothes, the teacher locked him in a separate dorm room, saying he was sick and would infect the other children. This happened several times. Each time, he had to stay alone in the dorm room for days and couldn’t go out. Pei Xu was lost in thought, his mood turning very, very bad, when he heard Youyou calling him.
“Brother Qiqi, come on!”
The little guy got out of his car and opened the door for him, inviting him to play together. Pei Qiqi clutched his hands and shook his head. He was sick. He would infect Youyou. Su Youli was an impatient little cub. Seeing Qiqi hesitate, he couldn’t wait any longer. Without giving him time to think, he ran over and took his hand.
“Brother Qiqi, you’re so slow. Is it because of the medicine?”
When he was sick and took medicine, he would also react slowly.
Pei Xu shook his head and explained, “I don’t take medicine, and I don’t get shots.”
Huh? No medicine and no shots; that meant he wasn’t sick. Little Su Youli very seriously examined Brother Qiqi’s body. He raised his hand and, in a very grown-up way, felt Pei Qiqi’s forehead, then told Pei Qiqi to stick out his tongue. No one knew where he’d learned that. Pei Qiqi felt a little nervous. After thinking it over, he decided to tell his best friend his secret.
“The doctor uncle said I’m sick. Right here.” He pointed to where his heart was.
The little guy’s eyes went wide. He raised his little hand and touched Pei Xu’s chest. “Ah?”
Pei Qiqi didn’t know how to explain it. When the little guy leaned in close, he instinctively leaned back, afraid of infecting Youyou with his ‘sickness.’ The obvious evasive move made the little guy frown. “Brother Qiqi?”
Pei Xu pressed his lips together and said seriously, “I’m sick. Stay away from me.”
The little guy felt very hurt. His mouth immediately pouted. Why did he have to stay away because he was sick? The little guy didn’t understand. He looked at Pei Xu with a wronged expression. Su Youli had big, sparkling eyes, full of stars. When he looked at someone like that, it was always hard to resist.
Pei Qiqi held out for a long time before saying, “…I wasn’t yelling at you. Don’t be sad.”
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