Tang Dou had a headache. So you have time to enjoy life, but you’re not at all worried about your little brother doing the task alone?
For a child who needed company every waking hour except when using the bathroom, Su Youli rarely had experience going somewhere all by himself like this. The second-floor corridor was very long. Even though wall sconces lit the way at intervals, to a young child, the path ahead seemed endless. Cameras mounted on the ceiling captured everything. Not just Su Youli, but even the staff sitting in front of the monitors felt a bit tense.
The Shen villa’s decor was luxurious and vintage, giving it a bit of a medieval European feel; the kind of corridor where, in an American drama, a vampire might appear at any moment. A three-head-tall little one braced one hand against the wall and trudged forward. He was scared, but his gaze was determined.
The director’s assistant couldn’t help but remark, “This child’s emotions are so stable. He’s not crying or throwing a tantrum.”
Everyone present nodded in agreement. Then the camera angle switched, and another camera at the end of the corridor focused on the little one’s face. His delicate, pretty little face held a frightened expression, his eyes watery. The little one felt his way along, touching several doors. He’d touch one, then give it two soft knocks.
“Hello, is this the storage room?”
No answer. The little one continued on.
“Hello, is this the storage room?”
Silence. The little one gripped his backpack straps and kept going.
“…Hello, is this the storage room?”
Repeated setbacks, repeated restarts. The butler, quietly following behind, was nearly moved to tears, stomping his foot in frustration.
What kind of task requires the little young master to complete it alone?
Walking so far, climbing so many stairs—he must be exhausted. When the little one knocked on the fifth door with no response, Su Youli truly felt sad. He didn’t yet know the word for this emotion—frustration. He just felt very anxious, felt he was useless. His big brother had fainted, and he couldn’t save him. His eyes filled with glistening tears, threatening to spill at any moment.
Tang Dou couldn’t take it anymore. Suppressing his anger, he said, “Isn’t it possible that Youyou can’t read, lost his walkie-talkie, and has no way to find the storage room?”
The production team was also stumped. Who could have guessed that Shen Yan, who seemed so reliable, would be so careless? Not only did he fail to teach Su Youli how to use the walkie-talkie, but he also didn’t tell him about the sign on the storage room door.
What to do, what to do?*
The production team had plenty of experience handling unexpected situations. They brought out a costume and planned to have a staff member put it on, find Su Youli, and give him hints. Tang Dou was beside himself. On screen, the little one stood alone in the empty corridor, his small backpack on his back.
Just the sight of his back looked lonely. Even though he was very scared, he was still trying hard to find his brother’s medicine. Tang Dou quickly pulled on the costume, gathered up the cumbersome hem, pushed open the heavy door, and rushed up to the second floor.
Su Youli rubbed his eyes and softly knocked on the last door. “Hello, is this the storage room?”
…
Su Youli sniffled, blinked a few times, and a glistening tear slid from the corner of his eye. If he couldn’t find the storage room, he couldn’t find his brother’s medicine. His brother, his brother was still passed out. The little one sniffled, hugged his Stitch backpack, and turned around in place, a bit lost.
Daddy and Kunkun aren’t home. Brother Xiao Tang isn’t here. Grandpa Butler and Auntie Jiang aren’t here either.
There’s no one to help Youyou. How pitiful.
“Puff, puff.” Some heavy footsteps sounded.
Su Youli turned his reddened eyes and saw a giant little lamb running toward him. The lamb was completely white, with brown horns on its head, big eyes, and a tiny mouth and nose. Forgetting his distress, Su Youli stood there, momentarily stunned. Soon, the lamb reached him and crouched down. The lamb opened its arms to him, then pointed to its own palm, and then to Su Youli’s hand.
“…Little Lamb, are you here to help me?” the polite little one asked.
The lamb nodded, took Su Youli’s soft, tiny hand, and led him to find the storage room with the medicine. When the task location was changed, the staff hiding on the second floor quickly prepared the sign on the task door and the medicine. There were many doors on the second floor. One of them had a golden, little-footprint icon stuck on it. The lamb lifted Su Youli up and pointed to the icon, making sure Youyou recognized it.
Su Youli reached out and touched it, then nodded. “So this is the storage room. Little Lamb, you’re so smart!”
This time, Su Youli didn’t knock. The lamb was strong and opened the door for him. The room did look like a storage room, with two shelves holding various items. Su Youli looked around the room, examining each thing carefully. He often saw his little Daddy taking medicine, so he was familiar with pill bottles and boxes. Before long, the little one stood on tiptoe, took a small white pill bottle from a small storage basket, and handed it to the lamb.
“Little Lamb, can you read? Can you help me?”
The lamb nodded and glanced at the bottle. It was a bottle of vitamin tablets. He patted his stomach, indicating that this was medicine for a stomachache.
Su Youli hugged the bottle, overjoyed. “This is my brother’s medicine! I found it!”
The lamb, with a pang of sympathy, patted his head and led the little one back outside. When they returned to the spot by the wall, the little one seemed to hear something and perked up his little ears.
“Youyou, Youyou~”
It was a weak voice. His brother’s voice.
The little one pattered over, picked up the walkie-talkie, and said, “Brother, I found the medicine.”
On the other end, Shen Yan closed his eyes. During the time the walkie-talkie had been abandoned by the wall, he had been calling Youyou’s name into it constantly. If he hadn’t known there were people at home and that nothing would go wrong, he would have gone back to see what was happening.
He had drunk all the water from the Stitch sippy cup. Shen Yan swallowed, his throat parched. “…Okay, then come back quickly, Youyou.”
This time, it wasn’t an act. He really did sound sick.
Outside the villa, Su Youli was reluctant to part with the lamb who had helped him. He stepped forward and hugged him. “Thank you, Little Lamb.”
The lamb crouched in front of him and patted the top of his head. The little one, who had adventured alone, overcome difficulties, and finally retrieved the medicine, handed it to his brother. Before Youyou returned, Shen Yan had quickly resumed his pathetic, dying-on-the-ground, face-covered-by-a-jacket pose.
“Brother, take your medicine.”
The little one struggled to open the bottle, poured out a pill, and fed it to his brother.
Shen Yan chewed it dry. A second later, he suddenly sat up. “Youyou, I’m all better now!”
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