Cen Yuankai was even chubbier than Mi Le and not agile at all. He was easily tripped and let out a squeal like a stuck pig. As he fell, Su Youli reached over, grabbed the camera strap, and snatched it back. He clutched it to his chest and ran back.
After a few steps, he saw Mi Le coming and quickly hid behind him. “Lele gege!”
“What’s wrong, Youyou?”
Su Youli’s face was covered in sweat, his little hands muddy and looking a bit dirty.
“Cen Yuankai snatched my camera.” Su Youli turned his face and pointed at Cen Yuankai, who was getting up from the ground.
Having his prize snatched away again, Cen Yuankai couldn’t believe he had been outdone by a three-year-old. He was extremely unwilling to accept it. Mi Le put his hands on his hips, protecting Youyou behind him. He watched Cen Yuankai, who looked disheveled but charged over aggressively, and held out his palm, signaling him not to come closer. Cen Yuankai hesitated visibly when he saw Mi Le.
Mi Le was the same age as him, and Mi Le was even a bit taller. Mi Le was lively and outgoing. In his own words, he was the “boss” of his kindergarten. Many of his classmates were his underlings. From the moment he first saw Youyou yesterday, he had already considered him one of his own. Cen Yuankai had also hurt his arm when he fell, so it was already painful, and facing Mi Le, his momentum faltered.
He pointed at the little one completely hidden behind Mi Le and said angrily, “Su Youli, what kind of man fights dirty like that?”
Su Youli wasn’t a cowardly child. He held onto Mi Le’s clothes and poked his head out from behind. “…Daddy says children who snatch things are bad kids. And you pushed me.”
You, Cen Yuankai, bullied him first. He just fought back.
Mi Le was shocked. He had been taught by his teachers in kindergarten: children shouldn’t push others. If someone got hurt from a fall, it would be terrible.
“Youyou, Cen Yuankai pushed you? Did you get hurt anywhere?”
He grabbed the little one and looked him over. Su Youli, still a bit nervous from his first argument, his little body trembling slightly, shook his head and said he hadn’t been pushed down and wasn’t hurt. Furious, Cen Yuankai picked up the camera from the ground and threw it hard at them. Mi Le grabbed Youyou’s arm, and the two children dodged.
It was common for children this age to have conflicts and quickly make up, but Cen Yuankai was clearly the difficult, uncooperative one. Mi Le remembered what Mi Huan had said: the cameramen would record their every move. He shouldn’t get into arguments with other children, or he would be punished by his parents when he got home.
With that in mind, Mi Le reluctantly took Youyou’s hand and walked back, staying far away from Cen Yuankai. Halfway there, he got angrier the more he thought about it. Here he was, the big brother of his kindergarten, with no room to show off his skills.
Mi Le rolled up his sleeves and said to Youyou, “Next time, let’s find a place without cameras. I’ll help you beat him up.”
The little one’s emotions hadn’t quite settled. He turned his head to look back. Cen Yuankai, still standing there, glared at him with fierce eyes.
Su Youli shrank back, feeling a bit wronged. “Lele gege, Cen Yuankai snatched my camera and didn’t apologize.”
Daddy said that children make mistakes, but if they apologize, they’re still good kids. But Cen Yuankai hadn’t apologized to him.
“He’s a bad kid. We won’t play with him,” Mi Le said indignantly.
Su Youli nodded. He touched his camera protectively with his little hands, still a bit scared, remembering how Cen Yuankai had aggressively snatched it. Meanwhile, Niu Niu had found the last type of mushroom and happily led them over to take pictures. The production team’s original intention for this adventure segment was to create some interesting interactions between the city children and nature. Winning or losing wasn’t that important.
What was even more precious was that the three children showed no competitiveness amongst themselves, understanding teamwork at such a young age. After completing the task, they were finally able to rest for a while. The three little tykes sat on a rock in the forest, fiddling with their cameras.
Su Youli had his water bottle and some milk tablets that Brother Xiao Tang had bought him in his backpack. The little one took out the milk tablets to share with his friends. Mi Le had sharp eyes. He immediately spotted a straw-woven grasshopper in the side pocket of Youyou’s backpack.
“Youyou, what’s that?”
The little one touched his little grasshopper protectively and said, “It’s Big Brother’s reward for coming first in harvesting corn.”
Su Youli really liked this little straw grasshopper. He carefully picked it up and held it out for his friends to see.
Niu Niu’s eyes widened. She said softly, “Can I touch it?”
Youyou wasn’t stingy. He generously placed the little grasshopper in his friend’s palm. It was just a cheap little thing, but the little one considered it Big Brother’s reward for getting first place. It was a precious thing. Big Brother had given him something precious, which meant Big Brother loved him very much. The little one sat on the big rock, happily swinging his little feet, showing off to his friends how amazing his big brother was.
His two friends clapped along supportively. The three children were like they were on a spring outing, sitting on the rock, eating milk tablets, and playing with the little grasshopper. A rustling sound came from above. The three little tykes suddenly stopped talking.
“Shh, it’s a little squirrel!” Mi Le put a finger to his lips.
Su Youli and Niu Niu quickly covered their mouths, their gazes focused. It was two squirrels, their long, fluffy tails streaming behind them as they ran through the trees. Such small animals were very appealing to young children. Su Youli watched, unblinking, as the squirrels ran down from the trees, grabbed nuts from the ground with their small, nimble claws, and then leaped away with agile grace.
The three little ones didn’t take their eyes off them until the squirrels had left and the rustling sounds in the forest had faded away. On the other side, the adults had also finished their tasks and were walking over together to pick up the little ones. Mi Le jumped off the rock, helped Niu Niu down, and then lifted Su Youli down as well. The three little ones each crouched down to tidy their backpacks and put their little red hats back on.
Su Youli had just put away his Stitch water bottle when he heard a rustling sound nearby. The little one turned his head to look. When he turned back, he saw that Cen Yuankai had somehow taken the little grasshopper out of his backpack. Cen Yuankai had taken possession of the green, lifelike little grasshopper and seemed proud of himself for grabbing Su Youli’s favorite thing. Mi Le was furious. He swung his little fist.
He was ready to face the consequences, even if it meant “stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat” when he got home. Today, he was determined to teach Cen Yuankai a lesson. Seeing that Mi Le meant business, and still feeling the pain in his arm from being tripped earlier, Cen Yuankai glared at Su Youli, then threw the little grasshopper on the ground and stomped on it twice.
Su Youli was astonished. He couldn’t understand why he would do such a thing. This was Big Brother’s reward for coming in first.
If you like what I do, please consider supporting me on Ko-Fi, Patreon, or PayPal <3.
