The paddy field was a completely unfamiliar world for Su Youli. His little feet didn’t seem like his own anymore, sinking into the soft, wet mud, each step a struggle. Niu Niu and Mi Le were older. After struggling for a while, they quickly found the trick to moving forward. Each step had to be very steady, maintaining balance, like walking on a balance beam at school. Niu Niu was the fastest of the three. She soon pulled ahead of Mi Le and Youyou.
After about a dozen steps, the little one had almost no strength left. The mud came up to just below his knees, and lifting his legs required a lot of effort. Shen Yan was a bit anxious. He shouted for him to go slowly, that losing didn’t matter, but he absolutely mustn’t fall. Hearing his brother’s voice, the little one lifted his head. His face was flushed red from the sun, and a thin layer of sweat had formed on his forehead.
Shen Yan’s hands were tied behind his back, and a fierce black-masked person stood beside him. Tears immediately welled up in the little one’s eyes. Seeing that his brother and sister were already far ahead of him, he felt a bit anxious, too. In the little one’s eyes, this was no longer a game. He didn’t want to win, didn’t want to come in first. He just wanted to rescue his big brother. Seeing that Youyou hadn’t caught up, Mi Le and Niu Niu stopped in place to wait for him.
“Youyou, come on! Youyou, come on!”
Niu Niu still had the bump on her head, but after adventuring together in the mountains, she wasn’t as shy as she had been at the beginning. Su Youli cheered himself on. Sweat dripped down his forehead. The little one raised his hand to wipe it, immediately leaving two streaks of mud on his clean little face. The feeling of mud caked on his face was strange. The little one stood there, stunned for a moment, feeling an itch, wanting to scratch, but afraid of making his face even dirtier.
Everyone could see that Su Youli didn’t like mud. Now that his face was dirty, they were afraid he would cry, their hearts aching for him. Tang Dou watched the small figure trudging through the paddy field, his heart melting. He couldn’t go out and help, so he focused on logistics, preparing everything so he could bathe Youyou immediately after the task ended.
Nianbai Village was nestled among mountains and water, with beautiful scenery. Everyone’s attention was on the three children struggling in the paddy field. Mi Le was very close to Su Youli. Seeing him struggling, he immediately waded through the mud over to him.
“Youyou, don’t be scared. I’ll help you.”
With Mi Le by his side, the little one wasn’t as scared. With Lele gege’s help, he began to walk steadily too, step by step. There were still over ten meters to the ridge. The little one was covered in mud, his face like a little flower cat smeared with mud, revealing a set of white teeth when he smiled.
“Big Brother!”
The little mud child waved his hands at his brother. “Wait for me! I’ll be there soon!”
Niu Niu arrived first. As soon as she got out, she couldn’t wait to untie Du Ze’s ropes.
“Papa!”
As soon as Du Ze was freed, he didn’t praise her for being first. His gaze fell on her dirty face with some concern. Niu Niu had long hair, now also caked with mud, which had dried into clumps under the sun. Having come in first, Niu Niu’s eyes sparkled as if she was waiting for something. She stood in front of Du Ze, puffing out her chest, her muddy little face practically begging for praise.
“Niu Niu, you’re too dirty. When we get back, go wash yourself properly, understand?”
Du Ze stood up and flexed his wrists.
Niu Niu’s shoulders slumped. She lowered her head and answered quietly, “Got it.”
Mi Le was the next ashore. With a “Heave-ho,” he rushed toward Mi Huan, his filthy little hands gesturing fiercely at the masked person, his voice ringing with determination: “Let my brother go!”
Mi Huan wanted to curl his toes inward. He forced a smile. “Lele, quickly untie me.”
Mi Le went around behind him, untied the rope, and grinned, asking for praise. “Brother, was I awesome?”
Mi Huan used his sleeve to gently wipe the mud off his face. “So awesome. You rescued your brother.”
At that moment, Mi Le felt like a superhero, holding his head high with pride, his neck stretched out long.
With a “squelch,” a sound came from the paddy field.
Mi Le turned his head, then quickly ran to the edge of the ridge, lying on the ground and shouting, “Youyou—”
Lele gege and Niu Niu jiejie had already made it ashore. The little one, walking a bit too hastily, had accidentally fallen. He fell headfirst. The cameraman who had been following him panicked and quickly grabbed the little one by the collar, pulling him out just as his face was about to go into the mud. It was fast, but the little one’s face hadn’t been spared.
Now his entire face was caked with mud. Mi Huan cried out, “Aiya!” and, ignoring the game rules, jumped into the field and used a towel to wipe the mud away from the little one’s mouth and nose. Seeing this, Shen Yan’s tense heart finally relaxed. Su Youli stood there obediently, letting himself be cleaned, looking a bit dazed.
Mi Le found him amusing. As he wiped the little one’s eyes, he asked, “Youyou, did that hurt?”
There was mud on the little one’s upper eyelids, making it hard to blink. His movements were slow.
“…Huanhuan gege, the mud kissed me,” the little one said in his soft, milky voice.
He didn’t know how to describe the feeling. He just knew that the mud had kissed him, all over his face. He had turned into a little mud boy. The group on the shore was utterly charmed by him, wishing they could point eight hundred cameras at him. Oblivious to all this, when Mi Huan offered to carry him ashore, the little one refused solemnly.
“Own gege, own rescue.” His words were a bit mumbled. He stood up straight, patted his knees, and continued walking toward the shore.
Mi Huan thought Su Youli was incredibly well-behaved. How had such a sweet, adorable child come from a wealthy family like the Shens? Beautiful and obedient, with such a good character and temperament at such a young age. Su Youli had reached the edge of the paddy field. He grabbed the ridge with both hands, tilted his mud-caked face—from which only his features were barely discernible—and said, “Big Brother, I’ve come to rescue you!”
Shen Yan pressed his lips together, but in the end, he couldn’t help the corners of his mouth from turning up. The two children on the shore saw him, immediately ran over, and together pulled Su Youli up. When he was pulled up, his little boots stayed behind in the field, and his socks were also muddy. But by now, the little one didn’t care about the dirt. As soon as he crawled up, he went to untie his big brother’s ropes.
Shen Yan stared at the little mud figure in front of him. His soft, fair, clean little brother had turned into a mud doll. Maybe it was just the filter of being an older brother, but Shen Yan thought that even covered head to toe in mud, Youyou was the most beautiful child in the world.
“Big Brother!” The little one’s face was covered in mud, revealing a set of neat, white baby teeth when he opened his mouth.
Shen Yan had seen every bit of the little one’s struggles to reach him in the field. He was deeply moved.
“You’re the most amazing, our Youyou!” Shen Yan crouched down, opening his arms to hug the adorable little mud child tightly.
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