Villainous Sick Beauty Extra 26

TL: Hua

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Extra 26: Childhood Sweethearts If Line 6

In reality, Xie Chaoyan starting first grade at seven years old was already a year later than expected.

Because he started kindergarten later than his peers, coupled with his maturity, he didn’t really play with the other kindergarten children. Xie Yunzhao originally planned for him to only attend one year of kindergarten before moving on to elementary school.

But when Xie Chaoyan found out, he insisted on staying for another year of kindergarten.

Xie Yunzhao found it strange and asked, “Didn’t you say the kindergarten teachers taught things that were too simple, and you couldn’t really play with the other children?”

Xie Chaoyan mumbled, “I want to stay for one more year so I can be in the same grade as my cousins.”

The cousin he referred to was Xie Yu. Because they often went to the hospital together to see Ye Rongxu, he, Xie Yu, Song Jiaojiao, and Cao Yuxuan played fairly well together.

However, this was relative to his kindergarten classmates. Compared to Ye Rongxu, he was only somewhat familiar with these three children.

After all, Xie Chaoyan was usually as steady as a little adult, seemingly unable to blend in with children his own age, which was somewhat similar to Xie Yi, who was a few years older than him.

Furthermore, whether in front of children his own age or unfamiliar adults, he was cool and didn’t talk much.

Initially, Xie Yunzhao worried that it was a psychological problem caused by his childhood experiences and even took him to see a doctor.

After a few sessions with Xie Chaoyan, the psychologist reassured her, “It’s fine; the child just has a calm and introverted personality. Parents should communicate more with him and let him play more with children his own age.”

Although Xie Chaoyan was like a little ice block in front of others, once he was in front of Ye Rongxu, the ice block melted, becoming warm and attentive.

Sometimes, Xie Yunzhao felt that her son, upon seeing Nannan, was like a bee seeing a flower, diligently buzzing around him.

However, Nannan was young and ill, and it was right for her son, as the big brother, to carefully look after the little brother.

Xie Yunzhao was amused and relieved, and at the same time, she put her mind at ease—her son was not autistic.

Although he always wore a cool little face and didn’t talk much in front of other children, wasn’t he very attentive in front of Nannan?

But it was only for Nannan. As for her son being so good with Xie Yu and Cao Yuxuan, even to the point of wanting to be in the same grade, Xie Yunzhao would never believe it.

She knew her son well. Especially after observing Xie Chaoyan interacting with these two children several times, she was even more certain that her son played with Xie Yu and the others entirely to cooperate with Nannan and make Nannan happy.

Therefore, compared to Xie Chaoyan wanting to be in the same grade as Xie Yu and the others and thus spending two years in kindergarten, Xie Yunzhao was more willing to believe that her child wanted to spend one more year with Nannan.

Xie Yunzhao was always reluctant to refuse her son, and after consulting with a teacher, the teacher also said that children who start first grade at seven years old adapt more easily.

Besides, normal children attend three years of kindergarten. Her Xiaoyan was only going to attend one year and then advance to elementary school because he started late. Two years wasn’t much, even less than average. After careful consideration, Xie Yunzhao finally agreed.

So Xie Chaoyan spent an extra year in kindergarten than planned, and at the age of seven, he started first grade with Xie Yu and Cao Yuxuan, who were a year younger than him.

Even so, Ye Rongxu, knowing his brother wouldn’t be able to visit him frequently anymore, was still deeply saddened.

Ye Boxuan and Lin Xue patiently comforted him: “Even though Brother won’t be here during the week, he’ll come on weekends.”

But upon hearing this, Ye Rongxu cried even harder. Meeting every day versus twice a week, could it be the same?

Ye Boxuan had a headache and felt helpless.

Elementary school didn’t finish that late, and if Ye Rongxu really wanted to see Xie Chaoyan, it wasn’t impossible. But the elementary school was far from the hospital, and driving there would take a long time, not to mention traffic jams during rush hour.

He couldn’t move the hospital next to the elementary school. He’d only heard of buying school district houses, not school district hospitals, and even if you wanted to buy one, it would have to be for sale.

Moreover, elementary school wasn’t like kindergarten. Xie Chaoyan also had to study after school. How could he ask another child to spend energy every day after school coming to the hospital to accompany his son?

So he could only patiently coax him: “Be good, take your medicine, and recover well. When you’re better, you can go to school with Brother.”

Unexpectedly, Ye Rongxu didn’t fall for his trick this time, sobbing with misty eyes, “Lies! Daddy said that before.”

Ye Boxuan: “Uh.”

Indeed, when Xie Chaoyan first started kindergarten, he used that line to coax Ye Rongxu. Who knew that two years later, he was still using the same line? No wonder his son didn’t believe him.

But it wasn’t that he deliberately broke his promise; it was just that Ye Rongxu’s body was truly not suitable for school.

In fact, when Ye Rongxu was five years old, Ye Boxuan had a discussion with Lin Xue. “Nannan can’t stay out of school forever. This year, with Xiaoyan accompanying him, he takes his medicine on time every day, and he no longer frequently throws tantrums or gets depressed. Even the doctor says his condition is better than expected, so why don’t we try sending him to kindergarten?”

For this, Ye Boxuan and Lin Xue made extensive preparations, thinking of everything they could. Not only did they remind the teachers of various precautions, they even discussed with the kindergarten allowing them to arrange a caregiver to accompany him.

But even with all that, an accident still happened.

It was that accident that made Xie Chaoyan realize his brother’s fragility, and from then on, he became a little bee revolving around Ye Rongxu, buzzing around him and diligently taking care of him as soon as he saw him.

Thinking of his son not being able to attend school normally, Ye Boxuan also felt a pang of sadness.

As he was agonizing over it, he heard Ye Rongxu sob again: “And, and Xie Yu said that after they finish first grade, they’ll go to second grade, third grade…”

The little sticky riceball on the hospital bed counted on his fingers, then cried terribly, “I, I, hiccup, even if I can go to school, I won’t be able to be with Brother, hiccup…”

Seeing him crying so hard he was hiccuping, Lin Xue and Ye Boxuan felt even more heartache and quickly hugged and comforted him.

Ye Boxuan raised his hand and promised, “No, Dad will hire a teacher to come to the hospital and home to teach you so you can keep up with your studies. That way, once you’re better, you can directly go to the same grade as Brother.”

Little Ye Rongxu cried another hiccup, then quickly stopped, opening his misty, tear-filled eyes, and curiously asked, “W-Why do I have to study?”

Ye Boxuan: “…” Did you not even know what your Brother Xiao Yan was doing at school?

Ye Rongxu’s little brain indeed didn’t understand these things. Although he had been to kindergarten for two days, he had only focused on playing with Brother Xiao Yan during those two days.

However, considering that he really should start studying, Ye Boxuan and Lin Xue still hired a teacher for him.

And Ye Rongxu, encouraged by his father’s words, “Study hard, and you can go to school with Brother,” actually studied with exceptional diligence and earnestness.

Although due to his physical condition, he couldn’t keep up his energy and couldn’t spend a lot of time in class like normal children, the knowledge in first grade wasn’t difficult, and his little brain was smart. Plus, Xie Chaoyan came to the hospital every weekend, and besides doing his homework, he would also teach him like a little teacher.

So he could keep up with the progress even though his daily class time wasn’t long.

During winter and summer vacations, Brother Xiao Yan would also come to play with him at home. Brother would play the teacher, and he, Xie Yu, and others would play the students, imitating the classroom he imagined. Brother Xiao Yan was very serious; when he said he was the teacher, he was the teacher, even during playtime.

Xie Yu and Cao Yuxuan were miserable, complaining, “Why do we have to study during vacation? What about playing? Why do we have to play teacher and student? We don’t want addition and subtraction within 100! Elementary school students are so difficult.”

Then the two gradually stopped coming to play with him.

Only Ye Rongxu sighed, feeling sorry for his brother. It must be that Brother taught too poorly, which was why his students ran away. If he ran away too, Brother wouldn’t have any students left.

There was nothing he could do. To comfort Brother, he could only rest his little chin on his hand and sit obediently in front of the small whiteboard, following Brother’s recitation: “Red red apples, nannan skies…”

Xie Chaoyan paused the pointer on the whiteboard and corrected, “Wrong, it’s blue (lanlan) skies.”

Ye Rongxu said in a milky voice, “*Nannan* skies.”

Xie Chaoyan: “Blue (Lanlan).”

Ye Rongxu: “*Nannan*.”

“Blue!”

“*Nnan*~”

Xie Chaoyan: “…”

“Keep reading.”

Knowing the little sticky riceball couldn’t distinguish between “n” and “l,” he temporarily gave up, pointing to another line of text on the whiteboard. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly erased “pretty mom, tall dad” and changed it to “pretty Nannan, tall brother,” then demonstrated reading it aloud.

Ye Rongxu blinked and followed, “Pretty brother, tall Lanlan.”

Xie Chaoyan: “…” He suspected the little sticky riceball was doing it on purpose.

Thus, even if his treatment delayed some learning progress, Ye Rongxu would be helped by Teacher Xiao Yan to catch up during winter and summer breaks.

But this wasn’t a long-term solution. Low-grade knowledge was easy to catch up on, but what about higher grades? And what about junior high and high school in the future?

Ye Boxuan and Lin Xue worried for a year and finally decided to let go: “Forget it, as long as Nannan is happy like this, it’s enough. As for studying, if he has the energy, he studies; if he can’t keep up, he rests. There’s no need to force him to keep up with normal children’s pace.”

His health was most important. If he ruined his health for the sake of studying, it wouldn’t be worth it.

Besides, maybe in a couple of years, Nannan’s health would improve, and he could go to school, who knows?

Perhaps it was wishful thinking that came true, or perhaps Lin Xue’s years of dedication to charity were truly being rewarded. Ye Rongxu’s health had improved significantly over the past two years, reaching a state where he could undergo surgery. Just after his seventh birthday, he had an operation.

After six months of recovery, his health genuinely improved a lot.

During these six months, Xie Chaoyan also frequently visited the hospital, often bringing his homework after school to accompany Ye Rongxu, who was lying in bed unable to move much.

Ye Rongxu was always delicate, and this surgery had caused him much suffering and made him particularly uncomfortable, so he should have been difficult to coax.

Lin Xue and Ye Boxuan had prepared themselves for him to lose a lot of weight, feeling incredibly heartbroken.

But with Xie Chaoyan there, Nannan was surprisingly well-behaved and obedient. Even when he had a fever and was uncomfortable, he held Xie Chaoyan’s finger with his small hand and mumbled dazedly, “Brother, don’t be sad. I’ll be fine after my IV drip and a nap…”

As he spoke, he himself drifted off into a feverish sleep.

Xie Chaoyan lovingly used a wet towel to wipe his flushed little face, then leaned down to kiss and blow on his forehead, coaxing him like a little adult, “Little brother won’t be uncomfortable anymore. Uncomfortableness, fly, fly away.”

Lin Xue, who saw this scene after walking into the room, felt a mix of heartache and warmth.

After this difficult period, Ye Rongxu finally recovered and gradually became energetic again, even able to go downstairs and take walks outside. Of course, with his parents, bodyguards, and caregiver accompanying him.

Ye Boxuan saw his condition was better than before the surgery and again entertained the thought of sending him to school.

It wasn’t that he suddenly changed his mind and placed high demands on his son just because his health improved, insisting he go to school. Rather… children his age were all going to school, and only Ye Rongxu lived in the hospital year-round, all alone, looking lonely and pitiful. It wasn’t that Ye Rongxu was alone; in fact, to care for him, Lin Xue rarely went to the company, Grandpa Ye and Grandma Ye spent half their day at the hospital, and Ye Boxuan came to the hospital as soon as he got off work. Their villa at home was often quiet.

But adult companionship was only one aspect; it couldn’t replace everything. As he grew older, Ye Rongxu gradually understood things and realized he was different from other children.

Other children were healthy, but he had to take medicine every day, and sometimes the pills choked his throat. Other children happily went to school and played with friends, while he could only be alone in the hospital, in his room. Besides his parents and family, he was only accompanied by bodyguards, doctors, and nurses, and there was always the smell of disinfectant lingering in his nose.

On weekends, Brother Xiao Yan, his cousin, Xie Yu, and Cao Yuxuan would come to play with him. But apart from his brother, the others don’t come every week.

And no matter how happy they were while playing, the moment they waved goodbye and casually said, “Nannan, we’re leaving now. We have school tomorrow. We’ll come find you to play next time.”

At that moment, a feeling of loneliness would strike with double intensity, overwhelming all previous joy.

For Xie Yu and the others, going to school was such a normal and taken-for-granted thing, but for him, it was an unreachable dream.

He often couldn’t help but lean by the hospital room window after his friends left, looking down at their figures bouncing out of the inpatient building with their backpacks.

At first, he loved listening to them tell interesting stories about school, widening his clear, watery eyes in amazement, finding it fresh and fun.

But he didn’t know when he stopped wanting to listen. Whenever Xie Yu and Cao Yuxuan were about to talk, he would even deliberately interrupt, suggesting, “Let’s watch cartoons; let’s play house.”

But cartoons could be watched at home, and playing house had long grown boring. Xie Yu and Cao Yuxuan would tell him that the slide at school was more fun, and so were the merry-go-round and bumper cars at the amusement park.

Or the boys in their class would go ice skating and skateboarding together.

“The shoes have wheels and lights, and when you spin, the lights flash. It’s so cool when everyone skates together at night,” Xie Yu gestured in the hospital room, sharing his experience of roller skating with his friends.

Finally, he added, “But it’s better to be outside; it’s more fun when everyone plays together. The hospital room is too small.”

In reality, Ye Rongxu was in a luxurious hospital room, which wasn’t small, but it certainly wasn’t big enough for roller skating.

Ye Rongxu pouted, pretending not to be interested, “I have shoes like that too, but they’re not much fun. I don’t like them at all.”

Then he eagerly said, “Let’s play house.”

Clearly, this suggestion didn’t excite Xie Yu and Cao Yuxuan much. They did play with him but soon took out their phones, saying they would teach him how to play games.

“The hospital room is too small to play anything else; gaming is the most suitable,” the two friends said.

For some reason, Ye Rongxu felt a bit gloomy inside.

After the two left, he quickly begged his father to buy him a pair of roller skates, expensive and beautiful, but he only slid around the hospital room for a while with Ye Boxuan supporting him.

At first, he was indeed happy, but then, thinking of Xie Yu’s words, “It’s only fun when everyone skates together; the hospital room is too small,” he gradually felt bored.

Doing anything alone seemed meaningless.

He felt a generation gap with his friends; there were many things they played that he couldn’t participate in and many things they talked about that he didn’t know.

Only Xie Chaoyan remained as always, accompanying him to watch cartoons he never tired of and play house he never grew bored of.

He even noticed that he didn’t like listening to Xie Yu and the others talk about school matters. Occasionally, when Xie Yu and Cao Yuxuan were getting too excited, Xie Chaoyan would stop them.

Gradually, Xie Yu and Cao Yuxuan also stopped talking about school much and began patiently accompanying him to watch cartoons and play house, just like Xie Chaoyan.

But this made him even more uncomfortable, as if he was the one being specially taken care of. And it was true; he later accidentally overheard Brother Xiao Yan instructing the two of them in the hallway not to say things in front of him that would make him unhappy.

Ye Rongxu sighed like a little old man at such a young age.

He wasn’t particularly sad because Brother Xiao Yan was always with him. But not being able to go to school, not being able to learn and play like normal children, indeed troubled and saddened him.

Sometimes, when he saw students with backpacks coming to the hospital to visit hospitalized family members, he couldn’t help but turn his little head and stare at their backpacks for a few extra glances.

These scenes all fell into the eyes of Ye Boxuan and Lin Xue.

How could the two of them not know their son’s thoughts? They also knew why their son suddenly wanted roller skates.

Every time Xie Yu and Cao Yuxuan left, seeing Ye Rongxu, a small figure, leaning by the window looking downstairs, the couple’s eyes would well up with tears of heartache.

So after this surgery, with Ye Rongxu’s health improving, the couple had the desire to send him to school.

But the experience of Ye Rongxu suddenly falling ill and being rushed to the emergency room in kindergarten still haunted them, making them afraid to easily decide.

“I asked Director Chen, and he said Nannan’s current condition allows him to go to school, but he needs to bring his medicine, and it’s best to have someone who can constantly keep an eye on him so that any situation can be dealt with promptly, even sent to the hospital,” Ye Boxuan said, pinching his brow.

It was easy to say but hard to do. When they sent Ye Rongxu to kindergarten, they even arranged for a dedicated caregiver, but still, one careless mistake led to him having an allergic reaction to pollen and difficulty breathing.

Furthermore, elementary school wasn’t like kindergarten; he couldn’t arrange for a caregiver to be in the classroom. But if he didn’t, he couldn’t be at ease.

Moreover, classrooms were crowded, and Nannan’s cardiopulmonary function wasn’t good. Opening windows for ventilation was fine in other seasons, but what if it was cold, the windows were closed, and the classroom was stuffy, making it hard for him to breathe?

And…

Ye Boxuan, in the corridor outside the ward, rambled on, listing a pile of things he was uneasy about, completely unlike the calm and decisive Director Ye he was in board meetings.

Lin Xue had also thought of these things, even listing them out one by one long ago, intending to solve them individually, but when it came down to it, she found it wasn’t so easy.

They exchanged glances, both sighing deeply.

Just as they were about to reconsider, a clear, familiar voice suddenly came from behind them: “Uncle Ye, Aunt Lin, I can take care of Nannan at school.”

Ye Boxuan and Lin Xue turned around in surprise to see Xie Chaoyan standing not far behind them. The young boy had his backpack on, his hand gripping the strap tightly, and his usually cool little face was serious and earnest.

Seeing the surprise and hesitation on Ye Boxuan and Lin Xue’s faces, he took a few steps forward and said earnestly, “Uncle Ye, Aunt Lin, I’m serious. I know all of Nannan’s medicines, and I’ve experienced emergencies before. I’ve also practiced emergency first aid. Last year, when he had an episode, I was the one who helped him inhale the medicine in time.”

Then he pleaded sincerely, “Uncle Ye, Aunt Lin, please let Nannan go to school with me. Isn’t his health getting better? I can be in the same class and sit at the same desk as him, take care of him at all times, and won’t let anything happen to him.”

Clearly, like Ye Boxuan and Lin Xue, he had also seen Ye Rongxu’s thoughts and had taken his sadness to heart.

Ye Boxuan and Lin Xue exchanged glances; both appeared somewhat swayed.

If any other child had said this, they would at most laugh, comfort the child with a few words, and dismiss it as childish talk.

But Xie Chaoyan was different. This child had been mature since childhood, had a steady personality, and had always taken care of Ye Rongxu. Especially after Ye Rongxu fell ill in kindergarten, Xie Chaoyan almost treated Ye Rongxu like a baby.

It was no exaggeration to say that Xie Chaoyan’s understanding of Ye Rongxu’s medication and health condition might not be inferior to that of Ye Rongxu’s caregiver.

But they couldn’t decide so hastily; they still needed to discuss it with Xie Yunzhao. When Xie Yunzhao received Lin Xue’s call, her surprise was overshadowed by delight: “Nannan can go to school now? That’s wonderful, Ah Xue! You and Director Ye have finally waited for this day. Oh, I must give our Xiaoyan’s precious little wife a good back-to-school gift. By the way, should we have a back-to-school party? What do you need…”

Lin Xue felt a line of exasperation, coughing, “Yunzhao, I wanted to ask if you could let your Xiaoyan be in the same class as Nannan and help look after him during class. For other times, Boxuan and I will arrange bodyguards and caregivers…”

“Oh, there’s no need to specially mention such a thing. Taking care of his ‘wife’ is what Xiaoyan should do. That kid must be overjoyed, tsk tsk.”

Lin Xue: “…” Her best friend seemed to have become more outgoing since her divorce.

—

Xie Yunzhao made it sound easy on the phone, but after Xie Chaoyan returned home, she pulled her son aside and meticulously gave him instructions.

“Nannan is young and not well. Since Aunt Lin specifically asked you to help take care of him, after you go to school together, besides looking at the blackboard, you have to keep a close eye on him at all other times, even when he goes to the bathroom. If you find anything wrong, be sure to tell the teacher immediately and call me, Aunt Lin, and Uncle Ye. Our Xiaoyan is a little adult, and you have taken care of your little brother before, so you can definitely do it, right?”

Xie Chaoyan looked helpless and said, “Mom, I was the one who told Aunt Lin about this.”

Xie Yunzhao was surprised and exclaimed, “Wow! So it was our Xiaoyan who volunteered to take care of his ‘little wife’… ahem, to take care of his little brother.”

Xie Chaoyan nodded, then added, “Mom, please don’t always talk to me in a tone like you’re coaxing a child. I’m already in second grade.”

He wasn’t a little child anymore.

Xie Yunzhao chuckled and pinched his cool-looking cheek, saying, “Little brat, acting like an adult again.”

Then she stood up and said, “Alright, go wash your hands and eat. Tomorrow, we’re going to your grandparents’ house. They all said they miss you. Your aunt and uncle are there too.”

Except for the beginning, when Xie Yunzhao feared Xie Chaoyan would be shy and wanted to foster their mother-son bond, in the past two years, almost every month, she has taken her son back several times.

However, besides Ye Rongxu, Xie Chaoyan seemed to be slow to warm up to everyone else. At the Xie family home, he was only relatively close to his grandparents. His relationship with others was generally lukewarm, especially with his uncle.

His uncle, Xie Yunming, had bought him many gifts and tried to get closer, but Xie Yunming himself often had a stern face and didn’t talk much. Xie Chaoyan was also a little ice block, so they often sat face-to-face for a long time without saying a word. It would be a miracle if their relationship got close.

Plus, Xie Yunzhao seemed to intentionally not want her elder brother to have too much contact with her son, so the uncle-nephew relationship had always been average.

But she still had to take her child back to accompany her parents.

Xie Chaoyan always listened to her, but this time he shook his head and said, “Mom, please apologize to Grandpa and Grandma for me. I want to go with Nannan tomorrow to prepare his school supplies.”

Xie Yunzhao saw him apologize like a little adult, clearly still having some distance, and felt both heartbroken and helpless. She rubbed his head and said, “Okay, then go with Nannan. I’ll just tell your grandparents.”

—

The next day, Ye Rongxu was so happy to know he was going to school with Brother Xiao Yan that he spent the whole afternoon in glee and almost couldn’t sleep from excitement that night.

Xie Chaoyan slept with him, patting his little head and coaxing, “Brother, go to sleep quickly. We have to wake up early for school tomorrow.”

Ye Rongxu said “Oh” and obediently buried his head in his arms, but after a while, he couldn’t help fidgeting.

Xie Chaoyan was poked awake and reluctantly opened his eyes, asking, “Little brother, are you a piglet? Why are you wiggling around instead of sleeping?”

Ye Rongxu immediately shook his head and denied, “I’m not Peppa.”

Peppa was the main character of a cartoon he liked to watch, a pink piglet.

Xie Chaoyan rubbed his soft little cheek, his face serious: “Hmm, Peppa is a girl, and little brother is a boy, so you should be George.”

Ye Rongxu, whose cheeks were being rubbed, mumbled indistinctly. After finally being released, he spoke, seriously asking, “Brother, what’s school like? Is it fun? Am I going to school with Brother tomorrow?”

“School, huh?” Xie Chaoyan thought for a moment and then earnestly described it to him.

Unknowingly, a long time passed, and the energetic little sticky riceball finally grew sleepy. He yawned, his voice grew drowsy: “Then when I go to school, can I make a lot of new friends too?”

He waited for a long time but received no answer. The little sticky riceball finally couldn’t hold on and fell asleep.

Xie Chaoyan tucked him in, then thought for a moment and whispered in his ear, “Nannan, even if you make new friends, you must still treat Brother the best, otherwise…”

Otherwise, Brother would be angry.

—

On the first day of school, Ye Rongxu carried his small backpack, sitting in the back seat of the car, happily touching and looking around. His dark, grape-like eyes were full of anticipation.

Xie Chaoyan sat with him in the back, helping him buckle his seatbelt, and then, like a little adult, he stroked his soft hair and admonished, “Brother, don’t move around. Sit still.”

Ye Rongxu immediately quieted down, only his eyes still sparkling.

Ye Boxuan, who was about to remind him not to move, was momentarily speechless, then chuckled, teasing his son, “Only Xiaoyan can manage you.”

Saying that, he started the car and drove the two children and Lin Xue to school.

When the car stopped at the school gate, the principal personally came to greet them, smiling kindly.

To provide his son with a comfortable learning environment, Director Ye had, with a wave of his hand, donated a significant amount of money to the school a while ago to improve teaching facilities. He also installed the latest intelligent ventilation systems in all classrooms to prevent them from getting stuffy when doors and windows were closed.

When Ye Rongxu got out of the car, he held Lin Xue’s hand with one hand and Xie Chaoyan’s with the other, his little leather shoes tapping as he walked, his small face filled with excitement.

Xie Chaoyan tried to carry his backpack for him, but he wouldn’t let him, insisting on carrying it himself.

Ye Boxuan wanted to hold his son’s other little hand but couldn’t, so he could only shake hands with the principal.

—

After the winter break, the children in Class 3, Grade 2, of Jiangcheng Experimental Primary School discovered that a new classmate had transferred to their class.

The new classmate was small, with a fair face, delicate features, and fine, soft black hair. He wore blue overalls and a pretty small backpack, his clear eyes blinking curiously as he looked around, appearing obedient and adorable.

“He looks like my doll.”

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

“…”

The students below whispered amongst themselves. Hearing the homeroom teacher introduce the new transfer student, several mischievous boys couldn’t help but raise their hands high, shouting, “Me, Teacher, I want to sit with her!”

Normally, the homeroom teacher would ask, “Which student would like to share a desk with the new student?” But these boys clearly all mistook Ye Rongxu, who was standing beside the homeroom teacher, for a girl.

Unfortunately, they were more than one step too late.

After the homeroom teacher smiled and instructed, Xie Chaoyan, with a cool little face, walked with his head held high, leading Ye Rongxu to his seat.

The seats were arranged just after the start of the school year, and the homeroom teacher had obviously received prior notice that the seat next to Xie Chaoyan was deliberately vacant.

Because Xie Chaoyan usually didn’t talk much and always wore a cool face, he seemed cold and unapproachable. When seats were arranged yesterday, the spot next to him was intentionally left empty, and some classmates even thought no one wanted to sit with him.

Now, seeing the new classmate arranged to sit with him, some people whispered, “Wow, the new classmate is sharing a desk with Xie Chaoyan.”

“Xie Chaoyan usually ignores people.”

“The new classmate looks so well-behaved; won’t she get bullied?”

“Hmph, I think the new classmate should sit with me!” The sturdy little boy who had raised his hand earlier snorted.

Then, he inexplicably received a cold glare from Xie Chaoyan, which made him shrink his neck in fear.

Ye Rongxu was completely unaware of the classmates’ whispers. It was his first time at school, and everything was new to him. The newest thing was that he and Xie Chaoyan were sitting together in class. When they used to play pretend, he was always the student and Brother Xiao Yan was the teacher, but now the teacher had also become a student.

After class, the classmates didn’t see Xie Chaoyan bullying the new classmate. Instead, they saw him take the new classmate out to grab the most beautifully colored slide for the new classmate to play on.

A few boys who usually didn’t like Xie Chaoyan’s cool demeanor intentionally joked around and said, “Wow, no wonder Xie Chaoyan doesn’t play with us. Turns out he likes to play with girls.”

Ye Rongxu, who was happily playing, frowned slightly, looked left and right, his face full of confusion: “Huh, there are no girls here. What are these boys talking about?”

Xie Chaoyan had already lowered his face and walked over with legs longer than those of other children of the same age. He grabbed one of them by the collar and said coldly, “Who are you calling a girl?”

The boy whose collar was grabbed was stunned with fright, probably having never seen him so fierce.

Just then, Ye Rongxu also walked over, curiously asking, “Yeah, where’s the girl?”

After speaking and seeing those people looking at him strangely, he finally realized and immediately blushed. He stuttered and said, “I, I’m a boy!”

The boys opposite were instantly dumbfounded.

Xie Chaoyan said coolly, “Apologize.”

The boys quickly said “Sorry” with red faces and, as they were released and slipped away, couldn’t help but look back again.

Not far away, the bodyguards and caregivers, disguised as school staff, breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that nothing had happened and didn’t step forward.

In the afternoon, Xie Yu and Cao Yuxuan, who learned that Ye Rongxu was also attending school, excitedly came to find them. After hearing about the morning’s events, the two leaned by the classroom window, wanting to laugh but daring not to.

After being given a resentful glare by Ye Rongxu, the two quickly stifled their laughter.

“Alright, I’ll help you grab the slide from now on too. If anyone dares to laugh at you, I’ll beat them up,” Xie Yu promised, clenching his small fist, looking like a second-grade elementary school bully.

Xie Chaoyan glanced at him, as if to say: Do I need you?

Even at a young age, he inexplicably had a certain aura that immediately made Xie Yu wilt.

However, because of this incident, Ye Rongxu discovered that his Brother Xiao Yan had no friends at school and was even being bullied?

How pitiful. It was a good thing he also came to school. Now Brother Xiao Yan didn’t have to worry about being bullied; he would protect him.

Ye Rongxu thought, clenching his small fist.

But in the eyes of his classmates—

“So the new classmate is being protected by Xie Chaoyan?”

“Xie Chaoyan is so clingy to the new classmate, even going to the bathroom together.”

“It seems the new classmate isn’t well, and Xie Chaoyan is protecting him.”

“In that case, Xie Chaoyan is actually quite nice and not hard to approach.”

Finally, everyone knew that Xie Chaoyan was Ye Rongxu’s little bodyguard, protecting Ye Rongxu like a treasure every day, never leaving his side.

By the end of the semester, Ye Rongxu had, as he wished, made many new friends. And Xie Chaoyan also constantly received kind glances. People who used to be afraid of him suddenly became less afraid and started talking to him and asking him questions.

Xie Chaoyan was just more psychologically mature than his peers and didn’t like dealing with childish children, but he wasn’t truly aloof. When someone asked him a question, his expression might not change much, but he would patiently answer.

So, he received even more kind glances, and some people even patted him on the shoulder, even putting their arms around him, praising, “Xie Chaoyan, you’re really a good person. I misunderstood you before. Turns out you’re cold on the outside but warm on the inside.”

Xie Chaoyan: “?” How inexplicable.

But it was good that these people didn’t bother Ye Rongxu.

After a semester, what made him happiest was that even though Ye Rongxu had made a few new friends, in his heart, he was still the most important and best one.

After school, Xie Chaoyan picked up two backpacks, slung them over his shoulders, and held Ye Rongxu’s hand. As usual, they walked towards the car waiting for them at the school gate, bathed in the golden hues of the setting sun.

*

During the summer vacation, Xie Chaoyan was taken abroad by Xie Yunzhao for half a month.

Ye Rongxu happened to have a hospital check-up, and since his health wasn’t good and he wasn’t suitable for long-distance travel, he could only stay in Jiangcheng, watching Xie Chaoyan leave with an envious expression.

Xie Chaoyan didn’t want to go after he knew about it.

But every year when Xie Yunzhao suggested taking him abroad for a trip, he refused. It’s really hard to refuse again this time, and he didn’t want to see his mother’s disappointed and lonely expression. After hesitating for a long time, he finally agreed.

Unexpectedly, after going there and returning a week later, Ye Rongxu had gained a new brother.

It was like a bolt from the blue!

He had guarded against everything but still couldn’t prevent it. His “best friend” status wasn’t snatched, but his “only brother” status was!

Xie Chaoyan learned about this halfway through his trip. He now had a phone and could video call Ye Rongxu.

But for the first few days abroad, Ye Rongxu was undergoing various examinations at the hospital and couldn’t easily use his phone.

It wasn’t until the day before yesterday that he could finally use it. He eagerly video-called the other party, wanting to hear the little sticky riceball softly say he missed him. Instead, what he heard was the other party happily telling him, “Brother, I have a new brother now! He knows so much, and he’s even taller than you, and his voice is as nice as yours!”

Xie Chaoyan froze instantly, stunned, forgetting to react for a moment.

“Huh, Brother, why aren’t you moving? Is the internet lagging?”

Xie Chaoyan finally came back to his senses, grumbling a muffled “Oh.”

The little sticky riceball seemed to notice something and tentatively asked, “Brother, are you unhappy?”

Xie Chaoyan quickly shook his head, paused, then asked in a muffled, hesitant voice, “Nannan, who… is your new brother?”

“Oh, he’s Brother Qingyu. But not the ‘Qingyu’ from the Qingyu fish[mfn]青鱼 [qīng yú] black carp[/mfn], it’s Qing… sigh, I forgot how to write it again.” The little sticky riceball said, looking distressed. Finally, he shook his head and gave up, saying, “It’s okay, you’ll know when you come back.”

“I’ll introduce him to you then. He really knows a lot. Mom says he’s a top student, and he even promised to tutor me for my ‘Happy Summer Vacation’ homework.”

“By the way, have you finished your ‘Happy Summer Vacation’ homework?”

Xie Chaoyan: “…I finished it ages ago.”

It wasn’t happy at all.

And he didn’t want to know any Qingyu fish or Qingyu human.

 

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