Xiao Chengyi didn’t expect that the new neighbor who had just moved in next door was the same pretty Gege he saw at the ice rink this afternoon. But before he had a chance to feel happy about it, the teasing remark from the other left him unsure of how to respond.
“…Gege, I didn’t follow you here the whole time. My house is right next to yours.”
The child took Chu Tingyun’s playful teasing seriously, explaining everything one by one.
“Because I was holding the plate, I didn’t have a free hand to knock, so I had to use my head.”
After hearing this explanation, Chu Tingyun was a little surprised, thinking this kid was really something.
“Alright then, so you’re here to…?”
“I’m here to bring you a gift, Gege.”
A few days ago, Xie Fengjun noticed workers moving furniture into the house next door. Once she was sure the new neighbors had settled in, she specifically had Xiao Chengyi bring over a welcome gift.
After all, as the saying goes, distant relatives aren’t as good as close neighbors. Since they had a child, it was always good to build some goodwill, even if not too familiar or close.
To help her son develop his social skills, Xie Fengjun had Xiao Chengyi deliver it on his own, teaching him what to say.
“Congratulations on your new home, Gege. From now on, we’ll be neighbors.”
Xiao Chengyi lifted the plate of sweet and sour ribs in his hands. Around his neck hung a pretty paper bag, which his mother had packed with candies and tea.
Chu Tingyun looked at the boy, who tilted his head shyly and smiled at him. The dimples on the corners of his mouth made him look sweet, almost like someone you’d want to poke.
However, Chu Tingyun wasn’t used to, nor did he like, forming close-knit neighborly relationships. Besides, he wasn’t going to be living here for long.
But seeing the child’s clean and sincere eyes, he didn’t feel like rejecting him coldly.
“Thanks, but I usually don’t eat food that’s so oily or…”
Before he could finish speaking, the boy raised the plate toward him again.
Having just turned twelve, Chu Tingyun was nearly 1.7 meters tall, so the 1.2-meter-tall Xiao Chengyi could only hold up the plate to tell him—
“Gege, why don’t you try a bite? My mom’s sweet and sour ribs are really good.”
Chu Tingyun: “…”
It did smell really good.
Way better than his sandwiches!
Chu Tingyun paused for two seconds and then nodded with restraint.
“Alright.”
He took the plate from the child’s hands and placed it on the counter in the dining area.
“Come in, don’t close the door.”
This way, the neighbors could see inside the house from outside and also keep an eye on the child.
“Okay~”
Xiao Chengyi didn’t think much of it. With the pretty floral paper bag still hanging around his neck, he followed behind the handsome Gege like a little tail.
The boy placed the plate on the counter that connected to the kitchen and grabbed two clean pairs of chopsticks.
The moment Chu Tingyun took a bite of the sweet and sour ribs, his taste buds were completely conquered by the child’s mother’s cooking. At that moment, he decided to officially ban sandwiches from his menu.
Xiao Chengyi didn’t eat any. He climbed onto a tall bar stool, took off the paper bag from around his neck, and set it aside.
The child propped his face up with his hands, smiling as he watched Chu Tingyun.
“Gege, I wasn’t lying, right? It’s really good, isn’t it?”
He was fully confident in his mom’s cooking skills.
Chu Tingyun paused slightly, suddenly becoming more reserved.
“Mm, what was your name again… something Xun?”
It had been noisy at the ice rink, and the boy had given two names. Chu Tingyun only remembered the first part.
“Yan Xun.”
Xiao Chengyi responded instinctively and then added,
“But now my name is Ye Chengyi. Gege, you can call me Yanyan or Chengyi.”
“Mm?”
Chu Tingyun, feeling a bit rebellious, asked,
“Can’t I call you Xun Xun?”
“…?”
Xiao Chengyi was stunned, hesitating for a few seconds before nodding.
“That’s fine too.”
Though no one had ever called him that before. After saying that, he turned the question back on Chu Tingyun.
“Gege, what’s your name?”
Chu Tingyun also had two names, or rather, two versions.
When he was younger, he was called Jiang Tingyun. Later, it became Chu Tingyun, and when he moved to Russia with his mother, he had a long Russian name that wasn’t easy for Chinese kids to pronounce.
So he only gave one name.
“—Chu Tingyun.”
“What characters are in your name? How do you write them?”
Chu Tingyun glanced at the kid, surprised, and then pointed to the coffee table in the living room.
“Why don’t you go grab a pen?”
Xiao Chengyi jumped off the bar stool, ran to the coffee table, and found a marker in the drawer. Then he ran back with the pen in hand.
“Here, Gege.”
The child was too obedient, soft and earnest like a sweet, clingy puppy.
As Chu Tingyun looked at him, he couldn’t help but feel the urge to tease him, like writing his name on the boy’s clean, fair face.
But he didn’t do it in the end. If he made the kid cry, or upset his parents and they came knocking on the door, it would be a hassle. Besides, the kid had come to bring him a gift.
So in the end, Chu Tingyun just took Chengyi’s hand and signed his name on the boy’s palm.
“Take a good look—this is the signature of a future Olympic figure skating champion.”
“Wow…”
Xiao Chengyi gasped in amazement.
This reaction, giving him face, made Chu Tingyun very satisfied.
At this point, Xiao Chengyi glanced around the overly new and somewhat cold house and cautiously asked,
“Tingyun-gege, are your mom and dad still at work?”
It was already past eight in the evening.
“They’re divorced. I live with my mom, but she’s not home right now,” Chu Tingyun explained simply.
He was accompanying his mother back to China for treatment and didn’t want to live with his deadbeat dad.
This neighborhood was conveniently located between the ice rink and the hospital, and it was new, with good security and conditions. So Jiang Shenghai bought this house, arranged everything, and had Chu Tingyun move in.
This way, he could easily train at the club’s rink and visit his mother at the hospital. However, today there was a problem at the club, so Chu Tingyun went to a nearby mall to practice for a bit and maintain his skating feel.
Father Jiang originally planned to hire a live-in nanny or a housekeeper to take care of the child, but Chu Tingyun firmly refused. He was very resistant to living under the same roof with strangers, tolerating at most a cleaning service that came every couple of days.
In short—
“I’ve been living alone during this time.”
“I see…”
Xiao Chengyi couldn’t help but glance around the large house.
Since they were on the same floor, the layout of both apartments was identical: 128 square meters, four rooms and two living areas. However, Chu Tingyun’s house felt especially spacious and empty because he had removed two of the rooms.
Especially in such a large house with only him, a twelve-year-old boy living there.
Xiao Chengyi imagined himself in that situation and thought it seemed a bit scary.
“Tingyun-gege, aren’t you afraid to live alone at night?”
Chu Tingyun didn’t answer but let out a soft chuckle.
The implication was probably “how could I be afraid?”
But actually, when Chu Tingyun was younger, he was quite scared, especially right after his parents’ divorce. Before that, he was a timid, clingy child who was afraid of the dark and had to sleep squeezed between his parents every night.
However, after a few years, he got used to sleeping alone and living alone. By the time he was eight or nine, he could travel back and forth independently between China and Russia.
“Alright, you should go back.”
Chu Tingyun still had some basic indoor training to do and didn’t have time to play with a little kid. But before Xiao Chengyi left, he received quite a few things in return from the pretty Gege.
Most of it was specialty food from Russia, like various meats, honey, jams, and ice cream, all stuffed into a big bag.
Xiao Chengyi could barely lift it, and Chu Tingyun didn’t help; he just lazily leaned against the door and directed him.
“Okay, turn around, bend down, and stick your butt out a bit to use your strength. Yes, just drag it along like that.”
“?”
Xiao Chengyi, confused, nodded and did as instructed.
Chu Tingyun watched as the little dog wiggled his butt while dragging the bag home, unable to suppress his laughter as he closed the door.
At this moment, Xie Fengjun had also left the door open, so she saw her younger son returning in a strange position.
She was quite surprised. “Yanyan, why are you dragging so much stuff?”
“Tingyun-gege gave it to me as a return gift.”
Xiao Chengyi pointed to the neighbor’s already closed door and happily shared with his mom about their chance encounter at the rink and how he had a pleasant time with Gege.
“Really?”
After hearing this, Xie Fengjun had a very good impression of the neighbor’s child, but she felt the child’s parents were somewhat irresponsible for leaving such a young kid home alone.
“Then Yanyan, go play with your gege more often. You can also invite him to our house for dinner.”
“Okay~”
Xiao Chengyi happily agreed.
Just then, Ye Cunshan, who was in the kitchen, heard their conversation and poked his head out to ask, “Did Chengyi finish delivering the stuff?”
“Yes, and he got quite a few return gifts.”
Xie Fengjun smiled at her husband.
“He couldn’t even lift it and had to drag it back like a little dog.”
Little dog…?
The previously happy Xiao Chengyi froze at this description. He immediately turned to look at the neighbor’s closed door.
A few seconds later, he finally understood why Tingyun-gege had a hard time suppressing his smile earlier.
It was intentional! He had made him drag it back like this!
“……”
Xiao Chengyi, angry, clenched his fist.
Meanwhile, Xie Fengjun was still talking to her husband when she suddenly saw her son dash into the study, grab a couple of books, and run back out.
“Hey, Yanyan, where are you going? It’s time to eat!”
“I’m delivering something to my Gege! I’ll be right back!”
Knock, knock, knock—
Chu Tingyun really didn’t expect the kid to come back so soon after just leaving.
He felt the door again and found this time it was knocked at a slightly higher height, around 1.4 meters.
Only little kids would knock at this height.
Chu Tingyun opened the door and looked down to meet Xiao Chengyi’s gaze.
“What is it now, little friend?”
“Gege, my name is Ye Chengyi!”
His tone sounded a bit annoyed, as if he didn’t like being called “little friend.”
“Uh, alright.”
Chu Tingyun decided not to go along with him and ruffled his hair.
“What’s up, Xun Xun?”
“……”
Xiao Chengyi stood still, letting him mess up his hair. After holding back for a long time, he finally shoved the things he was holding into Chu Tingyun’s arms.
“This is for you.”
After saying that, the child turned and ran back home.
Chu Tingyun: “……?”
What else did he give him?
Looking down, the teenager saw that the items in his arms were actually two calligraphy workbooks.
The first was “700 Commonly Used Characters for Preschoolers.”
The second was “Tian Yingzhang’s Regular Script Techniques.”
Chu Tingyun: “………”
Alright, alright!
This little kid actually thinks his handwriting is ugly!!
Chu Tingyun was both amused and annoyed.
But it was indeed a fact.
Chu Tingyun moved to Russia with his mother before he turned five, and only started returning to China for a couple of months each year when he was eight.
Most of his time was spent on figure skating training, occasionally learning the piano, and his cultural studies were taught by a tutor. Given this, it was already impressive that he could manage to learn Chinese, English, and Russian well, let alone practice calligraphy.
He was rarely ridiculed about something so personal, especially by a child.
He originally thought of throwing the two workbooks straight into the trash, but after a moment’s consideration, he didn’t.
Because Chu Tingyun remembered an important point: if he won an Olympic figure skating championship in the future and had to sign autographs, it wouldn’t be good if his handwriting was terrible.
“Tsk…”
With that thought, the annoyed teenager ultimately didn’t throw the workbooks away but placed them on his desk instead.
Buzz, buzz, buzz—
At that moment, his Nokia phone, which was on the sofa, rang.
Chu Tingyun picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Gege?”
A sweet, soft voice came from the other end of the line.
“Did you move to a new house? How is it?”
This was his half-sister, Jiang Jingshu, calling.
After their parents divorced, Chu Tingyun followed his mother to live in Russia. The next year, Jiang Shenghai remarried and had a daughter with Chen Wanqing. However, less than a year later, Chen Wanqing had an affair and was caught in the act by Jiang Shenghai.
When Chu Tingyun found out about this, he laughed so hard he rolled on the bed, being happy for several months.
After that, Jiang Shenghai, who had been cheated on, quickly divorced Chen Wanqing, and the collaboration between Jiang Group and Hongyuan Real Estate was immediately terminated. Not only that, but the Chen family also faced retaliation from Jiang Shenghai.
Hongyuan Real Estate went bankrupt less than two years after starting up, and due to numerous illegal operations, the police came knocking, leaving them with no chance of recovery.
Naturally, Jiang Shenghai gained custody of his one-year-old daughter. After resolving issues with the Chen family, he began frequently traveling to Russia to try to mend his relationship with his eldest son.
Reconciliation was definitely out of the question, but Jiang Shenghai never considered giving up on his children. Since he couldn’t regain custody for now, he started focusing on educational resources and future planning.
He talked to his ex-wife, Irina, many times, expressing his support for Chu Tingyun’s figure skating. However, he pointed out that an athlete’s career is quite short. After retirement, Chu Tingyun would still be in his twenties, and if he didn’t win an Olympic championship, what would he do with a body full of injuries?
Moreover, Jiang Shenghai promised that he wouldn’t remarry or have other children, and the future of Jiang Group would belong to Chu Tingyun.
Eventually, Irina relented the following year, allowing her son to return to China for two months each year to stay with his father.
When Chu Tingyun returned to China at the age of seven, Jiang Jingshu was only four, just beginning to form memories. At the time of their parents’ divorce, Jiang Jingshu was only one year old and had no impression of her mother.
So, in her little mind, she only knew that her family included a dad and a particularly handsome blue-eyed Gege.
Jingshu was very well-behaved and cute. She didn’t resemble Chen Wanqing much; instead, she looked a bit like Jiang Shenghai’s mother, the late grandmother who had once treated Chu Tingyun very well. This greatly reduced Chu Tingyun’s dislike for her.
The little girl was very fond of her Gege, Chu Tingyun. Even though he was quite aloof, she always liked to cling to him, calling him “Gege” every day.
When Chu Tingyun was in Russia, Jingshu often called him on long-distance calls. As the years passed, the teenager’s attitude softened.
“Gege, I miss you so much! Can I come watch you train during my vacation?”
Chu Tingyun replied with an “mm,” saying it was fine.
Jingshu’s soft, sweet voice continued in the receiver for ten minutes before it switched to a man’s voice.
On the other end, Jiang Shenghai cautiously asked:
“Do you need anything for your new house? I can have someone bring it to you.”
“No need.”
Chu Tingyun’s tone immediately turned cold; he really didn’t want to talk much and was quite straightforward.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up.”
“…Your mother’s health has improved quite a bit recently. The doctor said that once her condition stabilizes, she can have surgery next month.”
“Mm.”
This topic slightly softened Chu Tingyun’s tone.
Jiang Shenghai couldn’t help but ask, “Why don’t you come home to stay? The driver can take you every day.”
Chu Tingyun immediately frowned: “I said no.”
“…Alright.”
They really had no other topics to discuss, and the call ended in less than five minutes.
Chu Tingyun took a gentle breath, changed into his training clothes, and went to the gym for evening practice. He couldn’t resist eating a plate of sweet and sour ribs tonight, so he had to add some extra workout time.
The next day, Chu Tingyun followed his usual routine of training at the club, attending academic classes afterward, and then visiting his mother at the hospital for a while. After resting for a bit, he prepared for his evening workout.
Jiang Shenghai had arranged for a dedicated driver and car for him, so he didn’t have to worry about transportation.
This was Chu Tingyun’s daily life.
However, starting today, he planned to add calligraphy practice to his nightly training.
Knock, knock—
Confirming the height of the knock, Chu Tingyun didn’t need to open the door to know who it was.
“What is it?”
The teenager swung the door open to find Xiao Chengyi standing there in a Snoopy pajamas, holding a pillow.
“Tingyun gege, aren’t you afraid of living alone? Why don’t you come sleep at my house?”
Xiao Chengyi had thought about this all night and couldn’t sleep, so he came to knock after getting his parents’ permission.
Chu Tingyun: “……”
Actually, he sometimes felt a bit scared, but he certainly couldn’t say that in front of a child.
“Xiao Chengyi, have you learned the idiom ‘putting oneself in another’s shoes’?”
This was what Chu Tingyun had just learned in his Chinese class today.
“I know.”
Although Xiao Chengyi was still in preschool, he had a broader knowledge base than most children his age thanks to his parents’ influence.
Chu Tingyun raised an eyebrow in surprise but continued to ask him:
“So does that mean you’re terrified of sleeping alone?”
“……”
Xiao Chengyi froze for two seconds, quickly realizing that Chu Tingyun was using the idiom against him.
The child was left speechless, and at that moment, the handsome Gege was already pushing him to turn around and nudging him a bit toward his own house.
“Xiao Chengyi, if you’re really scared, go find your mom and dad. Don’t think about crawling into my bed.”
Xiao Chengyi was immediately embarrassed and angry, turning to explain, but at that moment, Chu Tingyun yawned.
“Hurry back. I’m closing the door now.”
Xiao Chengyi: “…… Hmph!”
He sulkily hugged his pillow and went back home.
A week later, just when Chu Tingyun was starting to feel a bit unaccustomed to the silence and missing the sweet and sour ribs from before, the neighbor’s child came looking for him again.
This time, Xiao Chengyi brought a lot of healthy snacks, and in addition, he had a popular horror movie DVD from Hong Kong.
“Tingyun gege, this one is really scary! I can’t watch it alone; can you watch it with me?”
Chu Tingyun was surprised. “I don’t like watching this kind of thing.”
“Tingyun gege, are you scared of horror movies too?”
“…… How could that be?!”
With a bit of reverse psychology and peer pressure, ten minutes later, the rented DVD was in the player at Chu Tingyun’s home.
The two children settled on the couch to watch.
At first, they sat at opposite ends, but as the movie progressed, they gradually moved closer together.
Xiao Chengyi was young and still in preschool, so he usually went to bed by nine. Today, he stayed up until ten-thirty to wait for Chu Tingyun to come back and watch the movie together.
Fortunately, it was a holiday, so his parents were lenient about his bedtime.
However, his biological clock was difficult to override, and not long after the movie started, he began to feel sleepy, his eyelids drooping, and he couldn’t keep up with the plot.
Half an hour later, just as the movie reached its climax—the scariest part—Xiao Chengyi fell asleep.
But Chu Tingyun was fully immersed, his heart racing. Eventually, he had to tightly hold the sleepy Xiao Chengyi in his arms to keep himself from being too scared.
As he watched the movie, he even felt like there were more than just the two of them in the room.
At midnight, Ye Cunshan came to pick up his son.
Chu Tingyun forced himself to escort the child out, his face pale enough that Ye Cunshan couldn’t help but ask:
“Xiao Chu, are you feeling alright?”
“I’m fine, Uncle…”
As Chu Tingyun turned to close the door, a glance at the spacious, empty room, the fluttering curtains, and the pitch-black bedroom made him hesitate to shut it.
At that moment, the sleepy Xiao Chengyi tugged at his shirt.
“Gege, you still haven’t returned my DVD.”
“Oh, wait a second.”
Chu Tingyun opened the DVD player, and the bloody images on the disc made him hesitate to grab it.
Two minutes later, the teenager finally took the disc out.
“Here.”
He quickly handed it back to Xiao Chengyi.
Just then, a gust of wind blew in through the living room window, causing the security door behind Chu Tingyun to creak slightly. The cold night breeze brushed against his neck like a ghostly breath.
He was startled, his heart racing at the thought.
Could there really be ghosts in the world?
The slight Adam’s apple of the developing teenager rolled slowly and noticeably.
“Gege, we’re going home now.”
Xiao Chengyi rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked again.
“Aren’t you scared of sleeping alone? Want to come to my house?”
“…… No.”
Even though Chu Tingyun said that, he still hesitated to turn back and enter the house. It wasn’t until another gust of wind slammed the door shut with a bang that he felt a chill run down his spine.
All he could think was: ghosts, ghosts, ghosts, ghosts, ghosts, ghosts, ghosts, ghosts!
Ye Cunshan frowned, a bit worried as he asked, “Did you bring your keys? If not, do you want to sleep at my house?”
Chu Tingyun, with the keys in his pocket: “…… No.”
Seeing the time, Ye Cunshan said, “Then call your parents and let them know you’ll be sleeping over at my house with Chengyi tonight.”
“No need to call.”
Chu Tingyun took a deep breath.
“Then it’ll be a hassle, Uncle.”
So tonight, he took his keys and crawled into Xiao Chengyi’s bed!
