When Chu Tingyun arrived at the Ye family’s house, he discovered that Xiao Chengyi actually lived in the master bedroom.
Generally speaking, the largest bedroom with its own bathroom is where the parents stay, while the children occupy the smaller secondary bedrooms.
However, in the Ye family, it was the opposite.
The child lived in the master bedroom, and the parents in the secondary bedroom. The other two rooms were converted into study rooms—Xiao Chengyi had one to himself, while his parents shared the other.
The decor was clean and warm; although there were many things, everything was well-organized and tidy. The balcony was filled with various plants and flowers, clearly tended to with care.
“Xiao Chu, you’re here?”
Xie Fengjun was somewhat surprised but also pleased as she warmly pulled the boy inside.
“Are you hungry? Want a late-night snack?”
“… No, thank you.”
Chu Tingyun actually wanted something to eat, but he remembered he was a professional athlete and managed to resist.
“Then how about a cup of warm milk? It helps you sleep.”
Chu Tingyun didn’t like milk, but when he heard “helps you sleep,” he agreed to have a cup.
“Thank you, Auntie.”
“Mom, I want some too~”
Xiao Chengyi wanted some as well; he had to drink a cup of milk every night because his mom said it would help him grow taller.
Xiao Chengyi handed Chu Tingyun a new children’s toothbrush.
“This one’s new, you can use it for now, Gege.”
When he went to the store with his mom to buy toothbrushes, he wanted the blue one with Doraemon, but that toothbrush came in a pair—one blue and one pink—so they ended up buying both.
Xiao Chengyi used the blue one, so the only one left was the pink one.
Chu Tingyun paused for a few seconds but reluctantly took it: “… Okay.”
It was obviously a toothbrush meant for a kindergarten child.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t go back to get his own toothbrush, so he had to use the pink cat-shaped one.
After the two kids finished their milk and went to brush their teeth, Xie Fengjun specially changed the sheets on her son’s big bed.
Chu Tingyun was allergic to dust when he was young, so his home always had to be spotless. Later, when his parents divorced, it caused him severe psychological damage, leading to a gradually developing obsession with cleanliness.
He couldn’t stand having strangers in his home and found it difficult to sleep in the same bed as others. But tonight, he was so scared that he could hardly bear to turn back when he stood at the door.
In the end, he had to force himself to snuggle into the little boy’s bed.
On the way here, Chu Tingyun was actually quite conflicted. He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to adapt, that he would be repulsed, while also hoping that the child’s bed would be clean enough.
Even though it looked clean, he thought he would still feel uncomfortable or resistant. But unexpectedly, after lying down, he felt none of that.
The little boy’s blanket and pillow smelled nice. It wasn’t the exclusive scent of laundry detergent but had a hint of warmth from the sun.
To sleep next to his gege, Xiao Chengyi had fought off his sleepiness to take a shower, quickly dried his hair, and then hopped into bed.
By this time, it was already nearing 1 AM, and the little boy, who usually went to bed at 9 PM, was completely exhausted.
“Good night, Tingyun gege.”
Xiao Chengyi’s tender, muffled voice drifted into his ears, and then the room plunged into darkness.
After a while, the young man tried calling softly, “Ye Chengyi?”
“…”
“Xunxun?”
“…”
There was no response.
The child’s breathing was steady and soft, clearly having fallen into a deep sleep as soon as he hit the pillow.
Chu Tingyun remained silent for a moment, then tentatively poked Xiao Chengyi’s cheek. Seeing that he was completely unaware, he pulled the little boy into his arms, feeling his chest fill with warmth. This touch dispelled much of the fear and anxiety within him.
Phew—
The young man let out a quiet breath in the darkness.
This was much better.
The child’s body was soft and warm, carrying the scent of Snoopy milk bath, which made holding him feel especially pleasant. Gradually, Chu Tingyun’s attention shifted away, and he finally began to feel sleepy.
After a long time, just as Chu Tingyun was about to fall asleep, he suddenly felt the urge to go to the bathroom.
“…”
The bathroom was actually very close; it was an en-suite in the master bedroom.
But Chu Tingyun still felt a bit hesitant to go. Fortunately, the urge wasn’t too strong, so he forced himself to fall asleep, thinking that it would be fine if he just fell asleep.
As a result, he tossed and turned in bed, and the slight urge grew into a strong one. In the end, he couldn’t hold it any longer and nudged the little Chengyi awake.
“Hey, wake up!”
“Mm… What’s wrong, Tingyun gege?”
“You need to get up and go to the bathroom.”
“… Huh?”
Xiao Chengyi was so sleepy that his little head burrowed deeper into the blankets, his voice muddled.
“But, um… I don’t want to go to the bathroom.”
“What if you wet the bed? You drank so much water tonight and had a cup of milk!”
Chu Tingyun spoke firmly and dug the little boy out of the blankets.
“Quick, go so you don’t wet the bed!”
“Mm… But I went to the bathroom before I went to sleep.”
Xiao Chengyi was really sleepy; he didn’t even open his eyes and just snuggled against his handsome gege’s neck to comfort him.
“I haven’t wet the bed in a long time. Gege, believe me, let’s just sleep…”
But Chu Tingyun could barely hold it in.
He quickly gave the child’s bottom a light slap, threatening, “Ye Chengyi, are you going or not? If you don’t go, I’ll carry you there!”
“?!”
Xiao Chengyi, who had just been slapped on the bottom by his gege, instantly woke up.
He flipped over and sat up, his hair a complete mess, looking like a little puppy with frizzed fur.
“…”
Xiao Chengyi stared at Chu Tingyun lying next to him, holding it in for a long time until his little face turned red.
“Okay, fine, I’ll go…”
In the end, he had to give in.
There was a six-year age difference between them; Chu Tingyun was a professional athlete, tall and strong, easily able to overpower a little child.
If he really pushed the other one too far, Ye Chengyi thought that Tingyun gege might actually carry him to the bathroom and pull down his pants.
Just wait!
Just wait until I grow up!
I will definitely grow taller than my gege! Stronger than him! I’ll be able to threaten him at night to carry him to the bathroom!
Xiao Chengyi, half-asleep, made a secret vow in his heart.
He turned on the bedside lamp and went to the bathroom.
Bang—
When he turned on the bathroom light, the overly bright surroundings made him reflexively close his eyes. But just as he stepped in, Chu Tingyun yanked him out by the collar of his pajamas with one hand.
“Wait a second, I need to go first.”
Bang.
The other person shut the bathroom door.
Xiao Chengyi: “…?”
He stood in confusion at the door for a full five minutes, waiting for Chu Tingyun to wash his hands carefully before coming out looking refreshed.
“All done, you can go now. Remember to turn off the light.”
After saying that, the young man burrowed back under the covers to continue sleeping.
Xiao Chengyi, feeling drowsy, slowly processed what had just happened. He sensed something was off, but couldn’t quite figure it out right away. He quickly went to the bathroom, washed his hands, and then returned to sleep.
The two children, one big and one small, snuggled together in the same blanket, finally able to sleep well.
But just as Xiao Chengyi was about to fall asleep, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
“Tingyun gege?”
“… What?”
The young man’s voice sounded very tired.
“Were you too scared to go to the bathroom alone just now, so you called me to get up?”
“……”
Chu Tingyun didn’t say anything for a long time.
Just when Xiao Chengyi thought he had fallen asleep, he suddenly let out a light grunt.
“How could that be?!”
“Really? Then why did you…?”
Xiao Chengyi wanted to ask more, but at that moment, Chu Tingyun grabbed the back of his head and pressed his face into his chest.
“Don’t talk, go to sleep!”
“… Mmm.”
Xiao Chengyi could only wish him goodnight once more.
The two of them didn’t fall asleep until 2 AM, which made it hard for either of them to get up the next morning.
It wasn’t until Xie Fengjun knocked on the door and told Chu Tingyun—
“Xiao Chu, your dad is here to see you.”
Chu Tingyun, completely exhausted, instantly woke up.
“Who???”
Jiang Shenghai had arrived at 7 AM, bringing his daughter Jiang Jingshu along. He planned to take the two kids out for breakfast and then drop them off at school. However, when he opened the door, he found the living room lights on but no sign of his son.
The apartment had two elevators and four units, so when Jiang Shenghai asked a neighbor, he quickly found the Ye family.
After a brief conversation, Ye Cunshan soon explained the situation.
“I’m really sorry, Mr. Jiang, I should have told you last night.”
“—I didn’t allow him to.”
Chu Tingyun walked out of the bedroom, frowning as he directly questioned him.
“Jiang Shenghai, what are you doing here?”
The man didn’t answer, but Jiang Jingshu ran over to hug Chu Tingyun and whined.
“Gege, my dad and I moved in!”
Since Chu Tingyun insisted on living alone, it was still dangerous for a twelve-year-old to be alone outside. Plus, his daughter kept saying she wanted to see her brother.
“Dad, if gege can’t come back, we can move in with him.”
“… Mmm.”
That was indeed a good solution.
So Jiang Shenghai bought two units on the same floor. He had just moved in with his daughter today. He also brought along a very capable live-in nanny who would stay on Jiang Shenghai’s side, not living with his eldest son, but could help take care of the two kids’ daily lives.
Chu Tingyun was surprised that his annoying father could do something like this. He opened his mouth but, seeing his little sister beside him, ultimately refrained from telling him to leave.
At that moment, Xiao Chengyi also came out of the bedroom. He had heard that Chu Tingyun’s father and sister were visiting, so he changed into appropriate clothes to greet them and politely introduce himself.
Jiang Jingshu rarely met a younger child, and this little was so well-behaved and cute that she instantly liked him.
“Hello, Xiao Chengyi, you can call me Sister Jingshu.”
Thus, the two families officially got to know each other.
Chu Tingyun was usually busy with training and studying during the day, so Xiao Chengyi ended up spending more time with Sister Jingshu.
Sometimes, when Ye Cunshan and his wife were busy, Xiao Chengyi would go over to the Jiang family for dinner. Other times, when the Ye family had time to make a big meal, Xiao Chengyi would drag his brother and sister over to eat.
The presence of the two children made the floor lively, as they often visited each other, and eventually, the Ye family stopped closing their doors altogether.
Originally, Chu Tingyun was very independent and preferred being alone, but after more than half a month, he gradually got used to being pulled around by Xiao Chengyi and his sister.
One day, he took a horror movie he had watched countless times to the Ye family to get revenge on the little boy. But when he entered the house and looked around, he didn’t see anyone.
“Auntie Xie, where’s Ye Chengyi?”
Xie Fengjun replied, “Oh, Yan Yan just finished her martial arts class and is back in the shower.”
Chu Tingyun went straight to Xiao Chengyi’s room and knocked on the bathroom door.
“Hey, Xiao Chengyi, are you done yet?”
“I’ll be… right there!!!”
It sounded like the little boy hadn’t expected anyone to knock on the door while he was showering, and his voice was particularly flustered.
“Gege, wait a minute, I’ll be done soon.”
Chu Tingyun raised an eyebrow, a mischievous idea coming to him. He lifted his hand and directly turned the bathroom door handle.
“???”
Xiao Chengyi, who was taking a shower, was utterly shocked. He reflexively covered his little self and crouched in the corner, his tone full of embarrassment and anger—
“Gege! You… how could you just walk in? I’m taking a shower! You can’t do that!”
“We’re both guys, what’s the big deal?”
Chu Tingyun refused to leave, leaning against the bathroom door and confidently looking at the little boy. Not only that, he wanted to tease him a bit more.
“Besides, how big is your little bird? What’s there to see?”
Xiao Chengyi, who had always been shy, was rendered speechless with anger: “…”
Little bird? He even said little little bird!!!
Probably out of extreme embarrassment, the little boy’s entire body turned red within a few seconds.
Chu Tingyun gradually realized that teasing the little kid was incredibly enjoyable. He made the little pup flustered and then laughed as he walked out.
But he remembered to close the bathroom door behind him.
“Hurry up and wash. After you’re done, come to my place to watch a movie!”
“… I’m not going!!”
Xiao Chengyi was so angry that he had no mood to watch a movie.
But as soon as he finished speaking, Chu Tingyun “bang—” pushed the bathroom door open again.
“What did you just say?”
The boy, caught in the nude, instantly surrendered: “… Fine! I’ll go!”
“Chu Tingyun, close the door for me!!!”
This time, he didn’t even call him gege.
“Hm? What did you call me just now?”
Chu Tingyun stood firmly at the door, refusing to budge.
“You’ve got guts now, huh, Ye Chengyi?”
“… Gege.”
In his brief six years of life, Xiao Chengyi felt the word “humiliation” for the first time. Crouching in the corner, with his wet hair sticking to his face, he pitifully whispered—
“Gege, I’ll go.”
“Uh-huh.”
Satisfied, Chu Tingyun mercifully helped the little boy close the door.
The moment he confirmed that the door was shut, Xiao Chengyi quickly grabbed a towel to wrap himself up, then locked the bathroom door.
Click!
The moment the lock clicked, he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of security.
Standing still for two seconds, Xiao Chengyi pulled the towel aside to sneak a peek.
All clear.
I’ll grow up!
As long as I eat well and exercise every day, I can do it!
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Chengyi quickly prepared himself mentally, changed his clothes, dried his hair, and went to find his gege with the delicious food his mom made.
Chu Tingyun planned this scare for Xiao Chengyi specifically while Jiang Jingzhu was at her evening math class.
He had carefully chosen a super scary Japanese horror film for this day, watching it ten times to desensitize himself, making all preparations.
So from the very beginning, Chu Tingyun eagerly anticipated the sight of the little kid screaming and shaking, terrified to sleep alone at night or even to go to the bathroom by himself.
However, as the minutes passed and the movie progressed past the halfway mark, Xiao Chengyi still showed no particular reaction.
Chu Tingyun couldn’t understand: “Aren’t you scared?”
Xiao Chengyi shook his head: “No.”
Chu Tingyun found it unbelievable: “Why aren’t you scared?!”
Xiao Chengyi said matter-of-factly: “Because my dad said there are no ghosts in the world. He also said we should believe in materialism.”
Chu Tingyun: “…”
The boy was silent for a long time before gritting his teeth and saying, “Just pretend there are!”
Pretend there are?
Xiao Chengyi thought for a moment and replied: “Even if there are, I’m not afraid. My dad says as long as I study hard, keep improving, and strive to be a Young Pioneer in the future, I’ll have a red heart and a righteous spirit, which means no ghosts can harm me.”
“And right now, my parents are both party members, and I’m their child. No ghost would dare to mess with me.”
Chu Tingyun: “…”
Is it really possible to think like this???
—The door to a new world had opened.
So this revenge plot with the horror movie naturally ended in failure.
After Xiao Chengyi went home from watching the movie, Chu Tingyun immediately called Jiang Shenghai.
The deadbeat dad was so surprised to receive a call from his son that he was almost overwhelmed.
“Hello, Tingyun…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the man heard his eldest son interrogating him over the phone—
“Jiang Shenghai, are you a party member?!”
“…???”
Jiang Shenghai was utterly bewildered.
“No.”
—At that moment, Chu Tingyun broke down.
“Jiang Shenghai, how useless are you? You’ve lived for over twenty years and haven’t even joined the party?!”
“…”
After living for over twenty years, Jiang Shenghai discovered he had this blemish for the first time.
He initially wanted to ask his son why he suddenly asked this, but just then, the other side had already hung up in anger.
A month and a half later—
Chu Tingyun’s mother had a successful surgery, and the recovery went well. Xiao Chengyi even went with his gege to bring her flowers.
“Aunt Irina, I wish you a speedy recovery.”
Irina had lost a lot of weight due to her illness, but her spirits were good. She was a blonde woman with blue eyes and particularly exquisite features, and although her face bore many wrinkles, her beauty was still evident.
Chu Tingyun’s remarkable bone structure and figure skating talent were inherited from her.
Irina had heard a lot about the Ye family from her son, especially about the little boy named Ye Chengyi. After meeting this family, she noticed that her son seemed much happier. So her fondness for Xiao Chengyi grew significantly.
After recovering from her illness and improving her relationship with her ex-husband, Irina was no longer mired in the gloom and stubbornness of divorce; she had become much more at peace.
“Oh, thank you, darling.”
Irina warmly kissed the little boy’s cheek.
“You’re simply the most adorable little sweetheart in the world.”
From that day on, Chu Tingyun began calling Ye Chengyi “little sweetheart.”
Xiao Chengyi felt awkward but couldn’t stop it, so he could only beg his gege not to call him that in front of others, but rather to call him quietly in private.
Chu Tingyun pinched the little boy’s red ear tips and chuckled in agreement.
Such joyful days only lasted for two months, as Chu Tingyun had to return to his club in Russia for training to prepare for the World Junior Championships next year.
On the day he left, his father, sister, and the entire Ye family went to the airport to see him off. Xiao Chengyi’s eyes were red as he held his gege’s hand, insisting that he must remember to call.
“I know.”
Chu Tingyun agreed and then boarded the plane with his coach and mother.
Two months later, Xiao Chengyi successfully graduated from kindergarten and started first grade. Half a semester later, a transfer student joined their class.
The transfer student was chubby, with a round head and face, and he spoke Mandarin poorly, with a noticeable southern accent.
“Hello, classmates, I… I am Zhou Ze…”
As soon as he started speaking, the kids below burst into laughter at his strange accent.
Little Fatty Zhou felt embarrassed and awkward, his little face turning red on stage. Just then, he noticed a boy sitting by the window who wasn’t laughing.
—Only that boy wasn’t laughing.
Later, when some bigger kids mocked Zhou Ze for being fat and snatched his Ultraman toy, that boy helped him.
“So what if he’s fat? Fat has its uses! It can save your life in a crisis; do you understand?”
Not only did he help Zhou Ze get his Ultraman back, but he also defended his body.
Oh my god!
At that moment, Zhou Ze felt like the boy was glowing.
“I’m Ye Chengyi.”
He spoke to him in a southern dialect.
Zhou Ze became even more excited and asked, “Are you from Nancheng too?”
“Kind of; I stayed in that city for a while.”
“…”
Zhou Ze stared at him for a long time, as if making a significant decision, then suddenly hugged Chengyi.
“Then let’s be friends for life, Ye Chengyi!”
He shouted this in a very animated way, causing the whole class to look over.
Xiao Chengyi: “… Can I refuse?”
“Please don’t QAQ.”
“…”
From that day on, Xiao Chengyi had a new friend named Zhou Ze.
This new friend was incredibly talkative.
Without Xiao Chengyi asking much, he spilled out everything about himself like a bamboo tube pouring beans.
Zhou Ze also came from a broken home and lived with his mother.
His father had an affair, beat his mother, and Zhou Ze couldn’t bear to see her cry at night. He argued fiercely with his father, and during the day, he watched his mom force a smile despite her suffering.
One day, little Zhou Ze gathered his courage and told his mother:
“Mom, you should divorce that bad guy. You’re not even pretending well; when you smile, it’s like you’re crying to me.”
After hearing this, Zhou Ze’s mother froze for a long time, then couldn’t help but hug her son and cry.
She held him all night without sleeping but still couldn’t bring herself to decide on the divorce. Initially, she wanted to give that man another chance, but when she investigated the mistress, she found out that not only did he transfer their marital assets, but he also tricked her into investing, taking a lot of her family’s money.
To make matters worse, the mistress was pregnant and had gone to some old Chinese doctor who claimed it was definitely a boy.
In that moment, Zhou Ze’s mother felt utterly defeated.
Finally, she mustered the courage to divorce him. At that time, her ex-husband hadn’t transferred too many assets, so she used all her might, reasoning didn’t work, so she threw a fit, and if that didn’t work, she filed a lawsuit and even brought dozens of her relatives to cause a scene.
In the end, she managed to retrieve the money she had been cheated out of and secured half of the marital property. Most importantly, she gained custody of her child.
Fearing retaliation from her deadbeat husband, Zhou Ze’s mother moved to the capital with her son. Her parents were originally from the capital, and after relocating their household registration, Zhou Ze could go to school there.
However, his mother was still looking for a house, so Zhou Ze temporarily stayed with his maternal grandparents.
“Hey, Ye Chengyi, which neighborhood do you live in?”
“Why?”
“My mom is looking for a place, so I wanted to ask.”
“Oh.”
Xiao Chengyi told him where he lived and provided some basic information.
“Our family also bought a house in the last two years; let me ask my mom for more details when I get home.”
“Okay~”
Xiao Chengyi initially planned to help Zhou Ze ask over the weekend, but unexpectedly, Zhou Ze brought his mom to their neighborhood to look at houses that weekend. They ended up deciding on the last available unit on their floor.
So, the new friend became a new neighbor.
Now, Xiao Chengyi didn’t have to invite him over; Zhou Ze became familiar enough to come over every day to play.
—Mainly to mooch off food and also to copy math homework.
The former was fine, but the latter was firmly rejected by Xiao Chengyi.
“Hey, Ye-ge! Let me see it!”
Little Fatty Zhou felt dizzy just looking at math problems, especially since he had transferred mid-year and was struggling to keep up. He didn’t want to put in the effort and just wanted to copy his friend’s homework.
The diligent student Xiao Chengyi naturally disagreed: “No way!”
“I just want to copy one page! No, ten problems.”
Zhou Ze lunged to hug him, and Xiao Chengyi found himself pinned by the chubby boy, then rolled over to escape.
The two boys tumbled around on the bed.
Click!
This was the sound of the bedroom door being turned open.
—The suddenly returned Chu Tingyun walked in at that moment.
“…”
Xiao Chengyi froze in place.
For some reason, as soon as he saw Chu Tingyun enter, he reflexively kicked his friend, who was hanging over the side of the bed.
Zhou Ze: “???”
