C10 Chapter 10

On the other side of the street corner, Xia Yanyou held Xia Bing’s hand, chattering nonstop about the funny things that had happened at preschool that day:

“...We lost the soccer game, but I kind of did it on purpose, because the other team was all girls. Mom, you always say boys should be extra nice to girls.”

Xia Bing couldn’t help laughing. “It’s good for boys to be gentlemanly, but if you really want to win, that’s okay too. Not every girl is a sore loser.”

With a little grin, Xia Yanyou suddenly remembered something, and his eyes lit up. “Oh, right, Mom—there’s a new kid at preschool today. He’s super good-looking too, and the principal really likes him. During class, she kept sneaking over to our classroom door to peek at him.”

“Oh? Is he as good-looking as you?” Xia Bing teased.

“I think he gives me a run for my money.”

That made Xia Bing raise an eyebrow.

For Xia Yanyou to say another kid could rival him, the boy must really be adorable. If she got the chance, she definitely wanted to see for herself.

“He’s just kind of quiet and doesn’t talk much. I tried sharing my toys with him and asked him to play, but he didn’t seem interested. I didn’t see him smile once all day.”

“Oh?” Xia Bing was a little surprised. At that age, shouldn’t kids be laughing and playing all day? How could a child not like to play or smile?

“Do you think something’s bothering him? Or maybe something upsetting happened before school this morning, and he’s still feeling down?” she wondered.

Xia Yanyou shook his head. “It doesn’t seem like that. He’s actually pretty nice to me. He talks to me once in a while, but when the other kids try to talk to him, he mostly ignores them.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Oh, and this morning I ran into his dad in the yard. His dad is super handsome too, and really nice. He asked me to help look out for his son.”

“Mmm, if his dad said that, then his son probably really does need a little extra care. And from what you’ve told me, I think that little boy could use some extra attention too. So when you can, try to play with him more and don’t let him keep to himself all the time.”

“Mm-hmm, I know. I’m planning to dig out my special Buzz Lightyear as soon as I get home and give it to him tomorrow. I just don’t know if he’ll like it.”

“Oh, seeing our Yanyou so willing to share makes Mom really happy!” Xia Bing said with a smile.

Hearing that, Xia Yanyou felt even happier.

Even though he was still a little reluctant to part with that special edition Buzz Lightyear—after all, it had been a fourth birthday gift from Uncle Xu—being able to share it with a friend and earn praise from his mom made that tiny bit of reluctance seem completely insignificant.

The black nanny car made its way toward the quiet Xishan Villa neighborhood. By the time little Saang Yuxin got home, Saang Shijuan still hadn’t returned.

With the nanny looking after him, he ate dinner, took a bath, and, still not feeling sleepy, went back to the living room and picked up his drawing board to draw.

But for some reason, the moment he put pen to paper, all he could think about was Xia Yanyou’s mother’s gentle smile. He couldn’t calm himself enough to focus on drawing at all.

The night grew deeper. Outside the villa, the sound of a car pulling in broke the quiet. Not long after, the front door opened, and Saang Shijuan walked in, carrying the chill of the night with him.

Seeing little Saang Yuxin drawing in the living room, surprise flashed across Saang Shijuan’s eyes. “Why are you still up?”

Saang Yuxin’s voice was a little subdued. “I can’t sleep.”

Saang Shijuan thought for a moment. It was Saang Yuxin’s first day of kindergarten, and since he was still awake this late, something unpleasant had probably happened at school again.

His expression unchanged, he undid his collar as he walked into the living room, his tone calm. “If you really can’t get used to kindergarten, then you don’t have to go tomorrow...”

“Dad,” Saang Yuxin interrupted him, “I miss Mom.”