Chapter 26: First Day Foes and Friends

Having spent one class period enunciating simple characters like “Tian,” “An,” and “Men” with his mouth agape, followed by another class learning to count his fingers, Xiang Chen felt utterly deflated.

He felt that if he had to endure six years of primary school like this, his IQ would drop by at least half.

Finally, when the class ended, Xiang Chen let out a long sigh of relief. A smile graced his face as he turned, intending to greet his deskmate.

Before he could even utter their name, the little girl beside him, He Yingying, decisively drew a chalk line down the middle of their shared desk. Xiang Chen stared blankly for a moment before realizing it was the legendary “three-eight line.”

Xiang Chen glanced at the three-eight line, then at his deskmate, who was stubbornly facing away from him, showing only the back of her head. He was speechless; he didn’t look like a bad person, did he?

“Hey!”

Suddenly, Xiang Chen’s desk was slapped. He turned to find several boys gathered around it.

The boy who had slapped his desk seemed to be the leader. He had a sturdy, robust build and spoke very directly: “Liangliang said you have a hat. Why aren’t you wearing it?”

Xiang Chen paused, then, seeing one of the boys behind him, realized it was Liangliang, Granny Li’s grandson, who had taken them to the supply and marketing cooperative that day. He had been wearing a full set of military fatigues last time, which must have made an impression.

“We can’t wear hats during class, so I left it at home,” Xiang Chen replied. “If you want to see it, I’ll bring it next time.”

He had no intention of looking down on the children. Since they were classmates, it was only natural to make friends with some peers.

He wasn’t pretending to be childish; if he tried to befriend someone in their twenties, they wouldn’t even bother with him.

The boys heard this and found Xiang Chen’s personality quite different from his appearance.

They had initially thought this fair-skinned, soft-looking boy would be prone to tears, like a little girl, but he turned out to be quite easy to talk to.

The leader boy then slapped Xiang Chen’s desk again and declared, “Come on, let’s go play outside. What’s the point of talking to a little girl like her?” He had also noticed He Yingying’s action of drawing the three-eight line.

Upon hearing this, Xiang Chen followed his newly acquainted companions outside.

During the short break, after viewing each of their cherished collections—Xiang Chen’s being his mini military uniform, and he had let each boy try on his star-emblazoned backpack once—the boys generously displayed their own treasures.

These included wooden pistols, woven grasshoppers, collected picture cards, and colorful candy wrappers.

Xiang Chen praised each item and expressed his admiration, prompting the boys to declare that they were now brothers and would lend him their toys to play with.

Xiang Chen also took the opportunity to learn the boys’ identities. The leader was named Zhang Xiaohu, and he lived in the same apartment building as Xiang Chen.

Xiang Chen was on the third floor, Zhang Xiaohu on the second, and Li Liang on the first, making them neighbors.

The other boys included Wang Peng, who was tall, sturdy, and a bit simple-minded, and a pair of brothers, the elder named Feng Hai and the younger, Feng He.

With a team now, Xiang Chen naturally joined this small group as soon as class ended, romping around boisterously with the boys. There was no talk of studying hard; he had already nearly worn out the pages of his textbook during class.

***

Holding his breath all morning, Xu Hengzhou finally let out a long sigh, realizing he had worried needlessly. This little one was clearly enjoying himself far more than he was.

Xu Hengzhou had initially planned to check on Xiang Chen during the first break. Like Song Wenbin, he was concerned someone might bully Xiang Chen. Their little dumpling was so soft; what if he got hurt?

However, to his extreme annoyance, when Xu Hengzhou arrived at the classroom, he discovered that the girl next door, Chen Fen, was his classmate.

It wasn’t that he paid attention to Chen Fen, but her intense gaze was simply impossible to ignore.

Even more frustrating for Xu Hengzhou was that after the first class, having sent away a group of bored classmates curious about the new student, he was immediately intercepted by Chen Fen as he stepped out the door.

Chen Fen hung her head, looking as if she had suffered some immense grievance. She claimed that Xiang Chen must have spoken ill of her, but that wasn’t how things were.

Xu Hengzhou had been about to walk away, but he paused when she mentioned Xiang Chen.

He then listened as Chen Fen rambled on, explaining that her sister had deceived her, which led her to believe Xiang Chen was a bad child.

She insisted her intentions were good; she had only spoken up because she feared Xiang Chen would go astray. However, if Xiang Chen resented her for it, she would be sad but wouldn’t blame him.

Xu Hengzhou’s mind went numb listening to her. He felt like an idiot for standing there, listening to this mentally unstable person spout such nonsensical drivel.

He bypassed the obstructing Chen Fen, intending to go downstairs to find Xiang Chen.

But Chen Fen relentlessly followed him, saying that if Xiang Chen was angry, she wouldn’t mind his narrow-mindedness or unreasonableness. She was willing to apologize, but hoped Xu Hengzhou wouldn’t treat her this way.

Xu Hengzhou almost laughed from sheer exasperation. How could he, when faced with this mentally disturbed person who had bullied his little dumpling, be expected to be a pushover?

Truthfully, Xu Hengzhou had quite a bit of experience dealing with such people; with many admirers, a few odd ones were bound to appear. Usually, Xu Hengzhou would offer some courtesy, but for the person before him, it was clearly unnecessary.

Chen Fen: “……”

Chen Fen’s face rapidly shifted from red to pale. She opened her mouth, then said weakly, “”

Xu Hengzhou feigned sudden enlightenment, then, as Chen Fen’s eyes lit up with surprise, his face turned cold: “I’m sorry, I don’t know you. I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

Then, ignoring Chen Fen’s fluctuating complexion, Xu Hengzhou walked around her and turned to leave, intent on finding Xiang Chen.

However, just as he reached the stairwell, the bell rang.

Xu Hengzhou returned to the classroom with a dark expression, regretting having wasted so much time talking to that irrational woman.

After enduring another class, Xu Hengzhou rushed out as soon as it ended, heading straight to the first floor. There, he saw Xiang Chen playing with several young boys, his eyes crinkling with laughter.

For a moment, Xu Hengzhou regretted helping to persuade Song Wenbin to let Xiang Chen attend primary school. If he had gone to kindergarten, he doubted Xiang Chen would be having so much fun with a group of kids who still wet their pants.

If that were the case, the little one would surely be eagerly awaiting his arrival home every day, and would be overjoyed to see him, instead of forgetting all about him as he had now.

A twinge of sourness filled his heart; Xu Hengzhou unexpectedly experienced the feelings of an old bird watching its chick leave the nest.

He walked over and cleared his throat twice behind Xiang Chen. However, Xiang Chen was on the verge of winning, intensely focused on his picture card game, completely oblivious to his voice and the resentment emanating from behind him.

Xu Hengzhou gritted his teeth, grabbed the back of Xiang Chen’s collar, and pulled him up: “What are you doing? Don’t your hands hurt?” The little chubby paws were already red.

Xiang Chen’s face was alight with excitement. The moment he saw Xu Hengzhou, he chirped, “Brother!”

This genuine display of joy pleased Xu Hengzhou. He took Xiang Chen’s arm and led him to a secluded spot: “Come with me.”

Xiang Chen waved to his friends and happily skipped along with his brother.

Upon reaching the corner behind the teaching building, Xiang Chen presented the picture card he had just won to Xu Hengzhou like a precious offering: “Brother, I just won this. It’s for you.”

Looking at the worn picture card and the child’s excited face, the slight annoyance in Xu Hengzhou’s heart vanished instantly. He gently ruffled the child’s hair, feeling rather pathetic for cherishing this simple, worn card.

“Brother, is your teacher nice to you? Do your classmates like you? Is class boring…?” Xiang Chen, like a little old woman, meticulously inquired about every detail of Xu Hengzhou’s first day of school.

A hint of warmth blossomed in Xu Hengzhou’s heart, though he feigned disdain, saying, “So concerned about me? I just saw you playing so happily, you didn’t even notice me standing behind you.”

Xiang Chen’s face flushed crimson. He stammered, unsure what to say. He had only wanted to find a few kids to talk to, but playing picture cards turned out to be quite fun…

Xu Hengzhou pinched his cheek, satisfying his urge, then pulled a small packaged cake from his bag and handed it to Xiang Chen: “You must be hungry. Eat quickly.”

Xu Hengzhou remembered that during their time, elementary schools provided small snacks for children during breaks. The aristocratic primary school he attended offered an abundance of pastries, fruits, and dairy products.

He believed that even in this era of scarcity, his little dumpling should have everything he needed. Since his meals at home weren’t always the best, school was a good opportunity to give him some extra treats.

The food at this time lacked oil, so hunger struck quickly. Coupled with Xiang Chen’s naturally large appetite, even though he had eaten his fill that morning, he was already famished.

Seeing the cake Xu Hengzhou offered, Xiang Chen exclaimed in surprise, “Cake! Is it for me?”

“If not for you, then who?” Xu Hengzhou’s heart swelled with joy watching Xiang Chen’s happiness. “Eat quickly, class will start soon.”

Xiang Chen eagerly tore open the wrapper. The cake clearly looked like it came from their original time. It was wonderful that his brother had saved it for him.

Having not eaten such a snack in a long time, Xiang Chen was incredibly eager, but he still held the small cake to Xu Hengzhou’s mouth: “Brother, you eat first.”

Xu Hengzhou wanted to refuse, but Xiang Chen held the cake firmly, his face resolute, conveying a clear message: if his brother didn’t eat, neither would he.

Unable to resist, Xu Hengzhou took a bite and urged, “Alright, I’ve eaten. Now you eat quickly.”

Only then did Xiang Chen happily munch on the cake. It was sweet and delicious, with a soft, delicate texture that was incomparable to the coarse foods Xiang Chen had been eating recently.

With each bite, Xiang Chen’s eyes narrowed with delight, utterly content.

His pitiful and adorable expression softened Xu Hengzhou’s heart, almost prompting him to pull out another one.

The small cake, about the size of a child’s palm, was quickly devoured by Xiang Chen after Xu Hengzhou’s bite. In no time, he had eaten the rest.

He licked his lips, his gaze still lingering on the wrapper with a hint of reluctance and longing.

Xu Hengzhou chuckled, took the wrapper, and wiped Xiang Chen’s hands clean: “Little glutton. There’ll be more tomorrow. Do you want more cake? Or bread and biscuits?”

Xiang Chen’s eyes widened in astonishment, his words tumbling out disjointedly: “Th-there’s more? Brother, you carry so many snacks with you!”

Xu Hengzhou, who was risking exposing his golden finger to feed Xiang Chen, thought, ‘It seems I still overestimated you.’

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