Smile More

Gu Zhuoling couldn't help laughing. He stepped forward and took Shen Xinde's hand. "All right, don't be angry."

Shen Xinde was still fuming. He would never allow anyone to talk about his Dolly like that.

Or Zhuang Xingye.

"Your faces are ugly, your mouths are stinky, and your hearts are twitchy!" Shen Xinde pouted, pleased with what he thought was a verbal thrashing.

Beside him, Zhuang Xingye scratched his face and thought to himself that his face probably wasn't ugly.

The chubby boy seemed to have more to say and took a step forward.

Noticing what the two were doing, Gu Zhuoling quickly stretched out an arm to shield Shen Xinde behind him. His usually expressionless face darkened, and his black eyes were like a deep sea: once someone fell in, there was no getting out.

"What are you trying to do?"

Gu Zhuoling's voice was low and full of menace.

The chubby boy was startled by the sudden chill in Gu Zhuoling's aura. He tugged at the taller boy and said, "Let's go. They're not worth our time."

"Nyah, nyah, nyah!" Shen Xinde didn't forget to mock them, sticking out his tongue at the pair for a parting shot.

Zhuang Xingye hadn't expected the two usually troublesome guys to leave so easily. After thinking it over, he decided Shen Xinde's verbal attack must have been too powerful and couldn't help praising him. "Our Xinde sure is impressive. You talked those two into, what was it, something about piss and shit?"

Shen Xinde: ...

Scared them shitless.

But that doesn't sound very refined.

Shen Xinde chose not to say anything and simply accepted the praise.

Gu Zhuoling's eyes were full of amusement as he looked at Shen Xinde. He couldn't resist pinching his still-pink cheek. "All right, let's go home and rest for a bit."

Halfway there, Zhuang Xingye was caught by his mother and hauled home for a meal. That left Gu Zhuoling holding Shen Xinde's hand as they walked toward the Gu residence.

"Dolly wasn't good."

As they walked, Shen Xinde suddenly spoke up.

Gu Zhuoling was taken aback. He thought back over their walk and didn't think he'd done anything.

"When they scold you, you have to talk back." Thinking about what had happened, Shen Xinde felt a little upset on Gu Zhuoling's behalf.

He wasn't some little mute.

Those people were just too stupid. Mom said stupidity was contagious if you got too close to stupid people.

Only then did Gu Zhuoling realize that Shen Xinde was still angry, and that he was angry on his behalf.

"I won't do that next time."

Gu Zhuoling gave Shen Xinde's hand a gentle squeeze by way of apology. "You talked back for me this time, Haohao. Thank you."

"They're all bad guys."

Shen Xinde muttered, swinging his joined hand with Gu Zhuoling's as they continued walking.

"Mm."

Gu Zhuoling thought the scenery along the way was quite lovely, lush and green. He felt especially happy and couldn't help smiling.

Shen Xinde happened to turn his head and see it.

"Dolly should smile more. It looks nice."

Shen Xinde looked at the little boy in front of him. His jet-black hair was casually tousled because his forehead was sweaty, and his usually deep eyes seemed a little brighter when he smiled. Shen Xinde couldn't help speaking up.

Cute Dolly, the cutest Dolly in the world!

"Haha."

"Fake smiles are ugly."

"You're cute."

"Of course Haohao is cute."

Shen Xinde didn't go to the Gu residence for lunch. At the gate, they ran into Xia Wanqing, who had come looking for him. On the principle of sharing his attention equally, Shen Xinde decided to go with his mother to find his father for a meal.

Gu Zhuoling didn't say anything, but he paused, still holding Shen Xinde's hand.

"What's wrong?"

"The lisianthus in the garden has bloomed. I'll show you tomorrow." Gu Zhuoling let go of Shen Xinde's hand, his voice quiet.

"Okay!" Shen Xinde's eyes curved as he readily agreed.

The lisianthus was the flower Gu Zhuoling and Shen Xinde had transplanted together into a large pot when they first met.

At the time, Shen Xinde had asked what color the flower was.

Gu Zhuoling had said it was green.

Shen Xinde had been delighted because he'd never seen a green flower before. He'd asked if he could see it when it bloomed.

Gu Zhuoling had agreed.

The two parted ways and went home.

The next morning, Shen Xinde's mother dragged him out of bed for his regular checkup. Afterward, he went out for a nice meal with her before taking his time getting home.

He had arranged to meet Gu Zhuoling in the afternoon.

Shen Xinde wasn't in a hurry. He took a nap at home before running over to knock on Gu Zhuoling's door.

It was actually a little muggy that day, and the sun was fierce. Even though it was only the distance between their homes, Shen Xinde was a little tired from running, and his cheeks were flushed.

"Are you hot?" Gu Zhuoling took Shen Xinde to the first-floor bathroom to wipe his face, then asked as he looked at his bright red cheeks.

"No." Shen Xinde shook his head, and a drop of sweat immediately slid down his temple.

"Let's wait a bit before going outside. It's so hot you might get heatstroke." Gu Zhuoling smiled and wiped away the drop of sweat.

Shen Xinde naturally agreed, then followed Gu Zhuoling around, telling him what had happened that day.

"The needle was really scary, and it hurt." Shen Xinde was describing the terrifying experience of having his blood drawn, his expression changing wildly as he spoke.

"Let me see." Gu Zhuoling led him to the sofa and sat down, gesturing for Shen Xinde to hold out his hand.

Shen Xinde obediently held out his hand and continued, "Haohao is a little chubby, so the nurse missed the first time."

Gu Zhuoling looked at the tiny needle mark on his hand. Perhaps because the nurse had missed and had to try a second time, his tender skin was sensitive and had turned a little blue.

"You're not fat."

Gu Zhuoling touched the little wound, feeling a pang of sympathy.

He looked like a doll, and his body was just as fragile as one. Gu Zhuoling still remembered the second time he had eagerly waited for Shen Xinde to come over and play, only for him to come down with a fever from trouble adjusting to the local climate just two days after returning to the country.

The fever went away quickly, but he was listless for the next few days.

"Mom says it's good for Haohao to be chubby. It's healthy." Shen Xinde didn't think he was fat either.

How could that be called fat? It's called having some flesh.

Being chubby is cute.

"What else?" Gu Zhuoling liked listening to Shen Xinde chatter about the things that happened to him.

"Today I also went with Mom to eat something yummy." As he spoke, Shen Xinde suddenly leaned close to Gu Zhuoling's ear and whispered, "I'll tell you something, but you can't tell Mom."

"While Mom went to pay today, I took a big gulp of her iced drink!"

Gu Zhuoling frowned when he heard that. "Auntie said your stomach isn't well, so you can't drink that stuff."

"That's why you have to keep it a secret." Shen Xinde covered Gu Zhuoling's mouth. "I won't do it again."

The two of them chatted and played for a long time, without noticing that the sky outside had darkened.

Summer weather was always unpredictable, and their city was hit by several typhoons every summer. As it happened, one was due to arrive in the next couple of days.

It wasn't until a rumble of thunder sounded that the two realized the weather had changed. The trees were twisting wildly in the wind, and everything outside was dark and gloomy, as though a downpour could come at any moment.

"The flowers!"

Shen Xinde suddenly remembered the lisianthus they had said they would look at together yesterday.

Although lisianthus bloomed in summer, it couldn't be exposed to intense sunlight, so Gu Zhuoling hadn't put it in the sunny part of the garden. Instead, he had placed it beneath the large tree.

But a typhoon was due in the next couple of days, and it looked like there would be heavy rain. The lisianthus obviously couldn't be left in standing water, or its roots would rot.

Gu Zhuoling reacted first and got off the sofa. Shen Xinde followed him, and the two hurried to the garden.