The Sun Was So Warm

Shen Xinde returned to the classroom and went into the little room, where the other teacher on duty was already coaxing the children into bed one by one.

Jiang Nan had climbed into bed early and saved a spot for Shen Xinde. "Xinde! Lie here. I'll be right next to you, and there won't be anyone else!"

The spot was against the wall, with Jiang Nan lying on his right.

When Jiang Nan heard that Shen Xinde didn't want to take a nap, he guessed it might be because he was afraid of being surrounded by strangers. So when Jiang Nan returned to the classroom, he hurried to claim two spots without needing the teacher to coax him.

Shen Xinde naturally understood Jiang Nan's kindness. He gently touched his own little cheek, feeling warm inside, then kicked off his shoes and scrambled into bed without another word. "Thank you, Jiang Nan!"

How nice. Dolly was especially nice, and so was Jiang Nan. Uh, Zhuang Xingye was especially nice too.

"Call me Nan Nan. That's what my dad calls me," Jiang Nan replied with a grin.

"Thank you, Nan Nan!" Shen Xinde happily agreed and immediately switched to the new name.

"You're welcome~" Jiang Nan was happy to be praised by a friend he liked and wriggled around in bed.

Shen Xinde: ? Why does he wriggle so much like Zhuang Xingye? Nan Nan, please don't catch it!

The children each chose a little bed, and Moon Teacher came to hang a little name tag at the head of each one.

Once the bed curtains were drawn, the room grew dark.

Shen Xinde closed his eyes. He was already very tired, so it wasn't long before he fell asleep.

After they woke up that afternoon, Moon Teacher didn't arrange many activities, just a single art class.

After spending the whole morning together, Shen Xinde and Jiang Nan naturally sat together to draw.

The teacher told them to use their imaginations and draw whatever they wanted.

Drawing was easy for Shen Xinde, but perhaps because of the restrictions of transmigrating into a book, he couldn't draw in his former mature style, since his fingers weren't as nimble.

Of course, Shen Xinde had retained his ability to match colors and his sense of aesthetics, so his drawings were still much better than those of his peers.

"Xinde, how about we swap drawings when we're done?" Jiang Nan sat beside him with a crayon in hand, looking a little excited.

"Sure, sure." Shen Xinde naturally didn't refuse. After thinking it over, he decided to draw a flower for Jiang Nan.

Jiang Nan couldn't concentrate for long. He would draw for a while, then look over at Shen Xinde's picture. Once he understood that Shen Xinde was drawing roses for him, he immediately cheered him on. "That's wonderful! How did you know roses are my favorite?"

In fact, Jiang Nan didn't know much about flowers. Shen Xinde had been the one to tell him what he was drawing.

That was how the king of cheering people on was. When you met Jiang Nan, it was like he was stuffing emotional value straight into your mouth.

Before long, simple, beautiful roses appeared one after another beneath Shen Xinde's crayon.

Jiang Nan had drawn Shen Xinde and himself. Although Shen Xinde couldn't tell which one was him and which one was Jiang Nan, he still accepted it with a smile.

When art class ended, it was time to go home after their first day.

Moon Teacher had the children form two lines and hold hands as they went out.

When Shen Xinde and Jiang Nan walked out hand in hand, they ran into Gu Zhuoling, who was coming downstairs in a line.

Shen Xinde immediately raised his free hand and waved at Gu Zhuoling, still clutching the picture he had gotten from Jiang Nan in it.

Gu Zhuoling's gaze, however, fell on the picture in Shen Xinde's hand.

Shen Qiming had come to pick up the children that afternoon.

The moment Shen Xinde saw his father, he ran over and threw himself into Shen Qiming's arms.

Shen Qiming smiled and hugged Shen Xinde, then freed one hand to beckon Gu Zhuoling over. His assistant helped scan the two children's cards, and they were able to take them both out of the kindergarten.

"Did you have a good time today, Haohao?" After bringing the two little ones to the car, Shen Qiming brushed a finger over Shen Xinde's little nose and asked.

"I did!"

Shen Xinde beamed.

Then he took out the picture in his hand and showed it to Gu Zhuoling and Shen Qiming. "We drew pictures this afternoon!"

"Who drew this?" Shen Qiming knew that Shen Xinde liked drawing and had bought him plenty of books, brushes and the like. Naturally, he could tell that Shen Xinde hadn't drawn the two stick figures in the picture.

"My friend drew it. His name is Jiang Nan." Shen Xinde held the picture closer to Gu Zhuoling. "Dolly, guess which one is me!"

Only then did Gu Zhuoling realize that the picture in Shen Xinde's hand had come from that little boy, Jiang Nan.

That meant Haohao's drawing should be with him.

Gu Zhuoling remembered the picture he had glimpsed earlier. It was a bunch of beautiful roses, vibrant, bold and full of life.

Friends? Haohao has never even given me a drawing.

Gu Zhuoling's eyes darkened. He looked at the two stick figures in the picture and pointed to one of them.

"That's right!" Shen Xinde was a little surprised. He looked down at the picture in his hand again. "Even Haohao didn't recognize himself at first."

"This person has a mole on the left side of his nose." As Gu Zhuoling spoke, he gently touched a light brown mole in the same spot on Shen Xinde's face. "Haohao has one too."

Shen Xinde's eyes widened. I have a mole on my nose? I never noticed it before!

Wait, is that black dot as big as an eye supposed to be a mole? I thought it was a three-eyed dragon!

Oh well, never mind! This means Dolly pays a lot of attention to me.

Shen Xinde happily admired the picture in his hand a little longer, then rolled it up and handed it to his father. "Dad, this has to go in Haohao's room too."

Shen Xinde had a little art studio that had just been finished a few days ago.

"Of course."

Gu Zhuoling watched the picture change hands. Thinking about someone else's drawing being put in Shen Xinde's studio, his mood sank further.

He hadn't even been inside Haohao's studio yet, but a drawing was going in before him.

"Dolly, what's wrong?" While Shen Qiming was talking to his assistant about work, Shen Xinde scooted closer to Gu Zhuoling and asked cautiously, "Are you unhappy? Did someone at kindergarten bully you?"

Hearing this, Gu Zhuoling felt a little better. "What if someone did bully me?"

"Haohao will get revenge for you."

When Shen Xinde heard that, he thought someone really had bullied his baby Dolly!

He puffed out his little chest, clenched his little hand into a fist, and waved it twice in front of Gu Zhuoling with great force. "Don't be scared, Dolly. Tell me who it was, and Haohao will help you."

"No one." Gu Zhuoling was amused. He reached out and took Shen Xinde's hand, placing it in his own little palm and patting it.

"Really? Don't lie to me, Dolly." Shen Xinde wrinkled his nose, then scooted up beside Gu Zhuoling with a little hum. "Dolly, you have to sleep with me tonight."

Gu Zhuoling had promised Shen Xinde that he would. Shen Xinde had stayed overnight at Gu Zhuoling's house, but Gu Zhuoling had never stayed at Shen Xinde's. Shen Xinde was really looking forward to it. He'd never had a friend stay overnight at his house before.

"Can I go home and get the doll first?" Gu Zhuoling lowered his voice and chuckled. "I'll bring it to keep you company during your nap tomorrow."

"Okay!" Shen Xinde readily agreed. "Tonight, Haohao will show you Haohao's art room!"

Gu Zhuoling's heart softened even more. He held Shen Xinde's hand without saying anything.

The sun was getting ready to set, and its light had turned orange as it shone on Shen Xinde's little face. Gu Zhuoling watched Shen Xinde chatter about how he had slept at noon, what he had dreamed about, and what he had eaten for his afternoon snack.

The sun was so warm.