Dolly, Why Are You Crying?

Shen Xinde followed his mother home. Over dinner that evening, he faced a family hearing and, under his parents' stern gaze, confessed to the trouble he had caused that day.

Once Xia Wanqing and Shen Qiming knew the whole story, they understood that their son hadn't started it, so they didn't say much more.

Although the whole family doted on Shen Xinde, protecting a classmate was certainly something to praise. Getting into a fight at school over something like that was better than being bullied without knowing to fight back.

Praise aside, the red pinch marks on Shen Xinde's arm had given Xia Wanqing a fright when she first saw him that afternoon. Her heart ached for him.

Fortunately, the marks had been treated and weren't that serious. Shen Xinde told her earnestly that they didn't hurt much anymore, so she was reassured.

After his bath that night, Shen Xinde was still feeling down because Gu Zhuoling was angry and wouldn't speak to him.

He carefully took the drawing out of his schoolbag. Fortunately, Chen Ming had been wearing indoor shoes, so there weren't several pitch-black footprints on it, but there were still some marks.

Shen Xinde spread the drawing flat and added little flowers over the black marks to cover them, but they looked out of place, and the picture wasn't as good as it had been without them.

Great. He couldn't even get the drawing right, and he had made Gu Zhuoling angry too.

Shen Xinde curled up on his little bed. The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt.

Just then, the door opened. Shen Xinde wasn't in the mood to turn around and see who it was, so he lay motionless on the bed.

The bed sank behind him, and a figure moved closer. The person tugged at his quilt, apparently trying to cover him with it.

Shen Xinde turned his head and found himself looking into Gu Zhuoling's expressionless face.

"Dolly!" Shen Xinde exclaimed.

Gu Zhuoling said nothing. Seeing that he was awake, Gu Zhuoling let go of the quilt, lowered his head to arrange the shoes he had taken off, and climbed into bed.

"You came to see me after all!" Shen Xinde's spirits immediately rose. His face lit up with joy as he eagerly snuggled up to Gu Zhuoling.

Gu Zhuoling still didn't speak. He simply took Shen Xinde's arm and examined it carefully. Seeing that the red marks had faded, he let it go.

Shen Xinde was quite eager, even lifting his shirt and turning around for Gu Zhuoling to check. "There's a little bruise on my back. Mommy already put medicine on it."

"Mm."

Gu Zhuoling had finally deigned to speak.

"Are you still angry, Dolly?" Seeing that, Shen Xinde carefully moved closer. Gu Zhuoling's hands were resting on his legs, so Shen Xinde naturally put his chin in Gu Zhuoling's palm and lay there looking at him.

"No."

Gu Zhuoling really couldn't stay angry with Shen Xinde for long. He had been angry that afternoon, angry that Shen Xinde had gotten hurt for someone else's sake.

He was very selfish, not because Shen Xinde had never done the same for him, but because he only wanted Shen Xinde to stay safe. Other people didn't matter.

His anger faded after a while. He thought that was just the kind of person Shen Xinde was; of course he would stand up for a friend. He shouldn't be angry at him for being kind.

Once his anger was gone, he could only come over and check on him: how he was doing, whether he was badly hurt, whether he had put medicine on it, and whether he was unhappy.

"Haohao knows Dolly was angry with Haohao. Haohao shouldn't have gone and fought with someone. Dolly was afraid Haohao would get hurt. Haohao knows all that."

Shen Xinde held on to Gu Zhuoling's hand and slowly, deliberately expressed what he was thinking.

Gu Zhuoling looked a little moved, as though he hadn't expected Shen Xinde to have already understood why he was angry.

Shen Xinde was about to say something else when someone knocked on the bedroom door. Xia Wanqing poked her head in and saw that the two children were already tucked up in bed. In a gentle voice, she said, "Are my good babies already in bed? Shall I turn off the bedroom light for you?"

Shen Xinde wanted to say there was no need, but Gu Zhuoling spoke first. "Thank you, Auntie Xia."

The bedroom light went out, leaving only a dim lamp by the bed. Shen Xinde could no longer see Gu Zhuoling's expression clearly.

Gu Zhuoling adjusted Shen Xinde's pillow, then lifted the quilt and motioned for him to get in.

Shen Xinde pressed his lips together but obediently got under the quilt. Gu Zhuoling lay down beside him.

The bedside lamp went out, plunging the room into darkness. The moonlight was even hazier than the lamplight had been, spilling in through the window.

He had forgotten to draw the curtains after finishing his picture.

Gu Zhuoling didn't speak after getting under the quilt, and both of them were silent.

Shen Xinde could hear Gu Zhuoling's soft breathing. Feeling a little uneasy, he reached out and felt around for him.

He found Gu Zhuoling's hand and instinctively grasped that source of reassurance. Gu Zhuoling gently held his hand in return.

Neither of them spoke. With Gu Zhuoling's back to the moonlight, Shen Xinde couldn't even make out his features.

The room remained quiet.

When Shen Xinde spoke, it was like a clap of thunder from a clear sky, like a large stone thrown into a seemingly tranquil lake.

"Dolly, why are you crying?"

Dolly, why was he crying?

Why had he turned off the light so quickly, only to lie in bed and cry silently?

Shen Xinde couldn't see Gu Zhuoling's eyes, but he thought of clear tears welling up in those beautiful eyes, not sliding down his cheeks but falling onto his nose, then dropping from its tip onto their joined hands.

It was as though the tears had fallen onto Shen Xinde's face, deliberately pretending to be his own tears to make his heart ache. Shen Xinde's little heart couldn't help trembling.

"Why are you crying?" Shen Xinde sat up without letting go of Gu Zhuoling's hand, moving closer to him instead.

Shen Xinde didn't turn on the light to see how Gu Zhuoling was doing. He simply sat up, found his face, and gently wiped away his tears.

The tears couldn't be wiped away.

"Dolly, are you crying because of Haohao?" Shen Xinde spoke softly, but Gu Zhuoling could hear him.

Shen Xinde stopped trying to wipe away his tears. Instead, he lay down closer to Gu Zhuoling and held his hand tighter.

"Dolly, Haohao is right here."

Gu Zhuoling cried without a sound, so quietly that he seemed to be asleep.

But Shen Xinde knew, from the rise and fall of Gu Zhuoling's body and the slowness of his breathing.

"Will Haohao always be friends with me?" Gu Zhuoling seemed to have many questions he wanted to ask Shen Xinde, but the one he asked didn't quite fit what had happened that day.

"Haohao and Dolly will always be together." Shen Xinde's voice was small, but his words felt weighty.

"Haohao has more than one friend." Gu Zhuoling seemed to have stopped crying, but his nose was blocked, giving his voice a thick nasal sound.

Shen Xinde could get along well with many people. Many, many, many people would want to be friends with him.

Jiang Nan, his kindergarten classmates, and later, people in elementary school, middle school, and high school.

Gu Zhuoling thought about how, once they entered kindergarten, a group of people would gather around Shen Xinde. Even during the time they spent alone together at noon each day, someone would come and greet him.

Shen Xinde could play happily with others and affectionately call them Jiaojiao or Nan Nan.

He could let himself get hurt for a friend.

Gu Zhuoling couldn't stop it. It was a good thing that so many people could like Shen Xinde, but he was unhappy all the same.

Gu Zhuoling was afraid.