You Need to Cheer Gu Zhuoling Up

When Gu Zhuoling woke up the next day, his eyes were a little swollen, as expected. Xia Wanqing and Shen Qiming noticed, but they didn't ask many questions. They found something to help reduce the swelling and had him apply it.

The two children had settled the matter themselves, so it wasn't really their place to interfere.

They went to kindergarten as usual. Gu Zhuoling escorted Shen Xinde to the classroom door, then turned to go upstairs.

"Brother." Shen Xinde caught Gu Zhuoling's hand and slipped a piece of chocolate into his palm. "Haohan saved it especially for you."

Gu Zhuoling closed his hand around the chocolate, smiled at Shen Xinde, and turned to go upstairs.

Before classes started that morning, the teacher from the neighboring class brought Chen Ming in.

The teacher gave a brief account of what had happened yesterday, then had Chen Ming apologize to Shen Xinde and Jiang Nan.

Once the teacher had taken Chen Ming away, the other children crowded around Shen Xinde and Jiang Nan.

"Nan Nan! Did you get hurt?" a classmate asked.

"No. He was... I just punched him..." Jiang Nan stood tall, showing none of the dejection he'd had when his mother dragged him out by the ear yesterday.

"Wow! That's amazing!" The other children were an appreciative audience, clapping and cheering.

By the time the crowd dispersed and they got ready for class, Jiang Nan realized his mouth had gone dry from talking. He sat down beside Shen Xinde and drank some water. "Xinde, your mom and dad didn't scold you when you went home yesterday, did they?"

"Nope." Shen Xinde shook his head, then changed tack. "Nan Nan, don't tell me you got scolded?"

"Of course I... didn't either!" Jiang Nan seemed to remember something and immediately denied it.

He'd gotten more than a scolding. It was a rare occasion when both his busy parents were home, and they'd practically given him the mixed doubles treatment. They'd said he needed to practice fighting so he wouldn't lose again.

They called it mixed doubles, but mostly his mom had used her hands while his dad used his mouth.

"My parents weren't angry, but my brother was." Shen Xinde didn't expose him and changed the subject to give Jiang Nan a way out.

"Gu Zhuoling was angry?" Gu Zhuoling's expressionless face appeared in Jiang Nan's mind. He suddenly felt that Gu Zhuoling was even scarier than his own parents and shivered. "Then you should cheer him up properly. That's too scary."

Shen Xinde rested his chin on his hand and narrowed his eyes slightly. Of course he'd cheered him up. It had taken all night.

The two were quiet for a while before Shen Xinde suddenly remembered something. "You still haven't told me—how come your mom's a big star?"

Jiang Nan scratched the back of his head and grinned foolishly. "Hehe, what's there to tell? I hardly ever get to see her."

When he did see her, something bad was sure to happen.

Shen Xinde nodded in agreement, and the two dropped the subject.

At noon, the junior class was dismissed early as usual. Instead of asking Shen Xinde to play, Jiang Nan patted him on the shoulder. "Xinde, hurry and cheer your brother up. Once he's feeling better, come find me and we can play. I'm going to play first!"

That's pretty thoughtful of him. Shen Xinde touched his nose, thought for a moment, and decided to go upstairs and find Gu Zhuoling himself.

Shen Xinde climbed the stairs one step at a time. Just as he was about to look for Class One of the middle grade, he ran into Sun Teacher.

"Who are you looking for, little one?" Sun Teacher didn't remember having such a delicate-looking child as Shen Xinde on this floor, so she naturally crouched down to ask him a few more questions.

"I'm looking for my brother," Shen Xinde explained. After a pause, he remembered that not everyone knew Gu Zhuoling was his brother, so he said his full name one syllable at a time. "Gu. Zhuo. Ling."

Sun Teacher took a closer look and saw that this really was Gu Zhuoling's younger brother, the child she'd gossiped about last time. She immediately smiled.

"Zhuoling should be just about done eating. Shall I take you to him?"

Shen Xinde nodded, gladly accepting.

Sun Teacher led Shen Xinde by the hand to the door of Class One. Standing there, he easily spotted Gu Zhuoling in the last row, with Zhuang Xingye eating heartily beside him.

Gu Zhuoling had already finished eating, but Zhuang Xingye hadn't, so Zhuang Xingye held on to Gu Zhuoling's tray and wouldn't let him leave.

His stated reason was that they could go downstairs together to find Xinde and see who had bullied him yesterday.

He hadn't expected Shen Xinde to come looking for them.

As Gu Zhuoling sat there, he noticed that all the children in front of him were looking up at the door. Sensing something was up, he glanced over too.

He saw a familiar figure standing in the doorway. Because so many children in the class were staring at him, he wore a slightly embarrassed smile. As soon as his eyes met Gu Zhuoling's, he raised a hand and waved.

"Oh! Why did Xinde come up here?" Zhuang Xingye looked up after finishing his last mouthful of rice and saw Shen Xinde too. He hurriedly urged Gu Zhuoling to clear away his tray.

After handing his tray to the teacher at the front, Gu Zhuoling washed his hands and hurried to the door without taking time to dry them.

"Why did you come up here alone?"

The swelling around Gu Zhuoling's eyes had gone down, and he was handsome again. He shook his hands half dry and slowly walked downstairs with Shen Xinde.

"Nan Nan said you were angry and told me to come up and cheer you up." Shen Xinde smiled as he followed beside Gu Zhuoling.

The tips of Gu Zhuoling's ears turned slightly red. He paused for a few seconds before speaking. "I'm not angry anymore."

"If you're not angry, why aren't you holding my hand? Haohan could easily fall on the stairs." Shen Xinde knew perfectly well, but he couldn't resist teasing Gu Zhuoling.

"My hands were still wet just now." A little flustered, Gu Zhuoling hurried to explain, then took Shen Xinde's hand.

"Who's angry? Angry at who? The person who bullied Xinde yesterday?" Zhuang Xingye caught up with them just then. Having heard a few words without any context, he hurried to ask.

"No..." Shen Xinde laughed and started to explain, but before they reached the bottom of the stairs, he spotted Chen Ming passing by downstairs.

Gu Zhuoling naturally saw him too, and his face darkened a little. He clearly disliked Chen Ming intensely.

Chen Ming had gotten a thorough beating from his father when he went home yesterday. Now, seeing Shen Xinde again, he didn't dare act up and turned and ran.

"Was it him?!" Zhuang Xingye naturally noticed the change in their expressions too and immediately identified the culprit.

They hurried downstairs, and Zhuang Xingye planted his hands on his hips, facing the direction Chen Ming had gone. "Hmph! Big bad guy! He's ruined the reputation of us cute little chubbies."

Shen Xinde: ...?

He's pretty self-aware.

Shen Xinde burst out laughing and tugged at Zhuang Xingye. "All right, Brother Xingye, don't be angry either."

"Xinde, if he bullies you again, just call me, your big brother. I'll beat the pee and whatnot out of him."

Beat the shit and piss out of him.

How come he still hasn't learned it?

Shen Xinde was exasperated, but he gave in and nodded repeatedly.

After they finished talking about Chen Ming, Zhuang Xingye ran ahead to find Jiang Nan first, while Shen Xinde followed behind, holding Gu Zhuoling's hand.

"Be nice when you play with Nan Nan. Don't pull a long face," Shen Xinde said, holding Gu Zhuoling's hand.

Whenever they played together, Gu Zhuoling was always expressionless. Jiang Nan had told him that morning that he'd thought at first that Gu Zhuoling didn't like him, but later realized it might just be his personality and that he only smiled for Shen Xinde.

"I don't," Gu Zhuoling denied it.

"I don't care. You need to make more friends too, Brother."

"Got it."

I'll learn to make friends, but the two of us will still be the best of friends in the whole world.