You Bit My Finger

When they reached the playroom, Gu Zhuoling went in first, took out his little cushion and put it on the floor, then gestured for Shen Xinde to sit on it.

Shen Xinde looked around the playroom. It was bright and airy, and all the toys had been sorted into their respective toy boxes. Besides educational toys, there were also drawing supplies, drawing boards and the like. It seemed Gu Zhuoling had a wide range of interests.

Shen Xinde didn't stand on ceremony. He plopped down on the cushion, and Gu Zhuoling sat on the floor right next to him. "Want to do a puzzle?"

Gu Zhuoling asked aloud.

"Okay, dolly!" Shen Xinde's pronunciation wasn't as clear as Gu Zhuoling's yet, and he couldn't always express exactly what he meant. Sometimes he paused in strange places.

But Gu Zhuoling could understand him.

Gu Zhuoling pursed his lips without replying. He reached for the unfinished puzzle, took it out of its protective box and scattered the pieces to one side. Then he started working on it without a word.

Only then did Shen Xinde get a clear look at the picture on the box.

A map of the country.

?

Wow. As expected of a top-tier supporting male lead in a novel.

He's so little, and the author isn't even pretending. Starting right off with a high-IQ, high-difficulty puzzle?

Shen Xinde knew his little self wasn't capable of completing a map of the country, but he'd been a little adult before, at least. He could still follow the pattern and find the pieces Gu Zhuoling would need next.

So Shen Xinde passed him pieces, and Gu Zhuoling found the right spots for them. The two worked together in perfect sync.

Gu Zhuoling had thought that, with a child's temperament, Shen Xinde surely wouldn't be able to sit still and would start fussing to play something else before long. He'd decided that if Shen Xinde did start fussing, he could put today's puzzle plan on hold and play something else with him for a while.

To his surprise, Shen Xinde sat beside him passing him puzzle pieces without a single complaint. Whenever Gu Zhuoling found the right spot for one, he would even say, "Good job, dolly..."

Gu Zhuoling: ...

His ears were red not because he was embarrassed, but because he was a little hot.

"Aren't you bored?" Gu Zhuoling held back for a while, but couldn't keep it in. He turned to look at the strange little boy.

Shen Xinde was a little puzzled. "Bored, dolly?"

What do you mean, bored? Doing a puzzle with an unbelievably cute kid is the most interesting thing in the world. I don't have to worry about some lousy boss hounding me to hurry up or watch out for petty people stabbing me in the back. This is great!

And there are two such cute kids in this room.

If someone gave me a mirror so I could admire myself, that would be even more fun!

Shen Xinde blinked, looking a little confused.

Gu Zhuoling didn't seem to understand what Shen Xinde meant. He lowered his head and thought for a while.

Gu Zhuoling quite liked his new companion, Shen Xinde.

Although he was already in kindergarten, where there were plenty of other children, Gu Zhuoling thought they were too noisy, chattering on and on without end.

Shen Xinde was different.

Shen Xinde was cute.

He wasn't so loud when he talked.

Though Shen Xinde didn't talk much.

Gu Zhuoling wanted to play with Shen Xinde, so he didn't want Shen Xinde to think he was too boring and stop playing with him.

Of course, Gu Zhuoling found his hobbies, such as puzzles, digging in the dirt and reading, quite interesting. Anyone else who thought they were boring had no taste.

But if Shen Xinde thought they were boring, he could move on to his next hobby.

Seeing that Gu Zhuoling didn't seem inclined to continue the puzzle for the moment, and that his own bottom hurt from sitting, Shen Xinde twisted around and started to get up.

"What's wrong?" Gu Zhuoling stood up as well.

"Eat!" Shen Xinde had spotted the afternoon tea the servant had brought earlier on the little coffee table nearby. It was all food he loved.

Standing by the little coffee table, Shen Xinde reached out with his chubby little hand, grabbed a small bread roll and put it in his mouth.

The bread seemed to have been lightly fried in butter. It smelled wonderful, and the crust was a little browned and crispy, with soft cream inside. It was simply divine.

Shen Xinde fell in love at first bite, was smitten by the second and finished it in three.

"You got some on your face." Gu Zhuoling wasn't interested in the afternoon tea, but watching Shen Xinde eat was more entertaining. Seeing some cream on the corner of Shen Xinde's mouth as he ate, he couldn't help pointing it out.

Shen Xinde didn't mind at all. He gently wiped the cream from his mouth with one hand, cleaned his hand with a tissue, then turned and held a cherry tomato to Gu Zhuoling's mouth.

"Eat, dolly."

Gu Zhuoling was startled by what Shen Xinde did, but obediently opened his mouth and took a bite.

The cherry tomato was just the right size for Shen Xinde's hand, which enclosed it with little showing. That made it easy for Gu Zhuoling to touch his fingers as he ate.

Shen Xinde felt a gentle bite on his finger.

Both little boys froze and stared at each other, forgetting that one should let go with his teeth and the other should let go with his hand.

Gu Zhuoling recovered first. He reached out and pushed the tomato firmly into his own mouth, freeing Shen Xinde's hand. "Sorry."

Gu Zhuoling thought that perhaps he usually talked too little. Why else was he stammering so much?

He took out a tissue and wiped his saliva off Shen Xinde's finger, but still felt terribly embarrassed, so he took out a wet wipe and cleaned it again.

Shen Xinde recovered too. He held out his finger, seemingly not noticing Gu Zhuoling's bright red ears.

"Dolly, you bit my finger!"

Gu Zhuoling wished he could use his little shovel to dig himself a tunnel straight into the metaverse.

"S-sorry, I wasn't paying attention..."

Only then did Shen Xinde notice that Gu Zhuoling seemed a little shy and embarrassed. He was a child, after all, and often couldn't hide how he felt.

My dolly is the cutest, cutest, cutest baby in the whole world!

Shen Xinde didn't make things difficult for his dolly. His little brain came up with an idea, and he held his finger out to Gu Zhuoling. "Then blow on it for me."

This time, Gu Zhuoling really didn't know what to do.

Blow on it? Gu Zhuoling had never done that before.

When other people's children fell over, their parents would blow on the hurt and say it didn't hurt anymore. Kindergarten teachers liked using that trick too.

Childish.

Blow, blow, blow.

Gu Zhuoling carefully blew a tiny puff of air onto the finger, so faint that Shen Xinde almost didn't notice it.

While the two were huddled there, each wondering whether the matter could be put behind them, the two parents from the living room had already come upstairs.

"What are you babies doing?"

Zhou Jingyi came in first and raised an eyebrow when she saw her son standing in front of Shen Xinde, holding the little boy's hand for some unknown reason.

Shen Xinde looked at Gu Zhuoling's ears, withdrew his hand and scratched his head. "Hand dirty. Dolly wiped it."

Hearing that, Xia Wanqing naturally assumed her son had been tempted by the afternoon tea, gotten his hands a little dirty while eating and asked his older brother to wipe them.

Zhou Jingyi wasn't so convinced. Her son had had his back to her just now, but the tips of his ears hadn't been hidden.

He must have done something embarrassing.

"Then you should thank Brother Zhuoling properly, Haohao." Xia Wanqing walked over and patted Shen Xinde's round little head.

"No need to thank me." Gu Zhuoling had recovered from the embarrassment of blowing on a hand and being "caught" by a parent. He answered before Shen Xinde could say anything.

Actually, he hadn't recovered.

As it was nearly dinnertime, Xia Wanqing discussed leaving with Zhou Jingyi. Zhou Jingyi knew Shen Xinde wasn't feeling well today and that it wasn't a good idea for him to eat things he didn't usually have. It was safer for him to eat at home, so she didn't try too hard to persuade them to stay.

"Little Zhuoling, you can come play with our Haohao often too. Haohao likes you a lot. If your mom and dad are too busy to be home, come next door. Auntie can make lots of tasty things." Xia Wanqing took Shen Xinde by the hand, not forgetting to joke with Gu Zhuoling.

"Oh, then I won't stand on ceremony. I'll send my son over to your place every day." Zhou Jingyi laughed readily. "Our Aling likes Xinde a lot too, don't you? Xinde, you should come often too. Auntie will always welcome you."