I'm not a bowl cut! I got my hair cut!

Tang Xianqi leaned against the car window and glanced outside. "Yes, that's a bowl cut."

Li Qixian glanced in the rearview mirror too. "But you mustn't say that to someone's face, A-Cheng. It's rude."

Tang Xiancheng nodded repeatedly. "Okay."

"Where did you learn the term 'bowl cut,' A-Cheng?"

Tang Dongcheng kept it in mind and asked his younger son curiously.

"It was..." Tang Xiancheng paused, then explained cautiously, "I saw it in a cartoon."

"That cartoon I watched before, the one called something Hundred. The main character had a bowl cut."

In comics and cartoons, usually only the main character got supernatural powers, and when the main character was the only one with special abilities, they generally kept them secret from everyone else.

His little sister could predict the future, and he was the only one who could hear her thoughts. That meant this was a special ability meant just for him.

So he had to keep it secret. He couldn't lose this ability!

"But it's so strange."

Tang Xiancheng recalled what the cartoon's main character looked like and compared him with the person who had just walked past. He couldn't help frowning.

"It looked pretty cool in the cartoon. Why does that hairstyle look so ugly in real life?"

The thought that he might end up looking like that someday filled Tang Xiancheng with distress.

He absolutely, positively refused to have such an ugly haircut!

Tang Xianqi: "..."

The bowl cut in that cartoon wasn't actually all that cool either...

But in the end, Tang Xianqi kept those words to himself rather than wound the little boy's tender heart.

"Everyone has different features, so different hairstyles suit them. That hairstyle probably just didn't suit that person."

Tang Xianqi comforted his little brother. "Your current hairstyle suits you very well, A-Cheng."

Tang Xiancheng happily touched his head. "Really?"

"Of course."

Tang Xianqi cupped his face and studied him. "Your hair's getting long. You'd look even sharper if you cut it a little shorter."

At that, Tang Xiancheng ran his fingers through his hair. His bangs almost covered his eyes. It really was quite long.

And the most important thing about a bowl cut was having long hair...

"Cut it! Cut it!"

Tang Xiancheng nervously grabbed Tang Xianqi's hand. "I want a haircut, big brother! I want to look sharp!"

Tang Dongcheng turned to glance at his younger son, holding back a laugh. "All right, all right. I'll cut it after dinner tonight."

Tang Xiancheng was terribly shy around strangers and didn't dare go to a barbershop, so Tang Dongcheng usually cut his hair. Occasionally, Li Qixian's stylist helped cut it too.

But Tang Dongcheng had been busy with work lately and hadn't cut his hair in a month.

"As soon as we get home." Tang Xiancheng couldn't wait another moment. "Dad, cut my hair as soon as we get home. We can eat afterward!"

Tang Dongcheng: "...All right."

It seemed that seeing a bowl cut in real life had really shaken his son.

The family of four returned to the villa. Without even changing his clothes, Tang Dongcheng fetched his haircutting tools and went out into the yard to cut Tang Xiancheng's hair.

Once it was done, Tang Xiancheng held up a mirror and checked again and again. Only after confirming that he was at least six months away from a bowl cut did he put the mirror down in satisfaction.

"Dad, I like this length. Cut it like this from now on too."

Tang Dongcheng brushed the clippings off his son's neck with a sponge ball, then thoroughly ruffled his hair.

"No problem. I'll make sure to cut your hair more often."

Tang Xiancheng was satisfied.

As long as he got frequent haircuts, he wouldn't end up with a bowl cut!

Now all that remained was his big brother's problem...

Tang Xiancheng looked at his brother anxiously. But how could he tell him?

What could he say to make his parents believe him and do something to protect his brother?

It was so hard.

Tang Xiancheng agonized over it all evening without coming up with a good solution.

He had only just fallen asleep in the middle of the night when a nightmare jolted him awake.

He opened his eyes, climbed out of bed, and carried his pillow next door to knock on Tang Xianqi's bedroom door.

"A-Cheng?"

Tang Xianqi had just opened the door, rubbing his eyes, when Tang Xiancheng threw himself into his arms.

"Big brother."

Tang Xianqi was instantly wide awake.

"What's wrong?"

He held Tang Xiancheng and gently stroked his back to soothe his anxiety. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Tang Xiancheng hugged his brother tightly, his voice muffled. "Yes."

"What's wrong with A-Cheng?"

Tang Dongcheng and Li Qixian had also been woken by the knocking and came upstairs to check.

"It seems he had a nightmare."

Tang Xianqi glanced at the little brother clinging to him. "Go back to bed, Mom and Dad. I'll comfort him."

Tang Dongcheng crouched beside him and rubbed Tang Xiancheng's head. "Can you tell Dad what your nightmare was about?"

Tang Xiancheng turned to look at him. "I dreamed about my big brother."

Tang Dongcheng's heart lurched. "What happened to him in your dream?"

Tang Xiancheng glanced at Tang Xianqi and tightened his grip. "I dreamed he died. He was covered in blood."

The dream was made up, but without saying this, he really didn't know how to get the message across to his parents and brother.

Li Qixian drew in a sharp breath, but quickly calmed down. She carefully drew Tang Xiancheng out of his brother's arms and hugged him gently.

"A-Cheng loves his big brother so much. You must have been terrified."

Tang Xiancheng nodded glumly.

He really was terrified, utterly afraid.

"But dreams aren't real. Sometimes they even mean the opposite, so we don't need to be scared."

Li Qixian gently reassured her son.

The father and his two sons, however, fell silent.

If only it really were a dream.

Tang Xiancheng grew anxious. "But in the dream, he..."

This isn't a dream. You have to take it seriously!

"Mom wouldn't lie to you."

Tang Xianqi pressed down the tuft of hair sticking up from his head. "If you're scared, A-Cheng, sleep with me tonight."

"Yes, sleep with your big brother tonight, A-Cheng."

Tang Dongcheng set both hands firmly on his shoulders. "I know you're worried about your brother, A-Cheng, but a nightmare is just a nightmare. It won't come true."

"How about this? Tomorrow, I'll go to a temple and ask a master for a Peace Talisman for your brother. Tonight, can you protect him for me, A-Cheng?"

He had already planned to ask a master for a Peace Talisman. But he could bear this fear alone; there was no need to spread it through the family.

Tang Xiancheng thought it over and nodded. "Okay."

The masters were all very powerful. With their protection, perhaps they really could save his brother.

Once Tang Xiancheng had calmed down, Tang Dongcheng took Li Qixian downstairs.

The brothers turned off the light and settled into bed, but Tang Xiancheng still wasn't sleepy at all.

"Big brother."

He rolled over to face Tang Xianqi and asked cautiously, "Are you scared?"

"Do you mean of dying?" Tang Xianqi asked calmly.

"Aren't you scared of dying?"

"I am."

He had panicked when he first learned that he would die. But once he realized that life and death weren't things a child like him could control, he soon came to terms with it and stopped dwelling on it.

"Then how can you be so calm?"

"Because being scared doesn't help."

Tang Xianqi laid a hand over his eyes. "Everyone dies. Being scared won't let us live forever."

Tang Xiancheng: "..."

That seemed to make a lot of sense.

"I don't want you to die."

He snuggled closer into Tang Xianqi's arms. "I want you to be okay."

"Mm, okay. I'll do my best."

"Big brother, I'm so shy around strangers, and I'm always clinging to you. Does that make me useless?"

"Of course not."

"I love that you rely on me."

"I love you too. But I'll do my best to grow up so you can rely on me too."

"Okay. I'll be waiting."

He hoped that day would come.

Tang Dongcheng and Li Qixian both had work the next day.

To keep his promise to Tang Xiancheng, Tang Dongcheng took the day off.

Before leaving for the temple, he drove the brothers to Su Xiajing's apartment.

He briefly explained Tang Xiancheng's nightmare.

"Since I promised A-Cheng, I have to go get a Peace Talisman for A-Qi."

"Both boys happened to be talking about Tang Tang, so I brought them over. Sorry for the trouble, but could you look after them for the day?"

"Of course, no problem. Tang Tang will definitely be happy to play with her eldest brother and third brother too."

Su Xiajing bent down to meet Tang Xiancheng's eyes. "Then I'll be counting on you and A-Qi to help me look after your little sister today, A-Cheng."

Tang Xiancheng nodded shyly. "Okay."

Sister Wang was holding Tang Tang and feeding her milk. Tang Tang glanced at Tang Xiancheng in surprise.

"I guess Bowl Cut has pretty good instincts. He actually dreamed about something like that."

"..."

Tang Xiancheng touched his head indignantly.

I'm not a bowl cut!

I got my hair cut!