Chapter 12: Let’s Play Together
Niannian had only ever fantasized about his mother turning back to glance at him, or maybe holding him when she was in a good mood. He had never imagined that one day an elder would wash his face and brush his teeth for him.
Now, this once-unthinkable dream had come true. For someone who had never dared to hope for much, all he wanted was to cling tightly to the present moment, how could he possibly care about a little pain?
Even if his older brothers stopped helping him with these things in the future, he could still look back on this memory and savor it.
Su Yanheng felt his heart soften, wishing he could scoop this adorable little one into his arms and give him a good squeeze. Gone was yesterday’s restraint, he acted exactly as he felt.
The enthusiastic embrace didn’t frighten Niannian. Though it was a bit too tight for his small frame, making it hard to break free, he didn’t want to escape it anyway.
He loved hugs like this, they proved that his big brother truly adored him.
In the end, it was Ji Suize who couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He patted Su Yanheng’s shoulder, signaling that Niannian’s face was turning red from being squeezed. Only then did Su Yanheng reluctantly release Niannian, only to immediately scoop him up again.
“I’ll take Niannian to the dining room first. Will you join us for breakfast?”
Ji Suize nodded. Even after yesterday’s exception, Su Yanheng was still surprised. Ever since the incident at summer camp, Ji Suize had closed himself off. It had been nearly a year since they’d shared a meal together, so this change in Ji Suize felt like a tremendous blessing.
“Then hurry downstairs after you freshen up. We’ll wait for you.”
Ji Suize didn’t respond to Su Yanheng. Instead, he looked at Niannian in Su Yanheng’s arms. Sensing his gaze, Niannian smiled back at him.
Su Yanheng still had 14 days of vacation left. If Ji Suize could endure just two more weeks, he’d have the little one all to himself. Once Su Yanheng returned to work, it was common for him to be away from home for months at a time. By that calculation, Ji Suize would have far more alone time with the little one than Su Yanheng ever would.
Thinking this way, the little time Su Yanheng had “stolen” from him didn’t seem like such a big deal anymore.
Ji Suize’s plan was perfect, except he hadn’t anticipated that Su Younian would be going to work with Su Yanheng. When he went downstairs, he saw Su Yanheng’s manager in the dining room.
Zhao Shun was a man of action. He had negotiated with the production team the night before and arrived early in the morning with a contract for Su Yanheng.
The moment he saw the suddenly well-behaved Su Younian, Zhao Shun forgot the purpose of his visit. He spent a while teasing Niannian, only stopping when Su Yanheng shot him a warning look.
“Xiao Ze, long time no see!”
Zhao Shun had been Su Yanheng’s manager since his debut. Five years older than Su Yanheng, he was not just a manager but also a friend and an elder figure. He had met all of Su Yanheng’s family and got along well with both his grandfathers, so addressing Ji Suize so affectionately wasn’t out of place. However, his cheerful smile could never win over Ji Suize.
Ji Suize remained expressionless, giving Zhao Shun a slight nod as a greeting.
The two seats beside Su Younian were already taken by Su Yanheng and Zhao Shun. After scanning the room, Ji Suize sat down across from Su Younian.
“Third Young Master, what would you like to eat?” asked Aunt Chen, who was standing nearby.
Ji Suize glanced at the bowls and plates in front of Su Younian, millet porridge, pan-fried dumplings, egg pancakes, steamed buns. It seemed the kitchen had brought out all the breakfast options and placed them before him, likely on Su Yanheng’s orders.
Niannian had just picked up a meat bun and was about to put it in his mouth when Ji Suize immediately pointed at the bun in Niannian’s hand.
Aunt Chen had just brought over a plate of buns, and Niannian took another bite of the pan-fried dumpling fed to him by his eldest brother. Ji Suize then changed his mind again. Aunt Chen said, “Alright,” and turned to fetch the pan-fried dumplings.
Before Ji Suize could even eat the dumplings, he pointed at the egg pancake in Niannian’s hand. Aunt Chen understood perfectly. This time, she had learned her lesson, when she came out, she brought all the remaining breakfast items with her so that Ji Suize could freely choose.
Aunt Chen suppressed a laugh as she watched Ji Suize. His focus wasn’t on breakfast at all. From the moment he sat down, he had been staring intently at Niannian across the table. Whatever Niannian ate, he ate. When Niannian stopped chewing, he stopped chewing. When Niannian wiped his mouth, he wiped his mouth. He had mastered the art of being a “copycat” to perfection.
Zhao Shun watched in amazement. He wanted to ask Su Yanheng about it, but with the person in question present, he felt too embarrassed to ask. Instead, he shifted his focus to the matter at hand.
“The show officially starts recording the day after tomorrow. The first two episodes will be recorded indoors. If the old house isn’t convenient for recording, you can take Niannian and move to your apartment for now.”
Su Yanheng looked at Niannian, whose cheeks were stuffed with food, and asked, “Niannian, do you want to go stay at your brother’s apartment?”
Niannian swallowed the mouthful of food and exclaimed excitedly, “Can I?”
He had just arrived in this world and was eager to explore outside. As long as he could go out, anywhere would make him happy.
“Why not?” Su Yanheng chuckled. “If you want to, I’ll take you to stay there.”
Niannian: “I want to.”
Ji Suize pricked up his ears, picking up useful information from the three’s conversation,
His eldest brother was going to take the little one to participate in a variety show, and they were moving out of the old house.
The key point was,
During the recording, his eldest brother and the little one would be together the whole time.
Ji Suize slammed his chopsticks down heavily. Su Yanheng and Zhao Shun didn’t think much of it, but the sensitive Niannian immediately looked at Ji Suize. They had been chatting so happily that they had forgotten about Third Brother’s presence.
If they all moved out, wouldn’t Third Brother be left alone at home, feeling lonely?
Thinking of this, Niannian tugged on his eldest brother’s finger. “Brother, can we not move out?”
“Why?”
Niannian said straightforwardly, “If we move out, I’ll miss Third Brother.”
Ji Suize’s restlessness eased slightly, but a heavy weight still pressed against his chest, making him uncomfortable.
Su Yanheng hadn’t failed to consider Ji Suize. He simply assumed that Ji Suize wouldn’t like being monitored by cameras. If they chose to record at the old house, it would undoubtedly cause Ji Suize a lot of trouble, so moving out was the best option.
Hearing Niannian’s words, Su Yanheng suddenly remembered something. He turned to Ji Suize and asked, “Didn’t you say you were going to stay at Grandpa’s house today?”
Ji Suize remained silent. Su Yanheng didn’t mind and patted Niannian’s head again, saying, “If you miss your third brother, I can take you to see him anytime.”
“I’m not going to Grandpa’s house.”
As soon as these words were spoken, silence fell over the dining table.
Su Yanheng had already heard Ji Suize speak yesterday, but Zhao Shun was the most surprised.
Ji Suize had actually spoken?
Had the child’s mutism been cured?
Su Yanheng: “Why aren’t you going?”
Ji Suize picked up the pen and paper Aunt Chen had prepared and quickly wrote a few words: 【I want to stay at home.】
Niannian could recognize many characters by the age of three, while Ji Suize wrote with such neatness that his handwriting looked as if it had been printed. Niannian recognized every character Ji Suize wrote. Seeing this method of communication for the first time, he found it both novel and impressive, how could someone write so beautifully?
Su Yanheng said, "Since you don’t want to go to your grandfather’s house, then don’t. It’s hot outside anyway, and staying home is fine too."
He didn’t see any issue with leaving Ji Suize alone at home. The butler and the nanny were there, and Ji Suize had always shut himself in his room before. Compared to being surrounded by people, Ji Suize preferred being alone.
But this time, Ji Suize surprised him.
Ji Suize wrote again: 【I don’t want to stay home alone.】
The notebook was facing Niannian’s direction. Only after writing did Ji Suize realize that the little one might not understand what he had written. He moved his lips and slowly spoke, "I don’t want to stay home alone."
These words were meant for the little one.
Niannian immediately responded, "Niannian will stay with you!"
Being home alone was so pitiful!
Ji Suize’s expression softened slightly, and he nodded in satisfaction.
Su Yanheng felt a bit troubled. "But if we stay home, what about the program recording? During the recording, you’d have to stay in your room and not come out. Can you do that?"
Other children might not be able to, but Ji Suize could absolutely manage it.
What worried Su Yanheng was that Ji Suize might want to play with the little one. With cameras filming from all angles, Ji Suize would inevitably appear on screen. If he even resisted taking photos, how could he possibly agree to be filmed?
Zhao Shun sensed something and asked Ji Suize, "Xiao Ze, do you want to be on the show?"
Ji Suize remained silent, not even giving him a glance, his gaze fixed solely on Su Younian from start to finish.
Unbothered, Zhao Shun rephrased his question, "Do you want to be on the show with Niannian?"
This time, Ji Suize finally looked at him and nodded without hesitation.
Zhao Shun understood, this child’s motivation and focus revolved entirely around Su Younian.
Su Yanheng said in disbelief, "You want to be on the show?"
It wasn’t that Su Yanheng opposed the idea. In his view, among the four brothers, Ji Suize was the one who resisted the camera the most. Even if the world were about to end, Ji Suize would still choose to shut himself away in his own little world. How could he suddenly open up and take such a big step forward?
【I don’t want to be on the show. I just want to play with Su Younian.】
Believing that Niannian couldn’t read yet, Ji Suize wrote his thoughts openly and held the notebook toward Niannian without hesitation.
He even deliberately wrote "Su Younian’s" name, thinking the little one wouldn’t understand it, but he underestimated Niannian’s intelligence.
There were a few characters Niannian didn’t recognize, but it didn’t stop him from understanding Ji Suize’s meaning.
His fair little face flushed with excitement, his mouth curling into a smile that revealed two small, white front teeth. Softly, he said, "I want to play with Third Brother too!"
Ji Suize: "..."
His hand holding the notebook began to tremble, and his ears grew hot. Though his face remained calm, the redness from his ears quickly spread to his cheeks. Before he could be seen through, he lowered his head abruptly, his mind racing with only one undeniable fact,
The little one could read what he had written.
The little one had seen right through him!
Su Yanheng rarely saw his younger brother show a shy side. Touched by the sight, he couldn’t help but chuckle, “What’s there to be embarrassed about? If you want to play with Niannian, do you think I’d stop you?”
This was the first time Ji Suize had ever experienced the feeling of “shyness.” Struggling to maintain his composure, he jumped down from his chair and left the dining room without looking back. Before he had gone far, Su Yanheng’s unrestrained laughter drifted from behind him, accompanied by Zhao Shun’s teasing.
“I never noticed before, little Ze actually gets embarrassed!”
“I didn’t notice either.”
“It’s kind of cute.”
“What kind of talk is that? Of course my brother is cute!”
***
Back in his room, Ji Suize shut himself inside. Emotions he had never experienced before left him unable to think clearly. He took out the unfinished Olympiad math problems, hoping to calm himself down by solving them, but as soon as he picked up his pen, he realized his mind was in complete disarray, the numbers had turned into a tangled mess of threads in his head.
A soft knock sounded at the door. Thinking it was Aunt Chen, Ji Suize ignored it.
After a quiet ten seconds or so, the knocking came again. Still, Ji Suize had no intention of responding. Then, a young, childish voice followed the knocking: “Brother, let’s play together~”
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Little Niannian: Let’s play together~
Ji Suize: …
Grown-up Ji Suize: Let’s play together~
Su Younian: …
Ji Suize: When you were little, you loved clinging to your brother and asking him to play with you. Why don’t you say it anymore now that you’re grown up?
Su Younian: …
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