Chapter 6: Do You Like It?
By now, the food should be reheated.
“You must be hungry. I’ll take you to eat right away.” Su Yanheng picked up Niannian and glanced at Ji Suize. “Are you coming downstairs to eat?”
Before Ji Suize could shake his head, a soft, sweet voice drifted down from above him: “Brother, come eat with us downstairs.”
Ji Suize’s gaze shifted from the little one’s mouth to his eyes, and only then did he notice that this younger brother had a pair of dark, bright eyes.
He had never really looked at Su Younian properly before, vaguely recalling that Su Younian’s eyes weren’t this clear and bright. Like the dimples on his cheeks, they held a certain magic, making it hard to look away.
Su Yanheng: “Are you coming downstairs?”
As he asked, Su Yanheng already guessed the answer, but Ji Suize surprised him by nodding.
Su Yanheng froze. Such a simple action, yet it made his thoughts slow down.
Ji Suize was planning to come downstairs to eat?
Ji Suize was planning to eat with them?
Why was this guy acting so strangely too?
***
Dinner was mainly seafood. Su Yanheng had seafood paella, while Niannian and Ji Suize both had seafood congee.
Once the food was served, Niannian instinctively reached for his little spoon, but it was snatched away by his big brother as soon as he picked it up.
“Let me feed you,” Su Yanheng said affectionately.
Niannian: “But you need to eat too, brother.”
His younger brother’s concern pleased Su Yanheng immensely. Though overjoyed, he remained calm on the surface. “Feeding you won’t stop me from eating.”
Niannian wanted to say, “I can eat by myself”, wouldn’t that be faster? But sensing Su Yanheng’s eagerness, he swallowed his words. Truthfully, he also really wanted to be fed, but he was worried it might burden his big brother.
His big brother’s initiative eased his worries. He shifted his little body closer to his big brother and said softly, “I like it when you feed me, brother.”
Su Yanheng wished he could surround the little one with cameras so he wouldn’t miss any of his adorable moments.
Su Yanheng was a quick learner. With some experience now, he was no longer as clumsy as the first time. When he brought the seafood congee to the little one’s mouth, Niannian still opened his mouth as wide as possible, which made Su Yanheng laugh.
After feeding Niannian, Su Yanheng poked his chubby cheek and reminded him, “You don’t need to open your mouth that wide. I’ll give you smaller bites next time. Isn’t it tiring to open it so wide?”
Only after swallowing the food did Niannian reply, “Not tired at all.”
Su Yanheng picked up Niannian’s bowl of congee and sniffed it, pretending to be puzzled. “It’s seafood congee, but anyone would think you were eating sweet congee with how sweet you talk.”
Though he doted on Niannian, Su Yanheng didn’t neglect Ji Suize. He placed a freshly peeled giant river prawn into Ji Suize’s bowl and, feeling mischievous, deliberately asked, “Do you want me to feed you too?”
Ji Suize shuddered all over, giving Su Yanheng a cold stare that made the answer obvious.
“Not cute at all,” Su Yanheng pouted. “Don’t waste that face of yours. You should show more expressions, then more people would like you.”
Ji Suize lowered his head, ignoring Su Yanheng’s words.
What use was the affection of so many people to him? The admiration of strangers would only add unnecessary burdens to his life.
“Want more prawns?”
Ji Suize thought Su Yanheng was asking him, but when he looked up, he saw Su Yanheng facing Su Younian. The little one was nodding his head vigorously, his mouth stretched into a wide grin, revealing two small, white front teeth.
Su Younian had started talking and walking early, but his teeth had grown very slowly. It wasn’t until he was almost three that his teeth finally grew in fully, with a few still not fully emerged, like the ones on either side of his front teeth. In comparison, his front teeth seemed particularly prominent, but they weren’t long or large, just tiny, looking especially adorable.
Ji Suize inexplicably thought of the chipmunk he had seen last time in the forest park. Whether it was hard or soft food, Su Younian would chew it carefully before swallowing, his eating habits very well-mannered.
He also noticed two habits of Su Younian’s: when eating harder foods, he liked to grind them slowly with his front teeth a few times before starting to chew. After swallowing, he would habitually press his lips together, happy about having eaten something delicious, while also revealing the secret at the corners of his mouth.
Su Yanheng had also noticed this little habit of his brother’s. When Younian pressed his lips together again, Su Yanheng quickly pressed his index finger against Younian’s dimple.
Su Younian froze, looking at his big brother in confusion.
Su Yanheng said without changing his expression, “There’s something dirty at the corner of your mouth.”
Younian didn’t doubt him and even leaned his face forward. “Brother, help me wipe it off.”
With his little brother offering himself up, how could Su Yanheng let this opportunity slip? He poked Younian’s dimple several times, only stopping when the corners of Younian’s mouth turned red.
Younian didn’t notice his big brother’s ulterior motives. As soon as Su Yanheng withdrew his hand, Younian gave him a sweet smile. “Thank you, brother.”
Su Yanheng: “...”
His little brother was too adorably naive. His conscience suddenly felt a tiny bit guilty.
As soon as Su Yanheng placed Younian on the living room sofa, he received a call from his manager. He told his brother and turned to go to the garden.
Not long after Su Yanheng left, Ji Suize quietly walked up behind Younian.
The latest episode of a cartoon was playing on the TV, and Younian’s attention was completely captured by it. Even with Ji Suize standing right beside him, he didn’t notice.
A small hand appeared in front of him, holding a pink candy in its palm. Younian froze and looked at the hand’s owner.
“Brother.”
The child’s voice wasn’t clear and crisp. Like the lingering milky scent that seemed to envelop him, it carried a sticky, soft quality that made the listener’s ears soften.
Ji Suize extended his hand a little further. Younian guessed, “Is this for me?”
Ji Suize nodded.
“Thank you, brother.” Younian smiled and reached out to take the candy, but Ji Suize suddenly withdrew his hand. Younian’s hand fell empty, and his smile stiffened on his face. He asked, confused, “Brother, aren’t you going to give it to me anymore?”
Ji Suize shook his head. Younian didn’t understand what this meant, his dark, bright eyes filled with bewilderment.
From a young age, Younian had tasted disappointment countless times. His mother had promised to buy him delicious treats, but nine out of ten times, she broke her promise. The one time he finally got to eat a delicious little cake, his mother suddenly lost her temper and took the cake back from him.
After experiencing such things over and over, Younian thought he wouldn’t feel disappointed anymore. But after all, he was just a child who had just turned three, how could he not feel disappointed?
Su Younian blinked, forcing himself not to look at the candy.
It’s okay. He didn’t like candy at all.
It's okay if Third Brother doesn't give him candy, Big Brother definitely will.
Thinking this way, the candy suddenly fell into his palm. Niannian cast another puzzled look at Ji Suize.
Ji Suize had originally thought the little dumpling would flash him a bright smile, just like the one he gave Big Brother. When he handed over the candy, the little dumpling did smile, but there was no dimple.
That dimple was hidden deep indeed, confirming one thing: the smile the little dumpling gave him was different from the one he gave Big Brother. So, halfway through, he withdrew the candy.
The little dumpling's double standard made him somewhat unhappy. Seeing the little dumpling's disappointed expression, that unhappiness turned into an inexplicable emotion.
His hand moved before his brain could, offering the candy out again. And then, he was rewarded with the little dumpling's radiant smile.
He finally saw that dimple that attracted him like a black hole. Uncontrollably, he reached out and poked the shallow indentation.
The dimple was very small, but fortunately, his finger was also small, able to fully wrap around his index finger, soft and warm. He liked it very much.
Niannian was baffled by Third Brother's strange action. His smile had already faded, but Third Brother's finger was still pressed against the corner of his mouth, and he didn't know what was happening.
"Brother?" Niannian whispered.
Ji Suize's brow furrowed slightly. He hadn't admired it enough, how could it be gone already?
Without a word, he turned and walked away, leaving Niannian utterly confused.
Niannian watched Ji Suize's back disappear before looking down at the candy in his hand. Because of Ji Suize's strange reaction, he wasn't sure whether he should eat the candy or not.
A minute later, Ji Suize returned, carrying a bulging plastic bag. He walked over to Niannian, casually tossed the bag onto the carpet, and a toy from the top rolled out, a little monster lying on its round belly, offering Niannian a charmingly naive smile.
Niannian's eyes lit up. Ji Suize noticed, picked up the pink little monster plushie, and waved it in front of Niannian.
The little dumpling indeed liked this plushie, his eyes couldn't look away. Ji Suize moved the little monster to the left, and the little dumpling's eyes followed to the left. He raised the little monster high, and the little dumpling tilted his head back, stretching his neck.
Ji Suize stopped teasing the little dumpling and stuffed the plushie into his arms, once again earning the little dumpling's smile.
"Thank you, Bro,." Before Niannian could finish, Ji Suize's index finger pressed against the left corner of his mouth again.
Niannian: "..."
Ji Suize's finger seemed like a switch controlling his smile. As soon as Ji Suize pressed it, Niannian would lose his smile.
Ji Suize also discovered this secret. A layer of inexplicable irritation clouded his face. He picked up a little rabbit plushie and teased Niannian the same way as before, but this method no longer worked.
Niannian hugged the little monster plushie tightly and whispered softly, "Niannian has this, and it's enough. Thank you, Brother."
The storybook said that people shouldn't be too greedy, lest they pick up sesame seeds and lose the watermelon.
He was already very content with having the little monster plushie.
Ji Suize: "..."
One is enough?
The children he knew would want to take all his toys, even though he didn't like these toys at all. But these things were gifts from elders and held meaning, which was why he had kept them until now.
As he envisioned, he would give these toys to the little one one by one. There were thirteen toys in this bag, which meant he could earn thirteen smiles from the little one and thirteen chances to touch those adorable dimples.
"Don't like it?" Rarely, Ji Suize had spoken several times in a single day. His voice still sounded weak, and his pale eyes stubbornly fixed on Niannian.
Niannian didn’t understand why his third brother was suddenly looking at him like this, but then he saw Ji Suize take another toy from the bag and hand it to him.
Clutching his little monster plushie tightly, Niannian timidly said, "N-no, thank you."
In Ji Suize’s mind, "no, thank you" was equivalent to not liking it. A child’s preferences were always the most obvious, if they liked something, they would eagerly take it.
Without hesitation, Ji Suize tossed the toy onto the sofa and picked up a new one.
Niannian’s answer was still "no, thank you." Ji Suize tossed it aside again and grabbed another. Not understanding what his third brother was trying to do, Niannian didn’t refuse this time. He cautiously accepted the toy, said "thank you," and once again received his third brother’s intense gaze.
Ji Suize waited a few seconds but still didn’t see the little one’s smile. Frowning, he looked at the Transformers toy in Niannian’s hand and concluded that this thing simply didn’t appeal to the little one. Otherwise, why wasn’t he smiling?
Without another word, Ji Suize took the Transformers from Niannian’s hand. In his confusion, a round little piggy bank fell into Niannian’s arms.
Ji Suize asked, "Do you like it?"
Niannian: "..."
Ji Suize didn’t realize his expression was overly serious, which to Niannian looked like anger.
Pursing his little lips, Niannian whispered very softly, "Y-yes, I like it."
Niannian tried hard to force a smile but ultimately failed. The redness around his eyes and the wavy line his lips formed proved that he didn’t like it at all.
For the first time, Ji Suize found himself in a state of self-doubt.
Why was pleasing someone even harder than solving an Olympiad math problem?
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