novelraw Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Chapter 14
At the time, Lin Xiaoli was the first to hear the knocking. It was the first time she'd seen little Xia Ying in such a hurry.
This book is first released on Taiwan Novel Network → T W K A N . C O M, offering you a reading experience free of mis-ordered chapters.
It felt as though, once missed, this chance would never come again.
"Little Xia Ying? Why are you in such a rush?"
Little Xia Ying was panting, her cheeks flushed from urgency. "Good evening, Auntie. I'm looking for Older Brother Wenjie; I have something to show him."
Liu Wenjie happened to be near the doorway; hearing the noise, he walked over. "What is it this time?"
The moment little Xia Ying spotted Liu Wenjie she grew excited. "Older Brother Wenjie, that tree... it's blooming."
Liu Wenjie frowned. "Huh?"
A dead tree blooming—how could that be? Had it sprouted a sapling instead?
Little Xia Ying clenched her small fists. Though timid, she knew opportunity knocks but once. "Really! Come with me and see, okay? Grandpa's waiting downstairs for us."
Liu Wenjie found himself intrigued.
After telling Mom, Liu Wenjie went downstairs with little Xia Ying.
Lin Xiaoli: "All right, but you two come back early."
Grandpa usually commuted on an open-top electric tricycle.
The instant he saw Liu Wenjie he laughed. "Xiaojie's here? Hop on."
"Hello, Grandpa."
The two children climbed into the back of the tricycle, and it buzzed away from the estate.
In truth the kindergarten wasn't far—just over a kilometer—but for little kids that was still a long walk.
Liu Wenjie glanced at Grandpa pedaling ahead and asked curiously, "Does your grandpa know what we're going to do?"
Little Xia Ying sat hunched in the back like a small quail.
"I told Grandpa there's something important I need to show Older Brother Wenjie, and Grandpa agreed."
Liu Wenjie knew Grandpa treated Xia Ying well—never quite like real parents, but he did his utmost.
"Your grandpa really is good to you."
Little Xia Ying smiled.
"Grandpa is very good, and Older Brother Wenjie is good too."
"Heh, I'm just so-so; hardly 'good.'"
Little Xia Ying shook her head vigorously. "No, Older Brother Wenjie is very good to me. Except for Older Brother Wenjie, no one in kindergarten looks after me. Older Brother Wenjie is a good person."
Liu Wenjie broke into a sweat; maybe it was adult thinking, but that last sentence sounded odd.
He'd actually been given a "good-guy card" by this little girl.
A few minutes later they arrived at the kindergarten gate.
By now the sky had darkened; the two little ones climbed down.
Grandpa called from the tricycle, "Don't wander off, you two."
Little Xia Ying answered obediently, "Grandpa, we'll just stay by the gate; we won't run around."
She and Liu Wenjie stood outside the iron gate, hands gripping the bars, peering through at the withered tree beside the yard.
From afar Liu Wenjie studied the tree's silhouette: still as bleak as ever, dry and shriveled, rough and mottled. There was no sign of any tiny seedling beneath it—utterly dead.
After two minutes of staring, Liu Wenjie asked, puzzled, "Didn't you say it bloomed? Where?"
Little Xia Ying blinked blankly, then reacted. "Older Brother Wenjie, wait just a bit—it'll happen soon."
Liu Wenjie examined the little girl's tense, tree-focused expression.
It really seemed as though blossoms might appear any second. Though he didn't believe it, curiosity kept him watching.
Another minute passed.
Two minutes...
The school grounds were eerily quiet.
Only the sounds of cars on the nearby road could be heard.
Liu Wenjie: "......"
Little Xia Ying: "......"
Liu Wenjie's eyes narrowed; what on earth was he doing here?
How could this tree...
"Ahh, Older Brother Wenjie, look quickly!"
Today was kindergarten graduation, and occasionally families in the small town set off fireworks to celebrate.
The instant little Xia Ying shouted, a firework streaked up into the night sky with a whoosh.
It burst into a dense, colorful bloom overhead.
The firework happened to be directly behind the withered tree. In the brief moment the sky lit up, the fireworks and the dead tree seemed to merge, and to the eye the entire tree was ablaze with multicolored blossoms.
Liu Wenjie's pupils dilated, reflecting the breathtaking tree.
Little Xia Ying urged, "Did you see it, Older Brother Wenjie? Doesn't it look like it bloomed?"
The firework faded; little Xia Ying's expression shifted just as quickly, her smile slipping away. "Okay, it's gone—but it'll bloom again in a bit! Did you see it, Older Brother Wenjie?!"
Amazed by the child's innocence, Liu Wenjie glanced sideways at her. "That's a sneaky little trick, isn't it?"
Little Xia Ying's big innocent eyes blinked. Seeing Liu Wenjie's less-than-pleased face, she grew timid again. "...I wasn't being sneaky. It really looks like blossoms, even if it's only for a moment... I only discovered it by accident after school. Does Older Brother Wenjie think it doesn't look like it?"
"You even know what 'sneaky' means?" he said, surprised.
Little Xia Ying lowered her head, fingers fidgeting. "I saw it on TV before, so I learned."
Another firework flared and bloomed over the small town.
Little Xia Ying peeked carefully and, pointing timidly at the tree, whispered, "It-it's blooming again..."
Liu Wenjie looked at the "blooming" tree, unsure whether to laugh or be angry; in any case, he grinned. "All right, it does look like it. Let's call it blooming, then. Didn't expect you to pull this off, little girl—impressive."
Hearing this, little Xia Ying brightened, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
"Then is Older Brother Wenjie happy now?"
"Can't you see I'm grinning?"
"I see." Though the smile looked a bit strange...
They watched outside the gate for another two minutes before Grandpa herded the two kids back to the estate.
On the way, perhaps due to the hour or simply word of mouth, more and more fireworks began to go off.
Bright bursts of smoke blossomed chaotically across the sky.
Liu Wenjie, seated in the tricycle, watched the fireworks. "How about I give you special training this summer? Consider it a reward for beating me."
"Huh? Special training?"
"To make you braver. With your personality, people will bully you when you grow up. Being timid invites trouble. At least before you're pretty enough to get away with it, being bolder will help."
Liu Wenjie had to admit Xia Ying was adorable; even at this age she was a budding beauty. If not for her personality, even without Xu Feifei's family background, she'd have been popular in kindergarten had she been livelier.
After all, kids like good-looking things, and Xia Ying was one of them.
Yet little Xia Ying still didn't understand. "H-how do I become bolder?"
Liu Wenjie flashed a wicked grin. "Just do as I say; I won't hurt you."
Seeing that different smile, little Xia Ying felt inexplicably scared—Older Brother Wenjie's grin looked terrifying.
And as events would prove, her intuition was spot on; Liu Wenjie's methods were simple and direct.
Though they wouldn't be pleasant for little Xia Ying, the results would certainly be obvious.