Arno had returned to his old routine.

There was no Jiang Yi to play chess with, no Jiang Yi to talk to, and no Jiang Yi to help him with puzzles. Every morning, the first thing he did was rush to the calendar and count the days until Jiang Yi’s next vacation.

To Arno, if learning Chinese was the most annoying thing, then kindergarten was a close second, a daunting and hated enemy. It seemed to him that the kindergarten in China was like a monster with its mouth wide open, swallowing Jiang Yi whole and only spitting him out when the holidays came.

When Jiang Yi finally had a break from kindergarten, Arno complained to him, but Jiang Yi didn’t agree.

Sitting on the carpet, holding a watermelon, Jiang Yi tilted his head and earnestly explained to Arno, “Kindergarten is a place for us to learn. It’s not a bad place.”

“We all go to kindergarten to learn. It’s not a monster.”

Arno listened to the translation from the butler, pursed his lips, and said nothing.

After a long pause, he finally asked in a low voice, “Do you also fold paper planes for others in kindergarten?”

Jiang Yi thought for a moment, biting his little spoon, and then shook his head.

Arno sighed in relief, his tense expression relaxing.

Jiang Yi, with wide eyes, slowly added, “We usually give each other watercolor pens.”

Arno: “…”

The butler, worried that Arno might not understand what a “watercolor pen” was in Chinese, carefully explained in English, “It’s a kind of pen that can draw in different colors. Usually, a set has twelve or thirty-two pens.”

“It’s a popular stationery item. You’ve seen it before, young master.”

Of course, Arno knew what they were. He had secretly used watercolor pens to write Jiang Yi’s name, albeit crookedly, on a paper plane.

But a set of watercolor pens has twelve or even thirty-two pens!

Jiang Yi had only ever folded one paper plane for him!

It was obvious who held a more important place in Jiang Yi’s heart!

Jiang Yi dug into the watermelon with his spoon, tilting his head slightly, not understanding why Arno suddenly looked so upset.

But he was kind of getting used to it by now.

Arno’s temper was always a bit strange.

Jiang Yi lowered his head, scooped out a spoonful of watermelon, and offered it to Arno. Even though Arno’s face was dark with anger, he instinctively opened his mouth, only to have it stuffed with watermelon.

Satisfied, Jiang Yi watched as Arno chewed the watermelon, noting that his face didn’t seem as dark as before.

He retrieved his spoon, feeling pleased with himself, thinking that although Arno got angry a lot, he was much easier to placate than Little Bobby from the TV.

With his mouth full of watermelon, Arno had no way to express his anger. Frustrated, he stormed over to the desk, tore out eleven sheets of paper, and began furiously folding, determined to show Jiang Yi the importance of this matter.

But by the time Jiang Yi had folded his third paper plane, he was already getting sleepy and rubbed his eyes. Arno quickly snatched the plane from him and started folding it himself.

By the time Arno had folded the eleventh plane, Jiang Yi was fast asleep on the sofa.

Arno grabbed Jiang Yi’s hand and carefully guided it to complete the last fold of the paper plane.

Looking at the neatly arranged eleven paper planes, Arno was finally satisfied, convinced that he was now the most important person in Jiang Yi’s heart.

He put all eleven paper planes into a drawer, then walked over to the sofa to watch Jiang Yi sleep, pondering how to prevent him from going back to kindergarten.

After thinking for a long time without coming up with a good idea, Arno turned to the butler and earnestly asked for advice on how to keep Jiang Yi from attending kindergarten.

The butler: “…”

Arno excitedly asked if he could buy the kindergarten and fire all the teachers and students so that Jiang Yi wouldn’t have to go to school.

The butler explained that kindergartens were very expensive.

Arno replied that he had many bank cards and that buying a kindergarten shouldn’t be a problem. After all, he had previously persuaded his grandfather to buy him a racetrack. If necessary, he could call his grandfather to buy it.

The butler was silent for a long time before finally saying, “You can’t just fire all the teachers and students.”

Arno thought for a moment and then compromised, asking if he could buy the kindergarten and declare holidays every day so that Jiang Yi could spend every day with him.

The butler took a deep breath, forcing a smile as he said, “You can’t do that either.”

Arno became frustrated, angrily muttering that if nothing was allowed, then China was really annoying and troublesome.

The butler, who had grown numb to such declarations, thought to himself that it was no wonder Old Master Lu had decided to bring Arno back from abroad. If they hadn’t, in a few years, Arno might be asking if he could just buy Jiang Yi.

With nothing going his way, Arno lay on the sofa, playing with Jiang Yi’s eyelashes, which looked unreal, fluttering like a butterfly’s wings.

Jiang Yi mumbled something in his sleep but remained peacefully asleep.

After a long time, when Jiang Yi finally woke up and opened his eyes, he was greeted by Arno’s blue eyes staring intently at him.

Jiang Yi rubbed his eyes and heard Arno ask him, “Shall I go to school with you?”

Jiang Yi listened to the butler’s translation, thought about it for a moment, and then shook his head.

Arno was stunned, growing angry as he asked why not.

Jiang Yi sighed, replying with a hint of melancholy, “Arno, kindergartens don’t accept students who score zero on tests.”

Arno: “…”

He blushed, trying to argue that he was always the top student in the UK.

But then he realized that without knowing Chinese, he might actually score zero on the exams.

---

“Dad, is there a way for kindergartens to accept students who score zero on tests?”

That evening, while walking home hand in hand with his father, Jiang Yi looked up and asked seriously.

Jiang’s father was confused, asking, “Why are you suddenly asking this?”

At the time, worried that Jiang Yi was too obsessed with watching Little Bobby on TV, Jiang’s father had made up a story, telling Jiang Yi that he needed to study diligently because if he scored zero on his tests, he wouldn’t be allowed to attend kindergarten. After all, kindergartens didn’t accept students who scored zero.

Jiang Yi, still concerned, explained, “Arno wants to go to school, but he doesn’t understand any Chinese.”

“He’s sure to score zero on the tests.”

Jiang’s father: “…”

He responded awkwardly, “I’m sure Arno’s father has something planned…”

If the young master of the Lu family couldn’t get into school, then it must be because half of S City had collapsed, making it impossible for him to attend.

But Jiang Yi didn’t seem convinced. He remained worried on the way home and even when he was tucked into bed.

After all, Arno was his first friend, and if Arno couldn’t go to school, it would make him very sad too.

Jiang’s father patted his back, comforting him by saying that Arno’s father would surely have a solution. Arno’s father was very capable and wouldn’t let Arno be without a school to attend.

Jiang Yi, half-asleep, nodded, finally drifting off.

---

The next day.

A new student joined the Golden Sun Bilingual Kindergarten’s second class.

Blonde, blue-eyed, with a proud expression, he stood at the front of the classroom without saying a word.

Ms. Li, the teacher of Class Two, enthusiastically introduced the new student to the class. His name was Lu Li, and he had lived abroad for most of his life. His Chinese was a bit rusty, so she hoped everyone would help him adjust.

The classroom erupted in applause, with most of the students curiously eyeing the boy who looked so different from them.

Jiang Yi was thrilled. When Arno sat down next to him, he asked, “How did you get here?”

Without the butler to translate, Arno struggled to understand, taking a while to grasp what Jiang Yi meant. He gestured in response, but Jiang Yi, unable to understand, just tilted his head, waiting for an answer.

It was only then that Arno understood what his father meant when he told him that he could go to kindergarten with Jiang Yi, but he would have to face the consequences himself.

Arno could go to Jiang Yi’s kindergarten, but without the butler constantly by his side to translate, he would have to learn to understand and speak Chinese on his own.

It wasn’t just about promising his father that he would study Chinese well.

Fortunately, Jiang Yi didn’t necessarily need a response. He busied himself drawing in his workbook and then handed it to Arno, explaining what he meant. Arno, in turn, passed the notes back to him, using the workbook as a temporary means of communication.

By the end of the lesson, Jiang Yi’s workbook was filled, leaving no room for more writing, while Arno was having a blast passing notes.

Ms. Li, observing Arno’s surprisingly quiet behavior throughout the entire lesson, breathed a sigh of relief.

Golden Sun Bilingual Kindergarten was a private school, and students who transferred mid-term were usually from wealthy or influential families. What’s more, the principal
had specifically instructed the teachers to take special care of this new student.

The teachers had been speculating about the background of this mixed-race student who had garnered such a respectful reception from the principal, who usually held a high opinion of herself. When Ms. Li found out that Arno was assigned to her class, she had been quite anxious. The teachers often found that students from powerful families could be the most troublesome to manage.

If the student was obedient, all would be well. But if the student was disruptive or troublesome, the situation could quickly become a nightmare.

However, from what she could observe so far, Arno didn’t seem to be causing much trouble, apart from his apparent attachment to Jiang Yi, a student in her class. Ms. Li felt quite relieved.

That relief didn’t last long, though.

Around noon, Song Ziyi, one of the students in the class, led a group of classmates to Ms. Li’s office, angrily reporting Arno for bullying Jiang Yi.

Ms. Li listened patiently as Song Ziyi and the other children described how the new student had stolen Jiang Yi’s lunch, made Jiang Yi eat his leftovers, and even snatched away Jiang Yi’s small towel, making him cry.

The children all spoke at once, expressing their indignation, and Ms. Li’s heart sank. She had no choice but to follow the children to the cafeteria.

At the cafeteria table, Arno and Jiang Yi sat together. Jiang Yi’s eyes were wet, his nose and eyes red.

Next to him, Arno was indeed using his chopsticks to pick out sweet and sour pork ribs from Jiang Yi’s plate. Jiang Yi’s plate, in contrast, had only a meager amount of food left.

Ms. Li approached them and knelt down to Arno’s level, asking in English why he was taking food from Jiang Yi’s plate. She reassured him that if he was still hungry, he could get more food from the counter, but it wasn’t right to take food from his classmate.

Arno frowned but didn’t respond.

Ms. Li then asked why he had forced Jiang Yi to eat his leftovers. Arno widened his eyes in disbelief.

Ms. Li explained that some classmates had seen him spit out an apple during the morning snack time and force Jiang Yi to eat it.

Arno huffed in frustration, explaining that he wasn’t making Jiang Yi eat leftovers—he was making him a sandwich.

Ms. Li looked at the poorly assembled sandwich on the side of the tray: two pieces of bread with a half-eaten apple slice in the middle. She was silent for two minutes.

Then she asked about the small towel. Arno said he wanted to help Jiang Yi wash it, but since it was his first time washing something, he didn’t know how, and the water washed it away.

Ms. Li choked on her words, finally turning to Jiang Yi and asking why he had been crying.

Jiang Yi, always honest, replied that Arno had spent the entire day watching some girls feed and water their dolls. Then Arno tried to do the same for him, but the water was too hot and it burned him, making him cry.