Lu Ting continued in a diplomatic tone, “Or perhaps, darling, you could take a closer look at that tree in the corner. Doesn’t it resemble Arno?”

There was silence on the other end of the video call for a full two minutes before Lu’s mother spoke, “Lu Ting, did you secretly swap our son?”

Lu Ting rubbed his temples. “No, I didn’t.”

If someone had told him a month ago that his notoriously temperamental and unruly son would one day be squatting on the floor, wearing a tree costume, and nodding his head in time with the clanging music like a Peashooter from Plants vs. Zombies, Lu Ting would have suspected that someone had swapped his son for another.

Lu’s mother, known for her no-nonsense attitude, took a deep breath, feeling a headache coming on. “You’d better start thinking about how you’re going to explain this to Arno’s grandparents.”

“Explain how their beloved grandson returned to the country only to play a bobbing tree in his graduation performance,” she added.

Lu Ting didn’t respond, instead calmly suggesting that his wife look at the child beside Arno. “That boy is Arno’s friend from here.”

Lu’s mother was skeptical. After all, Arno had been upset ever since returning to China, even staging a runaway incident. But then she saw Arno, looking a bit bored as he played with the hand of the cute child beside him. The child was taking his role as a tree very seriously, occasionally turning Arno’s head back to face forward, as if sternly reminding him to stay in character.

Arno obediently let the other child adjust his head and then sat still, playing the role of a tree.

Lu’s mother was stunned for a long time. She had never seen Arno so close to anyone before. In the past, many parents had tried to get their children to befriend Arno, hoping to forge a connection with the powerful Lu family, but Arno had always shown little interest in others.

This was the first time Lu’s mother had seen her son so attached to another child.

Meanwhile, Jiang’s father, who had been searching for his son on the stage, finally spotted Jiang Yi playing the role of a tree. He was silent for a few seconds, watching as Jiang Yi’s little tree head bobbed up and down to the music, looking very content. He consoled himself with the thought that even trees have their own acting style.

Looking at his son, who was performing with such enthusiasm, he concluded that no tree in a hundred miles could be more convincing than Jiang Yi.

Jiang’s father raised his camera and eagerly began taking pictures. But the more he snapped, the more puzzled he became. The tree next to Jiang Yi was too close, making it impossible to get a solo shot of his son.

Oh well, he thought. I’ll just crop that other tree out when I print the photos.

Jiang’s father, like a devoted fan, continued clicking the shutter, capturing every adorable moment of his little tree.

After the play ended, the children of Class 2 gathered to eat cake. Jiang Yi sat in a small chair, with Song Ziyi beside him, teary-eyed and sad, asking where Jiang Yi would go to school next and if they would ever see each other again.

Jiang Yi was also a bit sad. He sniffled and comforted Song Ziyi, promising they would meet again someday. In return, Song Ziyi tearfully gave him a puzzle as a farewell gift.

Remembering that his former train buddy liked to draw, Jiang Yi gifted Song Ziyi a set of 36 watercolor pens. Song Ziyi was so touched that he started crying again, saying he had always been reluctant to use his previous set of pens, but now that he had two sets, he could finally use one.

Arno, who had been secretly eyeing the pens all along, was less than thrilled.

He had been waiting for the day when Song Ziyi would use up the set Jiang Yi had given him, only to find out that Song Ziyi had been using an inferior set all along.

What was the point of all that showing off with a fake set of watercolor pens?

Annoyed, Arno poked at his cupcake with a fork, feeling a bit exasperated.

Seeing that Arno wasn’t the least bit sad, Song Ziyi, still crying, asked him why he wasn’t upset. His mother had said that graduation meant parting ways with friends. Given how much Arno liked Jiang Yi, why wasn’t he upset?

Arno proudly announced that Jiang Yi was now his “wife,” so they wouldn’t be separating. They’d only part ways when Jiang Yi found a “real wife.”

Song Ziyi, with tears streaming down his face, was dumbfounded.

Sitting nearby, Lu Ting and Jiang’s father burst into laughter, clearly used to hearing such things. They dismissed it as child’s play and didn’t take it seriously.

As the lively cake-eating and gift-exchanging session wound down, Jiang Yi found himself with quite a few presents, including a doll given by a few female classmates.

The girls had noticed that Arno had been keenly observing them as they played with their dolls, so they decided to give the doll to Jiang Yi, intending it as a gift for Arno. Since Arno usually kept a stern face, the girls were too shy to give it to him directly and instead entrusted it to Jiang Yi, encouraging Arno not to give up on his love of dolls.

Jiang Yi was deeply moved and delighted to think that Arno had truly become a part of Class 2.

However, when Arno saw the blonde doll in a skirt, his face darkened a bit.

Jiang Yi placed the doll in Arno’s arms, seriously instructing him to take good care of it.

Arno pouted, muttering about already having a big doll to take care of and now having a small one as well. But in the end, he accepted the blonde Barbie doll.

After the graduation performance, on the way home, Lu Ting received news that a project had encountered issues. He had canceled his evening work plans to attend the performance, but now that it was over, he had to head back to the office to handle the situation.

Lu Ting expected Arno to be unhappy since no child likes it when their parents work late every night. But to his surprise, Arno’s eyes lit up, and he asked in English if Uncle Jiang would also be working late.

If Uncle Jiang was also working late, that would mean Jiang Yi could stay over and sleep with him!

Lu Ting confirmed this, and Arno gleefully urged his father to hurry up and get to work before the tasks were all taken care of.

Lu Ting was left speechless.

In the driver’s seat, Jiang’s father explained to Jiang Yi in the back that he also had to work late tonight. Jiang Yi, soft-spoken as always, told his father to work hard, stay strong, and come home early.

Jiang Yi seemed so sweet and well-behaved, while his own son in the backseat was practically glowing with excitement at the thought of him working late every night. The contrast left Lu Ting feeling slightly unnerved.

Around 9 p.m., before getting out of the car, Lu Ting sternly reminded Arno to behave himself at bedtime and not to make Jiang Yi cry. If Jiang Yi ended up in tears, Arno wouldn’t be allowed to share a bed with him again.

Jiang’s father quickly reassured Lu Ting, saying there was no need to worry—kids would be kids, and it was all in good fun.

Arno nodded eagerly, grabbed Jiang Yi’s hand, and hurriedly led him toward the house.

The butler followed behind, smiling, and reminded Arno to slow down, lest they trip and fall.

Although Jiang Yi and Arno had played trees in the graduation performance, they had still worn a bit of makeup. After heading upstairs, the first thing the butler did was take the boys to the bathroom for a bath.

In the bathroom, Jiang Yi sat obediently in the tub while Arno eagerly lathered up his hair. The butler and a servant stood by helplessly, watching their young master, with a head full of bubbles, enthusiastically washing Jiang Yi’s hair.

Jiang Yi sneezed, causing the bubbles on his head to wobble, nearly falling into Arno’s mouth.

Arno sternly told him to stay still.

Jiang Yi immediately straightened up, holding his bubbly head as still as possible.

After rinsing the bubbles from Jiang Yi’s hair, Jiang Yi volunteered to help Arno wash his hair in return.

Sitting on a small stool, Jiang Yi carefully scrubbed Arno’s light blonde hair while Arno tilted his head, watching him like a big dog.

Half an hour later, the two kids were ready to leave the bathroom, wrapped in towels. But the butler grabbed them both and brought them back into the bathroom, where they were given a proper rinse to ensure they were thoroughly clean.

After the bath, Jiang Yi, dressed in milk-themed pajamas, with his snow-white cheeks tinged with pink, hugged his pillow and climbed into bed with Arno.

Arno couldn’t contain his excitement.