After hearing the explanation, Ms. Li uncharacteristically fell silent. She looked at the well-behaved Jiang Yi sitting in his seat, then at the stern-faced Arno.

Jiang Yi was indeed one of the most beautiful children in Class 2, with his red lips, white teeth, black hair, and dark eyes. His delicate features and fair skin made him look like a doll in the sunlight. After explaining, Jiang Yi sniffled and, with a guilty expression, quietly admitted that he was also at fault.

He said he shouldn’t have been picky about his food. Just because Arno ate everything, it didn’t mean he should give Arno the green peppers, tomatoes, and leftover meat that he didn’t want.

Ms. Li couldn’t help but smile. She had always thought Jiang Yi ate slowly because of his delicate health and that he was just taking his time to chew carefully. She never realized that his slow eating was due to being picky.

No wonder, during mealtimes, while the other children cheered excitedly, Jiang Yi would always sit quietly at the back, looking as if he were facing a formidable enemy.

Ms. Li ruffled Jiang Yi’s hair and gently reminded him that he shouldn’t be so picky with his food—he needed to eat well to stay healthy. Jiang Yi, his nose now red, nodded in agreement.

Ms. Li then told Arno that he couldn’t keep helping Jiang Yi finish his food. Jiang Yi needed to eat enough to maintain his health; otherwise, he might become malnourished and fall ill. Arno, with a serious expression, nodded solemnly.

Having clarified the situation, Ms. Li breathed a sigh of relief and explained everything to the upset classmates in Class 2, finally managing to calm them down.

Still pouting, Song Ziyi, along with a group of classmates, reluctantly watched as the little blonde boy continued to eat with Jiang Yi and accompanied him to return their plates.

During naptime, the nap room was so quiet that only the low hum of the air conditioner could be heard.

Jiang Yi, lying on his little bed, peeked out and saw Arno sneaking over when the supervising teacher wasn’t looking, climbing onto his bed. Jiang Yi quickly pulled the blanket over Arno’s head and whispered, “Why did you come over?”

Arno didn’t say anything. Instead, with a serious expression, he pulled out a sandwich he had made from his pocket and tried to stuff it into Jiang Yi’s mouth.

Jiang Yi was stunned.

Arno muttered quietly, urging Jiang Yi to eat more while persistently pushing the sandwich into his mouth.

Two minutes later…

The teacher, who was supervising naptime, held a half-bitten sandwich in one hand and Arno in the other, catching him in the act.

Jiang Yi, with puffed-up cheeks and wrapped in his little blanket, stared blankly as Arno was carried back to his own bed by the teacher. Arno tried to climb back over, only to be firmly pressed down by the teacher.

Unhappy, Arno frowned, muttering something about having his grandfather buy the place, all while the teacher kept him firmly in place, preventing him from crawling back.

For the next few days, Arno persistently climbed into Jiang Yi’s bed during naptime, only to be repeatedly carried back by the teacher. Every time the teacher turned her back, Arno would be back in Jiang Yi’s bed.

What the teacher couldn’t tolerate, though, was that Arno always seemed to have something to feed Jiang Yi, whether it was hidden cookies or fruit slices—those were at least normal. But one day, the teacher pulled a large bone out of Jiang Yi’s mouth, the kind usually used in the kitchen for making soup.

Having reached her limit, the teacher had no choice but to move Jiang Yi’s bed to the opposite side of the room from Arno’s—one at the south end and the other at the north.

The new student assigned to the bed near Jiang Yi’s was Song Ziyi. Upon learning that his bed was right across from Jiang Yi’s, he eagerly grabbed his little pillow and ran over to his new bed.

Arno sat on his new bed, glaring at the excitedly bouncing little curly-haired boy who, upon reaching Jiang Yi, flashed a big smile, revealing eight teeth.

Jiang Yi, holding his pillow, smiled back at the curly-haired boy, who looked as if he was not the brightest.

Arno scowled, angrily clutching his bedsheet, thinking that Jiang Yi was the most heartless child in the world.

But in the next second, Jiang Yi looked up and waved at him enthusiastically, his eyes sparkling.

Arno, still frowning, nodded stiffly. After pulling the blanket over himself, he thought that maybe, just maybe, Jiang Yi wasn’t completely heartless after all.

Every day after naptime, the children in Class 2 would receive a snack that they loved. During the summer, it was usually yogurt or ice cream, along with a small piece of cake.

Because of his health, Jiang Yi couldn’t eat anything too cold, so his portion of ice cream or yogurt would often be taken by a chubby kid in the class named Qi Nian.

At first, Qi Nian would ask Jiang Yi if he could have his snack, but eventually, Qi Nian just assumed that Jiang Yi’s afternoon snack was his by default. He would simply take it without asking, believing that Jiang Yi, who was always quiet and never complained to the teacher, wouldn’t mind.

Jiang Yi, being good-natured and not wanting to cause trouble for the teacher, never mentioned this to anyone.

However, things changed when Arno arrived.

Arno was fiercely protective of anything belonging to Jiang Yi. He wouldn’t allow anyone else to take what was rightfully Jiang Yi’s. Not even the smallest of snacks could be taken by anyone else.

As a result, Qi Nian found himself repeatedly thwarted. Each time he tried to take Jiang Yi’s ice cream, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy would glare at him coldly, telling him to back off in English.

Qi Nian couldn’t understand English, but he could tell that this new kid was claiming what he believed was rightfully his. He was outraged. After all, he had the biggest fists in Class 2, so he felt entitled to an extra portion of ice cream. Jiang Yi had never dared complain, so why was this mixed-race kid challenging him?

After swallowing his anger for several days, Qi Nian finally snapped on the fourth day.

That afternoon, as the children were enjoying their snacks, Qi Nian aggressively told Arno to meet him by the iron gate at the back of the kindergarten, intending to avoid the teacher’s watchful eyes and give Arno a good lesson.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yi sat in the classroom, quietly working on a puzzle while waiting for Arno to return with his ice cream and cake.

Ever since Arno had arrived, he had taken charge of collecting Jiang Yi’s share of ice cream, bringing it back for them to enjoy together.

Sitting in front of Jiang Yi, Song Ziyi broke off a piece of his own cake and, seizing the opportunity of Arno’s absence, eagerly asked Jiang Yi if he wanted to share his cake.

Jiang Yi shook his head, saying that he would wait for Arno to return.

Song Ziyi felt a bit disappointed but still dragged his stool over to sit beside Jiang Yi, volunteering to wait with him.

Before Arno had shown up, Song Ziyi had never dared to do such a thing, worried that the usually quiet Jiang Yi wouldn’t appreciate it.

But after Arno’s arrival, Song Ziyi and the others realized that Jiang Yi wasn’t avoiding them because he found them noisy. It was just his naturally quiet demeanor. Once they got to know him better, they found him to be easygoing and gentle.

Jiang Yi sat in his seat, working on his puzzle, but Arno still hadn’t returned. Song Ziyi urged him to eat the cake, suggesting that Arno might have gone off to play with someone else.

But before long, Arno reappeared, carrying two boxes of yogurt and some cake.

When Jiang Yi saw Arno, he was taken aback.

Arno looked a bit disheveled, with a large dirty spot on his clothes, a small scrape on his arm, and a bruise forming on the side of his lip.

Jiang Yi tried to check Arno for other injuries, but Arno wouldn’t let him, instead holding his hand and nonchalantly licking his bruised lip. “Let’s get ice cream,” he said.

Song Ziyi’s eyes widened, and he circled around Arno, trembling with excitement. “Did you get into a fight?” he asked. “The teacher will definitely send you to the office!”

Arno ignored him, handing the ice cream to Jiang Yi and breaking off a piece of the cake to feed him, continuing his strict mission of making sure Jiang Yi ate more.

For the first time, Jiang Yi didn’t obediently eat what Arno was offering. Instead, he tightly pressed his lips together and stood still, staring at him.

Arno paused, thinking the cake piece was too big. He broke it into smaller pieces and tried to feed it to Jiang Yi again.

But Jiang Yi still refused to eat, instead trying to examine the injuries on Arno’s hand.

Before he could take a closer look, Ms. Li called out from the classroom door, telling Arno in English to come to the office.

Jiang Yi didn’t understand English, but he knew Ms. Li’s tone meant that Arno was being sent to the office—a place reserved for students who had been caught fighting or causing trouble.

In a small voice, Jiang Yi said, “I’ll go with you.”

Arno, who had been spending the past few nights diligently learning Chinese with a tutor, managed to understand the gist of what Jiang Yi was saying. His expression changed instantly. Frowning, he firmly said, “No.”

With that, Arno turned to Song Ziyi, who looked a bit too eager, and instructed him to stay with Jiang Yi. Then he followed Ms. Li out of the classroom.

Song Ziyi seemed delighted. He scooted closer to Jiang Yi, chatting away about how Arno was clearly a troublemaker and that Ms. Li was surely going to give him a stern talking-to.

Jiang Yi quietly said, “Arno isn’t a troublemaker.”

Song Ziyi hesitated, caught between wanting to agree with Jiang Yi and his own thoughts about Arno. In the end, he chose to keep his mouth shut and not say anything further.

In the office, Qi Nian was sitting with a tear-streaked face, his nose swollen, a bandage on his forehead, and a noticeable limp. He was crying his heart out, looking utterly pitiful.

Arno stood beside him, his face expressionless, though there was a visible bruise on the corner of his mouth.

Ms. Li, seeing the state of the two boys, asked Arno in English why he had fought with Qi Nian and why he had hit him so hard, leaving him with a black eye.

She knew that Qi Nian’s parents were difficult to deal with. As the class troublemaker, Qi Nian often got into mischief, and every time he caused trouble, his parents would make a fuss. With a bit of money and connections, they always managed to make things disappear.

Arno remained silent.

Remembering the principal’s instructions, Ms. Li didn’t press too hard. Instead, she gently told Arno that if he didn’t explain what had happened, they would have to ask Jiang Yi, whose name had come up repeatedly in Qi Nian’s crying complaints.

Ms. Li waited patiently for Arno to respond. After what felt like an eternity, just as her patience was wearing thin, Arno finally spoke.

His voice was cold, his expression dark. When he fixed his blue eyes on someone, it was as if he was staring at an inanimate object. Slowly and deliberately, he said, “He scolded Jiang Yi for not having a mother.”

Ms. Li was taken aback, instinctively looking over at the battered Qi Nian. She recalled that Qi Nian’s parents were on the class committee, giving them access to some of the children’s personal information.

Jiang Yi was indeed from a single-parent family.

And Qi Nian’s words were nothing short of pouring salt on an open wound.