Extra 4.6

Xiao Tangyuan had spent the entire night immersed in sweet dreams, sleeping particularly soundly. In contrast, Xiao Zhuzi had tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep. Several times, he wanted to call Xiao Tangyuan, but after checking the time, he restrained himself and barely managed to sleep.

Naturally, Xiao Zhuzi couldn’t wait the full seventy-two hours. The next day was the weekend, and everyone had the day off. Xiao Zhuzi arrived early in the morning, looking exhausted with dark circles under his eyes, eager to find Xiao Tangyuan.

When he arrived, Su Xiaoxiao’s entire family was still asleep. Knowing where the spare key was, he used it to quietly unlock the door and went straight to Xiao Tangyuan’s room without waking anyone.

It was Xiao Roubao’s first time drinking beer as an adult, and he had indulged a bit too much. When he woke up in the morning, he thought he saw a shadow sneaking into Xiao Tangyuan’s room. Terrified, he didn’t even bother to go to the bathroom and hurried to investigate. He found Zhuzi sitting beside Xiao Tangyuan’s bed, quietly watching his sister sleep peacefully. Although puzzled, he was relieved. He yawned, went to the bathroom, and then returned to his room to take a nap.

In her half-dreamy state, Xiao Tangyuan felt as though someone was watching her. She smiled and turned over, revealing a sweet little dimple. Realizing something, she snuggled against Zhuzi’s thigh, rubbed her cheek, and fell back into a blissful sleep.

Zhuzi’s heart softened. The restless heart that had been unsettled all night found peace when he saw Xiao Tangyuan’s sleeping face. He gently stroked Xiao Tangyuan’s delicate cheek, unable to bear the thought of letting another boy take care of his little Princess. That was something that could never happen.

Zhuzi reminisced about the moments they had shared from childhood to now. He remembered when Xiao Tangyuan was born; at seven years old, he was already aware. When Xiao Roubao was born, she was chubby. The adults said that Little Princess didn’t get enough nutrients compared to Xiao Roubao, so she was a bit thin but truly beautiful, rosy all over, and very well-behaved. At that time, he believed the adults and tried to feed her as much as possible, hoping she would grow fatter.

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For some reason, he was especially sensitive to Xiao Tangyuan’s cries. Even though her cries were no louder than a cat’s meow, he would wake up immediately whenever she cried, no matter how deeply he was sleeping, and rush to check on her. However, he often didn’t wake up even if Xiao Roubao cried loudly.

It seemed like some sort of magnetic field. Little Princess also particularly liked him. She was always smiling and reaching out for him to hold, no matter how fiercely she cried. She would smile with her sweet little dimples as soon as he picked her up.

During the one-year-old celebration, the little Princess couldn’t speak yet. Many things were on the table, but she showed no interest in any of them. He still remembered how the little Princess clung to the jade pendant her grandmother had left her. Though she could barely stand, she had rushed towards him with her hands outstretched.

More than ten years later, on the little Princess’s college entrance examination day, Zhuzi took the day off to wait for her outside the examination room. The now almost eighteen-year-old Princess emerged from the room and saw him waiting outside. Her gaze overlapped with the one she had when she was one year old, the arc of her little dimples unchanged. Despite the crowd waiting for her outside, she rushed into his arms and said, “Brother, I did really well on the exam. I think I might be able to go to Peking University just like you guys.”

Zhuzi was even happier than when he got into Peking University himself. He patted Little Princess’s head and said, “Our Xiao Tangyuan is great.”

It would have been wagging if Little Princess had a tail at that moment. Her dimples were as sweet as if they were filled with honey: “Since my brother is so amazing, I can’t lag behind.”

On the day when the acceptance letter from Peking University finally arrived, the whole family was overjoyed, but Little Princess cried secretly.

Zhuzi knew why. They were not prodigies like Fantuan. Others only saw her as pampered and lacking nothing. Even if she didn’t know much and decided not to go to school after graduating high school, with Aunt Su’s support, she would have a worry-free life. They didn’t know how hard she worked to achieve this result.

The little Princess also had her own sense of pride. Zhuzi knew how hard she worked; he had always been by her side. It was common for her to exercise late into the night and fall asleep at the table early in the morning. It was also not unusual for her to insist on reading books while receiving an IV drip when she was ill. Seeing this, he felt a pang of distress and wanted to tell her that Xiao Tangyuan didn’t need to work so hard because her brothers would always protect her.

But he couldn’t say that, as the little Princess had everything she wanted since childhood, and there were few things she needed to struggle for. The Peking University entrance exam was one of those few things. All he could do was to be there with her as she pursued her goal.

Fortunately, she succeeded.

Then it was his turn. Little Princess said that if he had romantic feelings for her, she wanted him to cherish her for a lifetime.

Zhuzi thought that this little Princess, whom he had cherished since birth, was someone he could never let go of. A lifetime might not be enough to protect her; he would need another lifetime, and another, and another…

Zhuzi didn’t know how long he had been sitting by Xiao Tangyuan’s bed until someone tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned around to see Fantuan.

Fantuan asked him in a breathy voice, “What are you doing?”

Zhuzi then remembered that Fantuan seemed to be unaware of this matter. He pointed towards the door, indicating that they should go outside to talk.

Zhuzi then, in front of Fantuan, bent down and kissed Xiao Tangyuan on the forehead.

Fantuan, who had been clever for over twenty years, was stunned for the first time. His mind seemed to crash, and he almost followed Zhuzi out with his movements and steps in sync.

He cursed “Fuck” when he got to the yard.

The two brothers had been inseparable for twenty years and had never fought, nor had they ever argued. They always presented themselves as being as close as sharing the same pair of pants. Fantuan had never considered it in that light. With his brilliant brain, he realized, with just 0.000001% effort, what was going on.

To be honest, Zhuzi hadn’t imagined such a day before yesterday, either.

“Are you satisfied with me as your brother-in-law?” Zhuzi asked him seriously.

Fantuan wanted to curse again. He would have beaten them to a pulp if it had been anyone else. But he couldn’t curse Zhuzi. If he had to choose a brother-in-law for himself, Zhuzi would be the best candidate in the world. Still, could Zhuzi give him some time to adjust to the fact that his brother had suddenly become his brother-in-law? He was very irritated.

“When did this happen?” Fantuan asked.

“Last night. I never considered it before then.” Zhuzi answered honestly.

“Did Xiao Tangyuan take the initiative?” Fantuan knew Zhuzi well. He would never believe that Aunt Ya Li’s casual remarks could alter Zhuzi’s feelings towards Xiao Tangyuan. It had to be Xiao Tangyuan who had done something.

Zhuzi had never hidden anything from Fantuan, and he nodded: “But don’t mention this in front of Xiao Tangyuan. She’s quite shy.”

Fantuan looked at Zhuzi with mixed feelings, unsure whether to pity him or sympathize with him. Did he not know what his sister was like? He couldn’t even be bothered to criticize. To Zhuzi, Xiao Tangyuan seemed forever stuck at the stage where she needed him to hold the milk bottle. Whenever he was around, Tangyuan would regress to being a helpless baby. Fine, if one was willing to endure, the other would be willing to pretend. Xiao Tangyuan would thoroughly dominate this brother in the future. They are all brothers and sisters, and there is no such thing as who will suffer or not.

Fantuan patted Zhuzi’s shoulder and wanted to say something fitting for an eldest brother, like “Be good to Xiao Tangyuan in the future,” but when the words came to his lips, he changed them to: “Take care of yourself in the future.” Xiao Tangyuan certainly wouldn’t bully him, but with how much he doted on her, this habit of his would only get worse in the future. Fantuan didn’t know how exhausting it might become.

Although Zhuzi found Fantuan’s words a bit confusing, he understood that Fantuan had accepted the situation. He gave Fantuan’s shoulder a playful punch and said with a smile, “Thanks, brother.”

Fantuan put his arm around his shoulder and teased him: “Come on, good brother-in-law, call me ‘big brother’ so I can hear it.”

Zhuzi smiled and, imitating Xiao Tangyuan, called out: “Big brother.”

“Damn it!” Fantuan was covered in goosebumps and quickly let go of him. “Why does it sound nice when it’s Xiao Tangyuan, but when you say it, I get goosebumps? Forget it, I’m not worthy.”

Su Xiaoxiao had also gotten up and, seeing the two handsome young men playing in the courtyard early in the morning, smiled and asked, “Good morning, darlings. What are you so happy about?”

Fantuan instinctively glanced at Zhuzi, implying, “Does mom know?”

Zhuzi nodded slightly.

Fantuan wanted to curse again: “Am I the last one to know at home?”

Zhuzi ignored him and went over to greet Su Xiaoxiao.

Zhuzi looked at the gentle and beautiful woman bathed in sunlight, and time seemed to rewind to twenty years ago, to that evening when he appeared at her door with a basket of stone snails. She had been just as beautiful and gentle back then, and he had thought she looked like a fairy. “Good morning, Aunt Su.”

Su Xiaoxiao looked at the handsome and refined young man before her, and she became increasingly satisfied with him as a prospective son-in-law. She had never imagined that she would end up with a childhood groom.

Su Xiaoxiao smiled with her eyes. Given the panda eyes she saw and the words Fantuan had just said, she had already guessed what was going on.

Su Xiaoxiao said, “Come, just like Xiao Tangyuan, call me ‘Mom’ and let me hear it.”

Though it was a very happy occasion when Su Xiaoxiao said this, Zhuzi suddenly opened his arms and hugged Su Xiaoxiao tightly. With tears welling up, something he hadn’t done in nearly twenty years, he choked up and called out, “Mom!”

After shouting “Mom,” Zhuzi’s tears could no longer be contained and flowed down like a broken dam. Twenty years ago, the people he envied the most were Fantuan and Doubao. They had no blood relation to Su Xiaoxiao but could still call her “Mom.” At that time, he wished he could be as fortunate as them and have a mother like her. He longed to call her “Mom,” too.

Twenty years later, he could finally call her “Mom” with a clear reason. Because of her, they had become the happiest children in the world.

It was truly a wonderful feeling…