Chapter 20

There weren’t many days that could make Pei Manman feel happy. This day was definitely the happiest day of his life.

He had eaten the best chocolate in the world.

He had also eaten his favorite eggs for breakfast and lunch.

And he had gotten a hug from Ling Yue.

It was warm and fragrant, exactly like the hug he imagined his mother’s would be.

He went to sleep with an unprecedented sense of happiness.

When he woke up, he not only had two more bites of strawberry chocolate, but Ling Yue also took him to the park in the community.

There were quite a few plays equipment in the park, and several of them were designed for children, so there weren’t many kids around.

This was very friendly for the little guy who was a bit socially anxious.

Ling Yue stayed with him and they played for almost an hour and a half. They went back home just before Lu Shiqi was about to arrive.

This was something he couldn’t even dream of before.

If he could live like this every day, Pei Manman couldn’t imagine how happy and cheerful a child he would be.

He felt even more envious of Lu Shiqi.

He had only experienced it for a short day and felt incredibly happy. Lu Shiqi lived like this every day.

But who told you Lu Shiqi was a little prince…

For a little prince, this would just be an ordinary life, right?

…

This day was very happy, so the little guy was in a very excited state.

He had a good, long nap at noon, so he was still very energetic in the evening.

His nerves were restless and he wasn’t sleepy.

And sleeping alone was still a huge challenge for Pei Manman.

On his first night here, he was very scared, so scared that he didn’t dare to sleep.

The next two nights, he was too tired from being sick to struggle, but he was so sleepy that he would pass out as soon as he closed his eyes.

But today, he couldn’t sleep at all.

The room was too big and too quiet, and it was empty everywhere.

After turning off the lights, every inch of space made him feel scared, as if there were monsters hiding in the darkness that would eat children.

The child had never seen a monster, but at this age, he had a wild imagination, which was perfect for scaring himself half to death.

The more Pei Manman thought about it, the more scared he became. The more scared he was, the more awake he became.

It was too dark with the lights off, he didn’t dare to sleep.

It was too bright with the lights on, it hurt his eyes, he couldn’t sleep.

He tried to sleep with the lights on, tucked under the covers.

But it was too stuffy under the covers, he couldn’t breathe comfortably, he still couldn’t sleep.

He sat on the bed, hugging his pillow, and began to worry about whether he should go find Ling Yue.

He wanted to sleep with his aunt.

When he was hugged by his aunt at noon, he felt really happy, and he slept soundly.

If he could be hugged by Ling Yue again, he would definitely fall asleep quickly, and he would sleep as soundly as he did at noon.

But…

Ling Yue wasn’t his mother after all. She was Lu Shiqi’s mother.

Maybe Lu Shiqi was sleeping with Ling Yue…

Because he would want to sleep with his mother, many children would sleep with their mothers, maybe Lu Shiqi was the same…

If that was the case, he couldn’t go.

He couldn’t disturb them; he couldn’t make Lu Shiqi angry.

But he was so scared alone.

Even the bed was too big for him to be comfortable.

Pei Manman huddled in a corner of the bed, not understanding why time had to be divided into day and night, and why night was so long. It always took a long, long time to end.

Bang bang—

Just as he was huddled on the bed, scared, the door was suddenly knocked on. The little guy was startled.

Who was it?!

Who else would come to his room at night?!

Could it be…

Could it be that there really was a monster coming to eat children?!

Pei Manman threw away his pillow and hurriedly crawled under the covers.

But Lu Shiqi’s voice came from outside the door.

“It’s me, I’m coming in.”

Hearing Lu Shiqi’s voice, Pei Manman breathed a sigh of relief.

He had never felt Lu Shiqi’s voice so comforting.

It was great, it wasn’t a monster!

It was someone coming to keep him company!

Although he was afraid of Lu Shiqi, he wasn’t as scared as he was of the monsters in the dark. At this moment, the little guy wouldn’t be picky. He would grab anyone he could.

With a big crawl forward, Pei Manman had already reached the corner of the bed, ready to jump down and open the door for Lu Shiqi.

But he stopped.

Wait—

Was it really Lu Shiqi standing outside the door?!

He suddenly remembered a story his cousin’s child had told him to scare him. He said that monsters would transform into people the child was familiar with, and even make the person’s voice!

When the child fell for it and opened the door, the monster would open its bloody mouth and eat the child!

Click—

It was the sound of the doorknob turning.

Reality didn’t give the little guy much time to think.

The moment the room door opened, Pei Manman followed his instinct and immediately crawled under the covers, wrapping himself tightly in the blanket.

“I’m not delicious!”

The little guy shouted from under the covers, his voice trembling.

“I didn’t take a bath, I’m smelly, not delicious!”

He was afraid of being eaten.

And the most effective way he could think of was to prove that he wasn’t delicious.

“…What are you talking about?”

It wasn’t until Lu Shiqi’s voice sounded again, and the monster he feared didn’t come and lift his blanket, that Pei Manman felt a little relieved. He poked his head out of the covers.

He looked around.

Good, good, it was really just Lu Shiqi, there were no strange creatures.

In this state, his nerves were relatively excited. Pei Manman opened his eyes wide, his voice was quite loud, and he immediately told Lu Shiqi.

“I thought it was a ghost!”

“I was scared; I couldn’t sleep…”

“…”

It was a truly desperate way of expressing himself.

Fortunately, Lu Shiqi had seen this before and knew that Pei Manman didn’t mean any harm. He was just simply stupid. Otherwise, he would have thought that Pei Manman was implying that he was a ghost.

Lu Shiqi asked, “You can’t sleep?”

Pei Manman sat on the bed, wrapped in the blanket, and nodded. “…Yeah, I can’t sleep.”

“You can’t sleep because you’re scared of ghosts?”

“…Yeah.”

Lu Shiqi sounded too calm.

Just hearing that word, Pei Manman felt a chill down his spine. He nodded while covering his ears with his hand.

But Lu Shiqi remained calm. “Then I’ll tell you a story, until you fall asleep.”

Pei Manman was shocked.

He blinked in disbelief, and then noticed that Lu Shiqi was indeed holding two books.

“Do you want to listen? If you don’t want to, that’s fine.”

“…I do, I do!”

Pei Manman quickly lay down, afraid that Lu Shiqi would really say nevermind. He quickly patted the space next to him, signaling Lu Shiqi to lie down too.

Lu Shiqi didn’t get on the bed. “I can just sit here and tell you. You sleep by yourself.”

But Pei Manman was a child with a strong sense of empathy.

He wanted Lu Shiqi to lie down because he felt that lying down was more comfortable and sitting was tiring.

Lu Shiqi had already come to tell him a story, and it was at a time when he was so scared. He hoped that Lu Shiqi could be a little more comfortable.

So he patted the space next to him again, persistently inviting Lu Shiqi to get on.

Knowing that Lu Shiqi might be disliking him, the little guy explained, “…I don’t smell bad. I washed, I’m fragrant.”

He had said he was smelly because he was afraid of being eaten by a monster.

Actually, he didn’t smell bad at all. He had taken a bath seriously at night. He even used a fruity shower gel and made himself smell fragrant.

He sniffed himself while speaking. Although the scent had faded, he could still smell it if he sniffed carefully.

Pei Manman said seriously, “…It’s true, I’m not lying to you. If you don’t believe me, come and smell me!”

The main reason was that the first time they met, Lu Shiqi had frankly said that he was a poor kid.

Pei Manman was still bothered by it in his heart.

So he tried very hard to change that impression and hoped that Lu Shiqi would smell that he was also fragrant and clean.

But Lu Shiqi didn’t want to get on the bed, and he didn’t want to smell him.

Unless he was crazy—

So he stayed up late and came to Pei Manman’s room to smell whether he was fragrant or smelly.

Lu Shiqi came at Ling Yue’s request.

During the day, Ling Yue hadn’t been able to say that she needed to play the role of mother and son in the filming. She thought about it and thought about it, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it, so she gave the task to Lu Shiqi.

Because Lu Shiqi had promised to tell Pei Manman the original story, he could take this opportunity to mention it.

Lu Shiqi complained about the trouble, but he had already prepared the books.

One was the original version, and the other was a picture book version that was more suitable for younger children.

Although he thought the picture book version was less interesting, it was easier for Pei Manman, who was a bit slow, to understand.

But he was used to being arrogant, and it was difficult for him to take the initiative. He always had to be asked first before he would deign to act.

Tonight, as soon as Ling Yue mentioned it, he took the storybook and came over.

But sleeping in the same bed was out of the question.

Was he supposed to huddle together with Pei Manman to tell him stories? Their relationship wasn’t that good yet.

Lu Shiqi said arrogantly, “Alright, I won’t smell you. I’m just here to tell you a story. You just lie down and listen quietly.”

“But…”

But if he did that, Pei Manman would feel uncomfortable.

He would feel uneasy and uncomfortable.

Lu Shiqi asked, “But what?”

Pei Manman lowered his head, his expression a little hurt and dejected. “…But I, I really don’t smell bad.”

He felt that Lu Shiqi was disliking him.

It must be because he disliked him that he wouldn’t get on the bed.

He would rather sit uncomfortably on the edge of the bed than lie down with him.

“…”

Seeing him like this, Lu Shiqi was silent for a while.

After a dozen seconds, he sighed helplessly and finally compromised. He lay down on Pei Manman’s small bed.

Although he didn’t know why Pei Manman was so insistent, it was just a small matter. He didn’t need to argue with a little fool, so he chose to give in.

“Alright, I’m lying down,” Lu Shiqi said in a cold and indifferent tone. “Now we can tell stories.”

Pei Manman’s mood improved again.

Because Lu Shiqi didn’t dislike him anymore.

They lay close together. Pei Manman felt incredible.

He didn’t expect Lu Shiqi to have such a bad mouth, cold eyes, and a stinky face, yet his body was hot and warm.

The little guy instinctively leaned closer, and was insistent about the fact that he smelled fragrant and not bad. “I don’t smell bad! I’m fragrant!”

“…”

He really wanted Lu Shiqi to smell him, but he didn’t know how to address Lu Shiqi, so he could only repeat it over and over again.

Could he call him brother?

Lu Shiqi was older than him, so he should call him brother…

But he always felt that if he called him that, Lu Shiqi would be angry…

After much deliberation, Pei Manman decided to ask first.

“Brother…” He looked at Lu Shiqi cautiously and asked nervously, “…Can I, can I call you, brother?”

“…”