Chapter 4: After All, He's an Impressive University Kid

Although Yi was not yet able to crawl, even at such a young age, he had already mastered the principle that strength brings miracles.

Yun also turned over and saw Yi’s little hand clutching the small quilt laid on the empty bed, his face red with effort as he inched closer to him bit by bit.

Yun huffed angrily.

A big brother who held grudges like this was not a good big brother at all. Puffing out his cheeks, Yun turned over again.

He couldn’t crawl either, and while Yi tried to rely on brute force to achieve a miracle, Yun refused to waste his energy on such strenuous efforts. He was a clever child. After flipping over a few times, Yi simply couldn’t reach him.

After turning twice in a row, Yi watched helplessly as Yun moved further away, which made him anxious. His little short legs kicked out fiercely in frustration.

Nearby, Mrs. Bu, who was always looking after the two of them, glanced at Yi’s movements. On one hand, she was happy that her child was growing well—those kicks were strong indeed. On the other hand, she felt a bit uneasy because sometimes Yi liked to kick people when being held, and a few times he had kicked her belly—those kicks really hurt.

Yun watched Yi’s futile efforts and suddenly broke into an endearing smile, his round, chubby baby face lighting up. But having just turned several times, his body was a bit crooked now and leaning to one side.

Seeing Yi unable to catch him, he grew impatient and babbled in baby talk. Feeling mischievous, Yun deliberately kicked toward Yi’s face.

Yi was too young to understand that one shouldn’t hit the face. He only knew that this time he had finally caught Yun. To avenge the earlier head-patting, Yi firmly grabbed hold of Yun’s leg with both hands.

Yi was stubborn; he didn’t care about being kicked in the face by Yun and didn’t cry out for help. Instead, he bit Yun’s foot with his gums, trying to exact a harsh revenge.

But he hadn’t grown teeth yet, so aside from leaving Yun’s foot covered in saliva and getting kicked a few more times, he caused no real harm.

Madam Xin, seeing that Yun wasn’t the one suffering, shifted from worry to amusement.

However, Mrs. Bu’s expression darkened.

Yun was clever, but poor Yi—after being kicked several times, he still refused to let go. He was both stubborn and not very smart.

Unable to watch any longer, Mrs. Bu stepped forward, picked up Yi, and quickly wiped the saliva from his mouth and face.

“This child is so restless, I’ll take him back for now. It’s almost time to feed him,” she said, not wanting to linger, and left with the child.

Once they were gone, Madam Xin wiped Yun’s feet and smiled, saying, “Yun is smart. Our Yun has a good temperament but won’t be taken advantage of. That makes me feel at ease.”

Yun turned over again, shaking his hands proudly. Of course, he was a university student admitted to Peking University—a baby who could easily handle feeding time.

Hmm?

Suddenly, Yi froze.

University student? Peking University? What was that? Why did he suddenly remember something he couldn’t quite understand?

These strange words had just come out smoothly and naturally, but now, when he tried to think about them, he just couldn’t recall.

What was a university student? When he first thought of it, he felt proud. It must be some very important identity.

Maybe even more powerful than father.

Madam Xin watched the child listening to praise as if he understood, her smile lingering. But then, the little face froze again—brows furrowed, sighs escaped, and finally, a yawn came as he looked drowsy.

Madam Xin shook her head with a smile, wondering how a nursing infant could have so many expressions—it was truly a marvel.

Yun, lost in thought, almost fell asleep. Then he realized that whenever he slept and woke up, he would always see his father.

---

He wasn’t sure if it was because father had been coming home for meals more often lately or because Madam Xin took him out more frequently.

Yun guessed it was probably both.

The weather was getting hotter. Li Fu was a county magistrate, and Long County was small and dilapidated, with no cooling devices at home. During the peak summer, aside from filling basins with well water to cool the room, there was little else to do.

On such hot days, Madam Xin didn’t want Yun to be stifled indoors, so she often took him out into the small courtyard to enjoy the breeze.

Li Fu had also gotten used to slipping back home after morning roll call for breakfast. Since the busy farming season was over, his workload had lessened. Once home, he’d first check on his sturdy second son to see if he had grown plumper.

At these times, Mrs. Bu often felt a bit unhappy.

Li Fu rarely held Yi. Mrs. Bu knew Yi was difficult to care for. Especially since infants recognized people, and Li Fu rarely carried him, even when Yi was unusually quiet, he would cry and struggle to get back to Mrs. Bu as soon as Li Fu held him.

Yi was good-looking, too, but his good looks differed from Yun’s.

At first glance, the difference wasn’t obvious, but now the two children were beginning to grow baby teeth, and their features were starting to take shape.

Yun’s face was handsome—round, bright eyes, a delicate and straight nose, and a gentle, quiet temperament. Yi, by contrast, had thick eyebrows and big eyes and was noisy all day.

If Yun was chubby and solid, endearing to behold, Yi was lively and robust, both loved and exasperating.

So although Mrs. Bu was a bit unhappy, she didn’t make a fuss with Li Fu.

Yi was indeed difficult to care for. Without Yun as a comparison, it might be okay, but with Yun around, Mrs. Bu preferred to care for Yun, finding him easier to manage.

After Li Fu finished weighing Yun in his arms, he placed him in a child’s wooden chair. The chair was quite interesting—half of the wood was hollowed out, and underneath was a small wooden stool with a quilt on top, where the child could sit safely.

The stool was deep; once placed inside, the child couldn’t climb out. The other half was hollow beneath but had a wooden surface on top, like a natural tray.

Yun sat quietly in his chair, looking at Madam Xin expectantly.

It was time to eat.

Beside him, Yi was restless in his own chair, twisting and reaching over to touch Yun.

Yun turned his head, displeased, and tapped Yi’s chair.

“Quiet... quiet,” he said in his childish voice.

The tender words immediately caught the attention of Madam Xin and Li Fu. Li Fu stood up and asked Madam Xin, “Yun spoke?”

Madam Xin wasn’t sure—sometimes babies babble and adults mistake it for speech when it’s just noise.

Still, she was delighted and squatted beside Yun, coaxing gently, “Yun, say mama, mama.”

She repeated it over and over.

Yun could tell Mama wanted him to say it, but now he seemed unable. Earlier, he had babbled unconsciously, but now, when asked to pronounce it correctly, he felt he couldn’t.

If he mispronounced it, that would be embarrassing. Mama and father would laugh at him, especially with Yi around. He didn’t want his little brother to hold this over him. Besides, he was a remarkable university student—university students had to speak perfectly from the start.

That wasn’t showing off; he was truly a remarkable university student child.

Yun covered his mouth with his hand and shook his head at Madam Xin.

“Wait a little longer, Mama,” he decided. “I’ll practice secretly, and when I’m really good, I’ll call you and make you happy.”

Madam Xin didn’t mind whether Yun spoke early or late; she just wanted to hear him say “Mama.” Seeing him cover his mouth, she found him adorable and wasn’t upset at all.

Li Fu came closer.

“Yun, if you don’t want to call mama, call father. Come on, fa... ther... fa... ther...”

Yun watched him, and as his father stubbornly repeated “father” several times, he suddenly realized where Yi had inherited his stubbornness.

But Li Fu was rather persistent.

Yun wanted to eat, but Li Fu wouldn’t give up. A mischievous thought struck Yun. When Li Fu shouted “father” again, Yun dropped his hand and nodded clearly, giving a definite “mm” sound.

Yun thought, I’ll call you “father” many times later, so it’s okay if you say it a few times first.

Yun’s response made Mrs. Bu and Madam Xin burst out laughing.

Yi didn’t understand what they were laughing at, but seeing his mother laugh, he looked at Mrs. Bu and babbled happily as well.

Li Fu’s face darkened slightly.

But the child was only a few months old; there was nothing he could do but pat Yun’s forehead lightly while suspecting that Yun was doing it on purpose.

Madam Xin quickly pulled Li Fu away to eat, bringing the specially prepared food for Yun—also for Yi.

Both children had started growing baby teeth. Though small, these teeth could bite painfully. Mrs. Bu had been bitten to bleeding several times and had to force Yi to wean.

At first, when Yi was weaned, he cried terribly, and Mrs. Bu felt sorry for him.

Seeing their relationship had improved lately, Madam Xin helped Mrs. Bu by taking the child for a couple of days so she could rest.

Unexpectedly, Yi was quite easy to feed. After just two days off the breast, he happily drank spoonfuls of millet porridge and stopped craving milk.

Yun was sensible and didn’t bother anyone when teething, so Madam Xin wasn’t worried about him biting. She thought as long as there was milk, she could feed him more. But Yun didn’t like drinking milk much and was weaned earlier than Yi.

Now, the brothers were on equal footing, eating their specially prepared baby meals.

Yi was fed by hand, too small to understand self-feeding.

Yun, however, was unique. With a small wooden spoon, he diligently scooped food and tried to feed himself. Though he dropped plenty, it was clear he tried seriously.

Yi was usually fidgety at mealtime, but seeing Yun eat spoonful after spoonful so eagerly, he couldn’t help but open his mouth wide for Mrs. Bu to feed him, as if competing to see who could eat more.

Yun glanced at him.

“Hmph, silly big brother.”

He was a university student child, very capable, and had no interest in such trivial eating contests.

Yet Yun’s spoon moved faster.

He wasn’t going to lose.