Chapter 34: Not Letting Him Be Sad

Wen Xiao couldn’t help but say, “How old are you yourself, to be calling others a kid…”

“But I am ten months older than you.”

Song Jingbai kept his head slightly bowed, allowing Wen Xiao to easily shield his eyes, as Wen Xiao was at least half a head shorter than him no matter what.

“Just ten months, little kid Song Jingbai.” Wen Xiao said this deliberately, emphasizing the word “little kid.”

Did he really think only he could call others a kid? Song Jingbai probably didn’t want to be called a little kid repeatedly by a peer either.

Wen Xiao seemed to hear Song Jingbai chuckle, and he was suddenly filled with confusion.

*No, is Song Jingbai sick or something?*

However, after they exchanged these few words, Wen Xiao felt that Song Jingbai’s hands didn’t seem as icy as they had been just moments ago. The chilling atmosphere that had spread due to the surrounding darkness also seemed to have been diluted.

Although he was curious about why Song Jingbai was afraid of the dark, he didn’t feel it was important enough to know, so he decided not to ask. He wasn’t interested in other people’s secrets.

Because he was holding Wen Xiao’s hand, Song Jingbai also felt the pocket watch in Wen Xiao’s palm.

“Is this a pocket watch that plays music?”

The pocket watch was inherently exquisite and beautiful, and because it was a gift from his mother, he carried it with him everywhere.

Wen Xiao explained, “This is a gift from my mom… it only plays one song; it can’t play just anything.”

Song Jingbai fell silent for a long time after hearing this. Only then did Wen Xiao remember that Song Jingbai’s mother, Zhao Anya, hadn’t even acknowledged having a son in public.

Would bringing up his mother at this moment make Song Jingbai feel down? Especially since Song Jingbai was already feeling uncomfortable due to the dark environment.

“Your mother is very kind.” Song Jingbai’s tone didn’t seem to change, but he didn’t say anything else after that. It was rare to see him so silent.

*He really is afraid of the dark,* Wen Xiao thought. *He doesn’t even dare to speak in the darkness; he looks so pitiful.*

Wen Xiao couldn’t help but say, “Well of course, look at whose mother she is.”

“I have never received a gift from my mother.”

The little kid beside him sounded somewhat dejected, making Wen Xiao think that kids are indeed just kids, even Song Jingbai was no exception. He was just a child sad about not receiving a gift from his mother.

Due to the dim light, Wen Xiao could only see a rough outline of Song Jingbai. He pondered for a moment and said, “You may not have a gift from a mother, but you can have a gift from a friend.”

“Although a mother’s gift is unique, a friend’s gift makes you feel like you aren’t alone.”

As soon as Wen Xiao finished speaking, he heard Song Jingbai’s voice by his ear: “Are you trying to give me a gift?”

“Don’t be so narcissistic. I didn’t say I was giving you one. Don’t you have other friends?” He remembered that Song Jingbai was very popular later on; surely he couldn’t be without a single friend.

Wen Xiao felt the other’s eyelashes still fluttering gently, making his palm feel a bit itchy. Just then, the lights came on, and Wen Xiao hurriedly pulled his hand away. His arm had gone numb from holding it up for several minutes.

“I don’t have any friends,” Song Jingbai looked at him and said, “So, Xiao Xiao, can you be my friend?”

Wen Xiao tucked his rabbit pocket watch away and stared at Song Jingbai.

***

Before this, he certainly would have told Song Jingbai to get as far away as possible. Now that he had already let Song Jingbai stay over at his house, it would be too far-fetched to say he didn’t consider Song Jingbai a friend.

Moreover, Song Jingbai could be considered the most precocious of the four of them, requiring absolutely no one to worry about him.

However, Wen Xiao still didn’t want to agree so directly, so he said slowly, “In exchange for the week of milk you brought me…”

Before Wen Xiao could finish his sentence, he felt himself suddenly lifted up. The feeling of his feet leaving the ground made him instinctively grab onto Song Jingbai’s shoulders.

“What are you doing!” Wen Xiao was fuming.

Once the lights came on, Huo Zhanyan saw them trailing behind and ran over, saying, “Are you two playing ‘lift-up’? I want to play too! I’m taller than Song Jingbai, I can lift you even higher!”

Wen Xiao felt his temples throbbing, but fortunately, Huo Zhanyan was held back by the head teacher.

Song Jingbai set him back on the ground, staring at him as if thinking about something: “Xiao Xiao, you haven’t grown taller, even though you’ve been drinking milk for a week.”

“Who grows taller from just one week of milk?” *That’s probably just hormones.*

Wen Xiao couldn’t help but glare at Song Jingbai before walking past him toward the front. The image of being lifted into the air by that little brat was still fresh in his mind. Wen Xiao looked back at Song Jingbai and said, “Just wait, I’ll definitely grow taller than you in the future!”

When that time came, he hoped Song Jingbai wouldn’t cry about it.

“Alright.”

Song Jingbai’s voice came from behind, and then a soft hand grabbed his from behind. “I’ll watch you grow taller.”

By the time they climbed the stairs, they had soon emerged from the underground corridor. The sun outside was so bright that Wen Xiao instinctively squinted.

The staff member was still apologizing for the accident in the underground corridor, while pointing to the other side of the mountain, saying, “The water in the Wishing Pool still flows through this underground corridor toward the town at the foot of the mountain, serving as the town’s primary water supply…”

Wen Xiao looked in that direction; it wasn’t the same path they had taken up the mountain. He remembered that there was a very beautiful, retro-style town near Moon God Valley, but it was quite far from the amusement park area, located on the opposite side of the mountain.

They headed down the mountain the same way they came. Halfway down, Wen Xiao reached into his pocket, and his mind suddenly went blank.

The rabbit pocket watch was gone…

Wen Xiao thought back to when he had left the underground corridor; he had even checked the time. How could it suddenly be gone? Did it drop on the path down?

Huo Zhanyan was beside him, and seeing Wen Xiao constantly digging through his pockets, he leaned over, looking around curiously. He had never seen such an anxious expression on Wen Xiao’s face before.

“Wen Xiao, what are you doing?”

Seeing Huo Zhanyan constantly crowding him, Wen Xiao instinctively said, “Don’t bother me…” He then continued to search his pockets.

He really wanted to leave the group to go find that rabbit pocket watch. Maybe it had just fallen on the side of the path; if no one had picked it up, it would be fortunate, but what if someone had?

Wen Xu was still guiding the other children to head down the mountain carefully, and Teacher Jiang was equally busy. It would be best to wait until all the children were safely down the mountain so Wen Xu could spare a moment to accompany him to look for the watch.

But with the watch missing, Wen Xiao felt every second was agonizing; he desperately wanted to leave the group immediately. However, if they didn’t move as a group, it wasn’t safe for a child to be running around the mountain alone.

“Is your pocket watch missing?” Leng Shucheng had also noticed his situation.

“We’ll go back with you to look for it,” Song Jingbai reacted quickly, saying, “We can tell the teacher first.”

Wei Nanxing also looked over with a worried expression. It was the first time he had seen such a nervous and distressed look on Xiao Xiao’s face. He also wanted to go with Xiao Xiao to find the watch. Besides, that watch… Wei Nanxing lowered his head and thought, it was important to him too.

Wen Xiao shook his head. If he told Wen Xu now, Wen Xu would definitely abandon his current tasks to accompany them. But if any of the children ran into trouble while heading down, the teacher not watching them would also be a dereliction of duty.

Therefore, it was better to wait until all the students were safely down the mountain before coming back to find the watch. Wen Xiao could already see the entrance to the mountain path, meaning they would be at the foot of the mountain soon.

Other students were still chatting about which indoor attractions to visit later.

Wen Xiao saw Wei Nanxing looking at him with an expectant face, which inexplicably reminded him of the Doll House that Wei Nanxing had been looking forward to visiting.

“Do you want to go to the Doll House?” Wen Xiao asked.

Wei Nanxing nodded, then shook his head violently and said, “Xiao Xiao… find the pocket watch!”

Wen Xiao knew Wei Nanxing still wanted to go, so he said, “Then we’ll go look after we find the watch.”

Wei Nanxing nodded, his face showing a shy expression that was clearly full of anticipation while suppressing his excitement.

Wen Xiao looked at the back of Wei Nanxing’s head. The other boy didn’t have his overly long hair loose like before; instead, he had it tied into a small bun at the back, making him look much more energetic.

*But has it been a bit too quiet while coming down the mountain?* Wen Xiao scanned the group of them, then his pupils suddenly constricted, and he stopped in his tracks.

The other children had already descended the mountain one after another and were regrouping to head to the indoor attractions.

“Where is Huo Zhanyan?” Wen Xiao stared at the stone steps behind him, but he couldn’t see that conspicuous presence wearing a red baseball uniform and a red baseball cap.

Huo Zhanyan didn’t even wear his cap properly; he wore it tilted on his head because he thought it looked cool.

He couldn’t help but call out to Wen Xu, while watching the other tourists coming down the steps one after another. He kept thinking that in the next second, that little red figure would come running down the steps laughing, surrounding him and chattering about what he had just seen.

“Teacher… Huo Zhanyan is missing.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Xu immediately ran over: “What happened?”

Song Jingbai, for once, wasn’t smiling, only saying, “Maybe he’ll follow us soon. He couldn’t be so stupid as to get lost on a single path, could he?”

Wen Xiao thought about when he saw Huo Zhanyan wearing that eye-catching red in the classroom earlier. He had thought to himself that anyone might get lost, but Huo Zhanyan, wearing that bright red outfit, definitely wouldn’t.

He briefly explained the situation to Wen Xu, who immediately said, “I’ll go look for him. You all wait below.”

Wen Xiao grabbed Wen Xu and said, “Teacher, I want to go look too.”

Although that guy Huo Zhanyan was very foolish and had acted on his own initiative this time, falling behind and making everyone worry for nothing, doing things without considering the consequences, but…

“Huo Zhanyan is a member of my group, and his disappearance is my fault too…” Wen Xiao lowered his head, “I didn’t keep an eye on him.”

Suddenly, Wen Xiao felt his head being gently patted. Although Wen Xu also had an anxious look on his face, he still managed to find a moment to comfort him.

“It’s not your fault.”

Wen Xu felt it was the first time he had seen such a self-reproachful and guilty expression on Wen Xiao, and he even seemed a bit lost.