Chapter 7: The Act of Exchange

Wen Xiao was led by Song Jingbai to a white building. He looked up; the building had a pointed roof, was not tall, only three stories, with a wooden interior but painted white on the outside.

Song Jingbai didn’t head for the main door but took a small path around to a modest stairwell. Following him, Wen Xiao faintly heard soft meowing as they approached the stairs.

Looking closer, he saw two tiny, fluffy balls huddled in the corner of the stairwell, snuggling together for warmth.

Wen Yu glanced around; having spent time in the elementary section before, he was familiar with the place. This was the dormitory for the elementary school, which was small because few elementary students chose to board.

Upon entering, Wen Xiao immediately crouched down, gently stroking the heads of the two little kittens peeking out. The kittens sniffed the scent on his hand, then nestled their faces into his palm, emitting soft whimpers.

Wen Yu really wanted to take out his phone and capture the heartwarming scene but restrained himself, barely steadying his emotions so as not to lose composure at the sight of his brother and the kittens together.

He pursed his lips, his gaze naturally shifting to Song Jingbai, who was also watching Wen Xiao intently.

“Are you Wen Xiao’s classmate?” Wen Yu stared at Song Jingbai as if trying to see right through him.

“I’m his deskmate. You must be Wen Xiao’s older brother…” Song Jingbai shifted his gaze to Wen Xiao, smiling, “We’ll get along well at school.”

Wen Yu snorted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Zhang Yin.

[yx: Come to the school now.]

[Yin Hu: Big ancestor, I just drove the car away, just got on the bridge.]

[yx: Then drive back.]

[Yin Hu: Sigh—]

After putting the phone away, Wen Yu saw Wen Xiao cradling the two kittens in his arms as he headed toward the academic building.

Wen Yu was about to ask why Wen Xiao suddenly decided to carry the kittens away, but Song Jingbai followed closely behind, showing no surprise at Wen Xiao’s action.

He held his tongue and followed them. He caught a glance from Song Jingbai.

The boy’s face, always adorned with a smile, made Wen Yu’s teeth itch. He forced a faint smile.

Was this Song Jingbai trying to provoke him? He would never show ignorance about his own brother in front of his brother’s deskmate.

Especially when the other seemed to know everything — it was infuriating.

Wen Yu clenched his breath, determined not to be outdone here.

Wen Xiao had only attended school for one day; how could this classmate know him better? It was absurd.

As Wen Xiao walked, he grew puzzled by the silence behind him. Song Jingbai followed quietly, and Wen Yu said nothing either.

If he remembered correctly, Wen Yu was already late for the first period. Was that okay?

Wen Xiao pondered as they neared the office, hearing voices inside.

The two kittens in his arms were quiet and light, luckily, though carrying them up the stairs had left him slightly breathless.

Along the way, both Song Jingbai and Wen Yu offered to hold the kittens, but Wen Xiao found both somewhat odd and ended up carrying them himself.

“Wei Nanxing, put the cats down for a while. You can't keep holding them all the time…” Wen Xulai’s throat was dry from nagging, unable to persuade Wei Nanxing to release the little orange kitten in his hands.

Wen Xulai took a sip from his thermos, ready to try again.

This small child’s stubbornness on this matter was surprising.

Looking at the stance, Wei Nanxing might have to sleep holding a dead cat tonight.

“Meow~”

Hearing the meow, Wei Nanxing looked toward the door just in time to see Wen Xiao entering, cradling two kittens.

Sweat beaded his forehead, his pale face flushing slightly, breath short.

Wen Xiao brought the two kittens close to Wei Nanxing. Seeing Wei Nanxing and the orange kitten in his hand, the kittens meowed louder.

Wei Nanxing’s body stiffened. Wen Xiao brought the kittens near and said, “If you want to hold them, put the one in your hand on the ground.”

Wei Nanxing struggled for a long time, glancing between the lifeless orange kitten and the two warm, lively kittens in Wen Xiao’s arms. Finally, he gently placed the cold orange kitten on the floor.

Feeling the warmth of the two kittens and their gentle licking of his fingers, Wei Nanxing’s tense body relaxed a bit.

Wen Xulai pushed up his glasses, hardly believing what he saw. He thought Wen Xiao was remarkably sharp and clever.

It was a trade.

What Wen Xiao just did was an exchange: he swapped the two kittens he brought for Wei Nanxing’s dead orange kitten.

Wei Nanxing’s attention had been fixed on the dead kitten, unwilling to let go until something of equal value appeared to divert his focus.

Wen Xulai sighed again, feeling a pang of sympathy for this child’s simple heart at times.

The one most affected was Wen Yu.

It seemed like the first time he truly got to know his brother, witnessing how Wen Xiao used the kittens to replace the dead one and understanding why Wen Xiao had brought the kittens along.

Recalling his brother’s deskmate’s unperturbed expression, he couldn’t help but ask, “You knew all along?”

He didn’t want to admit that a deskmate who’d known his brother for only a day might understand him better.

But if that was true… he’d humbly learn.

“Of course not,” Song Jingbai said decisively.

Wen Yu maintained a polite expression thanks to his good upbringing.

“You didn’t know? Then why were you just smiling?”

“Go to class first. Later during the big break, we’ll give the kittens a proper farewell,” Wen Xulai comforted the children, secretly cursing whoever was cruel enough to harm cats.

Wen Xiao reached out to Wei Nanxing to take the kittens back, and this time, Wei Nanxing didn’t hesitate, placing them gently in his arms.

Wen Xiao was a bit surprised; Wei Nanxing kept staring at him, yet he couldn’t read anything from his expression.

Wen Xulai watched the kittens walking atop his desk without anger, fearing they might fall, gently steadying one by its rear.

He adjusted his black-rimmed glasses. “After the teacher returns the kittens, don’t be late for class.”

Thinking of the dead orange kitten, Wen Xiao asked, “Teacher, can we check the surveillance footage?”

Wen Xulai’s expression soured slightly, sighing, “The footage from this morning is missing, but I’ll find another way.”

After the children left the office, Wen Xulai noticed someone still remained.

It was Wen Yu.

“Can we take these two kittens home?” he asked.

Wen Xulai nodded, “These are stray cats from the school. No one usually cares for them. If someone wants to take them home, that’s fine, but remember to vaccinate them, have them checked, dewormed, and then…”

Wen Yu listened while typing these instructions to Zhang Yin.

Wen Xulai realized, “So you want to take these two stray cats home?”

Then he noticed Wen Yu was unfamiliar and wasn’t wearing their elementary school uniform.

“Who are you?”

“Wen Yu. Wen Xiao’s older brother.”

…

When Wen Xiao sat down, he realized Wen Yu hadn’t come out of the office with them. He guessed Wen Yu might have been asking the homeroom teacher about his first day.

After Wei Nanxing sat down, he kept glancing back at Wen Xiao, making him feel oddly uncomfortable.

Other classmates also looked curiously in his direction.

Wei Nanxing seemed oblivious to the attention, as if ignoring everyone’s gaze.

Wen Xiao was so embarrassed he nearly dug his toes into the ground, then raised his textbook to hide his face.

Remembering that Song Jingbai had said something to Wen Yu in the office, and the tense atmosphere between the two on the way back, Wen Xiao couldn’t help but ask, “What did my brother just say to you?”

Song Jingbai held a pen, thought for a moment, and said, “Forgot.”

Wen Xiao took that as a polite refusal and thought he must be foolish to ask.

“But you two brothers have a really good relationship,” said Song Jingbai, his fox-like eyes curved like a crescent moon, though his smile was faint.

Good relationship?

Song Jingbai must be off his rocker.

The next class was art. He just needed to rush to the art room before class. All the supplies were there; he only needed to show up.

As he stepped out, someone blocked his way. Looking up, he met the irritating face of Huo Zhanyan.

“You’re not allowed to leave.”

“You’re crazy?”

Huo Zhanyan was furious. “You called me crazy?”

“Whoever blocks the way isn’t allowed to pass.”

Wen Xiao didn’t even want to look at him. Most classmates had left by then, so no one noticed their exchange.

“You…” Huo Zhanyan’s face flushed red. Seeing Wen Xiao try to go around him, he grabbed his shoulder and shouted, “Crazy or not, you’re not leaving!”

Wen Xiao was stunned. He never expected Huo Zhanyan to have such thick skin, even tolerating being called crazy.

Had Huo Zhanyan lost his mind at home?

Seeing that he had rendered Wen Xiao speechless, Huo Zhanyan grew proud, as if he had a tail wagging high.

“You’re not allowed to hang out with Song Jingbai,” Huo Zhanyan gritted his teeth, still recalling the scene where Song Jingbai had fought him.

“Who are you to tell me who I can hang out with? Why do you even care?” Wen Xiao was about to roll his eyes, but Huo Zhanyan lacked any self-awareness.

“I…”

Wen Xiao brushed the kid’s hand away and strode upstairs toward the art room.

…

Song Jingbai entered the restroom and washed his hands at the sink. Another boy was there, looking nervous and startled when Song Jingbai came in.

Only when he saw it was Song Jingbai did he relax.

Song Jingbai washed his hands slowly, squeezing out some soap and meticulously cleaning between his fingers, rinsing multiple times.

The boy beside him was preparing to leave the restroom.