“Moving?” Tang Dou muttered to himself. There was nothing to be done about that.
Holding the drowsy little one, he freed one hand to call Shen Minyan, hoping to take the little one to his third-floor room for his afternoon nap. Shen Minyan suffered from severe neurasthenia, and his room had the best soundproofing in the entire villa. Shen Minyan didn’t object, simply telling him to take good care of Su Youli.
Su Youli had no idea he had napped in his Shen Dad’s room. When he woke up, he was completely enveloped in darkness and instinctively felt a bit scared. There was, of course, no nightlight in Shen Minyan’s room. Fortunately, Tang Dou had brought his Stitch doll along when he carried him up.
The little one clutched the Stitch doll, put on his slippers, and pushed open the balcony door to look down. At the Shen family’s entrance, a young man with a cheerful smile was holding a child, talking with Tang Dou and the butler.
“I’m really sorry, I hope we didn’t disturb your rest at noon. This is a little gift for you, please accept it,” the man said with an apologetic smile.
Tang Dou shook his head. “It’s no trouble. It’s just that we have a young child at home who needs his nap.”
In other words, he hoped such disturbances wouldn’t happen again in the future.
But the young man at the door seemed completely oblivious to Tang Dou’s implication, instead exclaiming with pleasant surprise, “Really? What a coincidence, we have a child too!”
He raised the hand of the child beside him. “Qiqi, say hello to this brother. He has a little one at home, too!”
Tang Dou followed his gaze downward. The boy being held by the young man looked about four years old. His small mouth was pressed tightly together. His arm was raised, but he didn’t lift his head; he just stared at the ground. He was a very quiet child. The young man looked at the child, who gave him no response, feeling a bit disheartened, but quickly adjusted his mood.
“His name is Pei Xu, nickname Qiqi. He’s probably just not used to the new environment yet.”
Tang Dou nodded, expressing his understanding. In the end, Tang Dou accepted the gift from Qiqi’s father, a box of fresh imported fruit.
Before leaving, the young man, who smiled easily, lifted Pei Xu and raised his hand, saying to Tang Dou, “Goodbye.”
The boy named Pei Xu looked blank the entire time, as if his eyes couldn’t focus on anything.
The butler took the fruit and remarked, “The new neighbor seems nice enough. It’s just that his child is too shy. Otherwise, he could make friends with the little young master.”
Tang Dou watched the father and son walk away. Based on his experience with children, shyness wasn’t the issue here. The father had been guiding him the whole time—leading him, prompting him to speak and move. The boy was like a little robot.
Could he be… autistic?
Tang Dou shook the thought from his mind and glanced at the time. Youyou should be awake. He needed to go back up. On the elegant third-floor balcony of the villa crouched a little one. The small boy was clutching a plaster pillar, having spotted the child standing at the main gate. That child didn’t look very happy at all. He also hadn’t greeted Brother Xiao Tang.
But that was okay. He was the first child his age Youyou had seen in days. So Su Youli tilted his head, squatted on the balcony, cupped his chubby little face in his hands, and carefully observed this quiet child who didn’t smile. Perhaps the little one’s gaze was too intense. The boy who had left the villa entrance twisted his head back in his father’s arms. And caught the little one hiding on the third floor, spying. Su Youli quickly covered his face with his hands, peeking through his fingers.
“What’s wrong, Qiqi?” Pei Yi noticed his son’s reaction.
Pei Xu pointed toward the villa across the way. “There, someone.”
“Really? Qiqi saw someone? What did they look like?”
The child in his arms didn’t speak again. Pei Yi sighed silently, then put a smile back on his face.
“Our new neighbors have a child, too. If you meet him sometime, Qiqi, how about trying to make friends?”
Pei Yi talked on and on, hoping to spark Pei Xu’s desire to speak. When he came back last year, Qiqi hadn’t been like this. Though he was a cool kid who didn’t smile much, he could still communicate normally. Now, Pei Xu barely spoke. On a good day, he might say five words, and he never initiated conversation.
The moving crew was still busy at the villa, so Pei Yi decided to take the little cool guy around to see the surroundings, helping him adjust. Su Youli waited until he could no longer see the boy’s figure before lowering his hands from his face. Summers in Yunshui City were humid and hot. Beicheng was different. Though the temperature was similar, the wind picked up every afternoon.
Shen Minyan’s balcony was spacious; his personal space, inevitably bearing his personal touch. In the eyes of a three-year-old who loved bright colors, it probably wasn’t very appealing. But Su Youli didn’t leave. Something on the balcony had caught his attention—a blooming orchid. It was even protected under a glass cover.
“Wow~” Su Youli pressed his hands against the cover, staring at the vibrant green “spring orchid” that looked like a tiny green pinwheel, letting out small sounds of wonder. The little one had become quite skilled at identifying plants. He could tell it was an orchid by its leaves and roots, though he didn’t know exactly what kind.
That was okay. He could ask Shen Dad later. After a while, absorbed in looking at the orchid, the little one heard footsteps. His small body scurried back into the room, kicked off his slippers, and dove under the covers, pretending to still be asleep. Tang Dou pushed the door open quietly. Seeing the little one lying peacefully in bed, he wondered if he might be sick. Normally, by this time, Youyou would have woken up and started playing on his own.
Concerned, Tang Dou hurried to the bedside, bent down, and pressed the back of his hand to the little one’s forehead. Then he noticed the little one’s trembling lashes and pressed-together lips. So he was awake and pretending. Tang Dou silently watched the little one fake sleep, standing by the bed with a smile, arms crossed, watching this usually well-behaved toddler being a little mischievous for once. Su Youli’s little hands were clasped tightly together. He didn’t dare move a muscle.
Why isn’t Brother Xiao Tang waking me up? I wanted to surprise him when he called me. He would have been so startled.
Imagining Brother Xiao Tang’s surprised face, the little one couldn’t help but start giggling to himself, his chubby cheeks jiggling.
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