Chapter 653

Extra: Childhood 10

Grandpa Mu: "Is it...?"

Halfway through speaking, he changed his mind, shook his head again, "They're just kids, forget it, forget it."

Jiang Ye Ye patted him on the side, "That's right, what's wrong with a kid kissing once? Old Mu, don't take it to heart."

Song Ningsheng and Mu Yunshuo also thought the same: kids, kissing is no big deal, and it was the precious daughter who initiated the kiss, showing she has her own mind—great!

Mu Nian helped his sister find an excuse: "Youbao is still young, maybe she just thinks it's fun."

Song Lujing stood beside him, voice sour: "Fun? Then why doesn't she come kiss me? I can play with her too!"

Song LuXiao let out a soft hiss; Song Lujing was about to cry, but Song Yan covered his mouth in one motion: "Wait to cry later, first see the situation."

Mu Xianqi stood at the back, complex expression: "This kid really has tricks, actually making my sister kiss him voluntarily."

The two little friends came down from the stage holding hands.

Mu Yichi tilted his head, staring at Jiang Liangjin, smiling ambiguously: "Jiang Liangjin kid, your luck is not bad."

Mu Yichen didn't respond, just stepped forward a bit, putting some distance between his sister and Jiang Liangjin.

Jiang Liangjin wasn't annoyed at all, even raised his hand to touch the spot just kissed, the curve of his lips couldn't be suppressed.

Older brothers:!!

The uncles behind them started gossiping.

Mu Xi put this person on her mental blacklist, thinking she would never give him a good face again!

Song Yan seeing this also came over, reached out and grabbed his sister's hand: "Sister, how can you kiss people randomly! If you want to kiss, you should kiss me instead—I wouldn't be as happy as him!"

Lu Yuchu forcefully pulled him apart: "What are you saying? My sister should kiss me."

Song Yan was pulled by him and almost fell, shut his mouth.

Song Yusui tugged at Lu Yuchu's arm: "Chu Chu, my heart..."

Lu Yuchu gave him a cold look: "Stop."

The sister was kissed by the little rascal, he also felt upset and didn't want to comfort anyone.

Song Huaiyu squatted down and asked: "Youbao, how can you kiss him?"

Mu Youyu was surrounded by a crowd, somewhat dazed: "Second brother said, if you kiss at graduation, you can be together forever."

"……" Mu Xi actually wanted the soft, fragrant sister to kiss herself.

Song Huaixian squatted down, blinking: "Then Huaixian brother also wants to be with the sister forever, do you want to kiss me too?"

"No." Mu Youyu shook her head, very principled: "Only one kiss a day, I already kissed A Jin, can't take it back."

"What? Only one kiss a day? Who taught her that?"

Song Huaixian covered his chest: "Sister, how can you do this? Brother's heart hurts."

Song Huaiyu admitted defeat, this brother really knows how to act.

Mu Yichi felt terrible, leaned on Mu Yichen: "Wuwuwu, brother, I feel so sad."

Mu Yichen pushed him away, not in the mood to deal with him.

Shen Ningmu had a completely different expression.

She looked over those photos back and forth several times, happily saved several copies, and in her mind calculated that when the two little ones grow up she'll show them this!

Mu Youyu was carried away by Mu Nian, waving her hand behind at Jiang Liangjin.

Shen Ningmu looked at the son beside her still foolishly smiling, couldn't help reaching out to ruffle his head: "A Jin, stop laughing, A Yu is going home."

Jiang Liangjin was shaken by the rubbing, frowned.

Shen Ningmu withdrew her hand: "A Jin, Mom is keeping this photo for you, and when you grow up later I'll show it to you."

"...... I know."

From then on, Jiang Liangjin's position in the older brothers' hearts was formally elevated.

Competing for the sister's attention, competing for the sister's time, now even competing for the sister's kiss.

And Mu Youyu herself was completely unaware, only feeling she had done something fair: second brother stepped down, A Jin was nearby, so she kissed him first!

The day after the graduation ceremony, Mu Youyu and Jiang Liangjin curled up on the sofa in the Jiang family living room watching a TV drama.

Shen Ningmu watches what they watch.

The TV was playing a sweet romance drama, the protagonists' names happened to form a pair, the dialogue was sickly sweet.

Shen Ningmu watched while covering her mouth and laughing.

The two kids also watched with great interest.

Midway, Shen Ningmu went to answer the phone, freezing the picture.

Mu Youyu stared at the subtitles for a long time, then suddenly turned her head: "A Jin, can our names also be paired like theirs?"

Jiang Liangjin thought this idea was great: "Sure, let's flip through some books!"

That day, he really pulled out several thick poetry collections from his study, lay in the room, and page by page searched with Mu Youyu.

Whenever they encountered a character from either of their names, they stopped and examined it together.

Mu Youyu finally found in a poetry collection "Spring Wind Mu Jin Jian".

Jiang Liangjin found in another volume: "Drunk farewell Jiang Pavilion tangerine pomelo fragrance, river wind draws rain into the boat cool."

Mu Youyu excitedly pointed: "This makes a pair! From now on, when people ask about our names, we'll use this introduction; at a glance they'll know we're a match."

Jiang Liangjin: "Good!"

Although it's not a four-character idiom, the verse is also quite good.

Mu Youyu recited it back and forth a few times, soon memorized it, and Jiang Liangjin also remembered it.

The second week of October, Mu Youyu and Jiang Liangjin officially entered first grade of the elementary department as transfer students.

The two were led by the homeroom teacher to the Class 1 classroom of first grade.

It's the last class; as the door opened, dozens of eyes all turned to the podium.

Mu Youyu stood at the edge of the podium, with Jiang Liangjin and the homeroom teacher on either side; her uniform was neat, her hair braided into two small plaits by Mu Xi, a tiny pink hairpin clipped on one side, her gaze level.

Jiang Liangjin held two identical‑colored backpacks, his eyes calm.

The homeroom teacher clapped twice to signal quiet, saying, "Class, we have two new students today; please welcome them."

Lin Ning started the applause from below, and scattered clapping rang out.

A month into the term, the classmates had grown familiar; after the applause, they immediately began whispering to each other.

"That girl looks so tiny, like my kindergarten sister."

"She's so cute."

Lin Ning rested her chin in her hands, admiring.

Mu Youyu stepped forward and spoke openly: "Hello everyone, I'm Mu Youyu— the 'Mu' from Spring Wind Moistening the Brocade Paper, the 'You' from Drunk Apart Jiang Tower Citrus Pomelo Fragrance, the 'Yu' from Elegant Yu."

After she finished, Jiang Liangjin added: "I'm Jiang Liangjin— the 'Jiang Liang' from River Wind Drawing Rain into the Boat Cool, the 'Jin' from Spring Wind Moistening the Brocade Paper."

A boy in the first row scratched his head, turned and whispered to his desk mate: "What are they saying? I can't understand a word."

His desk mate shook his head, clueless: "I don't know. It sounds learned, probably a poem, but I've never heard a single line."

Another girl sighed: "Their names are really nice, much nicer than mine."

A boy with a watermelon‑cut hairstyle muttered: "What juice? What fish?"

Another little boy chimed in: "Do they even come in male and female?"

Lin Ning lifted her chin: "You don't understand—this name is poetic."

The two boys shut their mouths.

After saying that, Lin Ning waved vigorously at Mu Youyu.

The homeroom teacher smiled slightly: "You two new students, take the seats next to Lin Ning's group."

Mu Youyu and Jiang Liangjin sat in the last row of the second group.

Mu Youyu had Jiang Liangjin on her left, with an aisle between them and Lin Ning over there.

Once seated, a classmate in the front row turned back and said: "Hey there."

The speaker was a boy with a clear voice, fair skin, regular features, and a hint of arrogance in his eyebrows.

Jiang Liangjin saw him looking at her and replied, "Hmm."

Yu Ci heard him grunt and continued: "I'm Yu Ci, and that guy over there is Gu Xingnan."

He pointed at the boy reading beside him; Gu Xingnan heard, lifted his head slightly, and said, "Hello."

Yu Ci finished speaking for his childhood friend: "He's our class monitor—quiet, but a good person; if you need anything, come to us."

Jiang Liangjin: "Hmm."

Yu Ci saw he only knew "hmm," turned to Mu Youyu, undiminished enthusiasm: "You're Mu Youyu? Your name is lovely, but I've never heard that poem either—you're so cultured!"

Mu Youyu felt doubtful inside but didn't show it: "Your name is nice too, Yu Ci—sounds like it was chosen by a cultured person."

Yu Ci, a bit smug from the praise, said: "Right? I think so too! By the way, why did you two come to school together?"

Mu Youyu answered: "Because he's mine."

Jiang Liangjin replied: "That's right."

Yu Ci still thought he might be autistic, blinked, and asked: "Yours? As in your desk mate?"

Mu Youyu corrected: "He's mine first, and only then my desk mate."

The homeroom teacher tapped the desk and began class.

Lin Ning, bored with class, started slipping notes to Mu Youyu, using pinyin for characters she couldn't write: "Baby, can you bang do my homework for me?" ᵕ᷄≀̠ᵕ᷅

Mu Youyu received the note and replied: "I don't want to do homework—when are you turning it in?"

Lin Ning finished writing, folded it twice, and tossed it over: "It's due this afternoon."

Mu Youyu: "How much do you have left?"

Lin Ning quickly sent another note, her handwriting crooked: "Seven and a half pages left—I forgot to do it over the break."

Alongside it was a crude doodle of a figure with three spiky hairs on its head, eyes as two circles, and a wide-open mouth as if shouting.

Mu Youyu didn't understand the doodle, but from the note's content she gathered it meant "Quick, save me," so she lowered her head and wrote on the paper: "After class my older brother will come—I can get him to help you with it!"

Lin Ning: "He's scary, I don't want to." ⚆﹏⚆

Mu Youyu took the note, began writing, while Jiang Liangjin watched her curiously.

The homeroom teacher on the podium saw their little moves clearly.

She flipped a page, walked to the back, and said: "Lin Ning, please read these passages."

Lin Ning jumped up, startled, and whispered to her desk mate: "What is it?"

Her desk mate reminded: "Page twenty, paragraphs five through seven."

Lin Ning found the spot and read aloud, her voice dwindling: "This…… seems to be…… a grass‑radical……"

The homeroom teacher waited a few seconds, saw she truly didn't know, had her sit down, then looked to the back: "Mu Youyu, you try."

Lin Ning gave her a "please, baby" look; the homeroom teacher was a friend of her mother and looked out for her especially.

Mu Youyu stood up, read the passages fully, with natural pauses and phrasing.

The homeroom teacher was a little surprised: "What about paragraph eight?"

Mu Youyu read it too, still smooth.

Lin Ning next door slipped a hand under the desk and gave her a thumbs‑up.

After sitting down, Jiang Liangjin exclaimed "Wow!" and sincerely praised her: "Amazing—I don't even know these characters…"

Before he finished, the homeroom teacher called on someone else: "Jiang Liangjin, next passage."

Jiang Liangjin stood up, read the whole passage fluently, then sat down.

Mu Youyu looked at him, "You don't know him?"

Jiang Liangjin defended himself, "I just forgot earlier, but after reading it once more I remembered."

Mu Youyu believed him, "Then I'll teach you once, and you won't forget next time."

"Good!"

Lin Ning lay on the desk, watching them go back and forth, feeling she could not get in at all, so she lowered her head and continued struggling with the seven-and-a-half pages of homework.

The homeroom teacher called on a few more students to read the text, and the lesson continued forward.

"……" Not long after the dismissal bell rang, two figures appeared at the classroom door.

Mu Xi stood at the door in all black, holding her schoolbag.

Just behind her, Song Lujing was tiptoeing, peeking into the classroom, and immediately spotted his sister sitting in the back row.

Song Lujing shoved Mu Xi aside and stepped in first, "Sis sis! What are we having for lunch?"

Before Mu Youyu could answer, Mu Xi had already pulled him back, "Don't block the door."

Song Lujing was tugged a bit, but he wasn't annoyed; he smoothly moved to the side, squeezed through the aisle to his sister's desk, bent over and rested his elbows on her desk, "Sis sis, do you miss big brother?"

"I do!"

"Big brother misses you super much too."

Mu Xi interrupted, "Let's go, let's eat."

Jiang Liangjin also finished packing up his things.

Mu Youyu took his hand, "Come on, A Jin, second older brother will take us to eat!"

Mu Xi only wanted to take her sister, but it wouldn't be good to not take this person.

Song Lujing felt wronged, "Why aren't you pulling me?"

Mu Youyu freed another hand to grab Song Lujing's sleeve, "That way I can also hold onto big brother Lujing."

Song Lujing lowered his head to look at her hand gripping his cuff, said nothing more, quietly slowed his steps to match her short legs.

Mu Xi mimicked Song Lujing's tone, "Sis, why aren't you pulling me?"

Mu Youyu hadn't figured out how to pull three people when Lin Ning spoke up, "Baby, can you lend me a hand too?"

Mu Youyu worried, she didn't have that many hands.

A solution flashed in her mind, her eyes glinting, "Second older brother, you hold A Jin, Ning Ning holds second older brother, that way it's like I'm holding you both!"

Mu Xi, Lin Ning: "That's really a bad idea."

Jiang Liangjin generously extended his hand, "Mu Xi older brother, I'll hold you."

Mu Xi disliked it, "No."

In the end, Song Lujing was forced to let go; Mu Youyu pulled Jiang Liangjin with her left hand and Mu Xi with her right, while Song Lujing and Lin Ning followed behind.

After entering elementary school, Mu Youyu and Jiang Liangjin's life pace became more than twice as hectic as in kindergarten.

Besides regular classroom study, their after-school time was filled with a series of interest classes.

They signed up for the courses they were interested in: foreign language, painting, calligraphy, dance class, children's programming……

The instructors were all industry leaders, coming to their home for one-on-one lessons.