Chapter 908: Childhood Sweetheart Youth 02

Jin Chen: "Don't eat—if you don't eat, I won't take you out to play later."

He "threatened" like that, yet his face was full of smiles.

If Song Xu truly didn't like eggs, Jin Chen would never force-feed him, and Aunt Xu wouldn't cook them every day.

Aside from the animal innards he firmly refuses and overly greasy foods, Song Xu has no particular dietary restrictions.

But he's moody about food—what he eats depends on his mood; sometimes when he's down he won't even eat a grain of rice, and eggs are something he finds completely optional, not interesting enough to eat.

Seeing his older brother being unusually stern today, Song Xu pursed his lips, took a small bite of the egg white, then bit down on Jin Chen's wrist, cheeks puffed as he glared angrily.

Though his threat was all bark and no bite, he refused to let go; Jin Chen pushed his head away, and all he managed was to leave a tooth mark.

Jin Chen chuckled for a while, pinched Song Xu's cheek, and said, "You're using me as a teething stick."

"Not tasty."

Song Xu was chewing eggs, his speech muffled; just as he finished the eggs, Jin Chen shoved a spoonful of nutritious porridge into his mouth.

"Be good, don't spit it out."

Jin Chen soothingly brought him a cup of warm water, saying, "Just have a few bites; this porridge is what Grandma and Mom learned to make from the traditional Chinese medicine doctor, specially to nourish your body."

So it carries a hint of medicinal flavor.

Song Xu really didn't want to eat, but with Jin Chen holding his face, he could only swallow a few bites; now he was thoroughly angry, and he grabbed Jin Chen and bit down hard.

"Normally you help me finish the eggs." Song Xu was dissatisfied, "You must have secretly eaten some spicy sticks today, that's why I can't eat."

"Brother, this is for you..."

The last word of agreement was swallowed by him the moment Jin Chen also took a bite of porridge.

Indeed... it's not tasty.

Jin Chen silently put down the bowl, rinsed his mouth with water, and sighed, "It's really awful."

It's probably an issue with the ingredient proportions; he seems to need to improve it.

Song Xu snorted, pushed the rest toward Jin Chen, saying, "Nutrition-wise, eat more, or I'll go complain to my godmother."

He narrowed his eyes and whispered, "Every time you take me out to play, you secretly drink alcohol."

Jin Chen: "..."

Well, that's like lifting a stone only to drop it on one's own foot.

He grabbed Song Xu and ruffled his hair; the soft, fluffy strands made Song Xu a bit disheveled as he bumped into Jin Chen's shoulder with a muffled sound.

"Brother still hasn't done his homework, don't bother me."

Alas, beauty leads one astray; this green youth, blushing in his embrace, feels nothing wrong with their overly intimate behavior.

Jin Chen, utterly embarrassed, reddened his ears, gave a light cough, sat up straight, and picked up his pen.

The petty scheming deep in his heart cooled the moment he opened his summer homework; Jin Chen is now terrifyingly calm.

The room gradually grew quiet; the two leaned together, doing problems and reading, leaving only the cicadas' chirping and the electric fan's squeak.

Jin Chen twirled his pen, then suddenly drifted off in thought.

Why did Mu Henian come to Ming Cheng ahead of schedule?

In the original plotline, Mu Henian should still be at International Independent High School at this time, laying the groundwork for becoming a mogul later, with no connection to Cheng Huai whatsoever.

Could he have been influenced by something?

Would that change the later plot? Xiao Yu'er will surely return to Jing Shi, or at least it'd be more reliable if they attended the same university.

As Jin Chen pondered, his page-turning slowed, his fingertips idly rubbing the pages.

Song Xu glanced at Jin Chen, then looked at the problem he hadn't done.

He didn't understand why his brother was agonizing over such a simple fill-in-the-blank question.

"Brother, what are you thinking about?"

He shook Jin Chen's arm.

Jin Chen blurted out, "Just thinking about the problem."

Lowering his gaze, he met Song Xu's obviously doubtful eyes, froze for half a second, and the corner of his mouth twitched as he looked at the problem he hadn't done.

He swiftly wrote a square root of two on the book.

Song Xu furrowed his little face, feeling a bit down, "Brother, you're hiding something from me."

Just now he was clearly thinking about something else, but refused to tell him.

But between them there were originally no secrets.

Jin Chen couldn't say he was thinking about a future "love rival," so he said, "I heard that after the semester starts, our class will get a new transfer student from Jing Shi."

Song Xu nodded dazedly, brows slightly furrowed in doubt, "Brother, what are you trying to say?"

What does that have to do with us?

Jin Chen pushed his homework aside, held Song Xu a little tighter, and said awkwardly, "All right, I was thinking that after the college entrance exam, Xiao Yu'er will probably return to Jing Shi to attend university."

Song Xu immediately looked up at him, "Brother, aren't you going with me?"

He had never considered that, because he felt he and Jin Chen would never be separated.

From elementary to high school they've always been in the same school and class; why wouldn't it be the same afterward?

Jin Chen: "Of course I'll go to Jing Shi with you, but with my current grades I'm not really allowed to attend the same university."

After all, Song Xu is the known top student of Ming Cheng No. 2 Middle School, always ranking at the top in exams from junior to senior high.

Jin Chen's grades aren't bad, but they usually hover in the middle; if it weren't for Song Xu keeping an eye on him, they'd probably drop even further.

So even though they both went to Jing Shi later, they didn't end up in the same university, which is why they missed a lot of later plot.

Song Xu understood what Jin Chen meant, instantly feeling a sour sadness, not wanting to be separated from his brother for college.

He tugged at Jin Chen's hand, his tone serious, face tense, "Brother, you really need to study hard."

"Starting tomorrow, I'll cut my basketball time in half and tutor you in your weak liberal arts subjects."

We've just started school; I'm only in sophomore year. In two years, bro, you'll definitely improve.

Jin Chen: "……"

He says spending more time with his wife makes him happy, but he always feels a stomachache.

Seeing that look in Song Xu's eyes, he can't bring himself to refuse.

Okay, okay, okay, I'll listen to you.

Only then does Song Xu feel satisfied, and his sense of loss fades considerably.

Aunt Xu's voice came from outside the door.

Xiao Xu, Xiao Chen! Dinner's ready.

"Eh, coming!" Jin Chen replied, skillfully pulling open the middle drawer and picking out the medicine Song Xu needs to take before dinner from a jumble of bottles and cans.

He counts each pill very carefully, then watches Song Xu swallow it before feeling safe enough to go out to eat.

Jin Chen is very attentive to this aspect of Song Xu's health; Aunt Xu says he's gotten a good brother, but Jin Chen's parents always think it's because he was scared by pranks as a child.

——

When Song Xu came to Ming Cheng, Jin Chen was only six, just started first grade, and all he knew was that his neighbor Aunt Xu's grandson would be coming to live there often.

Liu Ou told his son to look after the neighbor's sick younger brother, asking Duoduo to take care of him; Jin Chen sneaked over to take a look, and found the boy adorable, like a glutinous rice ball.

Back then Song Xu was painfully thin, nothing like other kids his age. Jin Chen squatted beside him, watching him obediently take his colorful medicine, and thinking of how he too had to swallow bitter medicine when he had a cold, he instantly felt empathy for that suffering.

I don't know what he was thinking, but he just flung the medicine away.