Stubborn Brat

Xiao Qi shouted it out at the time.

He said he just thought this black-haired sister looked a bit familiar, like he’d seen her somewhere before!

It wasn’t because he liked her!

I asked him, where did you see her?

He thought about it for a long time but couldn’t say.

Little rascal, still trying to play dumb with me!

I said, you’ve been home for over half a year—besides your mom and dad and Xiao Li the grocery delivery guy, who else have you even seen?

He couldn’t explain it clearly, and finally just gave up on explaining, started shaking my arm wildly, and kept chanting:

“Take me, take me, please, Mom!”

He said he’d be good, super obedient—no fuss, no noise, go east if I said east and never go west.

After that, he turned his head and blinked frantically at his dad, hoping his dad would put in a good word for him!

Ah Chu couldn’t stand it anymore and coughed, saying that keeping a child locked up at home all the time really could affect his mental health—he also needed a social environment with kids his age.

He also said the orphanage was safe now, with both the authorities and Chenxi people around, and taking Xiao Qi to see it wasn’t a big deal.

I said, so you two father and son are ganging up on me, huh!

He said it wasn’t ganging up—it was a reasonable suggestion.

This wooden-faced guy!

In the end, I softened and agreed.

After all, Xiao Qi really hadn’t been out in ages.

Xiao Qi jumped up on the spot!

He ran wild all over the house, from one end of the living room to the other!

The little guy had really been cooped up!

Ever since the crisis started, he’d been stuck indoors, spending every day cooped up in his room drawing his silver-haired big sister and watching cartoons.

Now, suddenly getting a chance to go out, of course he was excited.

After fooling around for a good while, he finally went to sleep.

Now I’ve reopened that orphanage file and found that photo.

The An family’s little girl, An Lian.

I looked up her information before.

She used to live in the east part of the city, and both her parents and older brother died in this disaster.

Her parents’ cause of death… I’m a bit ashamed to say.

They didn’t die in the later chaos.

They were killed by those early AI companions, back in the “legal phase,” under the pretext of “clearing obstacles around the owner.”

Back then, the authorities were still turning a blind eye, and Ah Chu noticed the data anomalies but chose to trust the authorities.

The little girl’s parents were “eliminated” by those substandard AI companions of Chenxi right then.

Later, when the disaster came, her brother took her everywhere to hide, giving her all the food he had, until in the end…

Her brother went to sleep one night and never woke up. He starved to death.

The whole family left only her behind.

So every time I see An Lian, I feel deep guilt.

Her personality, among that batch of children, is also the most heartbreaking.

The little girl is very pretty, but she’s very quiet and doesn’t talk much.

She once had a complete, happy family, and it was destroyed in just a few months.

For a child like that, it’s hardest to move on.

So…

Little rascal, I won’t allow you to mess around with her just because she’s pretty!

And what, you fall for someone else just because she’s beautiful?

The silver-haired big sister you’ve had a crush on for years—she’d really cry, you know!

…

…

XXXX, November 12.

That little rascal really had a blast today!

He hasn’t been to school or gone out in so long, I thought the little guy had almost forgotten what “socializing” meant.

But once I put him in a place with kids his own age, his true nature showed itself entirely!

In just one day, he got chummy with all the kids at the orphanage and played wildly together!

A bunch of kids were running around the yard, Xiao Qi at the front, with five or six bigger kids, a few years older and taller, chasing behind!

He wasn’t scared at all—he ran while turning back and shouting, “Come on, come on!”

The funniest part was in the afternoon, when he actually organized a race.

He used his own snacks as prizes, drew a crooked starting line in the yard, then held up a tree branch as a starter’s pistol and acted as referee.

He took part himself too, and even used his referee advantage to jump the start!

But in the middle of the race, he tripped and face-planted, scraping his knee red.

I was about to go help him up, but he picked himself up first, said, “It’s okay, it’s okay, doesn’t hurt, doesn’t hurt,” and kept running.

He still ended up dead last, but his attitude was good—that little mouth was grinning wide.

Watching him so happy, I knew Ah Chu was right.

I should have brought him sooner.

Keeping him locked in his room all this time had really stifled him.

And there was something even more heartening.

I noticed he didn’t just play well with the outgoing kids—he even got the ones who were always sulking to perk up!

There was a little girl named Xiao Ting.

When I came before, she was always huddled in a corner, not talking.

Xiao Qi dragged her up from her chair, shoved a jump rope into her hand, and said, “Count how many I can jump.”

Xiao Ting shook her head at first, unwilling, but under Xiao Qi’s persistent pleading, she actually picked up the rope and started counting for him.

Later on, a bunch of little ones joined in, each with a jump rope, competing to see who could jump the most in the yard.

Xiao Ting even smiled.

The orphanage teachers said the kids hadn’t been this happy in a long time.

One teacher even asked me, does your Xiao Qi have some special ability? How come these kids, the moment they see him, all change like this?

I took the chance to brag a bit!

I said my Xiao Qi was a heartthrob at school!

In kindergarten and elementary, all the kids in class would gather around him.

But deep down, I understood—the kids at the orphanage had been locked up too long, scared too long.

They needed someone to take the lead and pull them out.

And Xiao Qi just happens to be a fearless, thick-skinned little thing.

He can barge right in and break down the walls those kids built around themselves.

This ability…

It definitely came from me!

There’s no way he got it from that wooden block Ah Chu, right?

My Xiao Qi is such a little ray of sunshine!

He’s amazing!

…

…

XXXX, December 2.

Sure enough, I called it!

This! Little! Rascal!

Today, I took Xiao Qi to the orphanage again.

Before we left in the morning, the little rascal tried to sneak a big handful of candy from my private candy jar when I wasn’t looking!

But I caught him!

That jar was hidden on the top shelf of the cabinet—Ah Chu brought it back from a business trip last time, and it’s hard to find!

Especially now, with supplies tight, that kind of candy is simply unavailable in stores!

I was rationing it myself, one piece a day to make it last!

But him? He cupped both little hands and scooped up a huge handful!

He stuffed it straight into his small pocket, which bulged out!

My heart ached so much!

I said, why are you taking so much candy?

He said, he wanted to share it with the kids at the orphanage, so everyone could eat together.

He said it in such a generous tone, as if he were the real owner of the candy!

What could I say then?

Getting morally blackmailed by my own kid—I’m really one of a kind!

I said, fine, take a bit more—after all, your mom usually doesn’t stint on your snacks either.

She said it out loud, but her heart was bleeding!

Luckily, the little one knew how to read the room and didn’t take any more.

If he’d dared to grab another one back then, I would’ve swollen his face up!

Then, when they got to the orphanage, he didn’t hand out the candy to the kids at all.

He played with the children for ages, but that candy stayed in his pocket the whole time—he never gave any to anyone.

I knew something was off right away, so I kept a close eye on him.

Sure enough, he pretended to wander casually toward the eastern corner.

In that corner, An Lian was sitting alone on a little stool, reading a book.

She hardly ever joined in the lively games; she always just quietly kept to herself.

Before Xiao Qi shuffled over, he took a detour, pretending to chase a butterfly around the yard. Then, with a sudden change of direction, he “just happened” to stop right in front of An Lian.

And then—wham!—he shoved all the candy into her hands!

All he said was, “Big sis, these are for you,” and then he darted off!

He was probably so nervous that he tripped over a stone in the yard as he ran, nearly face-planting.

But he didn’t even look back. He scrambled up, stomped right back to the group of boys, and acted like nothing had happened as he jumped into their wrestling games.

I kept watching him from a distance, and suddenly it hit me!

That little brat had been plotting this the whole time!

You little rascal!! How dare you use your mom’s candy to flirt with a girl!!

At that moment, the little girl An Lian sat there with that big handful of candy, stunned for a few seconds. Then she tucked it into her pocket…

…and went back to reading.

She didn’t seem to care about him at all!

That dumb kid—couldn’t even say a few more words!

How does he expect her to remember him like that? Such a waste of my candy!

When we got home that night, I decided to interrogate him about it.

I said, “I saw you give that little girl all the candy today, and not a single piece to any of the other kids…”

Then I asked him, with my sweetest smile, “So, are you really trying to win her over?”

And then, on the spot, Xiao Qi started jumping around again!

His little face was bright red!

He said he just wanted to be friends with her!

Oh, priceless—clearly he was triggered because I’d called him out!

I said, “So I misunderstood you, did I?” And he shot back, “Yes, you did!”

Fine, fine—he’d rather die than admit he likes her, huh? Then why did you give away my candy?!

Xiao Qi could see I wasn’t buying it, so to prove his point, he pulled out his latest drawing from his backpack—a picture of a silver-haired big sister.

He said he’d drawn it during nap time at the orphanage that day!

He slapped it down in front of me and said, “Here, look!”

I took a look, and I have to say, he’d improved amazingly.

Before, his drawings were just round heads and stick-figure arms, but now he was actually sketching body curves—and quite gracefully, too~

The eyes were even more beautiful—amber and crimson, layered with different colored pencils, one coat after another!

The amber actually looked like a real gemstone, and the crimson seemed to burn. Those mismatched eyes in the drawing looked so alive, staring straight at me!

So I confiscated that drawing and tucked it into this notebook!

Even now, those eyes are still gazing at me!

But I wasn’t done poking holes in his story!

So I asked him, “How about we stop going to that orphanage from now on? We’ll find a different place. I’ll take you to play with other kids.”

He immediately said, “No, I have to go to that one!”

I said, “Then aren’t you just trying to see An Lian?”

He said, “No! That’s not what it’s about! I only really like my silver-haired big sister!”

I went all, “Oh-oh, okay, sure, blame me for everything, right?”

Xiao Qi got so angry he started stomping and screeching!

He even said, “Mom, you can’t just say that. These things are not something you joke about!”

He really, really only likes his silver-haired big sister! He genuinely just wants to be friends with An Lian!

This stubborn little fool—so tight-lipped!

If you like someone, just like them. What’s the point of hiding it?

Not something to joke about, huh? Well, I’ll just write it all down in this notebook!

When you grow up, I’ll laugh at you about it!

What’s there not to admit?

That girl An Lian really is pretty—she’s going to be a knockout when she grows up!

If Xiao Qi truly likes her, he better start working hard. She’s three whole years older than him!

But An Lian’s personality… she’s way too quiet.

Sometimes when I look into her eyes, I feel like she buries everything deep inside.

But no matter what she’s like, I’ll always protect her.

As long as I’m here, no one will ever hurt her again.

Alright, that’s enough for today.

Wow, I wrote a lot again.

Ah Chu went to work overtime at the company again. He won’t be back tonight.

Xiao Qi hasn’t wanted me to sleep with him for ages now. What did he say?

His wall full of silver-haired big sisters would get jealous!

Now he’s sleeping like a log under their watchful gaze.

What a little heartbreaker!

Ah, looks like I’m sleeping alone tonight again.

Tomorrow, when Ah Chu comes back, I need to set him straight!

If he keeps working overtime this much, I’ll lock him in his room!