The next day was still the weekend.
Lu Xun's wound would take a week before the stitches could be removed, and half a month to heal. During this time, he definitely couldn't go to kindergarten, so Shu Qingqing asked his teacher for a leave of absence.
Right after breakfast, other kids from the neighborhood came over to play with Lu Xun.
Shu Qingqing was worried that the children might play too roughly and hurt Lu Xun's arm, so she didn't let him go.
Lu Xun was a bit unhappy about this.
Shu Qingqing promised to play toy cars with him, which kept him from throwing a tantrum. However, after playing all morning, he got bored of it. By the afternoon, he refused to play with the toy cars no matter what she said.
Shu Qingqing suggested, "How about we build blocks?"
Lu Xun shook his head. "I don't like blocks."
Shu Qingqing: "Drawing?"
Lu Xun: "I don't want to draw."
After several suggestions were rejected in a row, Shu Qingqing felt helpless. "Then you tell me what you want to play, and Mommy will play with you."
Lu Xun blinked. "Watch cartoons."
"No," Shu Qingqing flatly refused. Half a year ago, Lu Xun was diagnosed with mild pseudomyopia. The original host had spent a long time doing eye exercises with him until he recovered, and since then, she rarely let him watch TV. The original host spoiled the child, but she was very firm on this matter.
Lu Xun sighed. "Then what do you want me to play?"
As they were talking, Lu Yu came downstairs.
Shu Qingqing's eyes lit up. "Go find your brother and ask him to play with you."
After watching the child all morning, she was exhausted.
Lu Xun turned his head to look, lacking any interest. "I don't want to play with my brother."
Shu Qingqing frowned. "Why don't you want to play with your brother? He knows how to play a lot of things." Besides, Lu Yu was practically an adult and would know to be gentle when taking care of a child.
Last night at the hospital ward, she had actually seen Lu Yu. He just hadn't gone inside, leaving only after he knew Lu Xun's stitches were done. So, deep down, Lu Yu did care about his younger brother.
If the original host hadn't sowed discord between them, Lu Yu would definitely have been a great older brother.
"Didn't you say that my brother would steal my things and make me..."
Before Lu Xun could finish, Shu Qingqing quickly covered his mouth.
Lu Yu probably didn't hear that.
The original host really did nothing good.
She pulled Lu Xun closer and said patiently, "Have you forgotten what Mommy told you before? Mommy taught you some wrong things in the past, and we need to correct them together. So from now on, you must love Mommy first, and second, you must..."
"Second, I must love my brother," Lu Xun finished the sentence.
Shu Qingqing felt relieved. "Good memory. Now go over there and invite your brother to play with you."
Lu Xun picked at the spoiler of his toy car. "Mommy, you go invite him for me."
Seeing his awkward demeanor, Shu Qingqing immediately understood that he was feeling shy. It made sense; little kids always wanted to tag along behind older kids. When she was little in the orphanage, she used to follow the older girls around every day, clinging to them even when they didn't want to play with her.
Lu Xun knew he hadn't been nice to his brother before and was afraid of being rejected.
Shu Qingqing looked at him encouragingly. "It's okay. Your brother likes you and won't turn you down. If you don't believe me, go ask him."
Lu Xun picked at his toy car again before finally standing up. "Brother, can you play with me?"
Lu Yu paused as he was putting on his shoes. "I'm meeting friends to play ball."
Actually, he had vaguely heard a few words of their conversation just now. He genuinely hadn't expected Shu Qingqing to take the initiative to tell Lu Xun to play with him. If Lu Xun really wanted him to play with him...
Lu Yu gripped his phone, trying to think of how to explain things to his friends, only to see Lu Xun let out a huff and run back to Shu Qingqing's side.
Lu Yu's eyes darkened. He grabbed the ball from the floor and opened the door.
Lu Xun stared blankly at the closed door and couldn't hold back a loud wail.
Waah, how could his brother do this? He had taken the initiative to ask to play with him, but his brother was going to play with someone else.
Waah, he was so sad.
Lu Xun turned and threw himself into Shu Qingqing's arms. "Mommy, my brother won't play with me."
Shu Qingqing tried her best to hold back a smile as she wiped Lu Xun's tears. She could tell that Lu Xun really wanted to play with Lu Yu, and Lu Yu had probably intended to agree. It was just that Lu Xun hadn't understood Lu Yu's intentions, and Lu Yu hadn't understood Lu Xun's little thoughts.
Shu Qingqing said, "But Mommy didn't hear your brother say he didn't want to play with you."
Lu Xun froze for a moment.
Shu Qingqing continued, "Your brother didn't know you wanted to play with him beforehand, which is why he made plans to play ball with his friends. How about this: Mommy will go with you to ask your brother if he's willing to take you along to play ball. Sound good?"
Lu Xun sobbed, wiping his tears with his little hands, and said, "Okay."
Shu Qingqing looked outside and saw that Lu Yu hadn't walked out of the front gate yet, so she quickly grabbed Lu Xun and chased after him.
"Lu Yu!" Shu Qingqing called out.
Sure enough, Lu Yu stopped in his tracks.
Shu Qingqing pulled Lu Xun over. "Where are you going to play ball?"
Lu Yu pointed ahead.
There was a leisure club in the neighborhood exclusively for residents, which had a tennis court.
That wasn't too far. Shu Qingqing nudged Lu Xun forward. "Lu Xun wants to play with you. Are you willing to take him along? Of course, I'll stay by his side and make sure he doesn't cause any trouble."
Lu Yu glanced at Lu Xun's arm and replied in a low voice, "Okay."
Shu Qingqing pinched Lu Xun's cheek. "See? I told you your brother would be willing to take you along to play."
Lu Xun maintained a cool little face and didn't say anything, but after Lu Yu said he was going to get his other friends first, the little boy couldn't hold it in anymore, and the corners of his mouth curled up.
Shu Qingqing couldn't help it and burst out laughing.
Facts proved that her decision to let Lu Xun play with his brother was absolutely correct.
Although Lu Xun didn't know how to play ball, his boyish nature took over. He stood on the sidelines watching the entire afternoon without feeling bored at all. When he saw Lu Yu score, he knew to scream and applaud, and when he saw others score, he sighed in disappointment.
It was supposed to be a wonderful experience.
At a little past five, the game ended. Lu Yu and his friends walked out laughing and chatting. As they passed by, everyone bid farewell to Shu Qingqing.
One of the boys pinched Lu Xun's cheek and smiled at Lu Yu. "Your little brother is pretty well-behaved, huh."
Lu Yu was about to speak when he saw Lu Xun open his mouth and bite the boy's hand.
The friend let out a miserable scream of pain.
Lu Yu's expression changed, and he quickly pulled Lu Xun away. Before he could even say a word, Lu Xun started crying first.
Shu Qingqing was also completely stunned by this.
Lu Yu was put in a very awkward position, so he had to apologize to his friend first and see him off.
When he returned, he saw Shu Qingqing asking Lu Xun why he had bitten the boy, but Lu Xun wasn't saying a word. Lu Yu patiently asked as well, "Lu Xun, tell your brother why you bit him?"
Lu Xun had just been keeping his head down, but upon hearing this, he suddenly turned around and pushed Lu Yu. "You're not my brother! I'm not going to tell you! Go away, go away!"
Lu Yu froze for a second, then let out a self-deprecating laugh, turned around, and walked away.
Shu Qingqing was furious, but no matter what she asked, she couldn't get a reason out of him, so she had no choice but to take Lu Xun back home first.
