Bo Yuxu glanced through the crack in the door again. He thought he heard footsteps—was it his imagination?
But the light was dim, and the best choice was to head to a crowded area quickly.
Bo Yuxu walked to the audience seats. His mother was holding that man's wrist, never letting go. The gesture wasn't awkward, because it was normal for couples here to hold hands.
'Mom.'
At the soft call, Bo Xin looked up from her notebook calculations. She realized she was still holding Ji Xingzhi's wrist, using his hand as a book rest.
Bo Xin looked up and chose to blame him first. "How come you didn't react at all?"
Ji Xingzhi raised one hand in surrender.
"I just wanted to prove that I'm an obedient guy."
Bo Xin raised an eyebrow. He was indeed very obedient—there was no force of resistance at all, which was why she gradually stopped noticing.
It was all his fault. At his age, he still couldn't get past the oral fixation stage.
Bo Xin let go of his wrist and turned her attention to Bo Yuxu. "You played beautifully and won."
Bo Yuxu thought for a moment and said, "It's because the judges saw I'm young."
Bo Xin pinned a brooch on him.
"I think you can freely admit your abilities."
Bo Yuxu hesitated, then slowly curved his lips. He seemed eager to change the subject. "I just saw last year's first-place winner."
Bo Xin vaguely remembered, but not clearly.
She continued listening quietly as Bo Yuxu spoke. "He's up next, so I want to stay a little longer."
Bo Xin took a closer look. Bo Yuxu's 'next' meant after three other contestants.
From warm-up to rule explanation, to actual performance, to judges' comments.
Bo Xin smiled. "There's no rush to watch his performance. Right now, there's something more important than getting to know a competitor: celebrating your first match victory."
Bo Yuxu lowered his head and said instinctively, "Isn't this brooch enough?"
Bo Xin explained, "Of course not. This is just a preview of the custom suit I'm getting you."
Hearing this, Bo Yuxu showed no reaction, but Ji Yanyi beside him was shocked. "A suit?!"
He had seen kids his age wearing them today—formal yet adorable, with little bow ties on chubby, baby-faced cheeks.
Every detail made his heart itch. He hadn't expected it to happen today!
Ji Yanyi's eyes widened as he looked around.
"Can people who aren't competing get one too?"
His expression practically pointed at himself.
Bo Xin wouldn't play favorites. She patted Yanyi's head and said, "Of course, everyone gets one."
Ji Yanyi pumped his fist and whispered 'Yeah,' but remembering the quiet surroundings, he immediately shut his mouth.
Bo Yuxu was still more focused on the celebration for winning the match. He tilted his head, waiting for Yanyi to calm down before stepping forward. "So, Mom, what exactly is the celebration?"
Bo Xin looked around and then said, "Let's go eat barbecue."
Did she know what time it was? Night had fallen, a gentle breeze carried the smoky aroma of charcoal, and with some chilled watermelon, it would be a perfect meal.
Bo Yuxu was fine with anything. Ji Yanyi loved barbecue, so he had no objections.
Only Ji Xingzhi thought for a moment and said, "I don't think I can eat that."
Bo Xin shut down his mood-killing. "Are you the doctor, or am I?"
Ji Xingzhi pointed at both of them, then lowered his hand.
"So I hope a certain doctor can answer truthfully."
Bo Xin smiled. "I'll ask the vendor to make a special portion without any seasoning, focusing on the original flavor of the ingredients. Don't worry."
Ji Xingzhi's forehead twitched. That was hardly reassuring.
She was just tormenting him.
After they left, the security guard Bo Yuxu had called arrived at the storage room. The clutter was a mess, with messy footprints on top.
The footprints were dirty, as if someone had climbed over the wall from a muddy puddle outside after the rain.
The footprints weren't big, looking like a child's.
Actually, analysis wasn't needed, because the person had left a note made from newspaper clippings, saying: 'I saw Bo Yuxu threatening Tao Lehua.'
Bo Yuxu, the prodigy who just played the piano, threatening Tao Lehua?
They were both highly skilled, but did someone resort to threats for first place?
They didn't believe it, but someone did see Bo Yuxu knocking on the window.
So it was best to keep Bo Yuxu away from the Tao family's child. The Tao family thought so too—that was Sui Dongsheng's goal.
He knew how tightly protected Tao Lehua was. No matter how much Tao Lehua wanted to interact with Bo Yuxu, if the bodyguards disapproved, they couldn't meet.