Ji Yanyi followed behind Bo Yuxu, his ears sharp. Now his eyes were shining, and he jabbed Bo Yuxu in the back with his elbow. "Mom believes you can win."
Bo Yuxu lifted his chin, looking a bit smug.
"Since Mom believes I can win, I won't lose."
Ji Yanyi's eyes went wide. This was the first time he'd seen his younger brother like this—like a meowing kitten.
Could he give him a scratch?
He took a big gulp of the milk he was holding—free milk provided outside, fortified with calcium for kids. It didn't taste much different from the regular milk at home.
He followed Bo Yuxu closely, distracted by his mischievous thoughts.
When he came back to reality, he couldn't stop in time and bumped into Yuxu's back.
Luckily he was tall, or the milk would have spilled everywhere.
Ji Yanyi bent over and tentatively peered ahead.
"What's wrong?"
Bo Yuxu crouched down. He seemed to have stepped on something—something soft, like a plush toy.
Not a common design; more like a custom-made one. The male doll had a little mustache, and the female doll had delicate blond hair. A foreigner? The two dolls were sewn together, explaining why they'd been discarded together.
He wiped off the dust. If possible, he could wash them for the owner.
If the owner didn't mind.
Just then, a child from across the way spoke up. He was tall, but his voice was muffled, every tone sounding like someone had bullied him.
"Could you give the dolls back to me?"
Bo Yuxu paused, clutching the dolls. He seemed to have met the champion Wen Qiaozhe had mentioned earlier.
The other boy was a bit older than him, wearing a tailored suit instead of overalls, but he lacked an adult's maturity—still looked like he was playing dress-up.
Bo Yuxu realized he'd been staring too long and quickly explained, "I accidentally stepped on them. Do you want me to wash them first before returning them?"
"...I dropped them. It's okay if they're dirty."
Bo Yuxu didn't understand. Did he mean he'd thrown them away and now came back for them? Or that he'd dropped them and was willing to take responsibility for the dirt?
Not understanding, Bo Yuxu simply returned them as they were. "Putting little plushies on the piano seems like a cute idea. I might learn from it."
"It's not a design... It's my tailor..."
The other boy rarely spoke to outsiders, and this seemed to be the extent of what he could manage. His face reddened, looking troubled.
The butler appeared in time, standing between them, explaining a few words about the young master's condition to Bo Yuxu and the others, then left with the boy.
Butler Wang bit his lower lip, at a loss. "Lehua, why didn't you tell us when you went back to pick up your things?"
Tao Lehua squeezed the doll's hand and stayed silent.
Butler Wang was exasperated. This was exactly it—whenever something like this happened, the young master would clam up again.
He talked more to that kid just now than to them.
At his age, was it okay to be jealous of a child?
Butler Wang wanted to cry but held it in. When he turned around, his expression was already composed. Those two kids had gotten along well with the young master, reminding him of the words spoken by the child he'd interviewed.
Kids their age just clicked better—less pressure, more common topics.
But that kid wore handmade overalls and brand-name shoes. Not flashy rich, but definitely not poor. The family could afford piano lessons, so they wouldn't want their child to work as a home tutor.
His idea of searching outside was right.
But the two recent candidates—one was arrogant from winning scholarships, the other was too far away and the parents suspected him of being a human trafficker.
He couldn't just pick Sui Dongsheng, could he? That would be too不甘心.
"The master hopes you can attend school normally, like other children."
Butler Wang didn't want to quote the master exactly, because the master's original words were 'like a normal child.'
But who would call their own child 'abnormal'?
Tao Lehua finally reacted upon hearing this. "What he wants... does it have anything to do with me?"
Butler Wang knew the master hadn't come today, so the young master had thrown a tantrum.
He threw away the dolls and stopped answering calls.
But then he went back to pick them up, which meant he still wanted to see the master, right?
"Once you can attend school normally, he'll come for parent-teacher conferences."
The master had previously promised to come to every competition, but today he hadn't shown up. Butler Wang didn't know if this time the promise would hold, but all he could do was relay the message.
Tao Lehua turned his head away, eyes downcast, lost in thought.
About ten minutes passed, and the two of them just stood there in silence.
He was slow to react, and those around him were used to it.
Tao Lehua's lips moved slightly. "We can find someone, like you said before."