Chapter 34 You You Pretends to Sleep

Chapter 34: You You's Feigned Sleep

"Moving?" Tang Dou muttered. Well, there was nothing to be done about that.

Cradling the drowsy little one, he freed a hand to call Shen Minyan, hoping to take the child up to Shen Minyan's third-floor room for a nap.

Shen Minyan suffered from severe neurasthenia, and his room boasted the best soundproofing in the entire villa.

Shen Minyan didn't object, simply telling him to take good care of Su Youli.

Su Youli had no idea he'd napped in his Shen Daddy's room. When he woke, he was enveloped in darkness, and a flicker of fear instinctively rose within him.

Of course, there was no nightlight in Shen Minyan's room. Fortunately, when Tang Dou had carried him upstairs, he'd also brought along his Stitch doll.

Clutching the Stitch doll, the little one, still in his slippers, pushed open the balcony door and peered down.

At the Shen family's entrance, a cheerful young man, holding a child by the hand, was chatting with Tang Dou and the butler.

"My apologies for disturbing your rest this afternoon. This is a small gift for you—please accept it," the man said with a smile.

Tang Dou shook his head. "It's quite alright. We just have a little one at home who needs his nap."

In other words, he hoped such an incident wouldn't recur.

But the young man at the door seemed utterly oblivious to Tang Dou's veiled message. Instead, he looked delighted. "Really? What a coincidence—our family also has a child!"

He lifted the hand of the child beside him. "Qi Qi, say hello to your big brother. His family also has a little friend."

Tang Dou followed his gaze and looked down at the boy. The child, held by the young man, appeared to be about four years old, his small mouth pressed tightly. One arm was raised, but he didn't lift his head at all, simply staring at the ground.

He was a very quiet child.

Seeing the child offer no response, the young man seemed a little hurt but quickly regained his composure.

"His name is Pei Xu, and his nickname is Qi Qi. He might be a bit unfamiliar with the new environment."

Tang Dou nodded in understanding.

In the end, Tang Dou accepted the gift from Pei Xu's father—a box of fresh imported fruit.

As they were leaving, the ever-smiling young man, holding Pei Xu, raised the boy's hand and said to Tang Dou, "Goodbye."

The boy named Pei Xu had a dull, vacant look in his eyes the entire time, as if he couldn't focus.

The butler took the fruit, glanced at it, and remarked, "The new neighbor seems quite pleasant, but that child is too shy. Otherwise, he could have been a friend for the young master."

Watching the father and son walk away, Tang Dou, based on his experience with children, thought that this child was more than just shy.

The whole time, his father had led him, speaking and moving for him—like a little robot.

Could it be... autism?

Tang Dou shook off the thought and checked the time. You You should be awake by now—he needed to hurry upstairs.

On the elegant third-floor balcony of the villa, a small child was crouching. The little one hugged the plaster pillar with both hands and spotted the child standing at the main entrance.

The child looked very unhappy and hadn't even greeted Brother Xiao Tang.

But it didn't matter—after all, this was the first child his age that the little one had seen in many days.

So Su Youli tilted his head, crouched on the balcony, cupped his chubby little face, and carefully observed this child who neither spoke nor smiled.

Perhaps the little one's stare was too intense. The small boy, who had already left the villa entrance, turned his head back from his father's arms.

And caught the little one, who had been secretly watching from the third floor, red-handed.

Su Youli quickly covered his little face and peeked through his fingers.

"What's wrong, Qi Qi?" Pei Yi noticed his child's reaction and asked.

Pei Xu stretched out his hand and pointed toward the opposite villa: "Over there, someone."

"Really? Did you see him, Qi Qi? What does he look like?"

Pei Xu didn't speak again. Pei Yi sighed silently, then put a smile back on his face.

"Our new neighbor also has a little friend. If you meet him in the future, how about trying to be friends with him?"

Pei Yi chattered on, hoping to spark Pei Xu's desire to talk.

When he had returned last year, Qi Qi wasn't like this. Although he was a reserved, unsmiling child, he could still communicate normally.

Now, Pei Xu didn't like to talk—at most, he'd say five sentences a day, and he never initiated conversations.

The movers were still busy inside the villa, so Pei Yi simply took the little reserved kid to explore the surroundings, hoping it would help him adapt sooner.

Only when the little boy was gone from view did Su Youli, hiding on the balcony, lower the hands covering his face.

Yunshui City's summer was humid and hot, but Beicheng was different. Although the temperature was similar, the wind always picked up in the afternoon.

Shen Minyan's balcony was very spacious. It was his own personal space, inevitably reflecting his personal style.

In the eyes of a three-year-old who loved bright colors, it didn't look very appealing.

But Su Youli still didn't leave, because there was something on the balcony that attracted the little one—a pot of blooming orchids.

The orchid was even protected inside a glass case.

"Wow~" Su Youli pressed both hands against the cover, looking at the vibrant green "spring orchid" inside that resembled a little green windmill, making sounds of amazement.

The little one was already quite skilled at identifying plants and could tell it was an orchid by its leaves and stem, though he didn't know what specific type it was.

But that was okay—he could ask Shen Daddy about it later.

A moment later, the little one, who had been intently looking at the orchid on the balcony, heard footsteps. His small body darted back into the room. He kicked off his slippers and immediately hid under the covers, pretending he was still asleep.

Tang Dou opened the door quietly. When he saw the little one sleeping peacefully in bed, he wondered if the child was sick. At this time of day, the little one would usually already be awake and playing in bed.

Thinking this, Tang Dou quickly strode over, leaned over the bed, and pressed the back of his hand against the little one's forehead.

Then, he saw the little one's trembling eyelashes and tightly pressed little mouth.

So he was awake and pretending to sleep.

Tang Dou watched silently as the little one pretended to sleep. He stood by the bed, smiled for a while without making a sound, crossed his arms, and looked with amusement at the rarely mischievous little one on the bed.

Su Youli clutched his little hands together tightly, not daring to move at all.

Why wasn't Brother Xiao Tang waking him up? He had been waiting for Brother Xiao Tang to call him so he could suddenly startle him—Brother Xiao Tang would definitely be surprised.

The little one imagined Brother Xiao Tang being startled by him and couldn't help but laugh to himself, his chubby cheeks shaking.