Chapter 25: Childhood Friend I (Part 1)

Chapter 25: Childhood Friend I (Part 1)

Summer came quickly, and it was already mid-July.

Li Su retracted his claim that he couldn't handle hardship.

The requirements for admission to the aristocratic school were very strict, with each subject needing to reach an A, meaning 95-100 points.

Not to mention that Li Su had only been at scores in the twenties or thirties in his original public elementary school, and the curriculum at the aristocratic school was much harder than ordinary schools.

Song Wuyi gave Li Su a set of test questions, and Li Su discovered that there were no questions he could answer.

Song Wuyi showed a rare expression—

one that wasn't graceful.

So Song Wuyi had the steward organize a team of first-rate tutors, arranging a full-day tutoring schedule for Li Su from morning to night.

"This isn't what someone my age should be learning."

"It's not that you can't learn."

Song Wuyi shot down his objection without mercy.

Thus, Li Su spent half a month in a grinding study environment.

Fortunately, the steward was very considerate, pampering him with all kinds of enjoyable treats whenever he felt bored, weary, or mentally exhausted.

When learning came with coaxing, it wasn't so hard to take.

After attending the school's end-of-semester assembly, Song Wuyi returned to the Song family.

He came to the glass conservatory where Li Su was studying.

The tutor was grading the morning's test papers, and the steward had Li Su on his lap, feeding him fruit while watching him play a handheld game console.

Silently, Song Wuyi approached the tutor and abruptly grabbed a test paper to look at.

The tutor was startled at first, then looked at Song Wuyi with nervous unease.

For some reason, even though he was just a twelve- or thirteen-year-old child, he gave off an aura as commanding as the Song family patriarch, making it hard for anyone to relax.

Song Wuyi quickly scanned the paper.

Not bad.

In just half a month, Li Su had gone from zero points to a score of fifteen.

There were eight multiple-choice questions, each worth three points.

The test paper had four pages, but he only finished one page of multiple-choice questions, getting five out of eight correct, and three of those five were guesses.

That was quite impressive.

At least two were truly done by himself, with the problem-solving process and rough work written beside them. Even though the steps seemed pretty nonsensical, the results were correct.

Over there, Li Su shouted, "Yeah! I won again!" and the steward responded, "Great, Young Master Xiao Su, can you study now?"

The steward was fifty-two years old, unmarried and without children, and had been with the Song family for forty years.

He had always been by Song Shuzheng's side and had watched Song Wuyi grow up since childhood.

The atmosphere in the Song family was very rigid, as they had been a prominent family for five generations, and along with the vast inheritance came a heavy, outdated air.

Since childhood, Song Wuyi had been quiet, strict with himself, and rarely smiled. Except for his infancy when he was just a crying baby, the steward had never seen this young master as a child.

However, Li Su's appearance satisfied the steward's desire to have a playful kid to spoil.

Li Su seemed obedient, but he was lively, playful, and childish.

Sometimes the steward wished Li Su could be as self-disciplined as Song Wuyi, but then he thought that having another copy of Song Wuyi wouldn't be much fun, so he humored Li Su with patience.

Noticing Song Wuyi beside the tutor, the steward stopped his coaxing. Seeing Song Wuyi gesture for him to withdraw, he set Li Su down and respectfully left.

Song Wuyi instructed the tutor, "Annotate the errors, and let's call it a day."

Li Su saw Song Wuyi and trotted over to him.

"Can we end today? So early?"

Li Su asked with a mix of surprise and wariness, afraid it was just a joke by Song Wuyi or that there might be more to come.

Song Wuyi said, "Yes. Didn't you complain that you haven't been out to play for four days? Starting tomorrow, my vacation starts tomorrow, so I'll play with you for two days before we study again."

Li Su happily grabbed Song Wuyi's arm and hopped up and down, asking, "Are we going out to play? Or in the garden? Can we go out? Leave the Song family? Or go back to my place?"

Song Wuyi pretended not to hear the last question: "We're going skiing."

"Skiing? But it's summer!"

"Indoor ski resort."

Li Su thought about it for a second and looked at Song Wuyi expectantly: "Are we leaving now?"

Song Wuyi felt like he was taking a pet dog out for a walk.

Li Su stuck to him like a puppy, wagging his tail and sticking his tongue out, totally dependent on his master.

Song Wuyi didn't want to let Li Su down, but he had other arrangements today.

"No, tomorrow. For now, I'll take you to get measured for your custom-tailored school uniform."

"Custom-made?!"

Li Su's eyes went wide.

Li Su only knew school uniforms were handed out based on height; he had no idea they could be custom-tailored so perfectly.

No wonder Song Wuyi's uniform fit him so perfectly, and even looked a little... sexy.

Li Su couldn't help stealing a glance. Song Wuyi did have rather feminine features—no, delicate ones. He looked a lot like his mother, with striking, well-defined features, but his jawline wasn't sharp.

One night as they were sleeping, Li Su called Song Wuyi "big sister," and Song Wuyi gave him the cold shoulder for a whole day. Li Su didn't dare speak his mind now.

Li Su had never been measured for a custom-fit garment before and had no idea there were so many body measurements.

"Height... 130... 141 centimeters."

Li Su tried to stand on tiptoe, but the woman taking his measurements pressed down on his head, barely managing to get a reading.

The butler laughed nearby, "At this age, Young Master Xiao Su's height is already perfectly normal."

Li Su pouted in displeasure, looking at Song Wuyi.

Song Wuyi was a full head taller than him, probably around 1.62 meters.

The butler said, "The young master used to be short too, but he grew very fast. By the time he's around sixteen, he could grow to over 1.8 meters."

Li Su eagerly asked the butler, "What about me?"

The butler thought for a moment, "A little over 1.7 meters."

Even his mom is 1.7 meters!

Li Su protested, "No way!"

Li Su turned to ask the aunt who was measuring him, "Do I have the potential to grow to 1.8 meters?"

"Probably not."

The little puppy had a tantrum and ate a lot in silence during dinner.

The Song family had become very accustomed to Li Su's presence, and naturally they would chat with him about household matters at the dinner table.

Li Su was about to leave after dinner when Song Shuzheng called him back.

"Don't rush off. Have a bowl of loofah soup in a bit. You've been restless these past few days, unable to sit still. This soup will help cool you down and calm your nerves."

Li Su had gotten used to interacting with everyone in the Song family.

With the servants, he was polite and accepted most of their help;

With the butler, it was like a grandfather and grandson, though the butler mostly maintained a professional demeanor;

With Aunt Ji, he occasionally chatted; with Song Xianting, he avoided him as much as possible, they basically never met except at meals.

With Song Wuyi, it was an ordinary brotherly relationship. Previously, Song Wuyi was still in school, so they didn't see much during the day, but they shared a room at night.

Li Su had always seen himself as an outsider, until the usually stern Song Shuzheng began to care about his daily life.

Compared to Song Shuzheng's routine inquiries about Song Xianting and Song Wuyi's studies, his concern for Li Su's studies was warmer.

This concern was not like that for a guest; it felt so natural that Li Su seemed like his youngest son.

The title 'Young Master Xiao Su' gradually spread among the servants only after Song Shuzheng showed special favor toward Li Su.

Even the butler began to address him this way.

At first, Li Su felt uncomfortable, thinking Song Shuzheng was just being polite to him, until he gradually discovered that Song Shuzheng seemed to be genuinely concerned about his well-being in the Song family.

However, since Song Shuzheng was no longer stern, Li Su had no reason to be distant from him.

"Uncle, I can't eat anymore."

Li Su had already stood up, with his hand on the back of the chair, as if unsure whether to leave.

He really couldn't eat anymore, not just out of politeness.

Worried that he wouldn't grow tall, wouldn't reach 1.8 meters, he had resolved to eat well and eat a lot. As a result, he ate three bowls of rice in one go, leaving no space in his stomach.

Song Shuzheng glanced at Li Su's protruding belly, then looked at his neck as he suppressed a burp and hunched his shoulders.

The boy's skin was light wheat-colored, which looked darker under the warm yellow light. But once outside in the bright sunlight, his natural cool fair complexion became visible.

Song Shuzheng recalled the scene of the boy playing with the dog on the lawn, a vibrant, beautiful, and pure scene.

He curved his lips into a smile, dropping his stern demeanor: "Alright, but since you ate so much at dinner, remember to go for a walk in the garden to help digestion, or you'll feel uncomfortable tonight."

Li Su smiled in agreement, glanced at Song Wuyi with a meaningful glance, and ran outside.

Song Wuyi immediately stood up, "I'm done eating. I'll head out first."

Song Shuzheng gave a noncommittal grunt, saying no more.

His indifferent demeanor made it momentarily unclear which one was his son—the one who had just run out, or the one now slowly leaving the table.

In the garden.

Li Su was crouching in the middle of a flower bed, holding some leaves the gardener had left after pruning.

When Song Wuyi came out of the house and walked to the edge of the flower bed, Li Su suddenly jumped out and covered Song Wuyi's head with a handful of leaves.

Song Wuyi's hair, gelled, was filled with leaves.

Li Su laughed heartily, bent over, holding his sides.

Song Wuyi, however, was unfazed, and quietly removed the leaves one by one.

Li Su was at that age when even dogs couldn't stand him, and he often played pranks that were quite normal among boys.

Song Wuyi didn't mind them, but he had no intention of playing along.

He couldn't bring himself to join in such play with Li Su. He was used to being composed, used to acting like an adult. Sometimes when he looked at Li Su, he found him incredibly childish.

Seeing that Song Wuyi wasn't laughing, Li Su stopped his teasing. He stood on tiptoe to help Song Wuyi pick leaves from his head.

Song Wuyi noticed that Li Su's lips were turned down and asked, "Are you upset?"

Li Su widened his eyes innocently, "No, I'm very happy."

Song Wuyi grabbed Li Su's hand that was picking leaves, "Don't you like playing like this? Why are you upset now that you've played?"

Song Wuyi asked very sincerely, as if his only concern was whether Li Su was having fun.

Li Su felt a bit awkward and mumbled, "I just wanted to tease you, but I found that you never seem interested in my jokes. If you don't laugh, I feel like I'm picking on you."

Song Wuyi gave a light laugh, "How is that bullying?"

Li Su said softly, "A joke only works when both people laugh. If I'm laughing at the joke and you don't laugh, then it's not a game."

Song Wuyi looked down at Li Su, "That's a good way to think. But I'm different. I enjoy whatever you do. I'm just used to not expressing strong emotions."

Li Su suddenly remembered Song Wuyi shouting in the warehouse, and his heart felt a pang.

But this feeling passed in an instant. Li Su, being carefree, remembered the purpose of calling Song Wuyi out.

"I found a slope on the lawn. I've already asked Uncle Butler to get a skateboard. Before we go skiing, let's try grassboarding!"

Before Song Wuyi could respond, Li Su had already taken his hand and led him further into the lawn.

The butler brought two boards, resembling snowboards, with straps attached to the boards for securing shoes.

Li Su was the first to strap on his board, and with the butler’s push, he arrived at the grassy slope.

Song Wuyi did not move, watching Li Su beckon him over.

The slope’s incline was clearly visible, and Song Wuyi calmly waited for Li Su to let out a sigh of disappointment.

Li Su waved his hand confidently and said, “Are you too scared to come? Then just watch from the sidelines—I’ll show you how it’s done!”

Li Su had never really skied before, but he had played on a skateboard at the park. After all, with a board under his feet, he’d have the guts to jump off a building.

Li Su made a show of rubbing his wrists.

Song Wuyi said flatly, “You won’t need your wrists.”

Li Su paused, then swung his arms and called for the butler to give him another push.

The butler held back a smile, walked over, placed his hands on Li Su’s shoulders, and gave a gentle push.

Li Su expected to eat a faceful of wind, but instead...

The board slid less than two meters before stopping.

He turned around and saw Song Wuyi standing just a little higher up than him.

Li Su awkwardly rubbed his nose, realizing that the slope only looked steep to the eye because the area was so vast.

As he tried to walk back, he lifted his leg and tripped over the board, landing flat on his back.

With his feet still firmly strapped to the board, Li Su ended up eating a mouthful of grass.

“Pfft, pfft pfft!”

He even bit off a piece of turf.

Song Wuyi took two or three steps to his side and helped him up.

“Did you get hurt? If you injured your foot, we won’t go tomorrow.”

Li Su slowly stood up with Song Wuyi’s help, while Song Wuyi crouched down to undo the straps.

Afraid of losing his chance to go out the next day, Li Su gritted his teeth and said no, not hurt at all.

That evening.

When Song Wuyi gave Li Su a bath, he noticed a bruise on his ankle where the strap had chafed.

Perhaps Li Su had endured the pain and forgotten about it, or didn’t care afterward. He hadn’t noticed it, not even when he undressed for the bath.

While lathering Li Su with soap, Song Wuyi deliberately pressed on the bruise.

Li Su yelped in pain and nearly leaped out of the bathtub, if not for Song Wuyi grabbing his leg.

Song Wuyi said flatly, “Didn’t you say you weren’t hurt?”

Li Su retorted: “You just pinched that out!”

Song Wuyi pinched him again, and Li Su twisted out of his grip like a fish flipping out of water.

“Alright, alright! If you stop pinching, it won’t hurt!”

Song Wuyi grabbed Li Su’s calf again and slowly lathered it up.

Li Su wasn’t incapable of bathing himself; in fact, he found being bathed by someone else quite embarrassing.

The problem was that he hadn’t been quick enough to refuse when Song Wuyi first invited him to bathe together. Now Song Wuyi seemed to have turned bathing him into a hobby.

Li Su lay by the edge of the bathtub, watching the diligent scrubber in a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, and couldn’t help feeling like Song Wuyi was washing a dog.

“Close your eyes.”

Li Su closed his eyes as warm water poured over his head.

“Raise your arm.”

“Sit up.”

“Turn around.”

“Open your mouth and rinse.”

After the whole bathing routine, Song Wuyi carried Li Su out of the bathroom.

Li Su muttered, “I’m against class hierarchy, but after all, you’re the prestigious Young Master Song. Isn’t it a bit much to wait on me like this?”

Song Wuyi tossed a pair of pajamas to Li Su on the bed.

“I’m not serving you. I’m just taking care of my property.”

Li Su thought, “Ha, so he really does see me as a dog.”

But Song Wuyi added that he hadn’t bathed a dog in years.

“When I first got dogs, I took care of them personally. But once the novelty wore off, it became a hassle.”

Li Su nodded in agreement—after all, there were five dogs.

When they were puppies, it was fine. But growing up, they were a handful—large and long-haired. Washing all five would probably kill you.

And if you washed only one, the others might feel neglected, so he simply stopped doing it.

But wasn’t Li Su way bigger than a dog? Wouldn’t washing him be even more troublesome?

Oh well.

Considering that Song Wuyi had a down-to-earth hobby beyond his rigid life, Li Su just let him do as he pleased.