It dawned upon Lin Miao that the Young Master was highly intelligent. She lost miserably in their games of tic tac toe. She would’ve appreciated it if the Young Master didn’t call her “Little Stupid Head”.
The two played for a long time. The doctor even had to come to nag them, “Shuishui, it’s time to sleep. Stop playing in the Young Master’s room.”
Lin Miao looked at the time, it was indeed time to sleep.
So Lin Miao said goodnight to her brother and returned to her room.
The days were not as difficult to live through as she imagined. But, when she returned to her room and saw her backpack, she began to miss her mom, her brother, her dad, and her buddies in the village.
Without her, Mommy would be alone at home since her Papa and younger brother went to town. No one will be present to help her carry corn or apply plaster. She should’ve reminded her mother to go to town with Papa when she left.
She didn’t know if her younger brother’s sickness had gotten any better, or if he grew taller or not.
Her friends in the village are definitely waiting for her to bring home candy for them during the New Year.
Lin Miao hugged her blanket, her nose sour, anticipating the New Year.
She could return to visit them then.
Actually, the village head has a telephone inside his house; every young person working outside would normally call back through him.
But she forgot to record his number the day she left.
Lin Miao sighed in her mind. She was so thoughtless when it comes to doing these things.
Flipping back and forth, she was struggling to fall asleep.
Lin Miao pulled out the jade she had around her neck. Rubbing it, the verdant jade carved into the shape of a fish felt comfortable.
An idea suddenly shot into Lin Miao’s mind.
She recalled that the Master called the village head older brother, so he definitely knows the village head’s number.
Lin Miao frowned again. The problem was that she was clueless as to when the Master would come again as she didn’t think of this earlier today when the Master visited.
Lin Miao yearned and yearned, but the Master didn’t show up again.
Others in the villa would speak one or two sentences to her, but they still appeared to be busy. The housekeeper was still fierce, but she noticed that he would never yell at her.
From her conversations with the Young Master, Lin Miao finally learned that the Young Master has already been through five grades despite sharing birth dates with Lin Miao. He skipped grades and only dropped out to rest because his body couldn’t bear it.
Lin Miao admired him even more.
He was so good. She had only heard about staying back a grade before; this was her first time meeting someone skipping grades.
The Young Master still had to take medicine, be infused, and stay on his bed.
But, Lin Miao found many entertaining games.
The Young Master also took time to teach her to read and write.
Time flew. The Young Master’s parents came back twice and left in a hurry.
Every morning, Lin Miao would swiftly slip into the Young Master’s room and tug him out of bed after she brushed her teeth and washed her face.
The Young Master rubbed his eyes, “Let me sleep a bit more!”
Lin Miao wasn’t afraid of him anymore, he could sleep until ten without having breakfast if she let him sleep a bit more. So, Lin Miao ignored him and helped him to the lavatory to wash up.
The Young Master was in a bad morning mood, but he wasn’t able to express it to this smiley person babysitting him.
So he puffed his cheeks, “So angry.”
“No no no, Gege don’t be angry.” Lin Miao melted from his rare cheek-puffing, trying to lull him.
The Young Master’s anger dissipated seeing her trying to soothe him.
It was very sunny this summer. Lin Miao loved to be out in the sun, so she secretly took the Young Master to sunbathe as well.
She often felt that the Young Master was like a mushroom under decaying leaves, needing sunlight. Her mom would often put quilts under the sun, she said it was to disinfect it.
The Young Master also needed to be disinfected.
Unknowingly, the Young Master’s face became ruddy. He could wake up in the morning and wouldn’t randomly fall asleep during the day.
So, Lin Miao studied and played with the Young Master during the day. She was far more adapted to it now than her first days here. But she would still wonder when the Master would return...
The Master finally returned just as Lin Miao was about to give up.
The Young Master still disliked him. He pulled Lin Miao back into his room upon seeing him.
In the room, Lin Miao was a bit unsettled. Looking at the Young Master, she wanted to say something but didn’t know how.
“What’s up?” The Young Master asked, looking at her.
“I want to ask that person for a phone number.” Lin Miao quietly responded.
The Young Master frowned, unhappy. His relationship has been better with Lin Miao, so he naturally said what he thought, “Shuishui, why are you asking him for a phone number? He’s not a good person.”
Lin Miao thought of her mom, her brother, her friends, and mountains filled with fungi waiting for her to pick. Her nose suddenly soured and her tears almost spilled out. She said in a low muffled voice, “All of the kids working out of the village would dial back to the village head and talk to their parents. I’ve been out working here for so long, and I’ve never called back…”
As they spoke, and as Lin Miao’s train of thought followed there, she felt dejected and finally lost control of her emotions, tears dripping down from her face.
The Young Master was shocked by this sudden outburst. He hurriedly wiped her tears and said, “I’ll ask him for it.”
Lin Miao stopped him. She knew the Young Master didn’t like the Master, so she wiped her tears and said, “I’ll ask him myself.”
The minds of young children were all very simple; they hated asking people they didn’t like for help.
So, Lin Miao obviously didn’t let him go and went by herself.
The Master heard that she wanted the number. He paused a bit, and then asked Lin Miao to wait a bit for him to write it.
The Master then wrote it on a piece of paper and handed it to Lin Miao.
Lin Miao was ecstatic now that she has the number and can call back. She could ask her mom if her brother was doing well, and tell her on a side note that she learned many new characters and has a super kind older brother.
But suddenly, she realized that she didn’t have a way to call.
She returned to the Young Master’s room and saw the Young Master sitting on the bed with a phone in his hand. “Come, give me the number. I’ll dial it for you.”
“Gege!” Lin Miao threw herself on the Young Master and hugged him, “You’re so niceee!”
The Young Master, having received a “good person card”, proudly responded, “Don’t you see who I am?”