Lin Miao sat in the car, thinking that she could surprise her older brother once she arrived there. He would definitely be surprised to see her. He would probably think that she also slipped out of her home.
Then, she would tell him that the gym teacher drove her to the city for a badminton competition! He would definitely be surprised again! She wondered how her older brother was doing in his new school; if his teachers and classmates are kind...
Lin Miao’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the coach, who was telling everyone the rules for this trip. They were not permitted to wander around without notice as the city was big and it would be easy to get lost. They were also to watch other matches with the teachers when they were not competing.
Lin Miao felt as if she was struck by lightning. How was she going to find her older brother?
She had finally found an opportunity to surprise the Young Master, but suddenly, it completely disappeared.
Her change of emotions was so great that Mr. Feng couldn’t ignore it even if he wanted to, “What’s wrong?”
“I wanted to find Gege after the competition…” Lin Miao answered honestly.
Lin Miao was wearing her pink coat and had her backpack in her lap. She had a hint of sadness on her face as if someone just took her lollipop.
Mr. Feng realized then that her excitement was purely due to this opportunity to see her older brother, not due to the competition.
He paused to think for a moment, “Do you have his phone number?”
Lin Miao obviously had it.
Mr. Feng wrote it down, “Focus on the competition first. We can go see your older brother once the competition ends. I’ll bring you there.”
Lin Miao’s eyes brightened up again.
They had reserved hotel rooms. Lin Miao slept in a room with two other girls. They were all tired from the lengthy road trip, so they didn’t chat much and all fell asleep quickly.
Lin Miao didn’t know much about this competition, she only knew that the teachers wanted them to win.
But Lin Miao had only won one game of tic tac toe out of hundreds with the Young Master, and that win was when he wasn’t paying attention. She hadn't even won once against the teacher at badminton.
So, she thought that the teachers didn’t have all that much faith in her.
Lin Miao also thought that the teacher only chose her to fill a blank spot as there were barely any girls in her grade who knew how to play badminton.
Thus, Lin Miao cluelessly walked up to the field.
Her mind was on visiting the Young Master after the competition.
The judge’s chair to the side was very tall. Lin Miao was very curious towards it. Then she saw the judge climb up a ladder to the chair and sit in it.
She heard someone over the speakers say, “Lin Miao, Yu Jaja, prepare for your match.”
Lin Miao saw a tall girl on the other side of the field.
Lin Miao smiled towards her, and her opponent seemed a bit surprised.
And then she smiled back at her.
Lin Miao had never participated in a formal competition. “The match starts now, Lin Miao is serving. Match score is zero to zero.”
Lin Miao smoothly hit the birdie over.
She soon concentrated on the match, receiving and then smashing the shuttlecock.
Lin Miao was pretty athletic. She was agile and had much arm strength so it was pretty easy for her to hit the birdie back.
After a while, Lin Miao’s opponent began to struggle to intercept her shots. Lin Miao was a bit surprised, but she continued and focused on the game.
Two days later, she had unknowingly become first in the elementary female division.
She had a clear smile on her face during the ceremony where she was awarded a medal. She got first place, how lucky of her! Lin Miao had originally thought of buying a kilogram of apples for the two teachers with the five hundred yuan her mother gave her if she scored last place to appease their anger.
But she had won the competition. Lin Miao competed with whoever her teachers told her to. It seemed unbelievable for Lin Miao from start to finish, and not only did she win, she could also visit the Young Master!
Lin Miao became more excited the more she thought about it. She felt an urge to skip down the stage.
Her expressions placed a smile on many other coaches. She was such an energetic student.
Lin Miao saw someone sitting beside Mr. Feng… Gege!
She rubbed her eyes and then confirmed it. It really is Gege, and also Auntie Yu!
“Congratulations Shuishui, you’re the champion!” The Young Master’s mother said.
“Gege, Auntie Yu, how did you get here?” Lin Miao asked. She planned to surprise her brother, not the other way around.
The Young Master raised the camera in his hands, “Good job! Let me take a picture.”
The Young Master’s mother talked with Mr. Feng. They agreed to let Lin Miao rest with the Yu family for the night.
Mr. Feng had originally planned to return the next morning anyway. They were going to a predetermined place to eat dinner and sleep at the hotel.
Mr. Feng had called Lin Miao’s mother to confirm that she knew the Young Master. He had not expected Lin Miao to know such a famous celebrity, and to be so close with her. They settled on nine in the morning for Lin Miao to meet up with them at the hotel.
“Did Gege go to school yet?” Lin Miao started questioning the Young Master as she hadn’t seen the Young Master in a long time.
She didn’t have a phone, so she couldn’t call the Young Master and ask him.
The Young Master had also wondered the same, “Yeah, how’s your school?”
“It’s great. The school is so different from my old one. My teacher even complimented my printing and told everyone else to learn from me. I’m taking back what I said about school being boring.”
Lin Miao gestured with her hands as she spoke, her cheeks red. She was also carrying her backpack. It was a new one that was pink and had two big cat ears on top.
The Young Master naturally took her backpack and carried it by one strap like the parents walking their children home from school.
Lin Miao refused, “Gege, I can carry it myself.”
The Young Master went on, “Shuishui did so much today. I’ll carry it for you, you can switch with me and carry it later.”
Lin Miao thought for a moment. It seemed reasonable, so she continued telling stories from her school.
Hearing that Lin Miao had a good time at school, the Young Master was finally reassured. He patted her head, a bit sad thinking that she would have to go back tomorrow morning, “That’s good, keep up with your studies when you return.”
---
It was Sunday morning, so there weren’t any classes. After walking the dogs, the Young Master read at home. Then, he received a phone call.
The person on the other side asked him if he was Lin Miao’s older brother. They said that Lin Miao was in a badminton competition and invited him to spectate.
The Young Master had Lin Miao’s father’s phone number, so he called there to confirm and then headed towards the sports area.
His mother immediately followed him upon hearing the news.
And that was how they arrived at the sports complex.
The Young Master’s mother didn’t talk much as the two children who were now going to school had many more things to talk about. They were still very close to each other despite being separated from each other for so long.
The Young Master’s mother listened as the three of them walked. Lin Miao and the Young Master talked about their teachers, classes, and then she heard Lin Miao talk about herself being lucky enough to claim first place.
Then, she saw her son carry Shuishui’s pink backpack. It was pink and he looked quite dashing with it.
It made her feel like she didn’t have a childhood.
This was the golden childhood.
The Young Master’s mother couldn’t help taking a picture to share on her socials.
Sometimes it was just too wholesome for her to resist her urge to share.
{First time I’ve seen someone this cool with a pink backpack! [Picture]}
Lin Miao’s room in the mansion had remained the same. It was constantly being cleaned.
Lin Miao didn’t mind sleeping in the Young Master’s house. She had slept with her other friends before. One time, when rain was pouring outside, Lin Miao had invited one of her female classmates to her house because the river was flooded and uncrossable.
That’s why, not only did she not mind, she was also happy to stay with the Young Master! They could talk all night and play tic tac toe!
She enjoyed the game despite losing all the time.
She was immediately greeted at the mansion by Dahuang and her two puppies.
The three dogs still remembered her despite being separated for three months. Lin Miao patted them one by one, “Dahuang, Feifei, Jiajia, so obedient!”
Feifei and Jiajia have grown up in size again. It was quite incredible that they still remembered her.
The Young Master stood aside looking at Lin Miao playing with the three clingy dogs. He even took some pictures.
The Young Master’s father was a bit surprised when he saw Lin Miao, but also happy.
“Shuishui came to the city for a competition and got first place, she’s amazing.” The Young Master’s mother explained.
“I told you Shuishui was blessed.” The grandma said.
“Yes, she is charmed.” The father agreed.
During dinner, Lin Miao became the gentle little girl once again as if the big eater she was at home never existed.
She adopted this habit when she first arrived at the Yu family because people didn’t like her. She was afraid of being disliked more for eating too much.
Afterwards, when she got along with everyone, Lin Miao also noticed that they all ate carefully and formally, so she followed along.
Now she was used to it. She would eat slowly wherever she was with the Yu family.
The Young Master had only realized that Lin Miao had a huge appetite after visiting her apartment.
After dinner, Lin Miao went to walk the dogs with the Young Master.
It was just like before. However, Lin Miao noticed that Dahuang and her two puppies were the kings of the neighbourhood.
All of the other dogs seemed to avoid them. They looked scared; it had an eerie cuteness to it.
Lin Miao headed back towards her room to wash herself after they came back from outside. The Young Master came to her room right after she finished showering.
He brought a huge bag of snacks.
They were always very generous with each other.
There wasn’t much formality between kids, especially between Lin Miao and the Young Master.
Lin Miao had barely eaten anything during dinner, so her stomach was practically empty after walking the dogs. She immediately began on the snacks her older brother brought.
The beef jerky the Young Master brought were a bit dry, but they had a rich flavour. Lin Miao loved it. She was happy and satisfied.
Seeing that her hair was still wet, the Young Master reckoned that Lin Miao wasn’t going to dry her hair before she finished the package, so he stood up and blew dry her hair.
“Gege’s so nice!” Lin Miao said sweetly as she was eating while also feeding her older brother a piece.
Thus, the Young Master dried her hair as he ate.
Lin Miao liked how the Young Master reacted, so she slid another piece in his mouth once the Young Master swallowed his previous piece. They continued until the bag was empty. By then, her hair was dry.
They then climbed onto the bed and began playing tic tac toe.
Dahuang searched through the house for them. Then, she miraculously opened the door and leaped on the bed with the two chubby puppies.
She lied on the bed, trying to look as sweet as possible so that the Young Master wouldn’t shove her off the bed. Lin Miao patted her head, “Dahuang has gotten smarter!”
What could the Young Master say, he could only leave her alone and continue playing with Lin Miao.