Another New Older Brother? - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: And Then, Getting Lost

Youyou was a child who loved cartoons. His absolute favorite was Baby Baby, and he never missed an episode. One of the episodes was about a character named Beibei who ran away from home after a fight with his parents.

Beibei’s runaway attempt was very simple: he just put on his backpack and set off.

Although running away seemed easy, Youyou knew his uncle’s house was very, very big, and walking would take a long, long time. He needed to find one of those green cars that stopped when you waved. Mama had taken him in them a few times. You gave the car some “money-money,” and the car would take you home.

Tugging at the straps of his small backpack, Youyou dumped everything out. Then, he stuffed his keys, phone-watch, little monkey toy, milk tablets, small crayons, and various other bits and bobs into the giant pocket on the front of his shirt.

Once his beloved treasures were packed, the little backpack was left sitting lonely in the corner.

He patted his favorite bag reluctantly, as if saying goodbye to a best friend: “You’re too heavy. Baby can’t carry you.”

“Don’t be scared. Baby will definitely come back to take you home.”

Confirming all his precious things were packed, Youyou prepared to set off. The front pocket was stuffed so full it was extremely heavy; he had to use his arms to brace against the floor just to push himself up.

Youyou looked down at the massive pocket on his chest and sighed: “I won’t wear clothes with big-big pockets anymore. So heavy.”

Youyou found Lizi, who was organizing a cabinet. “Auntie, Baby wants to go play outside.”

Lizi looked at the gloomy sky and hesitated. “It looks like it’s going to rain. Shall we play inside the house?”

Youyou shook his head stubbornly. “There are pretty flowers outside. Baby wants flowers.”

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was a beautiful flower bed. It was March, and the plants were lush, competing in brilliance with vibrant blooms. Lizi looked at the child’s big, dark eyes and his expectant expression, and her heart softened.

The Eldest Young Master had instructed that the Little Master stay home until a suitable kindergarten was found. For such a small child at an age where they love to run and play, having no playmates and being cooped up was indeed quite pitiful.

“Alright then. We’ll play outside for just a little while. If it rains, we come back, okay?”

The obedient-looking child nodded. “I’ll listen to Auntie. Baby is a good, listening boy.”

Once in the courtyard, Youyou first pretended to dive into the flower clusters to look at the blooms for a while before starting his “mischief.”

“Auntie, Baby is thirsty.”

“I’ll go get you some water.”

Youyou blinked his innocent big eyes at Lizi, specifically instructing: “Baby wants to drink from the Big Tiger bottle.”

Youyou had a thermal straw cup brought from home with a cartoon tiger on it. Many children are fixed on the things they are used to, like needing a specific cup. Lizi didn’t think much of it: “Okay, I’ll get the tiger thermos. You play here; don’t wander off.”

Lizi was experienced with children; little ones were mischievous and couldn’t be left alone for a minute. Before going in for the water, she specifically called another maid over to watch Youyou.

The moment Lizi left, Youyou couldn’t wait to ask the young girl, “Big Sister, where is the place with lots of car-cars?”

“Lots of cars? Do you mean the parking lot, Little Master?” The young girl was practically melting from his soft, cute appearance. “Go out from the garden, turn right, and look for a place with a long pole. That’s the parking lot.”

Jiang Youyou observed carefully in the direction she pointed. Seeing the long pole, he nodded. “I see it.”

“Baby is going to play over there.” He immediately grabbed his small shovel and went da-da-da running over.

“Hey, Little Master! What are you doing over there? Don’t run off!” The young girl hurried after him.

“Baby is going there to dig up flowers!”

Youyou ran to the fence closest to the parking lot. After pretending to dig for a bit, he reused his old trick: “Big Sister, why isn’t Auntie back yet? Baby wants to drink water.”

He even stuck out his tongue, acting very thirsty, and used his small hand to fan himself. “Baby is dying of thirst. Big Sister, get Baby water.”

“Uh, but I have to watch you here.”

“Baby won’t move. Big Sister, get Baby water,” Youyou pleaded.

The girl hesitated. Thinking that they were on the Bai family’s property and he couldn’t possibly get lost, she emphasized repeatedly: “Then you absolutely mustn’t wander off.”

“Mhm!”

Seeing the girl leave, the “good boy” Youyou bolted in the direction she had pointed.

By the time the girl came out with the water, the garden held only a lonely little shovel lying on the ground. The soft, sweet child was nowhere to be seen…

When Bai Wenjin received the news that Jiang Youyou was missing and rushed back, half an hour had already passed.

Lizi had just finished a search outside. It was raining, and she was soaked. Wiping her wet face, her voice trembled: “Eldest Young Master, the surveillance shows the Little Master crawled out through the garden fence and ran northeast. We followed the path all the way but couldn’t find him.”

“He’s small and his legs are short; logically, he shouldn’t have gone far. It shouldn’t be impossible to find him. I’m just afraid… afraid he met with an accident.”

Lizi’s voice choked, and her face was visibly panicked. If something happened because of her negligence… She shivered, not daring to think further.

Bai Wenjin, who was watching the monitors, did not answer. A terrifyingly quiet atmosphere filled the surveillance room. Everyone instinctively held their breath. It wasn’t until the calm-faced man finished watching all the footage and spoke that the tension eased slightly.

Bai Wenjin picked up a large umbrella from the corner and strode out. “Call everyone and come with me to find him.”

Lizi glanced at the gloomy sky. Without even changing her wet clothes, she immediately rushed into the rain along with over a dozen bodyguards.

Fine raindrops fell in lines, landing on shoulders and drifting into the eyes of a child hiding from the rain in a pavilion.

Youyou hugged his knees, curled up piteously under the eaves. Looking at this terrifyingly large courtyard, his heart was filled with fear. Tear drops the size of beans rolled uncontrollably from his eyes, hitting the ground and splashing into tiny water flowers.

Earlier, when he crawled out of the garden fence, he had kept walking toward the parking lot with the long pole. His direction hadn’t actually been wrong; he just didn’t know that while his eyes saw a straight line, getting to the parking lot from the garden required a detour. He couldn’t distinguish directions and didn’t know the way, so he got lost in an instant.

After realizing he was lost, Youyou tried to go back but couldn’t find the original path. He also tried to use his phone-watch to call Mama, but there was only a cold female voice repeatedly saying, “The number you have dialed is temporarily out of the service area.”

Youyou buried his head in his arms and cried for a bit, then suddenly remembered Mama saying that if he got lost, he could find a Police Uncle, and the Police Uncle would save him.

“Mhm. Mhm… what is Police Uncle’s number? Is it 110 or 111?”

Youyou tilted his head, thought for a long time, and then his eyes lit up. He sniffled, wiped the phone-watch on his clothes, and skillfully opened the dialer, pressing “111” on the screen.

Before he could hit call, there was a sudden movement amidst the pitter-patter of rain.

Youyou looked up alertly. A boy wearing a raincoat and rain boots stood in the curtain of rain. The two children stared at each other from a distance.

Seeing him standing lonely in the rain, Youyou thought he was also a child who couldn’t find his home. He walked to the edge of the pavilion and shouted, “Little Big Bwother, do you want to come in?”

Zong Yue hesitated in the rain for a moment before slowly walking over. He had noticed this kid in the pavilion long ago. From a distance, he thought he looked quite pretty.

As he got closer and saw the child’s face clearly, Zong Yue’s eyes suddenly lit up.

He had always wanted a younger brother. But he didn’t want a brother born from his mother; newborn brothers were like little mice—pink, hairless, and ugly. He had read a book called The Puppy Who Picked Things Up, where a puppy found a very, very beautiful child by a trash can, and then the dog and the child lived happily together.

After reading the book, Zong Yue decided to pick up a brother for himself. The most beautiful brother in the world.

But his parents laughed at him, saying he didn’t even have a kindergarten diploma and was dreaming. After a big fight with his family, he had stormed out in a huff.

He was definitely going to pick up a pretty brother and take him home!

Picking up a brother was a difficult task, and he was prepared to spend a lot of time on it. He hadn’t expected his luck to be so good—after only half an hour, he had encountered the pretty brother of his dreams.

“Little Big Bwother, who are you?”

Zong Yue gripped his fists excitedly, unable to wait to start his self-promotion: “Pretty Brother, I’m your older brother. I’ll take you home!”

Youyou was confused: “Baby’s Bwother?”

“Mhm!” Zong Yue nodded hard. “I’ve been observing you for a long time. Does nobody want you anymore? Be my younger brother.”

Hearing Zong Yue’s words, Youyou felt as if he’d been struck by lightning.

Zong Yue thought the pretty brother was just stunned with joy, and proudly made a promise: “Be my brother, and I’ll buy you many, many yummy things. I’ll buy you whatever you like.”

“Your family doesn’t want you, but I want you. Come home with me!”

Jiang Youyou was so hit by those words—”nobody wants you”, that he couldn’t stop himself from crying. Tears fell fiercely like a broken string of pearls: “Youyou… is not a kid that nobody wants…”

Zong Yue had thought the pretty brother would happily follow him and was startled when he suddenly burst into tears. He clumsily tried to wipe the tears away, but Youyou was still holding a grudge and dodged backward while crying.

The pretty brother looked sweet but was surprisingly strong; Zong Yue couldn’t catch him and scratched his head in frustration. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! You’re not unwanted. Lots of people want you.”

“Are you hungry? I’ll get you cake to eat, and I’ll get you Optimus Prime to play with, okay?”

Zong Yue had never been this flustered. He thought that as long as the pretty brother stopped crying, he would even go pluck the stars from the sky.

Youyou was truly heartbroken. With tears in his eyes, he shook his head like a rattle. Mama said not to eat things given by strangers and not to play with strangers’ toys. Even “Little Big Brothers” didn’t count. Besides, this big brother was so mean! He was definitely not an unwanted child!

“Brother, don’t cry anymore. Tell me how to make you stop, okay?” Zong Yue felt his heart ache as he watched the pretty brother cry.

“I want Mama…” Youyou murmured hoarsely, his eyes red.

Mama, Mama. So the pretty brother wanted his mother? That was easy!

“I’ll take you to find Mama!”

The temptation of “Mama” was too great. Jiang Youyou stopped crying and looked at Zong Yue with a hint of expectation and doubt. “Can you find Mama?”

“Of course!” Zong Yue lifted his head proudly. His mother had just returned to the country the day before yesterday! It was a good thing the pretty brother wanted his mom; if he wanted his dad, he wouldn’t be able to find him—his dad had gone on a business trip yesterday.

Youyou blinked in confusion. “Is Mama at your house?”

“Mhm! Brother, come home with me to see Mama.”

Youyou’s tiny brain couldn’t figure out why Mama would be at the “Little Big Brother’s” house. Wasn’t Mama with Superman Papa? But seeing the boy’s sincere expression, Youyou wavered.

“I don’t have an umbwella. I’ll get rained on.” Youyou looked at the drizzling rain outside, concern in his eyes.

Zong Yue immediately took off his raincoat and handed it to him. “Wear my raincoat. My house is very close, we’ll be there in a second.” Actually, this pavilion was part of his house’s property.

“No.” Youyou shook his head. “Rain makes you sick.”

“I’m a little tiger. I’m not afraid of the rain.”

Youyou still shook his head. “Bwother gets sick from rain. Gets a shot.”

Though he was disappointed he couldn’t take his brother home right away, the brother was just too good and thoughtful, worrying about him getting sick. Zong Yue was moved beyond words. He puffed out his chest and promised: “Wait for me. I’ll go find Mama and come back to get you together. I run very, very fast!”

Jiang Youyou nodded obediently. “Mhm. I’ll wait for Mama.”

Without another word, the boy dashed into the rain.

Watching Zong Yue’s swift, retreating back, a spark of hope grew in Youyou’s eyes.

But he waited, and waited, and waited. He waited until the sky shyly cleared up, yet he still hadn’t seen the “Little Big Brother” or Mama.

Liar.

The Little Big Brother was a liar!

Mama didn’t show up at all!

Mist clouded his eyes again. Jiang Youyou covered them with the back of his hand to stop the tears, but bean-sized drops still vied to roll down. His cheeks were covered in wet streaks, one by one, looking as pitiful as could be.

“Stop crying.”

A man’s voice, cold and penetrating, rang out. The low tone carried an imperceptible chill.

Youyou turned his head. His sobbing stopped abruptly. The tears spun in his eyes, forgetting to fall.

Uh-oh. Caught by Big Brother.