No One Else Will Do But You - Chapter 3

“Jiang Mu, Jiang Mu, I forgot to bring my homework back. Can I copy yours?”

Jiang Mu looked up from his desk and saw Shu Luo wearing Lazy Sheep pajamas. He raised an eyebrow. “What a childish pajama set.”

Shu Luo’s hair stood on end. “What! My mom bought them for me, they’re not childish at all! They’re full of love!”

Jiang Mu smiled helplessly, then remembered why he’d burst in. “You ‘forgot’ your homework as an excuse, didn’t you?”

“No, no, I really did forget it. I just want to copy your questions. Even if you have the answers written down, I won’t look at them. I’ll just copy the questions, I swear.”

How could Jiang Mu not see through his little trick? “Oh, here.”

He said, tossing his homework notebook over.

Shu Luo’s eyes lit up, and he held it like a treasure.

Shu Luo’s bedroom window faced Jiang Mu’s room, so Jiang Mu could see his every move, including the moment he opened the notebook.

“What?! You didn’t even do your homework, Jiang Mu!”

“Hehe.” He just wanted to see him jump.

Shu Luo stood with his hands on his hips, glaring at Jiang Mu, who was still reading his book calmly. Hmph!

“Xiao Mu, Luo Luo’s mom just called me. She said she’s going abroad for a few days, so Luo Luo will be eating with us. Go call him over.”

Jiang’s mom said from the doorway.

Jiang Mu looked up at the window of the room across the way and saw no one was there.

“I’ll go get him.”

Shu Luo’s front door wasn’t locked, so he just opened it and went in. Jiang Mu held the doorknob and frowned, calling inside, “Shu Luo.”

“Huh?”

Shu Luo’s voice came from the balcony. He was comfortably eating watermelon out there!

Jiang Mu walked in and saw Shu Luo sitting alone on a hanging chair on the balcony, savoring a slice of watermelon that was bigger than his head. He was inexplicably relieved; he’d worried something was wrong.

“Your mom went abroad.”

Shu Luo nodded. “She went to see my grandma.”

“Come to my house for dinner tonight.”

“Okay, okay. My mom told me to come and mooch off your food for the next few days, haha! Are you having sweet and sour fish tonight?”

Jiang Mu found it strange that he didn’t seem lonely being home alone.

Jiang Mu sat down next to him and asked, “From the way you are, you’re used to this?”

“Yeah, I’ve been used to it for a long time. My mom used to leave me at home alone since kindergarten. My dad is busy with his work and rarely comes home.”

“Don’t you get lonely?”

“Lonely? No, I can go out and play.”

Jiang Mu frowned in confusion. Is he clueless or something? He was probably just overly optimistic.

Shu Luo saw his expression and suddenly smiled. “Are you going to play with me? I have new game discs. Want to play Contra?”

A bad feeling suddenly washed over Jiang Mu…

“Whoa, wow, you’re good! Is this your first time playing?” Shu Luo asked in surprise.

“Yeah.”

Two hours later…

“Wow, are you really playing for the first time??”

“Yeah.”

Shu Luo loses countless times…

“How about we switch controllers? I feel like the one you have is better.”

“Isn’t this your controller?”

“But I feel like it’s different. The one you’re holding seems more powerful.”

“…I’m a little tired. We’ve been playing for too long.”

Shu Luo, like a faithful dog, scrambled up from the floor to give him a shoulder massage. “It’s okay, I’ll massage you. Just play with me for a little while longer.”

Jiang Mu looked at the reflection of the person behind him on the TV screen, who was very seriously massaging him.

“From now on, when your auntie is away, you can come to my house.”

Shu Luo’s hands paused, and he then excitedly hugged Jiang Mu’s neck and shook him fiercely. “Really? Really?! I actually don’t like being home alone.”

“Cough…” Caught off guard by the sudden hug, Jiang Mu could only nod.

He heard the person behind him laughing merrily, and the sound seemed to be full of bounces. Jiang Mu thought that this kid was so easily satisfied. How could he be so cheerful so easily?

After dinner at Jiang Mu’s house, Shu Luo stayed in Jiang Mu’s room.

“Whoa, you even practice martial arts? I never would have guessed!”

Jiang Mu: “…” Is he doubting me?

Shu Luo suddenly struck a punching pose and hopped in place, raising an eyebrow. “Do you dare to fight me?”

Jiang Mu’s lips curled into a smile. He stepped forward and with one sweep of his arm, flipped Shu Luo onto the bed, doing a 360-degree spin in the air.

Shu Luo was still in a daze, lying on the bed, wondering what had just happened. Oh no, he flipped me! His movements were so fluid.

“Are you okay?” Jiang Mu was afraid of hurting him and reached out to help him up.

Shu Luo excitedly grabbed Jiang Mu’s hand, his eyes sparkling. “That was amazing! Can you teach me?”

“Why do you want to learn?” Jiang Mu looked at his small physique.

“I… I want to learn how to protect myself! This way, I won’t be afraid of people calling me short. I can just beat them up.”

Looking at his flushed, excited face, which was so plump and cute, you couldn’t help but want to pinch it.

Jiang Mu reached out and ruffled his hair. “Actually, you’re not short, you just haven’t had your growth spurt yet. There’s no need to rush. As for learning how to fight, you’re not really suited for it.”

Shu Luo anxiously pulled his hand away and said earnestly, “No! What if someone bullies me? I haven’t hit my growth spurt yet, so I can’t beat them.”

“Who would bully a kid for no reason?” Jiang Mu questioned the content of his words.

“No, you have to teach me! I’m just saying ‘what if.’ Look at Zhang Feiyang, he has a brother who’s a special forces soldier, and he said his brother taught him military boxing!”

Jiang Mu pursed his lips and then said, “Actually, that’s just women’s self-defense. It’s nothing special.”

Shu Luo: “…” Huh? Women’s self-defense?! Hahahaha, now I have something to tease Zhang Feiyang about tomorrow!

Looking at the clock, he saw that it was getting late. He patted Shu Luo’s head, went to the bed to straighten the blankets, and took another pillow from the cupboard.

Shu Luo sat on the edge of the bed watching him tidy up and felt a growing chasm between them. How could a boy like Jiang Mu know so many things? He was taller and seemed to be better at academics. What should he do?

So he made a silent decision: he would definitely get taller than him and be cooler than him.

Jiang Mu, who just happened to meet his eyes: “…” What’s with that scary look?

Hmph! What are you looking at? Time for bed!

Jiang Mu couldn’t read his mind, but he had a general idea of what he might be muttering about.

“Oh, I almost forgot to do something.” Shu Luo quickly got off the bed, took his precious diary from his backpack, and sat down at the desk.

I need to drink a lot of milk tomorrow morning. I’m going to get taller, and I’m going to overpower Jiang Mu!

Jiang Mu saw him meticulously shielding the notebook so he couldn’t see what was inside. All he could see was his small back and his serious demeanor.

Hehe.