This Alpha Is So Devoted to His Wife - Chapter 11

“Teacher, where’s my brother?”

The first to notice Duan Yu Luo was missing was his older brother, Luo Yu Duan. He was being held by Teacher Huahua’s hand, and perhaps due to a twin’s intuition, he instinctively looked back at the end of the line. That’s when he discovered his brother was gone.

Startled, Teacher Huahua quickly turned her head and saw that, sure enough, Duan Yu Luo had fallen behind. He was standing by the gingko tree at the main gate, a fair distance from their group. The tiny boy had his back to the line, standing on his tiptoes, holding his backpack up high.

Upon hearing the commotion, Lu Xing He immediately turned around. He too was worried but then saw Duan Yu Luo. The boy had fallen behind and was now playing by the big tree.

“Oh, this little rascal, you scared me to death,” Teacher Huahua said, feeling guilty for not keeping a close eye on one of her students. She quickly told the other two teachers and hurried toward the gate.

When Lu Xing He saw Teacher Huahua run, he ran after her. The other teachers called out, but he didn’t stop. He quickly caught up, grabbed Teacher Huahua’s hand, and asked, “Teacher, please don’t scold him—he’ll cry. Can I talk to him instead?”

“So, so many!”

At that moment, Duan Yu Luo was looking down, rummaging through his backpack at the gingko leaves he’d collected. Seeing the bag full, his eyes curved into a satisfied smile, filled with a sense of accomplishment. The thought of giving them to Lu Xing He soon made him even happier.

He had no idea that his lack of safety awareness was about to get him scolded again.

“Duan Yu Luo.”

Duan Yu Luo was squatting, about to count the leaves, when he heard a familiar voice behind him. He quickly hugged his backpack, afraid his gift would be discovered, and turned to see Lu Xing He and Teacher Huahua standing together.

He blinked innocently, “Huh?”

Then he noticed Lu Xing He wasn’t smiling. His expression was the same as when they first got out of the car, which was somehow a little intimidating.

Teacher Huahua bent down, supporting herself on her knees, and looked at Duan Yu Luo with a serious expression. “Luo Luo, do you know you fell behind?”

“That’s very dangerous. You can’t do that.” Lu Xing He saw that Duan Yu Luo had also left his clothes and snacks on the grass. He walked over and picked them up. “Why did you throw your things away?”

Duan Yu Luo hugged his backpack tightly. The surprise he had planned was now overshadowed by Lu Xing He’s expression. He pouted and, staying in a squatting position, scooted away and turned his back on them.

“Can you tell me why you did it?” Lu Xing He saw that Duan Yu Luo was upset. Noticing the sun on his face, he reached out and adjusted his hat, then crouched down in front of him. “This is as dangerous as when you jumped out of the car earlier.”

Listening to his friend’s not-so-standard Mandarin and his serious tone, Duan Yu Luo would have normally laughed, but now he didn’t find it funny at all.

He hugged his backpack, looked down, and his eyes started to turn red.

“If you get hurt, I will be sad.” Lu Xing He leaned in close to Duan Yu Luo, knowing he was pouting. “If you run around and fall, I’ll be very sad if you get hurt.”

“I know,” Duan Yu Luo said in a muffled voice. He looked up at Lu Xing He, and his nose instantly stung, his eyes turned completely red, and tears began to fall. “But I… I didn’t run around.”

“Then why are you here?” Lu Xing He asked, confused.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw Duan Yu Luo open his backpack and hold it out to him.

“I just wanted to give you autumn, woo-woo-woo…” As he held out the backpack, Duan Yu Luo’s mouth pursed, and large tears streamed down his face. He cried miserably, feeling so wronged. “I didn’t run around, woo-woo-woo…”

Lu Xing He froze.

He looked down at the backpack being offered to him. It was full of gingko leaves, lying neatly inside. As he looked into Duan Yu Luo’s teary, wronged eyes, he seemed to understand.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the gingko tree’s branches swayed, rustling softly. With a slight quiver, more leaves fluttered to the ground.

“I know it’s dangerous, but… I just wanted to give you a piece of autumn.” Duan Yu Luo, still squatting, scooted closer to Lu Xing He, one hand still holding his backpack so his gift wouldn’t blow away. His eyes were red, like a little bunny’s, and he looked pitiful, his voice choked with sobs. “Brother Xing Xing, I know I was wrong. Please don’t be angry.”

“I’m not angry. I was worried about you.” Seeing Duan Yu Luo crying so hard, Lu Xing He felt his own mood darken. Since he now knew it was dangerous, he decided not to scold him again. He reached out and took the backpack filled with leaves. “I really like this.”

“Really?” Duan Yu Luo stopped crying, sniffled, and a hopeful look appeared in his wet eyes.

“I really do.” Lu Xing He nodded. He looked at Duan Yu Luo seriously. “Thank you for giving me autumn. But next time, you can’t run off like this.”

Duan Yu Luo’s tears then turned into a smile. He said, “Okay!” and his eyes curved into crescent moons. Even though there were still tears on his eyelashes, he wiped his eyes with the hand he’d used to pick up the leaves, smudging his clean face with a bit of dirt, but still smiling brightly.

Then he held up one finger and asked Lu Xing He in a small voice, “Xing Xing, can you hug me?”

Lu Xing He reached out and hugged him.

Of course, his little puppet wanted a hug, and he had to give him one.

“This way, we’re still good friends!” Duan Yu Luo rubbed his tears on Lu Xing He’s shoulder, his voice rising at the end.

“Yes, but we have to hold hands from now on.” Lu Xing He let go of him first. He took off his own backpack, stuffed the clothes and snacks from the grass into it until it was so full the zipper almost wouldn’t close. He put on the bulky bag and then stood up, extending a hand to the still-squatting Duan Yu Luo.

Duan Yu Luo saw his gesture and held up his own backpack with the leaves in it. “What about this one?”

“You can carry autumn for me, and I’ll carry your clothes for you.”

Duan Yu Luo then zipped up his own backpack. He put on the now-light bag, smiled, and took Lu Xing He’s hand. He looked up at Teacher Huahua and promised, “Teacher, I know I was wrong. I promise I won’t run off again!”

Teacher Huahua felt a bit more at ease seeing the two boys resolve the issue in five minutes. She decided to reinforce all the safety rules once they were back at the kindergarten.

“Okay, from now on, we can’t just run off on our own, or we’ll all be very worried.”

Duan Yu Luo nodded and promised. He was happy now, swinging Lu Xing He’s hand as he skipped forward. “Xing Xing and I are still good friends!”

Lu Xing He looked at the small gray smudge on Duan Yu Luo’s cheek, knowing it was from finding autumn for him. Seeing Duan Yu Luo hopping and skipping now, his earlier sadness vanished.

His mood was as bright as the sunny weather.

He reached out and wiped the dirt off the boy’s face. They hadn’t been fighting after all.

Children’s disagreements are often over in the blink of an eye.

The forest park was located behind the kindergarten. On a large, open lawn, more than a dozen picnic mats were laid out, prepared with delicious food and various games.

The children were so excited they kept saying “Wow!” and were happy before the games had even begun.

Grumble…

As the teacher explained the rules for the upcoming games, Lu Xing He heard a stomach grumble next to him. He turned to see Duan Yu Luo patting his own stomach, his head down, whispering to it.

“…You can’t grumble. There’s no food yet.”

Lu Xing He heard it. His little puppet was hungry.

“Kids, listen up! The rules for our ‘Toss a Ring for Treats’ game are as follows: There are four kinds of snacks on each picnic mat. If you want more delicious things to eat, you have to win them by playing the game. Each of you will get a ring from me. You have to land it on a snack to get it!” Teacher Huahua held up a ring as she explained the game. “Would any of you like to volunteer for a demonstration?”

Lu Xing He raised his hand first.

Teacher Huahua smiled. “Bennett, have you understood the rules?”

Lu Xing He nodded. “I have, but I have a small request.”

“What is it, sweetie?”

“Teacher, if I demonstrate, can I have a little cookie?” Lu Xing He pointed to a dessert nearby.

Teacher Huahua said, “Of course you can! It can be a little reward for volunteering to demonstrate.”

Lu Xing He let go of Duan Yu Luo’s hand and walked up. He took the red ring from Teacher Huahua and stood at the white line on the grass, aiming for a box of curry fish balls on a picnic mat in the distance.

All the children craned their necks to watch, eager to see what would happen. The little ones, no exception, were all on their tiptoes.

Duan Yu Luo was one of the shortest kids in the class, so tiptoeing didn’t help. He saw all the other children could see his friend, but he couldn’t, which made him so frustrated he jumped several times to no avail. Feeling a bit gloomy, he folded his arms and stood at the very back, sulking.

“You can stand on the side to watch.” His older brother, Luo Yu Duan, didn’t need to push his way to the front to see clearly. But seeing his brother’s frustration, he couldn’t help but say something.

Duan Yu Luo saw that his brother didn’t need to tiptoe, which made him even gloomier. He let out a quiet “Humph.”

His brother Luo Yu Duan, “…” Why is my brother always so angry? I don’t get it.

“Wow!”

“Lu Xing He is so cool!”

“Awesome!”

Just then, the sounds of excited applause and cheers came from the front.

Duan Yu Luo immediately looked up, curious and about to squeeze to the front. He then saw Lu Xing He walking toward him, holding a box of curry fish balls in his left hand and a small cookie in his right.

“I asked the teacher, and this cookie has no eggs, so you can eat it.” Lu Xing He held the cookie to Duan Yu Luo’s mouth. Seeing his little puppet’s big eyes light up with surprise, he smiled and held up his prize. “I won you a treat.”

“Yay!” Duan Yu Luo bit the cookie, so happy it was as if he had won it himself. He raised his short arms and legs and bounced on the spot. “Lu Xing He is so cool!”

Lu Xing He was a bit embarrassed by the praise and touched his head. “Just a little bit cool.”

“You’re super cool!” Duan Yu Luo chewed the cookie with a loud crunch, then held up both thumbs to Lu Xing He, his eyes crinkling into a smile. “Brother Xing Xing is the best in the whole world!”

“Does the cookie taste good?” Lu Xing He asked.

When Duan Yu Luo heard him, he broke off the half of the cookie sticking out of his mouth. With a “crunch,” the cookie split into two. He held up his half to Lu Xing He’s mouth. “Ah~”

Lu Xing He bent down and ate it. As he met Duan Yu Luo’s beaming smile, he thought that this cookie was indeed delicious.

Standing to the side, his brother Luo Yu Duan muttered, “Are you two not fighting anymore?”

Duan Yu Luo heard him and smiled at his brother. “We’re doing just fine~”