Mu Zhan was engrossed in these strange emotions, unaware that he had accidentally revealed his antlers.
They were actually the horns of a young dragon, but because they were still small and resembled a deer’s, and his second form was that of a legendary creature, which was a rarity, none of them had considered the possibility of a dragon.
Wen Mingyu assumed Mu Zhan had fallen asleep and didn’t disturb him. The hardwood bed creaked loudly with every turn, so he only stole several glances at the pair of small antlers. Feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness, he turned back and tried to sleep.
His mind was too excited, however, and it took him quite a while to finally drift off.
The next day brought the usual routine of washing up and changing clothes.
Wen Mingyu fetched breakfast, secretly bringing it back to share with Mu Zhan.
After eating, he had to continue working on his winter break assignments.
While explaining a problem to Mu Zhan yesterday, Wen Mingyu had vaguely sensed a serious issue.
“You can’t read?!”
Wen Mingyu was utterly shocked. He never imagined his parents could be so cruel. He jumped out of his chair, furious.
Instinctively, he wanted to seek justice for Mu Zhan. Education was a basic right for every child; how could his parents deprive him of it! Even children at the orphanage could attend school. Everyone knew how important schooling was. How could Mu Mu be…
His heart ached terribly, so much so that his eyes reddened and he nearly burst into tears.
Mu Zhan’s face stiffened at the accusation of being illiterate, his embarrassment barely concealed. He desperately wanted to clarify that he was not one, just unfamiliar with the characters used here.
But when he looked up, he was startled to see Wen Mingyu on the verge of tears.
Mu Zhan’s eyes widened. He was momentarily at a loss. He didn’t understand; he was the one who couldn’t read. Shouldn’t that be cause for mockery? Why… was he crying?
Wen Mingyu’s eyes stung, but he fought back the tears, refusing to let them fall. He felt that he couldn’t cry in front of Mu Zhan. Mu Zhan must be the one feeling worse.
Sniffing back his tears, Wen Mingyu sat back down, his voice slightly hoarse as he murmured, “Then I’ll teach you.”
Mu Zhan certainly didn’t mind learning something new, and he was also a bit afraid of Wen Mingyu actually crying; he didn’t know what to do if that happened.
Wen Mingyu began teaching him basic, commonly used characters, and Mu Zhan picked them up quickly. His sadness gradually gave way to joy at Mu Zhan’s intelligence but also growing anger toward Mu Zhan’s parents for depriving him of proper education. Otherwise, Mu Zhan would surely be among the best students in class and consistently receive prizes.
Over the next few days, Wen Mingyu taught Mu Zhan characters while working on his homework, even pulling out his old textbooks and exercise problems for him to work on. Mu Zhan’s learning pace was astonishingly quick.
As their days together passed, Wen Mingyu found himself increasingly reluctant to let Mu Zhan go.
He knew full well that he couldn’t hide Mu Zhan forever. Even if his parents were very neglectful, they would eventually notice their child was missing and come looking. When that time came, he would have no justification or right to stop Mu Zhan from returning to his family.
It would be just like last year, when the headmistress had to helplessly watch that big brother who had differentiated into an Omega get taken away, feeling powerless and heartbroken.
Wen Mingyu then thought: Mu Zhan’s parents not only beat him but also kept him from going to school; surely that counts as a pretty serious problem? If the police got involved, maybe Mu Zhan would end up in an orphanage? Then they could be together openly, and there was even an empty bed in his room.
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Wen Mingyu didn’t want to dwell on it any further. It was as if he could just drag things out day by day, praying no one would discover he was hiding someone.
Wen Mingyu taught Mu Zhan as much as he could. Mu Zhan was focused and diligent, and within just a few days, he mastered the basic characters a seven-year-old should know. His math skills were also remarkable. He barely needed instructions, as if he had a solid foundation already.
At night, Wen Mingyu would read Mu Zhan bedtime stories to lull him to sleep.
It was simply because when he was younger, the headmistress had done the same. It was something every child deserved.
Mu Mu deserved it, too.
So, as his big brother, he took on that role.
Mu Zhan really didn’t feel he needed someone to lull him to sleep, but Wen Mingyu insisted. Unexpectedly, it was effective. He actually fell asleep quite quickly after hearing the story. Just as Wen Mingyu had told him, he had slept peacefully through the night.
That night, Wen Mingyu brought out the borrowed fairy tale book to read to Mu Zhan.
The two of them sat leaning against the wall, shoulders pressed together, and curled up like little animals huddling together for warmth in winter.
“Mu Mu, you pick one?”
Wen Mingyu opened the table of contents, letting him choose which story he wanted to hear.
Mu Zhan pointed to one at random.
Wen Mingyu glanced at the page number, flipped to it, and began reading softly and gently. His voice was still a bit childish, but it was very soothing.
Mu Zhan’s attention would drift involuntarily from time to time, settling on Wen Mingyu’s profile and at the sound of his voice, completely failing to listen to the story itself.
Wen Mingyu noticed and turned to him, “Mu Mu, are you listening?”
Mu Zhan perfunctorily nodded.
Wen Mingyu asked, “Then what did I just say?”
Mu Zhan had been distracted, but he had not missed everything. He seized the moment to ask instead.
“There’s one part I didn’t understand. The protagonist Xiao Di’s sister is dating someone. What does ‘dating’ mean?”
Wen Mingyu froze, unable to respond. Because he didn’t understand either.
He was only in third grade. How could he know the specifics of dating? In class, some classmates would talk about being best friends, sharing candy, and doing homework together. But was that dating?
He looked down at the fairy tale book. The big sister of the protagonist, Xiao Di, seemed to be doing similar things? Eating together, doing homework together, and holding hands on the way to and from school. It seemed nothing special.
“It’s just spending a lot of time together, right? Doing everything together and sharing things with each other,” Wen Mingyu said with uncertainty.
Mu Zhan was encountering this term for the first time. He had assumed it was similar to friendship, but the most special type of friend, someone who couldn’t be replaced.
He held back but couldn’t resist asking, “So does that mean we’re dating?”
Wen Mingyu froze. Dating…that didn’t feel quite right. He wanted to be Mu Mu’s big brother, could a brother and a dating partner be the same person? Besides, they would both become Omegas someday. It seemed impossible for them to be together.
Wen Mingyu opened his mouth to refute, but when he turned his head, he met Mu Zhan’s intense, catlike eyes looking at him. It was simply…impossibel to refuse.
The words that had formed on his lips twisted into—
“It should… I guess.”
Two clueless kids, stumbling over strange words, thought they were just becoming special friends, completely unaware of what those words truly meant.
Wen Mingyu was clearly not a qualified teacher. He didn’t even realize he had led him astray.
Bedtime stories were rich and varied, including tales of magic. With a wave of a wand, objects could move according to one’s thoughts. Whether rescuing stray cats or flying far away to visit a hospitalized mother, anything could be accomplished with ease.
Most children that heard this would have their eyes light up with fascination.
But clearly, Mu Zhan was not one of them.
His face remained utterly expressionless, even tinged with a hint of ridicule. “It’s all fake. Only kids fall for that.”
Wen Mingyu blinked. “But aren’t you a kid too?”
Mu Zhan: “…”
Wen Mingyu had not expected him to be so logical and serious. He had always believed in magic until recently, when he discovered that it didn’t exist at all. It was a revelation that had made him cry bitterly for a long time.
Thinking of that made Wen Mingyu feel a bit embarrassed. He fiddled with a strand of hair from his forehead.
“But Mu Mu, you’ve never seen magic. How can you be so sure it doesn’t exist?” Maybe the magicians are just hiding so we won’t find them.”
“Everything people do leaves traces. Someone will discover them eventually. If no one has, it doesn’t exist.”
Mu Zhan’s childish face tightened, his expression serious.
Wen Mingyu disagreed, “But they have memory-erasing magic, so they can clean up their traces.”
Mu Zhan pressed his lips together. He insisted, “Wizards are human too. They’re bound to make mistakes.”
Wen Mingyu thought about it and realized there was some truth to that.
He pondered for a moment, then spoke like a little adult. “Mu Mu’s so smart. We definitely shouldn’t believe everything people say. The headmistress also told us never to accept candy from strangers or follow them anywhere.”
Mu Zhan thought, How could he be so foolish as to be lured away with mere bribes?
But then Wen Mingyu continued, “It’s not just adults we need to guard against, but children too. Bad people might use kids to trick others, making it easier to gain trust. Like when I brought you back here, you shouldn’t have trusted me so easily. Of course, I’m a good kid. I wouldn’t deceive you or harm you.”
Mu Zhan jolted awake at his words. Although he had entered with guarded vigilance and was certain Wen Mingyu couldn’t harm him, it was true that he had unconsciously lowered his guard, gradually accepting the person before him… That shouldn’t have happened.
His expression darkened as he mulled it over. Yet the look on his face, still bearing noticeable baby fat, only made him look even cuter.
Wen Mingyu pulled him into a hug, pressing his face against Mu Zhan’s crown and nuzzling him gently, murmuring with a smile, “Mu Mu’s so adorable.”
“…???”
Mu Zhan was completely stumped, genuinely unsure what was adorable about him. Was this boy blind?
He squirmed uneasily, trying to escape from his hug, but Wen Mingyu held him tightly. His face pressed against his head, slightly squashed, causing a soft mound of his cheek fat to puff out, rosy and pink.
“Remember what big brother said, don’t trust strangers.”
Mu Zhan knew that if he did not respond, Wen Mingyu would likely keep pestering him. So he stiffened his face, nodded, and muttered impatiently, “… Got it.”
Only then did Wen Mingyu release him. He pulled back the covers, and both of them crawled in for the night.
“Mu Mu, good night.”
Wen Mingyu said brightly. After a while, just when he thought he wouldn’t receive a reply, Mu Zhan murmured two words, “… Good night.”
Wen Mingyu smiled. He didn’t fall asleep immediately as he thought about Mu Zhan.
He noticed that Mu Zhan’s gaze would always follow him, secretly watching whatever he was doing. It reminded him of a cat watching from the shadows. So cute.
He really wanted to earn money to support his little brother.
Mu Zhan lay in bed, his mind far from calm, but if he could have heard Wen Mingyu’s thoughts at that moment, he would have protested. He was merely observing, striving to understand everything around him as quickly as possible—what things were and how to use them!
Unfortunately, Mu Zhan remained unaware.
Wen Mingyu had already branded him as an adorable little brother who was as clingy as can be.
Over ten days passed, and half of winter break was already gone. Time flew by so fast it felt like the blink of an eye.
It was time to start getting ready for the New Year.
Even though this was an orphanage, holidays were still celebrated grandly. The adults did not want the children to feel lonely, so they wanted to make it festive. The headmistress’ family would also come to the orphanage to celebrate the New Year with the children, watch performances, and then visit relatives afterward.
On New Year’s Eve, someone came to the orphanage and specifically sought out Wen Mingyu.
ChiFu: sorry for the very late update and as always, thank you for waiting!