The baby slapped me, and I said, "Sit on my lap and slap me."

From that day on, Wen Yu quietly invaded every corner of Su Qingyao's life.

At 7:20 in the morning, he would appear at the Su family's door, carrying his schoolbag, waiting to go to school with her.

Lin Ruolan went from being flattered at first to getting used to it, and later she simply let Wen Yu come in and wait.

After school, he would wait for her in the corridor of the first-year junior high school class, and the two of them would walk home together.

The setting sun cast their shadows long and long, overlapping each other so that it was impossible to tell them apart.

Needless to say, Wen Yu would wait for Su Qingyao to eat lunch together without fail.

On weekends, Wen Yu would knock on the Su family's door, sometimes carrying a newly released strawberry cake, sometimes two exercise books he thought were good, and sometimes nothing at all, just asking her, "Little Yao Yao, where do you want to go today?"

Su Qingyao said she wanted to go to the bookstore, so he went with her to the bookstore; she wanted to go to the movies, so he went with her to the movies.

She didn't want to go anywhere and just wanted to stay home and do her homework, so he sat next to her and quietly read books with her.

Several times, Lin Ruolan passed by the study and saw the two children sitting side by side at the desk, one with his head down doing problems and the other with his head turned to look at a book.

She went back to her room and said to Su Boyuan, "Isn't that kid next door being a little too nice to our Yaoyao?"

Su Boyuan looked up from his newspaper. "Young Master Wen? What's wrong?"

Lin Ruolan thought for a moment, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. She just felt... it was too good, almost too good.

But the other child was very well-behaved, didn't say or do anything, just stayed with them.

What could she say?

Days passed by, spring came and autumn went, and two years flew by.

Wen Yu did exceptionally well in the high school entrance exam, going from being at the bottom of the class to being in the top ten in the city. As a result, Wen Tianyao and Ruan Xinhe no longer objected to him spending all his time with the Su family's little girl.

My son is sensible, and both of them are making progress in their studies, encouraging each other to improve. Why not do it?

When Su Qingyao was in her third year of junior high school, Wen Yu was in his first year of senior high school.

But he still went to school with her without fail, appeared at her classroom door on time at noon, and waited for her after school every day.

Over time, the students around him got used to it.

Someone asked Su Qingyao, "Is that senior in the first year of high school your brother?"

Su Qingyao thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded, "Well, I guess so."

He's not my biological brother, but he's closer to me than a biological brother.

Su Qingyao's way of addressing Wen Yu changed from "Brother Wen Yu" to "Brother A Yu".

As for Wenyu, she was initially a well-behaved "slender younger sister," but later she became "slender."

Later, on an ordinary walk home from school, as he looked at her profile bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, he suddenly blurted out, "Yaobao."

She paused for a moment, looked up at him, and did not refute him.

He was taken aback for a moment, his ears turning slightly red, but he didn't change his mind.

From that day on, she became "Yaobao".

Slim baby.

His baby is his alone.

His special nickname.

-

On the first day of her first year of high school, Su Qingyao stood under the national flag platform wearing her brand-new school uniform.

The morning light was just right; sunlight slanted through the gaps in the teaching building and fell on her.

Holding the microphone, her voice was clear and steady as she delivered a speech on behalf of the first-year high school students, poised and confident, neither arrogant nor humble.

The whispers that had been going on below the stage gradually quieted down, not because of discipline, but because of the person on the stage.

Su Qingyao, the top scorer in the high school entrance examination and a representative of the new students.

These two labels combined are already enough to attract attention.

But when she actually stood under the national flag, and the morning light fell on her, everyone realized that her academic achievements were just her least remarkable strength.

So beautiful.

It's not the kind of intense, aggressive beauty, but a beauty that's just right, like something that's just beginning to blossom.

She had grown taller since junior high school, and her chubby cheeks had faded, revealing a refined jawline.

The fifteen-year-old girl's bones were just beginning to develop, and every curve was just right.

The eyebrows and eyes are still the same, but it looks as if someone has carefully drawn them with a brush.

Her brow bone was deeper, and the corners of her eyes were slightly upturned. When her eyelashes fell down, they cast a small shadow on her eyelids, fluttering like butterfly wings.

The sunlight shone on her face, making her skin appear as smooth as jade, and the fine downy hairs on her earlobes were visible.

As she spoke, she tilted her head slightly, a stray strand of hair slipping from behind her ear and falling to her cheek, before she gently tucked it back in.

That gesture made many people in the audience gasp for breath.

After she finished reading the last sentence and bowed slightly, the audience erupted in applause, as if waking from a dream.

But the applause couldn't drown out the suppressed gasps and whispers.

"Who is this? She's so beautiful..."

"Su Qingyao, you came up from the junior high school, didn't you know? She's always been number one in her grade."

"He was also the top scorer in the high school entrance exam, ranking first in the city-wide unified exam."

"If someone is good-looking and gets good grades, are they even giving anyone a chance to survive?"

"Oh my god, she looked this way. Was she looking at me?"

"Get lost! What are you looking at? You're the one looking at me—"

Wen Yu stood at the back of the crowd, looking up at the people on the stage.

The whispers reached his ears, but he showed no expression; his gaze never left that direction.

She's grown up and is even more beautiful than she was in seventh grade.

No one knows better than him, and no one has seen longer than him.

An arm suddenly draped over his shoulder. Jiang Shubai had somehow gotten close to him, whistled, and said in a cocky tone.

"Ah Yu, now you probably have a lot of rivals in love."

Wen Yu looked away and gave him a cool glance. "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."

Jiang Shubai shrank back and wisely shut his mouth.

He couldn't resist glancing at the stage again.

No wonder Ayu abandoned him and Wenwen without saying a word and transferred to No. 1 Middle School back then.

At the time, he was wondering what was wrong with his ancestor. Now he understands everything.

Who wouldn't like such a beautiful girl?

He glanced at Wen Yu beside him again.

His gaze was still fixed on the stage, his eyes overflowing with tenderness, and a smile remained on his lips. He was completely different from the mischievous devil he remembered.

Jiang Shubai clicked his tongue.

Well, I'm hopelessly in love.

After the speech under the national flag ended, the crowd gradually dispersed and headed towards the classroom.

Su Qingyao politely said goodbye to the school leaders and was about to turn and leave when she looked up and met a familiar gaze.

Wen Yu stood at the bottom of the steps, waiting for an unknown amount of time.

The morning sunlight fell on his shoulders; the young man was tall and handsome, his features dazzling.

With one hand in his pocket and the other holding a bottle of water, he naturally offered it to her when she looked over.

"My darling, are you thirsty?"

Su Qingyao's eyes lit up with surprise. "Brother Ayu, what brings you here?"

Wen Yu raised his hand and affectionately ruffled the top of her hair.

"I was afraid you'd be nervous," he said with a lazy smile, "so I came here to give you some encouragement."

He paused, then added, "Wait for me in the classroom during lunch break, we'll eat together."

Su Qingyao nodded obediently, took the bottle of water, tilted her head back and drank a few sips. After finishing, she habitually handed the bottle back to him.

"Then I'll go first," she said, pointing to Zhang Miaoke who was waiting not far away. "Miaoke is still waiting for me."

Wen Yu took the bottle, nodded, and said, "Okay, go ahead."

Su Qingyao waved to him, then turned and ran towards Zhang Miaoke.

Her ponytail swayed in the sunlight, and her light blue school skirt fluttered slightly before she quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Wen Yu stood there, watching her leave until she was completely out of sight before he could bear to look away.

All eyes were already focused on them – curious, gossipy, speculative, and many boys were still staring intently.

Wen Yu didn't say anything, but simply raised the bottle in his hand, tilted his head back and took a sip from the mouth of the bottle that Su Qingyao had just drunk from.

Now the surroundings became completely quiet.