I was born and listened to my neighbor's older sister talk about her family of origin.

Time flies, and the seasons slip through Jiang Ye's fingers.

Soon, he faced the second challenge of his life.

Go to kindergarten.

Jiang Ye was in great pain.

This means that his three-year period of enjoying a life of leisure and comfort has come to an end.

From now on, I will not only have to get up early every day, but also face a group of noisy and childish "peers" with the mindset of a twenty-something adult, and learn to sing and dance along with the kindergarten teacher in a high-pitched voice, "You clap once, I clap once".

In particular, this kindergarten is located right at the entrance of the residential complex, next to "Chengmei Hair Salon".

That's even worse.

Ms. Hao can pick him up and drop him off just by turning a corner, but he has no freedom at all after school.

This is like living in a cage.

The cicadas chirped loudly outside, while the fan next to me whirred and blew, the hot air blowing through the wind chimes on the balcony, making a crisp sound.

The scorching summer sun had made the plants on the balcony wilt.

There is no autumn in Jiangcheng; September and July are no different.

Jiang Ye took a bite of watermelon, slumped on the sofa, and listlessly flipped through TV channels, staring blankly at the pretty female host explaining today's financial news.

His parents have both gone to work at the barbershop, so this house is his domain today.

It was also his last celebration before starting kindergarten.

……carnival?

Jiang Ye suddenly sprang up from the sofa, ran to the balcony, picked up a clothesline pole, and tapped the stainless steel railing of the opposite balcony.

"Clang clang."

A crisp sound rang out.

A short while later, Xu Zhiyu's head, with her hair tied in a ponytail, appeared in Jiang Ye's sight.

"Ano?"

Xu Zhiyu's eyes lit up. Seeing Jiang Ye's expression, she immediately understood. She cupped her hands around her mouth and whispered something.

My mom and dad aren't home.

Jiang Ye held up two fingers, mimicking walking, and Xu Zhiyu nodded "Mmm," before disappearing from the balcony.

A short while later, the two met in the hallway.

"Ah Ye, Ah Ye, what are we going to do today?"

Xu Zhiyu looked at Jiang Ye with bright eyes.

Although he is two years older than Jiang Ye and even a head taller, judging from their way of getting along, Jiang Ye is more like the big kid.

Xu Zhiyu looked forward to Jiang Ye coming to visit her every day. Every time she saw Jiang Ye, it was one of the few happy moments of her day.

Jiang Ye had his left hand in his pocket, wore a baseball cap with an Ultraman image on his head, and was carrying a plastic bucket in his right hand, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.

"There are quite a few activities today, Little Fish, are you ready?"

Xu Zhiyu pouted unhappily.

Call me "older sister"!

"Okay, Little Fish."

Xu Zhiyu snorted in dissatisfaction.

She was so well-behaved when she was little, calling me "sister," but she's become more and more disobedient as she grows up.

Jiang Ye ignored her dissatisfaction.

Calling someone "older sister" when we were little was just a temporary measure.

They're so close now, and he still calls her "sister"? Does he even have any shame left in his twenties?

He took the lead and went down the stairs. When Xu Zhiyu saw this, she didn't care about being called an older sister anymore and immediately followed him.

The two arrived at a small river near the residential area.

In 2003, in Jiangcheng, a second-tier city in southern China, many rivers had not yet been filled in with stones to build roads.

Many children often come to play in this area during the summer.

Jiang Ye led Xu Zhiyu to the riverbank and wandered around, his head down as if searching for something.

Xu Zhiyu asked in confusion, "Aye, what are you looking for?"

Jiang Ye gestured with his hand.

"I'm looking for those long, sword-like branches."

"Oh……"

Xu Zhiyu nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Then she looked around, her gaze settling on a corner. She ran over, picked up a twig, and said to Jiang Ye's retreating figure:

"Ano, is this it?"

Jiang Ye turned around and saw the branch in Xu Zhiyu's hand; his eyes lit up.

It is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, more than three feet long, and even has a sword hilt.

"This is it! The shape is absolutely perfect!"

Jiang Ye took the branch from Xu Zhiyu and made a series of sword flourishes, which looked cool but were actually quite awkward.

But Jiang Ye didn't care at all.

This is the legendary sword from my childhood!

Xu Zhiyu was very happy to see that she had helped Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye patted her on the shoulder.

"Little Fish, you did a great job!"

"Let's move on to the next project!"

Jiang Ye strode confidently ahead, carrying the divine sword in his left hand and a red plastic bucket in his right, while Xu Zhiyu followed closely behind, grinning from ear to ear.

The two arrived at the riverbank.

At this moment, many children were playing by the river. When they saw the divine sword in Jiang Ye's hand, they all widened their eyes.

"So handsome!"

"Mom, I want one too!"

The adults gave Jiang Ye a troubled look and said helplessly, "Alright, alright, Mom will take you to find him."

Jiang Ye's lips curled into a cold smile.

You could never find another divine sword with such a perfect shape.

In a short time, there were far fewer people by the river.

Jiang Ye led Xu Zhiyu to the riverbank, approached the calm water, and then took out a thin rope, a hook, and a steamed bun from his pocket.

Xu Zhiyu watched as he tied the hook to the thin rope, then tied the hooked rope to the tip of the "divine sword," and then tore off a small piece of steamed bun and threaded it onto the hook.

Xu Zhiyu blinked: "Aye, are you trying to go fishing?"

Jiang Ye raised his chin slightly: "Hmm."

"Haha, kid, you'll never catch any fish with that equipment."

Before he could cast his fishing rod, a burst of laughter came from the side.

The two turned their heads and saw an uncle sitting there with a standard carbon fiber fishing rod in his hand, a fish box and various packages of bait at his feet.

He looks like a professional angler.

Jiang Ye's expression remained unchanged.

"Uncle, whether you can catch fish or not isn't just about your equipment."

The middle-aged man said "Oh," and looked at the mature-looking little boy with great interest.

"Then who decides?"

Jiang Ye raised his "fishing rod" and cast the hook.

puff.

The steamed bun sank to the bottom of the water.

"It depends on their character."

The man's face stiffened slightly.

He then shook his head.

Children's words are not to be trusted.

He turned his head and continued to concentrate on fishing.

Xu Zhiyu squatted down next to Jiang Ye, her eyes fixed on the small piece of steamed bun that had sunk into the water.

"Ah Ye, will the fish really take the bait?"

Jiang Ye shook his head honestly.

"I don't know, like I said, it depends on character."

"At times like this, it comes down to whether you have good character or not."

As soon as he finished speaking, the branch in his hand suddenly trembled.

The two immediately looked over and saw a crucian carp that looked to weigh at least three pounds emerge from the river and swallow Jiang Ye's hook whole.

"what!"

Xu Zhiyu exclaimed in surprise and jumped up and down excitedly.

"Ah-yeah! Ah-yeah! The fish is up! The fish is up!"

Jiang Ye quickly stood up, gripped the tree branch tightly with both hands, leaned back, and began a tug-of-war with a fish.

A short while later, he caught a crucian carp and threw it into the red plastic bucket.

Xu Zhiyu's eyes were full of excitement as she squatted down and watched the crucian carp swimming in the plastic bucket.

He turned to look at Jiang Ye.

"Ah Ye, you're amazing!"

The middle-aged man next to him naturally noticed this scene as well, and his eyes widened immediately.

This kind of equipment can actually catch fish?!

He felt his worldview was being reshaped.

Could it be... that I really have bad character?