Chapter 17

Zuo Nian hooked his pinky around it, eyes earnest. “Deal~”
“Duan Baisui, your child bride is here—hahahaha.” A boy with no filter waggled his brows and teased him.
By then, they were already in middle school.
Duan Baisui had long since lost the childish innocence of his early years. Between his brows was only cold arrogance.
“Why are you here?” he asked, looking down at the person in front of him.
“Nian‑nian… brought you… a bento… Nian‑nian made it this morning,” the young Omega explained with effort.
“Ooooh—” heads popped out in the classroom, whoops and whistles rising. “Duan Baisui, you’ve got it good. Your child bride even makes you food.”
At thirteen or fourteen, they were right in the thick of rebellious adolescence.
With classmates teasing him day after day, Duan Baisui was sick of it.
It wasn’t Zuo Nian who annoyed him—it was the noise, the gossip, the endless chatter.
He didn’t take the lunchbox. Face icy, he said, “No need. I’m going out to eat with classmates. Don’t bring it again.”
“Oh… okay.” Zuo Nian looked disappointed as he pulled his hand back. “Then after school…”
“I have etiquette class after school. Don’t wait for me.”
“…Okay.”
The little Omega left, dejected. His thin, fragile back looked lonely.
In the dream, Duan Baisui was only an onlooker.
Watching the past unfold, he couldn’t help feeling a sharp ache of tenderness.
He followed Zuo Nian for a long, long time.
In shifting, dappled light, Zuo Nian grew taller. His blue‑and‑white striped school uniform became a casual suit.
But he was still alone.
Duan Baisui couldn’t help calling out, “Zuo Nian.”
The one who turned around was Zuo Nian from high school.
His face was bruised. His black school blazer was smeared with dust and grime.
He grinned at him and called, “Gege.”
Duan Baisui stepped forward, reaching for him—
But Zuo Nian was like foam. The moment he touched him, he scattered and disappeared.
Duan Baisui jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat.
The Omega beside him was still curled up small in his arms, a tiny ball of warmth with an overwhelming presence.
All at once, he wanted to know how Zuo Nian had lived in the years he’d been away.
Had he still been bullied? Had no one stood up for him?
When they were little, Duan Baisui had liked Zuo Nian a lot.
Because he was pretty, quiet, and obedient.
Like a living doll that kept him company.
But as he grew up, he fell into his own rhythm.
His days were scheduled to the minute:
Studying. Competitions. Basketball.
He made new friends and new plans, and he no longer “needed” a doll.
But… had he truly not needed him?
The person in his arms stirred. A fluffy head rubbed against his jaw twice, then stretched and hummed softly.
He was waking up.
“Gege, good morning.” Zuo Nian lifted his face, smiling at him.
“Mm. Morning.”
“Gege, I dreamed last night.”
Freshly awake, Zuo Nian was too soft. His voice was husky with sleep; every word sounded like he was coquettishly clinging to him.
Duan Baisui even forgot to let go, lowering his eyes until their breaths mingled. “What did you dream?”
His long lashes fluttered as he seemed to recall the scenes. Then his face went red, and he waved his hands in flustered shame. “Can’t say it. Can’t say it.”
Seeing how hard it was for him to speak, Duan Baisui could more or less guess what kind of dream it had been.
Zuo Nian climbed out of bed and shuffled toward the bathroom in his slippers. “Nian‑nian’s going to the toilet. Once I go, the swelling will go down.”
…
He really would say anything.
Only after Zuo Nian finished washing up did Duan Baisui lazily get out of bed.
Halfway through brushing his teeth, Zuo Nian ran in happily holding a small plush toy. “Gege, you kept it!”
It was a little pink pig plush with a bunny‑ear hat, clutching a tiny yellow scepter.
It was something Zuo Nian had made for him before he went abroad.
Zuo Nian had said he was afraid Gege would feel lonely overseas, so he should take it and hug it at night.
But when Duan Baisui packed his luggage back then, he hadn’t taken it.
In those years, he’d been proud and sharp‑edged. He desperately wanted to prove himself and set off on a new journey alone.
To him, a pink plush toy was childish and unnecessary.
He’d thought he didn’t need it. He wasn’t the type to miss home and cry.
He was going abroad to study, not to make friends. He enjoyed solitude. He liked solitude.
Besides, he was past the age of playing with dolls.
He’d stuffed the pink pig into the transparent display cabinet beside the wardrobe—where his childhood model cars and figurines were stored.
It had been left in the bottom corner, ignored for years.
“Mm,” Duan Baisui replied vaguely, toothpaste foam still in his mouth.
“I thought you’d thrown it away,” Zuo Nian said.
He wore an oversized hoodie, his legs bare and pale.
Leaning against the bathroom door, he flipped up the pig’s little hat and said, “When Nian‑nian was in the orphanage, I had nightmares a lot. Director‑mama made me a cloth doll. She said it was my friend, that it would protect me so I wouldn’t be afraid.”
“After that, I really stopped having nightmares. So when Gege left, Nian‑nian wanted to make a doll to protect you too…”
He lifted the plush’s hat again. “Gege, back then… did it protect you?”
Duan Baisui rinsed his mouth.
He wiped his jaw with a towel, and in that short pause, he chose honesty over lying.
“Sorry. I didn’t take it with me back then.”
Zuo Nian’s hand paused mid‑motion. After a long while, he said softly, “…Oh. I see.”
He pinched the pig’s cheek in disappointment, then quickly brightened again. “Actually, I guessed. Gege’s so amazing—how could Gege be scared to sleep alone?”
Duan Baisui watched him quietly.
Zuo Nian bit his lip and turned the plush over and over. “And it’s not even made very well. It’s right that you didn’t take it. The pig nose is crooked. Hmph. Nian‑nian’s craftsmanship back then was really bad.”
“No,” Duan Baisui said seriously. “You did a great job. The problem was me.”
“But Gege didn’t do anything wrong. What problem could there be?” Zuo Nian tugged on the hem of his hoodie. “There’s no rule that someone has to accept a gift just because it’s been given. That wouldn’t be reasonable.”
“I just saw an old toy, and that made me remember a lot of things.”
“Gege didn’t throw it away. You even kept it with your little tank. That means you respected Nian‑nian.”
“Nian‑nian is already very happy. Really.”
He was always this easy to comfort, this easy to satisfy.
Duan Baisui’s heart softened.
His throat bobbed as he asked, “Then… does it still belong to me now?”
“Of course.” Zuo Nian’s eyes curved into crescents.
He held the pig out to him. “It’s a magical pig. It can eat all of Gege’s bad luck and unhappiness. It’ll make Gege’s days go smoothly and happily.”
Duan Baisui lifted a hand and held Zuo Nian by the wrist.
This time, Zuo Nian didn’t dissolve like he had in the dream.
He stood solidly in front of him.
Looking up at him with admiration and love.
“Gege,” he said earnestly, “please accept the pig.”
The thing he hadn’t cherished at sixteen had somehow circled back into his hands.
As if it were fated.
Leaving the bedroom, the two of them went downstairs together.
Duan Yan and Xu Yi were already seated at the table.
They were chatting and laughing. When they saw the two of them, they waved them over.
“Xu‑dad, Duan‑dad, sorry we’re late,” Zuo Nian apologized softly.
Duan Baisui pulled out the chair for him like a gentleman and let him sit first.
Smiling kindly, Xu Yi said, “We wanted you to sleep a little more, so we didn’t have the butler wake you.”
Zuo Nian waved his hands. “No more sleeping, no more. Gege has to go to work. I can’t delay him.”
Duan Yan chimed in, “Alex, you’ve been working hard lately. Your Xiao‑ba and I talked it over. During the Spring Festival, take some time off and bring Nian‑nian out for a few days. You got married, but you never had a honeymoon or anything.”
“It’s okay, Duan‑dad. Work is more important…” Zuo Nian said quickly.
He knew Duan Baisui was a workaholic. He was afraid Duan Baisui didn’t want to go anywhere, and he didn’t want to put him in a difficult spot.
Duan Baisui set the little pink pig down by his plate, sat beside Zuo Nian, and replied calmly, “All right.”