Gu family and Xu family have been family friends for generations. Gu’s mom and Xu’s mom are close friends within the women’s chambers. Even after getting married, they often make beauty and shopping appointments together. Even their pregnancies happened almost simultaneously, with only a three-month difference.
So, Gu Jingchen and Xu Zhou have known each other since infancy.
After the two moms gave birth, they often took their children shopping and traveling.
However, at that time, the two little ones didn’t understand much.
When Gu Jingchen and Xu Zhou were around three years old and became a bit sensible, they didn’t want to go shopping with their moms anymore.
Especially Gu Jingchen. As soon as he heard that his mom and Aunt Xu wanted to go shopping, he immediately ran to Grandpa Gu and Grandma Gu screaming for help, causing Gu’s mom to be extremely frustrated, wishing to give their own naughty child a good beating.
Gu Jingchen found shopping to be so tiring, much preferring to stay at home and listen to Grandpa’s stories about the battlefield.
At first, he didn’t like the younger brother from the Xu family, mainly because the brother was too quiet.
The Xu family was involved in business during that era, accumulating countless wealth. When Xu Zhou was born, they even built a children’s playground for him.
Because of this playground, Gu Jingchen enjoyed visiting the Xu family.
However, every time he went on the water slide or bumper cars, Xu Zhou didn’t want to join him.
He thought his brother was too timid, and after being rejected a few times, he stopped inviting him to play.
Moreover, there were many well-connected families with Gu’s family, and many children of the same age as him, so even without Xu Zhou, he had other playmates.
It wasn’t until kindergarten that Gu Jingchen and Xu Zhou became familiar with each other because they became deskmates on their first day.
On the first day of school, Gu’s mom took little Jingchen to register.
This kindergarten was also run by the Xu family, only admitting descendants of familiar family friends. Many kids had already become friends with Gu Jingchen.
According to Gu’s mom’s thinking, no matter how mischievous Gu Jingchen was, he couldn’t bully his well-connected little buddies.
As a result, before noon, the school called her and asked her to come over.
At that time, Gu’s mom, Xu’s mom, and a few familiar friends were having morning tea. After receiving the call, Gu’s mom hurriedly rushed to the school.
Xu’s mom was also concerned about little Xu Zhou, so she went along.
When they arrived at the kindergarten, they found that in the naval class, besides Gu Jingchen and Xu Zhou sitting on chairs drinking milk, all the other children were crying.
Teachers were busy consoling the children.
Gu’s mom suddenly felt a twinge in her heart.
In theory, since it was the first day of school for the babies, they might be crying because they missed home.
But… Gu’s mom knew her naughty child too well. Without thinking, she knew that these crying children must have something to do with their little tyrant.
Otherwise, why would the teacher ask her to come?
She walked up to Gu Jingchen, crouched down, looked into his eyes, and asked in a soft voice, “Chen baby, can you tell Mom why the other children are crying?”
Gu Jingchen took a sip of milk and proudly said, “I know!”
Gu’s mom: “…”
Well, it would be nice if you shared!
However, Gu Jingchen ignored his mom, held Xu Zhou’s hand, and said, “Zhou Zhou, after we finish our milk, let’s take a stroll outside.”
Strolling outside was something Grandpa Gu often did after meals, and Gu Jingchen was used to accompanying his grandfather for a walk.
Xu Zhou nodded gently.
He had delicate and pretty features, and he was not only well-behaved at home but also universally liked by every adult who saw him. Only Gu Jingchen didn’t appreciate him much.
Gu Jingchen thought that every little boy looked pretty much the same. In his mind, they were only divided into fun and not fun, brave and timid. As for whether they were good-looking or not, he couldn’t care less.
Xu’s mom looked at her little darling holding a Wangwang milk, feeling her heart melting. She crouched down, waving, and said, “Zhou Bao, come here.”
Upon seeing his mom, Xu Zhou’s eyes immediately lit up, and he quickly rushed over, calling out in a childish voice, “Mom~”
Xu’s mom picked him up, kissing his tender cheek.
Gu Jingchen watched nearby, shaking his head like a little adult, “Zhou Zhou, you’re a big boy now; you can’t always let your mom carry you.”
Gu’s mom: “…”
No wonder this naughty child didn’t let her carry him. So, he thought he had grown up?
Holding Xu’s mom’s neck, Xu Zhou blinked his eyes and said, “Jingchen, I’ve told you before, you have to listen to me from now on.”
Gu Jingchen thought of something and obediently closed his mouth.
Gu’s mom: “…”
Normally, her child found Xu Zhou too quiet and didn’t play with him much. Why was he so obedient now?
Coincidentally, the headmistress walked over and greeted them, “Mrs. Gu, Mrs. Xu, please come this way.”
The two moms each carried their child and went to the office.
The headmistress recounted what had happened in the morning, and as a result, Gu’s mom finally understood what mischief her child had been up to.
In the morning, when the babies were brought to the kindergarten, everyone was well-behaved since they mostly knew each other. No one was crying, and the teachers were very pleased. They asked the children to stand up and introduce themselves.
The problem arose during this self-introduction session.
All the other babies introduced themselves obediently, even mentioning their nicknames.
Only Gu Jingchen, when he stood up, said, “I’m Gu Jingchen, my name doesn’t matter. What matters is that from now on, I’m your leader!”
The teacher was dumbfounded.
Because of the surprise, she didn’t manage to stop the little tyrant from continuing, and tragedy ensued.
Gu Jingchen looked down at his little buddies, saying, “If you don’t recognize me as the leader, ghosts will come to find you at night. You’ll be missing arms and legs, and your face will be covered in blood…”
Children are naturally afraid of ghosts, except for Xu Zhou, so the rest of the kids start crying loudly.
The teacher: “…”
The teacher felt utterly helpless.
Unfortunately, Gu Jingchen was the eldest grandson of the Gu family, one of the prominent families. The teacher didn’t dare to do anything to Gu Jingchen. She could only interrupt the little ancestor, use a Wangwang milk to seal his mouth, and then comfort the other children.
After hearing the whole story, Gu’s mom had a face full of embarrassment.
She had some guesses about what was going on, but she couldn’t help asking her little rascal, “Who told you those stories about the ‘ghosts’?”
Gu Jingchen replied, “Grandpa did! He told me many stories about fighting against ‘ghosts’ and said if I’m not good, ghosts will come to find me at night!”
Gu’s mom: “…”
Alright, when she gets home later, she’s definitely going to complain to her mother-in-law and ask her to talk to her father-in-law. Otherwise, while the little tyrant wasn’t scared, he managed to scare his kindergarten buddies into the sky.
Gu Jingchen has always been close to Grandpa Gu, and Grandpa liked to tell him stories from the past. In those days, Grandpa Gu had been on the battlefield and led soldiers, quite a formidable character.
He believed that children didn’t need to be overly pampered, so he raised Gu Jingchen straightforwardly.
As for scaring his grandson, Grandpa Gu felt a bit wronged. He had just casually mentioned it, never expecting his grandson to have such a good memory and actually remember it.
Gu’s mom felt utterly helpless, while Xu’s mom noticed something suspicious.
She rubbed her well-behaved son’s head and asked Gu Jingchen with a smiling face, “Chen baby, why are you willing to listen to Zhou Zhou?”
Knowing that Gu Jingchen had been reluctant to play with her son before, she was curious. Gu Jingchen blushed suddenly and said, “Well… because Zhou Zhou is really awesome.”
Encouragingly, Xu’s mom looked at him, “Can you tell me, how is Zhou Zhou so awesome?”
Gu’s mom was also curious, thinking Xu Zhou was supposed to be timid.
Glancing at Xu Zhou, Gu Jingchen thought for a moment and said, “Zhou Zhou didn’t cry.”
“Really?” Gu’s mom was a bit skeptical. Could it be that because little Xu Zhou didn’t cry, it changed her son’s attitude?
At this moment, Xu Zhou spoke in a soft and sticky tone, “Because when we went to the bathroom, I and Jing Chen had a fight, and I won!”
Xu’s mom: “…”
Gu’s mom: “…”
Gu Jingchen: “…”
Didn’t they agree not to tell anyone? He even gave Zhou Zhou a box of Wangwang milk. Why did Zhou Zhou have to spill the secret?
Gu Jingchen glared disapprovingly at Xu Zhou.
Finishing the last sip of milk with a satisfied sound, Xu Zhou casually said, “Since you said you’ll listen to me, you have to support whatever I want to do.”
Gu Jingchen tilted his head, thought for a moment, and was convinced.
He was a man, and since he said he would listen to Zhou Zhou, he had to keep his word.
Gu’s mom: “…”
Oh, my silly son…
The two moms exchanged glances.
Well, one looked tough but was actually a bit foolhardy, while the other seemed timid but had a cunning side.
Gu Jingchen, being young at the moment, had no awareness of Xu Zhou’s true nature. Enthusiastically, he grabbed Xu Zhou’s hand, “Zhou Zhou, I can’t figure out how you won against me. Can you tell me about it?”
Having learned boxing from his grandpa, Gu Jingchen thought highly of his skills. Little did he expect that Xu Zhou, with a few moves, could easily defeat him.
Xu Zhou said in a childish voice, “Because I’m strong.”
Xu’s mom laughed and explained, “Zhou Zhou has been strong since he was born. Now he can lift half a bucket of water.”
Now Gu Jingchen looked at Xu Zhou with even greater admiration.
So, Zhou Zhou wasn’t a scaredy-cat; he was a master at sweeping floors!
During a coincidental episode of watching “Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils,” Grandpa pointed to the old monk on TV and told him that to be a humble person, it’s best to be like a sweeper… a master sweeper!
Gu’s mom apologized to the children while soothing them, and then they left.
Fortunately, the kindergarten had a psychologist, and soon the children forgot about Gu Jingchen’s words and happily played together again.
Gu Jingchen remained the leader of this group, and as for Xu Zhou, he was well-behaved, and the teachers praised him as a good child.
Only the children knew that Xu Zhou was their invisible leader.
In this way, Gu Jingchen, along with Xu Zhou, ruled the kindergarten world and concluded their kindergarten era.
As they and their group of childhood friends entered primary school, although the workload increased, they were more liberated and happier.
As for grades… what’s the use of grades? Can you eat them?
Grandpa Gu said: “You can’t!”
Anyway, Gu Jingchen didn’t care. With Grandpa’s indulgence, he lived a carefree life.
Gu’s parents could only secretly rejoice that their child, though a bit foolish, had a good character, was loyal, had a compassionate heart, and was willing to help the weak. In the end, those were virtues…
Xu Zhou, on the other hand, excelled academically, but Gu Jingchen didn’t think having good grades was anything impressive. He was more wary of Xu Zhou’s immense strength.
… Being blocked in the toilet on the first day of kindergarten was the first shadow he had ever experienced in his life.
As time marched forward, they quickly reached the last semester of sixth grade, about to enter junior high school.
Throughout these years, Gu Jingchen and Xu Zhou had always been desk mates. Thanks to Xu Zhou’s encouragement, Gu Jingchen’s academic performance was decent. Moreover, since they were directly advancing to junior high school, there wasn’t much pressure regarding further studies.
In the final month of the semester, the class welcomed a new buddy, Zhou Nianyuan, who had just been brought back to the Zhou family.
