Chapter 5: I'll share half of my birthday with you

Switching classes is usually not allowed, and most kids wouldn’t even consider it.

Unlike primary or secondary school, in kindergarten, the children are very tender. Once they’ve finally gotten used to their circle of friends and adapted to this environment, how could they bear to leave? Transferring schools is unavoidable at times, but transferring classes? That’s almost unheard of.

However, this did happen later on, thanks to Qi Mu’s inability to handle it and Qi Dashan’s intervention.

Qi Mu had a frank discussion with his dad, and Comrade Lao Qi decisively took action.

Reflecting on the content of this conversation twenty years later, Qi Dashan probably wanted to slap himself.

Qi Mu: “Dad, I want to be in the same class as Xiao Yin.”
“Xiao Yin?” Comrade Dashan, with many important people to remember, couldn’t recall this name.

“The… err… one I stamped…” He almost wanted to say the little sister.

Qi Dashan suddenly remembered, scrunching his brows and teasing, “That pretty kid?”

Although Yin Xiuzhu was a boy, calling him pretty wasn’t wrong, so Qi Mu earnestly nodded, “Yes.”

“Can do.” Qi Dashan chuckled, “This little brat has more ideas than your old man.”

Qi Mu didn’t quite understand, but he was indeed a thoughtful kid. “He’s always bullied in Class Three, it’s troublesome for me to cover for him.”

Qi Dashan chuckled, “Alright, you’ve known how to care for others since you were little.”

Qi Mu continued, “I’ve already asked him, and he also wants to be in the same class as me.”

“Alright,” Qi Dashan decided, “Dad will take care of this for you.”

With Qi Dashan stepping in, how could Teacher Xiao Zhang possibly resist? It wasn’t just because the red envelope was so heavy in her hand; she genuinely felt that Mr. Qi’s reasoning made sense: Yin Xiuzhu was a pitiable child, and it was fate that he and Qi Mu could play together. As the saying goes, ‘Softness can overcome hardness.’ Who knows, maybe Yin Xiuzhu could keep Qi Mu in check.

It must be said, that both Teacher Xiao Zhang and Comrade Qi Dashan were quite visionary, inadvertently spoiling future developments.

And so, the summer passed, and when school started, Yin Xiuzhu moved to Class Three.

Qi Mu introduced Yin Xiuzhu solemnly to his good friends.

Xu Xiaoming and Fang Junqi, pressured by Yin’s influence, reluctantly became his good friends. At this point, they could only smile and say, “We’ve known each other for a long time.”

Who wouldn’t know? Who didn’t know that the Little Tyrant patrolled Class Two every day just to protect this little troublemaker?

In private, Xu Xiaoming and Fang Junqi earnestly discussed, “Can crazy people be contagious?”
Fang Xiaopang said, “Class 2 says it can.”

Xu Xiaoming looked somewhat timid, “What happens if it is contagious?”

“I heard you go crazy and grow hair all over your body!”

Xu Xiaoming fell silent for a moment. “Did Yin Xiuzhu grow hair?”

Fang Junqi also fell silent. “No…” He was spotless, cleaner even than the girls in the class.

Xu Xiaoming sighed softly. “When it comes to going crazy, is anyone crazier than Qi Mu?”

Fang Junqi replied with silence. Truly, no one was.

So, who cares about craziness? Could anything be scarier than Qi Mu?

For five or six-year-old Yin Xiuzhu, this year in Class 2 was extraordinarily happy. No one bullied him, no one scolded him, and no one mentioned his mother. He followed behind Qi Mu like standing under a bright sun, where darkness couldn’t come close.

It was great to have met Qi Mu. It was truly wonderful.

In March of the following year, during the season when the grass grows and the warblers fly, Qi Mu’s birthday arrived.

His lunar birthday fell on a weekend, so he celebrated at home. His solar birthday was on a Tuesday. Being such a prominent figure, Qi Dashan naturally had to make a show for his son.

He arranged for an assistant to submit an application to the kindergarten in advance and formally planned a birthday party for his son.

The kindergarten tacitly approved these arrangements, treating it as a spontaneous event. If the parents wanted to organize something, they would cooperate.

Qi Mu was well-known. Both Class 3 and Class 2, who received his “care,” enjoyed delicious cakes and sent him their blessings.

Even the preschool teachers were enthusiastic and genuinely happy from the bottom of their hearts—how wonderful! Papa Qi’s birthday in March meant he could start elementary school this year without having to wait another year.

After making his wish, Qi Mu asked Xu Xiaoming, “What did you wish for?”

Qi Mu grinned, “I wished you wouldn’t cry after just one punch.”

Xu Xiaoming was annoyed, “I never cry!”

“Wanna try?”

“Try… yeah right!” Xu Xiaoming ran off.

Qi Mu turned to Yin Xiuzhu, “Do you like chocolate?”

Yin Xiuzhu shook his head, “It’s for you.”

“We’ll split it!” Qi Mu decided and break the chocolate football on the cake in half, giving one part to Yin Xiuzhu.

Yin Xiuzhu didn’t like chocolate, but he ate it very carefully this time, saying it was one of the best things in the world.

They both ate the same thing, but their eating manners were completely different.

One gnawed all over, getting messy; the other was neat, not a speck on his face and hands.

Qi Mu deeply admired Yin Xiuzhu for this, truly clean, even cleaner than a little girl.

As Qi Mu watched him eat, he suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, by the way, when’s your birthday?”

Yin Xiuzhu was momentarily stunned, unable to answer.

Qi Mu said, “My solar birthday is March 28th, and lunar is February 18th. How about you?”

Yin Xiuzhu shook his head, “I don’t know.”

At this age, Qi Mu didn’t think too much about it. He said, “It’s normal not to remember. I didn’t remember before either. It took me several years to finally remember.”

Yin Xiuzhu didn’t forget; he simply didn’t know because—
“I’ve never had a birthday.”

“Never?” Qi Mu widened his eyes. “How come? It’s once a year, right? Hmm, I’ve had two birthdays this year.”

Yin Xiuzhu whispered, “No one told me. I don’t know when my birthday is.”
Qi Mu was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding why no one had told him. What about his parents?

Although he didn’t quite understand, Qi Mu knew Yin Xiuzhu didn’t like to talk about his family. After a moment’s thought, he decided, “Celebrating a birthday is about eating cake and making a wish. Come on!”

He pulled Yin Xiuzhu over to the cake, put the candle back in, and said, “Make a wish.”

Yin Xiuzhu looked bewildered.

Qi Mu said, “Come on, make a wish. I’ll share my birthday with you.”

Yin Xiuzhu’s eyes turned red. Every nice thing he had ever heard was from Qi Mu.

Can I share half of my birthday with him? Can I do that?

Qi Mu urged him, “Hurry up, if you don’t make a wish soon, the wish fairy will run away.”

Yin Xiuzhu nodded solemnly, clasped his hands together under his chin, and closed his eyes.

Make a wish…

His wish was imprinted clearly and distinctly in his mind.
—He wanted to be with Qi Mu forever.

After opening his eyes, Yin Xiuzhu hurriedly said, “I won’t say it out loud.”

But Qi Mu, curious as ever, asked, “What did you wish for?”

Yin Xiuzhu wanted to tell him but feared it might not come true if he did, feeling torn.

Seeing his dilemma, Qi Mu quickly said, “Okay, okay, don’t say it.”

Yin Xiuzhu nodded firmly and said earnestly, “It must not fail.”

Qi Mu grinned, showing his small tiger teeth. “Hehe, don’t worry. My birthday fairy is especially powerful. Every wish I make comes true.”

Mrs. Qiao, the “birthday fairy” who worked at home, sneezed loudly.

Yin Xiuzhu sincerely hoped this wish would come true.

Unfortunately, the things he had always hoped for were things he could never grasp.

As they graduated from kindergarten and prepared to enter elementary school, Qi Mu shared a piece of great news with Xu Xiaoming and the others.

Little Tyrant Qi Mu wasn’t going to the private Guorui Elementary School directly affiliated with the kindergarten. Instead, he had enrolled in another public elementary school!