During recess, the little girl Chen Meijin sat alone on a stone bench in the middle of the schoolyard.
She was six years old this year and had just started first grade.
The bench was long, her body was small, and there was no one around, making the scene even more lonely.
She watched her classmates playing together in the yard, and a few girls sat talking to each other.
But she didn't dare to join them, because the other children in her class didn't play with her.
She just sat alone, watching everyone play happily, then quietly smiled along.
At dismissal time, her uncle, Chen Jiancheng, came to pick her up today. Normally, her father would send a bodyguard, but today the bodyguard had work for her father, so her youngest uncle, Jiancheng, came to pick her up.
Her youngest uncle didn't know that the bodyguard usually went directly to the classroom to lead her out, so he just waited at the gate for her to come down by herself.
The little girl stumbled out of the schoolyard, and a group of about three boys came and blocked her path.
"Hey, aren't you going home with your black-clothed uncle today?"
Meijin shook her head innocently.
"I saw you have a Rayto* ruler, can I see it?"
(*: The hottest cartoon character at that time.)
"I didn't bring it."
"She's lying, Zhong, I always see her keep it in her pencil case."
The thinnest boy in the group pointed at Meijin's backpack.
Leading the three boys was a chubby boy named Guo Zhong, followed by two other boys, one skinny, who seemed to wear glasses for nearsightedness but looked very active; that boy was Ming Kha.
The remaining boy was the most well-built but looked the fiercest of the three; that boy was named Long.
Seeing Kha maliciously point at her backpack, Meijin hugged her backpack and shook her head.
"No, I'm telling the truth, I didn't bring it today."
Zhong saw Meijin's expression and thought she was lying. He didn't say anything but snatched Meijin's backpack away.
Although the little girl was weaker, she still decided to resist.
While they were struggling, someone from a distance threw a backpack at Zhong.
He was in so much pain that he let go of Meijin's backpack.
"Do you guys like bullying girls so much?" Ming Jian walked over, picked up his own backpack, and stood in front of Meijin.
"Who are you?" Long asked.
"You don't need to know who I am. You're bullying a girl in the schoolyard, do you believe I'll tell your teacher? Your teacher will call home and tell your parents."
Ming Jian was a little taller than the boys and spoke in a raised voice.
"Who said I was bullying her?" Kha hastily explained.
"Then what are you guys doing?" Ming Jian asked back.
"Don't you think she's weird?" Zhong asked.
"I think she's cute, you guys are the weird ones!" Ming Jian frowned and replied.
"Hmph, we're not bullying her, she's weird so we just stay away. She always goes with that fierce, intimidating uncle."
Zhong pouted.
"Do you know why she has to go with such an intimidating uncle?" Ming Jian asked.
"Why?"
"Because when she doesn't go with that intimidating uncle anymore, she'll be bullied by cowardly boys like you, like today for example."
Ming Jian looked at the boys arrogantly.
The boys were silent for a while, then the boy named Long pulled the other two away.
Ming Jian continued to glare at them from behind.
"Come on, I'll take you home!" Ming Jian turned to Meijin and said.
The little girl looked at Ming Jian with admiration at this moment, and she replied with a smile.
"No, my youngest uncle is waiting for me outside the gate!"
"Then I'll go with you to the gate!"
Meijin nodded, and the two children walked to the gate together.
Meijin secretly asked.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Huang Mingjian, from class 3C."
"I'm Chen Meijin, from class 1A."
Minh Jian tried to find the "grumpy uncle" the kids were talking about, but looked around and couldn't see him.
Just then, he heard Mei Jin call out loudly and then trot away.
"Little Uncle!"
Chen Jiancheng, standing next to the car, quickly stepped forward to pick up the little girl. He asked, "Why are you so late?"
Mei Jin didn't answer, but just smiled brightly.
The little girl turned to Minh Jian nearby and waved.
"Bye, big brother, I'm going home now. Thank you. See you again!"
Minh Jian laughed at the little girl's continuous chatter and waved goodbye to her.
Chen Jiancheng put the little girl in the car and drove away.
Minh Jian stared at the car until it disappeared from sight, thinking to himself, "Where was he grumpy? This big brother is as handsome as the actors Mom usually watches on TV."
(*When Mei Jin was 6 years old, our old uncle was only 22. If he was still handsome at 36, how much more handsome was he at 22!)
The next day, during recess, the little girl Mei Jin ran straight to Class 3C.
Seeing her standing outside the door looking in, the kids in the class quickly asked, "Little sister, who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for Big Brother Minh Jian!" Mei Jin answered obediently.
"Minh Jian went to the library to borrow books, little sister!"
"Oh, thank you!" After saying that, Mei Jin hurried to the library.
The kids in the class whispered among themselves.
"Hey, is that Jian's little sister?"
"Crazy, I don't see any resemblance between that girl and Jian, so why 'little sister'?"
"But that little girl is really pretty, her face is so cute."
Mei Jin arrived at the library and saw Minh Jian sitting on a stone bench in front of the library. She immediately ran over.
"Big Brother!" she called.
Minh Jian looked up at the little girl and asked, "What's wrong, little sister?"
Mei Jin held out her hand. She was holding a small box of pastries.
"This is for you, Big Brother!" Saying that, the little girl sat down next to him, looking at his pile of books. Most of them were English books.
Minh Jian opened the box and saw four very beautiful cream puffs inside.
He asked the little girl, "Why are you giving them to me?"
"You helped me yesterday, so I'm giving them to you to say thank you!"
Minh Jian just smiled and took a pastry, holding it to the little girl's mouth. Mei Jin saw this and took a bite.
There were four pastries in the box, but Minh Jian had already let Mei Jin eat three of them.
After eating, the two children returned to their classroom. Minh Jian carried his books with one hand and held Mei Jin's hand with the other, leading her back to Class 1A.
From then on, Minh Jian's friends all automatically considered Mei Jin to be Minh Jian's little sister.
The little girl Mei Jin was no longer lonely at school. Whenever she had time, she would trail behind Minh Jian.
As for him, he always doted on Mei Jin and never found it troublesome.
Both families knew about the existence of the two siblings, so they often sent food to the school for them.
Thanks to this spontaneous relationship, the families of Mei Jin and Minh Jian also collaborated on work a few times.
From then on, the two children, who had been strangers, became childhood sweethearts.