I was chubby from being raised by my grandmother. Bundled up for the winter, I struggled to walk on my wobbly legs, stretching my arms out towards him.
In a moment of inattention, I fell to the ground. Although it wasn’t serious, there was an abrasion on my palm. Before I could cry out, Dongyu’s eyes turned red and he hugged me in a panic. For the first time in my life, I saw an expression other than gentleness and indifference on his face.
As I grew bigger, I ran a little more steadily and gradually became more sturdy. I played with the other children – we’d play hide-and-seek, catch crickets and do such things on a whim.
In those days, my favorite time of the day was night time.
At that time, we were young and uninhibited. Every night, my grandmother would bathe Dongyu. At that age, I had no idea what embarrassment was. I would crawl into the bathtub to be with him.
I especially liked to tease him. I even pointed at a certain part of Dongyu, who had yet to develop, and asked Grandma, “Why is my brother’s different from mine?”
Grandma was always amused by me. She would tap my nose and laugh at me for being shameless.
On the contrary, Dongyu was a little shy. When I was naked next to him, he would freeze and not dare to move.
Grandma helped us apply the shower gel on our bodies. I really liked the sweet fragrance and liked the fact that Dongyu and I smelled alike.
I was afraid of the dark, and I didn’t like sleeping with Grandma, but I was willing to squeeze onto a small bed with Dongyu.
At night, I often brazenly wrapped my little arms and legs around him, pestering him to play Scissors, Paper, Stone. Boring games became the most interesting diversion.
When the moon hung high in the sky and I couldn’t sleep, I liked lying beside him, propping my head up, watching him sing and listening to his stories.
Dongyu had a very pleasant voice. It was as clear as a wind chime, with a hint of childishness. He would sing gently into my ear.
At that time, he only knew how to sing a few songs that he learned from music class. However, I never got tired of listening to him. Every night during my childhood, his soft singing would accompany me till I drifted off to sleep.
*****
In the memories of my youth, Dong Yu was somewhat insipid. He always locked himself in his own world, either doing homework or reading masterpieces that were outside of the curriculum.
He started piano lessons when he was six, so I often pestered him to teach me how to play the piano.
At that time, Dongyu was cold and unapproachable in the eyes of many children. He was so noble and distant.
In retrospect, he, with his city background, could not be compared with those wild children who grew up playing in the countryside. He was clean, tidy and had a scholarly air.
These qualities were not something an ordinary child could have.
People with good etiquette and refined speech were used by many parents as their source of reference.
I remember one time when I got into a fight with a boy named Doudou. The two of us were fighting in the yellow sand. I was weaker than him and was defeated. I was surrounded by other children and sent home. I was dirty from head to toe and had bruises all over my body. My eyes were swollen from the sand that had gotten in.
At that time, there weren’t any adults at home. When Dongyu saw me in such a sorry state, his beautiful brow immediately furrowed. He pushed me into the bathtub and carefully helped me remove my clothes. However, when he saw the bruises on my body, he stood there, feeling so distressed that he didn’t know what to do.
