After Descending the Mountain, Seven Big Brothers Spoil Me - Chapter 860

Chapter 860: A New Friend
After a while of playing around, Qin Nan quickly covered Qin Bei’s mouth when he saw that Zhouzhou was about to cry and whispered in his ear, “Aren’t you afraid of getting a beating from little uncle for making Zhouzhou cry?”

Qin Bei’s smile immediately vanished upon hearing this. Indeed, he was more afraid of Qin Lie than anything else.

The teacher organized them again, shifting their attention to other activities. Zhouzhou, carefree as ever, quickly forgot about the incident and happily joined in.

Once the tasks were done, and seeing there was still time left, the teacher allowed them free time. The moment the teacher left, Chang Beibei dragged her chair over to sit next to Zhouzhou. Qin Nan and Qin Bei followed, expertly pulling out sunflower seeds from her pocket and snacking on them.

It was then they noticed Huo Ji’an sitting at the same desk as Zhou Fei, who was directly behind Zhouzhou. When they turned to look, Zhou Fei instinctively shrank back, standing up quickly as if about to flee, stammering, “Y-you guys can talk. I’ll move so you can sit.”

As he spoke, he hunched over as if expecting them to hit him.

Zhouzhou blinked in confusion and asked, “This is your seat. Why would you leave?”

“Yeah,” Huo Ji’an also looked puzzled, “Just sit. We’re doing our own thing.”

Hearing this, Zhou Fei hesitantly glanced at their expressions and, seeing they genuinely didn’t intend to hit him, finally sat back down. However, he still shifted his body closer to the aisle, keeping one foot outside as if ready to bolt at any moment. He looked rather pitiful.

Seeing this, Zhouzhou took out a piece of candy from her bag and handed it to him. “Here, take it. Don’t be scared, I don’t hit people.”

Zhou Fei was startled, staring at her in a daze, as if in disbelief. He hadn’t experienced such kindness in a long time. He instinctively reached out for the candy but quickly withdrew his hand, his face turning pale. “N-no, I don’t need it.”

His reaction only made things seem stranger.

“Fine, I’ll take it!” Huo Ji’an snatched the candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth, his eyes squinting in satisfaction from the sweetness. “You don’t know how stingy Chubby Girl is. Normally, she sells these for 50 cents a piece! If she’s giving you one for free and you don’t take it, you’re missing out.”

The others nodded in agreement. Indeed, Zhouzhou was very frugal.

Hearing this, Zhouzhou puffed up her cheeks in dissatisfaction, pouting, “I’m right here, you know!”

How could they talk bad about her right in front of her?

Huo Ji’an chuckled, “Well, you wouldn’t really get mad at us anyway.”

Even if she did get upset, Chubby Girl was easy to cheer up. A simple meal would do the trick. Worst case, two meals would surely solve it.

Zhouzhou waved her chubby hand dismissively, forgiving him.

She took out another piece of candy from her pocket and handed it to Zhou Fei. “Here, take it as a gift. We’re friends now.”

Friends…

Hearing those words, Zhou Fei’s heart trembled. This time, he couldn’t refuse. He reached out and accepted the candy, looking at Zhouzhou sincerely. “Thank you.”

Zhouzhou and her friends were used to sharing snacks with each other and never said thank you. Seeing him being so polite, they couldn’t help but glance at him a little more.

“You don’t really resemble your mom,” Chang Beibei commented.

His mother was someone who always had her nose in the air, looking down on everyone as if they were beneath her. There was no way she would ever say thank you.

Hearing this, Zhou Fei’s grip tightened, and he awkwardly replied, “My mom cares about me.”

Their parents cared about them too, but none of them acted like his mother. However, they didn’t want to talk badly about her in front of Zhou Fei, so Chang Beibei dropped the subject.

After chatting for a while, they got tired and decided to go play outside. As they ran out, Zhouzhou noticed Zhou Fei still sitting in his seat and called back, “Come on!”

Zhou Fei stood up nervously. “C-can I play with you?”

“Of course!” Zhouzhou nodded, and when Qin Bei urged her, she grabbed Zhou Fei’s hand and dragged him along without hesitation. “Don’t be slow!”

Zhou Fei, pulled into their group, was still adjusting to the situation. But when he saw no one pushing him away, he finally relaxed a little.

“How about we play ‘Eagle Catching the Chicks’? Zhouzhou, you can be the mother hen,” Qin Bei suggested.

“I want to be the eagle!” Zhouzhou pouted, her eyes pleading.

“No way,” everyone responded in unison.

Zhouzhou’s cheeks puffed up in frustration. “Why not?”

Chang Beibei looked at her like she was silly. “If you’re the eagle, what’s the point of playing? You’re so fast, you’d catch all the chicks in seconds. Where’s the fun in that?”

Zhouzhou sighed deeply. “Being unbeatable is so lonely.”

“Come on, let’s start,” Qin Bei said excitedly.

With formal classes starting the next day, everyone wanted to enjoy their free time.

Chang Beibei quickly organized the group, calling over other students to join the game. Soon, they had over a dozen “chicks.”

Zhouzhou, the shortest of them all, stood at the front with her chubby arms spread wide, declaring fiercely, “As long as I’m here, no one will take my babies!”

Qin Bei grinned mischievously. “We’ll see about that!”

Zhouzhou was indeed strong, but not everyone else was. Soon, a few clumsy “chicks” fell out of line and got caught by Qin Bei, the “eagle.”

Zhouzhou stomped her feet in frustration, her chubby arms stretching even wider to protect the remaining chicks.

Laughter and playful shouts filled the air.

The teacher peeked out from the office to check on them and, seeing they were having fun, returned inside.

Zhou Fei was initially standing in the middle, but the chicks behind him were caught one by one, leaving him as the last chick. Qin Bei cackled evilly and swooped in for another attack.

With a shriek, the remaining chicks ran away as fast as they could. Zhou Fei, trying to keep up, accidentally fell, scraping his knee.

“Are you okay?” Huo Ji’an turned around and pulled him up. “Hurry, here he comes!”

Zhou Fei barely had time to register his scraped knee before he took off running again.

Amid the laughter and excitement, Zhou Fei couldn’t help but smile. He was having so much fun.

In fact, he hadn’t told anyone that this was his first time playing this game. His mother had never allowed him to play with other children, especially not games like this that she considered rough.

But he felt so happy.