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Even from a distance, he could already hear those three prattling about some new discovery with their enthusiastic oohs and ahh s being carried by the wind.
He only decided to intervene when little Huan’s cheerful speculation of a guardian spirit reached his ears. Obviously inspired by one of many whimsical bedtime stories.
“....Oh boy,” he sighed while approaching the trio from behind. “Here, lemme show you how it’s done.”
With his arm pulled back, he delivered a sturdy punch to the wooden training dummy making it sway back and forth. The children simultaneously gasped as if he had said a vulgar word in front of them.
“...Why’d you punch grandma’s gift?!”
“Um…Don’t you think you’re hurting it?”
No words left Daiyu’s lips, but her disgruntled expression did the talking for her.
He simply smiled at the concern and mild indignation on the little ones’ faces. He somehow managed to quell his own laughter. “Hurt it…? Really now, this wooden thing?”
This time, he gave the training dummy a gentle knock as though he took their childish woes to heart. The three of them stared in wide eyed anticipation at the dummy as though expecting a yelp of surprise to emerge from it, but only silence followed.
“It’s a wooden training dummy. Just like the name suggests…you use it for combat training. It has no thoughts or feelings, so you don’t have to worry about hurting it.”
This time he did nothing to prevent a small huff of laughter as relief washed over the trio’s faces.
“Big bro’s so smart! He knows everything,” came little Huan’s voice swelling with awe and admiration.
“But I’m surprised little Miss Daiyu wasn’t already aware of this. How could someone who comes from a family of bodyguards not recognize a training dummy?”
His eyes shifted to Daiyu’s face. There wasn’t any hostility in his inquiry. Just a mixture of surprise and amusement. And yet, Daiyu’s face turned bright pink with embarrassment.
“W-Well big brother the training dummies I’ve seen don’t look as grand as this one a-and that was gonna be my next suggestion..”
Her small voice trailed off as she looked awkwardly at her shifting feet.
“But that’s ok because now Daiyu knows, so she won’t make that mistake again,” Baoyu said placidly with an equally gentle smile. Daiyu returned his kind gesture with a grin of her own.
He briefly hummed in agreement. “But…I don’t see the harm in decorating it with trinkets and what not until you’re good and ready to use it. Remember that old hat that mother gifted you, little Huan? You could put it to good use now.”
With that, the children's faces lit up as though their favorite holidays had come early that day. He watched them all run in different directions to collect their ideal decorations with a small smile gracing his features.
He would of course never ever forget the day Huan was born. The way their mother pressed the warm, squirming bundle into his arms. Her gentle yet tired voice as she guided the nervous child into properly holding the infant. How Huan’s squirming subsided as he cradled him in his arms. His soft, bird’s nest of hair and eyes still completely shut.
“I know how life is for children born and raised in Daguanyuan…but it doesn’t have to be that way right? You’ll be a good, loving big brother…right?”
He didn’t have to question the vagueness in her words. For now, he could hold Huan like the precious being that he was. Years later, they could very well be pointing sharpened daggers at each other's throats.
But she was correct. It didn’t have to be that way. It wouldn’t be that way.
“Of course mother,” he replied, still staring fondly at Huan’s sleeping face. She responded to his answer with a sigh of relief and a gentle head pat.
He could also never forget the birth of Baoyu a year prior. Not for sentimental reasons, but for the 7 days and 7 nights of celebration that followed his birth. Mountains of food that not even the whole of Daguanyuan could handle. The burst of colors in the sky from fireworks and lanterns. The excited chatter that buzzed between residents about the arrival of the family gem, Jia Baoyu.
A very stark contrast to Huan’s birth, where he, like most children born here, was hidden in the shadows and mocked for his parentage.
Even after years flew by, he couldn’t understand why this particular boy supposedly shined above them all. To him, Baoyu was no different than the rest. He cried, played, and laughed just like any other child and yet he was revered to a ridiculous degree. Or the subject of envious glares.
Still, he wanted to be a good older brother to him as well. He especially owed Baoyu for being the first child to bring a cheery smile to Huan’s face for no one wanted to play with a kid so low on the totem pole.
With pink blossoming on his face, little Huan would happily regulate tales of play time with Baoyu until bedtime or until his dreaded bathtime. It was entirely unnecessary, since he was almost always close by while the two played together, but he would listen to each and every one of his stories with an affectionate smile on his face.
Soon, a girl around their age called Lin Daiyu would join in on their adventures. She came from an even lower status than Huan, but she flawlessly blended right into their friend group. She was a kind just like them, but tougher than both the boys combined. Like a protective shield, Daiyu would guard both Baoyu and Huan against the insults other children would fling their way.
Xichun would sometimes tag along as well. She was about half their age, but filled with the same energy and childish wonder. Xichun was especially drawn to Baoyu, and would follow him around like an unmatched shadow.
He decided ages ago that he should be a supportive brother to them all. Not only would he supervise play time, he would tell them stories of the City outside of H corp, not only for their own amusement, but to prepare them for a day when they perhaps leave this place. Whenever their beloved kites got tangled, he and his mother would spend what felt like hours untangling them. He would personally administer first aid to any bruised knees and scrapes.
And, much to the children’s mild dismay and accusations of cheating, he would join a game or two at little Huan’s request. He quickly decided to skip the bolus making games, so he wouldn’t be subjected to any bolus testing.
“If you really wanna be the City’s best bolus maker, you gotta hit the books early little Huan,” he said time and time again, ignoring Huan’s protesting whines as he pouted at the words on the page.
“Ok big bro..can I go play with Baoyu and Daiyu when I finish?”
Little Huan gave him a practice pleading look that dissolved into a wide smile when he nodded.
“...Is there something wrong Baoyu?”
It was a question he had been meaning to ask Baoyu for ages. He noticed how the light in his eyes was fading away, slowly sinking into murky depths. His smile felt…more hollow than before. There was a persistent forlornness that now shaped his expressions.
He could hear little Huan’s voice ringing in his ear.
“I don’t understand why he looks so sad. I would be super excited to see all those cool experiments with grandma!” Huan huffed, voice practically dripping with envy.
Of course there was something wrong, but he wanted to hear it from Baoyu himself. The child, who was patiently waiting inside their home for Huan to come downstairs to play, flinched under his older brother’s scrutinizing gaze.
Nonetheless, he gave him an empty smile. “No. Nothing’s wrong.”
Even a toddler could see the dishonestly. With him being under Jia Mu’s watchful eyes, he didn’t have the privilege to tread these kinds of waters, but he had to try - something.
He frowned. “You know if someone’s hurting you you can - “
His attempt to reach out to his little brother was interrupted by Huan’s gleeful call of Baoyu’s name. Baoyu gave him a more lively smile and quietly thanked him before being practically dragged away by his excited companion.
Later that day, after little Huan suffered through a lengthy bath to remove layers of caked on dirt, the child tugged on his brother’s robe to draw his attention away from his book.
“Big brother, can Baoyu and Daiyu come to my birthday party next week? Maybe then big bro Baoyu will feel better…Oh! Can Xichun come as well?”
Baoyu was the only child special enough to have an official birthday, but there was nothing preventing secretive small-scale celebration for close knit families. Little Huan’s birthday parties were quiet affairs that gave him the perfect excuse to indulge in sweets and shiny new toys. For Huan to want to share such a special moment with others was touching proof of how much he valued his friendship with them.
He gave Huan that affectionate smile reserved just for him before nodding. “Of course you can. Be sure to ask our mother too, ok?”