"Matthew, let's eat the cake together!"

"Eat the cake… together?" Matthew asked. He was dazed for a moment, thinking that he had heard it wrong.

​​

"Yes!" Little Jean snatched the plate from Matthew's hand and then used his other hand to grab Matthew's wrist, dragging him out of the birthday party.

"Y—Young Master, we're not supposed to leave the birthday party. It's your birthday party after all…." Matthew advised, but Little Jean ignored it and continued dragging Matthew until they reached the maze garden.

Matthew was taken aback when he saw the huge maze made out of trimmed bushes as tall as a chest of an adult man. Matthew hesitated for a second, thinking that they would get lost inside the maze.

"Young Master, this is dangerous. Let's return," Matthew suggested. He released his wrist from Little Jean's hand, hoping that Little Jean would return with him.

But Little Jean only laughed and skipped happily, going inside the maze, "It's okay, Matthew! Jean knows the way. Jean is a fairy!"

The Butterly hairpin on Little Jean's head glinted for a split second, and small flowers and fresh grass would grow on the land that Little Jean had just stepped on with his shoes.

It created a trail of flowers for Matthew to follow, "Matthew, follow Jean!"

Matthew was still scared, but he didn't want Little Jean to be left alone. Thus, he braced himself and ran towards the maze garden. He followed the flower trail that Little Jean made.

The maze garden was challenging to navigate unless you were a native in this palace, someone born or stayed in this palace for so long.

It was surprising that Little Jean could pace through the maze garden without difficulty, knowing his young age.

Matthew continued taking sharp turns inside the maze garden until he stopped in front of a big circle in the middle of the maze garden. It was filled with various flowers, two benches, and a beautiful fountain whose water was sparkling in the middle of summer.

Little Jean was sitting at the edge of the fountain, kicking his legs energetically. He rejoiced when Matthew finally arrived, "Matthew, over here! Sit with Jean!"

Matthew took few deep breaths before he was exhausted. Little Jean was really fast. He was light on his feet and didn't look tired at all.

Matthew approached Little Jean and sat beside him. He was sweating due to the hot summer, and that Little Jean forced him to run around the long maze.

"W—Why didn't you sweat, Jean," Matthew asked.

"Un… what is sweat?" Little Jean asked.

"… that's when you're tired after running around and started having water all over your body…." Matthew explained.

Little Jean shook his head, "Jean doesn't understand. Jean never gets sweaty!"

…

Now that he thinks about it, Little Jean never looked tired running around restlessly. He was only tired when he used a lot of magic like yesterday. And he never smelled bad. Just like his pink hair, it would smell like strawberry or rose most of the time.

"Um… Matthew's face is wet!" Little Jean took out his handkerchief. It was the first handkerchief he got from his Big brother.

He wiped the sweat on Matthew's face with the handkerchief, but his clumsy hands made it felt like he was rubbing Matthew's face instead.

But Matthew didn't care about that. He was just glad that Little Jean wanted to use his handkerchief to wipe the sweat of a peasant like him.

Matthew's heart was beating fast, but he said nothing.

After it was done, Little Jean put his handkerchief in his pocket and then pointed at the cake, "Let's eat this together, Matthew!"

Matthew didn't move. He only stared at Little Jean and waited for him to do something.

Little Jean grabbed the cake, just like how he grabbed the cake for his Big brother and Raphael. He gave the first bite to Matthew.

Matthew was initially reluctant, but he finally yielded after Little Jean kept shoving it on his mouth.

He took a small bite, and then Little Jean bit the cake at the same spot where Matthew had just taken his bite.

Matthew blushed instantly, "Y—Young Master Jean, that's not—"

"Un? What's wrong?" Little Jean asked.

"Young Master… you just bite at the same spot as mine, that is…." Matthew wanted to say that they had an indirect kiss, but he doubted that Little Jean knew what indirect kiss was, or romantic kiss in general.

Matthew realized what a romantic kiss meant when he saw his parents kissing on their lips and a painting that his dad did before.

A romantic kiss was meant to be done for a pair of lovers, not friends.

"Un? Matthew, what do you want to say?" Little Jean asked again.

"Nothing," Matthew stopped talking about it. It was best to keep it by himself, or Little Jean might've realized it and stopped eating.

Little Jean offered the cake that he had bitten to Matthew, and Matthew took a small bite. He deliberately touched his lips on the cake, so their lips would be indirectly touching when Little Jean took a bite.

Little Jean looked so oblivious, as he was just enjoying the cake with his friend. It was only Matthew who matured too fast and his smart but devious intention to have an indirect kiss with little Jean.

[Heh, look at this kid? He is deliberately biting the cake with his lips, so we would have an indirect kiss. He is only six years old and already has such perverse intentions. He is literally small Xu Jiansheng, smart but also cunning and sharp.]

[Pupa: Good, at least someone with a brain, unlike the rest of the male leads who fall in love with spicy chicken like you.]

[Ish, just admit that I have an undeniable charm in me!]

After they were done eating the cake, Little Jean washed his hands in the fountain and then grinned happily, "Matthew, do you want to see a magic trick?

--

Author Note: I'm sorry to deliver this news, but Pupa will be taking a short break to prepare for Exam. My Exam will be on 1-2 September, so I have to study and prepare starting from 30 September. I will return with daily update on 3 Sept.

Thank you so much for reading and thank you for your support!

- With Luv, Pupa

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