Take Me Away, My Love - Chapter 50 - The Duel

Jian Qingtian and Jian Ru had been at odds for quite some time.

Today, a trivial matter escalated, and the two boys found themselves in a standoff.

Outside the kindergarten, on the playground, the two little boys stood face to face. Surrounding them was a circle of classmates.

A little girl stood behind Jian Qingtian, sobbing as she recounted what had just happened.

It turned out that as Jian Ru was walking, he accidentally bumped into a little girl named Feifei. Instead of apologizing, Jian Ru insulted her, saying she was blind, which led to an argument.

Jian Ru pushed Feifei, causing her to fall and ruin her new dress, which made the little girl cry.

Jian Qingtian witnessed the whole scene and confronted Jian Ru, asking, “Why can’t you be more considerate of girls?”

Jian Ru retorted, “Why should I be? She deserved it for being blind.”

Enraged, Jian Qingtian finally took action.

“You act so arrogant, as if you’re so strong. How about we see who is better? Whoever wins will call the shots,” Jian Qingtian said proudly.

Jian Ru, confident as ever, replied, “You name it, what are we competing in?”

“Let’s play ball and see who wins.”

With that, the two little guys ran towards the basketball court.

Another child acted as referee and started the game. Jian Qingtian and Jian Ru began to move.

Despite their young age, they handled the ball with impressive skill. Sometimes, even adults would pause to admire their prowess.

The two boys darted across the court, chasing and evading each other, even employing tactics like blocking and interception.

Not only their classmates but eventually even the teachers took notice.

Tensely, neither boy could score a goal. Just as one would make a move, the other was already there to intercept.

Each interception was a close call, keeping everyone on edge.

Some well-equipped teachers even recorded this thrilling event with DV cameras, planning to post it on their blogs later.

As the game was about to end, Jian Qingtian suddenly leaned left, and Jian Ru instinctively rushed in that direction. But instead of continuing forward, Jian Qingtian jumped and made a high throw towards the basket.

From such a distance, even adults would struggle to make it. Everyone held their breath, eyes fixed on the scene.

Miraculously, the ball traced a perfect arc through the air and headed toward the basket. After circling the rim a couple of times, it finally dropped in.

At the same time, the clock ran out. The children and teachers erupted into cheers.

Who would have thought a kindergarten could host such an impressive game? It was truly unexpected.

As the cheering nearly drowned them out, Feifei, who had been wronged earlier, brought a bunch of wildflowers to Jian Qingtian and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

“You’re amazing!”

It was Jian Qingtian’s first time being kissed by a girl. Even for someone as bright as him, his cheeks turned red from the experience.

Years later, whenever he recalled this moment, the flutter in his heart remained vivid. The feeling never faded, and despite meeting many women over the years, none gave him the same pure and beautiful feeling as Feifei.

Jian Ru remained cold, saying dismissively, “Just luck, I’m not convinced.”

Jian Qingtian raised his eyebrows, looking at the little weirdo in front of him, and asked, “Not convinced? What do you want to do?”

“Let’s compete in something else-let’s see who scores highest in next week’s final exam,” Jian Ru said, his eyes glinting with determination.

Even when challenged, Jian Qingtian’s pride shone through as he replied confidently, “Alright, I’ll play along. But I’m telling you, I’ll win again.”

“We’ll see, the loser will definitely be you!” Jian Ru retorted confidently.

The surrounding teachers and classmates were thrilled. These two kindergarten powerhouses seemed to be officially squaring off.

What was initially thought to be a minor disagreement between kids seemed far more complex and exciting.

After today’s showdown, Jian Qingtian and Jian Ru became stars in their own right.

Everyone in the kindergarten, from teachers and the principal to students and friends, knew about what happened on the playground.

Some kids even secretly began admiring them as idols.

Jian Qingtian was well-liked, always surrounded by friends, naturally gaining popularity. But the cool Jian Ru was no slouch either.

His cold charisma left a lasting impression, and some girls secretly viewed him as their prince charming.

As the rivalry between these two groups intensified, occasionally, debates and arguments would break out among their followers, each side firm in their support.

The teacher who had filmed the scene earlier uploaded the video online, and soon, views and comments flooded in.

Even Li Minchun, casually surfing the web at home, stumbled upon this news.

Li Minchun quickly called Jian Yiqing over. Watching the familiar figures of the two little challengers on the computer screen, Jian Yiqing smiled, “Not bad, that’s my son. That little brat from the Shangguan Family needed a lesson long ago. Well done!”

Instead of being angry, Jian Yiqing encouraged his son. It seemed he had a unique parenting style.

Li Minchun, exasperated, patted his shoulder and said, “These kids are already learning to fight at such a young age. What will they do when they grow up?”

Jian Yiqing was unfazed by Li Minchun’s concern. “We went through so much as kids, and who helped us? Didn’t we turn out fine? Now is the time when our child’s character is being formed. We should guide him properly. I believe this is excellent; a young man should be assertive, or else he’ll be bullied.”

As he said this, Jian Yiqing winked playfully at Li Minchun and provocatively asked, “Guess what our son’s result will be?”

“What result?” Li Minchun was puzzled, not understanding what Jian Yiqing was implying.

It seemed they disagreed on how to educate their son.

“Of course, I’m talking about the upcoming final exam. Haven’t you noticed that recently our son doesn’t go out to play after school? He’s been diligently reading every day.”

With Jian Yiqing’s words, Li Minchun realized it was true. Their son had indeed been much more disciplined lately.

“Are you really encouraging them to fight?” Li Minchun frowned, unconvinced.

After all the hardships and near-death experiences in her childhood, she was firmly against her son following the same path.

“I believe our son will win. Just look at whose son he is,” Jian Yiqing said, raising his eyebrows proudly.

Watching the two of them being so combative, Li Minchun shook her head helplessly. It seemed there was no saving this father and son duo.

As they were talking, Jian Qingtian came in with his backpack. He looked exhausted, picked up a glass of juice from the table, took a sip, and was ready to head upstairs with his bag.

Li Minchun quickly called out, “Son, where are you going?”

Jian Qingtian’s face was full of determination. “I’m going upstairs to do my homework and read.”

“You just got back from kindergarten, you can relax for a bit. There’s no need to be so tense,” Li Minchun said, worried about how tired he looked.

Seeing her son already so worn out from kindergarten made Li Minchun worry. How would he cope in the future if this continued? The burden would only grow heavier.

Thinking of this, she felt even more concerned.

Jian Qingtian smiled and replied, “Don’t worry, mom. I’ll work hard now, and when the final exam comes, I’ll show you by getting a perfect score.”

With that, he ignored Li Minchun’s worried gaze and headed upstairs.

Jian Yiqing watched his son walk away and smiled proudly. Hugging a worried Li Minchun, he said, “Honey, don’t be like this. It’s actually a good thing, isn’t it?”

Li Minchun didn’t think it was a good thing. She just didn’t want her son to suffer so much.

Before long, the final exam for Jian Qingtian and Jian Ru approached.

This final exam seemed different from previous ones. After all, there was a bet between the two children, and everyone was eager to know the outcome.

Teachers cautiously watched the exam room. Both kids were focused on their papers, writing far faster than the other students.

Even before this, both had shown extraordinary talent at kindergarten. Now they seemed to be even better than when they first started. Unknowingly, the teachers began to anticipate the results.

The kindergarten exam quickly came to an end, and the results were out soon after.

As soon as they stepped out of the exam hall, a crowd gathered around Jian Qingtian and Jian Ru.

Feifei, particularly concerned about the two, asked in surprise, “Jian Qingtian, how did it go?”

Jian Qingtian wore a confident smile and said calmly, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely be the top scorer.”

Jian Ru, with his usual cold expression, was also full of confidence, declaring, “I’m the real number one.”

“Oh, really? If you lose, you’ll have to run ten laps around the playground in front of the whole kindergarten and shout three times, ‘I, Jian Ru, lost to Jian Qingtian. Jian Ru is the defeated one!’ How about that?”

The students and teachers nearby almost erupted at these words.

For someone as young as Jian Qingtian to issue such a bold challenge was impressive. Despite their young age, the kindergarten kids still had their pride.

This challenge was undoubtedly aimed at publicly embarrassing Jian Ru.

Many were curious to see what Jian Ru’s reaction would be.

Faced with Jian Qingtian’s direct challenge, Jian Ru did not back down at all.

Straightening his small frame, he replied coldly, “Not just that, the loser must also present the winner with a white flag. What do you say? Do you dare?”

As they spoke, their eyes locked in a fierce stare.

Little Feifei, being a girl, was understandably scared by their fierce confrontation and shivered slightly.

Both of them, however, showed no sign of backing down, full of confidence.

“No problem, just make sure you don’t cheat when the time comes!”

Jian Qingtian remained confident in the face of this challenge.