CHAPTER 50 — The Three Little Stars Collide
The kindergarten playground was buzzing with late-morning noise—children laughing, teachers chatting, tiny shoes pattering across the soft ground. The air smelled of chalk, bubble soap, and freshly trimmed grass.
Shi Yichen held his little sister's hand tightly as they walked through the colorful gate together.
His face was calm, serious… almost cold.
Shi Qing'er, on the other hand, looked around with bright, curious eyes, holding her small pink lunchbox.
"Gege, do you think Mama will come pick us up later?" she asked softly.
Yichen squeezed her fingers.
"Mn. Even if she's late, I'm here."
Qing'er's lips curled into a sweet smile.
The teacher on duty rushed toward them with a warm grin.
"Ah—Yichen, Qing'er! Good morning!"
"Good morning, teacher," both children said politely and bowed a little.
The teacher melted instantly.
These two siblings were always polite, always calm, always well-behaved—children raised under sweetness and hardship both.
As they were led to their class group, another little boy stood near the sandbox, hugging a tiny robot toy against his chest.
Mu Rui.
A quiet, gentle-eyed boy with soft hair and long lashes.
His expression was shy and cautious as he watched the other children play from a distance.
The teacher beamed.
"Mu Rui, come greet your new classmates! This is Shi Yichen and Shi Qing'er."
Mu Rui looked up—slowly.
Then he froze.
Shi Yichen froze too.
Because—
The resemblance was undeniable.
Both boys had the same shape of eyes.
The same lashes.
The same quiet, serious expression.
Even the same slight downturn of their lips.
They looked like mirrored reflections of each other—
One slightly older.
One slightly softer.
But both unmistakably similar.
Qing'er stared wide-eyed between the boys.
"Waaah… you two look the same," she whispered, her tiny voice filled with wonder.
Mu Rui blinked at her.
Blink blink.
His small hands tightened around his robot.
"…Really?" he whispered.
Yichen nodded slowly.
"You look like me."
"And you look like me…" Rui murmured, almost in awe.
For a moment, they simply stared—like little detectives examining their long-lost twin.
Then Qing'er broke the silence with pure childlike enthusiasm.
"You two can be brothers!"
Both boys turned red immediately.
Rui shook his head shyly.
"N-No… I only have Daddy…"
Yichen frowned slightly, thinking.
"I have no daddy."
Rui's eyes widened.
"You don't?"
Yichen shrugged.
"It's okay. I have Mama. And Qing'er."
Rui bit his lip.
"I only have Daddy… Mama is in heaven."
Qing'er reached out and patted his head gently, her eyes filling with simple empathy.
"It's okay," she said in her soft little voice. "We can all be friends."
Rui stared at her hand.
Then at her huge sparkling eyes.
Slowly…
hesitantly…
He nodded.
"Okay."
Yichen looked at Rui for a long moment, then extended his hand formally like a tiny gentleman.
"Let's play together, then."
Rui blinked again—
then placed his small palm into Yichen's with surprising trust.
"Mm."
Qing'er squealed happily and grabbed both their hands.
The three of them went running toward the sandbox—
A tiny triangle of fate formed in the sunlight…
And from the far corner of the playground, the teacher supervising paused, eyes widening as she watched the three children side-by-side.
"…Why do they look… like siblings?"
Her colleague whispered back.
"Don't say it out loud! Their parents will get into a fist fight!"
They both stayed silent.
But the truth shimmered there—
Three children.
Three identical sets of eyes.
One fate pulling tight.
The Mu family and Shi Yunxi's world…
were about to collide.