Did you get hurt or get into a fight in Chapter 17?

Ji Wei vaguely remembered reading a popular science article that said you shouldn't wake the other person up abruptly in such a situation. While that would interrupt their distress in the dream, it would also leave that emotion in the present moment, potentially becoming a lifelong shadow. The best approach is to comfort them, help them alleviate the distress together, and let the distress end in their sleep.

Thinking of this, Ji Wei did not wake him up rashly. Instead, she gently wiped away the tears on his cheeks, then reached out and held his hand to give him strength. With her other hand, she soothed him along his back, just as she had soothed Lulu. She spoke softly, "Chen An, don't be afraid, Mommy is here."

As soon as the word "Mom" left her lips, the person on the bed trembled violently, and tears flowed even more fiercely. At this moment, Ji Wei's previous guesses were all confirmed. She continued to comfort her, and then changed her form of address: "Don't be afraid, Teacher Ji is here. Teacher Ji will protect you."

Sure enough, as soon as the words "Teacher Ji" were uttered, the little one on the bed became less resistant to the hand holding his. She continued to stroke his back, her eyes keeping an eye on Lulu's situation, afraid that Lulu would be woken up and then wake up Gu Chen'an.

Ji Wei gently comforted Gu Chen'an. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally stopped crying and even managed a slight smile. Ji Wei breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced at the time on her wrist; it was 2:30. It was time to get up. However, he had probably just calmed down, so she decided to call them ten minutes later.

When Ji Wei got up to comb her hair, Lulu, who was fast asleep on the bed, started rolling around and stretching out her limbs, which woke Gu Chen'an up from her "punches and kicks". Gu Chen'an rubbed his eyes and grabbed the little foot that was kicking at him. It was that foot that had disturbed his sweet dream. Just as he was about to crush the little foot, he heard Lulu's voice: "Brother, why are you grabbing my foot?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Chen'an's lingering sleepiness vanished. He quickly released Lulu's feet and apologized, "I'm sorry, Lulu, I was half asleep."

"It's okay, brother. Will you sleep with us from now on?" Lulu asked excitedly.

"Do you like sleeping with your brother?" Gu Chen'an's eyes darted around, and a new idea suddenly popped into his head.

"I like it." Lulu nodded.

"No, Lulu, have you forgotten what Mom taught you before?" Ji Wei originally didn't want to interrupt the two little ones' conversation, but now that it touched on a matter of principle, she had to stop them.

Lulu tilted her little head up to look at Ji Wei, and after a while she spoke: "Lulu is a girl, she can't sleep with boys, not even her brother." After saying that, Lulu looked at Gu Chen'an with a wrinkled face, as if to say, "What a pity, they can't sleep together."

"Yes, Lulu is great." Back then, Zhou Xiuzhen helped her take care of Lulu, and she also had to take care of Ji Cong, so they always slept together. When they were little, Ji Wei didn't think it mattered, but at the beginning of this year, she reminded Zhou Xiuzhen that Lulu was getting older and that they should try to sleep separately in the future. Who knew that Zhou Xiuzhen not only didn't understand her, but also said that she was making a fuss over nothing. At that time, she still needed Zhou Xiuzhen to help her take care of Lulu, so she could only settle for second best and guide Lulu herself. Thinking of all this, Ji Wei took a deep breath. Fortunately, all these difficulties were over.

Gu Chen'an had no one to teach him these things. Gu Zhiyuan had only been back for a little over three months and hadn't had time to teach him yet. He only knew that he had to keep his distance from female classmates at school. Did he have to do the same with his younger sister at home? His eyes were full of doubt.

Ji Wei reached out and patted his head: "Chen An, boys and girls shouldn't sit together after the age of seven. You're a big boy now. Besides your classmates, you can't even sleep with your mother and sister. Do you understand?"

"Is that so?" Gu Chen'an looked at her, seemingly understanding but not quite.

At this point, if these kinds of educations are not taken seriously, Ji Wei thought that besides reasoning with her, the only other way to influence her is through subtle influence. So she reiterated, "Take your sister downstairs to wash her face first. I need to change my clothes. Boys can't be here when girls are changing, understand?"

"I know." Gu Chen'an nodded emphatically, then pulled Lulu out of bed, put on her shoes, and prepared to go downstairs.

After they left the room, Ji Wei didn't change her clothes immediately. Instead, she stood at the door and watched the two of them go downstairs before going back to her room to change. When she came downstairs, she saw Gu Chen'an helping Lulu wash her face like a little adult. He probably didn't control the pressure well, which made Lulu very resistant. Ji Wei found it somewhat amusing.

Having washed his face, Gu Chen'an was no longer dwelling on the previous issue; all he could think about was going to play by the river. Hearing footsteps coming from inside the house, he quickly ran over: "Mom, can we go now?"

"Are you all ready?" Ji Wei's eyes scanned him as she spoke. Good, it seemed the pain of his dream hadn't carried over into reality. However, Ji Wei decided she still planned to have a proper talk with Gu Zhiyuan about his sleep-talking.

"Everything's packed." Gu Chen'an nodded hurriedly.

"Now that everything's packed, let's go. Lulu, come here quickly." Ji Wei held Lulu's little straw hat and her own floral wide-brimmed hat, which could turn into a fan when not in use. Heaven knows how much she disliked it when she first found it.

"Why are you wearing a hat?" Gu Chen'an asked, puzzled.

"I don't want to get a tan. By the way, do you have any hats at home?" Ji Wei asked.

"I don't need to wear it. I'm a man, I'm not afraid of getting a tan." Gu Chen'an shook his head to indicate that he didn't need it.

"Then wait for me to get your water bottles." At this time, everyone had to bring their own water to school, and most children had their own water bottles. Ji Wei quickly came out with two water bottles.

By the time they reached the river, it was almost 3:30. Gu Chen'an glanced at the water, which was barely knee-deep, and frowned, saying, "Mom, the water is too shallow here. We can't skip stones."

"But the water is too deep and dangerous. Why don't you take your sister to catch crabs and small fish?" The water quality was still pretty good at this time, and many crabs and small fish lived under the rocks.

"Alright then." Several children were already catching crabs over there, and Gu Chen'an quickly took Lulu to join them. At this moment, Ji Wei noticed that the others had brought basins or small buckets, and she regretted not bringing those herself. Sure enough, less than five minutes later, the two children over there waved to her: "Mommy, Mommy! Come here quickly!"

"What's wrong?" Ji Wei asked as she stepped forward.

"Look, I caught some small fish, but we have nowhere to put them." Gu Chen'an's tone was very distressed.

Ji Wei thought for a moment and quickly came up with an idea. She used stones to build a simple fishpond on the shallow water by the shore: "Here, put the fish you catch in here, and I'll keep an eye on them for you."

"Yay, Mom, you're so smart!" Gu Chen'an exclaimed with admiration. Lulu, who was standing next to him, was struggling with the hat on her head. In the end, she simply took it off and handed it to Ji Wei: "Here, Mom, I don't want to wear it anymore."

"If you don't want to wear it, then don't," Ji Wei said, not forcing her.

Catching fish can be very rewarding. Gu Chen'an went from just making do to having a lot of fun. Lulu next to him didn't catch a single fish or crab, but she was also laughing happily. Seeing that it was almost five o'clock, Ji Wei hurriedly called them to get ready to go home. The temperature at the end of May was not very high, and it was starting to cool down. She was afraid they would catch a cold if they played any longer.

Although the two little ones were a little reluctant, they obediently went to the shore to put on their shoes and socks. Finally, Gu Chen'an pointed to the spoils of their catch in their little fishpond: "Mom, can I take these home?"

"Next time. We didn't bring any tools back this time, and even if you brought them back, you wouldn't be able to keep them alive. They're too small. It's better to release them and let them go find their mothers." Ji Wei glanced at the fish in the puddle; they were all about the size of small shrimp.

Gu Chen'an, who was initially hesitant, quickly changed his mind upon hearing the last sentence. He squatted down and pried off the stone inside, causing the fish in the small pit to instantly swim into a deeper area with the current.

"Are the little fish going to find their mother?" Lulu asked curiously.

“Yes, they went to find their mother. Now we should go home too,” Ji Wei reminded them.

"Can we come again next time?" Gu Chen'an asked.

"Of course you can, but you need to go home and have some ginger soup to warm up." Considering they've been playing in the water for at least an hour, drinking some brown sugar ginger soup to warm up would be more beneficial than harmful.

"Sweet and spicy." Lulu remembered the taste of ginger soup she had before.

"Yes, that's the one." Ji Wei couldn't help but think of Gu Zhiyuan after saying that. She wondered if he would be coming home for dinner today.

＊

Gu Zhiyuan politely declined Lü Shuangcai's offer to stay for dinner, saying, "I have children at home, so I have to go back. I'll have a drink with you next Saturday."

Lu Shuangcai was about to say something when Qiao Xiaoxue tugged at his arm. She nodded to Gu Zhiyuan, "Okay, then we'll come over on Saturday after the kids get out of school."

After Gu Zhiyuan left, Lü Shuang looked at his wife with displeasure: "What's wrong with me wanting Zhiyuan to stay for a meal?"

“They just got married and have two kids at home. They can’t just leave them all to the new bride, can they?” Qiao Xiaoxue said, glaring at him. He doesn’t usually take care of children, so he doesn’t know how tiring it is to take care of two kids.

“Taking care of a child is so tiring,” Lü Shuangcai whispered.

Qiao Xiaoxue ignored him, rolled her eyes at him, and then turned to greet Wang Haifeng and his wife who were standing next to her.

When Gu Zhiyuan arrived home, the gate to the courtyard was locked. After opening the gate, he hesitated whether to go to the river to check on them, but he was afraid that such an action would make Ji Wei misunderstand that he did not trust her. After hesitating for a moment, he went directly to the kitchen.

When Ji Wei and her two children were finally getting home, Gu Chen'an could smell the delicious aroma from a distance: "It smells so good!"

Lulu copied him, taking a deep sniff of the air: "It smells so good!"

"Are you hungry?" Ji Wei looked at them with amusement.

"I'm a little hungry," Gu Chen'an said somewhat embarrassedly, rubbing his stomach.

"Let's hurry up and go back to make some ginger soup before we start cooking." Just then, Ji Wei suddenly realized something: they might not have any brown sugar at home. Before she could ask, Gu Chen'an, who was ahead, suddenly noticed the aroma coming from their house. He looked at the two of them excitedly and said, "It's Dad cooking! Dad's home!"

"Daddy's back! We can eat now!" Lulu cheered along with him.

Ji Wei raised an eyebrow in surprise. She thought Gu Zhiyuan would be having dinner at his comrade's house. Because of their neighbor, she had a stereotype about veterans. Every time the comrades got together, they would drink. So she was a little surprised that Gu Zhiyuan was home early.

The two little ones had already run back. Gu Zhiyuan, who was still in the kitchen, had heard Gu Chen'an's "devilish voice" for a long time, but hadn't seen him for a while. He guessed that he was waiting for Lulu to come with him. After a while, there was a commotion in the yard. He came out of the kitchen, looked at the returning brother and sister, and finally his gaze fell on Ji Wei, who had just arrived at the door: "You're back?"

"Hmm, you're back quite early. Do you have any brown sugar at home?" Ji Wei asked.

"Brown sugar?" The topic jumped so quickly that Gu Zhiyuan was momentarily caught off guard.

“I took them to catch fish in the river, and I’m planning to make some brown sugar ginger soup for them to warm them up,” Ji Wei explained to him.

"We have ginger, but not brown sugar. I'll go buy some now." Gu Zhiyuan said as he went to get his bicycle. There were several shops selling things in town.

"You two go back to your room first, I'll go to the kitchen to make ginger soup." Ji Wei directed the two of them into the room. The ginger still needed to be chopped, and she took advantage of the time while Gu Zhiyuan went to buy brown sugar to do these preparatory tasks.

The water in the pot had just started to boil when Ji Wei smelled the aroma of ginger. Gu Zhiyuan returned around the same time with brown sugar, and handed it to her, asking, "Didn't it delay you?"

"No, you came back just in time." Fearing it would get spicier the longer it cooked, Ji Wei put in the brown sugar and started scooping it out after it had completely melted.

She carried a large bowl of brown sugar ginger soup and then directed the people behind her: "Bring two bowls over here, I'll watch them drink it."

"Coming right away." Gu Zhiyuan took the bowl and the soup spoon she had forgotten and followed behind her.

The two people in the main room were talking to each other. When Lulu saw Ji Wei coming over, she lowered her head guiltily. Ji Wei quickly understood where her guilt came from: "Xie Luyan, did you secretly eat candy?"

Lulu shook her head, denying it, but Gu Chen'an next to her looked surprised: "Mom, how did you know?"

He had clearly hidden the candy wrapper in his pocket, and he had almost finished the candy in his mouth, so how did she know?

"Guess? And I also know that you gave her this candy." Ji Wei gave him a mysterious look. Lulu had finished her two candies that morning.

Gu Chen'an's eyes widened in surprise: "Mom, how did you know?"

"Because I'm your mother, no matter what you do, you can't escape my eyes." Ji Wei stared at the two little ones and said this nonsense with a straight face.

"Really?" Gu Chen'an's heart began to pound, and he started to think about whether he had done anything wrong in the past two days.

"Of course, so even when Mom isn't around, you can't do anything I don't allow, understand?" Ji Wei said, tapping Lulu's cheek. "You ate a piece of candy from your brother today, remember to give it back to him tomorrow, okay?"

"No need, it's something I wanted to give to Lulu." Gu Chen'an quickly shook his head; it was he who insisted on giving it to Lulu.

"I understand, Mom." Lulu nodded obediently.

"A child who admits their mistakes and corrects them is a good child. Come on, drink the ginger soup quickly, we'll be eating soon." Ji Wei only realized after she finished speaking that Gu Zhiyuan had been standing at the door with a bowl and spoon the whole time. She wondered how much of her serious nonsense he had heard.

Gu Zhiyuan calmly placed the bowl in front of the two little ones, then used a spoon to ladle soup for them. As steam rose, he gently reminded them, "Be careful, it's still very hot."

"It's spicy." The ginger soup smelled spicy, and Lulu, who had just eaten candy, was a little resistant. Back in the Ji family, she rarely had the chance to eat candy, and she was always eager to drink ginger soup. But now that she's here, she gets two candies every day, and Gu Chen'an occasionally shares one with her, so the little one no longer cares about the sweetness in the ginger soup.

"This is how you ward off the cold." Afraid they'd burn themselves, Ji Wei decided to wait until they finished drinking before leaving. She glanced at the remaining ginger soup in the bowl and looked at Gu Zhiyuan: "Would you like some?"

"Let's talk about it after they finish drinking." Gu Zhiyuan wasn't sure if she was just asking him politely or if she was worried about wasting the rest, so he went to the kitchen after saying that.

Gu Chen'an sipped the ginger soup slowly, glancing at Ji Wei every now and then. He still had doubts about what she had just said. Ji Wei pretended not to see his little movements, but spoke up when they were about to spit out the ginger powder: "Don't spit it out."

"Okay." They both turned into little bitter gourds after having to swallow the ginger. After finally finishing their drinks, they waved their hands at her in unison, "No more, no more."

"Okay, one bowl is enough." Ji Wei glanced at the remaining ginger soup. It should be enough for the two of them to each drink a little. It seems we need to control the amount next time.

"Then you guys play here, I'll go help in the kitchen." Ji Wei thought, it would be a good opportunity to chat with Gu Zhiyuan about Chen An's situation.

"Mom, I'll go. You can stay and watch TV with my sister." Gu Chen'an said, reaching for the empty bowl in her hand.

"No need, you can watch TV with your sister." Ji Wei shook her head. There were two adults at home, how could she let the child do chores?

Gu Chen'an didn't really know how to please adults. He only knew that when Fang Qing was around, he wouldn't get beaten as long as he finished all the chores at home. So in his mind, adults would be happy if he did chores. Now that Ji Wei had suddenly rejected him, he was a little confused. It was Lulu next to him who tugged at his sleeve and wanted to watch TV.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Gu Zhiyuan knew who it was. He had already prepared the ingredients and planned to cook them in another half hour, otherwise the two children who had just drunk a bowl of ginger soup would definitely not be able to eat.

"There's a little left, shall we each have some?" Ji Wei's tone wasn't a suggestion, but an announcement. She went directly to the cupboard and took out two bowls to divide the remaining ginger soup.

She frowned after taking a sip. Oh no, there was too much ginger in the soup today. No wonder Lulu was resistant. She pinched her nose and forced down the rest. Meanwhile, the person next to her drank the ginger soup in her bowl without changing her expression and then rinsed the bowl with water.

"Gu Zhiyuan, Chen'an kept crying in his dream during his nap today, and kept calling for his father to save him. Has he been having a hard time before?" Ji Wei asked tentatively.

Gu Zhiyuan's previously gentle expression instantly turned cold. He looked at Ji Wei and asked, "And then?"

“I was afraid that waking him up would make him cry even more, so I tried to soothe him. Has he ever had this problem before?” Ji Wei asked.

“In the first few days after I came back and divorced his mother, this would happen occasionally, but it hasn’t happened since he moved in and started sleeping with me.” Gu Zhiyuan’s expression became serious as he spoke.

“He’s like this because he doesn’t feel secure enough. So, from now on, both you and I need to show him more care and patience. A happy childhood can heal a lifetime, while an unhappy childhood takes a lifetime to heal. I hope we can do our best to give them a happy childhood,” Ji Wei said earnestly.

"I understand, Ji Wei, thank you." Gu Zhiyuan said sincerely.

“Since he calls me ‘Mom,’ this is what I should do. I hope it will help him forget the shadows of the past as soon as possible.” Seeing that he had no intention of mentioning Chen An’s mother, Ji Wei did not press him further.

Gu Zhiyuan hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Chen An's mother treated him badly before. She would beat him if he was unhappy with anything, and would even lock him in the storage room. So Chen An is very afraid of the dark. I thought that after so long, he had forgotten about these things."

“Childhood traumas are hard to forget. Sometimes a single word or phrase can remind him of the past, and that’s probably why it happened at noon,” Ji Wei guessed.

"Next Saturday when I go to the city to feed the pigeons, I'll go to the hospital and ask if there are any doctors who treat this kind of thing," Gu Zhiyuan quickly decided.

Ji Wei also thought of a psychologist, but she wasn't sure if the hospitals in the city had a psychology department. She didn't expect Gu Zhiyuan to have such thoughts; it seemed his thinking was truly ahead of others.

"This should be a psychology department. If there isn't one in the city, we'll have to wait until summer vacation to go to the provincial capital," Ji Wei thought. The city where Wu'an Town is located later became a developed city, so there should be a psychology department there.

"Okay, then let's see on Saturday. It's about time, I'm going to start cooking." Gu Zhiyuan's words were a veiled way of saying he was rushing to class.

"I'll go tidy up the tables in the front." Ji Wei understood and left.

The sound of the television came from the main room. Ji Wei quickened her pace: "Chen An, Lulu, dinner is ready. Come and help me clear the table."

"Coming right now." Gu Chen'an liked the feeling of being needed. As soon as Ji Wei finished speaking, he came running over and volunteered, looking at Ji Wei: "Mom, let me do it."

"Okay, the task of clearing the table is yours." Ji Wei nodded with a smile, while Lulu, who arrived late, retorted, "I want to do it too."

"Okay, let's pack together." Gu Chen'an smiled and waved to her.

Ji Wei stood to the side watching the two of them remove the things from the table, then took a rag and wiped the table. After they finished doing this, Gu Chen'an walked towards the kitchen and said, "I'll go get the dishes."

This time, Ji Wei didn't let Lulu come along. Instead, she discussed with her, "You can do this kind of work when you're a little older."

"Oh." Lulu nodded.

Seeing her obedient appearance, Ji Wei couldn't help but ruffle the two little braids on her head and said with a smile, "So good."

"Brother is good too." Seeing that she didn't praise Gu Chen'an, Lulu added it herself.

“Yes, you are all Mom’s good children.” Ji Wei laughed out loud this time.

Gu Chen'an, who was carrying dishes out of the kitchen, happened to hear this and a smile spread across his lips. Gu Zhiyuan, who was walking next to him, noticed the smile on his face and glanced thoughtfully at Ji Wei. So her praise was that effective?

"You must be exhausted after playing for so long today. Eat more." Ji Wei served the two little ones some food before starting to eat herself. This was a habit she had developed when she was at the Ji family home. If she didn't serve Lulu food, Lulu wouldn't get any food at all.

Lulu was already used to it, but Gu Chen'an, standing to the side, felt flattered: "Thank you, Mom." In his opinion, it should be him and his father who were good to them, he didn't expect them to be so kind to him.

"We're family, no need to be so polite, let's eat." Ji Wei had also noticed this problem. Sometimes when she did something affectionate or to praise him, he would get very excited. She guessed that his biological mother had never done these things for him, which was why he would get so excited.

“Okay,” Gu Chen’an nodded to indicate that he had made a note of it.

After dinner, it was time to digest. Ji Wei didn't want them to be engrossed in TV, so she suggested taking them for a walk. Gu Chen'an glanced towards the kitchen and then said, "Mom, can we wait until Dad finishes washing the dishes before we go?"

"Of course." Ji Wei vaguely guessed his intention.

When Gu Zhiyuan came out of the kitchen, Gu Chen'an was the first to run to him: "Dad, we've all been waiting for you to go for a walk."

Seeing the expectation in his eyes, Gu Zhiyuan nodded: "Shall we go now?"

"Okay, you hold my hand, and Mom will hold my hand," Gu Chen'an said, starting to make arrangements.

"Wouldn't this take up too much space?" Ji Wei asked hesitantly.

"No, I see other people doing it too, it's fine, Mom." The pleading look in Gu Chen'an's eyes made Ji Wei swallow back all her hesitant words.

So the family of four went out hand in hand. Gu Chen'an was clearly in high spirits. This was the first time the two had appeared together since getting their marriage certificate. There were quite a few people out for a walk in the evening, and some neighbors who knew Gu Zhiyuan well couldn't help but ask, "Little Gu, is this your new bride?"

"Yes, this is my wife, Ji Wei." Gu Zhiyuan had also distributed wedding candies to the neighbors last time, but Ji Wei wasn't there then, so the neighbors didn't recognize her.

Ji Wei greeted the neighbors with a smile. Everyone looked at her with friendly eyes, exchanged a few jokes, and then dispersed. Gu Chen'an, standing next to her, looked happy: "Now everyone knows Mom and Lulu."

"Yes, it's all thanks to you for letting us come out together." Noticing his lack of confidence, Ji Wei didn't hold back her praise.

Perhaps not expecting to receive praise for such a small thing, Gu Chen'an's cheeks flushed red at a visible speed, and he spoke somewhat haltingly.

After walking around outside for a long time, they finally headed back home. Once there, Ji Wei reminded Gu Chen'an, "Remember to check your schoolbag and make sure you have everything you need."

After giving Gu Chen'an her instructions, Ji Wei squatted down and looked at Lulu: "Lulu, you're going to kindergarten tomorrow. Mommy is at the school next door. You can't cry if you miss Mommy, okay?"

"Is Lulu going to kindergarten?" Gu Zhiyuan asked in surprise.

“Yes, Director Fu asked around at the kindergarten next door last week if we could enroll Lulu. Rather than having Lulu wait for me in the office every day, it’s better for her to go to kindergarten and play with her friends,” Ji Wei explained.

"That's fine too." Gu Zhiyuan thought about it and realized that going to kindergarten was indeed better.

"Wow, Lulu is amazing! She's not even three years old and she can go to kindergarten." Gu Chen'an said with envy.

Lulu, who had initially been somewhat resistant, straightened up upon hearing this, her expression becoming smug, and her attitude changing completely: "Mom, I'll be good at kindergarten."

"We have to go to kindergarten tomorrow, so let's go to bed early tonight and take a shower first, okay?" Ji Wei asked her.

"Okay." Lulu nodded obediently.

"I'll go boil some water," Gu Zhiyuan said, and went into the kitchen.

Gu Chen'an looked at Lulu with some envy. Her mother was giving her a bath. He also wanted his mother to give him a bath, but when he thought of what Ji Wei had said earlier, he gave up the idea. He was a boy, and he had to wash himself or have his father help him.

It had been an hour and a half since Ji Wei finished showering and lay down on the bed. Lulu next to her was so sleepy that she kept her eyes open waiting for Ji Wei. When she smelled the familiar scent, she quickly closed her eyes and fell asleep.

The mother and daughter's first weekend after moving into the Gu family's house passed just like that. The next morning, Ji Wei took the two of them to school. After Gu Chen'an entered the school, she took Lulu to the kindergarten next door. With Director Fu's prior notice, Lulu's enrollment went smoothly. After sending Lulu to the small class classroom, Ji Wei gave her a series of instructions before leaving. Unexpectedly, she ran into Zhou Xiuzhen at the door.

Zhou Xiuzhen brought Ji Cong to school. Ever since Ji Wei's threat worked last time, the usually aggressive Ji Cong now avoids her like the plague. He ran straight into the classroom, while Zhou Xiuzhen called out to Ji Wei: "Weiwei, you're at kindergarten? Does that mean Lulu is going to kindergarten too?"

"What's wrong?" Ji Wei completely ignored her question.

“Weiwei, do you have to do this? If you and your dad just give in, you can still send Lulu home and I'll take care of her for you. She's so young, what can she learn in kindergarten? Isn't it just a waste of tuition?” Zhou Xiuzhen felt heartbroken thinking about the kindergarten fees.

“If I send it back for you to take, I’ll still have to pay you. And you’ll go around telling everyone how good you are to me, making me feel like I owe you something. Sending it to school, regardless of whether Lulu learns anything, at least no one can morally blackmail me, right?” Ji Wei finished speaking and smiled meaningfully at Zhou Xiuzhen.

“Ji Wei, what happened to you? It seems Sheng Zhou was right. You’ve been dissatisfied with us for a long time. Cong Cong’s words last time were just a pretext.” Zhou Xiuzhen looked at Ji Wei with disappointment. Besides disappointment, she was also truly terrified. Before, she received her entire monthly salary and only needed to keep an eye on Lulu. Now, the family has suddenly lost more than 300 yuan of income every month, and she is not used to it.

"I've already made everything clear. Think what you want. I'm going to class now." Ji Wei said, walking past her towards the door.

"So you and Xiao Gu got your marriage certificate, didn't you say you'd bring him back to invite your close relatives for a meal?" Zhou Xiuzhen hadn't forgotten about this.

"Let's talk about it when we have time. He has to go to the countryside every day and doesn't get back until midnight." Ji Wei spread her hands to express her helplessness.

Zhou Xiuzhen wanted to say something, but then she noticed that Ji Wei had already turned and left without looking back. Her brows were furrowed tightly; this girl was so slippery now, it was impossible to catch her making a single mistake. She went back and told Ji Dahai about Lulu going to kindergarten. Ji Dahai slammed his pipe on the table: "This girl is getting more and more awful, she'd rather let others earn money than let her own family earn it." The two of them had clearly forgotten their disdain when they were raising Lulu.

“What’s the use of saying all this now? You should hurry up and think of a solution,” Zhou Xiuzhen urged.

“What can I do? That idiot Ji Shengzhou can’t even handle that matter properly. Do you think Ji Wei deliberately came to our house and made a scene just to make Shengzhou look bad? She cut off our escape route to criticize her.” Ji Dahai said, taking another deep drag on his tobacco. A tree lives by its bark, and a person lives by their reputation, especially since they are in business now, their reputation is naturally important.

“That girl is getting smarter and smarter, and it looks like Shengzhou’s factory is doing worse and worse.” At this point, Zhou Xiuzhen suddenly thought of something: “Do you think she might have overheard us planning to have Shengzhou take her place at work?”

The factory is not doing well, and wages are decreasing, while the school job is becoming more and more stable, with a stable salary. So the elderly couple came up with this idea. Although it is rare for people to take over jobs now, they felt that as long as they could make it happen, they would definitely succeed, completely ignoring the wishes of the school.

“But it’s possible.” Ji Dahai thought about it and felt that this guess was reasonable.

"That girl is far too petty. We were just joking, and we haven't even done anything yet, and she's already making such a fuss." Zhou Xiuzhen's tone was full of dissatisfaction.

"This girl has always been very independent, so let's leave it at that for now. I've inquired about Gu Zhiyuan; although he works at the tax bureau, he has to go to the countryside every day. Ji Wei has to take care of two children every day, so there will be times when she has to ask us for help." Right now, everyone feels that they are not treating Ji Wei well, and everyone is biased towards Ji Wei, so they can only hold back for now.

“Okay, then let’s wait a little longer. Besides, kindergarten tuition isn’t cheap.” Zhou Xiuzhen felt a pang of heartache when she talked about the tuition.

＊

The encounter with Zhou Xiuzhen in the morning did not affect Ji Wei. The tuition for sending Lulu to kindergarten for a semester was less than two months' salary for her. She did not understand why Zhou Xiuzhen thought that she would still be willing to let Lulu take care of her.

When Ji Wei arrived at the office, she found Huang Jing looking mysterious. She was puzzled and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something I don't know about?"

"It's nothing big. Didn't you get your marriage certificate last week? We all chipped in to buy you a gift," Huang Jing said.

"You've gone to too much trouble," Ji Wei said, feeling a little embarrassed. She hadn't expected them to prepare a gift for her.

"This is nothing, we didn't know what to give you, so we just chose a four-piece bedding set. It's more convenient to use, so please don't mind," Huang Jing said.

"How could I possibly mind? It's you who have gone to so much trouble." Ji Wei was genuinely a little embarrassed. Since Xie Fei's passing, her colleagues at school had taken good care of her.

"I'm glad you don't mind. I left it in my dorm and will bring it to you at noon. By the way, did you send Lulu to kindergarten today?" Not seeing Lulu, Huang Jing couldn't help but ask.

“Yes, I just dropped her off at kindergarten,” Ji Wei nodded.

“Going to kindergarten is good. There are more children to play with, which is better than her staying alone in the office,” Huang Jing nodded.

"I think so too. Today is the first day, and I don't know if she will cry." Ji Wei was still a little worried. After all, Lulu was in a completely unfamiliar environment today, surrounded by unfamiliar people. She was afraid that Lulu would feel scared.

"It seems like everyone cries for a few days when they first start kindergarten, but they get better after a few days. It's a necessary part of growing up." Huang Jing recalled that her own child cried for a week when he started kindergarten.

“That’s true. If we don’t cry now, we’ll have to cry when we start school in September.” Thinking this, Ji Wei felt relieved. Just like Huang Jing said, this is an inevitable part of growing up, and no one can avoid it.

With class time fast approaching, the two quickly parted ways. Ji Wei took her textbooks and lesson plans to teach Class Two. Counting the time, the open class was drawing ever closer. The bell rang, and she assigned the day's homework before returning to her office. Before she could even drink some water, the class monitor of Class One rushed in, his voice panicked: "Teacher Ji, Gu Chen'an got into a fight!"

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Author's Note: [Rabbit head with upright ears] Thank you for subscribing. 20 small red envelopes will be randomly distributed Friday night. [Heart]