Chapter 87: The Children's Role

Yuanyuan and Wu Yaoxuan are both quite pampered children at home, but no matter how pampered and loved a child is, they cannot change what the adults have already decided, especially important matters such as which primary school they should attend.

Yuanyuan was very happy when she learned yesterday that Song Yu would be studying at Shuangqiao Elementary School in the city. She felt that she could be Song Yu's deskmate in elementary school, which is not like kindergarten which is only three years, but six years!

She knew that primary school would last six years, which was a very long time, but when she studied and played with Song Yu, time seemed to fly by. Every time she played games with Song Yu, Yuan Yuan always felt that there wasn't enough time, and they would have to part ways in the blink of an eye.

Yuanyuan thought her parents would definitely grant her request. She could choose her own deskmate when she went to kindergarten, and Song Yu was the deskmate she chose herself.

When Yuanyuan confidently and happily told her mother that she wanted to go to Shuangqiao Primary School, her mother was surprised at first, and then said seriously, "Yuanyuan, you can't go to Shuangqiao Primary School. I have already contacted Heyuan Primary School for you. It is right next to the kindergarten where I work."

Yuanyuan immediately started making a fuss: "I'm not going there, I want to go to Shuangqiao Elementary School. Song Yu is at Shuangqiao Elementary School, I want to play with him."

“But Yuanyuan, going to primary school isn’t about playing, it’s about studying and learning. Besides, Shuangqiao Primary School is too far from our home. If you want to go, you’ll have to get up at six every morning in winter.” Xu’s mother knew her daughter’s personality; she especially loved to stay in bed in winter. Now that she’s in kindergarten, she can get up at seven, but even then, she still wants to stay in bed and procrastinate.

But Xu's mother misjudged Yuanyuan's determination. She counted on her fingers and said in a clear voice, "Six o'clock it is, anyway, I still want to be Song Yu's deskmate!"

Xu's mother felt she was in a bit of a predicament and tried to continue tempting her: "It's still dark at six o'clock, and the cold wind is howling outside. If you study at Heyuan, you can sleep for an extra hour."

But Yuanyuan was unusually firm: "It's okay, I can go to bed an hour earlier."

Seeing her daughter's unmoved expression, Xu's mother sighed inwardly. She had naturally researched the primary schools in the city. In terms of reputation, Shuangqiao and Heyuan were equally good, with the former even ranking slightly higher. However, they were too far from their home. Moreover, Xu's mother had already inquired about the new first-grade homeroom teachers at Heyuan and had suggested that her daughter be placed under the most experienced homeroom teacher.

Xu's mother was also transferred to be the principal of the kindergarten next to Heyuan. The kindergarten and the primary school had some exchanges, which made it convenient for her to take care of Yuanyuan. The two of them went to and from school together every day, which couldn't be more convenient.

After thinking it over, Xu's mother explained her thoughts to Yuanyuan. Yuanyuan was already six and a half years old and understood many things. She couldn't use the excuse of doing things for the child's own good to force the child to obey her parents' opinions. She absolutely did not want Yuanyuan to grow up in an authoritarian family education.

Xu's mother tried to explain to Yuanyuan in simple and plain language that the child could understand why she had chosen Heyuan Elementary School for her.

As she listened, Yuanyuan's eyes reddened slightly, and she looked up at her mother: "Mom, do I really not want to go to the same elementary school as Song Yu?"

Seeing her daughter's sad face, Xu's mother felt bad too: "Yuanyuan, Mom knows you and Song Yu are good friends. True friends won't change just because you're no longer studying together. You can still play together in the future."

“Just like now we’re in town, while our grandparents and maternal grandparents live in the city, but we go back to them on weekends and holidays. Yuanyuan’s relationship with her grandparents and maternal grandparents hasn’t changed, right?”

Yuanyuan sniffed, lowered her head, and said, "Okay."

Although she understood this, Yuanyuan was still very sad. Song Yu was her favorite and best friend.

This sadness intensified when she saw Song Yu the next day. Yuan Yuan hugged Song Yu tightly and cried, "Waaah, I don't want to go to elementary school anymore."

Song Yu was a little flustered, but still earnestly comforted her: "Going to primary school is great. It means we're growing up, and we can learn more knowledge, get to know a new place, and meet many new people."

Song Yu enjoys exploring new directions and new lifestyles.

Yuanyuan sniffed: "But then I can't play with you."

She felt that being with Song Yu was the most fun, whether it was playing educational card games, puzzles, or jumping rope and playing hide-and-seek together.

Song Yu's eyes widened slightly: "Sure, why not?"

His voice was still young, but his words were so logical: "You're in the city, and I'll be in the city too. We can play together during holidays. Before, Yuanyuan, you had to go back to the city during winter and summer vacations, but now we can be together during those holidays."

Yuanyuan felt comforted. After thinking about it carefully, she realized that the summer and winter vacations were very long, and there were no classes or homework during the holidays, so she could just play.

She released Song Yu and rubbed her eyes: "Okay."

"Here you go." Song Yu held out his clenched fist to her, then suddenly opened it, revealing a candy in his palm.

Yuan Yuan's eyes widened instantly: "Strawberry snowflake crisp!"

She quickly reached out and took the candy from Song Yu's hand, still in disbelief as she held it. She looked up furtively, glancing left and right, front and back, to make sure no one had noticed before putting it in her pocket. She then whispered in Song Yu's ear, "You brought candy to school!"

Teacher An said that eating in the classroom was not allowed. Song Yu, who always listened to the teacher the most, was different today. Yuan Yuan felt that she had discovered Song Yu's little secret.

Song Yu was a little embarrassed and whispered, "My mother gave these to me before she went to the city today. She told me to eat four of them every day and she would come back after I finished them all."

Thinking of when his mother left, Song Yu felt a little lost and sad. He knew that today was Friday and his mother would not be back until next weekend. If today was included, there were still eight days left. He could count the days without counting the snowflake crisps, but having snowflake crisps would make him feel a little better.

His mother used to give him three pills a day, but this time she gave him one more, so Song Yu felt he should be happy.

Looking at him, Yuanyuan suddenly opened her arms and hugged him tightly, patting Song Yu's back as if to comfort him: "Don't be sad. Aunt Song is gone, come live with me at my house! I'll lend you my teddy bear, you won't be scared if you hug it to sleep at night."

Song Yu shook her head: "Mom asked my aunt to come and keep me company, I'm not scared."

He can sleep without needing to hug anything at night and is never afraid.

but……

He looked at Yuanyuan, seemingly lost in thought: "Yuanyuan, are you very scared at night?"

Yuanyuan blushed immediately, feeling that being afraid to sleep at night didn't fit her chivalrous image: "I'm not afraid at all, just don't tell anyone!"

Song Yu's eyes crinkled slightly: "Okay."

Yuanyuan put her hands into her desk drawer, fiddling with something. There was a soft rustling sound, the sound of crumpling candy wrappers. Song Yu quickly grabbed her arm: "You can't eat in the classroom!"

He brought snowflake crisps to class today because he missed his mom a little; he definitely wouldn't eat them himself.

Yuanyuan took her hand out of the drawer: "Okay."

During PE class, Song Yu noticed that Wu Yaoxuan was acting strangely. In the past, Wu Yaoxuan would come to him right after the previous PE class to tell him what games they wanted to play, but today Wu Yaoxuan walked to the side by himself.

Song Yu ran over to find him, wanting to ask Wu Yaoxuan if he wanted to play football with them, but as soon as he ran over, Wu Yaoxuan ran away, as if deliberately avoiding him. Even when their eyes met, Wu Yaoxuan would turn his head away first.

Song Yu didn't know what was wrong with him.

Yuanyuan asked curiously, "Isn't Wu Yaoxuan going to play with us?"

She was quite happy; that was perfect, they had enough people to play football now.

Song Yu shook his head, indicating that he did not know.

In physical education class, the teacher first has them line up to warm up, leads them in some exercises, then they run two laps, and then it's free time.

During the exercise, Wu Yaoxuan was accidentally pushed by the classmate next to him, lost his balance and fell, landing right on the spot where he had been beaten the night before. Wu Yaoxuan immediately grimaced in pain and rolled on the ground.

The PE teacher's heart jumped when he saw this. To an adult, it looked like Wu Yaoxuan had been bumped into, hit the ground, and rolled over – quite dramatic! The teacher rushed over, his voice tense: "Wu Yaoxuan, are you alright?"

Let's hope we don't cause any accidents.

The student who hit the person stood there dumbfounded, waving his hands frantically, "It wasn't me, it wasn't me."

Song Yu also rushed over: "Wu Yaoxuan!"

Wu Yaoxuan felt even more embarrassed when he heard his voice. He raised his hand and covered his face with his arm, not wanting to see anyone.

This startled the teacher, who squatted down to pick up Wu Yaoxuan and take him to the infirmary.

Wu Yaoxuan was jostled, but he quickly rolled on the ground, got up, and dusted off his clothes, saying, "I'm fine."

The PE teacher was still worried and said with concern, "Wu Yaoxuan, let me take you to the infirmary."

"I'm fine!" Wu Yaoxuan's voice sounded a little annoyed.

Song Yu raised his hand: "Teacher, I'll take him to the infirmary!"

Wu Yaoxuan turned his head away and didn't say anything.

The PE teacher seemed to understand something: "Okay, Song Yu, I'll entrust Wu Yaoxuan to you."

Song Yu wanted to help Wu Yaoxuan up, but Wu Yaoxuan walked to the side on his own. He lowered his head, his face was so hot it could fry an egg, and he felt so ashamed!

Song Yu asked with concern, "Where did you fall? Does it hurt?"

Wu Yaoxuan pursed his lips, and Song Yu asked again, "Does your butt hurt?"

He noticed that Wu Yaoxuan's walking posture was a bit strange.

Wu Yaoxuan paused, trying to appear normal, but Song Yu became even more worried and wanted to help him up.

Wu Yaoxuan finally said, "It wasn't from falling."

His voice was a little low: "My dad hit me."

Song Yu's eyes widened: "Why did he hit someone!"

Wu Yaoxuan stopped walking, lowered his head, sighed, and said in a sad and frustrated voice, "Song Yu, I can't go to elementary school with you anymore. My dad said he's arranged for me to go to Longping Road Elementary School."

Song Yu asked, "Did your father hit you just because of this?"

Wu Yaoxuan was embarrassed and didn't know what to say.

Actually, this is what happened last night: He first told his grandparents that he wanted to go to Shuangqiao Primary School, but they refused, saying that they already had arrangements.

Wu Yaoxuan refused to comply, resorting to whining, tantrums, and even a hunger strike. His grandmother tried to feed him, but he wouldn't eat, saying, "If you won't let me go to Shuangqiao Elementary School, I won't eat! I'd rather starve to death!"

Actually, Wu Yaoxuan wasn't hungry at all. He ate a few bags of snacks at home after school, so he wouldn't starve even if he didn't eat dinner tonight.

However, this trick worked well on the grandparents. In the end, Grandma Wu said, "Xuanxuan, you eat first. Grandma agrees to let you go to Shuangqiao Primary School, but you have to talk to your father yourself."

Wu Yaoxuan was very happy and felt that he had succeeded.

Although he wasn't hungry, he managed to eat a bowl of rice without needing to be fed. Of course, he stopped being fed a long time ago, as he felt that was not a manly thing to do.

However, Wu Yaoxuan never expected that when he told his father about it, he would be severely beaten and told, "You've actually learned to threaten your grandparents with a hunger strike! You're something else!"

Wu Yaoxuan was stunned when a slap landed on his butt.

Then I saw my dad confiscate all the snacks and say, "Elementary school has already been arranged, so don't try anything unexpected."

Wu Yaoxuan was really upset. Among those snacks was his favorite spicy instant noodles, which he had planned to save for last. He decided that from now on, he should eat the things he liked right away, because only what he ate belonged to him.

However, Wu Yaoxuan ate the dumplings his grandmother cooked the next morning and didn't mention the hunger strike. He only said that phrase because he learned it from TV.

He then went to class feeling very sad and didn't dare to talk to Song Yu. Just yesterday, he had said that he would go to the same elementary school as Song Yu, and after only one night, he knew that he couldn't do it and would have to break his promise.

After hearing Wu Yaoxuan recount what happened last night, Song Yu frowned. He didn't know how to judge right from wrong, but he simply said to Wu Yaoxuan, "Don't go on a hunger strike anymore. It's very uncomfortable if you don't have enough to eat."

Wu Yaoxuan finally told the truth in front of his good friends: "I didn't go on a hunger strike, I was just saying."

Song Yu: "You can't say that in the future, otherwise your grandparents will be very sad."

He also comforted Wu Yaoxuan: "It's okay. Even if we're not in the same school, we're still friends, just like Yuanyuan and I. We can play together again during holidays."

Wu Yaoxuan seemed to be focusing on something else, turning his head to ask him, "Isn't Yuanyuan coming with you?"

Song Yu nodded, his tone somewhat heavy: "Yuanyuan will also be going to another primary school."

Wu Yaoxuan's previously droopy eyebrows immediately perked up: "Then you have to call me when you play together in the future."

He felt embarrassed because he had promised to attend the same primary school as Yuanyuan, but he was the only one who hadn't kept his promise. Now that he knew Yuanyuan had done the same, he suddenly felt like everyone was in the same boat. He wasn't worried that Song Yu would only befriend Yuanyuan and stop playing with him.

Song Yu nodded: "Of course."

He took a snowflake crisp out of his pocket: "Here, have this, don't be sad."

"You can't eat this at school!" Song Yu quickly reminded Wu Yaoxuan, seeing his eyes light up as he looked ready to tear open the packaging right then and there.

Wu Yaoxuan agreed and put the snowflake crisp into his pocket.

As he approached the infirmary, Wu Yaoxuan stopped in his tracks: "I'm not going to see a doctor; my butt doesn't hurt anymore."

He felt ashamed to let others see his buttocks.

Song Yu said, "Okay."

He sighed softly again: "Wu Yaoxuan, you should talk to your father. He can't just hit people like that."

He felt sorry for Wu Yaoxuan.

Wu Yaoxuan, however, didn't care: "My dad was also beaten by my grandpa when he was a child, and my grandpa avenged me."

Song Yu:......

Although I don't quite understand, what kind of revenge is this?

But then I thought about it again, and realized that Wu Yaoxuan dared to go on a hunger strike, so he should be taught a lesson. He has no idea how uncomfortable it is to not have enough to eat.

Author's Note: Happy National Day, my darlings! [Red Heart][Orange Heart][Pink Heart]