It is easy for an old mother to soften her heart when her son cries, but she can only force herself to harden her heart.

I stroked his round head and held him in my arms: "An An is already five years old. Actually, he can only go to kindergarten for one year. After one year, he will become an elementary school student. And the kindergarten will finish school at 4 or 5 in the afternoon. Mom will pick you up after school."

"No, I don't want it, wuwuwu——" The little crybaby started crying, hugged Qiaolu tightly and arched hard, "I don't want kindergarten, I only want mommy, I want mommy..."

She cried so sadly and pitifully, with a very nasal tone.

"well."

The child was listless and cried all day.

In the afternoon, when Xu Haizhou got home from get off work, Qiao Lu discussed the matter with him.

The old father's attitude in this regard was even softer than Qiao Lu's: "Since An An doesn't want to go, then don't send him. It doesn't matter whether he goes to kindergarten or not. It's good for him to stay with you for one more year. When he goes to elementary school, he won't have that much time to spend with you."

As children grow up, they gradually drift away from their parents. They are divided into those who love their home and those who don't.

"And An An is so smart, it should be easy for her to adapt to school life. Even if she goes directly to elementary school, the situation you worry about might not happen." Xu Haizhou comforted Qiao Lu, pressing her shoulder.

"He's smart, but sometimes he's stubborn. He's really stubborn. Mainly because he's always rejected kindergarten, and I'm afraid he won't fit in..." Qiao Lu frowned, worry written all over her brows.

Seeing the worry in his wife's eyes, Xu Haizhou sighed and held her in his arms: "Take it slow, and do it step by step like sleeping in a crib. There are still three months left, so there's still time."

After much thought, there is no other way.

In order to make her son happy, Qiao Lu made an exception and let him sleep in the big bed with his parents at night.

He was not as cheerful as expected. Instead, he looked gloomy, with his head hung low and no energy.

"Mom, how long is three months?"

"Three months is a long time, 90 days, 12 weeks... Wow, An An, you can stay at home for so long." Qiao Lu said with deliberate surprise.

"I don't think it will be long." The young man shook his head and hugged her tightly. "If it is nine hundred days, that would be considered a long time."

Nine hundred days, why don’t you say nine thousand days.

Qiao Lu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and gently patted his back: "Besides, you can learn a lot of knowledge in kindergarten that your mother can't teach you. There are books you haven't read and stories you haven't heard."

Qiaoan, who loves learning, doesn't buy it today.

The hot little hand covered Qiao Lu's mouth: "Mom is great, Dad is great too, you can both teach me a lot of knowledge, I don't want to go to kindergarten to learn."

Qiao Lu helplessly raised her forehead, it seems that her and Xu Haizhou's knowledge is also a burden?

She sighed: "Take it easy, mommy is still here with you, don't be afraid, mommy and daddy are always here for you."

"Well...Mom...Mom, I like you and I like being with you..."

The little girl was tired of crying, so she grabbed her collar, pouted her red lips, fluttered her long eyelashes, and fell asleep.

…

In order to arrange for his son's admission to school, Xu Haizhou ran around for six days before he asked Hou Caijun's connections to send the child to a nursery affiliated with a nearby cotton spinning factory. The nursery was not far from the large compound, and the 700-meter distance could be reached in a few minutes on foot.

The child is coaxed not only by Qiao Lu but also by Xu Haizhou. Sometimes the child clings so tightly that Qiao Lu even has a headache, but this man never complains at all.

After the two adults took turns to coax him for a month, Qiao An finally became "immune" to the kindergarten's plan.

I just hope that the new semester in two months will be as peaceful as this...

Two months later, the September school season arrived as scheduled.

The little guy had not slept well the night before, tossing and turning in Qiao Lu's arms until eleven or twelve o'clock when he finally got tired.

At dawn the next day, the little kid woke up stealthily, got up by himself, and slowly crawled out of the big bed without disturbing the two adults.

A man climbed onto the small bed, which was against the window. He secretly opened a gap and looked at the hazy sunset outside the window, at Grandma Feng opposite who was trembling as she carried water into the kitchen, at his brother Youwei who woke up early to go to school, and at his brother Kangkang who was woken up by hunger... Everyone had their own things to do.

Unlike him, who sticks to his mother every day... Is going to school really a must?

When Qiao Lu woke up, she saw the little boy's chubby butt and his head half buried by the curtains.

When I opened the curtains, I saw the young man lying on the window frame, looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle in a melancholy manner, with a very "melancholy male god" temperament.

"What are you looking at, son?"

"mother."

Qiaoan turned his head and threw himself into his mother's arms, his little head arching, and his already messy short hair now exploded like a chicken's nest.

Qiao Lu hugged her son close to her, kissed him, and finally patted his butt.

"Hurry up, tell Dad to get up. Today we will take you to kindergarten together."

The little guy climbed into the big bed reluctantly. Even in his sleep, Xu Haizhou subconsciously held the child tightly.

"Daddy, get up, Daddy, get up, Daddy, don't sleep anymore." The little hand touched up and down randomly, and then muttered: "Daddy, why are you not wearing clothes again, Daddy, you are so embarrassed."

"Hmm? An An?" Xu Haizhou woke up after vaguely hearing someone saying something bad about him. He hugged his son and rolled him to the inside of the big bed. The little guy was almost crushed by him!

The family of three snuggled together for a while, and the atmosphere was quite warm.

Xu Haizhou got up to make breakfast. When breakfast was almost ready, Qiao Lu started to help An An get up and wash and brush her teeth.

In order to spend more time with the baby, the couple did not ride a bicycle, but each holding one of Qiaoan's hands and walking to school.

In total, the distance was 700 meters, but it took us a while to finish 7,000 meters.

The young guy was in a bad mood on the way, with tears in his eyes, and he looked pitiful, not knowing whether to cry or not. The couple saw it and felt both distressed and helpless.

"Does your new schoolbag look good? It took Mommy two days to make it for you." Patting his little schoolbag, Qiao Lu tried to divert his attention.

Even with tears in her eyes, Qiao An still said politely: "It looks good, the best."

Qiao Lu laughed and used her fingers to tidy up his hair: "You will be a primary school student next year, An An, a five-year-old should be brave, okay?"

"Mom, I wish I could stay four years old forever." At the age of four, I don't have to go to kindergarten and can spend time with my mom every day.

Pinching his soft little hand, Qiao Lu smiled and said, "You stinky boy, if you stay four years old forever, your parents will be scared to death."

After sniffing, Qiao An asked in confusion: "Why?"

"It proves that you are not a normal child. Won't your parents be scared by you?"

Qiao An was briefly amused by Qiao Lu, but soon her red lips shrunk again.

She stopped crying, but held her parents' hands tightly and said gloomily, "Mom, Dad, when will I finish school?"

"Well, it seems to be around four or five o'clock. Mom will ask your teacher later."

"Can you guys come together to pick me up?" She asked cautiously, widening her misty deer eyes.

Qiao Lu laughed and rubbed his head: "Sure."

"Can you be the first one to pick me up?" The young man was getting more and more demanding.

Qiao Lu still smiled: "Sure."

Xu Haizhou also nodded affirmatively: "Okay."

I knew I couldn't escape the fate of going back to school, but I also got my parents' promise, and it seemed as if the anger that had been pent up in my chest was slowly dissipating.

Being held in the middle by my parents, my pace finally became a little lighter: "Mom, I'll be watching the door this afternoon. If you come, I'll be the first to spot you."

"good."

Seeing Qiao Lu's straightforward agreement, Qiao An was happy. He raised his head and smiled softly: "Why don't you guys ride your cars over here? Let's ride one. The three of us can sit together."

This kid has a lot of demands.

"Okay." Xu Haizhou laughed, bent down and picked up his son. "Mom and Dad will try their best to meet An An's request. Then you should behave better in school, okay?"

"Okay, I'll be good." She put her arms around his neck and said in a muffled voice.

Chatting all the way, Qiao An didn't even have time to think about those sad things, and unknowingly walked to the kindergarten.

The children curiously looked at the unfamiliar Joan and his parents, whispering to each other as they watched, looking very interested.

"Goodbye, Mom. Goodbye, Dad..." He held his mouth shut, trying to hold back the tears.

Even though he was not happy, fortunately he did not cling to his parents' thighs when he arrived at kindergarten. It seems that the comfort along the way did have some effect.

The two adults were worried and stood guard at the door until the bell rang for class, then they left reluctantly.

Qiao Lu looked up at the sky, and when she touched her eyes, she actually felt moisture.

He fanned himself and laughed: "It's a bit hypocritical."

Xu Haizhou's eyes were deep. He held her shoulders tightly and comforted her silently.

When children grow up and go to kindergarten, it is not just the children who are reluctant to leave their parents, the parents also miss them.

Especially a good kid like Qiaoan.

All day today, Qiao Lu only did two things - thinking about her son and talking about him.

Every minute and every second seems to be counted.

Before she had children, she was free and happy. Now that she has a son, it seems like she has lost a part of her soul in him, which always tugs at her heart.

But it really is...

I didn't have time to dress up in the morning because I was coaxing my son. In the afternoon, I changed into my most beautiful dress and put on some light makeup. I looked radiant and there was no trace of the worry I had in the past few hours.

I agreed with Xu Haizhou to pick up the child from kindergarten half an hour in advance. He was on time and arrived an hour early.

"You're back so early? Where's Li Hongjun? Didn't he say anything?"

"No, what can I say? If he has a date, I will give him a day off." Xu Haizhou said with a smile after stopping his bike.

"Hasn't Sister Liu been introducing girls to him recently? He doesn't like any of them?" It's been three months now, why is he so picky?

Xu Haizhou looked around and saw that there was no one in the yard. He eagerly put his wife's arms around her waist and kissed her freshly painted lips hard: "I don't know, but I haven't heard anything."

Qiao Lu hit him in the chest angrily and quickly pulled him into the house.

The door was about to be closed, and he rushed forward like a hungry wolf and pecked her lips.

"Wife, you look so beautiful today." Usually Qiao Lu only changed into beautiful clothes frequently and rarely put on makeup. It was a rare occasion to see her looking so exquisite. Xu Haizhou felt itchy and really wanted to do something dangerous right now.

"Isn't she beautiful before putting on makeup?" Qiao Lu smiled teasingly and pushed him.

Xu Haizhou smiled and shook his head: "You are beautiful in completely different ways. Without makeup, you seem to have a mother's aura. With makeup, you seem to be my wife, the kind that belongs to me completely. Do you understand?"

After two years of marriage, the way they get along is actually no different from that of an old married couple. The man hasn't said sweet words for a while, but listening to them again now, it's as if I'm back to the state of two years ago when they were newly married.

As expected, you still have to dress up occasionally to add a little fun between husband and wife. It’s harmless and nice.

Qiao Lu smiled sweetly, hugged his neck and pressed down: "From now on, we will rest every weekend and take An An out to play. No matter where we go, as long as there are three of us, it will be fine. Then I will put on makeup and dress you and your son up beautifully, okay?"

It is said that they have made a lot of money in the past year and have been busy with business, neglecting to enjoy life.

"Okay." Xu Haizhou gently kissed the corner of her lips, "I'll spend more time with you."

There is no way to finish the business. As long as the store is open, it will never be finished. It is important to take time out to accompany your wife.

After saying that, the man placed his slightly folded hand gently on Qiao Lu's belly.

"We've been pretty diligent over the past two years, so why is it that little seed..."

Qiao Lu pushed him away with a smile: "Go to hell, I told you to just let fate take its course, but it's not your destiny yet, why are you so anxious?"

Xu Haizhou hugged the man from behind and said, "Why are you in a hurry? I'm not in a hurry. I'm just looking forward to it. You know what I'm looking forward to? I really want to know what kind of baby our child will be."

"It won't be bad anyway." Qiao Lu curled her lips, and a replica of Qiao Ann's baby girl appeared in her mind.

Xu Haizhou is no less handsome than Ge Wenrong, so it is reasonable that the child will be a beautiful baby.

Well, it will be beautiful!

…

There was still about half an hour before kindergarten was over, so the couple rode a bicycle and slowly headed towards their destination.

They talked and laughed along the way, and Qiao Lu was very happy.

"Hey, how about we go out to eat later? I don't feel like cooking, so I'll take An An to eat the roasted lamb leg. He really likes that kind of delicious roasted meat."

Xu Haizhou heard the voice-over and laughed: "It's you, right?"

Qiao Lu pinched his waist gently and said, "What's wrong with me? Are you going to take my son and me with you?"

Xu Haizhou's skin was itchy and he couldn't stop laughing: "Bring it! One plate is not enough, how about two plates?"

In a tone of coaxing a child, Qiao Lu glanced at the back of his head, withdrew her hand with satisfaction, and hugged his waist tightly with her face close to his.

Finally, after turning a small alley, we arrived at the kindergarten in the factory where Qiao An was, but we met two unexpected people on the way——

"Xiao Gao? Xiao Zhou!" After approaching and seeing the situation clearly, Qiao Lu shouted: "Hey, what are you two doing!"

Because it came so suddenly, the two men who were beating Xiao Gao didn't notice Xu Haizhou and were kicked away by him.

With a dull wail, the sturdy man struggled to his feet from the ground: "Fuck! Who is this nosy person?"

As they spoke, the thin man also climbed up, and the two of them, looking ferocious, rushed over as if they were going to hit someone.

Qiao Lu took two steps back, but saw that Xu Haizhou was so strong that he picked up the bicycle and smashed it on the heads of the two men.

Seeing this, he couldn't just stand there and let himself be beaten, so he turned around and ran away.

"Don't let me see you!" He even threatened...

Qiao Lu patted her chest, still in shock, but she didn't care about that and ran over to help Xiao Zhou up: "How are you? Are you okay?"

"Qiao, Sister Qiao Lu..." Xiao Zhou shouted tremblingly with blood all over his head.

Qiao Lu is now a famous person in Ziyuan Street. Everyone in Ziyuan Street knows Purple Dragonfly. Naturally, they also know the founders of Purple Dragonfly, Xu Haizhou and his wife.

So it's not surprising that Xiao Zhou knows her.

Before Qiao Lu could say anything else, Xiao Zhou ran to where Xiao Gao was sitting, crying and wailing, squatted down and hugged him: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Gao Xin, I'm sorry..."

"Don't cry, it's not your fault." He was beaten so badly that his features were blurred, but he still comforted his girlfriend. This Xiao Gao is really in love...

One of the two people suffered minor scratches and bruises, and the other was seriously injured. The area was remote and it would take a while for them to find anyone, so they had to send Xu Haizhou to take Xiao Gao to the hospital for treatment, while Qiao Lu supported Xiao Zhou and slowly rushed to the hospital.

When the two rushed to the emergency department, Xiao Gao was undergoing surgery inside.

"Is it so serious? Do you need surgery?"

Xu Haizhou came up to support Qiao Lu and looked at Xiao Zhou: "Well, it seems that your arm was injured before, and it was injured again today, so..."

Before he could finish his words, Xiao Zhou couldn't bear it anymore and broke down crying with his hands covering his mouth.

"It's all my fault, it's all my fault, it's my fault, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Countless and continuous tortures made Xiao Zhou, a strong girl, unable to control her emotions any longer and she collapsed.

In front of the not-so-familiar Qiao Lu, she tearfully recounted the days after being raped by Qian Qiang.

Rather than being in dire straits, it would be better to say that I am living in hell.

Although Qian Qiang had been shot, he had assaulted Xiao Zhou and even broke Gao Xin's left hand before that...

Despite this, the two lovers did not succumb to fate.

They walked hand in hand, determined to fight against fate to the end, but in the end they were just like a mayfly trying to shake a tree, their efforts were in vain.

There are only two elderly people in Gao Xin's family, his grandfather and grandmother, and the whole family relies on his meager income as a letter deliveryman to support them.

Xiao Zhou's family has many people, so she doesn't need to take care of the whole family, but it is a family that favors boys over girls. Her parents hope that Xiao Zhou will marry into a wealthy family, but they didn't expect that their daughter would fall in love with a postman.

I finally agreed to let her go, but then the Qian Qiang incident happened again.

Qian Qiang's ghost still lingers even after his death. His bad friends believe that if it weren't for Xiao Zhou, Qian Qiang would not have died. They come to their house at irregular times every month to find fault and seek revenge, torturing both families terribly.

Gao Xin's grandparents were the first to be unable to bear the harassment and asked their grandson to break up with Xiao Zhou, even though the old couple loved Xiao Zhou, a good girl.

Gao Xin was unwilling and had been insisting with her until today. He didn't expect that his blind tolerance could not move the gang of hooligans. Instead, they became even more aggressive. Today, he almost died...

"I can't bear it any longer. I really can't bear it any longer... We were originally planning to get married at the end of the year, but now, I don't dare to do that at all... As long as I don't break up with Gao Xin, they will come to my house... They will come to make trouble, beat people up, they can do anything..."

In fact, it is not entirely true to say that those little hooligans were chivalrous. Most of them had personal grudges and took the opportunity to bully the weak.

It just so happened that Xiao Zhou and Xiao Gao, two honest people, allowed themselves to be bullied, and so they felt pleasure in bullying, so they went looking for her and him... At this time, in fact, if they were tougher, the situation might get better.

Those little hooligans are the type who bully the weak and fear the strong.

This is what Qiao Lu analyzed in her mind, but looking at Xiao Zhou's current condition... forget it, let's wait a few days until his emotions calm down before talking about it.

After sitting in the hospital corridor and comforting Xiao Zhou for a while, the couple suddenly remembered what they had to do today.

"Oh no, son!"

…

Around 5:30 in the afternoon, there were only a few children left in the first grade kindergarten for cotton textile factory workers. Including Qiao An, there were only three children in total.

A little boy with a short haircut was playing with toys on the table in a depressed mood. There was also a round-faced little girl with pigtails sitting next to Qiao. She kept muttering to herself, forming a sharp contrast with the taciturn little guy.

The girl poked his face with her hand and asked, "Don't be sad. I feel like you're about to cry. What's there to cry about? My mom always comes to pick me up last. I'm used to it. I don't want to cry at all."

Qiao An sniffed and didn't want to reply to her, but when he thought of his parents, he retorted: "Our family is different. My parents promised me that I would be the first one to come. They wouldn't lie..."

"Then why haven't they come yet?" The little girl glanced towards the kindergarten gate in confusion.

Qiao An looked up at her with wide eyes - she was already sad enough, did she really have to hurt her?

Just as I was about to reply, a familiar voice came from the door.

“An An!”

"An An."

"Mom - Dad -" The tears that the little kid had swallowed with great difficulty burst out again: "Wuwuwu -"

"Mom, Dad, many children have been picked up by their parents, and I am the only one left... Woo woo, Mom..."

He should have been the happiest child, but suddenly he became the loneliest child.

"I'm sorry, An'an. Mom and Dad were supposed to come half an hour earlier, but on the way they met some bad guys who bullied the postman. Do you remember the postman who often delivered letters to our family and sent letters from grandpa and grandma to the north? Dad just went to rescue his brother, so we were delayed. I'm sorry, An'an."

"I'm sorry, son." Xu Haizhou also pretended to be ashamed, squatted down and kissed the little boy's tear-stained cheek.

The tears at the corners of Qiao An's eyes stopped abruptly, and he even hiccupped because he stopped so quickly.

"What?" He rubbed his eyes and opened his mouth in disbelief: "Really? Dad beat up the bad guys, and Dad saved the postman brother?"

His dad... just became a hero?