Chapter 21 Injury during open class
When this matter was brought up, Gu Zhiyuan's originally gentle eyes turned cold again. He shook his head: "The doctor said the situation is not good, but fortunately we found it in time. We will have to come for psychological counseling every weekend from now on."
"That's good news, just like the doctor said. We discovered it in time and prevented the worst from happening." Ji Wei knew that such comfort might seem dry to him.
"I originally wanted to ask the doctor what Chen'an had told him, but the doctor didn't reveal it. I just feel a little regretful, regretful that my self-righteousness has harmed Chen'an." If he had realized that Fang Qing's heart wasn't in this family and decisively separated from her instead of trying to win her back, would Chen'an have avoided this kind of harm? This thought made Gu Zhiyuan feel a little sad, sad that all the harm Chen'an was suffering now was caused by his own indulgence.
“What’s done is done, and regret is the most useless thing to do. The doctor has already provided him with help, and all we need to do is cooperate with the doctor.” Ji Wei understood his regret, just like she had before, but what’s the use of regret? What’s done is done, and regret is the most useless emotion.
"You're right, Ji Wei, thank you. If you hadn't noticed his problem in time, this psychological issue might have continued to develop." Of course, the doctor also mentioned that some people might be able to save themselves, but for most people, it would only get worse and worse, and Gu Zhiyuan couldn't imagine the consequences.
"I've already said we're family, and Chen'an is my child now. Don't say things like that again." Ji Wei glanced at him, then suddenly remembered the scene of Chen'an pushing her away. Perhaps his psychological problems still existed back then? Or even more serious? Ji Wei didn't dare to think about that possibility.
"Dad, what are you saying? The bus is about to leave," Gu Chen'an, who was carrying the cake, urged.
"Coming right away." Gu Zhiyuan said, striding towards the two little ones in front. Ji Wei's eyes flashed with a smile, guessing that they were craving cake. At this time, the old-fashioned cream cake looked very bright in color, and you could smell the milky aroma even through the box. Ji Wei felt that she also missed it a little.
On the way back, the car ride was too bumpy, and Gu Chen'an kept the cake in his arms the whole time. Lulu, on the other hand, started to feel sleepy as soon as she got in the car and fell asleep in Ji Wei's arms until they got off. Ji Wei gently woke her up when they got off the car: "Lulu, we're home."
Lulu nestled her head in Ji Wei's arms, humming softly, clearly still half asleep. Ji Wei smiled and said, "Okay, you can keep sleeping. We're going to eat cake first."
The word "cake" made Lulu pause for a moment while she was humming. After a while, she rubbed her eyes and looked at Ji Wei: "I want some too."
"You'll get your share. Come on, walk back yourself." The distance from the station to home isn't too far; walking back will help her clear her head.
Lulu pouted, but in the end she obediently took her hand and followed her back. On the way, they encountered many familiar people. When they saw the cake in Gu Chen'an's hand, everyone would smile and ask, "Is someone in your family having a birthday today?"
They neither confirmed nor denied it, but simply nodded with smiles. Wu'an Town was neither too big nor too small. Ji Cong, who had been playing outside, soon heard the news and ran home to Zhou Xiuzhen, saying, "Grandma, I want to eat cake!"
"No one in the family is having a birthday, why would we eat cake?" Although the family dotes on Ji Cong, cakes are still quite expensive these days, so they only buy them for him on his birthday.
“My aunt bought some, I want to eat them. Didn’t Lulu always give me the cakes she bought for her birthday?” Ji Cong didn’t dare to ask Ji Wei directly, so he went home and asked Zhou Xiuzhen.
“You said it yourself, that was in the past. You can’t eat her things now.” Zhou Xiuzhen’s face fell when Ji Wei was mentioned. She hadn’t expected that the girl would actually go this far.
"I don't care, I want to eat cake! I want to eat cake! Why does Lulu get to eat cake, but I don't?" Ji Cong started rolling around on the ground and throwing a tantrum. Lulu used to eat his leftovers, so why can she eat cake now but he can't?
"If you want food, ask your mother. If it weren't for her gossipy nature, your aunt wouldn't have become estranged from the family." Zhou Xiuzhen was generous before because she was spending money given to her by Ji Wei. She never felt bad about spending other people's money. But now she's spending her own money, and she's not happy about it.
"Congcong, what are you doing?" Speak of the devil, and he appears. Seeing her son rolling on the ground, Li Shuhui asked Ji Cong, but her gaze was actually on Zhou Xiuzhen, as if waiting for her to give her an explanation.
"What are you doing? You want cake, and when I don't buy it for you, you throw a tantrum on the ground like other kids. You're so young, but you have so many bad habits. Make him get up right now," Zhou Xiuzhen said irritably.
"Mom, what are you saying? You've been raising Congcong since he was little, and it's you who's been indulging him with these bad habits. Jicong, get up right now!" Li Shuhui raised her voice at the end. Jicong, who had been lying on the ground, immediately got up when he heard her voice. Every time Li Shuhui raised her voice, it meant she was about to hit someone.
"Why are you being so harsh with the child? Isn't it normal for a child to be greedy?" Seeing Ji Cong tremble in fright, Zhou Xiuzhen was dissatisfied again and looked at Li Shuhui with a accusing expression.
"Mom, what do you think I should say to satisfy you? If I don't discipline him, you say I haven't taught him properly. If I start disciplining him, you think I'm being too harsh on him? Mom, I know you're holding back your anger because my sister left home, but you can't take it out on us, mother and son, can you?" Li Shuhui finished speaking and looked at Ji Cong, softening her tone this time: "Congcong, come here, Mom will take you out to buy a cake."
"Yay, Mom is the best to me. I knew only Mom was truly good." After saying that, he turned around and made a face at Zhou Xiuzhen: "Grandma is bad, Grandma is a big bad person."
"You," Zhou Xiuzhen was so angry that her heart ached. Watching the mother and son walk further and further away, she couldn't help but slam her hand on the table: "What an ingrate!"
Ji Wei was clearly unaware that a family war had broken out in the Ji family because of the cake they bought. Right now, they were dividing the cake, and she looked at the small half left in the box and said to Gu Zhiyuan, "Next time, let's just buy them each a small one." Those small boxes cost only one yuan each, enough to satisfy their cravings.
“Mom, we can finish it,” Gu Chen’an quickly added from the side.
"Okay, I'll save this for you guys to eat after you finish your military boxing practice." Ji Wei said, cutting off a small piece and handing it to Gu Zhiyuan. Before he could refuse, she shoved it into his hand: "You bought this, so you're responsible for finishing it."
In fact, few people of their generation dislike sweets. When they were young, sugar was a scarce commodity. Now they are just used to not eating it, not that they hate sweets. Gu Zhiyuan stared at the cake that was handed to him and took the first bite. The sweet cream melted in his mouth, and the sweet taste spread in his mouth. This made Gu Zhiyuan suddenly think of his childhood. At that time, his family was poor, and he had also argued with his brothers and sisters over sugar water.
"Dad, how is it? Isn't it delicious?" Gu Chen'an asked, leaning closer.
"Yes, it's delicious." Gu Zhiyuan nodded with a smile.
"I told you no one dislikes cake," Gu Chen'an said with a smug smile.
"Alright, now that you've finished eating, go check your homework and preview tomorrow's lessons," Ji Wei instructed.
"Will my sister come with me?" Gu Chen'an asked.
"Ask her yourself," Ji Wei said, waving her hand and telling them to discuss and make their own decisions.
After the two little ones were sent away, Ji Wei moved a stool and sat down next to Gu Zhiyuan, continuing the topic they hadn't finished discussing earlier: "Did the doctor give us any suggestions?"
"The doctor told us to pay more attention to his emotions, and to affirm and praise him more. He said that Chen'an is very insecure and he longs for recognition from those around him, especially us," Gu Zhiyuan repeated the doctor's words from today.
“Okay, I understand. Also, if we have any disagreements in the future, it’s best not to show them in front of the child.” In her previous life, Ji Wei specifically searched for this information online after learning that Lulu had psychological problems.
"Ji Wei, I'm almost never home, so I'll have to trouble you with all this." Gu Zhiyuan felt embarrassed after saying this. He was Chen An's father, but now he was acting like a hands-off manager, dumping all his problems on Ji Wei.
“You are his father, and no one can replace the role of a father. You have time to spend with him every morning and evening. You can try to ask him more about his life at school. I think he would be happy to share with you.” Ji Wei reminded him that the role of a father is irreplaceable, and even a few words of care every day are better than a long speech from someone else.
"I understand what you mean." Gu Zhiyuan nodded after a moment of silence.
"Good that you understand. I'll go upstairs to check my lesson plan." Next week is the open class, and Ji Wei felt a rare sense of urgency.
After Ji Wei left, the courtyard quickly returned to its previous silence. Gu Zhiyuan felt a sense of desolation for the first time. It wasn't until he heard Chen An and Lulu talking in the main room that his furrowed brows slowly relaxed. Ji Wei was right. Chen An was lucky. His illness was discovered in time, and he would get better and better in the future.
That night, the two little ones were thinking about the cake they hadn't finished eating, and they were especially serious when practicing military boxing, afraid that they wouldn't be able to eat the cake later.
This day was more joyful than ever before for the two little ones. They not only fed the pigeons and took pictures, but also ate cake. Recalling the day, Gu Chen'an was so happy that he couldn't sleep. He kept tossing and turning in bed. Gu Zhiyuan next to him tried to soften his voice: "What's wrong? Can't you sleep?"
"Dad, did I disturb you?" Gu Chen'an asked somewhat apologetically.
"It's nothing, I'm not sleepy either. Why can't you sleep?" Gu Zhiyuan asked cautiously.
"I'm just happy. Tomorrow I can brag to my classmates that you took me to the city to feed the pigeons." Gu Chen'an used to hear his classmates brag about how their families took them out to play or bought them delicious food. Before, he was the one who envied others, but starting tomorrow, others will envy him.
"If you like, I'll take you to feed the pigeons every week from now on." Gu Zhiyuan's tone became even gentler, remembering the doctor's request.
"Won't that cost a lot of money?" Gu Chen'an asked with some concern, as they had already spent a lot of money today.
"Why are you worrying about money at such a young age? Isn't your father making money every day?" Gu Zhiyuan felt his resolute heart being slowly pierced by his words.
“You don’t need to go every week,” Gu Chen’an said after thinking for a moment.
“Do you remember the doctor today? He said you did very well today, so you can go over there and chat with him every week,” Gu Zhiyuan told him.
"Is that so? Are my sister and mother going too?" Gu Chen'an asked.
"I can't guarantee that, but someone will definitely go with you every time." Gu Zhiyuan wasn't sure if the mother and daughter were available to go with him every week.
"Oh, okay then. We can come back early when we go, eating in the city is quite expensive." Although he had only been receiving pocket money for a few days, Gu Chen'an had a much better understanding of money than before.
"I'll listen to you. Go to sleep. You have school tomorrow." After saying that, Gu Zhiyuan remembered what the doctor had said and slowly reached out to clumsily pat his back. But since it was his first time comforting a child, he forgot to control his strength, which aroused Gu Chen'an's dissatisfaction: "Dad, why did you suddenly hit me?"
"I didn't hit you, I was just trying to get you to sleep," Gu Zhiyuan quickly explained.
Gu Chen'an was amused by his words, and after laughing, she asked him, "So you're imitating Mom? Mom doesn't coax Lulu like that. She does it like this." Gu Chen'an said, patting him as she demonstrated.
"Okay, I'll be gentler this time." Gu Zhiyuan said as he tried again, controlling his strength.
Although his strength was not as gentle as Ji Wei's, Gu Chen'an's lips still curved into a smile. This was the first time his father had coaxed him to sleep!
Gu Zhiyuan only withdrew his arm after making sure Gu Chen'an was asleep. He hadn't expected such a simple action to make his arm ache. It was already past his usual bedtime, so he closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep. To his surprise, the next morning, Gu Chen'an told Ji Wei a joke about how he had put Gu Chen'an to sleep the night before, and even took the opportunity to whine, "Mom, you have no idea how much it hurt when Dad hit me."
"He's just inexperienced, isn't he? He'll get used to it. How was it? Did you sleep well last night?" Ji Wei thought. Although Gu Zhiyuan seemed cold, he seemed to be a good father so far, willing to learn these things for his child.
"I slept pretty well." Gu Chen'an said, yawning. Actually, he slept quite well as long as someone slept with him.
"There are open classes this week, and school leaders may come to inspect at any time, so remember to do your best," Ji Wei said, patting his shoulder.
"I will do my best." Gu Chen'an nodded to her.
The weekdays went on as usual, and Lulu gradually adapted to kindergarten life. Gu Chen'an also began to get used to eating with them every day. Soon it was time for Ji Wei to give her open class.
At this time, the open class was attended by leaders from the city and school leaders sitting in the back row of the classroom. If it were Ji Wei twenty years ago, she might have been nervous, but now Ji Wei quickly looked away after glancing at the leaders in the back row and calmly asked the students in the class to open their textbooks to page 59.
In addition to the knowledge in the textbook, Ji Wei also prepared teaching aids and interactive activities for the students, making the whole class lively and interesting, and the students were very enthusiastic. Of course, not everyone was so cooperative. Occasionally, some students would lose focus, and Ji Wei would gently remind everyone to listen carefully, and then use interactive methods to bring everyone's attention back until the bell rang. Ji Wei looked up and saw the leaders in the back row leaving first. She saw satisfaction in their eyes, and she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Ji Wei had mentioned the open class to the students beforehand, but she hadn't emphasized it too much for fear of making them too nervous. However, it seemed they had performed very well. As Ji Wei returned to her office with the textbook, she overheard students in the back row sharing their nervousness with those in front. A fleeting smile crossed her eyes.
As soon as she entered the office, she was surrounded by Teacher Ding: "Teacher Ji, how was your open class just now?"
"I think it's alright, but I can't control what the leaders think," Ji Wei said, smiling and spreading her hands.
"I didn't dare to say anything just now, afraid of affecting you. My voice was trembling with nervousness." Ms. Ding is the youngest teacher in the second grade, and this was her first time teaching a public lesson.
“It’s always like this the first time. It was the same for me the first time last year,” Ji Wei comforted her.
"Really?" Teacher Ding felt as if she had grasped a lifeline.
"Of course, everyone has been through this, so relax," Huang Jing, also a Chinese language teacher, patted her on the shoulder to comfort her.
"I hope I didn't leave a bad impression on the leaders. I was just too nervous and didn't call on many students to answer questions," Teacher Ding recalled, her tone full of regret.
"The class is over, so don't think about it too much," Ji Wei comforted her again. With everyone's reassurance, Teacher Ding's mood improved considerably. She looked at everyone somewhat apologetically and said, "Thank you all for your help."
"This is no trouble at all. By the way, I'm going to fetch water. Does anyone else want to go?"
The office quickly returned to its usual atmosphere. Ji Wei was going to teach the second class next period, and the content was the same as before, so she didn't need to prepare a lesson. She opened her drawer and decided to organize the textbooks inside. While organizing, she found an Olympiad math book at the bottom. She searched her memory and realized that she had also planned to tutor in her previous life, but it was abandoned due to family matters.
At this time of year, it is quite common for teachers to tutor students during holidays. Teachers earn money during holidays, students get tutoring, and parents don't have to look after their children, which can be considered a win-win-win situation. She put away the math olympiad reference book and planned to take it home to study that evening.
That evening, Ji Wei settled on the book she had brought back and suddenly had a new idea. She wanted to transfer to the city. Besides her grades at school, perhaps competitions would be a good option. She had a preliminary plan in mind.
When it was time to leave school in the afternoon, Huang Jing leaned over and whispered, "Do you know why Teacher Ding was so upset today?"
"Why?" Ji Wei asked readily.
"This open class is related to this year's rating." Huang Jing is always the know-it-all in the office.
"Really?" Ji Wei also remembered that there was such a thing. In her previous life, she had also learned about the news from Huang Jing in advance. Because she wanted this affirmation so much, she became very nervous. In the end, the spot went to Teacher Ding.
"When have my reports ever been inaccurate?" Huang Jing gave her a reproachful look.
"That's true, Sister Huang, you're the know-it-all of our office," Ji Wei complimented.
"I guess Teacher Ding knew this, which is why she did this." Huang Jing sighed after saying that, "Unfortunately, the number of rating slots is limited every year."
“It’s all over now, so we can only leave it to fate. By the way, Sister Huang, are any of our school’s students participating in the competition?” Ji Wei asked.
"It seems like some fourth and fifth graders are participating in a math competition. What's up?" Huang Jing glanced at her.
"It's nothing, just asking casually. Chen'an is quite talented in math, and I was wondering if I should let him give it a try." Gu Chen'an's math scores are indeed good. In fact, Lulu is also very talented in math. In her previous life, she had excellent math scores, but she couldn't stand people saying that her good grades were because she had a math teacher as her mother. Later, she began to resist math, and the worst time was when she even handed in a blank paper.
“If you have that talent, you should give it a try. Look at the kids in the city, they participate in all sorts of extracurricular classes, not to mention competitions. We should also encourage them if we have the resources,” Huang Jing suggested.
Huang Jing's words reminded Ji Wei that Gu Chen'an would be going to the city every week for psychological counseling, so they could try enrolling them in a special talent class at the Children's Palace.
After school today, Ji Wei didn't rush to cook. Instead, she gave Gu Chen'an a math test paper. Gu Chen'an looked at her with some confusion and asked, "Mom, what's this? Are you going to give me extra tutoring?" Then he explained, "Zhang Xiaojun told others that you usually give me extra tutoring. If I get into the top ten in the grade on the final exam, I'll get some money."
At that time, the school did have this tradition: the top ten students in the grade would receive a reward in addition to a notebook. The top three would receive twenty yuan, and the fourth to tenth would each receive ten yuan.
"Consider this a private tutoring session. You can do it on your own first, and if there's anything you don't know, save it for later and I'll teach you together." This test paper was also a way for her to assess Chen An's abilities.
"Then I'll give it a try." Gu Chen'an looked eager to try. Since Zhang Xiaojun and the others had said so, they would definitely laugh at him if he didn't get into the top ten in the grade in the final exam.
Even after the family of three finished their meal, Gu Zhiyuan was still nowhere to be seen. Gu Chen'an frowned and said, "Dad is so late again today."
"Wasn't it the same before? I'll come and explain the problem to you after I clean up the kitchen." Ji Wei rubbed his head.
"I still have bonus questions I haven't finished." Gu Chen'an looked a little down when he mentioned the test paper. The questions on this paper were much more difficult than usual. Was it because he was too stupid?
“These are all beyond your current level, it’s normal that you can’t do them.” Seeing his frustration, Ji Wei quickly comforted him.
"Oh, I see. That explains why I've never seen some of these questions before." Gu Chen'an immediately became happy.
"You're already amazing, wait for me." Before Ji Wei could finish speaking, an unfamiliar male voice came from outside: "Excuse me, is this Gu Zhiyuan's house?"
Ji Wei stood up and looked at the man outside the door. He was wearing the same uniform shirt as Gu Zhiyuan, and her heart tightened immediately: "I am Gu Zhiyuan's family member. What happened to him?"
"Gu Zhiyuan is injured and is still in the hospital." Before the person could finish explaining, Gu Chen'an's crying rang out in the courtyard.
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