Chapter 30 Can Burning Fire Keep Your Girlfriend's Heart?
In September, Wangshui Island Kindergarten opened, and Xinmian went to class according to the schedule given by Principal Fang.
After the typhoon, Principal Fang led a team to clean the entire kindergarten, which looked brand new.
School normally ends at 3:45 pm, but Xinmian's painting class is scheduled for 4 pm.
In the classroom, the children who had signed up for the painting class were already sitting obediently, their eyes wide with curiosity as they watched the new teacher led in by Principal Fang.
"Students, this is Teacher Xiaomian who will be teaching you to draw from now on," Principal Fang said with a kind smile. "Everyone says hello to the teacher."
The little ones sitting in rows behind their desks shouted in unison, "Hello, teacher!"
Xin Mian smiled, her dimples appearing on her cheeks. A little girl sitting in the last row brightened up and smiled too, "Teacher Xin Mian!"
She maintained the good habit of raising her hand before speaking, and said, "I have dimples too!"
The children in the class turned around, looked back and forth between the two, and then burst into laughter, "It really is!"
A little boy next to me pointed out, "Yours are dimples, but Teacher Xiaomian's are real dimples!"
Fewer than 10 children stayed to draw, but the classroom was filled with chatter and excitement as they discovered the contrast between dimples and cheek dimples.
Director Fang clapped his hands, and everyone quieted down.
"Kids, remember to raise your hands before you speak in class."
"When Teacher Xiaomian is teaching, you must listen attentively and not make loud noises. Can you do that?"
"Yes!"
The children are very confident in themselves.
Principal Fang smiled with satisfaction, whispered a few words to Xin Mian, and then turned and left the classroom.
But since it was Xinmian's first time teaching, she didn't go too far and kept an eye on the situation from the next office.
Today's class is for kindergarten seniors. Xinmian reads out the names on the roster that Principal Fang gave her one by one, matching the people with their names.
The little girl who noticed her dimples was named Li Li.
She wore a clean little dress, had two cute little buns in her hair, and had big, beautiful round eyes like grapes.
Xin Mian handed the drawing paper to her, bent down and patted her head, "Little dimple."
That's what the other students in the class called her.
"Can I call you that, teacher?"
Xiao Liwo nodded emphatically. Seeing Xin Mian smile, her gaze fell on Xin Mian's dimples. As she smiled, she became a little embarrassed, and her cheeks turned red.
Xinmian was amused by her, "What's wrong? Little dimples."
The little girl couldn't help but smile, raising her hand slightly. "Teacher, can I speak now?"
Xin Mian nodded, feigning seriousness. "Okay."
Little Dimple leaned over the desk and whispered to her, "Teacher Xiaomian, you're so pretty."
Xin Mian smiled and winked at her, "Thank you, Little Dimple."
"Her dimples are also very pretty."
Little Dimple returned the favor, saying, "Thank you, Teacher Xiaomian."
——
For children of this age, art classes often start with doodling, as vibrant colors are what spark their interest in drawing.
Xinmian used magnets to attach the illustrations to the blackboard, explained them briefly, and then let the children draw them themselves.
"Children who draw well today will receive a small gift."
Upon hearing that there were gifts to be won, the children became noticeably more attentive.
A class is 60 minutes long, and time flies by.
Today's drawing wasn't difficult; all the children finished it within one class period.
Outside the main building of the kindergarten, parents were arriving one after another to pick up their children after school.
Before each child left the classroom, they showed their work to Xinmian, who praised them in various ways.
Everyone was holding the DIY cartoon ornaments given to them by Teacher Xiaomian, and they skipped and jumped outside.
Everyone else had left, leaving only Xinmian and Xiaoliwo in the classroom.
The little girl was sitting on a small stool, carefully putting the used paintbrushes back into her pencil case. Even though all her classmates had left, she wasn't worried at all, as if she was used to the fact that no one had come to pick her up so late.
Xinmian looked out the window and saw that all the parents had left the open space outside the main building.
She thought for a moment, then knelt down beside the little dimple and spoke softly to her, "Little dimple, do you need me to help you collect them?"
Little Dimple shook her head, and said seriously in her childish voice, "No need."
"The headmistress once said that we should learn to do things ourselves."
“My brother said the same thing.”
"Brother?" Xinmian asked, "Will your brother come to pick you up later, or will your mom and dad come?"
"It's my older brother."
The speaker was Principal Fang, who was standing at the classroom door.
Xinmian stood up and looked at her.
Principal Fang walked in and affectionately patted Little Dimple's head. "Little Dimple, take your little schoolbag and go to the office first."
Little Dimple nodded obediently, her two little tufts of hair trembling with her movements.
After she left the classroom, Principal Fang sighed, "Xiao Liwo's family is a little different from other families. Usually, it's her brother who picks her up."
"Why haven't they arrived yet, so late?"
"It must have been something else that got in the way. This has happened often before, and we're used to it."
The principal smiled apologetically, "I still have some finishing work to do. She can stay in the office with me. You can go home now."
Principal Fang didn't say much, and Xin Mian didn't ask too many questions either. She briefly told her about the day's classes, then packed her things and went home.
——
Around 5 p.m., Xin Mian returned to No. 7 Dongpu Lane as the sun set.
As soon as she entered the yard, she smelled the delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. Her eyes lit up, and she washed her hands in the yard before heading to the kitchen.
"Grandma, I'm back."
"Mianmian's back," Chen Xiulian said, coming out of the kitchen and handing her a glass of water. "Was your class tiring?"
"Today is your first day of class, let's celebrate tonight!"
"Thank you, Grandma," Xinmian smiled, her eyes crinkling as she held the cup in her palm. The warmth of the water traveled through the glass to her hand, spreading through her blood and meridians, warming her heart.
She obediently finished most of her glass of water, then took Chen Xiulian's hand and went into the kitchen. "What delicious food did Grandma make tonight?"
"I'm not cooking tonight..."
Chen Xiulian said with a smile.
Before she could finish speaking, Xin Mian had already seen the tall and slender figure standing in the kitchen.
Chi Yu, wearing an apron, was standing in front of the stove, head down, preparing to taste the fish head soup.
Hearing the sound, he turned around with the spoon in his hand, his dark eyes meeting hers directly, his gaze deep and unfathomable.
Xin Mian froze, standing there at the kitchen doorway, looking him up and down.
The man was dressed casually in a white T-shirt and gray trousers.
An apron was tied tightly around his waist, and his hand holding the soup spoon was slightly bent, revealing smooth and strong forearm lines.
When he looked at her, there was a faint smile in his eyes.
Even the old scar on his brow seemed especially kind and approachable at this moment.
She has both good looks and culinary skills, and both culinary skills and good looks.
What a perfect homebody!
Xin Mian swallowed hard, feeling ashamed, and stood still.
That night on the winding mountain road, as they were nearing the foot of the mountain, she heard Chi Yu ask that question.
She heard those simple nine words clearly.
But I didn't know what answer to give him.
So she had a sudden inspiration and decided to pretend she hadn't heard it.
"...The wind is too strong!"
"I didn't hear you!"
The car hadn't stopped yet, and she was having some difficulty speaking, so she had to shout.
The sound came through the helmet and quickly dissipated in the night wind.
But she was certain that Chi Yu had heard it.
But he didn't ask any further questions, so she was happy to play dumb.
In the days since they returned from the mountain road, neither of them has brought up the last words they exchanged that night.
Seeing him standing in the kitchen "washing his hands and cooking" now is a far cry from the arrogant and cocky way he challenged others to a match that night.
She was not quite used to it.
However, she was clearly the only one who couldn't adapt.
Chi Yu looked completely at ease and beckoned to her, "Perfect timing, you can try this soup."
Xin Mian subconsciously wanted to wave her hand and say no, but before she could even raise her hand, Chen Xiulian smiled and gently pushed her shoulder, "Go ahead, try it."
There was nothing she could do but obediently come to Chi Yu's side. Just as she was about to take the spoon from his hand, he dodged to the side.
“I’ll take it,” he said, his reasoning perfectly sound, “be careful not to spill it.”
As he spoke, he pressed her hand down with one hand and held out the soup spoon to her with the other, saying, "It shouldn't be too hot anymore."
The man's figure then loomed over them.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the bright kitchen window, casting orange-yellow shadows and elongating the two figures on the ground.
As he approached, his tall and imposing figure gradually covered and enveloped her slender and graceful form.
It was completely surrounded.
Xin Mian watched helplessly as her figure disappeared "below" him, her ears inexplicably turning red.
While I was still in a daze, I tasted a mouthful of freshly made fish soup.
"How is it?" he asked her, referring to the taste of the fish soup.
"...Huh?" She snapped out of her daze and nodded haphazardly. "It's fine."
——
On a summer evening, the cool sea breeze dispelled the daytime heat.
Fat Orange pushed its little rice bowl to the osmanthus tree and enjoyed the two small yellow croakers in its bowl.
The stone table in the courtyard was piled high with seafood, a seafood dinner prepared by Chi Yu all by herself.
Chen Xiulian smiled so much that her eyes crinkled deeply, and she couldn't wait to introduce the dishes to Xinmian.
Fish head soup, salt and pepper mantis shrimp, pan-fried mackerel, stir-fried crab with ginger and scallions, steamed fish, and a plate of green vegetables—every dish was a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate.
[Meow~]
The chubby orange cat couldn't help but peek over here several times, but Chi Yu immediately crushed its hopes with nonsense.
"Fish have bones, so they're not suitable for you."
[Meow!]
The fat orange cat's bark was extremely mournful.
[Hey human! Don't you want to listen to what you're saying?!]
Unable to resist, it could only turn its head and keep the little yellow croaker company.
Xinmian had been on Wangshui Island for several months, and this was the first time she had seen Chi Yu cook so formally.
"Mianmian, quickly try Ayu's cooking."
Chen Xiulian glanced at Chi Yu, then looked at Xin Mian with a smile, "Look at him, could he keep his girlfriend's heart with his cooking skills in the future?"
"Cough cough..."
Xinmian almost choked, and just as she was coughing while clutching her chest, a bowl of milky white fish soup was placed in front of her.
She slightly raised her gaze, following the man's hand upwards, and stared straight into his deep, unfathomable eyes.
He smiled slightly, his eyes burning, "I'm also a little curious, whether I can keep my girlfriend's heart."
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Author's Note: The plot is counting down! [shy]
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