In fact, there is no such thing as a surprise. What is supposed to happen will definitely happen.
In the morning, Lin Chaoxi rolled over in bed and opened her eyes with difficulty. The sky outside the balcony was bright and beautiful.
She placed the electronic watch Pei Zhi had lent her on her wrist on the pillow and took a look at it.
Ten fifteen... This thought went through her mind for a while, and before she sank to the bottom, the numbers were finally connected to the time.
Lin Chaoxi woke up immediately, washed and changed her clothes quickly, and when she rushed downstairs, she saw many adults.
The father carried the child's schoolbag, the mother held the child's hand, and the family of three walked downstairs at a brisk pace.
Lin Chaoxi could only lower his pace and follow behind them.
On the stairs, the mother turned around and pointed at her, and whispered to her child, "Are you my classmate?"
"Oh, yes! Her name is Lin Chaoxi, and her grades are excellent!" the little girl said cheerfully.
"Oh, look at them. You should learn from them."
Lin Chaoxi could only wave and say hello: "Hello, auntie, hello, uncle."
Auntie: "Hello, Xiaolin, are your parents here to pick you up?"
"Uh..." Lin Zhaoxi thought for a moment and could only say, "Actually, I don't really know."
"Oh, maybe your parents are going to give you a surprise. They'll be downstairs."
Lin Chaoxi smiled awkwardly, thinking that it was just a shock.
However, when she followed the family of three around the corner and had a clear view of the living room downstairs, the shock came true.
"Sister!" Downstairs, little Lin Aimin was the first to shout.
Professor Shen and his wife sat on the left and right sides of Lin Aimin respectively, and they looked at her with gentle smiles.
This couple has such extraordinary temperament that the mother of the classmate walking in front of them instantly brightened up when she saw them.
Lin Chaoxi was so surprised that she was speechless, because she not only saw Lin Aimin and Professor Shen and his wife, but also saw classmate Pei Zhi sitting at the other end of the sofa.
Pei Zhi was still holding the box of Kongming chess in his hand, as if he could finally play his favorite game on his day off. He was very detached and unaware of everything.
Lin Zhaoxi looked away, and her classmate's mother had already walked up to Professor Shen's wife and greeted her: "Hello, hello, are you here to pick up your children too?"
Professor Shen and his wife stood up quickly. Before they could say anything, the aunt continued, "Your daughter has excellent grades. My daughter was just saying..."
Professor Shen and his wife were obviously embarrassed, and Lin Chaoxi didn't know how to deal with it for a while.
At this time, Pei Zhi, who had been playing chess quietly on the sofa, looked up and said in a very calm tone: "Hello, Professor Shen, hello, Auntie, I am also Lin Chaoxi's classmate."
His voice was clear and bright. The classmate's mother was still laughing, but her smile suddenly froze in embarrassment.
Pei Zhi's words ended very skillfully. It looked like a child interrupting casually, but at the same time he pointed out the difference between the surname "Shen" and the surname "Lin". Smart adults could easily find the problem.
After a while, the wind blew and the whole embarrassing scene was slightly restored.
"Hello, hello..."
"Thank you, thank you..."
Everyone knew what was going on, and the adults began to exchange pleasantries again.
Lin Chaoxi nodded to Professor Shen and his wife. Without deliberately embarrassing them, she touched Lin Aimin's head and sat down in the middle of the sofa.
Student Pei Zhi put down the Kongming chess piece in his hand and glanced over.
Through a small piece of sofa, Lin Chaoxi looked at Pei Zhi's slightly tilted face and was speechless again.
"Master said that he would have to finish his work in the cafeteria at noon before he could take us on a picnic, which would be around 2 o'clock."
Before she asked, Pei Zhi had already answered with understanding.
"Have you already gone to see the Master?"
"Um."
"I'm grateful for your kindness." Lin Zhaoxi quietly clasped his fists towards him.
"It's still needed." Pei Zhi said.
"What?"
"Thank you." Pei Zhi said seriously, "I'll owe you for now."
Lin Zhaoxi: “…”
——
Later, Lin Chaoxi learned that Professor Shen and his wife had officially completed the adoption procedures for Lin Aimin. Because Lin Aimin always insisted on coming to see her, and they were asked by the welfare home, he drove Lin Aimin over.
They would have lunch with her and then go back.
Mrs. Shen explained this as they walked side by side on the path leading to the restaurant.
Lin Chaoxi lowered her head, and her worn sneakers and Mrs. Shen's black shallow-cut leather shoes always kept a certain distance.
"Thank you, Auntie." Lin Zhaoxi said.
Mrs. Shen's gentle gaze fell on her face, the wind blew her hair, she seemed to want to say something, but was interrupted by Lin Aimin.
"Brother Xi, how come you suddenly look like a Super Saiyan!" Lin Aimin rushed over holding a small airplane and suddenly shouted, "Everyone says you have excellent grades."
At this moment, Lin Chaoxi suddenly remembered and knocked Lin Aimin's head hard, staring at him with wide eyes, asking why he usually called her Brother Xi, but had to call her Sister just now.
Lin Aimin stuck out his tongue, revealing his little thoughts.
"Because your sister studies hard, you should learn from her." Professor Shen touched Lin Aimin's head and gave an explanation as any adult would say.
"No, because my sister is smart." For some reason, Lin Chaoxi remembered the tone of Old Lin's speech and continued.
After she finished speaking, she subconsciously looked at Professor Shen.
The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment, and after a moment, he and his wife smiled at each other, feeling amused by her.
Professor Shen rubbed her head and smiled sincerely, "We are certainly smart every day."
——
At noon, Oasis Base Restaurant.
Weekends are the peak time for family outings. The large and small round tables on the second floor of the cafeteria are all filled with people. Waiters are walking around with trays of food, and children and adults are laughing and talking all the time.
Looking down from the window on the second floor, you can see a large lotus pond, with the flowers beginning to bloom and the lake breeze being pleasant. Lin Chaoxi held his head, but his mood was not so pleasant.
Yes, she went out early and came back late, and spent a week in the cafeteria, but she didn't know that the restaurant of Oasis Base was on the second floor of the cafeteria, but their entrances were no longer together.
Professor Shen and his wife said that when they went to the restaurant to eat, she was still thinking it was good that she would not run into Lao Lin, but now they went directly to the second floor of the cafeteria, and everything was uncertain.
Lin Chaoxi rubbed her forehead and looked around quietly. She didn't know why she was so afraid of being seen by Lao Lin. Lao Lin definitely didn't know that she was his daughter, so he probably wouldn't be sad even if he saw her, right?
The waiter brought a jug of freshly squeezed orange juice. Mrs. Shen poured a glass for her and Lin Aimin respectively, and asked as she flipped through the menu, "What would you like to eat, Zhaoxi?"
“Whatever!”
"Eat some fish. Fresh lake food is good this season. You've worked hard at studying..."
"No... it doesn't have to be expensive!"
Despite saying so, when the dishes were finally served, the table was still full, with about ten plates of various sizes, which was far more than enough for two adults and two children.
Lin Aimin was very happy, shouting "wow wow wow" and went to grab the chicken legs.
Mrs. Shen smiled and patted him, took out a wet towel, wiped his hands, poured a bowl of soup and placed it in front of him, and said with a smile: "Drink the soup first."
"Mom, you drink too." Lin Aimin said sensibly.
Mrs. Shen nodded with a smile.
——
The family was having a great time together, and such scenes could be seen everywhere in the restaurant, making people envious.
In the distant aisle, a waiter who was carrying plates of food suddenly stopped because the chef standing in front of him pushing a cart also stopped.
The trolley is carrying greasy tableware from the second floor to the first floor?
The waiter followed the line of sight of the chef pushing the cart in front and saw a family of four happily dining by the window.
They looked like a wealthy family as they ordered a large table of food but only moved a little on each dish.
"Master Lin?" the waiter asked the person in front of him.
"No problem." the other party replied.
——
At first, Lin Chaoxi ate the meal with fear and trepidation, but later he became uncomfortable sitting still.
If you haven't met them before, you would have thought they were a very amiable professor couple. But after getting to know them more, Lin Chaoxi discovered that Professor Shen and his wife had a very obvious noble temperament of people from a scholarly family.
There are rules for eating, rules for speaking, in short, rules for everything. It’s not that it’s a bad thing, but let alone the lively and active Lin Aimin, even though she is an adult at heart, she still felt like there were needles on the stool by the end of the meal.
After dinner, Professor Shen and his wife were about to take Lin Aimin back home, and Lin Chaoxi and they walked along the path in the botanical garden again.
Professor Shen deliberately held Lin Aimin's hand and walked in front, while Mrs. Shen stayed behind. After walking for a while, Mrs. Shen spoke softly.
"Chao Xi, we really want a daughter."
Lin Chaoxi lowered his head and said nothing.
"I heard from your dean that you may be a little reluctant about being adopted because of your age."
"You can tell your auntie if you have any concerns."
Lin Zhaoxi thought for a moment, then raised her head and said, "Auntie, I don't really have any concerns."
"That's why. If there is anything we do that you don't like, you are welcome to point it out."
"I don't dislike it." Lin Zhaoxi said honestly, "But I don't like it either."
The laughter of a father and son came from the front.
Mrs. Shen was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect that she would dare to say that.
After a while, Mrs. Shen said, "What can I do? After hearing what you said, I like you even more."
"Why...why?"
"You are a very real child." said Mrs. Shen.
There are still shrubs of varying heights all around, and large patches of mint and geraniums on the ground sway in the wind.
"You say you are very smart, but in fact, Lao Shen and I both think that the most important quality of a child is not intelligence, but authenticity."
She half squatted down and looked into her eyes. "Dean Shen has taught you very well. We still sincerely hope that you can consider us and give us a chance to become your parents. We really like you."
Lin Chaoxi looked at the sincere lady in front of him, not knowing what to say.
——
Mrs. Shen’s last words kept ringing in my ears.
After seeing off the family of three, Lin Chaoxi returned to the cafeteria on the first floor. The smell of the simple food that hit her face made her feel relaxed instantly.
As soon as she entered the room, she saw a man and a child sitting opposite each other at a table near the door. They were Lao Lin and Pei Zhi.
It was past one o'clock in the afternoon and the cafeteria was no longer so lively, so Lao Lin took some time to play Kongming chess with Pei Zhi.
Lin Chaoxi walked over quietly and found a bag on the dining table. There were vegetables and rice in it. So these were the picnic supplies that Lao Lin prepared?
"Are you back?" Lao Lin asked her
"Yeah."
Lin Chaoxi said this casually, and suddenly felt something was wrong. Did Old Lin know?
Why did she have the illusion that she was caught doing something bad?
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