Chapter 191: Bonus Extra Chapter 2
In 1990, Beijing was to host the Asian Games.
In preparation for this international event, all government departments in the city have been extremely busy since the beginning of the year. The Transportation Bureau has a heavy workload, with one person often having to work like eight.
At a crucial moment when Luo Yan was competing for the deputy director position, she didn't get home until after 10 p.m. every night in order to make a good impression.
Five-year-old Luo Yuanyuan is at the age where she clings to her mother. One day at breakfast, she earnestly asked, "Mom, can you pick me up tonight?"
Luo Yan only has one daughter, and she would do anything for her. She felt guilty for not spending time with her for a while, so she said gently, "Of course, how about Dad and I take you to KFC tonight?"
Luo Yuanyuan loves mashed potatoes. When she gets excited, she jumps around and forgets that her bowl is right in front of her. She spills the bowl all over the floor, making a mess, but her clothes don't get dirty.
Even with Zhou Weifang's quick reflexes, he couldn't catch her. He first picked up his daughter, made her stand on a chair, and said, "Baby, don't move. Wife, you don't move either."
The mother and daughter, with their similar features, showed almost identical expressions and nodded in unison.
Zhou Weifang wiped up the spilled porridge on the floor and table. Looking at the two girls' well-behaved faces, he thought: The older one is normal, but the younger one is so well-behaved today that it's unsettling.
Unaware of her father's suspicions, Luo Yuanyuan stretched out her hands and said, "My hands are dirty too."
Zhou Weifang carried her to wash up and then served her half a bowl of porridge: "Eat up."
Luo Yuanyuan ate quite well this time. After finishing, she wiped her mouth and ran to put on her little backpack, eager to go to kindergarten.
Zhou Weifang joked with his wife, "I can see that you look a bit like me."
He kissed the child when the child turned away and whispered, "Spend some time with me tonight too."
Luo Yan nudged the man, put on her own shoes, and, holding her daughter's hand, said, "Let's go."
Her workplace is in the same direction as the kindergarten, so she's the one who takes the children there when the weather is nice.
Zhou Weifang told her to drive slowly, and while washing dishes in the kitchen, she could see her motorcycle leaving the residential compound.
Luo Yan has a driver's license, but she rarely drives.
Because there are road constructions everywhere in Beijing right now, and there are more cars than people on the road, she can get to work in about ten minutes by motorcycle, but if she's unlucky, it can take her half an hour by car.
She was very lucky today; she arrived at the kindergarten gate in five minutes, parked her motorcycle on the side of the road, and handed her daughter over to the teacher.
Luo Yuanyuan waved goodbye to her mother, reminding her to pick her up in the evening.
Strangely enough, Luo Yan suddenly had a gut feeling. She glanced at her daughter but didn't notice anything wrong. She patted her hair and said, "Be good today, okay?"
Kids always agree to things easily.
Luo Yuanyuan nodded without hesitation and jogged towards the classroom, her braids swinging back and forth.
Luo Yan thought she might be overthinking things, glanced at her watch, and hurried off to work.
At this moment, Luo Yuanyuan is squatting in the corner showing her two best friends her toy—a lifelike snake that her uncle bought for her.
She said, "Look, the snakes I'm raising!"
Those who dared to hang out with her were the brave ones. The children didn't understand anything about biomimicry or anything like that. They would tentatively reach out and touch it, saying, "It's so well-behaved, it doesn't bite."
Luo Yuanyuan hadn't originally planned to name the toy, but then a brilliant idea struck her: "Little Black is the best behaved!"
She knew in her heart that Xiao Hei couldn't be brought to the kindergarten, so she quickly put it away when she saw the teacher approaching.
The friend also worried, "Won't Xiao Hei be scared in the backpack?"
Luo Yuanyuan: "No way! Little Black can catch monsters that big!"
She gestured a large circle with both hands, and her friend asked, puzzled, "Is Little Black a monster too?"
Luo Yuanyuan had read Journey to the West and thought to herself that our Xiao Hei was not like that, so she said, "It's a deity!"
Five years old is the age when people believe in these demons and monsters, and without much doubt, everyone took it as true.
Luo Yuanyuan even convinced herself that it was indeed the case, and reached into her schoolbag to pat Xiao Hei: "Be a good boy."
Xiao Hei stayed in the schoolbag peacefully all morning, until Luo Yuanyuan took it out during her afternoon nap and secretly hid it under her blanket.
But the moment she moved after falling asleep, everything was exposed.
The snake was made so realistically that the teacher was quite frightened when he saw it and shouted.
What followed was utter chaos and confusion. It's said that two-thirds of the classroom was crying, but thankfully no one was injured.
Luo Yan received a call from her teacher and immediately asked for leave to rush to the kindergarten. After finding out the reason, she asked, "Yuanyuan, can I bring my toys to kindergarten?"
Luo Yuanyuan shook her head with tears welling up in her eyes, tentatively trying to act coquettishly.
Luo Yan made her stand still: "Besides, even Mom was terrified when she saw this snake at home. Look, aren't you all scared?"
Actually, my daughter had wanted this snake figurine for a long time, but as her mother, I never mustered the courage to bring it into the house. But my daughter really loved it, even asking for it in her dreams. With a loving mother's heart, Luo Yan gritted her teeth and finally agreed to buy it for her. She's still getting used to it.
Luo Yuanyuan originally wanted to name her friends to say they weren't afraid, but she had a feeling that saying it would get her scolded even more, so she nodded.
Okay, Luo Yan told her: "Apologize to the teacher now, and then apologize to all the other children."
Just as he finished speaking, Zhou Weifang arrived.
Although he didn't understand the whole story, it seemed that everything had been handled well. He instinctively dodged, knowing that his daughter was picking on the weak and that he might not be able to handle her.
Luo Yan saw him and nodded slightly.
The teacher waited until the parent finished speaking before saying, "Then I'll take Yuanyuan to the classroom now. It's almost time for school to end, so you can just take her home."
Luo Yan apologized to the teacher twice more, and sighed helplessly as the teacher led her daughter away.
Zhou Weifang only dared to enter the office after asking the questions, and then lowered his head.
Luo Yan poked his shoulder: "Just like you, and Luo Hong!"
In her anger, she even used her brother's full name.
Zhou Weifang thought that his childhood friend was doomed this time, but he still had to protect himself, so he said, "I'll have a good talk with her when we get back."
Luo Yan glanced at him sideways: "Why didn't you come in just now?"
Zhou Weifang was truly at a loss: "She can cry whenever she wants, and her eyes are just like yours. How have you ever managed to control me and Luo Hong since we were little? She's a natural at it."
We've been good friends for over thirty years, so I should help him make a choice.
Luo Yan was speechless for a moment, but still threatened, "You two just wait."
Well, none of us cleaned up properly.
After Luo Yuanyuan apologized in the classroom, she saw her father and rushed to his side like a swallow returning to its nest; tears streamed down her face before she could even speak.
Zhou Weifang hugged her tightly, wiping away her tears as he said, "Making a mistake is making a mistake, and you'll be punished."
The mention of punishment made Luo Yuanyuan even sadder: "I want to eat KFC."
Luo Yan had completely forgotten about this, but thinking that one thing at a time, she said, "You can eat KFC, but you can't go downstairs to play or watch TV this Sunday. You have to stay at home."
Both of these events were like a bolt from the blue for Luo Yuanyuan, but she only saw what was in front of her. She was happy while eating mashed potatoes and had completely forgotten about the punishment on Sunday.
But Luo Yan didn't forget.
She was going to work overtime on Sunday, and before leaving, she instructed, "No going downstairs to play, no watching TV, Zhou Weifang, do you hear me?"
Zhou Weifang nodded vigorously twice, then waited for his wife to come out and stared at his daughter.
Luo Yuanyuan initially thought nothing of it and was still fiddling with her toys in her room, but when she heard other children running around downstairs, she couldn't help but whine to her father.
Putting aside the fact that he had to carry out his wife's orders, Zhou Weifang also knew that his daughter needed to learn a lesson, so he patted her head and refused.
Luo Yuanyuan felt wronged and was about to cry when she heard a knock on the door. She sniffed.
Zhou Weifang saw his childhood friend through the peephole and opened the door: "Hey, my cellmate's here."
Luo Hong was also grounded today. He secretly gave his childhood friend the middle finger, picked up his niece and said, "Yuanyuan, didn't we agree that you wouldn't scare people after buying this?"
Luo Yuanyuan still wanted to defend herself: "I didn't mean to scare anyone."
Luo Hong: "If it's an accident, it's just to scare people. But if you did it on purpose, we're both finished today."
Luo Yuanyuan felt she was doomed, but still pinned her hopes on her uncle, saying, "I want to go downstairs to play."
Luo Hong had no choice: "I'm not allowed to go out today either. Look, didn't we both promise your mother when we bought it? Your uncle is your guarantor, so you both have to stay home today."
Luo Yuanyuan couldn't understand what the guarantor meant, but she could sense his helplessness. She wiped away her tears and pulled her uncle to play with her toys.
But she could still hear her friends chasing and playing downstairs, and after a while she couldn't sit still anymore. It was the same old story: tears would well up in her eyes.
Luo Hong took a deep breath, realizing that his punishment wasn't about not being allowed to leave the house at all; it turned out to be right here.
The more he tried to persuade her, the more determined Luo Yuanyuan became, crying herself to sleep in her father's arms.
Zhou Weifang felt heartbroken and patted her to comfort her, but she just wouldn't give in.
Finally, Luo Yuanyuan realized that crying was useless, so she stopped sobbing and said, "I want to eat candy."
After a beating, you should be given a treat.
Luo Hong handed it to his niece, saying, "Shouldn't you remember this lesson?"
Luo Yuanyuan remembered it all too well now, and nodded sadly.
To be honest, it looks both pitiful and funny.
Zhou Weifang wiped away her daughter's tears and snot, and after a while she found that she had actually fallen asleep. She tiptoed and put the child on the bed.
Luo Hong felt like he was hallucinating, but he could finally say, "She can cry even more than Luo Yan did when she was a child."
Zhou Weifang nodded in agreement, thinking to himself that at least they had managed to hold on.
He thought he had overcome all his difficulties that day, but by evening, his daughter, who had taken a nap during the day, could only barely close her eyes after being coaxed until midnight.
My wife is already asleep by now.
Zhou Weifang didn't get any good fruit and could only take a cold shower alone.
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