12
For as long as Caicai stood there, Mumu and Xiaohe stayed with him. When it was time for their afternoon nap, the teacher finally let them go to their beds to sleep.
At that moment, Cai Cai was the only one still wearing his bib in the entire classroom. He tried to take it off, but he couldn't unbutton the back of his neck. Eventually, a teacher helped him unbutton it.
He was in a low mood and it took him a long time to fall asleep in his small bed.
There weren't any special activities in the afternoon. After afternoon tea, the children played with toys until they got tired of it. The children finally made it to four o'clock, when Zhong Wan and Chu Qinghuai came to pick them up to go home.
The couple were the first parents to pick up their children from the daycare. All three children were very happy, especially Cai Cai, whose longing for Zhong Wan was almost growing, and she hugged Zhong Wan's neck tightly, not wanting to let go.
Xiaohe: "You're finally here! I missed you."
Zhong Wan kissed her on the cheek, "Mom misses you too."
This wasn't just a perfunctory remark; she had been worried all day about whether the children would adapt to the new environment, to the point that she almost messed up the piping bag while making a cake.
"Are you happy today? How was your day?"
Chu Qinghuai asked them.
The teacher only posted a group photo in the group chat, so he couldn't see anything special about it.
The three children, at such a young age, have learned to only report good news and not bad news, all saying, "Lunch was delicious."
Zhong Wan laughed at them, saying they were all little gluttons.
"Okay, let's go home. Mom bought a new toy today."
Mumu and Xiaohe agreed in unison, then skipped and hopped home hand in hand. Only Caicai clung to her the whole time and refused to get down. Zhong Wan noticed something was wrong with him. "What's wrong, baby?"
"I can't walk anymore." His voice was very soft.
Is there anything that's bothering you?
He shook his head, his eyes downcast, "I want a hug~"
Chu Qinghuai glanced at him, then opened his arms: "Come on over."
Cai Cai felt extremely safe in her father's arms, sniffing the comforting scent, and quietly rested her head on his shoulder.
It's normal for some children not to like going to kindergarten, so Zhong Wanchu and Qinghuai naturally assumed that Caicai was one of those "school-averse" children.
Before leaving the daycare, Mumu remembered that she was going to tell her parents about what Caicai had experienced that day, but she was so happy and no one asked her that she forgot. She didn't remember to tell them until she went to bed that night.
As expected, Cai Cai didn't want to go to daycare the next day.
He didn't cry. He stood at the door with his schoolbag on his back, refusing to come downstairs no matter how his parents tried to coax him.
"Your older sister and younger sister are all going, why don't you go too? Mom and Dad will pick you up this afternoon."
Zhong Wan didn't understand why she didn't want to go anymore after just one day, even though the other two children accepted it.
Chu Qinghuai squatted down and asked him, "Why don't you want to go?"
Cai Cai honestly replied, "Cai Cai doesn't like it."
Why don't you like it?
If you don't like something, you just don't like it; there's no need for so many reasons.
Chu Qinghuai and Zhong Wan looked at each other, both seeing the "not knowing what to do" in each other's eyes.
Zhong Wan hates lecturing on useless principles, and besides, she has no reason to try to make the child like daycare right now.
"But Mumu and Xiaohe have both gone. What will you do if you stop thinking about them?"
Cai Cai pondered with her little head, and thought, "Oh right, it seems like she really can think."
It was getting late, and Zhong was almost late for work that evening; the two sides were at an impasse.
Mumu and Xiaohe stood hand in hand at the door, their patience wearing thin. Xiaohe ran over and tugged at his clothes, "Hurry up, little green vegetable!"
She was really strong. Before Cai Cai could react, she was dragged away, walking between her sisters, with someone holding both of her hands, heading to the nursery in a daze.
The couple followed behind their children. Zhong Wan said worriedly, "I feel like Cai Cai will hate school in the future. What should we do?"
"Just focus on your work and see how things go."
As new parents, they had no idea why their child would hate going to daycare.
...
"Be good, I'll pick you up this afternoon."
Zhong Wan knelt down, straightened the collars of the three children, and handed them over to the teacher.
Every morning, the area outside the classroom is in chaos, filled with children who don't want to leave their parents, crying and weeping. Compared to them, her children are relatively calm. Zhong Wan is gratified but also feels guilty. Actually, it's okay if they aren't so obedient.
"Teacher, thank you for your help."
Zhong Wan watched as the bespectacled teacher led the three children inside and then quickly came out again. She felt something was off, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.
As she left the daycare, she took Chu Qinghuai's arm and said, "I always felt that the children's teachers weren't very enthusiastic."
Chu Qinghuai had the same feeling, but comforted himself and Zhong Wan that they were overthinking it.
Arriving at this familiar place again, Mumu didn't want to sit on the ground and get her clothes dirty, so she asked her younger siblings to help her take off her shoes.
"Don't make me fall."
She lifted one foot off the ground and put one hand on Cai Cai's shoulder, but Cai Cai was shorter than her and her center of gravity was not very stable, so she couldn't support her. As a result, Mu Mu swayed and played around, and it took her five minutes to take off her shoes.
Then she helped her younger brother and sister take off their shoes, and the three of them went to sit down together.
The toys in the classroom no longer held their interest; what intrigued them were the cries coming from the doorway.
All three of them turned their heads toward the source of the loud noise.
Are they sad? I want to wipe away their tears with my flower petals.
Xiaohe was stopped by Mumu as soon as she spoke. Mumu stood up abruptly and waved her hand, saying, "You can't do this. Mom and Dad said that our true forms can't be seen by other people."
"But they shed so many tears."
Xiao He rested her chin on her hand, as if cradling a piece of milky pastry. She frowned, unable to bear seeing the people around her sad or upset.
She is such a empathetic baby.
Cai Cai didn't hear her sister's words; her attention was entirely on the little boy at the next table, who was lying on the table doing something.
"Cai Cai, where are you going?"
"Let me take a look."
Driven by some unknown curiosity, he walked over to the other person and tilted his head, trying to see if the child was crying.
Cai Cai carefully touched the other boy's brown, slightly curly hair. Although it was impolite, the little boy noticed but didn't say anything.
"Huh? Your eyes are green! What kind of vegetable are you?"
Cai Cai's own pupils are a light greenish-amber color, and green is also his favorite color. Seeing the other person's eyes, which are as bright as gemstones, he was so happy that he couldn't speak.
"What kind of dish?"
The children frowned, unable to understand what Cai Cai was saying.
Before long, Mumu and Xiaohe, who were also bored, came over. The three children surrounded the green-eyed boy, which startled him.
"you……"
Cai Cai excitedly introduced, "Look at his eyes! They're green! What kind of vegetable is he?"
Xiao He was led astray by him, believing that the other party was also a spirit, and her eyes gleamed with eagerness.
Mumu was the only conscious person present. She patted Caicai's little hand and said, "Don't touch him yet. He's not a vegetable; he's a human child."
"ah?"
Cai Cai didn't believe it; what human child has green eyes?
As a fruit spirit, Mumu not only has a captivating fragrance but also a keen sense of smell. However, she couldn't detect any trace of spirits on the little boy. Caicai is such a silly girl; she can't resist anything green.
"If you don't believe me, smell it for yourself; it only smells like milk."
Cai Cai leaned closer, lowered her head, and took a deep breath near the little boy's hair. It really did smell like milk, not like any kind of food.
Nevertheless, he was not disappointed and did not hold back his praise. He refrained from touching the other person's eyes and said, "Your eyes are so beautiful."
As soon as he said that, the little boy immediately covered his eyes with his hands, trying to hide them so they wouldn't see.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
Seeing this, Xiaohe touched his face with concern, wanting to see if he was crying. Considering the little boy's beautiful eyes, she could secretly conjure two flower petals to wipe away his tears.
"Don't steal my eyes."
The three babies were stunned when they heard the muffled sound. Mumu explained, "We didn't mean to steal."
The little boy pointed and pursed his lips, "Him."
It means that Cai Cai wants to steal his eyes.
Cai Cai was speechless, her eyes wide open, "I didn't."
He felt extremely wronged. Human children are so strange; how could they speak of him so badly?
Then, the three of them sat at the table. Mu Mu and Xiao He explained to him that Cai Cai was kind and wouldn't steal his eyes; she just thought his eyes were beautiful.
The four children chattered away, each talking their own thing, yet they managed to get along and quickly formed a friendship.
Twenty minutes later, the teacher finally calmed all the children down and began to organize them, distributing new toys to each table. Cai Cai, sitting next to the green-eyed child, said familiarly, "Let's play together."
"What's your name?" the other person asked shyly.
Cai Cai said her name and generously introduced her sisters' names, showing her fondness for her new friends.
"And what is your full name?" he continued.
Cai Cai scratched his head, he really didn't remember, so he made up a lie: "I don't have a real name."
The little boy was surprised, but after a moment of astonishment, he politely revealed his name: "My name is Xiwen, and my formal name is Chuyue."
Cai Cai asked her question: "Why are your eyes green?"
My mother is Swedish.
Cai Cai pretended to understand, giving a strange "oh".
After all, she's just a child, and Cai Cai is very innocent. She put yesterday's unpleasantness behind her and was happy all morning, like a little megaphone, her mouth never stopping, and she almost finished the water in her cup.
...
Lunchtime arrived quickly. Today, there was braised chicken drumsticks, which the children loved. Even Xiao He, who was the slowest eater, quickly finished her food and picked up her plate to get more food because she wanted a second serving of chicken drumsticks.
"Please give me a chicken leg, thank you."
The teacher serving lunch was charmed by the little girl's serious expression and asked her if she wanted rice. Xiao He replied, "No, thank you."
They were quite polite, though.
The teacher really only gave her two chicken legs. Xiao He was satisfied and took them back. Just as she was about to enjoy them, a gust of wind blew by, and the chicken legs were accidentally knocked over.
The meat that was almost in her mouth flew away, and she looked like the sky had fallen; she simply couldn't accept it.
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