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Xiaohe stared at the back of the little boy who had knocked her chicken leg to the ground, snorted heavily, crossed her arms, and sulked to herself.
Just then, the teacher with glasses came over to check on everyone's eating. She tugged at the teacher's sleeve and said, "My chicken leg fell."
The teacher glanced at the ground and frowned: "How did you drop it? Pick it up."
Although Xiaohe was very resistant to her attitude, she still explained properly: "He did it."
She pointed to the little boy eating not far away, hoping to get justice.
"At such a young age, he has already learned to lie. He picked it up and ate it."
The teacher didn't bother to verify the truth; instead, she projected her resentment towards her job onto the innocent children. She hated every child in the classroom and used her physical size and authority to pressure them.
After saying that, she left without looking back, naturally not seeing the grievance and resentment in Xiao He's eyes.
"I won't pick it up, Dad will be angry."
She still remembered the last time Chu Qinghuai got angry because she picked up and ate the cookies on the ground. She was a good girl and wouldn't make her father angry.
So Xiaohe ignored the mess on the floor, returned to her seat, and saw that Caicai had almost finished her plate. She asked, "Little Caicai, are you full?"
"No." The daycare offers a variety of meals, but the portions are small, so most children will ask for a second serving.
"Do you still want some chicken drumsticks? Let's go together."
Just as Cai Cai was about to agree, he remembered the sad thing from yesterday, and he got a little scared. He shrank his neck and shook his head: "I'm not going."
Xiaohe: "Okay, I'll go by myself then."
The little girl returned to the food station, empty-handed, and said to the teacher, "I want a chicken leg, thank you."
"Huh? Didn't you just come here? You finished eating so quickly?" The teacher hesitated whether to give her another one, then noticed that there were no more chicken legs left in the bucket. She explained, "There are no chicken legs today. If you're not full, I'll give you rice."
"Then I won't eat it." Xiao He turned back dejectedly when she heard the words "no chicken legs." If she were allowed to reveal her true form at this moment, the petals she dropped would definitely be yellowed and withered.
As lunchtime was drawing to a close, the bespectacled teacher came to collect the plates from the table. When she walked over to Xiaohe, she noticed two lonely chicken legs lying on the floor, with the sticky sauce almost solidified. This unsightly sight was infuriating, and she immediately questioned Xiaohe about why she hadn't picked them up.
Xiaohe and Caicai sat together, both looking up at her with puzzled expressions.
"You're not listening to the teacher, so stand at the back."
Xiao He didn't realize this was blatant bullying, but she did as she was told. Seeing her younger sister leave, Cai Cai stood up and went to keep her company.
-
Zhong Wan and Chu Qinghuai knew nothing about what was happening at the nursery.
Video chatting every noon has been a habit the two of them for many years. Chu Qinghuai had just delivered goods to several restaurants and was having lunch at a noodle shop with two workers.
Perhaps because he had just finished working, sweat dampened his hair and his breathing was slightly rapid.
Zhong Wan told him to drink more water. On the screen, she showed him the fondant cake she had just made that morning, "Isn't it beautiful? I made the second layer."
Chu Qinghuai replied that it looked good; he had always known that his wife had a talent for making cakes.
"The kids have never tasted your cakes before, they'll definitely love them when they see them."
Zhong Wan was taken aback. "Oh, right."
When she first started working at the cake shop, she would bring home scraps and leftover cream almost every day. She was so tired of eating them that she and Chu Qinghuai lost all interest in any sweet or greasy food. If you think about it, it's been a long time since either of them had eaten cake.
But children are different; no child can resist cake.
She smiled and said, "Then I'll bring some cream back today so they can try it."
Chu Qinghuai agreed.
"I'll go to the orchard this afternoon, and I think I'll be done by 2 p.m. Then I'll go pick them up."
He didn't want to admit that he missed his three children terribly, but it was the truth; he wished he could see them every moment.
Zhong Wan: "Sure, the kids will be so happy. If you get home early, you can go to the supermarket, since we're out of snacks at home."
"Um."
The two chatted for a short while, and Chu Qinghuai, not wanting to disturb her afternoon nap, hung up the phone.
"What happy thing happened to Qing-ge?"
The owner personally brought over a bowl of noodles, and seeing the smile on his face, asked him a question out of curiosity.
Chu Qinghuai often came here for lunch and had a good relationship with the owner. He still smiled and replied, "It's nothing."
"Hey, I wasn't home yesterday. My wife told me you have a baby? That's so unfair! Why didn't you tell me you had a baby? As your uncle, I should at least say something. By the way, your baby with Xiaowan must be beautiful."
Upon hearing this, Chu Qinghuai's eyes softened. To avoid causing a series of misunderstandings, he chose to downplay the issue: "I didn't mean to keep it from you. Something happened in Xiaowan's hometown, and we only recently brought the children here."
"What? Kids, you've had a second child already?" Boss Chen said sourly, pulling up a chair to sit opposite him. "A son or a daughter?"
He made Chu Qinghuai a little embarrassed. Chu Qinghuai lowered his head and stirred the noodles. Chu Qinghuai said in a deep voice, "Two women and one man."
"My God, three!" Boss Chen was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth. He almost blurted out, "How can we afford to raise them?" He held back and said, "You really are a man of few words, but when you do speak, you amaze everyone."
Chu Qinghuai knew what he was thinking, but didn't care. After taking a bite of noodles, he found it a bit bland, so he added some chili sauce.
Mr. Chen kept talking, saying things like "Raising children is expensive now" and "It's better for children to stay with their parents."
Chu Qinghuai chewed slowly, letting it go in one ear and out the other, and only spoke after he finished speaking: "I'm going to pick up the kids from school later, so I can't be here this afternoon. Can you handle it by yourself?"
He is a true "King of Wage Earners," holding multiple jobs and working in various places, such as helping a noodle shop owner organize bills.
"It's alright, picking up the child is the priority." Boss Chen lit a cigarette, his eyes half-closed. At first, he was very angry that Chu Qinghuai had concealed the fact that he had a child, but when he thought of his family and all the trivial matters in his life, he couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh.
So much so that before he left, Boss Chen reminded him, "Don't forget to bring your kids over to play."
Chu Qinghuai smiled helplessly, "I know."
Everyone has secrets, and the most important thing for friends to do is to be mindful of boundaries. Of course, Mr. Chen was curious about how Chu Qinghuai got pregnant, but he knew he couldn't ask.
-
The rules at this daycare center weren't very strict; in fact, they could be described as lax. Parents could come and go as they pleased just by telling the security guard. Chu Qinghuai walked to the window at the back of the classroom and peered inside.
What is his baby doing?
Chu Qinghuai was afraid of disturbing the teacher and other children, so he stood quietly outside, not bothering anyone, and searched for the three children.
It seems that Mumu, Caicai, and Xiaohe are not sitting together.
The children sat quietly, each with yogurt and cookies in front of them. The classroom TV was playing cartoons, and Chu Qinghuai guessed it must be afternoon tea time.
He continued searching for the three children and finally found Mumu sitting next to a foreign child in a corner. She wasn't watching TV but was looking down and fiddling with something. Chu Qinghuai became interested, and then he saw his eldest daughter stand up. He frowned. Was she allowed to move around like that?
Following Mu Mu's steps, Chu Qinghuai turned his head to a different angle and noticed that Cai Cai and Xiao He were standing against the wall at the very back of the classroom.
The two short children took the cookies that their older sister had broken open and happily put them in their mouths.
Chu Qinghuai's expression was already off. He didn't give himself a chance to think and walked straight to the front door, raising his hand to calmly knock.
A young teacher jogged out, "Who are you?"
The teacher was somewhat surprised, clearly not recognizing him.
"Zhong Limu is in love with Chu He's father."
The teacher quickly realized that these three children were the most talked-about topic at the nursery. They were obedient and cute, and everyone was curious about what kind of parents could raise such children. Chu Qinghuai was indeed younger than she had imagined.
"Oh, are you here to take them home?"
"right."
"Wait a moment, I'll bring them over."
The teacher's gaze shifted nervously, searching for the children's figures, until it settled on the very back of the classroom. She thought to herself, "Oh no."
...
"Dad! I miss you so much!"
Surprisingly, Xiaohe and Caicai didn't look sad at all. They happily rushed into Chu Qinghuai's arms. He half-squatted down and patted each of their hair fairly. "Let's go home early today."
The teacher stood at the door, her smile stiff. After admiring the scene of fatherly love and filial piety, she said, "Children, hurry up and go home with your fathers." It was as if she was deliberately urging them to leave.
Chu Qinghuai ignored them, squatted down to be at eye level with the three children, and asked Cai Cai and Xiao He first, "Why were you standing at the back of the classroom just now?"
Xiao He told her father in a loud voice, "Someone told us to stand here."
She hasn't yet grasped the concept of a teacher, so she doesn't address them as such.
Chu Qinghuai asked again, "Aren't you tired of standing?"
"My legs hurt so much." Xiao He cried. After all, she wasn't in a good mood before seeing her father. The vengeful child was still upset about not getting the chicken leg at noon, so she told her father about it.
"Someone offered me a chicken leg to eat, but I didn't. It was dirty, and it made my stomach hurt."
She remembered everything Chu Qinghuai had said.
"Did someone tell you to eat what's on the ground?" Chu Qinghuai's face was ashen, his brows furrowed in a stern expression. He then asked Mu Mu, "Is what my sister said true?"
Mumu nodded honestly, sensing that her father was angry again. "Xiaohe didn't eat enough at noon and is very hungry. Caicai didn't eat enough yesterday either."
She finally remembered what happened yesterday and told her everything in detail.
Cai Cai stared blankly at the three of them. Chu Qinghuai took his little hand and asked earnestly, "Didn't you eat your fill either?"
He seemed to understand why the child didn't want to come to daycare anymore, and Chu Qinghuai felt as if his heart was being pricked by needles.
Cai Cai didn't answer the question directly, but instead looked aggrieved, "Why do I have to stand by the wall after eating?" Her feet hurt. At home, her parents never make her do things she doesn't like after she finishes eating.
Chu Qinghuai didn't want to ask any more questions. At this point, what was there left for him to understand? He took a deep breath, stood up, and questioned the teacher in front of him: "My children said they had to stand against the wall after eating. Why are they being made to do that?"
He didn't even bother to verify the truth of those words, because subconsciously he believed his baby wouldn't lie.
Chu Qinghuai has always been a very calm person. He is very smart and flexible in everything he does, which is also related to his past experiences. He thought that when one's mind matures to a certain extent, one will not get angry easily. But now, he is so angry that he wants to use the most foolish and violent methods to vent his anger.
The situation at the door was getting increasingly strange, and the atmosphere was tense, as if there was gunpowder everywhere. The other two teachers in the classroom also came out. When the bespectacled teacher saw Chu Qinghuai protecting the three children, his expression showed a rare moment of panic.
Chu Qinghuai stared intently at them. "I need an explanation."
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