Chapter 59 Inferiority Complex is a Man's Best Dowry
On the afternoon of the third day, when Cheng Cheng went to pick up her daughter, she still held onto a last glimmer of hope that Xiao Xiao could change her mind and discover the joy of going to school.
She stood at the entrance of the preschool class and saw her daughter methodically putting her notebook and pencil into her schoolbag and then slinging it over her shoulder.
The little girl named Xingxing stayed close to her daughter, her eyes a little red, and she refused to leave, carrying her little schoolbag.
"Xiaoxiao, are you really not coming to the preschool class tomorrow?"
Xiao Lingxiao looked up at his new friend, who was lively and adorable despite being prone to crying, and felt a slight pang of reluctance.
Although going to school wasn't as fun as she had imagined, where she could learn a constant stream of new knowledge, she did meet many new classmates there.
She nodded. "I won't be coming tomorrow."
She paused for a moment, looking at Xingxing's red eyes, "But I'll be home at noon and in the evening. You can have your mom bring you to come play with me."
"Okay then, I'll definitely come find you to play!"
Xiao Lingxiao nodded, waved to Xingxing and Teacher Zhang standing at the door, and calmly said, "Goodbye, Teacher! Goodbye, Xingxing!" Then she walked to her mother and took Cheng Cheng's hand.
Xiao Lingxiao quietly followed her mother out, not feeling too much about not coming to school tomorrow.
She did like stars a little and thought Teacher Zhang was very gentle, but that was far from enough to make up for the unhappiness she felt from the boredom of going to school.
Every day is so boring!
Xiao Lingxiao frowned slightly, and she felt it was a waste of time. She preferred to spend the boring time in the preschool class on studying.
Looking at her daughter's unusually calm profile, Cheng Cheng felt a little uneasy. She tried to start the conversation in a lighthearted tone: "Xiaoxiao, did you have fun in the preschool class this afternoon?"
What did you play with Xingxing and the others?
"Hmm," Xiao Lingxiao responded, then looked up and said, "Teacher Zhang led us in playing the handkerchief-dropping game."
The little girl looked at her mother with her big, clear eyes and said, word by word, "Mom, I have fulfilled my promise for three days."
"Starting tomorrow, I will no longer go to the preschool class."
"But didn't you have a lot of fun playing with Xingxing and the others?" Cheng Cheng asked, puzzled. "If you didn't come to the Nurturing Class, you wouldn't be able to see each other and play games every day?"
She knelt down, patted the little girl's head, and said gently, "Xiaoxiao, your most important task now is to grow up happily. Studying is for later."
Her words did not move the little girl, whose face showed a clarity and stubbornness beyond her years. "But Mom, I like to study."
The little girl spoke with clear logic, saying each word distinctly: "For me, learning something new is more fun than playing drop the handkerchief with Xingxing and the others!"
"If I had to choose one, I would choose to learn new knowledge."
“And…” she frowned slightly, “Mom, the child is being too childish!”
Upon hearing this, Cheng Cheng chuckled and pointed at the little girl, "Friendly reminder: Zhou Lingxiao, you are only three years old, about the same age as the other children in the Yuhong class."
Little Lingxiao pursed his lips, his little face tense, and retorted to his mother with a serious expression: "Mom, I'm three and a half years old!"
Alright, you three-and-a-half-year-old little adult, Cheng Cheng got up, took the little girl's hand, and walked towards home.
The first family meeting was held, and the topic of the meeting was whether Zhou Lingxiao should continue to attend school.
The little girl sat in her little chair, back ramrod straight, hands on her knees, stating her reasons word by word, like she was giving a tattletale:
"First, the children in the preschool class are too childish. The teacher spends most of the day maintaining order and playing games with us, which I think is a waste of time."
"Secondly, I already know all the knowledge the teacher teaches. It's too simple, and the teacher has to teach it many times."
"Third, the children are too noisy, I don't like it."
Looking at her daughter's mature demeanor, Cheng Cheng felt both proud and worried.
She took over the conversation, her tone gentle but full of concern: "Xiaoxiao, Mom understands what you're thinking."
"But what Mom wants to tell you is that learning, or rather, seeking knowledge, is very important. It's true that you love learning, and Mom and Dad are proud of you! But learning shouldn't be your whole life."
"I hope that in your spare time you can have your own hobbies, find pure joy, and have friends with whom you can share your feelings."
"These seemingly useless things, like knowledge, can enrich and bring joy to your heart, subtly shaping you into a complete version of yourself."
"Mom doesn't want your future life to consist only of studying and books."
Cheng Cheng's concerns were not unfounded. If things were like this when they were young, she worried that Xiao Xiao would grow up to be like Zhou Yue, making work her whole life.
After listening to her mother's words, Xiao Lingxiao's face showed genuine confusion. In her black-and-white understanding, the things that could bring her happiness and satisfaction were hobbies and fun.
She tilted her head slightly and asked, "But Mom, learning new knowledge is my hobby and fun, doesn't that count?"
Zhou Yue listened quietly the whole time, his eyes showing no surprise, only a deep understanding and a hint of barely perceptible appreciation.
His daughter's current state was almost a carbon copy of his childhood: extreme impatience with meaningless time-wasting, an urgent thirst for intellectual nourishment, and a strong desire to arm her mind with knowledge.
He took his wife's hand and squeezed it gently. He understood her worries. His wife hoped that their daughter's life would be a garden, with towering trees, flowers, and green grass.
Zhou Yue didn't try to persuade her further. Instead, he asked in a tone of equal discussion, "So, Xiaoxiao, if you're not going to the preschool class, what are your plans for your time?"
Yes!
The little girl flashed two dimples, clearly indicating that she had already made up her mind.
“I go to the library with my mom in the morning to read books, and I also go to work with my mom in the afternoon to draw and practice calligraphy. After my dad gets off work, he can teach me more interesting knowledge, and I go to class with my dad in the evening.”
The little girl paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and added, "If Sister Naren and Xingxing come to play with me, I will adjust my time to playtime."
The little girl clearly had a clear plan for her time. Zhou Yue looked into his daughter's eyes, which were filled with the same thirst for knowledge as his own, and understood.
He nodded to his daughter, "Okay, Dad understands. We won't go to the aftercare class tomorrow."
That night, after finally putting her daughter to sleep, who was completely satisfied with her wish, Cheng Cheng's worries were fully revealed on her face.
A slight worry appeared between her brows. "Zhou Yue, Xiaoxiao is so young. I'm afraid she won't have any friends in the future and will be too lonely."
It refers to spiritual loneliness, the feeling of having no one who understands you or who is compatible with you on a spiritual level.
Seeing this, Zhou Yue naturally reached out and pulled his wife into his arms, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.
“Don’t worry,” his voice sounded particularly deep and reliable in the quiet night. “Loneliness is probably a common thing that a genius must go through on the road to growth. If you force her to be planted in ordinary soil, Xiaoxiao will not be happy, she will only wither.”
"Were you like this when you were little?" Cheng Cheng looked up at the man.
Zhou Yue nodded slightly, recalling the past: "I also went through a similar phase when I was a child, feeling that the games my peers played were meaningless."
She paused, a helpless smile playing on her lips: "The kids in the compound used to call me a bookworm, they thought I was boring. Even my older brother and sister thought so. I spent most of my time in my grandma and grandpa's library."
“They were playing marbles, climbing trees and rooftops outside, making a huge racket, while I was quietly reading. They thought I was a bookworm, and I thought they were childish and boring.”
This was the first time Cheng Cheng had heard Zhou Yue talk about his childhood. She held the man's hand in her palm, kneading and touching it. Hearing this, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "Do you regret not having played more when you were a child?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yue did not answer immediately, but thought about it seriously for a few seconds.
He lowered his head, met his wife's gaze in the dim light, his eyes gentle yet resolute: "No, Cheng, I have never regretted it."
Zhou Yue held his wife's hand. "On the contrary, I am grateful to my childhood self. Those times spent alone, although they may seem lonely to outsiders, I am happy with them. They have shaped who I am today."
"Ah Cheng, being able to know what you want and discover your passion when you are very young is a very precious ability."
Zhou Yue spoke solemnly, taking his wife's hand and bringing it to his lips. He lowered his head to kiss it, a faint smile playing on his lips. "In some ways, Xiaoxiao is luckier than me; at least we understand her."
Raising such a special child is destined to be a path less traveled. Fortunately, my daughter met an enlightened mother who wholeheartedly cares for her.
He would never let his daughter walk the same path he had walked; he would provide her with a sky where she could grow freely.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Cheng seemed to see a thin little boy sitting alone in the huge library, accompanied by old books, while outside the window, there was the noise of other children and the incomprehension of his relatives.
A subtle, persistent pain welled up in her heart. She stretched out her arms, straightened up, and pulled the man into her embrace.
Zhou Yue was slightly taken aback, then understood. Their eyes met, and without a word, two souls, closely intertwined, understanding each other, and comforting one another, resonated and danced together at that moment, feeling completely understood and accepted by the other.
Their lips met, and this kiss was different from the tenderness or passion of the past. It was as if two lonely souls in the vast sea of people had finally seen each other, a tender licking that was filled with tenderness and a sense of being seen.
The dam of reason was rapidly crumbling. Zhou Yue took a deep breath and pressed his forehead heavily against Cheng Cheng's.
Both of them were breathing heavily. Zhou Yue forcibly suppressed the desire in his eyes and carefully wrapped his sleeping daughter, whose face was flushed, completely in the blanket.
The little girl unconsciously nuzzled against her father's chest, showing no signs of waking up.
Zhou Yue carried his daughter and strode towards the small room prepared for her. The whole process was gentle and quick.
The atmosphere changed abruptly the moment the man returned to the bedroom and closed the door.
Without the ties of children, the desires that had been forcibly interrupted surged forth like a floodgate opening, even more fiercely.
The night was still long, and the moonlight shone quietly through the window.
The man descended step by step, and then the woman's voice, filled with surprise and gasp, rang out: "Zhou Yue, where did you learn that?!"
Zhou Yue's voice was hoarse beyond recognition, and there seemed to be a slight swallowing sound mixed in with the sound of water, "Acheng... there are many books in the library..."
Long ago, Zhou Yue had been thinking about what benefits this marriage could bring to his wife, and what he could give her. Apart from all the material and living necessities, all he had left was himself, a dull and uninteresting self despite his achievements in scientific research.
Before this, he wasn't sure if his wife would like him being so dull and boring, but fortunately, fate was kind to him, and he was extremely lucky to receive this blessing.
Therefore, he wanted to offer up his complete self.
Cheng Cheng was on the verge of tears. This...this was too exciting!
Her voice was broken, "Zhou, Yue...you read so many books...how come you read all sorts of miscellaneous books..."
He even studied that kind of book so thoroughly, and even after so much time has passed, he still remembers it clearly. Should he be proud of his photographic memory?
"Ah Cheng, do you like it?"
"Shut up!"
That means he likes it, Zhou Yue automatically equated, and continued, without stopping.
Much later, Cheng Cheng finally learned the real reason, but by then she had already endured countless days and nights of agonizing suffering.
A sweet smile curved her lips; inferiority is a man's best dowry.
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Author's Note: Hehe, so happy! [winking emoji] [Let me see]
Goodnight, see you tomorrow!
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