Even though Huo Qingfeng held her in his arms, Ling Ruoke couldn't sleep all night. She didn't drift off to sleep until dawn.
Huo Qingfeng also didn't sleep all night, his mind racing, trying to think of a solution. Hundreds of thoughts flashed through his mind, but he never considered giving up on Ruoke.
The next morning, Huo Qingfeng rushed back to his unit. He had barely entered when someone informed him that the battalion commander was looking for him.
Huo Qingfeng hurried towards the captain's office, his brows furrowed the whole way. He had a pretty good idea of what it was about.
Sure enough, upon entering the office, the team leader was standing with his hands behind his back in front of the promotional photos. The huge photo wall was densely packed with pictures.
"Report! Captain, you wanted to see me?"
The captain turned around and immediately launched into a tirade of abuse.
"What's wrong with you lately? You're treating the army like your home, staying here whenever you want and going out whenever you don't, right? You little brat, believe me, I'll kick you to death! Look at yourself..."
After the captain finished his tirade, he received a call from Qiao Fei, the old man's bodyguard, telling him to return to B City immediately.
After hanging up the phone, Huo Qingfeng looked up at the winter sun. It was bright, but it couldn't melt the ice and snow. However, when spring arrives, even the thickest snow will surely melt away!
...
Huo Qingfeng left, and Ling Ruoke sat on the sofa in a daze. Even the task of getting the little one up and dressed was left to Peishi.
After the little one sat down at the table to eat, Tan Peishi sat down next to her and put her arm around her shoulder. "Since the captain has spoken, don't overthink it, okay!"
Ling Ruoke took her hand and played with it. "Peishi, do you think I'm too useless? It seems like I'm always causing trouble for others—Mom and Dad, you, Qingfeng, everyone is burdened by me. I—"
Tan Peishi covered her mouth. "Alright, stop taking everything on yourself. Let's not dwell on what's already happened. The important thing is to solve the problems at hand and embrace a bright future, right?"
"But..." Ling Ruoke stared blankly out the window. The winter sun shone brightly, but she had an uneasy feeling in her heart. Cold, an indescribable cold!
Tan Peishi turned her face towards her. "But what is it?"
Ling Ruoke looked at her friend's perpetually energetic face and shook her head. "It's nothing." She then hugged her friend and leaned on her shoulder. "Peishi, you're so good to me!"
Although she's always carefree and seemingly thoughtless, she's always there for you without hesitation when you need her. To have such a friend in life is truly a blessing!
Tan Peishi chuckled a few times, patting her chest. "Oh my, I finally heard you say that today! You don't know, I've always wanted to hear it, and I was even afraid I'd never hear it before I died. Now that's great, I've heard it, so I have no regrets even if I die! But, there aren't many people like me, loved by everyone, adored by flowers, and so popular that cars get flat tires! Ling Ruoke, you're one of the lucky few out of 1.6 billion people! I bet you'd win the lottery!"
"Shameless!" Ling Ruoke was amused by her strange tone. The gloom in her heart dissipated considerably. Pei Shi's always positive and optimistic attitude was something she needed to learn.
Life won't always be sunny, but no matter what, we need to keep the sun in our hearts shining brightly!
"What I said is the truth, without a single word of falsehood!"
"..."
During morning reading time today, Ling Ruoke noticed that Zhuang Yuqi was acting strangely. Normally a very lively child, he was listless and lethargic, which was distressing to see.
"Zhuang Yuqi, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Ling Ruoke raised her hand and touched his forehead, which seemed to be a little hot.
The child glanced at her listlessly, then slumped back onto the table. "Teacher, I feel unwell."
Ling Ruoke knew from the child's voice that the child had a cold, and probably a fever as well. "You have a cold, have you had any injections or medicine? Does your family know?"
Zhuang Yuqi shook his head while lying down. "I didn't say anything."
Ling Ruoke frowned. This little guy! "Come on, let me take you to the infirmary."
"Teacher, I feel unwell, I don't want to move." She sniffed as she spoke, looking pitiful.
Ling Ruoke knew that when you have a cold and fever, you feel so uncomfortable that you want to cry even when you're lying in bed. So she squatted down and called out, "Come on, let me carry you over."
Little Zhuang Yuqi slowly climbed onto her back, hugged her neck, and rested her chin on her shoulder. On the way to the infirmary, the slightly drowsy child subconsciously called out in his mind, "Mommy..."
After examining the child, the doctor had him lie on the bed and started an IV drip.
Ling Ruoke sat by the bedside and talked to him. Before long, the unwell child fell asleep. She hurriedly went out to call his family. This time, Mr. Zhuang himself answered the phone.
"Hello, Teacher Ling."
"Mr. Zhuang, little Zhuang Yuqi has a cold and fever and is currently at the school clinic. Hope—"
Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted. "I'm coming right now!"
About an hour later, Mr. Zhuang arrived at the infirmary. He was slightly out of breath, clearly having run all the way from the school gate. There was another person following behind him. "How is he?"
Seeing him sweating despite the cold winter, Ling Ruoke forgave her careless father. "He just has a cold and fever, and is getting an IV drip right now. He's asleep. You must take good care of him when you get home; children's bodies aren't like adults'. If a child isn't feeling well, it usually means something is wrong, and you need to be especially careful. Sometimes, even if it's just a cold, what if he gets hit by a car while walking down the street in a daze?"
Zhuang Yuqi and his classmates are always picked up and dropped off by a private car, so this isn't an issue for them. However, Zhuang Yicheng didn't argue with her because this teacher genuinely cared about his child. "I will definitely pay attention in the future," he said.
His son's words flashed through his mind: "Although I don't know what my mother is like, I think she must be as gentle as Teacher Ling and would kiss me gently!"
He scrutinized the woman before him. She was very beautiful, and her smile was sweet and gentle, making her like a warm spring breeze. She cared for these students as if they were her own children, not just teaching them to read.
A woman like that would definitely be a good mother, right? Yuqi likes her very much too.
“I didn’t mean to blame you. I just hope every child can grow up safely and healthily.” Ling Ruoke smiled, as if she had gone a bit too far. “Then I’ll go back to the classroom first. You can stay here with him, or take him home.”
"Teacher Ling." Zhuang Yicheng touched the child's forehead and called out to her.
Ling Ruoke stopped and turned around. "Is there anything else, Mr. Zhuang?"
Zhuang Yuqi lost his mother when he was young. He likes you very much. If possible, would you like to be his mother?
One, two, three—they all turned into wooden figures.
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