Chapter 57: Next Life
A long time later, when Zhuo Can recalled this day, he found that many things had already been hinted at.
People who are experiencing the present will not notice the signposts at the fork in the road. When they look back, they have already gone too far on the wrong path.
Lu Song put his previous decision into practice and sold a car.
That was the first car his father gave him after he was found and returned to his current home.
For Lu Song, this is not a surprising sign of a sparrow turning into a phoenix, but a sign that reminds him to never forget the past and not to break away from suffering.
Zhuo Can’s task today is to accompany him to trade with the buyer.
In the morning, he hurriedly sent Mianli to the nursery class. Mianli, who was always very active in the past because she wanted to meet Tao Yingjia, was dawdling today.
She can no longer dress herself or eat by herself, and needs Zhuo Can's help with everything.
If it were a parent with a bad temper, he would have lost his temper a long time ago.
Fortunately, Zhuo Can is Zhuo Can after all, and he can only pinch his little nose: "What's the matter? Do you suddenly feel like acting like a spoiled child today?"
Before, he had grown legs and liked to explore the world on his own feet, but today he suddenly couldn't walk anymore and wanted him to carry him wherever he went. It was as if we had gone back to the time when they first met overnight.
Mianli put her arms around his neck and nodded solemnly.
Zhuo Can smiled and touched his forehead with His: "Okay, after all, you're just a little sugar bean."
The powerful dad held the baby in one hand and completed the whole process of changing clothes, feeding, packing the baby's schoolbag, etc. with one hand. The mobile phone on the table vibrated, it turned out that Dad Tao had arrived.
The buyer that Lu Song found had to catch a flight in the morning, and the agreed time was very early. Zhuo Can didn't have time to send Mian Li to the daycare center, so he had to ask the Tao family for help.
Although Mianli always likes to stick with Jiajia, which makes him feel subtly "out of favor", it's also good to have an extra helper.
Zhuo Can carried Mian Li downstairs, and they were the only two in the elevator.
Unlike the 360° mirrors in the company, the walls of the compartments in the community are more like brass texture, and are not very clear, with only vaguely reflected shadows.
Mianli lay on the adult's shoulder, looking at their blurry outlines, listening to Zhuo Can's chattering without saying a word.
Zhuo Can stopped his stand-up comedy.
"Did you have a fight with Jia Jia?" He had long felt that the child was dull and there was something wrong. "If you don't want to go to school with him, I'll call Lu Song and ask him to go first. I'll take you there."
Mianli shook his head: "Not Jiajia."
"What's the reason?"
Mianli looked at him, her big eyes seemed to be able to speak.
The child hesitated for a moment: "I don't want to..."
But he didn't say what he didn't want to do.
Zhuo Can thought that he suddenly didn't want to go to school today. He was like that when he was a child, he would always want to skip school more than 20 days a month. He was very considerate of Mian Li and said, "Then, I'll take you with me."
The child still shook his head.
Only Kami-chan has the ability to read minds, humans don't.
After denying several speculations in a row, Zhuo Can didn't know what to do.
He turned the child over so that he was facing him, and said sternly, "If there's anything, you must tell me. I'll listen to whatever you say, okay?"
The elevator door opened, and the car stopped at the corridor entrance. The window was lowered, and Tao Yingjia waved at them from inside: "Brother Xiaozhuo! Lili! Good morning!"
It was a very happy thing for him to be able to go to school with Mianli by bus.
Mr. Tao, who was in the driver's seat, smiled and greeted them. Mrs. Tao, who was in the passenger seat, turned to look at Tao Mian in the baby seat and said, "Look, who's here?"
Zhuo Can was very pleased that the Tao family treated Mianli almost like their own child.
He was very lucky. Whether it was Qi Rui Xiaohui, Lu Song, or the current Tao family, they all understood his difficulties and really liked Mian Li.
This is also the luck of the little fairy.
Mian Li's mood improved a little.
He took the initiative to put his cheek close to Zhuo Can's, just as they usually did when they parted.
"Cancan."
He called his name, his eyes shining like stars.
"Well, what's the matter?"
"Love you."
The little god finally showed his first smile of the day.
Unlike Jiang Xiao who has no emotions, Mian Li is a little guy with very rich emotions.
It is clear what kind of love you have for each person.
Not only do you have it, but you are also good at and happy to express it. You keep talking about it over and over again, and you must make sure that the other person knows it.
The child's bad mood came and went quickly, and Zhuo Can breathed a sigh of relief. This should be a sign that everything is fine, right?
"I love you, too." He was taught by Kami-chan to actively express his feelings. "By the way, I love you on behalf of your Lulu, too."
Mianli was satisfied with this response.
When Zhuo Chan bent down to put Him into the car, when the little god was about to leave his arms, the latter once again whispered in his ear, his voice quiet.
"In no mood……"
He moved his lips.
What do you “not want” to do?
Zhuo Can couldn't hear it anymore.
Mianli got in, Zhuocan smiled and waved to him and them, watching the car drive out of sight.
How could Zhuo Can, who was busy planning the route to meet up with Lu Song at that time, know that?
What Mian Li really wanted to say, but couldn't say it in the end, was "I don't want to leave you."
*
The daycare center that Lili and Jiajia attend is a high-end one. They don't just leave the children in a small space all day without taking care of them. They arrange a variety of activities for them.
If there are not many children on a certain day, the teachers will lead the group to play outdoors in places such as parks, zoos and botanical gardens.
There are eight children in Teacher Min’s class today, more than enough for the teachers to take care of; it’s hot and humid in the summer, and the cool aquarium becomes the best place to go.
The class is full of very young children, including Tao Mian who cannot walk yet and needs special care.
Even though there were only eight of them, three teachers and two security guards were sent to follow them, almost one to one.
All the children put on the same sky blue kindergarten uniforms and small yellow hats shaped like sunflowers. They put their hands on the shoulders of the child in front of them, and no one was left behind.
Teacher Min was walking in front holding a small flag, the teacher who was temporarily borrowed from the baby class was holding Tao Mian at the back, and another teacher and two security guards were on both sides.
A bunch of little ducks got off a cutely painted school bus and lined up obediently to enter the aquarium.
While the teacher was buying the tickets, the little ones sat in a row on the chairs, holding their little schoolbags and looking around.
Whether standing or sitting, the nursery class has undoubtedly become a beautiful landscape, and many tourists can't help but take pictures with their mobile phones.
The eight little ducks are so cute, and Duck Duck Li is the most eye-catching and special one among them.
Children are not afraid of the scorching sun in summer. Many of them have become tanned, but Mianli is still as white as porcelain.
Coupled with his unusual curly fur and sparkling eyes, he is different from other ducklings at first glance.
Not only that, he had just had a disagreement with the kid next to him about the taste of candy. Although Jia Jia stopped him from arguing, he was not very happy either. He pouted and shook his feet unhappily.
This little look is really too cute.
Passersby thought, is this a life-size moving figurine?
The little ones naturally had no idea what kind of cute storm they were about to set off on the Internet. After the teacher got the tickets, the little ducks lined up again with their arms around each other's shoulders to go in.
The aquarium's corridors were long and narrow, the lighting was dim, and the long queues made it difficult to walk. After entering, the formation was changed, with each teacher holding a child on each side.
Mianli and Tao Yingjia were personally taught by Teacher Min.
The little fairy was not interested in the colorful tropical fish, the beautiful jellyfish, the huge whales and sharks, the cute turtles, feeding seals, walruses and sea lions, and even less interested in the mermaid show by the staff.
What He liked most was the school of fish in the center that occupied the entire hall.
Not to mention such a small child, even if there was a giant two or three meters tall, he would be so small that he is not worth mentioning in front of the giant screen that is dozens of meters long.
This was not Tao Yingjia's first visit to the aquarium, but he was still shocked by the magnificent scene before him.
There are no huge sharks here. In fact, every fish is small, but they gather together, find their own groups, and swim around following the guidance of the simulated tides, creating a colorful underwater world.
The children leaned on the glass, staring with wide eyes at the scene that was completely different from the land.
Mianli has always lived in heaven, and is a newcomer to the human world, let alone the sea.
It was His first time coming, and everything He saw was new to Him.
Lili asked, "What are these, those, and those?"
Jia Jia said, "Fish."
Lili asked, "Are they all fish?"
Jia Jia said, “There are corals too.”
Lili asked, "What is coral?"
Jia Jia said: "That's it...that's it..."
The boy couldn't answer.
Fortunately, Teacher Min, who was taking pictures of them from behind, came to their rescue in time and used the simplest way that even kindergarten children could understand to educate them about the various creatures in the sea.
Mianli stayed in the huge central hall for a long time.
Fortunately, Tao Yingjia had been to the aquarium before, otherwise it would have been such a pity that he would not be able to see other creatures because of accompanying him.
Mianli ran to the back, craning his neck to get a clear view of the whole picture, and then moved forward again, wanting to stick himself to the glass, hoping that a small fish would swim across his fingertips.
Jia Jia also ran around, but after the initial excitement wore off, she felt tired and asked, "Can we stop and rest for a while?"
Mianli compromised, sat on the carpet in front of the glass, took out his backpack, and had a picnic in the "sea".
As He was eating, He suddenly had an idea: "Li Li wants to turn into sea water."
Tao Yingjia was stunned.
I've heard of people wanting to turn into fish, or turtles, or the non-existent mermaid, but I've never heard anyone say they want to turn into sea water.
The doll is indeed different from others.
Jia Jia asked: "Why?"
Lili said, "This way, no one will be able to find me."
Jia Jia asked: "What about me? What should I do if I can't find you?"
Lili said, "But you promised to find me."
Jia Jia said: "Hey..."
Lili asked, "You won't lose me, right?"
Jia Jia said, "How about this, I'll turn into a drop of sea water and stay with you all the time, so I won't lose you."
The children also imagined that it would be great if they could become a drop of sea water, live freely in the waves, without any constraints, and always happy.
Mianli put down the lunch box, with rice still on the corner of his mouth, and extended his pinky finger: "Pink."
Although Tao Yingjia didn't know what the agreement was, he still stretched out his hand and hooked it with His.
Mianli had a lot to say, but the child ultimately chose to remain silent.
The little god's eyes reflected the light of the water in the glass wall. The clean bubbles that supplied oxygen rose and spun, falling into his eyes and becoming stars and diamonds.
"In the next life, let's become sea water together."
*
He was fine at the aquarium, but after returning to the daycare center, Mianli suddenly burst into tears for some unknown reason.
This scared Teacher Min.
You know, Xiao Mianli has been in the nursery class for so long, and although she has had all kinds of strange requests like all other children and has made the teacher upset, she has never cried.
He looked extremely sad, his eyes were red like a rabbit from crying, and even though Tao Yingjia was always there to wipe his tears, it was of no use.
Teacher Min went to ask the child if he was cold, hungry or feeling uncomfortable. The child cried and shook his head, rejecting every guess that he was unwell, and sobbed and muttered two words, "Cancan".
Oh, I miss my dad.
It turns out that the most playful and cute little kid in their class also misses his parents sometimes, and Teacher Min expressed his understanding.
She made a phone call and said that children often suddenly become very dependent on their parents, and she hoped that Mr. Zhuo could come and pick him up early today.
Not to mention Zhuo Can, even Lu Song, who heard the news nearby, felt anxious and put down what he was doing to send him over.
Zhuo Can shook his head: "No, I'll go by myself, you go do your thing."
Lu Song was about to say something, but he interrupted him: "I can't really explain it. It might just be a... premonition. Maybe today is our parent-child time."
Lu Song said "Oh" meaningfully, and whispered, "Then remember to make time for me next time."
Zhuo Can first went home, rode his electric scooter, and then went to the daycare class.
Seeing Mianli crying with a red face, Zhuo Can felt distressed and took out the caramel cookies he had bought on the road, hoping to cheer him up.
As soon as the child saw him, he wanted to hug him and leaned on his arms, looking very aggrieved.
"Feeling unwell?"
Shake your head.
"Did you have a quarrel with other children?"
No.
"Ah, did you have a fight with Jia Jia too?"
Not really.
If you can't find the cause, then find a solution.
"Want to go to the amusement park?"
Shake your head.
"What about the dim sum shop?"
No.
"How about the supermarket? Go buy lots and lots of caramel cookies."
Still no.
Zhuo Can was at his wit's end.
What's wrong with the little guy today? Why is he so emotional?
Mianli suddenly stopped crying, and with a thick nasal voice, she spoke clearly: "I want to go home."
go home.
Back to their home.
After arriving home, Mianli didn't want to watch cartoons or eat snacks, nor did she want him to hold her. She got down on her own and pulled Zhuocan to the living room.
Mianli raised his head and looked at this small space that had little decoration but was already extremely familiar to him.
The living room of Zhuo Can's house was where he and Him first met in this world.
It was the beginning of spring.
He was in his own amusement park one second, peacefully acting as his little god, but the next second he was dragged into an inexplicable passage by this reckless human, and inexplicably appeared in this inexplicable place.
From that day on, he met a series of stupid humans whom he had never thought of meeting before, and fell deeply in love with this colorful, affectionate and righteous world.
The young god's life trajectory took a completely different turn.
Looking back now, it seems like it happened yesterday.
I have no idea how all these encounters started, but when I look back on them later, they seem so natural.
However, He still had to return to the original track.
His altitude was too low, so Zhuo Can always had to bend slightly when being led.
"So, what should we do now?"
Mianli let go of his hand, put her hands behind her back, tilted her head, and had an innocent and cunning expression on her face: "Cancan, let's play a game."
Zhuo Can had no doubts. After all, Mian Li would always bring all sorts of new games when she came back from the nursery class, and he would dutifully play with her patiently. "Did Teacher Min teach you this? Okay, tell me the rules."
Mianli looked at her toes, thinking for a while, raised her little face, and said in a voice as cheerful and clear as a bird: "——The rule is, Lili says 'goodbye', and Cancan says, 'OK'."
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