Chapter 40
Xu Qingyan took the two cubs and had dinner at the Jiang family's house before returning to the Xu family's house.
With summer vacation approaching, Little Whale Kindergarten distributed summer vacation safety education manuals to parents a week in advance.
In the Mushroom Class, Teacher Lin was worried that the children would lose it, so she specially instructed them: "Children, put this little red book in your schoolbags, and remember to ask your parents and grandparents to read it to you when you get home. Don't forget it."
The cubs nodded in unison, their childish voices ringing out, "Okay~"
With half an hour left before school ended, Teacher Lin let the children play freely in the classroom. Educational videos were playing on the wall, and she sat to the side, busy with handicrafts.
The children watched the animation and whispered amongst themselves.
"That little boy has fallen into the swimming pool! Someone, please come and save him!"
"Ah... he died. His parents will be very sad, just like my little bird died and I don't want to go to kindergarten."
"Xin Xin, your little bird died? Did you hold a funeral for it?"
The cub, unaware of what a funeral was, shook its head blankly: "No."
Xu Yirou asked curiously, "So what did you do during the days you didn't go to school?"
Xin Xin said happily, "My mom took me to eat roast chicken, bought me cheese sticks, jelly, and popcorn, and we also went skiing."
Yinyin's eyes widened slightly, and she blurted out the truth without thinking: "Your little bird is dead, and you can still eat so much good food?"
Xin Xin: ……
The belatedly aware cub sensed something was wrong, but couldn't quite put its finger on what it was.
Her lips slowly curved into a smile as she clutched her head, tears welling in her eyes, and said, "A little dark cloud has grown over my head again."
Yin Yin was puzzled. Why did Xin Xin suddenly stop smiling?
Xu Yirou kindly stepped forward and said, "Then I'll pat it for you."
After saying that, she gently patted Xin Xin's head twice with her chubby little hands and asked with concern, "Has the little dark cloud flown away?"
Xin Xin's eyes were brimming with tears: "No, waaaah, I miss my little bird."
“But your little bird is dead.” Yin Yin spoke the truth again, unintentionally adding insult to injury: “You’ll never see it again.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Xin Xin, whose eyes were still brimming with tears, burst into tears.
Yinyin: 0.0
Yinyin murmured, "Don't be sad, Xinxin. At least you ate lots of delicious food."
"Whoa—!!"
"Little bird, my little bird... Waaaaah!"
Xu Yirou faced Yin Yin's demonic vocal attack head-on, her chubby body trembling in fright. Yin Yin shrank back, looking bewildered.
Teacher Lin: ...What is it now, my little darlings?
Without saying a word, Teacher Lin ran over and immediately saw Xin Xin crying her heart out, and Xu Yirou and Yin Yin looking completely innocent.
Teacher Lin first knelt down to comfort Xin Xin, and then asked the two suspicious troublemakers what had just happened.
Yinyin knew nothing when asked.
When it was Xu Yirou's turn, she honestly said, "Xin Xin misses her little bird, but her little bird died, so she's crying."
"Teacher, Yinyin and I didn't bully Xinxin." Worried about being misunderstood, she clenched her little hand and said, "She cried on her own."
"Yes, yes, yes," Yin Yin stammered, "It has nothing to do with us."
Xu Yirou and Yinyin were both well-behaved and sensible children in the class, and Teacher Lin never suspected that they would bully other children.
But Yin Yin's guilty look caught her attention, and she guessed that there had been a small misunderstanding among the three cubs.
In kindergarten, no matter how small the misunderstanding or friction occurs between the children, the kindergarten teacher must understand it clearly and be fully aware of it.
To avoid the possibility of parents coming to the door one day and turning a small problem into a big one.
It's best to resolve things on the spot if possible.
Teacher Lin focused on comforting the crying chicks for the time being. However, Xin Xin missed her dead little bird so much that no matter how hard Teacher Lin tried to guide her, she couldn't stop crying and couldn't say a word.
Teacher Lin was at her wit's end.
Xu Yirou, who had once been praised as the teacher's little helper, couldn't resist. She had a sudden inspiration and said in her clear, childlike voice, "Xinxin, let's hold a funeral for the little bird!"
"That way your little bird can die in peace and live happily in heaven."
"..."
Teacher Lin was startled.
Xin Xin stopped sobbing, her tear-filled eyes full of confusion: "Rou Rou, what is a funeral?"
"It's... it's just digging a hole in the ground, putting your little bird in it and burying it, and then giving it some pretty flowers." Xu Yirou opened her mouth and said it in a serious tone, "Then put up a sign and write some words on it, that's called a funeral."
Yinyin: "What words do you want me to write?"
"Hmm, Xin Xin's bird."
"But her bird is already dead," Yin Yin said, puzzled. "Why put it in the pit?"
Xin Xin covered her face and cried, "There are no bird feathers left, waaaaah."
Xu Yirou: "Oh, don't rush, you can draw it out too."
Upon hearing that there was still hope, Xin Xin wiped away her tears, her wet eyes filled with hope as she looked at her.
Teacher Lin almost vomited blood; her temples were throbbing.
The three chicks discussed how to hold a funeral for the little bird in front of her, and even came up with a tombstone inscription.
This is indeed a great educational opportunity for the young to learn about and understand death.
but……
Little Whale Kindergarten has never offered such a course before. If a parent is dissatisfied and complains, her bonus for this semester will definitely be gone.
"Wait a minute." Teacher Lin had to interrupt the three cubs, taking a deep breath and smiling.
“Your idea is good, but holding a funeral is not a simple matter. We should plan it carefully and involve all the children in the class. The little bird will be even happier to see so many children holding a funeral for it.”
The three cubs' eyes gleamed with golden light: !!!
Wow, this is wonderful!
When school was over, the children lined up to wait for their parents to pick them up. Both teachers already knew that Bubble and Xu Yirou were a family, and the two children often went to different classes to wait together after school.
Teacher Lin spoke with the parents of the three children about the little incident that had just happened, and the three parents reacted well and showed no displeasure.
For the Xu family, death is a very heavy and painful memory.
Five years ago, the three siblings’ father passed away unexpectedly, and five years later, their mother nearly died. After experiencing these two events, the three siblings tacitly avoided the topic of death.
Now that Xu Yirou has brought it up herself, Xu Qingyan's feelings are undoubtedly complicated.
On the way back, he remained silent, staring at the scenery outside the window with an unreadable expression.
Xu Yirou and Paopao shared their fun stories from kindergarten and were both excited about the upcoming summer vacation.
"By the way, Da Bao, the teacher said we're going to talk about what's in this red book."
The cub's mother patted Xu Qingyan's head with her soft little hand: "You're not allowed to be lazy, you have to tell me and Bubble, okay?"
Xu Qingyan slowly turned around, glanced at the cover of the red booklet, and gave a blank "hmm".
Bubble remembered her mother Jiang Yan's instructions before she left—
[Da Bao's father has facial paralysis, which makes him look fierce, but he's not actually angry; he's just distressed and sad. So, baby, don't be afraid of him.]
[Baby, be brave and help Grandma get treatment for him!]
well.
Dad must be having an attack; she has to help him recover.
Bearing the heavy responsibility of curing her father's illness, Bubble silently cheered herself up, and then decisively took action, cupping her father's face, who had facial paralysis.
Despite Xu Qingyan's indifferent expression, she quickly gave him a peck on the cheek.
"..."
Xu Qingyan stared blankly, the gloom in his eyes vanishing instantly, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
Did his daughter kiss him?
Xu Qingyan undoubtedly loves bubbles. Although he has been getting along well with his daughter lately, he can sense an invisible barrier between them.
When facing bubbles alone, one feels a sense of trepidation, like the feeling of being close to home but feeling apprehensive.
Being a son and being a father are two completely different roles, and he doesn't know if he can be a good father that Bubble likes.
"Da Bao's dad?"
The cub's delicate hand waved in his eyes.
Seeing that Xu Qingyan remained frozen and unresponsive, Paopao exclaimed and said to Xu Yirou, "Oh no, Da Bao's condition has worsened. How can he be so fragile?"
He turned and shouted to the driver, "Uncle driver, my dad has gone mad! We have to get him to the hospital quickly, or it will be too late!"
Driver Lao Fang: ?
Old Fang noticed in the rearview mirror that Xu Qingyan's face darkened noticeably.
"I'm fine." Xu Qingyan pressed his temples, then turned to his daughter and calmly asked, "Bubble, does Daddy look like a patient?"
He has a personal trainer, a regular schedule, a dedicated nutritionist to plan his daily diet, and his medical examination reports are all checked off.
How could I appear to be a patient in my daughter's eyes?
He was completely baffled.
Bubble: "Daddy, you still say you're not sick? Do you know how many uncles and aunties want my kisses? When I kiss them, they jump for joy, unlike you—"
The cub sighed and shook its head: "You don't smile, you don't react at all, doesn't that mean you're sick?"
"Your mother said that your illness is called facial paralysis."
Bubble's analysis was very logical, and his final summary surprised Xu Yirou, who suddenly realized, "So that's how it is!"
For so many years, she had no idea that her son was sick.
She thought her son was just naturally not fond of smiling... Good heavens, my daughter-in-law is so clever.
That's absolutely amazing!
Xu Qingyan's deep, cold eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of helpless smile appearing on his face. In his mind's eye was Jiang Yan's cunning expression, like a cat that had successfully pulled off a wicked trick.
"So, you kissed me just now to help cure my illness?"
“Yeah,” Bubble muttered, “Otherwise I wouldn’t bother kissing you. I only kiss Mommy, Grandpa, Grandma, and Rou Rou now.”
The daughter's slightly disdainful tone stung Xu Qingyan's heart.
Remembering the previous sentence, Xu Qingyan said seriously, "Bubble, you just said that many uncles and aunts want to kiss you. What kind of uncles? How many uncles have kissed you?"
"There are so many uncles!" Bubble counted on her fingers, "There's Uncle Yan, Uncle Gao, Uncle Lan..."
Xu Qingyan's heart sank more and more as he listened.
"They all wanted to kiss me, but I didn't let them," Bubble said with a smile. "Mommy said only Daddy can kiss me, no other uncles can!"
"Yes, yes, that's right. Strange uncles are all big bad wolves." Xu Yirou praised her like a little elder, then looked down and rummaged through her pockets: "Bubble, you did the right thing. Here's a candy for you~"
"Thank you, Rou Rou, oh no, thank you, Grandma~"
You're welcome.
Xu Qingyan raised an eyebrow and smiled.
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