Chapter 17
After a standoff in the elevator, Xing Nuo finally relented and was carried to kindergarten by his dad.
Xing Nuo, nestled against his dad’s shoulder, saw the third-floor resident grinning at the elevator entrance and cried even harder, wiping his tears with his small hand.
At kindergarten, several children were in the same predicament as Xing Nuo, bursting into tears as soon as they heard their parents couldn’t stay with them.
The chubby boy, who had previously proclaimed his bravery, cried the loudest, his wails echoing through the classroom.
“Waaaaahhhhhhhh waaaah waaaah waaaah!!”
Xing Nuo, startled by the piercing cries, froze, his watery eyes blinking, unsure whether he should continue crying or not.
Shen Wen, seeing that Zaizai had stopped crying, tried to put him down.
Xing Nuo immediately came back to his senses, clutching his dad’s shirt tightly, the soft fabric crumpled in his small fist. His eyes brimming with tears, he shook his head resolutely, refusing to let go.
His hair was a fluffy, tangled mess, his lips trembling, his long, dark eyelashes wet with tears, his expression utterly pitiful.
Shen Wen had prepared himself mentally beforehand, determined to be firm, refusing to give in no matter how much the little one cried.
But when he looked down and saw Zaizai’s pitiful expression, his monster heart, which he didn’t technically possess, softened considerably.
Shen Wen lowered his eyes, wiping away the salty tears from Zaizai’s face with his fingertip, his brows furrowed.
Should he just not send him to kindergarten?
He quickly dismissed the thought.
His child-rearing notes contained numerous examples of how excessive pampering and indulgence only spoiled children.
Xing Nuo could grow into a kind and sunny young boy, not a spoiled, arrogant brat.
Shen Wen sighed, carried Zaizai to the sunny window, kissed his forehead, and softly spoke to him, trying to soothe him:
“Zaizai, why don’t you like kindergarten?”
Xing Nuo, tired from crying, rested his face against his dad’s shoulder. His dazed eyes moved sluggishly, and he shook his head slightly.
“No Dad…together.”
For Xing Nuo, who had always been attached to his dad, even a brief separation was difficult to accept.
“Dad isn’t always home, and Zaizai is always so well-behaved when he’s alone, aren’t you?”
Xing Nuo continued to shake his head. “No…brother.”
When Dad wasn’t home, it was always his brother who played with him.
Shen Wen rubbed his temples, his golden hair falling over his shoulders, partially obscured by the shadow of the curtains.
This was indeed a problem.
Xing Nuo hugged his dad’s neck, peeked at him, then lowered his head, his small brows furrowed as he let out a tiny sigh.
“Dad and Zaizai…go kindergarten…together~”
After a while, Xing Nuo wiped his eyes and proposed what he considered a perfect solution.
Shen Wen, amused by the little one, pinched his cheek and chuckled.
“You’re quite the strategist.”
Shen Wen glanced at the noisy classroom, then sat down with Zaizai in his arms. He pulled out a picture book from Xing Nuo’s sunflower backpack.
“In Zaizai’s favorite story, didn’t the little knight face many dangers alone and defeat the dragon that was harming the townspeople?”
“Doesn’t Zaizai want to be a brave little knight?”
Xing Nuo’s tear-washed eyes, clear and bright, looked up at his dad, a hint of embarrassment in his gaze.
The little knight in his book went on adventures alone, while he needed his dad to accompany him even for kindergarten.
“Zaizai…not brave…cannot be…little knight?”
Xing Nuo’s voice was thick with a nasal tone, his words jumbled.
Shen Wen ruffled Zaizai’s head, gently soothing his anxiety, his voice as gentle as a still pond.
“Of course not. Little knights also grow up little by little. Zaizai is still small.”
“And Dad won’t leave. I’ll be waiting for you in the office outside. As soon as class is over, Dad will pick you up.”
“Look, your brother also needs to go to school. Everyone has things they need to do. And the other children have to go to school too, right?”
Shen Wen spoke softly, his eyes filled with boundless tenderness, gradually calming Zaizai’s anxiety.
Xing Nuo thought for a while, then finally nodded, looking up at his dad.
“Dad…outside…wait Zaizai.”
Shen Wen smiled, stroked Zaizai’s soft cheek, wiped away his tears with a tissue, and nodded.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be waiting for Xing Nuo outside.”
The hour-long crying battle finally came to a chaotic end.
The children, their faces streaked with tears, sat dazedly at their cloud-shaped desks, occasionally sniffling.
Xing Nuo was one of the calmer ones. Holding his picture book, his clear, slightly red eyes fixed on the teacher, he sat obediently.
The teacher’s heart melted at the sight of Xing Nuo’s beautiful, clear eyes.
She glanced at the other children, some of whom were still crying with tears streaming down their faces, and quickly averted her gaze.
The teacher walked over to Xing Nuo and gave him a small red flower sticker.
“Xing Nuo is the most well-behaved! Everyone should learn from him! Let’s give him a round of applause!” The teacher smiled and started clapping.
The other children, some still sniffling, looked at Xing Nuo and clapped along with blank expressions.
The chubby boy reacted the most dramatically. Seeing that Xing Nuo had received a little red flower while he hadn’t, he immediately stopped crying and sat up straight.
Xing Nuo touched the little red flower, his eyes filled with curiosity.
His cheeks were flushed, and he looked down at the little red flower, his tear-stained eyelashes fluttering before he smiled.
Zaizai had a little red flower!
Xing Nuo placed the little red flower in his sunflower pencil case, no longer upset that his dad wasn’t with him, and, putting his hands behind his back, joined the other children in singing nursery rhymes.
He swayed his head along with the teacher, his light golden hair dancing in the light, like a small sunflower growing tall and strong.
Shen Wen, peeking through the window from outside, his expression softened at the sight.
He took out his phone, snapped a picture of the bright and cheerful little sunflower Xing Nuo, and set it as his wallpaper.
As soon as they returned home, Xing Nuo rushed into his brother’s arms, holding up his little red flower as if to shove it in his face.
“Zaizai’s…flower!”
Shen Baizhou leaned back slightly, took a closer look at the paper flower, and nodded with a click of his tongue.
“Pretty.” Not really.
After over a month in the human world, even a monster with Shen Baizhou’s limited intelligence had learned the art of lying.
Shen Baizhou pinched the rather ugly little red flower and picked up Zaizai, changing the subject:
“Did Xing Nuo cry at kindergarten today?”
Xing Nuo, who was explaining the origin of the little red flower in his nasally voice, immediately fell silent.
He blinked his large eyes, glancing around, but didn’t answer.
Shen Baizhou, seeing Xing Nuo’s silence, turned to ask Shen Wen:
“Xing Nuo didn’t cry to-”
Before he could finish his sentence, Xing Nuo’s small hands clamped over his mouth.
“Xing Nuo…tomorrow…tomorrow no cry~”
Shen Wen had already teased him about crying at kindergarten several times on the way home.
Seeing this, Shen Baizhou didn’t press further, giving Xing Nuo some face.
His mouth covered, he let out a muffled “Oh,” and, looking down at Xing Nuo’s guilty expression, raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips.
The next day at kindergarten, Xing Nuo kept his promise and didn’t cry.
He carried his little backpack, clenched his fists, and walked determinedly, mumbling to himself:
“No cry…brave…little knight!”
He hadn’t been able to pronounce “knight” correctly since yesterday.
Shen Wen, whose hand was being held tightly by Xing Nuo, couldn’t help but smile, quickly suppressing his amusement with a cough.
Today, parents were still allowed to accompany their children into the kindergarten and drop them off at the classroom door.
Xing Nuo sat on the small wooden chair, his eyes slightly red, and looked up at his dad with a pitiful expression as he left.
He wiped away a stray tear and patted his chest, comforting himself.
It’s okay, little knights were brave, just like Zaizai.
Class went much more smoothly today. Encouraged by yesterday’s little red flowers, far fewer children were crying.
The teacher handed out little red flower stickers to all the well-behaved children who hadn’t cried.
The chubby boy proudly stuck his little red flower right in the middle of his forehead, tilting his head after class to make sure everyone saw it.
Xing Nuo also received one, clutching it tightly in his hand, his bright eyes smiling, planning to show it to his dad later.
After packing his little backpack, Xing Nuo was the last to leave the classroom. He ran excitedly towards the office to find his dad.
During the week-long trial class, parents could wait for their children in the teachers’ office.
However, this special treatment wouldn’t continue once the summer program or the official September classes started.
Xing Nuo’s face beamed, his curls bouncing, as he ran into the office, calling out in his childish voice:
“Dad! Zaizai…got little red flower!”
He didn’t hear a reply. His steps slowed, then stopped.
He looked up and saw a stern-looking stranger in a suit sitting on the visitor’s sofa.
Teacher Xiao Song was making tea for him. Seeing Xing Nuo, she waved with a smile.
“Xing Nuo, come here, your older brother is here to pick you up.”
