Back to 1988 22

Chapter 22: Sesame Seed Cakes

Mrs. Bai found her son, but her mood didn’t improve much. She went over and asked him, “Luochuan, why didn’t you go to school today?”

Bai Luochuan kept his head down, playing the game console. “I didn’t want to go.”

Mrs. Bai took the game console from his hand and made him look at her. “This isn’t about whether you want to or not. School is a place you have to go. You didn’t tell the school, and you didn’t tell your family. This is called skipping school.”

Bai Luochuan said impatiently, “That’s because you lied to me first!”

Mrs. Bai said, “What did I lie to you about?”

Bai Luochuan looked up at her, angry. “You lied and said Little Good Boy was going to school too, and that he was in my class! I went and looked, but he wasn’t there at all. When I came back and asked, he’s not even going to school this year!”

Mrs. Bai was taken aback and looked at Mi Yang with some surprise. “Yangyang isn’t starting elementary school this year?”

Mi Yang shook his head. “My birthday is late, so the teacher wouldn’t accept me.”

Mrs. Bai couldn’t help but laugh. “My fault. I saw your mother taking you to the school the other day and thought you were just going through the enrollment procedures. I didn’t ask any further. How about this, I’ll have a word with the school and let you start a year early, okay?”

Mi Yang’s eyes lit up. “Really? Thank you so much, Auntie!”

Seeing that it was almost noon, Mrs. Bai simply sat at Mi Yang’s house and waited for a while. After Cheng Qing came back, she discussed it with her. Cheng Qing was naturally overjoyed and thanked her profusely. Mrs. Bai asked her for some documents and immediately made a call to the elementary school to inform them. The Bai family was well-connected. As soon as she introduced herself, the other side readily agreed. It was just a matter of accepting one more child, and there were always a few transfer students in the class every year.

“It’s not that we want to be special, it’s just that some children are too young. When they come, they can’t keep up with the studies in class and cry and fuss every day. It’s very hard on the teachers. So, we set up a preschool class to let the younger children wait a bit longer and come to school after they’ve matured a little, so it’s easier for us to manage,” the principal said with a chuckle. “But since you’ve vouched for him, we believe he’s a well-behaved child. Just send him over!”

Mrs. Bai smiled and thanked him. She looked up and saw her son looking over with expectant eyes. Her heart, which had been a little angry, softened immediately. She poked her son’s forehead with one hand while her tone softened as she asked, “Our two children have grown up together since they were little and have never been separated. Do you think you could arrange for them to be in the same class? That way, they can look out for each other.”

The person on the other end of the line readily agreed.

Only then did the young master Bai grin, revealing a mouthful of little white teeth. He didn’t want the game console anymore and went over to take Mrs. Bai’s hand, calling out, “Mommy.”

Mrs. Bai tapped his forehead, unable to keep a straight face, and smiled. “Alright, my little ancestor, are you satisfied now? Come home with me in a bit. You still have to go to school this afternoon.”

Bai Luochuan asked, “What about Mi Yang?”

Mrs. Bai said, “Your Auntie Cheng will go through the enrollment procedures this afternoon. Yangyang will go tomorrow.”

Bai Luochuan said happily, “Then I’m not going to school either. I’ll wait until he goes tomorrow and go with him!”

Mrs. Bai coaxed him, “No, you have to go to school today. Look, if you go a day early and get familiar with the place, you can help Yangyang when he goes tomorrow, right?”

Cheng Qing also chimed in, “That’s right, Luochuan, go to school. Yangyang hasn’t seen the inside of the school yet. You go and remember the classroom. If Yangyang can’t remember the way, you can lead him. You’re the older brother; you have to take care of your younger brother.”

Bai Luochuan thought that made sense and nodded in agreement. “Then I’ll wait for him at school.”

Both mothers breathed a sigh of relief. It really wasn’t easy to change this young master’s mind.

After Bai Luochuan left, Cheng Qing also hurriedly searched for the registration materials. She took the afternoon off from work and happily went to enroll Mi Yang. When she returned in the evening, she was holding a cartoon pencil case. While packing Mi Yang’s small schoolbag, she reminded him, “Yangyang, when you get to school, you must listen to the teacher. This is different from kindergarten. You have to follow the rules, you know?”

Mi Yang nodded. “I know.”

When Mi Zehai came back that night, Cheng Qing told him they should go thank the Bai family together. Mi Zehai shook his head and refused to go. Cheng Qing, mindful of the child being present, didn’t say anything at the time. But when they went back to the bedroom that night, the two of them had a quiet argument.

The doors in the room were made of wooden planks and weren’t soundproof. When the argument got heated, Mi Yang heard a sentence or two. It was just Mi Zehai’s stubborn temper acting up again, not wanting to get a reputation for sucking up to his superiors.

Cheng Qing was furious. “…Who’s sucking up to whom? Sister Luo took the initiative to help, and we can’t even thank her?! If it weren’t for Luochuan and Yangyang being good friends, she wouldn’t have helped. You’ve lived your whole life as stubborn as an ox. I might as well count on my son instead of you!”

Mi Zehai said in a muffled voice, “Then you can wait. You’ll have to wait another twenty years for your son to grow up!”

…

Mi Yang, in the small bed next door, heard a couple of sentences. It was the same old thing over and over, so he went to sleep peacefully. His parents usually only bickered about these small things. One was warm-hearted, the other was old-fashioned. They would talk it out for a bit, and it would be fine. They couldn’t really get into a fight.

The next day, Mi Yang, with his small schoolbag on his back, was taken to school by Cheng Qing on her bicycle. He was fine, but Cheng Qing was more excited than he was and had gone to bed late the previous night. She didn’t have time to make breakfast in the morning, so she found a small stall near the school and bought a sesame seed cake for twenty cents for Mi Yang to eat.

Mi Yang ate as he sat on the back of the bicycle, being pushed by Cheng Qing. He had a worn military satchel slung over his shoulder, containing a few Tian Zi Ge notebooks and a pencil case. This was his little schoolbag, and it held all his belongings.

As he was eating, he kept feeling like someone was watching him. He looked up and saw an old lady standing at the school gate, looking at him and then at Cheng Qing with a somewhat stern expression, her brow furrowed. “No snacks are allowed in school.”

Cheng Qing quickly said, “I’m sorry, teacher. It’s not a snack. I woke up late this morning, so I just bought some breakfast for the child.”

The old lady had probably heard this excuse many times and said impatiently, “They all say that every day. You have to have some limits when you spoil your children. If you don’t set the rules properly and take all the responsibility on yourselves, how are the teachers supposed to educate them in the future?” She didn’t listen to Cheng Qing’s explanation and waved her hand. “Also, no bicycles are allowed on campus. Let the child get down and walk by himself.”

Cheng Qing agreed and lifted Mi Yang down. Although her bicycle wasn’t second-hand, it had been ridden for several years and was old, with noticeable paint peeling. The old lady’s brow furrowed at the sight and she instructed her, “Vehicles of non-school staff are not allowed to enter. You can park it outside.”

Cheng Qing wasn’t sure which grade she taught and, fearing that she would leave a bad impression and affect her child’s studies, she listened to her and parked the bike outside the school gate. However, she still put a chain lock on it. For their family, let alone a used bicycle worth dozens of yuan, they would feel the pinch even if they lost one yuan.

The old lady muttered, “No one would want such an old bicycle,” and walked away by herself.

Mi Yang looked up at the old lady but didn’t say anything.

Cheng Qing led him to finish the sesame seed cake outside. Fearing that he would have a bad impression of the school, she said to him, “These are all school rules. It’s my first time bringing you, so I didn’t know. We’ll remind each other in the future, and then we won’t make mistakes.”

Mi Yang nodded. “Oh.”

He hadn’t experienced this kind of thing in his previous life, but he had heard people talk about it. Teachers in schools also treated people differently based on their appearance, especially in elementary school, where this situation was more common. When he was in Shanhai Town, the town was small, and the teachers were all people he knew, so there was no differential treatment. But the people in this elementary school were more complex, from all over the place. It probably wouldn’t be as comfortable as before.

Thinking this, he began to plan for skipping grades in his mind again.

When they reached the classroom, Cheng Qing couldn’t go in. She stood at the door and watched as Mi Yang had just stepped into the classroom when Bai Luochuan ran over and hugged him, affectionately pulling him by the hand to their seats—they were even deskmates!

Cheng Qing was immediately relieved. She watched for a little while longer and then went to work.

Bai Luochuan still wanted to hold Mi Yang’s hand. Mi Yang gently pried his small hand open, put away his schoolbag, and took out his notebook and pencil case, placing them on the desk. Bai Luochuan waited patiently for him for a while. Seeing that he had finished tidying up, he came over to hold his hand again, but was once again dodged by Mi Yang.

The young master Bai was not happy and frowned. “Mi Yang, what’s wrong with you?”

He asked this so matter-of-factly that Mi Yang was amused.

Mi Yang pointed to the other children around them, and placed his own hands properly on the desk. He said to him, “This is different from kindergarten. We have to be like this in class.”

Bai Luochuan pouted. Although he was reluctant, he followed Mi Yang’s example.

After a short while, his little body was leaning towards Mi Yang again, and he whispered to him, “The class schedule was given out yesterday. You weren’t here, so I copied it for you!” His little expression was as proud as if he was asking for praise, and he looked up, waiting for Mi Yang to compliment him.

Mi Yang: “…”

Thank you so much. Would you not need a class schedule without me?

He was complaining in his heart, but he still had to say thank you out loud, along with a grateful smile. The young master Bai beside him was immediately so happy he was practically wagging his tail. He was incredibly easy to please.

Mi Yang took a quick look. His memories of elementary school were hazy. Now, the curriculum seemed even richer than he had imagined. Chinese and math took up the bulk of it, and there were also physical education, music, art, and nature.

The bell rang outside. The teacher walked in just as the bell was ringing. She was a young and beautiful female teacher, holding a math textbook in her arms.

Bai Luochuan whispered to Mi Yang, “This is our homeroom teacher. She’s also our math teacher…”

The homeroom teacher scanned the room and asked with a good-natured tone, “Where is the class monitor? Do you remember what I taught you yesterday?”

Bai Luochuan suddenly stood up. “Stand up!”

Mi Yang was startled and quickly stood up with the other children in the class, shouting in a ragged chorus, “Good morning, teacher!”

The homeroom teacher chuckled. “It doesn’t sound very uniform. Have all the children in our class had breakfast today?”

This time, the voices were much louder. “Yes!!”

The homeroom teacher smiled again. “Then everyone sit down. The class monitor will call it out again. Let’s try to make our voices louder this time!”

“Stand up!”

“Good—morning—teacher—!”