Chapter 87
Qingqing, trying to climb the wooden fence around the small sunflower patch, lost her grip and fell.
“Ouch!” She rubbed her bottom and looked up at the sunflowers.
Their brown heads drooped heavily with seeds, past their prime.
For some reason, she suddenly didn’t feel like playing in the sunflower patch anymore.
Little Fatty also stopped his noisy complaints about telling the teacher. The four children stood there, looking at each other.
“Let’s…go back!”
“Okay! These sunflowers weird.”
Xing Nuo scratched his cheek, helped Qingqing up, and glanced at the sunflowers.
“We go back now. Teacher Xiao Song will look for us!”
Yiyi, holding Qingqing’s arm, pulled Xing Nuo’s hand, and they hurried back to their classroom.
Teacher Xiao Song, who had been looking for them, saw them running towards her and lightly tapped their heads.
“Where did you go?”
Looking at Teacher Xiao Song, the children felt a surge of relief and affection, as if they hadn’t seen her in ages.
Qingqing and Yiyi rushed forward, each hugging one of her legs, their voices teary.
“Teacher Xiao Song, so happy to see you!”
Their dramatic display startled Teacher Xiao Song, who thought they had gotten into some kind of trouble.
But besides their slightly dirty faces, they seemed fine.
She sighed in relief, took them back to the classroom, and organized a game of “Red Light, Green Light.”
Xing Nuo, in the playroom, pretended to be a little wooden statue.
Whenever Little Fatty yelled, “Red light!”, he would freeze, his hands at his sides, like a small, stiff pine tree,
his curls still bouncing from his sudden stop.
Little Fatty would then run over and stare at him intently.
Xing Nuo would hold his breath, his lips pressed together, afraid of moving and being eliminated.
Little Fatty seemed to be targeting him, always running over to inspect him after each “Red light!”
The other children, annoyed, glared at Little Fatty.
“Little Fatty, stop staring at Xing Nuo! He always follows the rules!”
“Yeah, even if you don’t like him, you can’t always pick on him!”
“Hurry up! I’m almost at the finish line!”
Little Fatty, under pressure from the other children, finally left Xing Nuo alone, his neck craning, glaring at them.
“Mind your own business! I was just checking if Xing Nuo was moving!”
Xing Nuo, still standing perfectly still, said in his sweet, little voice:
“I no move.”
Little Fatty, as if having caught him red-handed, yelled:
“You talked! Your mouth moved! Xing Nuo is out!”
Xing Nuo’s eyes widened in surprise.
“I…I just talked…okay.”
Not good at arguing, he sat down on a small stool, waiting for the next round.
Qingqing, who had been eliminated in the first round, was sitting there, pouting, and glared at Little Fatty.
“Little Fatty did that on purpose! He’s picking on Xing Nuo!”
Everyone in the kindergarten knew Little Fatty bullied Xing Nuo!
Xing Nuo, playing with a toy car, rolling it back and forth on the table, smiled faintly, unfazed.
“It’s okay. I no be fwiends with Little Fatty anymore.”
Little Fatty, having eliminated all the other children, his face beaming with pride, heard Xing Nuo’s words and stomped his foot angrily.
“I don’t care! I don’t want to be your friend!”
He pushed past the other children, glared at Xing Nuo, and stomped out of the room.
He didn’t care about being friends with Xing Nuo!
He had plenty of other friends!
This kind of scene played out almost daily at the kindergarten, and Xing Nuo, unbothered, continued playing with his toy car, making “vroom, vroom” sounds.
“Car go!”
Qingqing came over with a toy airplane and crashed it into Xing Nuo’s car.
“Haha, airplane can crash car!”
Xing Nuo giggled, playing with Qingqing, then, hearing Teacher Xiao Song clap her hands, he lined up with the other children for lunch.
Today’s lunch was kelp and pork rib soup, stir-fried vegetables, and steamed egg custard.
Xing Nuo ate all his vegetables and egg custard, but left the slightly greasy ribs on his plate, poking them with his chopsticks.
He glanced at Teacher Xiao Song, who was tying bibs on the other children, then at Qingqing, who was eating enthusiastically.
Qingqing, wiping her mouth, seeing Xing Nuo looking at her, tilted her head and cupped her cheeks, her eyes sparkling.
“Xing Nuo so handsome! When I gwow up…I mawwy Xing Nuo!”
Little Fatty, who hadn’t had enough to eat, laughed, pointing at Qingqing.
“You silly? Boys can’t be wives!”
He puffed out his chest, glancing at Xing Nuo’s thin frame and pale cheeks, and snorted.
“My daddy said…only stwong boys…can have wives!”
He flexed his arm, which was thicker than Xing Nuo’s leg, and said proudly:
“Only me…can mawwy!”
Qingqing rolled her eyes and turned to Xing Nuo.
“Let’s ignore him!”
Little Fatty, continuing his boasting, took the ribs from Xing Nuo’s plate and ate them.
He had decided that any leftover meat belonged to him!
Other children would cry and tell Teacher Xiao Song when he took their food.
But not Xing Nuo.
He was glad to be rid of the greasy ribs!
So, Little Fatty had become accustomed to taking Xing Nuo’s meat.
Xing Nuo, his bowl now empty, smiled and took it to Teacher Xiao Song.
Teacher Xiao Song, having just served another child, frowned, seeing Xing Nuo’s empty bowl.
“Xing Nuo, are you finished?”
Did he give his meat away again?
Xing Nuo, his guilt evident in his sparkling eyes, nodded, his lips pursed.
Teacher Xiao Song sighed, knowing exactly what had happened, and added a few more ribs to his bowl.
“Sit here and eat with Teacher.”
Xing Nuo mumbled “Oh,” pulled his chair over, and started poking the ribs with his spoon.
Whenever Teacher Xiao Song looked at him, he would quickly lower his head, pretending to be busy eating.
But ten minutes later, the ribs were still untouched.
Teacher Xiao Song sighed, ruffled his hair, and, seeing his watery eyes, softened.
“It’s okay if you can’t finish it. But don’t do this again!”
Xing Nuo’s face brightened, and he happily returned to his seat.
Nap time.
The cots in the nap room were filled with restless children, crawling and playing.
Xing Nuo, hugging his pillow, sat on his cot, his mouth turned down, missing his dad.
His eyes watery, he lay down, pulled the blanket over himself, and patted his arm, trying to comfort himself.
“It’s okay. See Daddy after nap.”
Thinking this, he closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep.
Little Fatty, having eaten too much, was taken outside for a walk by the teacher.
He returned, stomping his feet loudly, waking Xing Nuo, who was a light sleeper.
Xing Nuo, thinking he had slept for a long time, opened his eyes and started folding his blanket.
Zaizai wake up! Time to see Daddy and Big Brother!
Teacher Xiao Song, having just caught a runaway child, turned and saw Xing Nuo neatly folding his blanket, her face filled with confusion.
“Xing Nuo, what are you doing? Why aren’t you sleeping?”
Xing Nuo, holding his pillow, patted the folded blanket.
“Teacher, I wake up. Can go home now.”
After nap time, they would have a small snack, then it would be time to go home.
Xing Nuo remembered the routine clearly and always tried to fall asleep quickly, eager to be picked up by his dad.
Teacher Xiao Song, seeing the sleepy Xing Nuo shuffling towards the door in his slippers, quickly grabbed his hand.
“It’s still nap time, Xing Nuo. Go back to sleep.”
She led him back to his cot, exasperated and amused.
Xing Nuo sat down, his face filled with confusion, and pulled the blanket over himself, feeling dejected.
Why nap time so long today?
Have to sleep two times to go home.
He lay down, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
He opened his eyes and started counting on his fingers, waiting for nap time to end.
