Jiang City Mechanism Kindergarten, junior class.
The air was filled with the lively energy unique to children.
The children had gathered in groups of three or five. Some were stacking blocks, while others flipped through picture books, chattering away in a lively hubbub.
Yu Qingmeng, her hair styled in pigtails and dressed in a pretty little skirt, was quietly drawing at a small table.
She was completely absorbed in her work, looking especially sweet and adorable.
Just then, two little boys came over, jostling one another. Both had a shy blush on their faces.
One was sturdy and rather stocky, with a tiger-cub sort of look. His name was Zichen.
The other had big, clever-looking eyes. His name was Jiahao.
They stopped in front of Yu Qingmeng and exchanged glances for a long while.
In the end, Zichen was the one who mustered up his courage and spoke in a low, hesitant voice. "Q-Qingmeng, let's play house together!"
Jiahao quickly chimed in, his eyes full of hope:
"Yeah! You can be the mom! Which one of us do you want to be the dad?"
He pointed to himself, then to Zichen, offering what seemed to them like a very "fair" arrangement:
"You choose! The other one can be our son!"
The two little boys held their breath and gazed eagerly at Yu Qingmeng, waiting for her "verdict."
Yu Qingmeng merely lifted her head slowly and looked at them. Then, like a little adult, she let out a long, weary sigh.
Her expression was full of helplessness, with just a touch of disdain.
"Honestly... you two," she said in her clear voice, adopting a world-weary tone. "You're already kindergarteners. Can't you act a little more grown-up?"
Zichen and Jiahao froze.
Yu Qingmeng continued in her soft, sweet voice:
"I stopped playing house when I was two."
"And you're supposed to be boys, too. You don't act like men at all. All you know how to do is play these games."
"Crack—" It was as if they could hear their hearts breaking.
Zichen and Jiahao stood rooted to the spot, their hopeful expressions instantly frozen.
They'd gathered the courage to invite Yu Qingmeng because they thought she was the prettiest girl in class.
They'd never imagined that not only would she turn them down, but the impossibly pretty little girl before them would give them a stern "lecture" to boot.
Zichen's face turned scarlet. He stiffened his neck, still hoping to salvage the situation.
"I-It's okay! Qingmeng, if you don't want to play house, you can pick another game. I-I can play that with you too!"
"I'm strong. I can help you carry toys!"
Jiahao's eyes went even wider than before as he stared at Zichen in disbelief.
As expected, Yu Qingmeng dealt them another merciless blow.
She pouted. "No."
"Drawing by myself is fun. You're too noisy."
Just then, the classroom door opened.
Teacher Li walked in with a warm smile and clapped her hands.
"All right, all right, children. Hurry back to your seats. Teacher Li has something important to announce!"
Yu Qingmeng immediately tilted her little head and put on a sweet, well-behaved expression. She waved to the two boys, who were still frozen in place.
"Okay, the teacher called you. Go back to your seats. Don't bother me."
"...Bother..."
Those two words seemed to strike Zichen right in the soul. He turned around in a daze, so dejected that he even forgot Jiahao was there. He kept mumbling those same two words over and over.
He staggered back to his seat, his little figure weighed down by the first setback of his life.
Seeing him, Jiahao could only droop his head and follow along dejectedly.
Yu Qingmeng, meanwhile, had already sat up straight, as if nothing had happened. She looked like the best-behaved child in the entire kindergarten.
Only a sly glimmer in the depths of her eyes hinted at how glad she was to finally have some peace and quiet.
Teacher Li stood at the front of the classroom, smiling warmly as she clapped her hands to get everyone's attention.
"Children, settle down for a moment~ Teacher Li has some good news!"
"Our Class One is about to welcome a new member!"
The children's eyes immediately widened with curiosity.
"And," Teacher Li added, drawing out the suspense, "this new member is half a year younger than the youngest child in our class, Qingmeng!"
"Be sure to be his friend and look after him. Don't bully him, all right?"
"Okay!" the children answered in unison, drawing out the word.
Teacher Li nodded with satisfaction, then went outside to greet the new student.
Children's moods changed quickly. The excitement over the news soon washed away the "setback" from just moments earlier.
Zichen immediately forgot his embarrassment and leaned over to Yu Qingmeng again, eager to help.
"Qingmeng, when the little brother gets here, he'll probably be scared since it's his first time in kindergarten. Let's go comfort him together!"
Unexpectedly, Yu Qingmeng didn't turn him down right away this time. She merely blinked her big, sparkling eyes, as if considering something.
Just then, the classroom door opened again.
Teacher Li led a new child inside. Every child's gaze immediately turned toward him.
The boy was tall and slim. Though he was supposedly younger, he was taller and more slender than many of the boys in the class.
His skin was fair, and his delicate features were almost unbelievably lovely. Even standing there, he had a bright, clean-cut air about him.
Teacher Li remembered Du Qionghua saying that her son was lively and bold, so she smiled and encouraged him.
"Come on, Xiao Yan. Be brave and introduce yourself to everyone, okay?"
If he'd been a shy child, she would never have asked him to do this.
Teaching according to each child's nature was the mark of a good kindergarten teacher.
The boy called Xiao Yan was, of course, Chen Yan.
Facing the curious gazes filling the classroom, he wasn't nervous in the slightest. He stepped forward and gave a small, practiced bow.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Chen Yan. It's nice to meet you. I hope we can get along."
The string of formal words, never before heard in a kindergarten, completely stunned the little tykes below!
Jiahao blinked hard and stared with his mouth hanging open, then stammered as he tried to imitate him. "N-Nice to meet you, and... and what was the rest?"
He scratched his head, unable to remember the second half.
The little girls didn't care about any of that. They were already whispering excitedly among themselves.
"He's so handsome!"
"He looks like a little star from TV!"
Zichen looked confused and murmured to his friend, "Didn't they say he was younger than Qingmeng? Why... why does he look taller than me?"
Yu Qingmeng watched Chen Yan instantly become the center of attention and listened to her classmates' chatter.
The girls' undisguised admiration in particular made an intense sense of crisis rise in her for no apparent reason!
Almost without thinking, she sprang up from her little chair and dashed over to Chen Yan.
Yu Qingmeng tipped up her little face and gave him a sweet, slightly smug smile. In a clear voice, she called out, "Big Brother Xiao Yan!"
She said "Big Brother" so naturally, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
The whole classroom fell silent for a moment.
Chen Yan looked at the stunning little girl before him, whose eyes were full of possessive intent. The corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
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