"Nice to meet you. My name is Lu Lin."
Chapter 152 (IF) [ Heqing, the Only Child]
The setting sun slanted into the courtyard, and an incense burner burned on a small tea table, its wisps of smoke drifting out. No flies were near it.
A pomegranate leaf was blown down by the wind, swaying and landing on the child's forehead, slowly waking the sleeping child.
He sat up from the recliner, leaves falling from his forehead. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, traces of drool still lingering at the corner of his lips.
Suddenly, a familiar, sweet scent wafted through the air, instantly waking the child. He nimbly slid off the deck chair, put on his little slippers, and trotted out of the yard.
Yan Qiushuang brought out a bowl of mint and mung bean soup. Seeing Yan Heqing swinging his short legs, she raised her voice and instructed, "Run slowly, don't fall."
"Okay!" Yan Heqing stopped and turned around to reply, then slowed down a bit.
Running through the alleyway where blankets and clothes hung overhead, a figure gradually became clear in the setting sun at the alley entrance.
"Dad!" Yan Heqing happily rushed towards Qin Li and skillfully jumped onto him.
"Baby!" Qin Li bent down to catch Yan Heqing, whose chin was still covered in chalk dust. Yan Heqing reached out his chubby white hand to wipe it off for him.
"Thank you, baby." Behind his glasses, Qin Li's eyes were full of smiles as he carried Yan Heqing home. "Did you miss Daddy today?"
"No!"
"What about fried mini cakes?"
"Yes!" Yan Heqing's voice was clear and crisp.
Qin Li laughed even harder, a stubble of light beard appearing on his chin. He deliberately poked Yan Heqing's cheek lightly, saying, "Don't want Daddy to punish you with his beard?"
Yan Heqing chuckled as he dodged Qin Li's attacks. The father and son played around like this all the way home.
From afar, Yan Qiushuang could hear the laughter of the father and son. She smiled and went back to the kitchen, bringing the dishes out to the yard.
It's over 30 degrees Celsius today; the house is like a sauna. It's much cooler to eat in the yard.
A plate of stir-fried vegetables, a plate of stir-fried potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers, a bowl of braised pork, and a dish of cold lotus root slices—this was the dinner for a family of three.
Yan Heqing knew that eating was essential for growing taller, so even though he was greedy, he finished a small cake and refused to eat any more. He obediently sat on his special little stool and said, "I want to eat!"
His bowl was a bit smaller, so Yan Qiushuang filled it with rice for him. While Yan Qiushuang and Qin Li chatted, Yan Heqing ate his meal quietly, taking a bite of meat and a bite of vegetables.
"The school really agreed to take Qingqing in?" Yan Qiushuang was overjoyed.
Qin Li nodded, "Five years old is a bit young for first grade, but my friend said he also has a five-year-old boy in his class. As long as his grades are good, it's perfectly fine."
Yan Qiushuang wasn't worried at all. " Qingqing is so smart, I believe he can do it."
"I think so too." Qin Li looked at her gently. " Qingqing is starting elementary school now, I'll pick her up and drop her off, so you can focus on your career."
Yan Qiushuang works at the Capital Grand Theater. She picked up a piece of braised pork and gave it to Yan Heqing, her eyes crinkling with a smile, " Qingqing is going to school soon, and she'll meet even more friends. Aren't you excited?"
Yan Heqing attended kindergarten for a year, but he didn't like playing with the boys there. They wet the bed and cried a lot. When he heard that there were more children at his new school, he asked curiously, "Do they wet the bed?"
Yan Qiushuang thought for a moment, "Probably not?"
Yan Heqing then asked, "Will they cry?"
Yan Qiushuang was truly stumped. She exchanged glances with Qin Li Qin Li also lacked experience. He was a high school history teacher, and his students were almost adults.
Qin Li put down his chopsticks and echoed Yan Qiushuang's answer, "Probably not?"
Yan Heqing began to look forward to it.
The night before he was to report to school, Yan Qiushuang finished telling him a story and thought he had fallen asleep, so she covered him with a blanket, left the lamp on, and quietly closed the door before going back to her room.
Yan Heqing quietly opened one eye, waited a few minutes, and, making sure Yan Qiushuang wouldn't come, immediately threw off the covers, got out of bed, and tiptoed carefully to his desk.
His new Ultraman backpack sat on the desk.
Yan Heqing unzipped his backpack, checked that he had brought his pencils, erasers, and notebooks, then zipped it up and went back to bed.
A new kid!
Yan Heqing was filled with anticipation even in his dreams.
The next day, Qin Li took out his newly bought bicycle, put Yan Heqing on the back seat, and the father and son said goodbye to Yan Qiushuang in unison before heading to school in the morning sun.
The No. 1 Primary School is right next to the No. 1 Middle School school.
Qin Li took two class periods off to complete Yan Heqing's enrollment procedures, and then handed Yan Heqing over to his friend, who was also Yan Heqing's homeroom teacher, a very cheerful male teacher.
The homeroom teacher took Yan Heqing to the classroom, and the noisy classroom fell silent as countless eyes curiously looked at Yan Heqing.
The class was mostly made up of students over 7 years old. The homeroom teacher was worried that Yan Heqing would be scared, so he looked down at Yan Heqing and saw him smiling politely, revealing two rows of neat white teeth.
The homeroom teacher was delighted and ruffled his hair. "Can you sit at the same table as Shen Huaiyu?"
He pointed to a little boy sitting alone in the first row in the middle, "He's five years old, just like you."
Yan Heqing looked at Shen Huaiyu, who was clean and tidy, and nodded, "Okay!"
Yan Heqing and Shen Huaiyu deskmates until the third year of junior high school.
In his No. 1 Middle School High School, Shen Huaiyu's family had an accident, so he went to No. 2 Middle School, which waived all tuition and fees.
The day before school started, Yan Heqing invited Shen Huaiyu to the arcade.
Playing games is a good way to release emotions.
Yan Heqing spent half of his saved New Year's money to exchange for a large bucket of game tokens.
Although it was their first time at an arcade, the two were quick-witted and could pick up the game after reading the rules. Before long, they had won a lot of vouchers.
They were both good-looking, and many people in the arcade noticed them.
Chu Ziyu noticed it too, but from his perspective, he only saw Yan Heqing's face.
"He looks like a well-behaved student, but he's pretty good at playing games," Chu Ziyu muttered.
"Who is it?" Lu Lin's voice came from the phone.
Chu Ziyu got off the motorcycle and glanced at Yan Heqing again. "Nobody special, just a good student who looks like he's from a comic book."