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On the next day, Ji Yan took some time off from training and returned home to guide Tang Tang and Xiao Zhuo to the nursery at the compound.
Ji Yan originally thought that Tang Tang would wear the new dress. However, he was disappointed because Tang Tang was still wearing her usual clothes and shoes. There was no hint of makeup on her face either.
She didn’t use any of the gifts he gave her.
Yesterday, she clearly said that she liked the presents, but why didn’t she use them?
“What are you looking for, husband?” Tang Tang was puzzled. Why did her husband keep looking at her clothes? Was there something wrong with her?
Ji Yan shook his head and pursed his lips, “Nothing, let’s go.” Maybe she just didn’t want to wear it today. Maybe she’ll wear it in a few days.
The nursery at the military housing compound was bigger than what Tang Tang had expected. Because they arrived late, practically all the other children were already there. After casting a quick glance, Tang Tang saw there were quite a bit of people, “This nursery seems alright. There are many teachers.”
After hearing Tang Tang speak, Ji Yan uncharacteristically gave her more details on the topic. “All the teachers here are family members of military personnel, and there are no problems with their academic qualifications. Most of them have graduated from normal universities, they are capable of teaching these children.”
Truthfully, Tang Tang had already heard about this from the regimental commander’s wife. She had also heard that the nursery teachers’ benefits weren’t very good. These teachers were willing to work here, but it was a waste of their talent. All of them had moved into military housing because they wanted to be with their spouse, and the soldiers here were part of the special forces. The location was remote, and it was difficult for them to go to work. It was because of this that so many family members that moved here had to give up their original careers.
Tang Tang really admired these military wives.
Ji Xiao Zhuo was moved from the little class to the middle class for this semester. The teacher for the middle class was a woman around 30 years old. It was clear that she knew Ji Yan as she took the initiative to greet Ji Yan and Tang Tang, who was next to him. Then she bent down to stroke Ji Xiao Zhuo’s head, “You must be Xiao Zhuo, right? I’m your new teacher. I’m called Su Yue.”
Ji Xiao Zhuo shook hands with her and greeted, “Hello, teacher.”
Su Yue took the opportunity to hold his little hand before turning to Ji Yan and Tang Tang, “I’ll guide you to the classroom to take a look. We’ll pick a seat for Xiao Zhuo while we’re there.”
In the middle class, there were twenty-five students in total. They were currently seated at a table chatting excitedly. Because it was the first day, they were all originally excited, but when they saw their teacher bring in an unfamiliar child, their excitement was even greater. The children looked curiously at Ji Xiao Zhuo as they discussed.
“Teacher came in with a child that we haven’t seen before. He must be new.”
“Look, the pocket on his clothes is very big, ah. It looks funny.”
“Wow, he looks better than Su Jie, ah. Su Jie is defeated.”
“Nonsense, he’s so fat. How can he be more good looking than Su Jie? My mummy said that fat doesn’t look good.”
Since the children saw a new classmate, it was understandable that they would be excited. Seeing that enough time had passed, Su Yue clapped her hands to stop the chatter, “Okay, everyone, be quiet now.”
It was possible that because it was the first day, and the children didn’t remember the rules they had learned the last semester clearly, the chatter didn’t stop even when Su Yue repeated herself a couple of times. They carried on staring at Ji Xiao Zhuo and eagerly discussed with one another.
All the children from the housing compound were very mischievous, and it was difficult to calm them down when they were excited. Su Yue had a headache. She looked worriedly towards Ji Xiao Zhuo. She was afraid that before he could adapt to the change of environment, he would be frightened by the class.
It turned out that Su Yue thought too much. Ji Xiao Zhuo was not afraid, and he wasn’t affected by the stares. Instead, he calmly returned the gazes starting from the front row. He stared back at each child for a long time, which made the other children look down. They didn’t dare to look at Xiao Zhuo anymore.
After three minutes, everyone in the class didn’t dare to meet Ji Xiao Zhuo’s gaze, and the lively class from before instantly went quiet.
Su Yue: “…..”
Tang Tang, who was watching from outside: “…..”
Only Ji Yan watched calmly as if the scene in front of him was normal.
Tang Tang thought that Ji Xiao Zhuo’s current aura was very similar to Ji Yan.
Back in the classroom, Su Yue retracted the complicated look from Ji Xiao Zhuo and introduced him to the class, “Everyone, this is our new classmate. He is called Ji Xiao Zhuo. You all need to get along with him. You’re not allowed to bully him.”
The class didn’t respond. The atmosphere was quite strange.
Su Yue smiled helplessly and prepared to find a deskmate for Ji Xiao Zhuo, but when she looked around the classroom, there was only one child who didn’t have a desk mate. But that child ….
Su Yue felt a bit troubled. She headed out to discuss with Ji Yan and Tang Tang, “The situation is like this, there are twenty-five children in the class excluding Xiao Zhuo. There is one child without a deskmate, and Xiao Zhuo could sit there, but there is a slight problem. That child doesn’t speak much, and the other children who were seated there complained that they wanted to change seats, so ….” Su Yue didn’t finish the sentence and said something else, “Do you want Xiao Zhuo to sit alone on another desk or sit with that child and see how it goes?”
Tang Tang couldn’t help but look at the child who was sitting alone. She was shocked. Tang Tang originally thought that it would be a fierce boy. She didn’t expect that it was a cute little girl with an apple hairstyle. Her face was clear and tender, and her eyes were bright. Her eyelashes fluttered as she blinked. The little girl’s only shortcoming was that she was too thin, but that didn’t affect her looks. She still looked very cute, which made Tang Tang want to hug her.
Why wasn’t there anyone willing to sit with such a cute girl?
“Teacher, that little girl looks so cute, ah. Why isn’t there anyone willing to sit with her? Just because she doesn’t speak much?”
Su Yue hesitated and pursed her lips before answering, “Actually, it isn’t because she doesn’t speak much. It’s because she practically doesn’t speak at all, and she doesn’t like playing with the other children. She sits alone and plays with her toy car. When the other children speak to her, she doesn’t respond. The other children couldn’t endure the silence, so they don’t like sitting with her.”
Tang Tang understood after listening to the teacher. These children were at an age where they were energetic and liked conversing. If their desk mate doesn’t speak or play, most children won’tt be able to bear it. No wonder.
It’s just that why didn’t such a cute girl like speaking or playing?
Ji Xiao Zhuo was an active child, and he regularly spoke a lot. Could he stand it if he sat with someone who didn’t talk? Tang Tang looked at Ji Yan for help, “What do you think, husband?”
Ji Yan didn’t reply. Instead, he asked Su Yue, “Which family does the little girl belong to?”
Su Yue replied, “She is the child of battalion commander Wen, Wen Zhang Yi.
Ji Yan’s eyes went dark. He glanced at the little girl before speaking to Su Yue, “Let Ji Xiao Zhuo decide for himself.”
Su Yue blanked for a second before nodding. She walked to Xiao Zhuo and quietly said something to him. Then they saw Ji Xiao Zhuo look towards the cute little girl and nod after a while. He carried his school bag and went to sit beside the little girl.
Discreetly, Tang Tang pulled on Ji Yan’s sleeve, “Look, husband, Bao Bao is sitting with the little girl. I don’t know if he will be able to get used to it.”
Ji Yan shot a glance at the hand that was pulling his sleeve. The corner of his lips lifted unconsciously, and his voice became gentle for some reason, “Don’t worry. He can handle it.”
Tang Tang could only carry on staring at the two children. She wanted to see if the children would interact. Unfortunately, just like what teacher Su Le had said, the little girl kept her head down and played with her toy car. She didn’t even spare a glance at Ji Xiao Zhuo, and Ji Xiao Zhuo didn’t take the initiative to greet the little girl. Both of them did their own thing.
“Husband, both children aren’t speaking. They won’t always keep their separate ways and not bother with each other, right? Can Bao Bao handle not speaking to someone?”
Ji Yan reached out and patted her head, “It will be alright. Ji Xiao Zhuo will talk. He has his ways.”
Tang Tang didn’t understand, and Ji Yan didn’t explain further either. She could only worriedly watch the two children through the window until the teacher dismissed the class for the day. There was no progress in the two children’s friendship.
On their journey home, Tang Tang asked Ji Xiao Zhuo, “What do you think of your new deskmate?”
Ji Xiao Zhuo thought for a while before replying with three words, ‘She’s very dull.”
Immediately, Tang Tang patted Ji Xiao Zhuo’s head, “Bao Bao, you can’t say that about your new desk mate. She just doesn’t like speaking much. She is not dull, alright?”
Ji Xiao Zhuo chose to keep silent. He knew that his mummy wouldn’t believe him. To be honest, his deskmate was dull and foolish.
Tang Tang was afraid that Ji Xiao Zhuo was not willing to play with the little girl because she didn’t like speaking. Tang Tang could say, “Xiao Zhuo, you need to get along with your desk mate and talk with her more, ok? If she doesn’t speak to you, then you can take the lead and chat to her. You’ll be familiar with each other after speaking more.”
Ji Xiao Zhuo pulled his worried mother’s hand, “I know, mummy. She will talk to me soon. Don’t worry.”
Tang Tang didn’t know where the little one got his confidence from. Teacher Su Yue had clearly said that many other children couldn’t get her to play together unless Bao Bao had a special method?
Truthfully, Ji Xiao Zhuo had already found a method. Even though he didn’t seem to be bothered with his deskmate, he had actually observed her the whole day. His observation allowed him to discover that apart from being foolish, she really liked assembling her toy car. She constantly dismantled and then put it back together. She never got tired of it. That was why he couldn’t find a way in today.
Tang Tang didn’t know what Ji Xiao Zhuo was thinking. When they got home, Xiao Zhuo took all his toys out and put them on the floor. He kept looking at them. In the end, he chose a model of a castle and started to dismantle it.
Tang Tang was shocked. She didn’t understand why he was dismantling the model that took a lot of effort to put together. When she was about to ask, she saw the little one pack the model pieces into his school bag.
Tang Tang was baffled.
Ji Yan told Tang Tang to not get involved, and she’ll understand after some time.
Tang Tang thought that the father and son pair were sometimes very complicated when they did things, and she frequently didn’t understand. Could it be that this was the difference between ordinary and smart people? For example, when Ji Yan taught Xiao Zhuo multiplication and division, Tang Tang would often wonder if she stupid because she coulnd’t understand what Ji Yan was teaching.
Even Ji Xiao Zhuo, a child, understood, but she as an adult didn’t. The strike that Tang Tang received made her doubt life, but she still didn’t give up and tried to understand what Ji Yan was teaching. She wanted to struggle for a bit longer and learn whatever she could.
