NABC Chapter 53
Chapter 53
“So, Zhong Yuntong, were you chatting during class?” Zhong Jin immediately saw through it.
The chubby child, chewing on the dried plums her mom had given her, replied proudly, “Yes, I was.”
“Lu Xingxing asked me why I’m so pretty, and I said it’s because I look like my mom and dad.”
“He also asked me who I love the most, and I said I love my mom and dad the most.”
“Then he asked if I miss my parents. I said yes, but I don’t cry about it.”
Zhong Jin exchanged a glance with Qiu Sheng through the rearview mirror. Neither of them could argue with the child’s logic. Even though she had been chatting during class, everything she said made perfect sense.
As the car turned into the neighborhood, Zhong Jin concluded, “What you said makes sense, but you shouldn’t say it during class. You can talk about it during break time.”
Qiu Sheng gently guided, “So, sweetie, if Lu Xingxing asks you during class next time whether you love your dad or your mom more, how will you answer?”
Zhong Yuntong took her mouth off the yogurt straw and declared loudly, “I love them both.”
Zhong Jin, “...You should say, ‘Lu Xingxing, we can’t talk during class.’”
Qiu Sheng continued, “And what if Lu Xingxing asks you, ‘Zhong Yuntong, do you like yogurt or fried chicken more?’”
The mention of fried chicken triggered something in the child. Her eyes lit up instantly.
“I like fried chicken and Coke! Can we go get some fried chicken now?”
Zhong Jin, “...You should say, ‘Lu Xingxing, let’s talk after class.’”
Zhong Yuntong slumped back in her car seat, her enthusiasm completely drained.
“I don’t want to go to school anymore. You can’t even talk freely there. I’d rather be a kid who doesn’t know how to read.”
The car had already entered the parking lot. Seeing the dejected child in the rearview mirror, Zhong Jin suddenly changed his mind. He turned to Zhong Yuntong and said, “Let’s go get some fried chicken now.”
A child’s happiness is simple. One moment she was utterly disappointed with the world, and the next, the mere mention of fried chicken brought her back to life. She raised her hands and cheered,
“Yay!”
At McDonald’s, Zhong Jin divided the fried chicken, burgers, and drinks into three portions, placing one in front of each of them. Then he said to Zhong Yuntong,
“From now on, we’re in class. Zhong Yuntong, you’re the student. If you talk during class, I’ll take away one of your food items.”
Tempted by the food, Zhong Yuntong immediately raised her hand in agreement. “Okay, okay! Can I eat now?”
Zhong Jin, “Take out the timer from your backpack.”
Kids often have quirky habits. Zhong Yuntong, for instance, loved carrying a magnetic timer around, taking it out from time to time to check it before putting it back into her bag.
After she started kindergarten, Zhong Jin replaced the metal timer with a soft silicone one for safety reasons.
Once the timer was out,
Zhong Jin set it for half an hour and placed his finger on the start button. “Once I press this, class officially begins. Student Zhong Yuntong, are you ready?”
It was a game, and there was delicious food involved.
The child wriggled excitedly in her seat. “I’m ready!”
The timer started, and everyone quietly began eating their food.
A child walked past them holding a Donald Duck toy from a Happy Meal. Zhong Yuntong’s eyes followed the toy for a moment before she pointed with her chubby little hand,
“I want that too.”
Zhong Jin reached over and took a chicken nugget from her plate. “Sorry, you talked.”
The child immediately covered her head, wanting to protest, but then remembered that making noise would result in punishment. She opened her mouth wide, silently baring her teeth, looking both fierce and comical.
The mock classroom continued.
This time, Zhong Yuntong learned her lesson. When she saw another child throwing a tantrum over ice cream, she would normally have chimed in with her own commentary, given her love for drama.
Meanwhile, Xiao Tong and Qiu Sheng were lounging on the couch, watching cartoons. Qiu Sheng had a face mask on, and Xiao Tong, wanting to join in, pestered her until Qiu Sheng gave her a compressed mask, wetting it with purified water before placing it on the child's face.
The child, with the mask on, lazily leaned against a pillow, her chubby feet dangling off the edge of the sofa, swinging back and forth leisurely.
Just then, Zhong Jin sent a message asking if the child had gone to bed yet. Qiu Sheng took a photo of the relaxed child and sent it to him.
Zhong Jin replied, *"Tell her to get up and go to bed."*
"Your dad can't stand you being too relaxed," Qiu Sheng said to the child, then messaged Zhong Jin back, *"I set a half-hour timer for her. Once it goes off, I'll make her sleep. What time will you be back?"*
*"Probably very late. You two go to sleep; don't wait for me."*
"Sweetie, say goodnight to Daddy," Qiu Sheng said, holding the phone to Xiao Tong's mouth and pressing the voice message button. The child lazily lifted her eyelids and said, "Goodnight, Daddy. Don't work too hard, okay?"
A moment later, Zhong Jin sent a voice message back: *"Goodnight. Don't drink yogurt before bed."*
By the time the message arrived, Xiao Tong had already climbed down from the sofa, her face mask discarded to the side. She stood barefoot on the carpet, her little hand reaching for the yogurt on the coffee table.
She glanced guiltily at Qiu Sheng, her fingers fidgeting as she tried to open the yogurt.
Qiu Sheng raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, didn't Daddy just say no yogurt?"
The child turned and hugged Qiu Sheng around the waist, burying her face in her stomach. "Mommy, you and I are the best friends in the whole world."
"Even if we're the best friends in the entire universe, you still can't have it. You've already had two bottles of yogurt today, and Daddy said no before bed. It'll upset your stomach, and you might even wet the bed. So, absolutely not."
The little troublemaker pouted, leaning over the coffee table to sniff the yogurt bottle, even sticking out her tongue to lick the sealed lid.
Every now and then, she glanced back at Qiu Sheng to gauge her reaction. Seeing that Qiu Sheng wasn't budging, she finally gave up and obediently climbed back onto the sofa, burying her face in Qiu Sheng's stomach. With her knees tucked up and her feet kicking gently, she drifted off to sleep.
Qiu Sheng, who used to be quite lazy and often slept until noon, now had to adjust to the child's school schedule, which meant early mornings—something she found rather painful.
When the alarm went off, she would reach out from under the covers, eyes still closed, to turn it off. Then she'd linger in bed a little longer until Zhong Jin came in to wake her up.
But today, Zhong Jin didn't show up. Instead, the child sleeping beside her pushed her arm and said, "I need to pee."
Qiu Sheng pulled off her eye mask and struggled to open her eyes, muttering, "Didn't Daddy come back?"
After helping the child to the bathroom and settling her on the child-sized toilet seat, Qiu Sheng peeked into the guest room. It was empty; Zhong Jin really hadn't come home last night.
Once she had the child dressed in her school uniform and ready to go, Qiu Sheng took her to a breakfast shop downstairs for some steamed buns. Before leaving, she asked the owner to pack an extra portion to bring to Zhong Jin on the way.
As she drove toward the police station, Qiu Sheng grumbled under her breath, "Why does the police station need overnight shifts too?"
She had thought only the criminal investigation department worked through the night, but apparently, the police station was no different.
When the SUV pulled up at the station's entrance, Qiu Sheng realized she'd forgotten her sunglasses that morning. She opened the car door, lifted Xiao Tong out, and handed her the breakfast to take inside to her dad.
"Take it in and come right back, okay? Mommy will wait for you at the entrance."
"Okay, okay!"
The child carried the breakfast into the station's lobby, greeting everyone she passed. Then she walked over to her "designated parking spot," hung the breakfast on the handlebars of her little ride-on car, and drove off to find her dad.
Rao Shishi couldn't help but laugh. "She even drives her little car for such a short distance."
With a clatter, the car handlebars bumped open the door to the chief's office. Zhong Jin didn't even need to look up to know who had arrived. The little car rolled up right in front of him, and the child looked up at him with a grin.
"Ding! You have a new food delivery order."
Sometimes, when Zhong Jin took her out to eat, she'd hear the restaurant's delivery system say this phrase, and she'd picked it up.
Zhong Jin took the breakfast from the handlebars and ruffled her little ponytail, which today was tied with a sky-blue ribbon, making her look especially sweet.
"Order received. Your mom just called me. Go find her and head to school, okay?"
"Okay, Chief Zhong!"
The child answered loudly, then zoomed out of the office on her scooter. A moment later, she came sliding back, slamming the door shut with a bang.
Then, with a smooth turn, she scooted over to the mediation room, where she heard people arguing. Without hesitation, she drove her little car right inside.