When Feng Qi entered with a plate of fruit, Feng Yuan’s little face was buried in his textbook, seemingly trying to suffocate himself.
Feng Qi raised an eyebrow and asked, “Yuan Yuan, is this your new study method?”
Hearing his father’s voice, Feng Yuan didn’t look up.
His small, milky voice came out muffled, “Dad, Yuan Yuan doesn’t want to go to kindergarten.”
“Yuan Yuan still wants to collect scrap.”
Feng Qi: “…”
Feng Qi: “Don’t even think about it.”
Feng Qi considered himself a fairly open-minded parent.
But letting his three-year-old completely abandon his studies to focus on collecting scrap was something he couldn’t bring himself to do.
The cold refusal broke the little chubby child’s heart as he lay sprawled over his book.
The little one began to sob.
Hearing the sound, Feng Qi set the fruit plate on the table, lifted him by the back of his neck, and asked curiously, “Crying?”
Feng Yuan: “Wah.”
The little one was genuinely crying.
Feng Qi chuckled and lifted his small face. Upon finding it wet with tears, he couldn’t help but sigh, “Yuan Yuan, you little crybaby, who did you inherit this from?”
Neither Feng Qi nor Li Sheng was the type to cry easily.
Only this little one, Feng Yuan, was becoming more and more prone to tears.
Li Sheng said that the child used to cry less but now cried more because he felt secure, knowing he would be comforted when he cried.
That was why he was becoming increasingly delicate.
Feng Qi thought this made sense.
He wiped the little one’s tear-streaked face clean and kissed him. “Alright. You have to go to kindergarten tomorrow, so you should rest early today.”
“Xiao Xun, you and Yuan Yuan should both go to bed now.”
“Okay.”
Qin Xun agreed, then picked up Feng Yuan, who had long given up on studying, and carried him to the bedroom.
The two little ones returned to the room they shared.
Qin Xun opened the wardrobe and picked out their pajamas.
They shared a large wardrobe, with their clothes arranged on the left and right sides, both sides packed full.
While selecting clothes, Qin Xun noticed several new items on his side.
He reached out and touched them gently.
His new clothes were always washed before being placed in the wardrobe, so he could wear them directly.
Staring at the clothes, Qin Xun suddenly realized it had been a long time since he had bought any clothes or daily necessities himself.
Even though he hadn’t purchased anything in so long, these items had multiplied endlessly.
They were all bought for him by Feng Qi and the adults of the Li family.
Thinking of the days he had spent living here, Qin Xun felt warmth fill his heart.
“Yuan Yuan, do you want to wear this little yellow chick? It’s new.”
Qin Xun held up a yellow chick onesie pajama set, complete with a detachable little hood. It was adorably cute.
Unfortunately, Feng Yuan wasn’t very interested in the little yellow chick.
He wanted to wear the green little dinosaur onesie instead.
Qin Xun changed it for him and took him to the bathroom for a bath.
Once everything was done, Feng Yuan lay on the big bed, still sighing dejectedly.
“Yuan Yuan really doesn’t want to get up.”
“Sigh.”
No matter how much the little one sighed, time continued to pass.
Soon, the next day arrived.
After getting out of bed, Feng Yuan clutched his stomach and complained of a stomachache.
“Yuan Yuan is sick and needs to sleep.”
“If you’re sick, you need to go to the hospital for an injection. You can’t just lie around at home.”
Feng Qi could tell exactly what the little one was scheming by the way he clutched his stomach.
“Yuan Yuan is so brave now. He’s not even afraid of going to the hospital for a check-up,” Feng Qi teased deliberately. “Come on, brave little Yuan Yuan, Dad will take you to the hospital now.”
Seeing that his dad was actually about to take him to the hospital, Feng Yuan, who had just been complaining of a stomachache, immediately pulled his chubby little hand away. With an earnest expression, he said, “Yuan Yuan’s stomach doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Feng Qi smiled. “If it doesn’t hurt, then go eat. After breakfast, you’re off to school.” There was no way the little rascal was going to skip school right under his watch.
Under his dad’s watchful eye, Feng Yuan eventually hoisted his small backpack and trudged off to kindergarten, his chubby face looking as if he were heading to a funeral.
When the other children at the kindergarten saw Feng Yuan arrive, they all sat in their seats, eyeing him cautiously. But no one spoke to him first. It was his deskmate and best friend, Xu Jiale, who rushed over to hug him first.
“Yuan Yuan, you’re finally back!” Xu Jiale was probably the one who had missed Feng Yuan the most in the entire class. With Feng Yuan around, he felt secure every day. Even after Feng Yuan left, his influence lingered. No one dared to bully Xu Jiale. Gradually, the other children started playing with him, too. But Xu Jiale still missed Feng Yuan the most.
Feng Yuan hugged his deskmate back. The two little ones held each other for a moment before letting go.
“I brought you some candy,” Feng Yuan said. Since he hadn’t been to kindergarten in a while, the adults at home worried that the other children might not want to play with him, had stuffed his backpack with candies to share with his classmates. He gave Xu Jiale the most.
After sharing with Xu Jiale, he handed out the rest to the other children. By the time his backpack was empty of candy, the teacher walked in.
“Good morning, Yuan Yuan! Long time no see. I’ve missed you so much!” Even though Feng Yuan had been a bit of a troublemaker in class, the teacher had grown fond of him in his absence. After all, there wasn’t another child in the kindergarten as adorable and pleasant to look at as him. Sometimes, just gazing at his cute little face could lift her mood.
Now that the little “class boss” was back, the teacher gently patted his cheek and said with a smile, “I heard from the other kids that you’ve been studying outside, Yuan Yuan, and your grades have improved a lot. It just so happens we’re having a test today. Do your best, okay?”
Feng Yuan: “…”
Clenching his little fists, Feng Yuan nodded, trying hard not to show his nervousness.
With the teacher present, Feng Yuan had to obediently return to his seat. There would be no more catching up with his friends for now.
The teacher, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, stood at the front of the class with a warm smile. Resting his chubby cheeks in his hands, Feng Yuan sat unusually still for once during class.
After a brief lesson, the teacher handed out the test papers for the day. The questions weren’t particularly difficult. Originally, the kindergarten hadn’t intended to push academic performance for the younger classes. But competition among kindergartens had grown fierce. Other kindergartens not only promoted joyful education but also emphasized academic rigor. Some parents had raised concerns in group chats, pointing out that other kindergartens had regular assessments. Little Sun Kindergarten couldn’t fall behind.
After much deliberation and meetings, the director of Little Sun Kindergarten decided to introduce occasional tests. Though compared to other kindergartens, their exams were few and far between. This was already the director’s bottom line.
The kindergarten director’s educational philosophy still emphasized letting the younger children focus on play, with learning as a secondary priority.
The children were holding test papers and writing answers.
The teacher in a floral-print dress quietly accompanied them.
Feng Yuan sat in the front row of the classroom, burying his head in diligent writing.
He had answered every question on the test paper.
Every blank space on the entire paper was filled with his writing.
But despite writing so much, Feng Yuan’s little face still showed a lack of confidence.
Because the last time he had filled the paper like this, he had gotten eight out of ten math problems wrong.
The morning was for the math test, and the afternoon was for the Chinese test.
The next day, there would be an English test and a physical education test.
On the third day, all the tests were finally over.
Feng Yuan could finally relax and wait for his fate.
The teacher had said that he had already graded the papers and would hand them back on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, Feng Yuan lay slumped on the car seat, his chubby little face looking listless.
As he fiddled absentmindedly with his smartwatch, he heard his big dad’s phone ring.
His big dad was sitting right next to him. As soon as his big dad answered the phone, Feng Yuan could hear the voice on the other end.
The little one pricked up his ears and eavesdropped.
The voice on the phone was urgent, talking about something involving Yu Yi—drowning, disappearance.
As Feng Yuan listened, his eyes widened in shock.
He understood what was being said.
At a remote, uninhabited coastline, the tide had come in. Yu Yi has fallen into the water, with his entire whereabouts now unknown.
Upon hearing this news, Li Sheng’s face instantly darkened.
“Book me a ticket. I’m heading over right now.”
At that moment, the car was already halfway to the kindergarten.
Li Sheng hung up the phone and looked at Feng Yuan.
“Yuan Yuan, Big Dad has something urgent to attend to. Can you let Uncle Driver take you to kindergarten?”
“Big Dad needs to take a taxi now.”
“Yuan Yuan wants to go, too!”
Feng Yuan clung tightly to Li Sheng’s arm, refusing to let go.
His chubby little body was practically hanging off his big dad, clinging to him like a little octopus.
Li Sheng tried to peel him off, but the little one’s face flushed red with determination, unwilling to let go.
“Big Dad, take Yuan Yuan with you!”
The little one put all his effort into it, even his tiny voice straining with resolve.
“If Big Dad doesn’t take Yuan Yuan, Yuan Yuan will go find Godfather by himself!”
The little one’s threat made Li Sheng want to spank him.
“Feng Yuan, stop making a scene.”
“Yuan Yuan isn’t making a scene! Yuan Yuan wants to find Godfather!”
Feng Yuan insisted stubbornly on going to find his godfather.
Li Sheng had no choice but to call Feng Qi.
Feng Qi had just found a lead to look for Bo Han.
But as soon as he heard about Yu Yi’s situation, he immediately changed his mind.
“Let’s go find Yu Yi now. If Yuan Yuan wants to come, bring him along. Otherwise, he’ll definitely run off on his own.”
If the little one ran off alone and got lost, they would be overwhelmed with worry.
After Feng Qi made the decision, Feng Yuan, along with Qin Xun, who was also in the car, were taken back home.
Feng Qi glanced at Qin Xun, considering whether he should leave him at home to attend school.
Qin Xun was supposed to start elementary school the following year.
Feng Qi was worried it might affect his studies.
After Feng Qi voiced his concerns, Qin Xun looked up and said seriously, “Uncle Feng, you don’t need to worry about my studies. I can get into any elementary school in this area with perfect scores.”
His academic progress was far beyond kindergarten level.
The only reason he hadn’t skipped grades yet was that he wanted to stay in the same kindergarten as Feng Yuan.
“Alright, since you say it won’t be a problem, I’ll take you along.”
Yu Yi’s current fate was unknown. Neither Li Sheng nor Feng Qi wanted to delay any longer.
The whole family rushed to the scene of the incident.
Li Heng and Frida did not accompany them. Instead, they returned to the old residence to dispatch additional personnel to search for Yu Yi.
On the way, Feng Qi gently stroked his son’s head and said quietly to Li Sheng, “It’s a good thing Yuan Yuan is only in kindergarten.”
Kindergarten taught simple and limited content.
If Yuan Yuan were older, taking him out would require considering many more issues.
Feng Yuan, having his head rubbed by his father, lowered his head and focused on tapping his smartwatch.
He was sending messages to Yu Yi.
“Godfather, have you swum back up yet?”
Feng Yuan knew his godfather could swim and was exceptionally good at it.
His godfather had shown him photos.
He had even dived into the deep, deep ocean.
So far, Feng Yuan was eager to see his godfather but hadn’t felt any fear.
He just kept sending messages.
“Yuan Yuan is coming to find you!”
“Godfather, when Yuan Yuan gets there, we can look for Wu Jin together!”
Feng Yuan imagined the scene of finding his godfather and then searching for Wu Jin. He swung his short legs. His chubby face showed no signs of distress.
The place Yu Yi had gone to was remote and far away.
It took them a day and a half just to find the way, during which they changed routes several times.
On the village roads, they even had to ride a tractor.
Feng Yuan was fascinated by the tractor.
His eyes sparkled as he looked at it. He developed a new wish to drive a tractor.
After the tractor ride, they took an oxcart.
Finally, there was a long stretch of road they had to walk.
After completing the journey, the group finally arrived at the turbulent beach.
When they arrived, the waves were still fierce.
Feng Yuan stared at the waves ahead, his chubby face frozen in surprise.
Someone waiting there came over and showed Li Sheng the waves from the day of the incident.
Feng Yuan also leaned in to look.
When he saw the terrifying, massive waves that seemed capable of sweeping everything away, he was so frightened that he plopped down onto the ground.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152