His siblings were clearly annoyed with him too; Sisi and Little Sun furrowed their brows unhappily while Qiaoqiao was more direct, throwing little punches at him. Yet Little Spring Breeze was completely oblivious, thinking his sister was playing with him, and laughing giddily with joy.
Shen Yinian, upon hearing this, felt somewhat disappointed and extended his finger to poke Little Spring Breeze’s chubby face.
——Little Spring Breeze and Qiaoqiao both cried easily, but there was a subtle difference between them. Little Spring Breeze was bad-tempered and vented through crying when things didn’t go his way, while Qiaoqiao was somewhat delicate, crying even if Little Spring Breeze accidentally touched her while turning over in his sleep.
Ever since the construction of the farm began, Lin Xiaoguai had only occasionally checked on the progress; she didn’t visit often, as there would be an inspection once the work was completed, and the wages had been agreed upon; there was no need for frequent visits.
It was Luo Yufang who wanted to help cook at the construction site, but Lin Xiaoguai stopped her. Ridiculous, with hundreds of workers at the site, how could grandma manage alone? Besides, they had already hired over a dozen military wives to help with the cooking; no need to trouble the elderly.
Aside from the four little ones being a handful, Lin Xiaoguai’s life hadn’t changed much from before her pregnancy.
But that day, she received a call from the school.
"May I speak with Shen Yinian’s parent?" A gentle male voice came through from the other end of the line.
Lin Xiaoguai paused before responding, "Yes, I’m his mother. What’s the matter?"
Usually, calls from the school were from her son’s homeroom teacher or subject teachers, but this time the voice was unfamiliar.
"I’m Mr. Miao, the school’s guidance counselor. Shen Yinian had a conflict with a classmate and was injured on his face during the altercation. Please come to the school as soon as possible."
"What? I’ll be right there." Lin Xiaoguai was shocked and alarmed. After instructing Luo Yufang to take care of the four little ones, she hurried out.
Since she had been to the school before, Lin Xiaoguai went directly to her son’s classroom. Finding it empty, she hurriedly proceeded to the teachers’ office.
"Teacher Zhong, where’s Little Niangao?" As soon as she saw her son’s homeroom teacher, Lin Xiaoguai quickly approached and asked.
Teacher Zhong, who recognized her, awkwardly replied, "The school nurse said the wound was too deep for him to handle, so Mr. Miao has taken Shen Yinian to the hospital. I stayed back especially to wait for you."
Lin Xiaoguai’s expression soured as she asked, "They went to the military region hospital, right?"
"Yes, that’s correct," Teacher Zhong hastily answered.
"May I use your phone?"
"Of course, of course."
Without hesitation, Lin Xiaoguai dialed Shen Chi’s office number.
"Is this Chen Han? Put Shen Chi on the phone now!"
Hearing the urgency in Lin Xiaoguai’s voice, Chen Han didn’t dare to delay and quickly handed the phone to Shen Chi.
"Shen Chi, hurry and come home. In our bedside table drawer, there is a white round box with golden sore medicine inside. Take it to the military region hospital."
"What happened?" Shen Chi’s voice became serious.
"Little Niangao was injured at school, on his face. I think he might get a scar. Bring the golden sore medicine quickly, tell the doctors not to stitch him up. That medicine should help the wound scab over." Lin Xiaoguai’s words were anxious, carrying a hint of a cry.
"I’m on my way. Don’t worry," Shen Chi reassured her and hung up without further delay.
When Lin Xiaoguai and Teacher Zhong arrived at the hospital, they saw Shen Chi in an argument with another man.
"I understand you don’t want your child to have a scar on his face, but preventing the doctors from stitching him up is not appropriate. It might lead to an infection or other issues," said a young man in his thirties, handsome and neatly dressed, clearly from a good background.
But Shen Chi was nearly at his boiling point, "I don’t want to hear these platitudes from you. He’s my son, and I don’t need you telling me what to do!" He had complete faith in Wanwan’s pharmaceutical skills, as evident by his current health.
The thought of his son having such a long gash on his face, possibly scarring, was unbearable. The child had been praised for his good looks since he was young, and if now he became the target of stares...
This guidance counselor was truly irritating; the doctors had no objections, yet he was butting in unnecessarily.
Running out of patience with Mr. Miao, Shen Chi didn’t waste more words and simply pushed the man aside, making his way to his son on the operating table.
"Dad, am I going to have a scar?" Shen Yinian was already under local anesthesia, so he didn’t feel pain from the wound, but he was extremely frightened.
No matter how clever he was, he was still a child well-protected by his family.
"Don’t be afraid. Mom has made a medicine for you. It will heal when you apply it," said Shen Chi as he unscrewed the lid of the medicine box and applied the shiny ointment to the wound across his son’s nose.
Mr. Miao moved to intervene but was stopped by an arm in front of him.
"Please don’t interfere with my spouse," Lin Xiaoguai’s voice was as cold as the wind, her face covered with an icy veil.
Confronted with those frosty eyes, Mr. Miao felt a jolt in his heart and couldn’t utter the words at the tip of his tongue.
Lin Xiaoguai turned away from him and moved to see her son.
"Mommy..." Seeing Lin Xiaoguai, Shen Yinian felt his eyes well up with tears, calling out with a hint of distress.
With his usually stern father, he could hold back his emotions, but facing his always-loving mother, his fears and grievances poured out.
"Don’t be scared. Mom is here. Nothing will happen to our Little Niangao." Seeing the ghastly wound on her son’s face, Lin Xiaoguai felt a painful squeeze in her heart. (To be continued. If you work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)