"Okay, after breakfast let Xiaomi stay with you and go together," Old Madam Zhou said, seeing her unease and knowing her sensitive nature. She stood up, took Yingying’s little hand, and walked towards the dining table, "Today, let your Uncle Jing Zhe and Aunt Chuxia take you to kindergarten, okay?"
"Okay," Yingying happily nodded and reached out to pull on Chuxia, "Aunt Chuxia, can you take me?"
"This child, she’s really like a different person, it just breaks your heart," Old Madam Zhou affectionately patted the little girl’s head and, seeing Zhou Mikang come downstairs after changing his clothes, said, "In a moment, you and Chuxia will take Yingying to the kindergarten."
"I have to go to the troupe right now, another day," Zhou Mikang said, looking at Chuxia apologetically, "I can’t take you to work today, ride with Jing Zhe instead, I’ll take you tomorrow." As soon as he finished speaking, he was already gone through the door.
"That kid, no matter how busy he is, it wouldn’t hurt to spare a moment. It’s not easy for him to come back home, is there really a need to rush every second?" Lin Yanqiu grumbled about her son, then comforted Chuxia, "He’s got important matters; let’s not take it to heart."
"I know," Chuxia smiled back at her, then said with confusion, "Mom, did you all already know he was coming back?" The reason was simple: Zhou Mikang had gone for a morning jog, and Lin Yanqiu and Old Madam Zhou should have still been asleep. But when they saw him, they were not at all surprised, and moreover, there was no communication throughout, she couldn’t believe they didn’t know!
"Yes, your father mentioned it, he was coming back at night, and we were waiting for him," Lin Yanqiu said with a smile, "We didn’t tell you because we wanted to surprise you, and also didn’t want to disturb your sleep."
Suddenly, Chuxia felt uncomfortable. She had rambled on to him last night for a long time about the family matters, thinking about it, when he met his mother-in-law and grandmother, he probably already knew a lot, right? That feeling, when everyone else clearly knows but you’re still telling it like it’s news, it’s so disappointing.
"Upset now?" Seeing someone’s mood clearly written on her face, Lin Yanqiu quickly explained, "Chuxia, we were intending to tell you, but considering he would arrive in the wee hours, we didn’t want to keep you up waiting, in fact, we only exchanged a few words with him when he returned before sending him upstairs, we didn’t..."
"Mom, no!" Chuxia interrupted her quickly, "I’m not upset because of that, I... I just feel quite embarrassed, I... I talked to him for such a long time about what happened at our house these past few days. He must have been so tired, yet he listened twice, I... I just regret it a lot."
"Oh, that?" Lin Yanqiu suddenly laughed, "I was wondering, our Chuxia is always so magnanimous, how could she suddenly start to nitpick, don’t worry, when he came back, we only asked him about his military matters and then went back to our rooms to rest. We haven’t discussed the family issues yet."
Chuxia breathed a sigh of relief, "I thought he clearly knew everything, and I just kept babbling to him, which would have been really annoying."
Yingying had been hanging her head and sitting quietly to the side; obviously, she was very unhappy about her uncle and aunt not being able to take her to kindergarten.
Seeing this and feeling sorry for her, Chuxia said, "Yingying, hurry up and eat, your Aunt Chuxia will take you to kindergarten today."
"Really?" the little girl’s eyes suddenly lit up with joy.
"If you don’t eat quickly, then it’ll be fake."
"I’ll eat," the little girl picked up her bowl and wolfed down her food until her bowl was spotless, even purposely burping, "I’m full."
Old Madam Zhou and Lin Yanqiu just smiled and shook their heads. A child, once they let go of their guard and gained a sense of security, really could become quite adorable.
After Chuxia and Yingying left, Old Madam Zhou called Little Jing over, "Sit down."
Little Jing sat opposite the old lady, clearly very nervous, her face full of anxiety.
"Little Jing, you’re also twenty this year. Staying here any longer will delay you. Where would you like to work?" Old Madam Zhou cut straight to the point.
"Madam, please... please don’t drive me away. I want to stay and work for the Zhou family. I don’t want to change my job, Madam, I... I was wrong!" Little Jing looked at the old lady in a panic.
"What did you do wrong?"
"I shouldn’t have disliked Yingying for being embarrassing, nor should I have scolded her," Little Jing began to sob. "I... I just saw her always being disrespectful to the elders in the family and got really angry with her. I didn’t like her, and she didn’t know anything; she always performed the worst in kindergarten. I also felt she shamed the Zhou family. If I had thought about how much she had suffered and knew she clung to Madam because she lacks a sense of security, I definitely wouldn’t have treated her that way."