CH 17

Since she broke the tablet and made Aunt Hua cry, Little Miaomiao’s thoughts focused on a single thing in her math class – she had to raise her hand and get a little, red flower! She had to obtain a little, red flower!

Only the math teacher rewarded the students with small, red flowers when they answered the questions. The other teachers, of course, rewarded them with their own little, red flowers, but in their own subjects and fields of study.

The math teacher was a fat, old man. He was about to retire within a year. Since he was one of the older generation, he couldn’t speak Mandarin very well. Despite that, he still insisted that everyone spoke Mandarin in his class.

“Students. Look at the blackboard. Can anyone answer this question? Let’s see who could raise their hand the quickest!”

Little Miaomiao knew that the teacher would ask this question. He asked this same question every day, when class concluded. She had already calculated the answer using her fingers, which she concealed under her desk.

As soon as the teacher finished speaking, Little Miaomiao raised her hand. The math teacher noticed her and said, “Student Miaomiao, please answer the question.”

Little Miaomiao slowly stood up. Her behavior today surprised Zhou Yuan.

Little Miaomiao answered in a hushed voice, “15.”

The math teacher said, “Does anyone else have a different answer?”

Little Miaomiao stood up in front of so many people to answer the question. Her legs trembled. Not only her legs, but her hands were shivering as well. As soon as she processed her teacher’s words, she thought that her answer was wrong. Her face was red with embarrassment.

Zhou Yuan noticed her ceaseless trembling. He glanced at her and said, “Don’t be afraid. The answer is 15.”

Several of her classmates raised their hands and voiced out that the answer wasn’t 15.

Then, she heard the math teacher reply, “If it isn’t 15, then the answer is wrong.”

Zhou Yuan: “…” Teacher. You’re scaring the children.

Only then, did Little Miaomiao sit back down in her seat. She felt as if she had gone through some arduous journey and had barely escaped her death.

Zhou Yuan understood that she was fearful about raising her hands in front of such an audience. He understood that she was apprehensive about answering the questions.

Zhou Yuan looked at his tablemate. 

Was it because she accidentally broke the tablet? Was that why she trembled with so much fear and trepidation?

Zhou Yuan could understand her situation. After all, she wasn’t raised in a normal family environment. She never knew how parents and children got along with each other. She had to slowly get used to it…

The math teacher continued with his lesson. Little Miaomiao laid on the table in exhaustion. She panted surreptitiously, for she was afraid that others would discover her fatigue. She was like a tiny kitten that tired itself out after running around too much.

When class ended, the math teacher departed the classroom right away. This shocked Little Miaomiao since she expected to receive her little, crimson flower.

The teacher should’ve rewarded them with small, sanguine flowers, before exiting the classroom.

Seeing her downtrodden reaction, Zhou Yuan figured out that she was thinking about the little, red flower.

For adults, it’s just a little, red flower, it bears little to no meaning for them. But for children, it’s something of paramount importance, especially for the hardworking children.

Under the pretext of leaving for the bathroom, Zhou Yuan quickly paid a visit to the teacher’s office. He explained all of this to the teacher, and soon he returned with a little, red flower.

Zhou Yuan focused on Little Miaomiao’s expression. Her face lit up, ebullience swelled in her heart, and her attention wholly focused on the small, crimson flower.

The small, crimson flower was a great way to lift up her spirits. Simultaneously, Zhou Yuan ruminated in his head about whether he could get the tablet fixed by this afternoon. If he surprised her with a fully repaired tablet with a new screen by noon today, would she become even more ecstatic?

Zhou Yuan left the classroom and went into the office. He borrowed Teacher Li’s cell phone and called his father.

At noon, all the children were waiting inside the classroom for the P.T. teacher to distribute the meals and fruits to them.

Zhou Yuan was waiting outside the classroom. His schoolbag was slung around his shoulders. His father soon came to pick him up.

Father Zhou took his school bag, held it high and said, “Does this tablet belong to the girl who sits next to you? You sure know how to get a wife at such a young age.”

Zhou Yuan wasn’t as tall as his father; therefore, he couldn’t get back the tablet from his father. Zhou Yuan didn’t even try to get it back from him and contemptuously said, “Don’t use your filthy brain to imagine something between us. It’s just friendship between children.”

Dad Zhou: “I…was just kidding. I was mistaken.”

Zhou Yuan responded, “Don’t joke around like that in the future. It’s okay if I hear it, but if other children hear it, it would affect their physical and mental health.”

Dad Zhou: “…”

Due to Zhou Yuan’s departure, the seat next to Little Miaomiao was empty. She stared at the vacant seat and remembered that Zhou Yuan didn’t notice the bottle of yogurt that she put inside his desk. 

As she thought about this, a sour mood slowly descended on her while she ate her lunch at the same time. She finished eating it, anyways, since she wanted to receive another little, red flower as a reward.

After clearing her meal, she laid on her desk. In reality, Little Miaomiao never slept at school. She would just lie down on her desk and stare at the lines on the wooden table quietly.

After some time, Little Miaomiao sensed that someone sat next to her. But she didn’t move, because their teacher ordered them not to move during their nap time.

Zhou Yuan produced the tablet from his schoolbag and placed it inside his desk drawer. He thought that it would be much more convenient to present it to Little Miaomiao in a bit. When he opened his drawer, he found a packet of milk candy, a packet of steamed meat buns and a bottle of yogurt within.

Zhou Yuan looked pensively at the little girl who slept next to him. In his heart, he felt that she resembled a little ant that moved her food into his cave.

He looked at the tablet. He couldn’t wait to see her reaction when she realized that the tablet had already been fixed.

Zhou Yuan laid down on his desk to sleep. As soon as his head touched the table, he fell into a deep slumber. He was still a child, after all, and venturing outside for such a long time could exhaust him.

The ringing of the bell soon woke him up. The teacher didn’t enter the classroom yet.

The children were still conversing with each other in class. Zhou Yuan produced the tablet from his drawer and presented it to Little Miaomiao, “It’s fixed.”

This stunned Little Miaomiao. She saw that the tablet’s broken screen was no longer in pieces.

Little Miaomiao glanced at Zhou Yuan again. She looked as if she stood before the most amazing and most powerful person in the world. He really repaired the tablet. 

Little Miaomiao held his hand. She didn’t know how to express her feelings, so she could only hold his hand, “Thank you.”

Zhou Yuan, who was clasped by Little Miaomiao’s tiny hands, replied, “You are welcome. This sort of thing is a simple matter for me. In the future, if you need any help, you could always ask me for assistance.”

Zhou Yuan declared this to her. She could now look for him, if she stumbled upon something that she couldn’t solve.