CH 21

Because she didn’t press Uncle Hua for a solution to Zhou Yuan’s tooth problem, Little Miaomiao felt anxious when she departed from her house.

When she arrived at school, she noticed that Zhou Yuan wore a mask. After witnessing that, she couldn’t find the courage to look at him again.

“Good morning, Miaomiao,” Zhou Yuan greeted her.

Little Miaomiao was a little fearful of looking at his face, because of how she had made a promise yesterday that she would ask Uncle Hua for a solution to his tooth problem. She replied in a muffled voice, “Good morning, Zhou Yuan.”

Her voice sounded so soft that Zhou Yuan thought that he scared her because of his mask. He said to her, “I’m wearing a mask because I have a cold. I don’t want to spread the germs to you.”

His words appeared to be truthful at first glance. In reality, he just wanted to conceal his missing tooth from the others.

However, both the teachers and his classmates believed his statement. Not only did they believe him, but they also believed that Zhou Yuan was a good student.

But for the rest of the day, Little Miaomiao remained silent. Although Little Miaomiao wasn’t very talkative, she would still utter something carefully from time to time. But today, she was far too silent.

She was almost completely taciturn.

On the other hand, everyone understood the reason for Zhou Yuan’s taciturnity, since he convinced them that he had a mouth ulcer and suffered from a cold; therefore, the other children didn’t approach him as often to speak with him. Truthfully, he felt relief from this. 

They usually liked to beleaguer him with very trivial questions such as what they used to do when they were younger. This forced him to make up stories every day.

But Miaomiao was different from the other children. She rarely asked questions. More often, she simply greeted him and looked at him in a clandestine way.

Occasionally, he felt that she was trying very hard to strike a conversation with him, for example, about the rain today.

But today, she couldn’t even attempt small talk. When the second period ended, Zhou Yuan leaned over and asked, “Miaomiao, what’s the matter with you?”

He already conjectured that something was amiss. After all, Little Miaomiao had been thinking about her mother for a long time. Judging from her nervousness when she broke the tablet, she probably still didn’t have a normal parent-child relationship at home.

Therefore, Zhou Yuan assumed that the reason behind her abnormality was due to a family problem.

During afternoon’s naptime, Zhou Yuan couldn’t sleep and was still mulling over the matter. He turned around and saw Little Miaomiao with her eyes closed, facing his direction. He noticed her long eyelashes trembling slightly.

She wasn’t asleep.

Zhou Yuan waited for a bit to corroborate his guess, only to find out that she actually wasn’t asleep at all.

Zhou Yuan leaned over and called her, “Miaomiao.”

When he whispered her name, he felt as if he was learning how to meow like a cat.

Little Miaomiao slowly opened her eyes and saw Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan scrupulously moved the stool back. Then, he took out a book and placed it on the ground and sat down. He then beckoned to Little Miaomiao.

Little Miaomiao was stunned for a brief moment, before she followed Zhou Yuan’s instructions.

The two of them were young, so only two small heads were visible when they squatted down. They spoke in hushed voices, so that they wouldn’t rouse the other students from their sleep.

Zhou Yuan asked, “Miaomiao, you can’t sleep today?”

What he didn’t know was that Little Miaomiao could never sleep during their afternoon naptime.

Little Miaomiao nodded. She would never dare sleep anywhere that wasn’t her own home, for she feared that she would wake up at another place.

Zhou Yuan saw her red eyes. She looked as if she was about to cry, yet she was simultaneously suppressing her tears. He was heartbroken when he saw her dejected look. The cub’s tearful appearance probably awoke some instinct within him, so he couldn’t help but touch her head.

“We’ll secretly sleep under the table. No one will find us,” Zhou Yuan said while patting his knees, “Lie down and sleep for a bit. We have class during the afternoon. Miaomiao will probably want a little, red flower, right?”

He used to think that it was bizarre why Miaomiao would doze off during the afternoon classes. Although he thought that she looked cute when her head bobbed in a daze, he still wanted her to sleep.

Little Miaomiao obediently laid on Zhou Yuan’s lap. She didn’t know if Zhou Yuan’s words had some sort of power over her mind or if she actually was sleepy, but she soon fell asleep.

Zhou Yuan witnessed her eyes closing. Her long eyelashes did not tremble like before. It seemed like she actually fell asleep.

When the P.T. teacher was walking around, she saw two little heads under the table. Since the other children were still sleeping, she bent down and was prepared to speak to Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan quickly covered Little Miaomiao’s ear in a hurry with one hand. Then, he whispered, “Let her sleep for a moment. When naptime ends, I’ll go and explain to the head teacher.”

P.T. teacher: “…”

She decided to let it go. Based on her experience, whenever their opinions differed, she should always follow this child. Because in the end, she can’t win with reason over him.

When naptime ended, Little Miaomiao woke up and saw Zhou Yuan. She was relieved and believed that Zhou Yuan was a very trustworthy friend.

She had to ask her Uncle about how to make teeth grow quicker.

Little Miaomiao wanted to do something for Zhou Yuan.

When school ended in the afternoon, the P.T. teacher shouted, “Little Miaomiao, your parents are here.”

When Little Miaomiao departed from the classroom with her schoolbag, she saw Uncle Hua standing there. Aunt Hua was nowhere to be seen. She looked around and eyed many unfamiliar faces, but she couldn’t see her anywhere. 

Noticing her fear and consternation, Uncle Hua quickly squatted down and calmly explained to her, “Auntie has to work overtime today, so Uncle came to pick you up, alright?”

Little Miaomiao made a muffled sound and thought that she had to ask him about the tooth.

When Aunt Hua came to pick her up, she would hold Little Miaomiao’s hand. Initially, Uncle Hua also wanted to hold her hand, but considering her trepidation, he decided against this. Then, he said, “Uncle has a holiday today. I’ll be home today.”

Little Miaomiao hummed in acknowledgement and looked at her uncle, who was as tall as a tree.

From her viewpoint, all adults were as tall as trees.

Uncle…why didn’t he hold my hand?

When they were outside, Aunt Hua told her to hold an adult’s hand because she might encounter a kidnapper outside. If she was taken by them, she would never see her Auntie again. 

Little Miaomiao felt herself sinking into a maelstrom of fear and anxiety as she dwelled on the idea of being kidnapped. She would never allow herself to be taken away by them. She would see her Auntie again no matter the cost.