CH 23

On the way home, Aunt Hua smiled happily. She beamed like a flower.

During the trip, Uncle Hua felt as if the word ‘mother’ had completely wreathed around him. 

Seemingly, neither child nor mother had tired themselves out. It was almost as if they were trying to make up for lost time. 

Little Miaomiao was very enthusiastic. She couldn’t suppress her desire to hug Aunt Hua and call her ‘mother’ over and over again. 

There was an effusive warmth in Mother Hua’s embrace, which enveloped Little Miaomiao, making her feel safe and sound. She recalled something that Zhou Yuan had expounded to her once. If she misidentified the wrong person as her mother, then the bad guys would take her away.

Little Miaomiao vehemently promised that she would never commit the same mistake again as she hugged her mother tightly.  

Even after they returned home, both mother and daughter were still mushy and were calling out for each other from time to time.

Additionally, Little Miaomiao kept throwing intermittent glances at Uncle Hua who was beside her. She wanted to address him as ‘dad’, but her embarrassment got the better of her.

During the night, after Aunt Hua tucked Little Miaomiao in bed, she sent a message to her mother, grandmother, and Teacher Li. She informed them with ecstatic joy that Little Miaomiao had addressed her as ‘mother’.

Uncle Hua sat on the bed and peered at her smiling face. He weakly asked, “Don’t you think that there’s something missing?”

Aunt Hua turned to him and blinked, “No.”

As he took the quilt, Uncle Hua replied, “Oh.”

“Alright, I know what you’re thinking about. You’re upset, because Little Miaomiao called me mom, but didn’t call you dad, right?” Aunt Hua said, as she hugged Uncle Hua, “We should not rush her. In her heart, she must’ve called you dad many times, but she didn’t have the courage to say it out loud.”

Aunt Hua grabbed the tablet and said, “My grandmother informed me just now that Little Miaomiao had already addressed me as mom when she conversed with her the other day.”

Uncle Hua could understand the glee that she felt and stroked her head. He felt happy for her. In comparison to his wife, he was often busy and didn’t spend as much time with Little Miaomiao.

The following day, Uncle Hua and Aunt Hua dropped Little Miaomiao off to school. Of course, there were many other parents who also dropped off their own children to school.

Little Miaomiao recalled something that Jingjing had done in the past. So, she imitated her. “Goodbye, mom.” Little Miaomiao said while waving her hand.

Then, she paused for a moment and shyly whispered, “Goodbye, dad…”

Carrying her little schoolbag, she proceeded to school.

This tender moment was brief and ephemeral, but it was enough to completely stun Uncle Hua. After his senses returned to him, he turned to Aunt Hua in disbelief, “Did she just call me dad?”

“Yes, Miaomiao’s dad.” Mother Hua replied with a mirthful smile.

Father Hua held Mother Hua’s hand and said, “Hello, Miaomiao’s mother.”

They strolled out of the school and grasped each other’s hands happily.

When Father Zhou arrived at school with Zhou Yuan, he noticed a joyful couple treading out. He deliberately teased Zhou Yuan who adorned a mask, “Classmate Zhou Yuan. Look, your parents-in-law.”

Zhou Yuan raised his head and saw Hua Miaomiao’s parents. Then, he looked at Dad Zhou in exasperation and said, “I’m only seven years old. Do you think this kind of joke suits my age range?”

“Dude, are you truly seven years old?” Father Zhou stretched out his hand and uttered, “Look around. The seven year olds in their own families hold their parents’ hands.”

Zhou Yuan looked at his hand and said, “I should go and greet my parents-in-law.”

Father Zhou picked him up in a hurry and told him, “Let’s head to class quickly, your class will begin in a bit.”

After all, he didn’t want others to throw weird glances at him.

Before his arrival, he gazed, from a distance, at a little girl in a pink coat who waited outside the classroom door. There was no need for him to get a detailed look, Zhou Yuan knew that she was Little Miaomiao.

Father Zhou also noticed her, “Is your little tablemate waiting for you?”

Little Miaomiao quickly glanced at them. When she saw Dad Zhou, she timidly scurried into the classroom. Zhou Yuan declared to him, “Alright, you can return now. I’ll tell my mother that you dropped me off at school.” 

Father Zhou: “…”

Was his son eager to send him off because he had frightened off that little girl? He wondered if he had been spending too much time with his son lately. Recently, he became quite attentive also.

As he watched his son walk into the classroom without glancing back, a sudden thought occured to Father Zhou.

Wait a minute. This is a kind of scenario where he has a wife. Then, he gradually forgets about his own parents. Shouldn’t this happen when he’s a teenager and not a kid?

When Zhou Yuan arrived in class, Little Miaomiao’s thoughts immediately focused on his missing tooth; therefore, she delineated everything to him with excitement, “Dad said that your tooth could grow back soon if you eat more food with more…”

She had no idea what calcium was, so she was afraid of forgetting it. Ever since her father uttered the word, she told herself repeatedly, “…with more calcium.”

That’s why she could properly inform Zhou Yuan.

Looking at her earnest expression, Zhou Yuan found her very adorable. Children often chatted about anything and everything, but they would quickly forget some small details, but Little Miaomiao was different. She would earnestly and wholeheartedly do everything.

Zhou Yuan admired her even more now. Hearing Little Miaomiao address Uncle Hua as dad, he figured out the reason why the couple was so elated when he saw them.

Zhou Yuan rubbed her head, “Alright, I’ll eat some food with more calcium. Fortunately, Little Miaomiao told me this, otherwise, I wouldn’t have known.”

In reality, he already checked online about it himself. 

When Little Miaomiao heard him, she felt as if she had carried out a great deed. A tempest of excitement and exhilaration surged in her heart, as she shyly held Zhou Yuan’s hand and returned to her seat.

Then, a sudden realization struck Zhou Yuan. He initiated contact with Little Miaomiao’s hand, and Little Miaomiao likewise did the same. He never rejected this.

He only discovered this predicament now.

His first thought was that he had to preempt his father from ever seeing this. Otherwise, he would tease him again. After all, adults were under a lot of stress, and in order to assuage their stress, sour moods, and ever-changing caprices, they went around causing all sorts of mischief.

Little Miaomiao completed her homework under the auspices of her Aunt. Then, her aunt signed it after its completion. But Zhou Yuan finished his homework at school everyday. Afterwards, he signed it by imitating his parents’ signatures.

Little Miaomiao didn’t disturb Zhou Yuan who busied himself with his homework. She stared at the list of little red flower stickers affixed next to the blackboard. Each student had a little red flower sticker pinned next to their name.

Her name only had two little red flower stickers pinned next to it. One for answering a question. The other for finishing her meal.

But she wasn’t the person with the fewest flowers. Zhou Yuan had no flowers pinned next to his name at all.

Little Miaomiao looked at the empty space adjoining his name and wondered how she could get a little red flower sticker for Zhou Yuan.