Chapter 174: Cool Guy Nan Yi
Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Cool Guy Nan Yi
After their brief meeting, the two cars were about to get back on the road.
But Qing Xi started clamoring,
"Wait! I want to ride with Yiyi!"
Fu Chao tried to reason with him.
"We’ll be at the kindergarten in a few minutes."
But Qing Xi just shook his head, insisting.
Fu Chao was getting a headache.
"But it’s not convenient for your little uncle to go over there..."
"Then my little uncle can stay here, and I’ll just go over!"
Qing Xi said, full of confidence.
The sideways glance he shot Fu Chao seemed to write the three words, "You’re so dumb."
That stung. Fu Chao waved for the driver to unlock the doors, then helped Qing Xi open his.
"Be care—"
Before he could finish, Qing Xi nimbly hopped out of the car and, like a shot, slipped through the door Nan Zhi had just opened.
Qing Xi’s cheerful, high-pitched voice soon filled the other car with boisterous energy.
It was interspersed with Nan Yi’s calm replies.
And Nan Zhi’s smiling voice.
Fu Chao tried to make his presence known.
"Xiao Xi, don’t you bother your Auntie Zhizhi and Yiyi!"
No one paid him any mind.
A feeling of being abandoned welled up inside him.
Fu Chao pouted and urged the driver to go, planning to shove that little rascal Qing Xi into the kindergarten as fast as possible. ’We’ll see if he’s still smiling then!’
「Ten minutes later.」
The car arrived near the kindergarten.
It was the peak time for dropping kids off at school, and as far as the eye could see, the area was packed with parents’ cars.
Nan Zhi and Fu Chao’s cars finally managed to find a more remote spot.
Qing Xi hopped cheerfully out of Nan Zhi’s car and took his little backpack from Fu Chao.
He turned and waved.
"Okay, it’s a deal! I’ll see you in the kindergarten later!"
Fu Chao, who had been bracing himself to console a sobbing little rascal: ???
He was truly baffled.
Qing Xi was a smart and sensible child, adored by everyone in the family.
The only long-standing problem was school.
Fu Chao could never understand why school was like some kind of monster to children!
The moment they walked through the gates, it was like a crying switch was flipped, which was absolute torture for the parents!
’Back when I was in kindergarten...’
’Okay, I didn’t want to go either.’
That just made Fu Chao even more confused now. He was genuinely curious.
"Xiao Xi, you’re just going in like that?"
"Yup."
Qing Xi, completely oblivious to his little uncle’s confusion, grinned and waved to everyone, then skipped off toward the kindergarten with his little backpack bouncing on his back.
He even looked like he was in a great mood!
Fu Chao slowly turned his gaze, which finally landed on Nan Yi.
"Yiyi, you absolutely have to go to this kindergarten! Uncle Fu Chao’s entire family will be grateful to you!"
Fu Chao knew the final decision lay with Nan Yi, so he spoke with utmost sincerity.
Nan Yi huffed and shrank behind Nan Zhi, not wanting to make eye contact with Fu Chao.
Nan Zhi couldn’t stop laughing.
Not forgetting their purpose, she asked Fu Chao,
"Are we also going into the kindergarten from here?"
Fu Chao shook his head.
"We’re going through the small gate in the back. I’ve already contacted a teacher."
With that, he directed the cars around to the kindergarten’s back entrance.
This entrance was normally only for teachers. At this time of day, most of them were at the main gate waiting to greet students, so the back was exceptionally quiet, with almost no one in sight.
The only person there was Teacher Chen, who was there to receive them.
Nan Zhi only found out later that this Teacher Chen was also the kindergarten’s assistant director.
After a brief greeting, Teacher Chen’s gaze fell on Nan Yi.
"You must be little Nan Yi, right? Hello there."
Teacher Chen crouched down to be at eye level with Nan Yi, adopting a posture of equal communication.
Nan Yi pressed his lips together, reluctant to speak.
Only after Nan Zhi gently patted his shoulder did he reluctantly nod.
"Hello."
Teacher Chen smiled.
"Shall we go inside then?"
Afterward, the group went to the office.
Teacher Chen personally took out some materials and meticulously explained the kindergarten’s various strengths, her words tinged with a faint sense of pride.
Of course, they had the capital to be proud.
Nan Zhi had only heard a few sentences before she was tempted. She kept glancing at Nan Yi’s expression.
Good. Just as she expected, Nan Yi’s little face showed nothing but boredom.
Teacher Chen probably noticed as well.
She simply put away the materials and suggested letting Nan Yi experience a class for himself.
Hearing this, Nan Yi’s expression suddenly grew tense, and he immediately grabbed his mother’s hand.
Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought someone was trying to forcibly separate mother and son!
Teacher Chen quickly explained,
"Don’t worry, the parent can stay and watch from outside the classroom the whole time!"
Nan Zhi breathed a sigh of relief along with her.
She finally managed to coax Nan Yi into the classroom. She, Fu Chao, and Xu Li stood in the hallway, watching Nan Yi’s situation through the window.
Away from his mother’s side, Nan Yi clearly put up a cold, hard shell.
He was like a lone wolf cub trekking through a snowy plain, exuding an air that kept everyone at a distance.
The teacher who brought him in asked him to introduce himself. With one hand in his pocket, he nodded.
"I’m Nan Yi."
And that was it. Not another word.
The teacher and the parents watching all felt the awkwardness.
But the children in the classroom:
"Whoa, so cool!"
"You’re so handsome! Are you a doll?"
"Can we play together?"
"..."
Nan Yi seemed completely unfazed by this—
"No."
"I’m not."
"We can’t."
"..."
His replies were incredibly crisp and to the point.
Unexpectedly, this cool-guy version of Nan Yi became explosively popular among the other children!
If the teacher hadn’t been trying her best to maintain order, the kids probably would have excitedly rushed over to surround him!
Seeing this, Nan Zhi felt considerably relieved.
Before they came, she had been even more nervous than Nan Yi.
Nan Yi didn’t want to go to kindergarten.
She, on the other hand, was worried that Nan Yi would be bullied or ostracized.
Just like before.
But the current situation was clearly far, far better than she had imagined.
Nan Zhi turned with a smile, about to say a few words to Teacher Chen.
But she saw the other woman had a strange expression on her face.
Nan Zhi raised a hand and rubbed her nose.
She gave a light cough and explained,
"He hasn’t had much contact with other children before, and he’s been bullied by other kids, so..."
"What? Bullied? Which family’s little brat was it?!"
Fu Chao was the first to explode with anger.
Judging by the way he was rolling up his sleeves, it looked like he was about to hunt the culprit down and give them a thorough beating!
Nan Zhi: ...
She quickly shot Fu Chao a look, telling him to calm down.
Only then did she apologize to Teacher Chen.
Teacher Chen: "It’s—it’s fine."
After recovering from her shock, Teacher Chen began to comfort Nan Zhi instead, and from a professional standpoint, she endorsed Nan Zhi’s decision to send Nan Yi to kindergarten.
It dawned on Fu Chao.
"No wonder Yiyi has never been to kindergarten before. Ah, the poor little guy..."
The look he gave Nan Yi in the classroom was instantly filled with pity and affection.
Nan Zhi knew they had misunderstood.
But she couldn’t find a good way to explain, so she just let it go.