It was just a dream! I let out a long sigh of relief, changed my position, and prepared to continue my good sleep.
When I turned over, I realized something was wrong. The area under me was wet and sticky. I reached down and touched it! Oh my god, the sheets were completely damp!
Rouyuan wet the bed!
"Mom~~~~" I screamed, breaking the silence of dawn in H City.
"Yuanyuan, are you sure it was Rouyuanzi who wet the bed and not you?" Dad, with dark circles under his eyes, examined the scene of the crime.
"Dad, what nonsense are you talking about!" I exclaimed angrily. "How could it be me?!"
"But, is it possible for such a small baby to urinate so much in such a large puddle?"
"She definitely peed more than once that night!" Mom said, lifting the bed. "Look at these marks, it's obvious she peed again and again. Only Yuanyuan, who sleeps like a pig, would have noticed by now!"
"Dad, what did you feed Rouyuan before bed last night? Why is she peeing so much?"
"Huh? This..." Dad scratched his head and said, "I didn't eat much, just drank a big glass of watermelon juice!"
"Watermelon juice?!" I exclaimed angrily, pulling up my soaking wet pants. "Who gives a child this kind of diuretic stuff before bed?! Dad, are you trying to get me killed?"
******
On a sunny day, I decided to take Rouyuan to the zoo to see the hippos. I heard that a large hippo there had given birth to a pink, chubby baby hippo.
The early winter weather wasn't too cold yet. I dressed Rouyuan in a red Sailor Moon dress, with very warm cotton tights underneath, white leather boots, and a light beige trench coat. Wow! My Rouyuan is so pretty and cute! I hugged Rouyuan and kissed her passionately. Today, Auntie is going to take lots of beautiful pictures of you!
Because it wasn't a weekend, the zoo wasn't crowded. We could have a private area to enjoy both the lion and tiger enclosure and the monkey mountain. At first, Rouyuan was willing to walk by herself, but after we passed the monkey mountain and reached the hippopotamus enclosure, she insisted on being carried and refused to walk another step. Poor me, I had eaten a diet meal that morning, and I was hungry and my legs were weak; I had no strength to carry her. I pulled a bottle of "Shuangwaiwai" (a popular children's drink) from my bag and said to Rouyuan with a smile, "Baby, if you walk by yourself, Auntie will give you this, okay?"
"Okay!" Meatball's eyes lit up, and he answered decisively.
I breathed a sigh of relief and handed her the Shuangwaiwai (a popular Chinese drink). Rouyuan (the girl) gripped the bottle tightly with her chubby little hand, biting the straw and gulping it down. I took her other hand and we walked forward.
"Drink slowly!"
"Phew—" Rouyuan pulled the straw out of her mouth, let out a long breath, and then looked up at me with a smile, saying, "Auntie Pang, I'm done drinking!"
"What should we do with the bottle after we finish drinking it?" I asked her deliberately.
"So tender it's irresistible!" Rouyuan pouted her little mouth high.
"Yes, it should be thrown in the trash can!" Although her pronunciation was unclear, I still understood her. She's a good child who knows about environmental protection.
"Auntie! Hug me! Hug me!" Rouyuan hugged my leg and refused to move forward.
I'm speechless. "Baby, didn't we just agree to walk by ourselves?"
"Hug me!! Hug me~~" Meatball ignored my words and clung to my clothes, wanting a hug.
Tears~~ This untrustworthy and naughty child is just like her father!
You win! I picked her up helplessly.
When we left the zoo, I was completely at a loss for how to carry this little chubby girl. I tried everything: hugging, carrying, hunching over, lifting her up! I was exhausted and about to collapse, but she just wouldn't let go of me.
I had just reached the main road to hail a taxi home when the weather suddenly changed. A strong wind picked up, and a downpour was imminent. Damn it, how could the weather change so suddenly! It was sunny and clear this morning, but now it's as dark as night.
I took off my coat and wrapped Rouyuan'er up tightly from head to toe. Ignoring my own shivering cold, I desperately tried to flag down a taxi. Normally there were tons of taxis, but not a single one was to be seen! I was frantic. What would happen to Rouyuan'er if it started raining?!
"Su Yuanyuan! Is that Su Yuanyuan?" A friendly voice suddenly called out from behind.
I turned my head while holding Rouyuan in my arms, and a beautiful young woman carrying a black laptop bag stood in the strong wind and called to me.
"It really is Su Yuanyuan!" The young woman walked up to me, covering her curly hair that had been ruffled by the wind.
"Ah! Teacher Qu!" I then realized that the person in front of me was none other than my beloved teacher from junior high school, Teacher Qu Zhuguang! It was she who insisted on transferring me to Class A back then, fulfilling my wish.
"Yuanyuan! It's been years! You've grown so much!" Teacher Qu looked me up and down against the wind. Suddenly noticing the little dumpling in my arms, she asked in surprise, "This...this is your baby?"
"Oh, no, this is my sister's baby. I brought her out to play, but the weather changed and it's hard to get a taxi!"
"Yes! The weather changed so fast!" Seeing how disheveled I looked, Teacher Qu quickly looked around for a taxi. After searching for a while without finding one, she said, "Yuanyuan, it looks like it's about to rain. My house is nearby. Why don't you take the baby to my house to take shelter for a while?"
"Is...is this convenient?"
"What's inconvenient about it!"
"But..." I looked around, "There aren't any residential areas around here, that whole area over there is a military compound!"
Teacher Qu chuckled, pulled my arm, and said, "Come with me!"
****
It turns out that Teacher Qu's family lives in a military compound! And it's one of those detached, yellow villas!
“Teacher Qu…Teacher Qu! Your family members are cadres in the military region…” I stood in front of the small yellow building and looked up.
"Yes, my father is a retired soldier." Teacher Qu smiled slightly, glossing over the matter. "Come in quickly! I'll get the baby something warm to eat!"
"Zhu Guang is back! It's going to rain, I was worried you'd get wet!" A woman in her forties came out of the house. Her curved eyebrows and the corners of her mouth gave people a warm feeling, as if she were smiling, just by speaking.
"Sister-in-law! I have a guest today! This is my student, Su Yuanyuan!" Teacher Qu pulled me into the inner room.
"Ah, a guest! Please come in! Please come in!"
"Hello! Sorry for bothering you!" I said quickly, holding my baby.
"This is my sister-in-law, her surname is Lin," Teacher Qu introduced me.
Hello, Aunt Lin!
"Hello! Oh my! What an adorable little baby!" The woman's eyes lit up with surprise when she saw the meatball in my arms.
"Baby, call Grandma!" I teased the little dumpling as he greeted everyone.
"Grandma~~" Rouyuan wasn't shy at all, smiling as she let the woman hold her. (Note that the baby pronounces "nai nai" in the first tone when talking about grandma).
Settling down on the sofa, sipping hot, fragrant tea, Teacher Qu and I chatted about our junior high school days. Teacher Qu's sister-in-law, Aunt Lin, seemed to adore the baby; she soaked cookies in milk and fed them to her, constantly trying to get her to talk. Just as we were peacefully sitting in the room, drinking tea and chatting, a flash of light appeared outside the window, followed by a rumble of thunder, and then a torrential downpour.
That was close! I almost got soaked to the bone with my baby. If the baby had gotten sick from the rain, my brother-in-law would have killed me when he got back!
When Aunt Lin refilled my tea, I thanked her repeatedly. She smiled and said, "Don't mention it!" Suddenly, she stared at my face blankly, as if she had discovered a new continent, and said, "Oh my! It really looks like me!"
"Wh...what do you mean, it really looks like that?" I asked with a smile, somewhat puzzled.
"Ah! Even the dimples are in the same place!"
"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?" Teacher Qu asked, puzzled.
"Zhu Guang! Look at her... what's her name again?"
"Su Yuanyuan".
"Oh, look at that round face, doesn't it look a lot like the little girl in the photo?"
Which little girl?
"This is it! This one!!" Aunt Lin ran to the photo wall at the back of the living room, pointed to one of the many photos, and said, "I think the little girl in the photo will definitely look like Yuanyuan when she grows up!"
Teacher Qu and I exchanged a glance, then stood up together and went to look at the photos.
"Wow! Yuanyuan, the girl in this photo looks just like you when you were in junior high! They're practically identical! I've never noticed before!" Teacher Qu exclaimed, looking at the photo in amazement.
I looked at the photo of that little girl in the transparent light blue raincoat, smiling brightly in the sunshine, and I had a spasm.
That's me! It's really me!
But why is my photo here?
Just as I was opening my mouth, not knowing what to say, I heard a noise from the entrance hall, and a gust of cold wind, carrying a wisp of rain, sneaked in through the crack in the door.
"Mom, I'm home." A gentle, calm male voice rang out in the living room.
"Lingling's back! Did you get caught in the rain?"
"It's alright, just a little wet. Auntie's back too... And who's this?"
I turned around stiffly, staring at the person whose hair was still dripping with water, and said with a twitching mouth, "Dean Qu... Dean Qu?!"
"Su Yuanyuan?!" Qu Ling's expression of surprise was no less than mine.
I can't remember when Su Zhenzhen once said with great emotion that the world is very small, and you will always meet unexpected people in unexpected places.
At that moment, Su Chenchen and I each rolled our eyes at her.
I want to apologize to Comrade Su Zhenzhen for that irresponsible glare. I was young then and hadn't seen enough of the world's hardships.
Water droplets were still dripping from Qu Ling's hair, and a smile had already curved at the corners of her eyes.
"Su Yuanyuan, why are you here?"
"I...I..." I pointed to my nose, unable to answer.
"Stop!! Stop!!!" Teacher Zhu Guang's eyes widened. "Qu Ling, do you know Yuan Yuan?"
"Yes!! How did you two meet?" Aunt Lin asked expectantly, but I didn't know what she was expecting.
"He...he's my boss!" I pointed at Qu Ling and lowered my head in embarrassment.
"Leader? So, Yuanyuan, you're working at C Academy now?" Qu Zhuguang asked in surprise.
"kindness."
"Oh my god!! What a coincidence!" Aunt Lin's face lit up with a smile. "Yuanyuan was a student at Zhuguang, and now she's working with Lingling. What a coincidence!"
Upon hearing this, Qu Ling's smile deepened. "I never expected you to be my aunt's student. How interesting!"
"This world is so small!" Qu Zhuguang said, covering his mouth with a laugh.
"Auntie Fatty! Hug me!" Meatball ran up to me without me noticing and hugged my leg to protest that I was ignoring her.
"Shh~~ Baby, call me Auntie! I'm Auntie!" She actually exposed my shortcomings in front of outsiders, making me lose face!
"Auntie Fatty, hug me~~" Meatball was completely oblivious to social cues and just kept climbing all over me. I looked up and saw that the three of them were trying hard to suppress their laughter, and my face flushed red.
Like all fat people, I hate it when strangers tell me I'm fat.
"Yuanyuan, don't stand there, come and sit down!" Aunt Lin noticed my awkwardness and quickly changed the subject. "Lingling, don't just stand there at the door either, go change your clothes and come down for some hot tea!"
"Then I'll go upstairs for a bit!" Qu Ling nodded to me, then turned and went upstairs.
“Let’s get back to the photo,” Aunt Lin said, taking the photo down from the wall and examining it closely. “Zhu Guang, do you remember where this photo came from? Did you bring it back?”
"No, how could I have photos of Yuanyuan when she was little?" Qu Zhuguang shook his head.
"But it really looks so much like it~~" Aunt Lin reached out and touched my face, exclaiming.
"That...it's actually me..." I said softly, sitting to the side with Rouyuanzi in my arms.