Her parents gave her the confidence to say those words; they truly respected her.
"I will miss my classmates and Teacher Fangfang."
The child's innocent words unexpectedly pierced through Wang Fang's inner barrier. She was stunned for a moment, "Me?"
“Yes.” Xu Chacha nodded seriously. “After skipping a grade, what I learn may be more difficult than it is now, but I may not be able to meet a homeroom teacher as responsible as Teacher Fangfang. Mom said that we need to learn not only knowledge, but also many other things.”
Okay, putting aside all those high-sounding reasons, Xu Chacha has other reasons for not wanting to skip grades.
Her childhood in her previous life wasn't complete, so now she just wants to do what she should do at this age, to try to be innocent and simple, which can make up for some of her regrets, and so far she is very satisfied.
Wang Fang lowered her eyes, avoiding Xu Chacha's direct gaze, "If you've really thought it all through, then let's leave it at that."
"Then Teacher Fangfang won't kick me out, will she?" Xu Chacha leaned closer to her and asked.
"I don't want to get rid of you, I'm just asking for your opinion."
Xu Chacha is right. She had actually called her parents before today to ask for their opinions, and they said they needed to confirm Xu Chacha's own wishes first, which is why this happened today.
"Great! Then I'll be your class monitor and your good helper!" Xu Chacha stretched out her arms and hugged her gently before letting go. "Then I'm leaving. Have a good rest at noon, Teacher Fangfang, don't bother grading homework."
Only after the cheerful footsteps faded away did Wang Fang slowly raise her head, look at the skipping grade application form in her hand, and silently fold it up and put it back in the cabinet.
If you don't want to jump, then don't jump.
That's fine too.
...
Wen Mubai attached great importance to Lang Shu's exhibition, firstly because it was the first time she had presented her work to the public for evaluation, and secondly because she did not want to disappoint Lang Shu, who trusted her.
She reads a lot of reference books, but when she actually uses them, she still feels that it's far from enough.
Making a garment is vastly different from simply drawing it on paper. From the choice of fabric to the pattern and cut, each aspect alone would keep her busy for a long time.
However, she did not forget her promise to Xu Chacha. She would make time to see her every two weeks on a weekend. Sometimes it might just be having afternoon tea or going shopping with the little one, but as soon as she met her and heard that energetic "Auntie," she seemed to be recharged immediately and could keep going for a while longer.
As time went on, with the Lunar New Year approaching, Lang Shu's exhibition was scheduled for mid-January. He invited many Chinese and foreign media outlets and even contacted online platforms for live video streaming, making quite a big splash.
Although the clothes had already been shown to Lang Shu, Wen Mubai still felt a tightness in his chest.
She desperately wanted to do something to show her father that she had made the right choice.
...
Xu Chacha was dragged to practice catwalk by Lang Shu as soon as winter vacation started. As a result, she ended up becoming a volunteer teacher. The teacher would pick her out to demonstrate whenever he had a chance, and after class, her classmates would stick to her and ask her to teach them again.
Goodness, she made more than twice as many trips as other people in a single day.
"Chacha, Chacha, can you demonstrate it for me again? The teacher always scolds me, and I don't understand." The little bean bun named Tang Doudou tugged at her clothes.
Before Xu Chacha had even taken a sip of her health tea, she stubbornly tilted her head back and gulped it down, then turned the thermos back on before standing up.
"When you walk, don't relax your stomach, keep your body straight, and just let your hands hang down naturally." She said while demonstrating.
"Oh, oh, oh." Tang Doudou nodded, but when she started to move, her eyes knew what she meant but her body didn't.
Xu Chacha sighed and went over to support her protruding belly, saying, "Bottom up, belly."
"Sigh—" Tang Doudou even dubbed the sound herself.
"Inhale, but don't shrug your shoulders," Xu Chacha patted her shoulder again.
"Oh, oh, oh, slump your shoulders."
"Lower your shoulders, but don't stick your butt out!"
"I just couldn't control myself," Tang Doudou said, her eyes watery, looking innocent and pitiful.
Xu Chacha: "..."
What goes around comes around. She used to play the victim to gain sympathy from others, but now it's her turn to be soft-hearted towards others.
The cuteness of human babies is truly beyond words.
...
Wen Mubai created a series inspired by the painting he did at the hospital that day. The dress he gave to Xu Chacha was the green gardenia dress from the painting she gave him that day.
Before the exhibition, Xu Chacha tried on the clothes once, and the size was just right, saving her the trouble of altering them.
On the day of the exhibition, Wen Mubai arrived at the venue early to help Lang Shu with the preparations.
Xu Chacha was dropped off by her parents at 4 p.m. for the rehearsal.
This wasn't their first time at a fashion show, but it was their first time attending as family members.
Xu Chacha was assigned to a makeup artist, along with five other young models in the same series, and their makeup was all similar.
The eye makeup is peach-pink with a lot of glitter, the eyebrows are drawn into small red dots with a red eyebrow pencil, the lips are light and moist, and the several delicately crafted little buns are neatly arranged.
The headdresses of the six people varied according to their clothing. Xu Chacha wore a pair of blue kingfisher wing hairpins, while the others wore headdresses with designs such as butterflies, geese, and red-crowned cranes.
Since the dress Xu Chacha is wearing is the main piece of the collection, she was naturally the first to appear.
Six little ones lined up backstage. They looked young, but they were all quite experienced little models. Despite the people around them urging them on, they weren't in a hurry and waited quietly for the director to call their names.
"Okay, let's test the music for the three groups. Chacha and the others can come in with their cards."
Xu Chacha nodded, waiting for the beat of the intro to start immediately.
Once she got into work mode, she seemed more reliable than ever. Even Lang Shu, who had initially worried that she wouldn't be able to handle things well due to her lack of experience, felt extremely reassured about Xu Chacha after hearing the feedback from the training instructor.
"The young lady is quite promising. Why don't you consider making a living in this industry?" Lang Shu turned his head and spoke to Xu's father.
On the surface, Mr. Xu appeared calm, but in reality, he was struggling to suppress the urge to cheer, "My daughter is so cute!" His expression almost became distorted.
"Yes, it looks good." He finally managed to maintain his long-worthless facade of respectability and answered calmly.
Lang Shu asked in confusion, "I'm asking if you'd consider letting your daughter enter the industry. I think she's a good prospect."
"Let's see what the child thinks; we'll follow her lead." Xu's mother smiled with satisfaction as she looked at the confident Xu Chacha on the stage.
She only hoped that Xu Chacha would have a good enough life in her later years, so good that she would never remember those four years. It wasn't out of guilt, but just a mother's most sincere wish.
After about three or four rehearsals, Xu Chacha's group was finally put on hold, and Tang Doudou, with a butterfly hairpin in her hair, came running over excitedly with water in her hand.
"Cha Cha, you're so cool! You've never missed a single one."
"Thank you." Xu Chacha took the water she was given, opened it and took a sip. "You're feeling much better too. If you can keep this up when you go on stage later, it will be perfect."
"Really?" For some reason, Tang Doudou felt happier being praised by Xu Chacha than by her teacher. She shook Xu Chacha's arm. "It's all because you taught me so well."
Seeing that they had started chatting, the other girls soon joined in. Xu Chacha could chime in on each of them, and before long, the six of them were chattering away like dozens of people.
Fortunately, the background was already noisy, so no one paid attention to the little ones' conversation.
"Is Xu Chacha here?" A voice came from somewhere. Xu Chacha twisted her neck and looked around. Finally, she stood on tiptoe and spotted the petite Lang Yueyue in the crowd.
The person who called out to her was a staff member who was holding Lang Yueyue's hand.
After half a year of recuperation, Lang Yueyue's physical and mental condition has improved a lot. She has gained weight and smiles more often. Before, she would hide away in fear when she saw strangers, but now she can at least look people in the eye.
"Yueyue!" Xu Chacha raised her hand and waved to her, "Long time no see."
With a smile on her face, Lang Yueyue let go of the staff member's hand and ran towards her.
Xu Chacha remembered that she couldn't do strenuous exercise, so she quickly went up to stop her, "Don't run, I'm right here."
"Ah...ah!" Lang Yueyue excitedly used sign language to communicate with her.
The staff member who followed helped translate, "Yueyue said she missed you so much and was so happy to see you."
Xu Chacha opened her arms and gave Lang Yueyue a big hug, saying, "I missed you too."
Lang Yueyue is wearing the Lang Shu series, and the outfit she's wearing is the one that was originally intended to be lent to EV for a cover shoot, but the shoot didn't actually happen.
"It's so beautiful."
The dress was originally designed by Lang Shu based on her, and Lang Yueyue looked great in it, perfectly fitting the look. The little white dress was ethereal and elegant.
Lang Yueyue lowered her head, smiled shyly, and then kissed Xu Chacha on the cheek when she wasn't looking.
Xu Chacha covered her face, not expecting her to suddenly kiss her.
The staff translated Lang Yueyue's sign language, saying, "You are also very beautiful."
"Thanks, hahaha."
...
The live stream started promptly at 8 o'clock. Lang Shu's exhibition brought together more than a dozen of his clothing series over the years, plus Wen Mubai's. It was conservatively estimated that a show would last at least an hour.
The series is ordered according to the time sequence of spring, summer, autumn and winter. Wen Mubai's "The Revival of All Things" is arranged as the last group in the spring series. Xu Chacha is the opening of this series, which can be considered a small opening.
She's walked in quite a few shows, but this time she didn't know why she was more nervous than ever before.
Xu Chacha wasn't walking this show for herself, but for Wen Mubai. She hoped even more than Wen Mubai himself that after tonight, she would no longer be a nobody in the industry.
Lang Yueyue walked the first step. On stage, she was completely different from her timid appearance off stage. She was confident and dazzling, and every step she took was firm. The silver thread that Lang Shu had sewn stitch by stitch on the skirt was mixed into the soft skirt, and under the lights, it was like the surface of a shimmering lake.
Like the first ray of sunlight breaking through the ice in early spring.
That was his hope for Lang Yueyue, that she could break free from the shadows as soon as possible and be as lively and happy as an ordinary child.
"Chacha, I'm scared." This is Tang Doudou's first time on such a big show. She has only been accompanied by her mother to shoot children's clothing for Taobao a few times before. "What if I make a mistake later?"
"If you made a mistake, you made a mistake. Just get up quickly." Xu Chacha put her arm around her shoulder. "Didn't the teacher say that before leaving, you shouldn't keep thinking about what will happen if you make a mistake, but rather..."
"I know," Tang Doudou began to recite, shaking her head. "I'm the queen, my confidence shines!"
"Hahaha, yes." Kids are so easy to coax.
Two consecutive musical pieces led to the final performance of the Spring series.
Xu Chacha raised her hands and opened her shoulders, putting away her cheerful and laughing demeanor.
Meanwhile, in the live stream, hundreds of thousands of online viewers were watching the show. Although the number of viewers wasn't large, the chat was flooded with comments.
Welcome to the "Fake Baby Series: The Beautiful Baby You Can't Give Birth To"!
[Haha, just now a little kid fell down on his way back, stood there crying, and then a hand reached out from below and pulled him down.]
[You devil, you're looking so closely! Don't people have any pride?]
The background music, which evokes the revival of all things, is the most lively and lighthearted of all the spring-themed tracks. Accompanied by a few crisp bird calls, Xu Chacha, dressed in a green dress, walks in from behind the scenes.
Although she was petite, she had a good figure. Her slender, white legs moved naturally to the rhythm of the music, each step perfectly timed with the light drumbeats. When she reached a certain point, she would touch her chin with her shoulder, smile, turn around, let her flowing skirt sway, and then turn back for a final glance. The beaded hairpin on her head swayed, adding to her lively charm.