Keeping her promise, Xu's mother took Xu Chacha to a dessert shop on the way back and let her pick out a few cakes.
The test results were sent to the parents' phones three days later.
When Xu's mother received it, the family was having dinner. Xu Chacha, wearing small gloves, was engrossed in gnawing on a chicken leg that was bigger than her face, while Xu Yanshu was wiping her mouth.
"Slow down, don't choke."
"Okay, then Cha Cha will eat a little bit."
"Honey! You passed the exam!" Xu's mother exclaimed in surprise. She hadn't expected that Xu Chacha would actually pass the exam and even be assigned to the top class!
"Really! Then I can go to school with my sister from now on, right?" Xu Chacha smiled, appearing quite calm.
“The junior high school and the elementary school are not far apart. If you need anything, just come to me,” Xu Yanshu told her.
"Then I will definitely go to play with my sister often."
In early September, the two sisters started school on time, and both their parents took leave to send their daughters to school.
Xu Yanshu was admitted to junior high school relatively quickly. After her mother dropped her off, Xu Chacha was still queuing to get her school uniform.
The girls' school uniforms at Elementary School A come in two types: pants and skirts. There are different versions for each of the four seasons, and they have to collect all of them at once.
"Dad, the sun is so strong!" Xu Chacha leaned on her father's shoulder, looking rather effeminate. "Why haven't we had our turn yet?"
Mr. Xu turned up the fan and aimed it at her flushed face. "Then Dad will put you down and you can go to the classroom to enjoy the air conditioning for a while."
Actually, he was also extremely hot. Originally, he could have asked his assistant or housekeeper to handle this, but he was worried about Xu Chacha and thought he had to come in person so that he could make a good impression on her homeroom teacher and get her to take better care of her.
"No, Chacha wants to stay with Daddy." Xu Chacha shook her head, raising her two little hands to create a shade on her father's head. "Is Daddy also in the sun? Chacha will shade Daddy from the sun."
"Everyone says you don't know how to take care of children." Xu's mother walked over with an umbrella, shoved it into Xu's father's hands, and picked up Xu Chacha. "It's fine if you're too lazy to bring a parasol, but don't let my baby get sunburned."
"Mom," Xu Chacha smiled at her mother with her rosy cheeks, "Mom smells nice."
Mr. Xu's lips drooped, and he raised his hand to smell himself. "Dad doesn't smell bad either."
Xu Chacha pinched her nose, "Daddy sweats, Daddy smells."
Whether it was because Xu's mother had some kind of special buff or something else, the queue started moving forward rapidly as soon as she arrived, and it was Xu Chacha's turn in no time.
Xu Chacha is short, so the school had to use their best XS size to fit her. After trying on the size, Xu's mother put the school uniform in Xu's father's arms and took Xu Chacha's hand to the classroom to register.
Class 1 is located on the fifth floor, at the very back. As soon as you turn the corner at the top of the stairs, you can hear the cries of children coming and going, spreading out in waves, especially from Class 1.
Xu Chacha picked at her ears, wondering if she should also make an example and cry a couple of times to fit in with the group.
"Waaaaah, Sisi doesn't want Mommy to leave!"
Xu Chacha poked her head in and saw the familiar chubby girl. Good heavens, it's you crybaby Qianqian again.
"Mom will pick you up this afternoon, don't cry, don't cry." Chen's mother rubbed her chubby face, "Go and say hello to Teacher Wang."
Chen Qianqian wiped away some of her tears, glanced at Wang Fang standing on the podium with a serious face, and immediately pouted and cried even louder, "Waaaaah! Teacher Wang is so fierce, Qianqian is scared!"
At this moment, Xu's mother had already led Xu Chacha to Wang Fang to sign the report. She stood on tiptoe on the podium, her eyes darting around, observing Wang Fang's expression.
She guessed that he was the stricter type of teacher, unlike many young teachers who like to get along with the children right away, but end up not being able to control them at all.
However, Wang Fang is indeed a bit too cold. First-grade students are young, so it's normal that they can't get close to her.
After Chen Qianqian uttered those words, Chen's mother was so frightened that she immediately covered her mouth and gave Wang Fang an apologetic look, "Qianqian, don't be rude! Go apologize to the teacher."
"Waaah..." Chen Qianqian sniffled, her nose red from crying, snot hanging from her mouth, looking pitiful.
She wiped her eyes with her hands, took small steps to the podium, and looked frustrated, wanting to speak but not daring to. Finally, her eyes filled with tears, looking like they were about to fall and turn into golden tears at any moment.
"Don't cry, Qianqian." Xu Chacha tiptoed and patted her head with her little hand. "I'll tell you a secret. Pretty girls are all very gentle. Teacher Fangfang is so pretty, she definitely won't be mean to you! Don't be afraid."
"Huh?" Chen Qianqian rubbed her eyes and recognized Xu Chacha. "You're Chacha!"
Xu Chacha nodded, "We were in the same class when we took the exam, and we're in the same class now. What a coincidence."
"Wow! Mom! I'm grouped with Chacha! She's the little girl who complimented me on my looks last time!"
Chen's mother came over and nodded to Xu's mother in greeting, then looked down at Chen Qianqian and said, "So, with Chacha keeping you company, are you scared?"
"Mmm! I want to play with Chacha."
"That's good." Chen's mother reminded her, pointing in Wang Fang's direction, "Has Qianqian forgotten something?"
“Oh right.” Chen Qianqian pouted and walked to Wang Fang’s side. “I’m sorry, teacher. I didn’t mean to say anything bad about you. Please don’t be angry.”
Wang Fang handed her a tissue and said casually, "It's okay, go say goodbye to your mother."
"Okay, I understand." Chen Qianqian reluctantly ran back to her mother's side, holding back her tears as she said goodbye.
"Don't cry, don't cry." Xu Chacha took out the only three fruit candies she had from her pocket. "Here's some candy for you. Eating candy will make you feel better, and then you won't be sad anymore."
"Candy." Chen Qianqian's attention was immediately drawn, and she grabbed the three candies from Xu Chacha's hand, tore off a piece, and popped it into her mouth. "Mmm... delicious! Thank you so much..."
The way she was easily coaxed by a few candies despite her snotty nose and tearful face made Xu Chacha want to laugh.
Compared to a bunch of little crybabies, Xu's mother realized how rare Xu Chacha's well-behaved nature was, and when it came time to leave, it was actually her reluctance to part with her that was greater than Xu Chacha's.
"Mommy's going now. Be good to your teachers at school. If you feel wronged, remember to tell Mommy. If you don't like the food, Mommy will bring you lunch next time..."
"Okay, Mom." Xu Chacha was afraid that if she didn't interrupt her, she would keep talking until school was over. "You should go to work with Dad to earn money. Chacha can manage on her own."
Xu Chacha nudged her father, thinking: Quickly coax your wife away!
Mr. Xu was in no better condition than Mrs. Xu, but he remembered his manhood and refused to shed tears easily, so he stubbornly kept a straight face and held back.
"Can parents stay and listen to the lecture?" Mr. Xu asked Wang Fang.
Wang Fang has worked at A Primary School for over twenty years and has seen many powerful and influential people. She did not speak humbly because of Xu's father's status.
"Not now, we will notify you when we hold the open class for parents."
Father Xu: "..."
"Mom and Dad, you should go now." Xu Chacha started pushing them, "Go quickly, go quickly."
"Then give Mommy another kiss."
Who exactly is the parent?
Xu Chacha sighed inwardly, but still leaned in and gave her mother a "mua" on the cheek.
The two finally left reluctantly, turning back every few steps as they reached the stairs.
"Ten minutes of free time." After everyone had finished reporting in, Wang Fang picked up her materials and then waved to Xu Chacha, who was sitting in the front row, "Xu Chacha, come with me for a moment."
Xu Chacha followed, confused. If it were any other teacher, she might have wondered if her father had instructed her to take extra care of her. But Wang Fang was definitely not going to do that. Given her personality, she might have just retorted, "It is my responsibility as a teacher to treat every child equally."
"What's wrong, Teacher Fangfang?" Xu Chacha stood in front of her desk, looking bewildered, her fingers twirling the hem of her clothes.
"Your written test score was pretty good," Wang Fang said in a very serious tone.
"Oh, okay." Xu Chacha nodded.
She felt that Wang Fang had a kind of magic, that is, even when she was praising someone, she would make her feel like she was being lectured.
"You answered the interview questions very well."
"Thanks."
"But don't be too proud. Learning is something that requires long-term persistence."
"I'll do whatever Teacher Fangfang says."
Xu Chacha answered fluently, but her heart was filled with doubt. If it was just about these things, there was no need to call her to the office alone.
"If you have any questions, you can come to me. I'm usually in the office during my break time."
"Thank you, Teacher Fangfang."
"Okay, then that's settled."
"Then I'll go out...?" Xu Chacha pointed to the door.
"Wait a minute." Wang Fang suddenly took out three chocolates from the drawer. "Take these."
Xu Chacha kept her hands behind her back, not daring to make any rash moves: Teacher Fangfang, something's wrong with you.
Chapter 22
"Here's three for you," Wang Fang said, counting them on her fingers in front of Xu Chacha before putting them in her pocket. "We don't have any fruit candies, just these."
Xu Chacha's pocket was small, but it was bulging with just three chocolates.
She stared at Wang Fang with wide eyes, "Teacher Fangfang, do you have a lot of chocolate?"
Wang Fang thought she wanted more, so she took the whole box out of the drawer.
These were all mailed to her by her daughter who was studying abroad. She would often send several boxes at a time, which she would keep in her drawer and eat occasionally when she had low blood sugar.
Xu Chacha put the three coins from her pocket into the box, lowered her head, and carefully counted them on her fingers.
“2…4…6…30, 31.” She took out one and handed it to Wang Fang, “This is for Teacher Fangfang.”
"What about the rest?" Wang Fang asked.
"The rest are for the students. There are exactly thirty children in our class," Xu Chacha said with a grin, holding the box. "I'll go tell everyone that Teacher Fangfang is giving out candy. Everyone will be so happy!"
"You..." Wang Fang hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.
Of course, she wasn't reluctant to part with the candy; she just hadn't expected Xu Chacha to learn to share and consider others at such a young age. She had initially thought that Xu Chacha would be a sensitive and insecure child after returning from the countryside, but now she seemed more mature and sensible than many adults.
"What's wrong?"
"It's okay, take it and share it." Wang Fang was afraid of being slapped.
Xu Chacha walked into the classroom with a large box of chocolates, quickly attracting everyone's attention. However, they all remembered Wang Fang's words, telling them to sit quietly and not move around.
Xu Chacha struggled to carry the box to the podium, but because she was too short, she didn't see something blocking her way and accidentally dropped one of the boxes.
"Ah!" She quickly squatted down to take it.
The chocolate rolling on the ground was intercepted halfway, and a wheat-colored hand grabbed it and handed it to Xu Chacha.
“You…your chocolate.” The boy pursed his lips and said, “My name is Feng Zhuang, you can call me by my nickname Zhuangzhuang.”
"Zhuangzhuang, right?" Xu Chacha asked sweetly, her beautiful eyes crinkling as she smiled at him. "Thank you, Zhuangzhuang."