To this, Tong Yuexin didn’t refuse. Instead, she nodded obediently and agreed with a smile, “Alright, I will. Don’t worry, Mom.”
Once she walked out of the room, Tong Yuexin’s smile slowly faded, and she let out a quiet sigh.
Deep down, she understood everything. She knew the immense psychological pressure her parents were under. They just didn’t want to burden her with it.
She was living a second life now, meaning she could afford to ignore what others thought and cared little for how people judged her. But as Zhou Qianshan had pointed out, Kaikai couldn’t, and neither could her parents. Kaikai was still too young to fully grasp these things, but as for her parents…
Tong Yuexin let out a long sigh at the thought. Clutching her pillow as she lay down in bed, she felt a profound wave of exhaustion settle deep in her chest.
Lying flat on her back and staring up at the ceiling, she muttered to herself, “If I really have to find someone, I wish I could find Kaikai’s biological father. At least a real father wouldn’t mistreat his own flesh and blood…”
Yet she could only voice such thoughts to herself. After all, even she had no idea who the child’s biological father actually was. In her previous life, she hadn’t stopped short of searching for him, but it had yielded nothing.
As drowsiness gradually crept up on her, Tong Yuexin decided to push the thought aside and closed her eyes to sleep. She wasn’t going to magically know who the father was by tomorrow anyway; for now, handling the present day was what mattered most.
A few days later, during breakfast, Tong Yuexin brought up a new topic with Zhou Qianshan. “Mom, I want to start helping out at your restaurant soon.”
After practicing over the past few days, Tong Yuexin’s culinary skills had improved drastically. While she wasn’t quite as seasoned as Zhou Qianshan yet, she was more than capable of handling a chef’s duties.
Zhou Qianshan nodded. “That’s wonderful! When do you want to start?”
“Before I head over to the restaurant, I want to get Kaikai enrolled in kindergarten,” Tong Yuexin said, gently patting Kaikai’s little head with a helpless look. “I can’t bring him to the restaurant while I’m busy working, and leaving him home alone isn’t safe either. Putting him in kindergarten is definitely the best option.”
“But Kaikai isn’t old enough yet,” Zhou Qianshan said, looking at Kaikai with a worried frown. “Will a kindergarten even take him?”
Kindergartens around here usually required children to be at least three years old. While Kaikai was exceptionally well-behaved and sensible, only their family truly knew that; outsiders wouldn’t necessarily see it.
“We can just go look around and see,” Tong Yuexin replied casually. She pinched the tip of Kaikai’s nose and smiled. “Kaikai is going to kindergarten to learn new things. Are you excited?”
Kaikai didn’t quite grasp the concept yet. He tilted his head with an innocent expression and asked, “Mommy, if I go to kindergarten, can I learn things, go to college, and protect you?”
None of them expected Kaikai to think so far ahead. They burst out laughing, and Tong Zhitian nodded heartily. “That’s right! First you go to kindergarten, then elementary school. As long as you study hard, you can go to college in the future and protect your mommy!”
Encouraged by his grandfather’s approval, Kaikai nodded eagerly with a bright smile. “Then I want to go to kindergarten!”
However, just as Zhou Qianshan had anticipated, because Kaikai was still under the age requirement, all the nearby kindergartens turned them away. It took Tong Yuexin several days of searching before she finally found one willing to make an exception, agreeing to take him in simply because Kaikai looked remarkably sensible and mature.
The kindergarten director was an older woman. Looking at the well-behaved little boy, she asked gently, “What’s this little fellow’s name?”
“His name is…”
Tong Yuexin was about to blurt out “Lu Mingkai,” but the moment she thought of Lu Zhiying’s despicable nature, she swallowed the name back down. With a soft smile, she corrected herself, “His name is Tong Mingkai.”
The director smiled warmly. “Very well. Then little Kaikai can start coming to our kindergarten tomorrow. In a moment, I’ll have a teacher go over the required preparations with you, as well as the drop-off and pick-up times.”
Tong Yuexin repeatedly expressed her gratitude. “Thank you, Director.”
While the teacher was going over the details with Tong Yuexin, Kaikai sat quietly by her side without making a single fuss or crying. Naturally, the teacher took an instant liking to him and kindly told him not to be nervous.
The next day marked his official first day of school.
Despite agreeing enthusiastically at home, Kaikai still felt a flutter of nerves upon stepping into the kindergarten for the first time. Seeing the endless stream of parents and children, he anxiously pinched the edge of Tong Yuexin’s finger. His adorable, chubby little face was scrunched up with tension, making him look exceptionally precious.
Noticing his nerves, Tong Yuexin gently comforted him, “What’s wrong, Kaikai? Didn’t we already meet the director and teachers yesterday, and didn’t you say you liked them?”
Kaikai nodded timidly.
Before he could say anything else, a little ball of pink rushed straight toward them.
Before Tong Yuexin could even get a clear look at the newcomer, a little girl wearing a pink princess dress stopped right in front of Kaikai. Tilting her head to size him up for a moment, she chirped in a milky, clear voice, “I haven’t seen you before. Are you a new kid? You’re so pretty!”
Kaikai had always spent his time exclusively with family; when had he ever encountered a little girl like this?
He froze completely, staring at her in bewilderment and not knowing what to do.
To his utter surprise, the little girl wasn’t shy in the slightest. She even fished a pretty piece of chocolate out of her pocket, handed it right to Kaikai, and declared, “You look so nice, I like you! Here’s some chocolate for you, now we’re best friends.”
The girl’s overwhelming directness startled Kaikai into a daze. Not knowing how to respond and feeling a bit scared, he instinctively hid behind Zhou Qianshan’s legs.
Zhou Qianshan couldn’t help but chuckle. She patted Kaikai’s head and gently encouraged, “Kaikai came to kindergarten to make friends with other kids, didn’t he? Now that this little girl has bravely come over to say hello, you should be a big boy and make friends with her, okay?”
Hearing his mother’s words, Kaikai pressed his lips together, cautiously accepted the chocolate from the girl’s hand, and whispered in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s, “Thank you… I—I’m Tong Mingkai.”
The little girl was clearly much more extroverted, speaking with a bright, crisp tone. “I’m Lu Miaomiao! Are you in the nursery class too? Is today your first day?”
Tong Mingkai nodded shyly.
Lu Miaomiao grabbed his hand directly and tugged him toward the interior of the kindergarten. “Come on then, I’ll take you to our classroom. I’m in the nursery class too, so we’re classmates from now on!”
Watching Tong Mingkai get pulled into the kindergarten and make his very first friend so effortlessly, Tong Yuexin finally let out a relieved breath.