Хiаo Ling Вaо blinked her crystal-likе black grаpе еyеs and rеveаled a sweet smile: “Мy unclеs onlу call me Xiao Ling Bao, theу’ve nevеr cаlled me Littlе Мud.”
Shе wasn’t lуing, аftеr all!
Тhe Wang fаmilу unсlеs were fake unсles; onlу thе Ling fаmily unсles were Хiaо Ling Вао’s reаl uncles.
“Yоu’re lуing!” Yin Xuetоng jumped uр. “Yоu’re the Wаng fаmilу’s Littlе Mud!”
Xiao Ling Ваo didn’t answer Yin Xuetong’s quеstiоn. Instead, she tiltеd hеr heаd аnd loоked рuzzlеd at Тeacher Han beside her.
“Teacher, it’s so strange. If Xiao Ling Bao were a child of the Wang family and friends with this little classmate, why didn’t she come here to attend kindergarten?”
The teachers present all felt an inexplicable pang in their hearts.
Xiao Ling Bao’s question seemed innocent and simple, yet beneath it seemed to hide some unspeakable secret…
“You and I are not friends at all!” Yin Xuetong grew even angrier. “When you were at the Wang family… mmm—”
Wang Zhenzhu had already covered Yin Xuetong’s mouth.
“Teacher Han,” Pearl shouted loudly, “I’ve never seen this little classmate at the Wang family! Yin Xuetong must have mistaken her for someone else!”
Even though they were all just three-year-old children, Pearl naturally had a bit more cunning than others.
Although she didn’t fully understand why Little Mud would ask the teacher such a question, if Yin Xuetong continued speaking, she would reveal how they had bullied Little Mud.
Pearl didn’t want everyone to know she had bullied Little Mud.
Teachers and adults had always praised her as cute, sensible, and kind. Children who bullied others would no longer receive such praise.
“The matter of Little Mud is our little secret,” Pearl whispered in Yin Xuetong’s ear. “Don’t let others know.”
For Yin Xuetong, Wang Zhenzhu was her best friend.
The two of them shared the most secrets.
So when Wang Zhenzhu said this, Yin Xuetong fell silent, sat properly, and didn’t make another sound.
Teacher Han felt a bit regretful, but she couldn’t force the children to continue questioning.
She moved on to the next topic: “Ling Ziqi, would you like to choose a seat for yourself?”
In Cherry Class Three, including Xiao Ling Bao, there were only ten children. Usually, everyone sat together in small groups, and the teacher rarely arranged seats deliberately.
Letting the children choose and form groups freely was also one of the teaching methods they advocated.
However, when Xiao Ling Bao walked among the children, they all moved their small stools aside to avoid her.
“It’s too crowded here.”
Even though the classroom was large and there was plenty of space.
“I don’t sit with girls!”
This was a rejection from a little boy.
Some were even more direct: “Don’t sit with us, you’re not welcome!”
Finally, Xiao Ling Bao came to the only child in the classroom sitting alone.
This was a little girl dressed relatively plainly, about the same size as Xiao Ling Bao, with a round face, round eyes, and short ear-length hair. She looked a bit timid.
“Can I sit here?” Xiao Ling Bao asked.
Actually, Xiao Ling Bao would have preferred to sit alone. She was used to being by herself at the Wang family and wasn’t afraid of having no one to accompany her.
But the child expert had taught her that in kindergarten, she should take the initiative to make friends with other children.
The little girl seemed a bit nervous but still nodded, her voice very soft: “Y-yes, you can.”
The childcare worker nearby quickly placed the small stool for her.
“My name is Ling Ziqi.” Xiao Ling Bao introduced herself once more.
“My name is Dou Siyi.” The little girl also politely replied to Xiao Ling Bao.
Pearl, who was ahead, whispered something in Yin Xuetong’s ear, and Yin Xuetong immediately turned around: “Hey! Ling Ziqi, do you not have a mom like Dou Siyi?”
Xiao Ling Bao was surprised.
“How could Ling Bао not have a mom? Every child has a mom.”
“But Dou Siyi’s mom died,” Yin Xuetong, also spoiled in the Yin family and emboldened by her age, spoke without restraint, “Did your mom die too?”
Xiao Ling Bao looked up at Teacher Han and directly complained: “Teacher, Yin Xuetong said my mom died!”
That’s right.
Complaining.
The child expert had also taught her that if she encountered impolite behavior from other children, she could complain to the teacher.
Even if Xiao Ling Bao’s mom really wasn’t around, it was very impolite for Yin Xuetong to say that, so Xiao Ling Bao’s complaint was not wrong!
Teacher Han, who had initially thought she might overhear some gossip, was shocked upon hearing this and instinctively said, “Little friend Yin Xuetong, we shouldn’t discuss other children during class. Alright, next we’re going to have a welcome cake.”
Yin Xuetong was furious.
Teacher Han used to like her a lot, always praising her no matter what she said or did.
But now she was actually scolding her because of Xiao Ling Bao.
She almost wanted to throw herself on the ground, roll around, and cry.
But as soon as the other children heard they were going to have cake, they all cheered and jumped up.
No one paid any attention to her grievances anymore, and Yin Xuetong was so angry she started crying directly.
As the teacher distributed the cake, Dou Siyi quietly took out a piece of candy and handed it to Xiao Ling Bao.
“Please have this.” Her voice was soft but pleasant, like the plucking of a string.
“Thank you.” Xiao Ling Bao accepted the candy.
She saw a sparkle light up in Dou Siyi’s round eyes.
“I have lots more candy,” Dou Siyi grabbed another handful of candy from her pocket, “Here, this is for you, this is for you too… for you, all for you!”
Xiao Ling Bao watched as she continuously pulled candy out of her Doraemon-like pocket and was almost stunned.
“Does your family own a candy factory?”
“Yes,” Dou Siyi smiled sweetly—this was the first time she had smiled since transferring to this school, “My mom left me a really, really big candy factory.”
These candies were all given to her by her dad every day, to share with the children at kindergarten.
But none of the children paid any attention to her or played with her.
When Dou Siyi brought the candy back home, her dad scolded her for not fitting in and told her to treat giving out candy as a task—she had to make friends.
Today, Xiao Ling Bao accepted her candy, and Dou Siyi couldn’t have been happier.
She finally wouldn’t have to face her dad’s stern, grumpy expression anymore.
“My mom left me lots of uncles.” Xiao Ling Bao felt that it was impolite not to reciprocate and whispered to Dou Siyi, “I’ll give you one another day.”
“Are all the ones who brought you today your uncles?” Dou Siyi had also seen the grand spectacle of the Ling family sending Xiao Ling Bao off.
“Yes, except for Grandpa, they all are.” Xiao Ling Bao puffed out her chest proudly, “Next time you come to my house, you can pick one yourself.”
“Okay!” Dou Siyi nodded cheerfully, “I have lots more candy at home, you can pick whatever you want next time you come too!”
“Candy for uncles!”
“Uncles for candy!”
“Uncles and candy exchange!”
“That’s right!”
Xiao Ling Bao returned home this day.
Her uncles all gathered around, asking how she was doing at kindergarten.
Xiao Ling Bao didn’t speak, first taking a piece of candy from her pocket…