"Mantou, I have arrived."Mantou quickly exits out and clears the trace of him ever hacking. He closed the "book". And at that time, it is time to leave.
"Everyone line up and get your stuff."
The kids didn"t stop chattering but when to get their stuff from the hanger.
The teacher also gathered her things and led the kids outside.
"Remember to let the parent come and sign their name when they are coming to pick you up. Okay? And Rob stops fighting with John. Jen pays attention, don"t trip."
Mantou follows behind everyone, scanning the crowd for traces of Dilireba and Qi Weilan.
Many parents picked the kids up. Qi Weilan and Dilireba also arrived after the crowd dissipated in order to not attract unwanted attention.
"Mantou!"
"Reba jiejie! Mother!"
"Ah! Good to see you again. Please sign here."
The teacher stared curiously at Dilireba who wore a mask and sungla.s.ses as well as a hat. The hidden department in the car sure comes in handy.
The teacher doesn"t question much seeing that Dilireba came with Qi Weilan and that Mantou seems familiar to her.
[Perhaps an aunt? A cousin or a sister?]
Mantou hugged Dilireba and smiled brightly.
For the teacher, it"s a surprise. Mantou never really speaks much and rarely smiles that brightly.
"Ah! So you must be the Reba jiejie, Mantou is talking about."
Dilreba tilts her head.
"Mantou talks about you a lot. He seems very fond of you."
"Of course~! Reba jiejie is the best!"
"Hey, how about me?"
"You"re important."
"Then your father?"
"... useless most of the time."
And with that Mantou drags Dilireba and Qi Weilan out after seeing Qi Weilan finish signing. He told his teacher goodbye.
"How energetic. What a change."
The last of the students also went home.
The teacher went back into the cla.s.sroom and tidied things up, before gathering her bag. She walked out, locking the door.
The teacher picks up her pace when she imagines her cats waiting for her at home. She smiled. The interaction between Mantou and his family is very warm and reminded her of her cats and friends. Just like Dilireba, the teacher was adopted by a kind and loving couple who unfortunately died a few years ago.
Through her dark days, her cats have kept her company and comfort her. She went out of contact once and there was no one except Fluffy besides her.
Perhaps it is true that people who had an unknown bond between them would be brought together with realizing it.
Fate is an unpredictable thing.
Back in the car…
"So?"
"Gu Yuanxing, I"m not really sure, but my guts are telling me that she is somewhat involved. However, the Gu family is suspicious especially during the time of the marriage. I don"t have the time to look more into it."
"Hm. Looks like we have to inform the others."
"Mantou, are you surprised that I came to pick you up, today~?"
Mantou turned his attention to Dilireba.
"En!"
"How"s school?"
"We have a reading session, a show and tell and the regular."
"Oh?"
"This one kid showed up in cla.s.s with a picture book. It was filled with pictures of his family and himself. And the other one showed a photo of her cat. The other one shows their dog. And there is one kid that said that he used to have a goldfish but it died."
"Looks like your cla.s.smates really like animals."
"Yup."
"What do you think? Are you a cat person or a dog?"
Looking at how Mantou"s eye s.h.i.+nes when he talks about the animal. Dilireba had already decided on what to give him as a birthday present two months from now.
"I like cats. They are smart and can be very helpful. Dogs are too noisy for me. It reminds me of dad. We already have father at home, so we don"t need another noisy one."
Qi Weilan laughs.
"Your father would be heartbroken if he hears what you just said about him."
"Whatever."
At this point, one cannot help but felt pity for Yue Yingque. Most boys at Mantou"s age would look up to their father as a role model if there"s no other male in the house.
"But, your father really does behave like one, if I have to look at this carefully."
Qi Weilan imagines Yue Yingque with ears and tail which drop when they left the house without him during the time they went off to the aquarium together. And that time when they are still dating, he would use the puppy eye trick to ask for forgiveness when he felt wronged.
"Pfft."
Dilireba was amused.
"Then what about your Uncle Lu?"
"Hm... A fawn? Something like a deer but with a mix of an otter"s touch too."
"Hm. That"s true. Playful yet considerate most of the time."
"Then Lan jie?"
"Mother? Hm…A mink? Natural curiosity, smart, and intuitive. Something related to a cat."
"Aw~ Mantou preferred me to compare to Yingque~ Then what about Reba?"
"Hm… a fox. Affectionate, playful, charismatic yet also mysterious."
Dilireba was stunned. In the dream, she also encountered seeing herself as a red fox before.
A coincidence?
Dilireba shook her head and pushed the thought aside.
"Then what do you think of yourself as?"
"Me?"
"Mhm."
"A lion or wolf."
"Protective, independent, creative, sensitive, and a natural-born leader."
"Aww, you want to be independent this soon? We still have 13 years before I can fully let you go, ya know?"
"Age doesn"t always matter."
"Yes, yes you"re right."
"You"re very sneaky. Protective and independent, eh? Hm. I guess it kinda does make sense considering your job and mind."
"Of course."
"A dog, a mink, a fox, and a wolf/lion. In some ways, it does seem to make sense. A wolf has a connection to the dog and the fox. Lions have a connection with eth fox and the cat. The fox also has a connection to the cat."
"Unique in their own ways yet bonded together in a strange way."
"Hm, it does kind of make sense. Lan jie and I have had a connection since young. Senior brother met and chased after Lan jie, succeeding. The Lan jie gives birth to Mantou. And I have a connection to Mantou when he was born."
"The best way to describe it seems to be destiny."
"Mhm."
"Well, I"m glad that we are brought together." [-again.]