Lin Chu nodded, her expression easing up as she patted Mo Jinxi"s shoulder. "Alright, I understand. I just hope that after such an incident, you"ll take better care of the children and lecture them when necessary."
"Yes, of course, of course, I will," The teacher said and nodded.
She was around the same age as Lin Chu, but Lin Chu had such a strong presence and imposing manner that made her feel intimidated to the point she was unable to defend herself or refute.
"What about the language cla.s.s representative?" Lin Chu did not forget about the young lady who went around spreading gossips.
She was unsure why the girl did it, but she was certain that her actions had hurt Mo Jinxi.
"I"ll talk to her and have her stop doing things like that," the teacher immediately responded.
"I hope you"ll speak to her parents as well," Lin Chu added.
What left unsaid was obvious. No matter what intentions the girl had when she went behind Mo Jinxi"s back and spread the news to everyone, at the end of the day, her actions were still unacceptable. The child had to learn from her mistake and turn over a new leaf right away before turning it into a habit.
However, she was not the child"s parent, so she had no right to lecture the child. The only thing to do was to inform the parents about their daughter"s behavior.
The cla.s.s teacher nodded in agreement.
After having a small fit, Lin Chu felt the exhaustion kicking in. However, Mo Jingsheng was still with them and he showed no means of leaving anytime soon, and since he was Yan Beicheng"s friend, it would not be nice nor polite to ignore him.
With that, she suggested to leave, and since the cla.s.s teacher was already feeling guilty, she did not dare to stop her and briefly explained to Lin Chu on the things that needed to be mentioned in a parent-teacher meeting.
To be frank, not every student was necessarily involved in the parent-teacher meeting. They usually only involved several children who needed improvement in their studies or children who needed to pay more attention to certain areas of the curriculum. It was an opportunity for the cla.s.s teacher to meet the children"s parents and talk about their studies and behavior and make future study plans and so on.
The cla.s.s teacher returned to the cla.s.sroom and took out the photocopied doc.u.ments meant for all the parents and pa.s.sed a copy to Lin Chu.
Before the parent-teacher conference today, each subject teacher had already met with each other to discuss everything that needed to be brought up during the parent-teacher meeting. Mo Jinxi was only a second grader, so he did not have many subject teachers, and he was not a problematic student so his cla.s.s teacher had nothing much to comment about him.
After covering all the essential pointers, there was nothing much to discuss anymore.
Lin Chu thanked the cla.s.s teacher and got up to leave. The cla.s.s teacher heaved a sigh of relief. Still feeling guilty, she avoided Mo Jinxi and said discreetly to Lin Chu. "I neglected my duty this time and it"s my fault, I…"
"I treat Mo Jinxi as my son. The most important thing between a teacher and a child"s parents is communication, and now that we"ve done that, I believe there won"t be a problem anymore. I"ll call you more often in the future so we can discuss Mo Jinxi"s situation in school to ensure that nothing like this happens again," Lin Chu said, indirectly pressuring the cla.s.s teacher to take responsibility for the whole situation.
Obviously, Lin Chu would not be direct about not reporting this incident, but the cla.s.s teacher understood her underlying means and so, felt relieved. A hint of relief flooded her embarra.s.sed expression as she relaxed.
Lin Chu stared closely at the cla.s.s teacher"s expression, and when she finally believed that the teacher was not the kind of person to deliberately trouble Mo Jinxi over such a small matter, she left with Mo Jinxi.
The cla.s.s teacher entered the office and apologized to the remaining parents, but since the other subject teachers took over her place and spoke to the parents, they did not waste the parents" time.
When Lin Chu led Mo Jinxi out of the building, she turned to him and said, "Jinxi, don"t keep these things to yourself if it happens again in the future, alright? Just like other children with their parents, you can talk to me about anything. If it"s something that happened in school, leave it to me to handle it with your teacher. If the teacher treats you unfairly, you must let me know, alright?"
Mo Jinxi nodded his head solemnly. He raised his head as if he wanted to say something to Lin Chu but changed his mind at the last second. He pushed his bottom lip into a pout as he stared at Lin Chu through his watery eyes.
All of a sudden, he reached out and hugged Lin Chu. Caught by surprise, Lin Chu stopped in her tracks as Mo Jinxi cuddled in her arms, rubbing his small head against her arm.
After a short while, he whispered, "Chu Chu, you"re the best."
Lin Chu was unable to bend over now so she could not hug Mo Jinxi back.
Mo Jinxi"s face immediately reddened as he lowered his head awkwardly. "Chu Chu, you… Can you give me a piggy-back after giving birth to little brother?"
He had gotten the disappointing news from Yan Ningbai that Lin Chu was carrying a boy. However, he did some calculations and figured that if Lin Chu had her second child within the next two years, the age difference between him and the little girl would still be acceptable. After all, the age gap between Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu was bigger still.
With that in mind, he felt relieved.
Embarra.s.sed, Mo Jinxi covered his face with his hands. Perhaps he had spent too much time with Yan Ningbai that he had suddenly become so shameless as the little boy.
"I saw a first-grade student being carried on his father"s shoulders the other day, it… It just seems so wonderful. I want that too so I can see the scenery from a higher place," Mo Jinxi said with a fl.u.s.tered smile. He felt shy to admit that he wanted to be just like a childish kid who gets carried around by an a.d.u.l.t.
However, his reason was different. He wanted to be carried high above so that he could look at the scenery!
In the orphanage, n.o.body could do so. The Princ.i.p.al was, needless to say, too old to carry him, whereas Teacher w.a.n.g and Teacher Yuan did not have the strength as well.
"That won"t be a problem, Uncle Yan can carry you," Lin Chu said with a laugh as she turned to Yan Beicheng.
Yan Beicheng, however, was reluctant to comply. He had never carried a child on his shoulders before and he did not want this little brat to be the first one.
Indeed, he had never even carried Yan Ningbai.
When Yan Ningbai was younger, he had opened his arms to Yan Beicheng requesting to be held, but even back then, Yan Beicheng"s response was crisp and straightforward, "I"m keeping it for my first child, I"m not going to waste it on you so run along now."
Yan Ningbai had once vented to Mo Jinxi about this scarring incident and Mo Jinxi remembered deeply.
As he heard Lin Chu"s innocent suggestion, a weird expression spread across his face as if he was just pushed into a fire pit. He immediately loosened his grip around her arm and backed away while shaking his head. "Uh, let"s… Let"s forget about it."
"I"ll carry you," a deep voice sounded from behind suddenly.
Mo Jinxi turned around, only to find that the policeman had not left.
How could he possibly accept the policeman"s offer? He barely knew the uncle and he was not that shameless to accept the kind offer, but before he could turn down the offer, a pair of strong arms stretched out towards him and grabbed him by the shoulders.
In a flash, his feet were in the air, and since Mo Jingsheng was so tall, he felt like he was flying being carried by Mo Jingsheng.
Mo Jinxi could hardly hold back the urge to stretch out his arms and yell out "I"m Superman".
Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he had never been carried by anyone, so when Mo Jingsheng carried him, he felt as if he was on top of the world.
Mo Jinxi instinctively reached out to hold Mo Jingsheng"s neck to steady himself. Now that he was being carried on Mo Jingsheng"s back, he was almost one head above everyone else. Right away, he noticed how the view from above was different and it felt like the people, as well as the scenery around him, had turned smaller.
"This is awesome!" Mo Jinxi exclaimed enthusiastically.
Everything seemed new and surreal, which made Mo Jinxi tightened his grip around Mo Jingsheng"s neck, unwilling to get down now.
Looking at how happy the little boy was, Lin Chu could only feel an aching stab in her heart.
Mo Jinxi was such a wonderful child. It was heartbreaking that he never had the chance to enjoy parental love since childhood.
Mo Jinxi was unwilling to give up the ride, but he knew how heavy he weighed. Reluctantly, he tugged gently on Mo Jingsheng"s jacket collar. "Uncle, please let me down," he said shyly.
"Don"t you want to continue looking at the scenery?" Mo Jingsheng raised his eyebrow at the bashful little boy. Although he remained expressionless, Mo Jinxi was not afraid because he knew that although Mo Jingsheng seemed strict and fierce, the uncle had been extremely patient with him so far and treated him well.
Of course, Mo Jinxi was eager to resume his first piggyback ride journey, but this was his first time meeting Mo Jingsheng so it would not be nice of him to take advantage of the nice uncle"s kindness.
He must at least restrain himself!
Mo Jingsheng tightened his hold around the little boy as he slightly s.h.i.+fted himself. "Don"t worry, you"re not heavy at all. I can carry you and walk for a long way."
Mo Jinxi"s face flushed red like a tomato from either shyness or excitement, his tiny hands held onto Mo Jingsheng"s shoulders tightly. Clearly, he was still unwilling to get down.
Mo Jingsheng turned around and cast a warm smile at the little boy, exposing a shallow dimple in his cheeks.
Right then, Yan Beicheng looked over and for a mere second, his eyes drooped, seemingly deep in thought. Even Mo Jingsheng did not notice the brief action as he had his attention focused on Mo Jinxi.
On the other hand, Lin Chu was the one who noticed the short-lived reaction. She always noticed the smallest things he did.
Yan Beicheng smiled at her before turning to Mo Jingsheng and asked, "Do you have plans after this?"
"Nothing urgent, I just need to go back to the police station and sort out some reports, but it can wait until tomorrow. I"m off duty now though, since the case is pretty much settled, but I was thinking there"s nothing much to do alone so I was planning to head back to the station to pa.s.s time," Mo Jingsheng replied as he thoughtfully turned around so that Mo Jinxi could have a switch of scenery.
The view was the same as what Mo Jinxi usually saw every day, but looking from a completely different perspective now, everything seemed new and he was so captivated by the new viewpoint he dared not blink his eyes.
It was not just the change of height, but being carried by a fatherly figure, to feel loved and protected by someone. Mo Jinxi felt giddy from the warmth in his heart as it galloped in his chest.
"Since you don"t have any plans, let"s have dinner together. After all, I don"t b.u.mp into you often," Yan Beicheng suggested. "You"re even busier than all of us and we can never get hold of you."
Mo Jingsheng laughed and replied, "Blame the job, I can"t do anything about it. Well, since I"m free today, let"s have dinner."
It was already five o"clock, and since the weather was getting colder, the idea of enjoying a warm, toasty meal of hotpot was ideal, so Yan Beicheng brought them to one of the hotpot franchise under Yan Hui.
Aside from his very own personal room in the hotpot restaurant, the restaurant did not have any single rooms for the other guests. The restaurant mainly consisted of an open area where guests were able to enjoy their meal. No matter how good business was at the restaurant, they would rather let the customers queue and wait for a table than allow the customers to use Yan Beicheng"s personal room.
However, Yan Beicheng seldom visited the hotpot restaurant in a year, at most once every two or three months, or maybe more often during winter. Ever since he got together with Lin Chu, they have already had the hotpot ingredients and cutleries sent to their home because of how often they eat it, so needless to say, Yan Beicheng"s visit to the restaurant was lesser than before.
Mo Jingsheng looked at his car. Yan Beicheng had also driven.
Still carrying Mo Jinxi behind his back, Mo Jingsheng turned around and asked, "Do you want to ride with me?"
Embarra.s.sment crept up once again. Mo Jinxi was not familiar with Mo Jingsheng, but he had already accepted the kind man"s piggyback ride for so long. If he turned down the offer to take Mo Jingsheng"s car, he might come off as ungrateful.
With that, he nodded meekly, his cheeks completely flushed red.
On the way to the restaurant, Lin Chu phoned the old Princ.i.p.al to notify her that they were bringing Mo Jinxi out for dinner.
Meanwhile, Mo Jinxi sat in the car nervously, anxiously glancing around in curiosity. He sat obediently and stiffly, not daring to touch a single thing in the car.
Through the rearview mirror, Mo Jingsheng looked at Mo Jinxi and asked, "Did you grow up in the orphanage?"
Mo Jinxi"s instincts told him that this uncle was a kind man and not the type to look down on orphans, so he was not asking these questions out of spite or ill intentions. "The old Princ.i.p.al told me that I"ve been there since I was a baby," he answered with a nod.
Mo Jingsheng took another look at the rearview mirror and noticed that there was no hint of sadness in Mo Jinxi"s eyes. He said it such a matter-of-factly way and showed no signs of remorse or anguish.
The back row was very s.p.a.cious, but the little boy remained seated compliantly, which meant that he had accepted the truth about his life.
"Has the old Princ.i.p.al ever told you the situation at the time?" Mo Jingsheng asked softly.
The little boy nodded gently. "I"ve asked the princ.i.p.al when I was chatting with her once. She told me when I arrived at the orphanage, it was this time of the year. The weather was extremely cold at the time and I was wrapped in a very thick quilt. When the old princ.i.p.al opened the door the next morning, I was already left on the doorstep. n.o.body knew how the person who left me there entered the courtyard since the gate was always locked at night. The old princ.i.p.al mentioned too that although the quilt was thick, I was running a high fever when she picked me up from the ground. I was still a baby then so my body would not be strong enough to help me last through the freezing night. I almost didn"t make it, but Chu Cu was the one who brought me to the hospital and hustled around to take care of me. She wouldn"t even sleep at night, always taking care of me every second of the day until I fully recovered."
"If you were only a baby when you were left at the orphanage, where did your name come from?" Mo Jingsheng asked.
What Mo Jinxi did not notice was how the grip of his fingers around the steering wheel tightened as the bones and the veins in his hands bulged.
"When I was sent there, there was a piece of paper attached to the quilt that had my name and date of birth written on it," Mo Jinxi explained. "That"s not surprising though. The orphanage is quite famous as the old Princ.i.p.al is very kind. When people are planning to abandon their child, they would ask around to find someone reliable and trustable, so as long as the children weren"t old enough to walk, mostly just babies who don"t know anything, it"s highly likely that they"ll be left at our orphanage. When babies are sent over, usually they have their names and date of birth attached somewhere."
Hence, Mo Jinxi was not surprised at all.
"When were you born then?" Mo Jingsheng asked casually.
Mo Jinxi was not weirded out by the question at all. When he met Yan Ningbai for the first time, he was asked the same question as well. Mo Jinxi thought this was just a casual conversation where the person was merely asking out of concern.
Besides, Mo Jinxi felt extremely safe and secured the moment he got into the car. Mo Jingsheng had taken off his coat, so he was now wearing his police uniform. No matter what Mo Jingsheng asked, Mo Jinxi would not overthink it and felt harmless to answer.
With that, Mo Jinxi blurted out his birth date without hesitation, "My birthday"s on the 15th of January, 2009."
Mo Jingsheng showed no obvious reaction to the response, but it was still noticeable that his hands around the steering wheel slowed down for a second before he carefully looked at Mo Jinxi through the rearview mirror.
Mo Jinxi was getting sleepy, his small hand reached out to cover his mouth as he stifled a yawn. He felt extremely comfortable in the warm, heated car.
Mo Jingsheng noticed it and taking advantage of the red light, he reached towards the glove compartment and took out a blanket. "Have a nap if you"re tired. Here, you can use this blanket. I"ll wake you up when we reach the restaurant," he said as he handed the blanket over to Mo Jinxi.
Mo Jinxi accepted the blanket gratefully and thanked him.
Mo Jingsheng responded with a smile and pointed to the back of the backseat. "There"s a cus.h.i.+on there that you can use as a pillow too."
Mo Jinxi nodded as he stretched out his arm to reach for the cus.h.i.+on. After he adjusted himself comfortably, lying across the backseat, he covered himself with the blanket and closed his eyes, immediately drifting off.
When they finally arrived at the hotpot restaurant and found a parking s.p.a.ce, Yan Beicheng had already parked his car and was making his way over with Lin Chu in his arms. Mo Jingsheng got down of the car and said, "Jinxi fell asleep, give me a minute while I wake him up."
Then, he opened the pa.s.senger door, not forgetting to stand close to the door so that the cold wind would not blow into the car at Mo Jinxi directly.
Seeing how comfortable asleep Mo Jinxi was, Mo Jingsheng could not help but smile. Mo Jinxi had his head rested on the cus.h.i.+on, but his small face was squashed now while his mouth was wide opened like a little piglet, saliva dripping down the corner of his mouth on to the cus.h.i.+on. Mo Jingsheng could not bear to wake this little boy up as he was sleeping so soundly.
Mo Jingsheng shook Mo Jinxi gently. Mo Jinxi opened his eyes slowly, clearly still in a daze, but when he sensed that the corner of his mouth was wet, his eyes shot open as he immediately sucked a deep breath and wiped away the remaining saliva stain on his mouth. He looked down, and when he saw the huge print of saliva stain left on the cus.h.i.+on, he was extremely embarra.s.sed.
"We"re here," Mo Jingsheng said softly.
"I… I dirtied it," Mo Jinxi awkwardly said as he pointed at the cus.h.i.+on.
"It"s alright, you don"t have to worry about it." Then, Mo Jingsheng removed the blanket and carried Mo Jinxi out of the car.
Mo Jinxi blinked in disbelief. He had not expected Mo Jingsheng to carry him.
He was a big boy now, but he still loved the feeling of being spoiled by someone. He just wished he was younger now, and just a little smaller.
His hands naturally reached out to rest on Mo Jingsheng"s shoulders as he smiled giddily.
However, he knew that this was different from moments ago when they were back in school where everyone else had gone home. The hotpot restaurant was quite crowded, and Mo Jinxi felt ashamed if people were to see a grown-up child like him still being carried around by an a.d.u.l.t.
With that, he quickly said, "Uncle, please let me down."
Mo Jinxi wriggled in Mo Jingsheng"s arms, indicating that he was determined to get down and walk by himself.
Mo Jingsheng raised his eyebrow at the little boy in his arms. "Don"t you like being carried?" He had no experience of caring for children.
Mo Jinxi heaved a heavy sigh as his face reddened. "Aiya, just… It"s okay to be carried around when n.o.body"s around, but I"m a big boy now and there are so many people here now," he whispered.
Mo Jingsheng resisted the urge to smile and finally let Mo Jinxi down.
Mo Jinxi adjusted his jacket collar and suddenly remembered how he only met this uncle today by chance. He might never see the kind uncle in the future again.
However, Mo Jinxi liked the uncle. Not everyone was willing to carry a boy whom they have just met!
He could not help but look up and asked, "Uncle, I won"t see you anymore in the future, right?"
After all, they were not close friends or whatsoever, unlike Chu Chu, who he got to see her quite often.
Mo Jingsheng paused to think for a moment before responding, "Wait for a minute."
They had not walked much so when Mo Jingsheng turned back to the car, it did not take him long to reach the car. He went for the glove compartment and reached for a black leather notebook and a pen.
Then, he quickly scribbled his name and phone number on a page and tore it out, handing the piece of paper to Mo Jinxi. "You can call me through this number. If there"s anything you need or if you just want to see me, just call me anytime."
Mo Jinxi solemnly accepted the precious piece of paper that had Mo Jingsheng"s contact information and folded it carefully so he could keep it. Even so, he knew that he would not simply contact Mo Jingsheng if there was nothing urgent.
He heard what Yan Beicheng said just now. Yan Jingsheng was an extremely busy man, so he would not dare to disturb him.
However, his heart warmed up still when Mo Jingsheng gave him his contact information.
Once the piece of paper was carefully folded and kept in his pocket, he lifted his head and smiled at Mo Jingsheng brightly.
With just one glance, Mo Jingsheng already knew what the child was thinking. "You don"t have a handphone, do you?"
Mo Jinxi shook his head as Mo Jingsheng handed him a pen and paper. "Do you remember the orphanage"s number then?"
Mo Jinxi nodded, "I remember it like the back of my hand."