Regrets

Xiaoguo was very surprised to find out that Zhuang Zhuang was actually Teacher Kong’s first disciple. Based on what Mrs. Kong told her, he should be his last disciple too.

Having received such a great honor, Xiaoguo was elated the whole day. After leaving Mr. Kong’s house, she went to the noodle shop and shared her joy with Qin Anming, Ruyi, and everyone else at the shop.

Then, after asking for a few pieces of paper and an envelope, she went to Qin Anming’s room and closed the door. She couldn’t wait to share the good news with Jiang Danhe. There was no way she could wait until she got home to write the letter.

Xiaoguo tried her best to reproduce the scene of Zhuang Zhuang’s enrollment ceremony on paper. She blew on the ink and admired her drawing happily. However, the more she looked at it, the more speechless she became. She seemed to have overestimated her drawing skills…

“Forget it, forget it.” Xiaoguo put it down and comforted herself. Although the drawing was bad, it was quite clear what she was trying to say. “It’s fine. I’ll take this one.”

After stuffing the letter and the drawing paper into an envelope, she took her leave and went straight to the post station.

After sending the letter, Xiaoguo returned home alone. At first, she didn’t feel anything, but when she stood alone in the courtyard, it was an odd feeling that was unfamiliar to her.

Just as she was in a daze and wondering what to do, Mrs. Yang arrived.

“Come sit down.”

Mrs. Yang looked at the melancholic Xiaoguo and thought of Zhuang Zhuang. She suddenly laughed. “Your Zhuang Zhuang really knows you well.”

“How so?”

Xiaoguo had just put down the glass of water in her hand when she heard Mrs. Yang say that.

“Do you know what Zhuang Zhuang said to me when he got out of the car?”

Xiaoguo shook her head.

“He asked me to come and spend more time with you. He was afraid that you would be bored and was also worried about you falling sick.”

Xiaoguo was stunned and her heart was filled with warmth. “This kid…” He is just too sweet.

“Zhuang Zhuang is so sensible. I’m so envious of you…”

Mrs. Yang’s face was filled with envy. If only Zhuang Zhuang was her son. At the thought of this, she suddenly joked again, “We can swap kids. I will give you the baby in exchange for Zhuang Zhuang.”

After saying that, she burst out laughing.

“Haha, are you done? After trying to exchange Xiaohu, now you’re trying to swap the baby.”

Xiaoguo looked at Mrs. Yang. The last time, the latter had said that she would swap Xiaohu for Zhuang Zhuang. Now, she is harboring ideas on the one in her stomach. She was already an adult, but she still loved making silly jokes.

The two of them looked at each other and smiled. Mrs. Yang did like Zhuang Zhuang. He was smart, cute, and sensible. Who wouldn’t like him?

–

Xiaoguo missed Zhuang Zhuang even more than she had expected. After sending Mrs. Yang off that day, Xiaoguo turned down her invitation to eat at her house. When she returned home, she cleaned the house thoroughly. Then, she fed the animals and collected the eggs. It was sunset when she was done.

As dusk fell, Xiaoguo didn’t even have the motivation to cook anymore. She went to the kitchen and looked around.

“Sigh…”

Now that Zhuang Zhuang was not around, it was boring to eat alone. After circling around a few times, Xiaoguo picked up a cabbage and made it into soup. She also added some noodles into the hot soup before eating it up.

When she got onto the bed, the bed felt much wider. Even after wrapping herself up with the blanket, she didn’t feel warm at all.

She couldn’t help but imagine what Zhuang Zhuang was doing at this moment. “Did he have a filling dinner? Was he wearing warm clothes? Was he asleep? How was he getting on in Mrs. Kong’s house?”

The more she thought about it, the more she couldn’t fall asleep. The next day, she drove to Mr. Kong’s house with dark circles under her eyes.

She had no choice. She missed Zhuang Zhuang more than she had imagined. It was her who had agreed to let Zhuang Zhuang stay at Mr. Kong’s house, but now she was starting to regret it. She was really regretful about it.

She had thought that Zhuang Zhuang would miss her very much, but after meeting him, it didn’t seem to be the case.

Mrs. Kong was not surprised by Xiaoguo’s arrival. When she saw Xiaoguo looking distracted, she understood immediately. Without further ado, she brought her to the study.

“Take a look.”

Mrs. Kong quietly lifted the curtain and did not disturb the two people in the room. She gestured for Xiaoguo to walk over and watch.

Xiaoguo looked inside excitedly and instantly spotted the little figure. When she saw Zhuang Zhuang, her heart felt like it was coming back to life.

Looking at the scene in the room, Xiaoguo and Mrs. Kong did not disturb them anymore and reluctantly lowered the curtain.

Xiaoguo only perked up when she was outside the house. “Auntie Kong, is Zhuang Zhuang adjusting well?”

“After all, it was the first day. He was a little listless and didn’t have much appetite. He only fell asleep late at night,” Mrs. Kong said truthfully. Xiaoguo’s heart was in her mouth when she heard this. Then, the other party’s tone changed. “But he’s feeling much better today. He woke up in the morning and ate quite a lot. He’s much more energetic now. He took the initiative to ask Old Kong to teach him how to read.”

Xiaoguo’s heart was instantly relieved. She could finally rest her worries.

Mr. Kong had planned to start lessons in two day’s time, giving time for Zhuang Zhuang to get used to the new environment. However, he did not expect the boy to take the initiative to ask him this morning. The two elders were shocked. They did not expect him to be so adaptable.

Hearing Mrs. Kong praise Zhuang Zhuang, Xiaoguo felt a little happy. Zhuang Zhuang was indeed amazing. His charisma conquered people of all gender and age.

After talking for a long time, Mrs. Kong invited Xiaoguo to stay for dinner.

Xiaoguo shook her head and declined the invitation.

Mrs. Kong looked a little surprised. Xiaoguo smiled and explained, “It wasn’t easy for Zhuang Zhuang to get to his current state of mind. If I stay, he might get distracted again.”

Mrs. Kong thought for a moment and nodded. She felt that it was true, so she didn’t insist on keeping her.

On the way back, Xiaoguo was in a good mood. Zhuang Zhuang was indeed her vitamin. She regained all her energy just by looking at him.

It turned out that Zhuang Zhuang had never needed her. It was her who needed him more.

–

One day, Xiaoguo got up before dawn. It was Zhuang Zhuang’s day off from school.

Although she had been visiting Zhuang Zhuang every day for the past five days, it was still different from having him at home.

Before dawn, she had already packed up and was ready to go pick up Zhuang Zhuang.

On the other side, Zhuang Zhuang did the same. Before dawn, he got out of bed on his own, got dressed, folded the blanket, fetched water, and washed up. After packing his bag, he carried it on his back and quietly went outside.

Without waking anyone up, he tiptoed to the courtyard and casually moved a stool to sit at the door. He leaned his body against the door and eagerly looked out through the gap in the door, looking for any signs of Xiaoguo and the donkey cart.

He sat down when he got tired. When he was done resting, he got up and continued looking out. This went on repeatedly.

Mrs. Kong yawned and came out of her room. Just as she was about to make breakfast, she stopped in her tracks when she saw a small figure at the door.

“Zhuang Zhuang?”

Mrs. Kong called out to him softly.

She knew that it was Zhuang Zhuang’s day to go home. She guessed that Xiaoguo would pick him up early in the morning, so she woke up early to cook for him. She didn’t expect Zhuang Zhuang to wake up even earlier than her.

“Madam.”

Zhuang Zhuang stood up and greeted her. Now that he was Teacher Kong’s disciple, Mrs. Kong should naturally be addressed as Madam.

“Why are you up so early?”

Zhuang Zhuang weighed the heavy bag in his hand and replied, “My mother will be here in a while.”

“She wouldn’t be here so early.” Mrs. Kong smiled and wanted to bring him into the house to rest. It was just dawn. How could she reach here at this hour?

Unexpectedly, Zhuang Zhuang shook his head and said with a smile, “No, my mother will be here soon. I’ll just wait here.”

“She won’t be so early…” Mrs. Kong rubbed her head and was halfway through her sentence when there was a commotion outside. Upon closer inspection, it sounded very much like a donkey cart.

Zhuang Zhuang was delighted. He immediately leaned over the door and looked out. Sure enough, he saw a familiar figure.

As it was still early, Xiaoguo was about to wait when she suddenly heard Zhuang Zhuang calling her.

“Mother! Mother!”