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(I)
Kindergarten also celebrated National Day, with a week-long holiday.
Zhi Zhi was sitting in the senior class. The teachers were already accustomed to her wandering between classes and didn’t bother asking where she was supposed to be. After all, kindergarten lessons weren’t particularly important.
Her little legs swung idly in the air as she leaned over the desk.
Since there weren’t any textbooks for the senior class, Zhi Zhi used one of Liang Yan’s books, now filled with her own scribbles—turning what once looked like unintelligible ghost drawings into something completely unrecognizable.
Resting her chin on her hands, she listened to the teacher announce the holiday and turned to ask, “How long is seven days?”
Liang Yan found this question difficult to answer.
Such a simple concept, yet Zhi Zhi had a knack for relentlessly questioning everything.
After some thought, he explained, “Seven sunrises.”
Zhi Zhi, mischievous as ever, remarked, “Big Brother Liang Yan is so silly.”
Liang Yan: “….”
Well, he knew she was being deliberately cheeky. How could she not understand?
Before the holiday, Zhi Zhi had been optimistic. But after two days passed, she grew unhappy—it felt like too long without seeing Big Brother Liang Yan.
That day, Song Miaoli and Su Mian came over to Chi Suisui’s house to hang out.
Though they rarely watched TV, it was on, playing a romantic drama. Zhi Zhi sat there, sighing like a miniature adult.
Su Mian asked, “What’s wrong, Zhi Zhi?”
Zhi Zhi pointed at the screen and said, “They don’t get holidays. That’s nice—they can see the people they like every day.”
Su Mian paused for a moment before realizing, “The person they like?”
She already knew about Zhi Zhi and Liang Yan but had never met him in person, only hearing him referred to as “Pretty Big Brother.”
As Director Chi often said, Zhi Zhi couldn’t go three sentences without mentioning Liang Yan.
Zhi Zhi blinked, holding up three fingers. “Yes, in three more days, I’ll see Big Brother Liang Yan.”
Su Mian said, “That’s great.”
Zhi Zhi then asked, “Auntie, you can’t.”
Su Mian was puzzled. “What do you mean, I can’t?”
Zhi Zhi shook her head, her big eyes full of pity. “Auntie, you’re already so old. How can you not have someone you like?”
Su Mian: “….”
This tiny kid was early-romantic and proud of it.
________________________________________
(II)
When Song Miaoli was pregnant, Zhi Zhi was still in kindergarten and often visited her.
She adored this aunt, who used to take her out frequently, though now she couldn’t do that as much.
When Zhi Zhi arrived, Song Miaoli was sitting in a chair playing a video game.
Zhi Zhi leaned closer and listened for a while, hearing some English words that sounded very familiar to what Liang Yan had once said.
“I want to learn English too.”
Coincidentally, Song Miaoli’s voice chat was open, and when her teammates heard a child’s crisp, high-pitched voice, they nearly lost their minds.
Song Miaoli said, “Zhi Zhi, wait a moment.”
Zhi Zhi sat beside her, repeating everything the game said with perfect accuracy.
Standard Repeater·Zhi.
As the match was about to end, Song Miaoli tried to close the game, but her teammates begged, “One more round, one more round!”
Who wouldn’t want to hear such a sweet voice?
Ignoring them, Song Miaoli turned off the game. If they wanted to hear Zhi Zhi talk, they could dream on.
Zhi Zhi sat next to her, and after a while, she reached out to touch Song Miaoli’s round belly. “It’s so big!”
“You’ll be a big sister soon,” Song Miaoli said.
Zhi Zhi let out an “Oh” and pressed her ear against the belly, but heard nothing. Suddenly, a question popped into her mind: “Why doesn’t Zhi Zhi have a sister?”
Her classmates had older brothers, and though she didn’t have a brother, having a sister would be nice too.
Song Miaoli teased her, “You should ask your parents about that.”
Zhi Zhi nodded vigorously.
That evening, when she was picked up, she held back her question. It wasn’t until bedtime that she knocked on Chi Suisui’s door, clutching her stuffed toy.
Chi Suisui opened the door to find a little princess standing there.
She asked, “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
Zhi Zhi looked up. “Zhi Zhi has something to ask Mommy and Daddy.”
Chi Suisui picked her up and placed her on the bed. She smelled sweet. “Alright, what do you want to ask?”
Zhi Zhi glanced at He Xingwang, then at Chi Suisui. “Auntie said I’m going to be a big sister. So why don’t I have a sister? I want one.”
“…”
Chi Suisui chuckled. “There’s no way to make that happen.”
Zhi Zhi crossed her arms. “Are you lying to me?”
Chi Suisui said, “How could I lie about this? Right now, you can only have a younger sister or brother. Don’t even think about anything else.”
Zhi Zhi reluctantly backed down. “What about a brother?”
He Xingwang pulled her onto his lap, her small arms and legs stretched out across him. “Are you sure you want a brother?”
Zhi Zhi declared loudly, “Yes!”
He Xingwang calmly countered, “Then are you giving up on Big Brother Liang Yan?”
Zhi Zhi fell into deep thought.
Her little brain couldn’t process this dilemma. Finally, Chi Suisui intervened. “Zhi Zhi, it’s time for bed.”
“Wait!” Zhi Zhi moved closer, whispering into He Xingwang’s ear. “Can Zhi Zhi have both?”
“…”
Ambitions ran high.
________________________________________
(III)
When Zhi Zhi started elementary school, Chi Suisui often picked her up. After a week, she realized that this little girl was thriving in school.
Cute, sweet, and well-liked by everyone from teachers to classmates, Zhi Zhi often came home with candies and small gifts from her friends.
In return, Zhi Zhi brought things from home to share. Reciprocity was key.
If they hadn’t owned a snack business, they might not have been able to keep up with Zhi Zhi’s generosity, given how many people she interacted with daily.
Every day, Chi Suisui watched Zhi Zhi open her bag and say in her adorable voice, “This is from my Chinese teacher, and this is from the class monitor.”
She loved to drag out the endings of her sentences, making them extra cute.
Chi Suisui asked, “Don’t you ever refuse?”
Zhi Zhi tilted her head. “Why would I refuse? I give them things too.”
Chi Suisui thought her reasoning made sense.
That was until Zhi Zhi received her first love letter.
It was barely two weeks into first grade, and Zhi Zhi had already befriended everyone in her class—and even some students from other classes.
That day, He Xingwang picked her up from school. When they got home, Chi Suisui had just returned from work, and Zhi Zhi proudly showed her the letter.
“Mommy, look!”
The envelope had a pretty, artsy design, but the handwriting on the outside was messy and childish.
Chi Suisui glanced at He Xingwang, then asked, “What is this?”
Zhi Zhi blinked her big eyes. “I don’t know. The Chinese representative from Class Three gave it to me and told me to read it at home.”
He Xingwang coughed lightly. “Is it from a boy or a girl?”
Zhi Zhi replied, “A boy~”
Chi Suisui suppressed a laugh, quirking one corner of her lips. “Is he good-looking?”
Zhi Zhi thought seriously. “Not as good-looking as Big Brother Liang Yan.”
To her, Liang Yan was the most handsome boy she’d ever seen, with his unique blue eyes.
Chi Suisui smiled. “Of course you’d say that.”
Zhi Zhi insisted, “Zhi Zhi doesn’t lie.”
Then she noticed her dad had taken the envelope away. She tried to grab it, but He Xingwang sternly told her, “You’re not allowed to read it yet.”
“When can I read it?” Zhi Zhi asked.
“When you grow up.”
The next day at school, Zhi Zhi was stopped by the blushing Chinese representative from Class Two, who timidly asked, “Did you read it?”
“No~” Zhi Zhi answered honestly.
The boy’s face fell, and he ran off.
Zhi Zhi stood there, confused.
At that age, she didn’t fully understand the meaning of a love letter and hadn’t rejected it. By the time she learned to refuse in middle school, years had passed.
Finally, at eighteen, she opened the long-forgotten letter. Inside were the naive scribbles and innocent friendship declarations of her childhood classmate.
________________________________________
(IV)
Senior class lessons left Zhi Zhi with many questions.
She spent about half her time in the senior class, and of that, only half was spent paying attention.
But when she did focus, she was surprisingly obedient.
One day, the teacher asked the children to write about their future plans.
Zhi Zhi was handed a piece of paper, and the teacher gently encouraged her. “Zhi Zhi, if you have any plans, you can write them down. If you don’t know how to write a word, you can ask me.”
Zhi Zhi declared, “I won’t ask the teacher.”
The teacher praised her. “Zhi Zhi is so capable.”
Then Zhi Zhi added, “I can ask Big Brother Liang Yan. He knows everything—he’s the smartest.”
“…”
The teacher quickly walked away.
What sin had she committed to deserve this? Nowadays, even kindergarten teachers had to endure public displays of affection from kids.
Liang Yan handed her a pen. “I haven’t scolded you yet.”
Zhi Zhi huffed, “Fine, don’t teach me.”
Liang Yan was surprised to hear her pout like that—it was rare.
The little girl intentionally huffed louder, but unexpectedly, a bubble formed on her nose and popped with a soft bang .
Zhi Zhi was shocked.
Liang Yan froze.
After a moment, he snapped out of it, grabbing a tissue to wipe her nose. Her tiny nose wrinkled cutely, softening his heart.
Seizing the opportunity, Zhi Zhi declared, “Nothing happened just now!”
Liang Yan humored her. “Nothing happened, I didn’t see anything.”
Even though he clearly saw it, saying otherwise didn’t matter.
Satisfied, Zhi Zhi let him clean her nose before finally bending down to write.
She slowly wrote, leaning over the desk. Liang Yan expected her to ask for help, but to his surprise, the stubborn little girl insisted on doing it herself.
After a long while, curiosity got the better of him.
Just as Zhi Zhi finished the last character, she suddenly looked up and caught Liang Yan staring at her. His beautiful blue eyes shimmered like a lake.
Caught red-handed, Liang Yan quickly averted his gaze.
Zhi Zhi covered her plan and grinned. “Big Brother Liang Yan, do you want to see? Call me ‘baby,’ and I’ll show you.”
Liang Yan: “….”
Moments later, the teacher collected everyone’s plans and began reading them aloud to encourage the children.
Most of the kids’ plans were whimsical: some wanted to be astronauts, others wished for younger siblings. All sorts of imaginative ideas filled the room.
Only Liang Yan’s plan was practical.
Though Zhi Zhi didn’t fully understand, she still clapped enthusiastically, showering him with praise. “Big Brother Liang Yan is amazing!”
The boys in the class were envious.
This pretty little sister only played with Liang Yan.
The teacher picked up another sheet—it was Zhi Zhi’s plan. Written in a mix of characters and pinyin, it was brief, only three lines.
The teacher hesitated, not reading it aloud.
Impatient, Zhi Zhi urged in her sweet voice, “Teacher, hurry up and read it!”
The teacher took a deep breath, glanced nervously at the back row, and said, “Zhi Zhi’s plan is too important. We should keep it hidden.”
She feared that reading it aloud would make the whole class laugh.
The plan eventually returned to Zhi Zhi’s hands.
The light sheet of paper lay on the desk. Liang Yan, being tall, easily glimpsed its contents:
——[Make Big Brother Liang Yan Zhi Zhi’s boyfriend. Six days a week, he must play with Zhi Zhi. On the seventh day, he must work hard to earn money.]
Unfamiliar words were written in pinyin.
Liang Yan’s expression was complex.
The plan seemed logically sound—even including earning money—and meticulously scheduled his week.
Liang Yan asked, “Why does the last day involve earning money?”
Hearing this, Zhi Zhi’s eyes widened in horror.
She covered her mouth with her small hands, her big eyes wide. “Does Big Brother Liang Yan not want to earn money? Zhi Zhi won’t beg with you!”
Liang Yan: ?
Why would he beg?
Perhaps because he stayed silent for so long, Zhi Zhi thought she had upset him. She consoled him, “Big Brother Liang Yan, Zhi Zhi is actually willing.”
Liang Yan remained expressionless. “Is that so?”
He didn’t believe her—the evidence was right there on paper.
Zhi Zhi nodded innocently. “Yes~ But Big Brother Liang Yan, you have to kiss Zhi Zhi first.”
Liang Yan was speechless.
Of course, in the future, he would indeed fulfill Zhi Zhi’s plan.
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