That night, Yan Luo did only one thing.
It was to pinch Xia Qingqing’s cheeks while she was still young.
Her cheeks were fair and tender, still holding a bit of baby fat.
If Meng Po still had her memories, she would never have allowed Yan Luo to pinch her.
Yan Luo: "Hehehehe… Hehehehe…"
Xia Qingqing looked at her little Yan Jie, who was grinning like a creepy uncle, and felt as if the hands on her face were a pair of demonic claws.
"Little Yan Jie, you haven't… answered me yet. Have we… met before?"
Her cheeks were being kneaded, making it impossible to speak properly.
Yan Luo’s hands stopped. "Oh?"
She didn't answer directly, and the smile on her face faded slightly.
Xia Qingqing tilted her head. "What's wrong?"
Yan Luo withdrew her hands and looked at the little dot in front of her with rosy cheeks.
"I was just thinking…"
She was just thinking if it was too impulsive to have asked Meng Po to reincarnate.
Even if she were to start anew, couldn't she have done so in the underworld?
She should have done what those novels described.
Given Meng Po a bowl of specially made Meng Po soup.
This way, she could start anew and still remain in the underworld.
However,
Meng Po sealing her own memories was something that was both unexpected and within her expectations.
Keeping memories, though it could grant a head start in a new life.
But if memories were kept, how could there be rebirth?
"I was just thinking… Xia Qingqing, why are you so cute?"
Yan Luo hugged her happily and nuzzled her for a while, then chatted aimlessly.
She said with reluctance, "Xia Qingqing, Sister has to go now. I'll visit you again when I have time~"
"Where are you going?" Xia Qingqing instinctively asked.
Yan Luo's lips curved into a faint smile, her tone helpless.
"To work."
To… fulfill a promise with someone.
As she spoke, she stood up.
With light and agile movements, she stepped onto the window ledge and leaped down.
Xia Qingqing hurried forward to look.
A gentle breeze blew, and the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.
It cast a layer of silvery light upon the ground.
Outside, there was nothing.
…
…
Although she said she would visit again when she had time,
three years passed after that.
Little Yan Jie never came again.
Later, Xia Qingqing inadvertently learned from the adults.
"I'll visit again when I have time," "Let's meet up when I have time," "Let's talk when I have time…"
The deeper meaning was: I might not have time.
…
Speaking of work, Xia Qingqing also had work.
When others went to work, they brought money back. When she went to work, she gave money out.
When Xia Qingqing started kindergarten, she asked her parents this question.
"Why do we have to pay to attend classes?"
The grandpas and grandmas in the community could even get two eggs when they attended classes.
Xia Mama was stunned for a moment and said,
"Going to school is for learning, it's different from community classes."
Xia Qingqing asked again, "But I already know everything in kindergarten."
"Why do I still have to pay to listen to it again?"
Xia Mama squatted down and patiently replied,
"Don't you want to play with other children, Qingqing? There are many children in kindergarten!"
Xia Qingqing also looked at her mother seriously. "There are also many children to play with in the residential area, and it doesn't cost money."
"This…"
Xia Mama was stumped and looked back at her husband.
She gestured for him to quickly think of a solution.
Kindergarten was a major hurdle for children starting school.
If it wasn't explained well from the beginning, the child might develop a dislike for studying later on.
Xia Baba, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, looked refined and amiable.
Seeing his wife's plea for help, he stroked his daughter's head.
He chimed in, "But other children will also start kindergarten from tomorrow.
Won't there be no one to play with you then?"
Seeing that his daughter was about to say something else, Xia Wenzhe told the truth.
"Besides, Mommy and Daddy have to work during the day. What will happen if no one takes care of you?
Even hiring a nanny costs a lot of money."
"Is that so…"
The still milky-voiced Xia Qingqing looked at her father, then at her mother, who looked nervous and expectant.
Like a little adult, she nodded, "Alright, I'll go to kindergarten tomorrow."
After she went inside, Xia Mama immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
She felt that work wasn't this difficult.
Xia Baba chuckled, "Is it that difficult?"
He knew that his wife was decisive and uncompromising at work.
Even in life, there were very few things that could stump her.
Perhaps only their daughter could make her wear such an expression in the entire family.
Xia Mama gave him a glare. "You don't know your daughter, she's practically a 'Ten Thousand Whys' book."
Why do people come out of their mothers' wombs? Why do stars twinkle?
How do rockets fly into space? Are there really aliens in space?
Every time she answered one question, another "why" would await her.
"Hehehehe…"
Xia Wenzhe smiled gently and dotingly, comforting his wife, "It will be better once she starts school."
However, at this moment, neither of them knew that it was just the beginning.
…
On the day kindergarten started,
there was a scene of crying at the school entrance.
Other children were teary-eyed, or were tricked into going in by their parents.
Only Xia Qingqing walked in by herself, carrying her small backpack.
Before going in, she didn't forget to instruct her parents, "This is as far as you go, you can go back.
Remember to pick me up after work. If you have to work overtime, remember to tell my teacher, don't make the teacher worry."
The couple found it amusing but were also immensely relieved.
They repeatedly said, "Okay, okay, okay. We remember."
"Mm," Xia Qingqing nodded, then turned to the kindergarten teacher beside her.
"Teacher, let's go in."
The parents nearby watched with envy.
"Why is your child so obedient? She's too well-behaved."
Xia Mama felt delighted, but she said modestly,
"Not at all, we had to talk to her for a long time before she agreed to come."
…
In the kindergarten,
because Xia Qingqing was well-behaved and obedient, not crying or making a fuss, she quickly won the favor of all the teachers.
But as they interacted day by day,
the teachers gradually realized that things were not that simple.
Xia Qingqing was perhaps too bold.
Climbing trees, catching insects, playing ghosts…
She often scared some of the timid children in the class into crying their eyes out.
Although she would listen after being told,
sometimes the things she said were chilling.
For example, she would suddenly talk to the air, reaching out as if pulling something, and walk all the way to the restroom.
When she came back, the teacher asked her what she was doing.
She said she was guiding an old grandma.
But the problem was, there was no old grandma in the kindergarten!
Daily cleaning and taking care of the children were done by the teachers themselves.
The aunties who cooked lunch were also middle-aged.
Parents were also not allowed to enter normally.
So, where did the old grandma come from?
…