Zhou Qingyan was quite tall and sat in a back seat.
Teacher Lin looked a bit troubled. After all, An An was a child the principal had specifically requested to be assessed, meaning he must be extraordinary. Sitting in the back, he wouldn't be able to see the blackboard or hear the lecture, and what if his parents complained?
An An met Zhou Qingyan's expectant gaze and felt a surge of happiness. On the very first day, someone liked him and wanted to be his friend.
"Teacher Lin, can I sit with that older brother?" An An blinked his dark, shining eyes at Teacher Lin.
Since he asked himself, of course, she had to agree. Teacher Lin adjusted the seating arrangement, and An An and Zhou Qingyan became deskmates.
"Hello, little brother An An, I'm Zhou Qingyan. You can call me Brother Yan," Zhou Qingyan said enthusiastically. "Little brother, you're so young, why are you already in third grade?"
An An smiled politely. "I took an assessment, and the teacher said I could come to third grade."
"You're really so smart! Did you have a private tutor before?" Zhou Qingyan praised.
An An shook his head. "Mom taught me a bit, and I learned a little on my own." He thought for a moment and then asked, "Brother, why did you voluntarily ask to be deskmates with An An? I saw the other older brothers and sisters didn't seem to like An An very much."
Zhou Qingyan's eyelashes fluttered, and he then smiled. "It's fate! Little brother, I saw you when I registered. I didn't expect us to be classmates today, of course, I had to look out for you."
An An recalled and indeed had some impression. Zhou Qingyan had entered the school with an aunt adorned in jewelry that day as they left the school.
Zhou Qingyan was actually quite worried. An An was only five years old and might not be disciplined in class. If he wanted him to play with him, it might delay his studies, and he would still get scolded by his mother.
The class bell rang, and Zhou Qin, the Chinese teacher, walked in. She glanced at the tiny An An sitting next to Zhou Qingyan, a hint of impatience flashing in her eyes, but she didn't say much.
Throughout the lesson, An An was very focused and didn't fidget or disrupt the classroom discipline. This made Zhou Qingyan heave a sigh of relief; it was good that he was well-behaved.
Zhou Qin was also surprised; it was quite remarkable for such a young child to be able to sit still.
By the end of the day, An An had earned the approval of all the classmates. He hadn't caused any trouble; instead, he was brilliant. He could recite newly learned ancient poems as soon as he heard them. In math class, while the teacher was still explaining, and before others had understood, An An was already starting to do the problems.
The nickname "Little Prodigy" quickly spread.
In the afternoon, Qin Ningyi had a social engagement to attend, so Su Nianzhu came to pick up An An.
"How was school today, An An? Did you understand everything?" Su Nianzhu was very concerned. She couldn't control the decisions made by her son and grandson.
"I understood! Grandma, third grade is actually quite fun, not boring," An An said with some excitement. "I also met a very good deskmate brother. When everyone else didn't want to be An An's deskmate, he voluntarily asked to sit with An An."
As soon as Su Nianzhu heard that no one wanted to be An An's deskmate, she became anxious. "Are the classmates ostracizing you? They're so much older, how can they bully you, a little child?" She grabbed An An's hand, wanting the driver to stop. "Let's go, Grandma will take you to the teacher. We absolutely cannot let our An An be bullied!"
An An smiled and held her hand. "Grandma, An An is not being bullied." An An's mischievous eyes reappeared. "When school ended, they all called me a prodigy! And they were all scrambling to be my deskmate."
"What happened?" Su Nianzhu was confused. "Did the teacher discipline them?"
An An smiled and shook his head. "I learned an ancient poem very quickly in front of them, and I also did the new math problems correctly. They were all impressed by me!"
Su Nianzhu laughed heartily when she heard this. "That's good, that's good. Our An An is truly amazing!"
An An was also very happy. The classmates here were different from the ones in his previous kindergarten. When he was good, they were jealous and tried to put him down. Here, the older brothers and sisters saw him do well and only praised him.
An An was very satisfied with his current school.
In the evening, he told Qin Ningyi about his school experience today. Qin Ningyi listened and patted his back. "Then study well."
"Yes, An An will," An An said, rubbing against Qin Ningyi's arm contentedly. "Can Dad pick me up from school tomorrow?"
"Probably. What's wrong?" Qin Ningyi hadn't expected An An to make such a request. In his eyes, An An was actually quite independent.
An An thought for a moment and said, "When school ended today, I saw that the other older brothers and sisters had their moms and dads come to pick them up. Even though Mom wasn't here, it would be good if Dad came. I want them to see that I have a dad who picks me up."
An An spoke very calmly, but the longing in his eyes shone particularly brightly under the wall lamp.
Qin Ningyi remembered that An An had been ridiculed for not having a dad before. He had promised An An that he would tell him when he needed a dad. Not to mention, he was An An's father now.
Qin Ningyi nodded. "Dad will come to pick you up whenever he has time in the future."
"It's a deal," An An blinked and smiled mischievively. "And you have to bring Mom to pick me up too."
This was a bit difficult. Qin Ningyi pursed his lips and didn't agree immediately. After all, he hadn't even met Huo Rou yet, he didn't know what she liked or if she liked him.
An An persistently stared at Qin Ningyi, giving the impression that he wouldn't sleep until he agreed.
Qin Ningyi always kept his word and rarely spoke of things he wasn't sure about. So, he explained softly, "Dad can't promise you that right now because I haven't even met your mother. What if she doesn't want to live with me?"
"You can't force her, right An An?" Qin Ningyi's words were quite agreeable to An An.
"Then, Dad, do you want to live with Mom?" Although An An agreed, he wasn't that easily fooled.
Mom's computer had pictures of Dad hidden on it. She must want to. An An knew what was going on and was just waiting for Qin Ningyi's answer.
Qin Ningyi hadn't actually thought about this question. He admitted that he was extremely curious about Huo Rou now, had many questions he wanted to ask her, and really wanted to meet her.
But he wasn't sure if he would like the woman who, according to An An, "grows the most beautiful flowers in the village."
"Do you want to or not..." An An was rarely so persistent about a question, acting like a true five-year-old, stubbornly wanting an answer.
Qin Ningyi put his large arm around An An, and An An's head rested against Qin Ningyi's chest, plunging him into darkness.
He then reached out and turned off the room light, his voice deep as he said, "It's time to sleep."
An An squirmed, insistent on getting an answer, his muffled voice causing Qin Ningyi's chest to vibrate slightly. "Dad, do you want to..."
Alas, Qin Ningyi sighed.