The adults didn’t agonize over the choice for long. Because the moment they entered Xingya Kindergarten, little Su Youli had been saying “Wow” nonstop.
Pei Qiqi, who was holding his hand, also had his mouth slightly open. Every step forward was a new shock. The playground was a green lawn, surrounded by trees. The teaching buildings were separated by various plants. An entire wall was covered in ivy. Every tree had several bird nests. Cheerful birdsong chirped everywhere. The two little ones stopped under a tree, tilting their faces up, standing on tiptoes to see what the birds looked like.
The principal and teachers leading the tour were confident, introducing Xingya International Kindergarten to them. This time, the teacher didn’t need to coax them. The two little ones obediently followed the teacher to the play area. All three kindergartens they visited today had top-notch facilities. Each had a slightly different educational style.
For example, Xingya’s play area wasn’t separated by age. Children of all ages and sizes played on the large and small playgrounds. The teacher brought the two new kids to a huge camphor tree. Under it, children were collecting leaves for specimens. Su Youli was very familiar with this activity. He immediately joined them and even took the initiative to tell the children about the camphor tree.
“The camphor tree’s scent drives away pests. Its wood is hard and durable. It can be used to make lots of furniture.”
The little guy spoke slowly and seriously, reaching out his little hand to touch the camphor tree’s bark. Seven or eight children sat under the tree in a circle. After hearing Su Youli’s introduction, they looked up at the towering camphor tree with admiration. The children ranged from three to six years old. They had been at Xingya for a long time.
Xingya held “mixed-age activities” every month. Older children learned to care for younger ones, building responsibility and leadership. Younger children learned from their older peers, gaining experience. Some of the bolder ones stood up and introduced themselves to the two new friends. The bold children set a good example. The others weren’t shy either, standing up and saying their names.
“My name is Tiaotiao. I’m in the middle class. My favorite person is my mom. My favorite food is fizzy cola. Even better with ice!” Tiaotiao swallowed after saying this.
“Hello everyone, my name is Sheng Le. I’m five and a half. I love going fishing in the countryside with my mom and dad…”
Under everyone’s encouragement, little Su Youli also learned from the children before him, running to the center of the circle and introducing himself while clutching his clothes.
“Hello everyone, my name is Su Youli. I’m three and a half. Youyou’s favorite people are Little Dad, Kun Kun, Mom and Dad, Big Brother and Second Brother, and also Brother Xiao Tang, Brother Qiqi…”
Introducing his favorite people was something the little guy hadn’t practiced. He pursed his little mouth, reaching out his little hand to count on his fingers, counting all the people he loved before finishing.
“And my favorite food is little rabbit cake…” Everyone watched the little guy start another round of finger counting.
The little guy stood in the circle for several minutes before finishing his introduction. When he finished, he found everyone was quiet, staring at him with wide eyes. The little guy’s face immediately turned red. He stood there at a loss.
Clap, clap, clap.
Pei Qiqi, sitting below, stood up and clapped until his hands were red. He ran to Youyou’s side, took his hand, and introduced himself too. After the two of them sat down, the children immediately surrounded them.
“Su Youli, you’re amazing.”
All the children nodded. The new kid not only knew the name of the big tree, but his self-introduction was so long. He was cute and pretty, and his voice was nice too. After a simple introduction, Su Youli became the most popular kid. Several children had already exchanged names with him.
“Youyou, come to our class! Our teacher Apple is so nice. She sings beautifully!”
Knowing Su Youli was just visiting, the children couldn’t sit still. They all wanted him in their class.
The others weren’t to be outdone: “Our class is great too! Teacher Conch is amazing. He takes us climbing trees!”
A child squeezed over and raised a hand: “Our teacher Wheat is the prettiest. You’ll definitely like her!”
“Youyou, Qiqi, come to our class. I’ll share my snacks with you.”
The children chattered. The parents and teachers watching couldn’t help but laugh. The little guy, held by Brother Qiqi, sat on a small stool under the tree. The children loved him and were very enthusiastic. This was a first for the little guy. His face was red, and he nodded continuously, saying “Mm-hmm” for a long time. He didn’t really understand what they were saying, but he responded seriously. Even Pei Qiqi had a circle of children around him; his little hands were touched by many kids.
Pei Yi looked at his nephew’s red ears, almost moved to tears. Qiqi could now let strangers touch him, and even smiled shyly when praised.
“Honey, do you think Qiqi will like it here?” he sniffled, turning to ask Hua Zhao.
Hua Zhao also had a doting smile. These children were so good, so well-behaved.
She nodded. “He should like it. It mainly depends on whether Youyou likes it.”
And our little Youyou was already dizzy from all the praise. When a child mentioned they could go to the lake every week with binoculars to observe migratory birds, he was so excited he almost jumped. The pleasant bell rang. The children were reluctant, turning back to call Qiqi and Youyou’s names as the teacher led them back to class. The children returned to their classrooms like birds returning to their nests. The two little ones were visibly disappointed. They had just gotten familiar with the children.
“Youyou, let’s go look at the classroom, okay?” Chu Ying crouched down and patted his head.
The two children were brought to the classroom door. Standing at the entrance, tilting their heads slightly, they could see the children inside having class.
T/n: I’m trying to be more upfront with updates and also interact with y’all. I’ll be sharing all changes to posting schedules or anything related to my works on Ko-Fi or Patreon, as those are the platforms I currently know of. These updates are in no way paywalled, and if I come across a better way to share the updates I’ll let you know<3. Once again thank you so much for reading my work. It means a lot to me<3.
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gingerbread On LC chapter 2