Extra Story 3
Childlike Kindergarten.
"Come on, look here, one, two, three, smile!"
Click.
The photographer looked at the shot, frowned, pointed at the pretty little girl standing in the middle, then at the pretty little boy standing on the far right, and said:
"You're twins, right? Stand together for the photo, show your teeth and smile."
Xia Lan, young as she was, already had an air of a cool big sister. She pouted.
"No, smiling looks stupid."
Xia Qian stated: "If sister doesn't smile, then he won't smile either."
The photographer wiped his sweat, wanting to ask the kindergarten teacher to mediate.
But the teacher also smiled wryly and said, "Forget it, just let them be."
Having one Little Devil in a class is already a headache.
The Xia twins, brother and sister, were two Little Devils.
"Alright then, three, two, one..."
Before the photographer's "click" sound had even finished, he saw the little girl standing in front of Xia Qian burst into loud sobs.
The teacher asked with concern, "Qianqian, why are you crying?"
The little girl complained tearfully, "Teacher, Xia Qian pulled my pigtail."
Before the teacher could say anything, Xia Lan was already glaring at her brother, declaring righteously:
"Xia Qian, why did you pull Qianqian's pigtail?"
Xia Qian wasn't scared at all, explaining with a serious face:
"The photographer just said to smile with teeth showing. Qianqian didn't show her teeth, so I gave it a pull."
Teacher: "..."
Photographer: "..."
Not only do you not smile yourself, but you also act as the discipline monitor, policing whether other kids smile or not?
The kindergarten called the parents that very day.
When Yan Hechuan and Zhao Yunzhou appeared together, all the little girls and even the female teachers in the kindergarten blushed.
Long legs, broad shoulders and narrow waists; one mature and steady, the other flamboyant and handsome.
The impact of two tall, handsome men appearing simultaneously was still quite powerful.
Seeing them arrive, Xia Lan scurried over to Zhao Yunzhou's feet, held out her hands, and said,
"Up."
Zhao Yunzhou grinned and scooped up his precious daughter in one go, saying,
"Baby, were you bullied? Don't be scared, Daddy's here to protect you."
Xia Lan didn't answer, just pointed at her brother.
"No one bullied me. He's the one who caused trouble."
Xia Qian, meanwhile, walked over to Yan Hechuan with arrogant little steps.
Putting on a very mature act, he said:
"You can spank my bottom, but not my face."
Xia Qian believed he had a handsome face, the most handsome kid in Childlike Kindergarten.
He valued his little face the most.
A soft sigh escaped Yan Hechuan's throat as he gently ruffled his hair.
He also crouched down halfway to pick him up.
Then he turned to the teacher.
"Teacher, what happened with our Little Qian?"
Facing that handsome face and gentle tone, the kindergarten teacher said nervously,
"Well, today during the class photo, Little Qian pulled Qianqian's pigtail."
Qianqian's mother, who had just been comforting her daughter, was a bit angry.
She thought a bratty kid must have bratty parents and was planning to give them a piece of her mind. But upon seeing the two handsome men appear, she suddenly lost her voice.
The kindergarten teacher introduced, "This is Qianqian's mother."
Yan Hechuan lowered his eyes apologetically.
"My sincere apologies."
He poked Xia Qian's little cheek and asked, "Why did you pull Qianqian's pigtail?"
Xia Qian had always been more responsive to softness than hardness. Seeing his Papa speak so gently, he explained his reasoning.
Yan Hechuan understood.
"So, you thought you were helping the photographer by supervising the other children for him."
Xia Qian nodded repeatedly.
Papa was smart, as always. He then glanced at his Daddy, who was holding his sister.
So dumb.
Yan Hechuan suddenly said:
"But, Little Qian, if you yourself don't follow the photographer's rule about smiling with teeth for the photo, do you think you have any right to police others?"
Xia Qian fell silent.
Xia Lan snorted, "Yes! That's exactly it."
Xia Qian mumbled, his little mouth pouting, "But sister, you didn't smile either."
Xia Lan: "I also didn't pull Qianqian's pigtail."
Xia Qian was utterly defeated: "...!"
"Alright." Yan Hechuan set him down and pointed to the little girl not far away. "Now you should go over and say sorry to Qianqian."
"S-sorry." Xia Qian blinked his peach-blossom eyes, staring at Qianqian with an innocent and sincere expression.
Qianqian blushed under his gaze and stammered, "I-it's okay, I forgive you."
Conflicts between children come and go quickly.
Soon, Qianqian was playing with Little Qian.
The aloof sister, Xia Lan, stood to the side, indicating that these were games for little kids.
Qianqian's mother, learning that the twins' fathers were actually two different men, silently gave their mother a thumbs up in her heart.
What a queen!
A role model for us all.
Just as they were talking, the sound of high heels clicking on the floor came from outside the door.
In their line of sight was a tall woman with a cascade of jet-black wavy hair falling to her waist and skin as fair as snow.
She wore a sophisticated white business suit, a black-and-white polka-dot scarf tied around her neck, and walked in carrying a grey laptop bag, her demeanor efficient.
"Mommy!" Xia Qian abandoned his playmate and scampered forward.
Xia Lan also stopped being Little Miss Cool.
She too dashed forward.
"Mommy, up!"
Seeing this, Xia Liuyue took off her coat and set the laptop bag aside.
She picked up both children, one in each arm, and offered the teacher an apologetic smile:
"Sorry, teacher, I had a meeting. Am I late?"
"Not at all, not at all. The children's fathers have already handled it." The kindergarten teacher was momentarily dazzled by the beautiful, charming woman's smile.
This family, all five of them were so good-looking.
Little Qianqian was also mesmerized. So pretty!
"It's fine, it's fine. The child has already apologized, and they've made up."
After this incident.
What made Xia Lan and Xia Qian most famous among the kids wasn't that they were two Little Devils.
But that they actually had two handsome fathers who looked different from each other.
And one stunningly beautiful mother.
Alright then.
The kids told themselves:
That explains why Xia Lan is so aloof—because none of them have two dads.
It also explains why Xia Qian is always so concerned about his face—because he looks like his beautiful mommy, and he really is quite pretty, isn't he?
After returning home.
Xia Liuyue felt she needed to be a strict mother.
After all, the two fathers were too doting.
So she had each of them write a diary entry, detailing the day's events.
Xia Lan confidently went into her room to write.
Not to be outdone, Xia Qian ran to his little study and hunched over his small desk, scribbling away.
Soon, two diaries with distinctly different styles were presented to the three adults.
...
Xia Lan's Diary:
[I don't like smiling with teeth in photos because it's silly, just like my silly brother.
He copies me by not smiling, which is even sillier.
He also pulled Qianqian's pigtail. Bad little boy.
Papa and Daddy came.
Brother didn't get spanked (sigh...).
A bit disappointing.
Mommy came too.
We went home. A truly happy day.]
...
Xia Qian's Diary:
[I like taking photos, especially of my right side. Papa says I look very handsome when I tilt my head up.
Definitely more handsome than Daddy.
Because Mama loves to kiss my right cheek the most, saying it's soft.
Qianqian's braid was so long, it blocked my right face. That wouldn't look good in the photo.
So I gave it a tug, and then she cried.
Papa said that wasn't right. I apologized, and Qianqian smiled again.
Hmm, next time I take a photo, I still need to show my right face.
...
After reading the two diaries, the three adults looked at each other.
So, Xia Qian tugged Qianqian's braid not because she wasn't smiling, but because it was blocking his own handsome right face.
Zhao Yunzhou quickly deflected, saying, "Little Qian must take after Brother Yan. I'm not that vain."
Yan Hechuan nodded silently in agreement, "Indeed. Last time we took the family portrait, you insisted on standing on the left, saying your left profile was the most handsome."
Case solved.
So it turns out the vain gene is hereditary too.
...
A little extra scene.
Xia Lan glanced at the parents seriously discussing things.
She turned back and continued writing her diary.
[Aunties, have you ever heard the story of the little rabbit?]
"No, we haven't."
[With your company, it's like the rabbit's world is raining carrots.]
...
We'll meet again in the next world.
