"Doctor Lin, Captain Su."
Zhuang Yi adjusted his glasses and greeted them, knowing the situation in Jiang Chengzhou's household.
Lin Zhilan handed over the box of pastries. "Teacher Zhuang, I'm also Su Li's mother..."
"Su Li?"
Lin Zhilan nudged Jiang Chengzhou.
Jiang Chengzhou took a sharp breath and recounted the incident of running into Su Li and the little girl earlier that day.
Zhuang Yi's face darkened as he listened, stepping aside to make way. "Come inside and talk."
The group followed Zhuang Yi into the courtyard.
A grapevine grew in the yard, and a little girl was playing with a cat under the trellis. She turned around at the sound of their footsteps.
Zhuang Nuo ran over to Zhuang Yi, her round eyes blinking without a hint of shyness. "Who are you?"
Lin Zhilan crouched down, her voice soft. "I'm Su Li's mother. What's your name?"
"Nuonuo," Zhuang Nuo's eyes widened. "Auntie, you're so pretty."
"Thank you," Lin Zhilan extended her hand. "I'm also a doctor, you know. Can I feel your pulse?"
Zhuang Nuo hid her hands behind her back. "Are you going to give me a shot?"
"No shots," Lin Zhilan showed her empty palms. "See? No needles on Auntie."
Only then did Zhuang Nuo offer her hand.
Lin Zhilan took the little girl's pulse, then looked up at Zhuang Yi. "Does Zhuang Nuo often have stomachaches or diarrhea?"
Zhuang Yi hadn't expected her to check his daughter's pulse right away. He was stunned for a few seconds before replying, "Yes, and she doesn't like eating much. My wife is a nurse, so we took her to the hospital. The doctor said it's gastrointestinal dysfunction. When she has diarrhea, we've given her Montmorillonite powder a few times."
Lin Zhilan looked at Nuonuo. "Did the doctor also say you shouldn't eat ice cream or cold things?"
Nuonuo looked a bit guilty, glanced at her father, and nodded.
Su Li suddenly burst out from behind and stood in front of Nuonuo. "Mom, it was me who gave Nuonuo the ice cream! Don't you scold her!"
"You still dare to say that? You're the one who made Nuonuo sick, you know that?"
Su Li turned to Nuonuo. "You get diarrhea from ice cream? How was I supposed to know?"
How would you know?
How could you possibly know!
It's not like Nuonuo would report every trip to the bathroom to you, right?
Zhuang Yi picked up his daughter and looked at this so-called "boyfriend" of hers.
Good-looking, he thought—definitely the type to charm girls with sweet talk.
Linlin had arrived with her younger brother and didn't know what was going on yet. She walked over to Su Lang and took his hand. "Dad, what's wrong?"
Zhuang Yi turned his gaze. "Captain Su, Doctor Lin, you have daughters too. Tell me, what do we do about this?"
After all, children were just being childish—Zhuang Yi wasn't going to get seriously angry with them. But he couldn't just let this slide!
At such a young age, playing at romance?!
Su Lang was won over by his words and instantly empathized with another father.
"Su Li, apologize to Nuonuo!"
Su Li looked up at Zhuang Nuo in Zhuang Yi's arms. "Sorry, Nuonuo. I won't buy you ice cream anymore. I'll get you something else."
"Okay," Zhuang Nuo replied.
Zhuang Yi frowned. "Nuonuo! Don't take things from others!"
Su Li spoke up loudly. "It's okay, Uncle. We're going to get married someday, so what's mine is hers."
Zhuang Nuo nodded along. "Right!"
Seeing Zhuang Yi's face turn completely dark, Su Lang quickly covered his son's mouth.
Zhuang Nuo immediately called out to Su Lang. "Uncle, don't cover Su Li's mouth! He can't breathe like that!"
Su Lang: "..."
Heavens above!
The two children were acting like Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, or Romeo and Juliet, while the adults were being cast as the overbearing Queen Mother trying to tear them apart.
"Teacher Zhuang," Lin Zhilan had raised two kids herself, but she'd never dealt with this before. She looked helplessly at Zhuang Yi. "What do we do now?"
Zhuang Yi clenched his teeth. "Wait here for a moment."
He carried Zhuang Nuo back inside, then came out quickly and handed Lin Zhilan a ten-yuan note. "I don't know how much of your son's stuff Nuo Nuo has taken. Take this money back."
Lin Zhilan quickly waved her hands. "No, no, no. Su Li made Nuonuo sick—we feel terrible about it."
"Take it, or I won't feel right speaking any further." Zhuang Yi let out a sigh.
Lin Zhilan felt she had never been so humbled, but she reached out and accepted the money.
With the debt settled as a load off his shoulders, Zhuang Yi set Zhuang Nuo down and held her by the arms. "Are you... in a relationship with Su Li?"
"Yeah," Zhuang Nuo answered, with a hint of shyness.
Zhuang Yi choked. "Do you even know what 'being in a relationship' means?"
"Of course. We're getting married later."
Zhuang Yi made it more direct. "Have you done anything you shouldn't have?"
Zhuang Nuo tilted her head. "What's something we shouldn't do?"
Zhuang Yi paused. "Like... hugging or kissing."
Zhuang Nuo shook her head. "Nope."
She was perfectly composed, but Su Li was the one who got embarrassed.
Su Li blushed and retorted, "Uncle~ we're not married yet."
Zhuang Yi: "..."
Lin Zhilan and Su Lang were already looking for a hole to crawl into.
Jiang Chengzhou just wanted to cover his ears. Linlin bit her lip and smiled, thinking her little brother was adorable.
Lin Zhilan struggled to speak. "Li Li, Nuonuo, you're still young. Having a relationship isn't something you should be doing at your age."
"Right, right, right," Zhuang Yi quickly agreed, catching on. "Your job now is to study. Romance is for when you're older."
"But I like playing with Su Li," Zhuang Nuo pouted.
Zhuang Yi's face darkened. "What do you like about him?"
Zhuang Nuo's eyes curved into crescents. "Su Li is handsome. He's the best-looking boy in our class."
Su Li immediately chimed in, "And Nuonuo is the prettiest girl in our class."
The two children grinned at each other.
The adults felt like the sky was falling.
Shallow!
So shallow!
Seeing that the children were immune to both gentle persuasion and firm scolding, and that the more the parents pushed, the more stubborn they became, Jiang Chengzhou finally spoke up.
"Uncle, Auntie, Teacher, I think you don't need to worry too much. In a couple of years, when they're a bit more mature, they'll probably be embarrassed by what they're saying now."
Jiang Chengzhou thought Su Li and Nuonuo simply didn't understand what they were talking about yet.
That was it.
Zhuang Yi realized—what did a couple of kids really know?
Besides, the more you tried to stop them, the more they might dig in their heels.
As the sky grew dark, Zhuang Yi wore a stiff expression and saw Lin Zhilan's family out.
Su Li and Nuonuo were still reluctant to part, making plans to go to the supply co-op together for snacks the next day.
Zhuang Yi's face was so dark it had merged with the night.
Suddenly, Jiang Chengzhou remembered. "Teacher Zhuang, have you heard about the resumption of the college entrance exam?"
"What?"
Zhuang Yi, still grinding his teeth, was jolted out of it by the news.
