novelraw Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
The kindergarten children lined up in long queues under the teacher's direction.
Each class had boys in one row and girls in another.
Liu Wenjie unhurriedly stood at the very back of his line, then turned his head and glanced toward the middle of the girls' line.
Several boys seemed still to be comforting Xu Feifei.
"Feifei, don't cry—it's already dismissal."
One boy even took the initiative to hand her a tissue: "That's right, Feifei. You're so pretty. If Liu Wenjie won't be your friend, how about I be your good friend? I'll come to your house this weekend and bring you cookies."
Xu Feifei blinked in confusion: "Who are you? Can you sing as well as Liu Wenjie? Don't talk to me!"
With red eyes, Xu Feifei turned toward Liu Wenjie at the back of the boys' line.
Her big, watery eyes were now swollen scarlet from crying.
Liu Wenjie met her gaze for a moment, then looked away indifferently, scanning the gate for his parents; spotting Mom and Dad, he waved cheerfully.
His careless attitude made Xu Feifei clench her teeth in anger. Her furrowed brow seemed to say, "Liu Wenjie, you'll regret this. When the time comes, even if you beg me to be your friend, I won't!"
With a flick of her head she refused to look at him again.
But a child's emotions are not so easily managed; the more Xu Feifei thought, the angrier she became, steam practically rising from her head.
Clearly, this grudge was now etched in her little heart's notebook.
Speaking of reincarnation, thanks to Liu Wenjie's powerful protagonist aura, he had effortlessly dispelled a potent curse at some orphanage.
This life, his parents were both alive and the family was harmonious.
Dad's name was Liu Yingjun, a civil servant in the small town; Mom was Lin Xiaoli, a full-time housewife who occasionally dabbled in odd side hustles at home.
For some reason, the first time Liu Wenjie heard his parents' names he found them oddly familiar.
He kept feeling that next door lived a very impressive grandpa.
Who would have guessed it was true—the family next door really was little Xia Ying's, and she did indeed live with her grandpa. Everything matched!
Good thing his ears weren't too big, or he'd have felt he didn't deserve to be called Liu Wenjie.
Under the teachers' guidance the kindergarten children filed out of the gate in orderly fashion.
When Dad saw his precious son emerge, he perked up: "Son's out! How was kindergarten today?"
Liu Wenjie answered with perfect honesty: "Okay. The teacher didn't teach anything, so we just played another day."
Mom Lin Xiaoli clapped her hands: "Wow, our little Jie is so awesome! Knowing how to play is a talent too!"
Liu Wenjie chuckled softly. He had to admit Mom's silly personality was pretty amusing; otherwise Dad wouldn't have said that back when they were dating, Mom's goofiness had hooked him like a fish on a line and he'd sworn to marry this fun girl.
Liu Wenjie: "Then let's go home?"
Mom looked toward the girls' line: "Hold on, Jie—where's your little Xia Ying?"
"Xia Ying?" Liu Wenjie turned and pointed: "She's over there. She's always at the very end—why?"
Dad smiled: "Xia Ying's grandpa has something tonight, so he called us. We'll bring little Xia Ying home with us."
"Oh, okay."
Little Xia Ying, in her white dress, didn't leave the gate, looking left and right, unable to find her grandpa.
The closer she got to the gate, the more flustered she became, her tiny hands nervously twining in front of her chest, afraid to run around.
Only when Mom Lin Xiaoli called out did Xia Ying turn in alarm.
"Little Xia Ying! Come here, come to Auntie!"
Hearing that, Xia Ying instinctively glanced at Liu Wenjie; when their eyes met, she quickly lowered her head in fright, not daring to look at him.
She walked over timidly and asked in a small voice: "Good afternoon, Auntie... did you see my grandpa? I can't find him."
Lin Xiaoli, bent at the waist and smiling, said: "Grandpa has to work late tonight, so come with Auntie first, all right? Tonight you'll have dinner at Auntie's house, and big-brother Jie can play with you."
Mom adored this shy little girl and couldn't resist patting Xia Ying's fragrant little head a few times.
Xia Ying didn't dare move, only nodding softly: "Okay... th-thank you, Auntie."
"My goodness, Xia Ying is just too cute! How can such a cute little girl exist?"
Blushing under the praise, Xia Ying glanced at Liu Wenjie again—only to find him looking at her too, and immediately dropped her head once more.
Mom couldn't help covering her mouth to stifle a laugh.
"Childhood sweethearts—so lovely."
Dad stepped aside and pressed the car key: "All right, let's get in the car first. Too many people here, it'll be hard to leave soon."
The family car was a 100,000-yuan runabout called Qichen—an off-brand among off-brands. Still, it had served the Liu family faithfully for years, and Dad loved it, spending every spare moment downstairs polishing it.
The whole family got into the small car.
Dad and Mom in front, Liu Wenjie and Xia Ying in the back.
The car inched forward through the dense crowd outside the kindergarten.
Inside the car, Mom spotted a Mercedes in the traffic—practically a luxury car in their not-so-prosperous town.
"Wow, that big Benz again! Honey, isn't that Boss Xu's car?"
Liu Yingjun gave a soft grunt: "Boss Xu has really ridden the wave these past few years. Mobile-phone usage is up, and the universal chargers his factory makes are selling like hotcakes. Rumor is he's expanding production, planning to dominate the market for the next decade. Not a bad guy either."
The town was small, and thanks to Dad's job he knew lots of people—Liu Wenjie wasn't surprised, but hearing this still made him sweat a bit.
Although this world's timeline differed from his previous one, universal chargers were basically tears of an era—sooner or later they'd be obsolete. If Boss Xu didn't pivot, future profits would dry up.
As Liu Yingjun's car passed the big Benz, the other driver actually rolled down his window and politely waved: "Director Liu! Picking up your kid?"
Liu Yingjun laughed: "Yeah, Boss Xu—fancy meeting you again."
Because of the crowd they only exchanged brief greetings, but since the Benz's rear window was down, Xu Feifei inside unexpectedly looked toward Liu Wenjie in the other car.
She hadn't expected their dads to know each other; after a moment's surprise she gave a soft "hmph" and rolled up her window.
Xia Ying, sitting beside Liu Wenjie, also saw Xu Feifei's proud figure. She didn't really understand what a universal charger was, but she could tell Xu Feifei's family was very important, which left her puzzled—why wouldn't Liu Wenjie be friends with Xu Feifei? She was cute and had lots of toys; everyone else wanted to play with her.
Of course, Xia Ying didn't dare ask.
The Liu family drove home in their small car.
Once upstairs, Mom Lin Xiaoli kicked off her shoes and headed straight to the kitchen: "Jie, you play with little Xia Ying. Mom and Dad will cook."
Liu Wenjie gave an "oh," wondering why he had to entertain this little girl.
He looked at Xia Ying and came up with the simplest solution: "Want to watch TV? I'll find you a cartoon."
Xia Ying nodded anxiously: "Okay, whatever... thank you..."
Liu Wenjie waved a hand: "No need to be polite—sit down, I'll find a channel for you."