novelraw Chapter 727 688 It seems that it's not over yet
Chapter 727 688 It seems that it's not over yet
"One, two, three, do you remember how the rest of it goes, Lord Dumpling?"
"I forgot..." Tuanzi's eyes were brimming with tears as she gazed at him pitifully. "Has Lord Dumpling turned into a little dumb cat?"
"It's 'up the high mountain.'"
"I remember! Lord Dumpling remembers!" Tuanzi nodded vigorously, and to prove her memory, she repeated, "One, two, three, up the high three..."
"What about after that?"
"I forgot again..."
"Four, five, six."
"Four, five, six..."
"Do a somersault..."
"Do a somersault... Lord Dumpling remembers!"
"Yes, Lord Dumpling remembers everything. Lord Dumpling is the best!" Zhou Li was not the least bit impatient.
"Lord Dumpling is the best!"
"After that, it's seven, eight, nine, play with a ball. You must remember that too, right?" Zhou Li said with a smile.
"I remember!"
"That's great, so let's say it all together again."
"MEOW~~"
"..."
Zhou Li was still smiling.
It's normal for a little kitten to not understand human speech.
After a moment of thought, he reopened the computer, ready to run through yesterday's content with Tuanzi in more detail before starting to teach her simplified Chinese characters.
How could she forget so much overnight? Perhaps all children are like this. Maybe he was like this too when he was learning numbers in kindergarten, only he had forgotten. His kindergarten teacher must have taught him over and over again, continually reinforcing the memory, before it became ingrained on the blank slate of a child's heart.
Besides, Lord Dumpling was very clever.
He still remembered the first time he met Lord Dumpling. Driven by necessity, she was a little smartie back then. After securing a long-term meal ticket and slacking off, she gradually reverted to her original dumb little cat ways. But in essence, Lord Dumpling was still very clever.
Zhou Li was full of confidence in that.
"Lord Dumpling..."
"Coming!"
Time trickled by. Huai Xu, sprawled out, rubbed his eyes and yawned.
Brother Nan had also woken up.
The young girl wore very thin floral shorts, reminiscent of tailored granny pants, revealing long, fair legs. Her top was a slightly small T-shirt, accentuating her waistline. She stood at the bedroom door, watching Zhou Li and Tuanzi for a while before moving toward them. "Why are you still teaching this? Didn't you already teach it yesterday?"
A smile emerged on Huai Xu's face at her words.
Zhou Li, however, remained expressionless and said nothing. He simply grabbed Brother Nan's wrist, made her spread her fingers, then bowed his head and buried his face in her palm.
Brother Nan's palm was soft, her skin delicate.
Zhou Li shook his head, nuzzling it again and again before finally lifting his head to continue his educational endeavor.
He had thought the review would only take a little while, but it ended up taking much longer than Zhou Li had anticipated. And since Tuanzi was a pampered Little Trash Cat, skilled at wheedling and acting cute, Zhou Li couldn't force her to keep writing numbers and had to patiently persuade her.
Teach for five minutes, plead for half an hour.
Study for five minutes, rest for half an hour.
By the time Tuanzi finally recalled all of what she had learned the day before, completely writing out the numbers one to ten, it was almost noon.
The Little Cat Girl lifted her head, her eyes shimmering as she looked pitifully at Zhou Li. "Zhou Ni~~ Can Lord Dumpling still go with Your Highness to the zoo to see the big 'brain axe'?"
"I'm afraid it will be a while before we can," he replied.
"BIUBIUBIU, your nose is growing long!"
"If it grows that long, I'll become an elephant," Zhou Li said, leaning close to Tuanzi. "If I become an elephant, will Lord Dumpling still like me?"
"I will, oh!"
"It might not necessarily be turning into an elephant," Brother Nan interjected, her eyes rolling. "It could be something else growing on your face."
"What..."
Zhou Li was momentarily stunned before he realized what she meant. Turning his head away, speechless, he said to Brother Nan, "Don't teach Lord Dumpling bad things."
Tuanzi, however, was very curious, her innocent eyes wide. "What 'meow' thing?"
Brother Nan didn't answer, only snickered to herself.
「The afternoon.」
By this season, most cities across the country should have cooled down, welcoming the pleasant Jin Qiu. But the sunshine in Chunming was still dazzling, making people reluctant to go outside.
Good thing they hadn't gone to the zoo today.
The house was very quiet.
Zhou Li pointed to a number on the calendar and asked Tuanzi, "Lord Dumpling, what number is this?"
"It's 5, oh!"
"And this one?"
"This one... balloon... balloon 9!"
"Lord Dumpling is really awesome."
"Zhou Ni is so silly! You just taught Lord Dumpling this morning!"
"Who could compare with Lord Dumpling?" Zhou Li paused for a moment. "Since Lord Dumpling is so smart, how about we have Stewed Cabbage in Broth for dinner tonight?"
"Lord Dumpling wants fish soup and rice!"
"Okay!"
Zhou Li's current strategy was to reinforce Tuanzi's memory anytime, anywhere, making it part of her daily routine. That way, she would definitely remember.
"HEH~~"
The girl in the floral minishorts walked out again. As she moved, she flexed her upper body and fingers while also sighing, "It feels so good to have a sense of touch. It seems Demons feel this way too, only cherishing something after they've lost it..."
"Your Highness!!"
Tuanzi immediately abandoned Zhou Li, pouncing on the girl as if forgetting everything else in that instant.
A fluffy charm now dangled from the girl's ankle, but she paid it no mind. She walked up to Zhou Li, glancing askance at him as if looking at a foolish human. "Do you really think I've never taught her how to count or recognize words?"
"Yes," Zhou Li replied honestly.
"Foolish." The girl snorted. Lifting her long leg, she removed the charm from her foot and said to him, "Then you can take your time teaching her. Let's see when you manage to teach her anything."
"Lord Dumpling is very smart," Zhou Li disagreed. "She remembers complex things like Stewed Cabbage in Broth and Pagoda Pork. Numbers shouldn't be difficult for her."
"Those dishes are my favorites," the girl said with a smile, continuing, "This little creature is both smart and stupid. She remembers what she wants to remember—the things that make her happy. As for the things she doesn't want to remember, or things that make her unhappy, she'll forget them quickly even if she does learn them."
"I see." Zhou Li pondered. "Lord Dumpling really is wise in her own way."
"'Big weak fish?'" Tuanzi stared at him from the girl's arms, then tilted her head to look at the girl. "Your Highness, is weak fish tastier than wild hilsa herring, meow?"
"Of course." The girl's smile grew wider. "Weak fish has delicate, succulent meat. The bigger, the tastier."
"Meow! Then why did Zhou Ni say Lord Dumpling is a big, weak fish?"
"He wants to eat you up."
"MEOW?! Nobody can eat Lord Dumpling!"
"I was complimenting Lord Dumpling for being cute and likable," Zhou Li interjected, seeing her reaction. "Don't believe her."
"Oh..."
"Yes!"
"Then Lord Dumpling wants to eat big weak fish! Big weak fish made into fish soup with rice!"
"If Lord Dumpling can learn the simplified Chinese characters for numbers this afternoon, I'll take you to have big weak fish for dinner." Zhou Li wasn't trapped by Your Highness's words; instead, he seized on them. Then he looked up to explain to Your Highness, "I figure, if I test her every day, she'll eventually remember. But if it's too hard, I'll choose to give up."
"That depends on your patience then."
"Your Highness, what's the longest you've ever taught her?"
"Half a month, I suppose. Each time she would learn it, then after a night's sleep, she'd forget it all completely," Your Highness told him. "Maybe you'll have more patience."
"Half a month, huh..."
Your Highness certainly was patient with Tuanzi.
At least Brother Nan wasn't that patient.
And Zhou Li felt that Brother Nan educating a child alone wouldn't work. It wasn't a question of whether the child could learn or not; the issue was that she might pass on her violent tendencies and impatience, along with her recklessness, her overly dramatic flair, her love for courting disaster, and all those strange ideas...
Of course, Brother Nan also had many good qualities. How to retain the essence and discard the dross—that would require a gentle and rational other half to oversee.
Unless she herself became rational and calm.
But that was impossible. Brother Nan would be this way until she died.
She wouldn't mature with age, wouldn't have her edges smoothed by life's experiences, nor would she suddenly grow up just because she had a child. She would always keep that youthful spirit.
Zhou Li thought this was a good thing.
「November.」
At school, the leaves on a few trees had started turning yellow and falling, but most trees remained green and would stay that way.
Mornings were a bit chilly, so Zhou Li wore a jacket. But by afternoon, when the sun came out and it grew warmer, he still didn't take it off.
The weather was truly strange. Whether wearing a jacket made a difference to the cold or heat seemed irrelevant at times. In fact, sometimes a light jacket worn to block the scorching sun actually made it feel less hot.
Zhou Li and Brother Nan went to their physical education class together.
They weren't enrolled in the same PE class this semester. Zhou Li had chosen basketball, while Brother Nan had opted for badminton.
Zhou Li wasn't naturally interested in such social sports; he preferred not to play with others. Brother Nan, however, loved basketball and was great at it. So, Zhou Li had chosen the basketball class intending to occasionally enjoy her favorite sport with her.
As for why Brother Nan chose badminton...
Zhou Li didn't know.
As they walked, Zhou Li noticed Brother Nan repeat a certain action several times—
She would pull open the collar of her shirt and peer down inside.
The next time she did it, Zhou Li couldn't help asking, "What are you doing?"
Brother Nan paused her movement and slowly turned her head.
Zhou Li was curious and concerned.
Then Brother Nan's eyes narrowed—
SLAP!
A hard slap landed on Zhou Li's shoulder.
Zhou Li was stunned. Was this the proper way to respond to his concern? Before he could react, he heard Brother Nan hiss at him, "I told you to be damn gentle, gentle! How many times have I told you? Are your ears blocked by flies or something? You just don't listen!"
"..."
Zhou Li was bewildered.
He turned his head blankly to look into the distance, then at the sky. It seemed as though someone had been talking, but then again, perhaps not...
Anyway, he hadn't heard anything.
If he hadn't heard it, there'd be no embarrassment.
After a while, once he figured the storm had passed, Zhou Li turned back to Brother Nan and said, "I tested Lord Dumpling again today. Guess what?"
"Guess? My ass!"
"Oh..."
Zhou Li nodded and withdrew his gaze. Fine, I'll just say it again later.