(1)
“Strange.”
Zhou Chao suddenly furrowed his brow.
“What’s strange?”
An Jing opened her small mouth and popped the orange-flavored hard candy Zhu Ying handed her into her mouth.
Zhu Ying deliberately poked her tongue with a finger.
“Hmm… you guys go ahead first.”
“Take a right up ahead, there’s a kindergarten there. Find it yourselves!”
Zhang Qiqi didn’t ask why, she just slapped Zhou Chao lightly on the forehead and took the lead, walking to the front.
An Jing nodded at Zhu Ying, who smiled knowingly and quickened her pace, overtaking Yi who had been walking beside her.
“What’s up?”
An Jing slowed down and turned to look at Zhou Chao.
“You’ve been staring over there this whole time?”
“That girl… I think she’s A Qiang’s girlfriend. I don’t think I’m mistaken.”
“You’ve seen her before?”
“Once, when I went with him to pick out a gift. But I was standing far away; she didn’t know who I was.”
“Are you sure?”
An Jing raised her eyebrows.
“But the guy standing in front of her isn’t A Qiang.”
“Hmm…”
“Looks like they get along pretty well.”
“Wait.”
Zhou Chao’s frown deepened.
He took out his full-keyboard BlackBerry and called Fang Qiang, pulling An Jing’s arm and stepping into a nearby alley.
“Hey? A Qiang?”
“Hey, what’s up? Chao? I’m working!”
“Part-time?”
“Yeah!”
An Jing pressed her ear to the phone, listening to Fang Qiang’s slightly muffled voice from inside.
Zhou Chao glanced at her and made a shushing gesture, then smiled and asked, “What time do you finish today?”
“Around seven! I’ll come find her once I’m done!”
“Oh, that’s good. Don’t get nervous, listen. We saw your girlfriend, there was a guy really close to her.”
“—! He put his hand on her shoulder!”
An Jing whispered sharply.
“Oh, that? Don’t worry, I know him. He’s her good friend. They only met recently but really click. Don’t worry, no romantic feelings involved.”
“Oh…”
“Really? They look really close though…”
“Haha—”
Fang Qiang heard An Jing’s quiet murmur.
“Guys, don’t be so petty. Girls having male friends is normal.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Zhou Chao covered An Jing’s mouth, kept smiling, and nodded as if Fang Qiang on the other end could see him.
“Alright then, no problem. We happened to see her on our way.”
“Okay, haha, thanks for caring, brother. But don’t worry! I absolutely trust she loves me!”
“Alright, get back to work. I’m hanging up.”
“Okay, bye!”
The call ended, and Zhou Chao’s relaxed expression turned serious again.
Then he helplessly smiled and shook his head.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Don’t overthink it. Just like guys can have close female friends, it’s normal for girls too. This is a gender-equal society; no one should limit anyone else.”
“It sounds so damn weird coming from you.”
An Jing rolled her eyes dramatically.
“I didn’t think much about it anyway. Since A Qiang knows, there’s nothing to worry about. If it were something shady, he wouldn’t know, right?”
Zhou Chao’s smile grew wider.
He gave An Jing’s shoulder a firm pat.
“You’re right.”
“Alright, let’s go. To the kindergarten!”
“Let’s go.”
***
(2)
Back at the broken-down kindergarten’s entrance, it finally had a bit more of a “kindergarten” feel.
The wall at the gate was freshly painted in red, yellow, and blue—much livelier than before.
Before even stepping inside, waves of noisy chatter came spilling out, like the largest vegetable market in a small city.
A man holding a cigarette in one hand walked out.
One of his sleeves was empty, fluttering lightly in the wind.
“Hello, uncle.”
An Jing hurriedly greeted the man she had met once before.
“Oh, Qiqi invited so many people this time, hello, hello.”
“Uncle, you’re still here?”
“I’m just about to leave. Originally, it was just me and Qiqi today, but some things came up, sorry for troubling you all to help.”
“Hello, uncle.”
Zhou Chao greeted from the side and smiled, “It’s nothing, we’re friends.”
“Haha, the young man looks quite handsome, nice to see you, you must be Qiqi.”
“Uncle, they’re just ordinary classmates…”
An Jing awkwardly explained.
“Haha, it’s fine, even if they are, it’s normal for young people to date.”
He took a long drag and exhaled a cloud of gray smoke.
“I’ll be off now, thanks for your help.”
“Take care, uncle!”
“What’s wrong with his hand?”
“I don’t know. I heard there was an accident later.”
“Oh—” Zhou Chao nodded but didn’t ask further.
***
(3)
Inside, there were about forty kids, most playing in the yard, a few staying inside the classroom.
The kids in the yard were full of energy, all fighting over two small slides.
Occasional sharp quarrels broke out.
“Little brats, so noisy.”
Zhang Qiqi had just put down her backpack and walked out, hands on hips, staring at the rowdy children.
“If you’re playing, then play properly! No fighting! What’s there to fight over? There are so many things to play with. Take turns! Anyone who bullies others, I’ll beat them!”
No one knew how much “authority” Zhang Qiqi had accumulated to get these noisy kids to quiet down instantly.
She relaxed and nodded.
“Today is the kindergarten’s tenth anniversary, so be good. Everyone gets a small cake and new toys. No bad behavior, got it?”
“Got it—!”
The kids responded in unison.
“I have to go handle some things. This afternoon these older brothers and sisters will take care of you. Listen to them, understand?”
“Un-der-stood–”
“Okay, go play. No fighting!”
“These little brats are surprisingly obedient…”
Sun Wei was the most shocked.
“Yeah… unbelievable.”
An Jing muttered softly.
“Then, Sun Wei, hurry in and help. Wash your hands first, wear a hat—your dandruff is so bad I could use it as salt in a bowl.”
“Damn!!”
“Come help!”
Zhang Qiqi took on the big sister attitude and strode towards the kitchen.
The kindergarten wasn’t big, consisting of two buildings.
The one-story building was the kitchen, where food was cooked—yes, they still used a Tu Zhaotai.
The three-story building was the kindergarten itself: classrooms on the first floor, and the upper two floors probably belonged to Zhang Qiqi and her father.
In the yard, there was a small sandbox, two slides, and other simple play equipment suitable for kids.
Though not large, it had all the essentials.
Since they didn’t admit many kids, in other kindergartens it would be just one or two classes.
“Big sister! Big sister, can you come play house with us?”
Though simply dressed, the kids were not shy.
A little girl clutching a clean cloth doll ran over, gently tugging An Jing’s sleeve and looking up at her wide-eyed.
“Ah… I’m… a big brother!”
“Huh?” “Wow—”
“Come on, come on! Here’s a handsome big brother!”
“Handsome big brother!!”
Several girls around five years old immediately surrounded her, chirping like a flock of very hungry sparrows.
“Ah—don’t all surround me at once.”
“Okay, let’s play house. Big sister will play with you.”
“It’s the big sister from last time!”
“Hi, big sister~”
“Okay, missed me?”
“Missed you!”
“Then let’s play house~”
“Alright, big sister will be the matriarch, and the big brother will be her husband!”
“Huh? I’m a big brother, hey!”
“But when we play house, girls are always the matriarch.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Fine, then…”
An Jing and Zhu Ying sat down in the corner with the girls.
There was a peach blossom tree here, but in winter all the leaves had fallen, leaving only bare branches.
The wall was covered with crayon drawings made by the children, and the floor was covered with a fairly clean checkered mat. The little girls sat cross-legged or sideways here.
On the mat were some rough, simple toys representing props for their house-playing.
“I brought the matriarch!”
“Yay, the matriarch is here!”
“Please, great-grandma, take your seat~”
The little girl sat down first, then looked respectfully at An Jing.
“Huh?”
“Come on, great-grandma.”
Zhu Ying watched the show with amusement.
“…Like this?”
“Good~ Now, great-grandpa, take your seat~”
“Why does great-grandpa sit last?”
Zhu Ying asked curiously.
“Because we must show respect to women!” a little girl answered quickly.
“Oh, I see.”
“Great-grandpa, great-grandma, bad news! Xiao Liuzi ran away with a boy outside!”
“Pft, cough cough… cough cough cough!”
An Jing almost choked on her own saliva—she didn’t expect to hear that word from kindergarten kids.
“Ran away?”
“Yeah, great-grandpa, should we use family law to punish her?”
“No need, let her pursue her own happiness.”
“But that boy isn’t officially married to her!” a chubby little girl said, glancing at a boy and girl playing on the slide.
Apparently, the so-called elopement was just the girl running off to play with the boy.
“Okay, our family will pay so that boy can officially marry her.”
“Go get Xiao Liuzi back!”
“Xiao Liuzi sounds like a eunuch’s name.”
An Jing tugged the corner of her mouth.
“They’re just kids; names are random.”
“Xiao Liuzi, Xiao Liuzi!”
The girl playing the maid called out, “The master wants you back, to arrange the official marriage!”
The kids didn’t understand what an official marriage was; it just sounded grand to them.
So they began teasing, forcing the boy to “bow to heaven and earth, bow to parents…”
An Jing had already looked up at the sky.
—The little girls’ game of house was just too embarrassing…