CHAPTER 391: CHAPTER 391: PICKING UP YOUNGER SIBLINGS FROM SCHOOL

In the summer of 1987, Song Chengguang started elementary school at the age of seven, as per his nominal age, while the boy and girl twins were left in kindergarten by Xu Xiuxiu to begin their preschool life. Originally, Song Yuanhuan was only supposed to spend two years in Imperial Military Academy, but for some reason, the order for him to take up his post back in the Military District was delayed. With the enrollment deadline for Imperial Experimental Primary School fast approaching, Xu Xiuxiu bit the bullet and took Song Chengguang to register. At the same time, she also sent the twins, who had tormented her for two years, to kindergarten, successfully freeing up some time from her daily life revolving around the children.

It must be said that the twins had a strong adaptability. With their striking appearances and the uncanny resemblance between brother and sister—whose enchanting androgyny and Little Baby’s cute and delicate charm, as well as Little Moon’s sunny and lively spirit, all made the other children in kindergarten extraordinarily curious—the most surprising thing was that they had the same face but completely different temperaments, yet without any sense of incongruity. So, aside from Little Moon putting on an "I can’t be bothered dealing with you bunch of childish ghosts" expression, Little Baby—our Song Chenxi—was quite popular.

Ding-a-ling—

As the bell signaling the end of classes at First Experimental Primary School rang, a little boy with a shaved head in class five on the first floor swiftly began to pack up his textbooks, and then eagerly ran out of the classroom.

"Chengguang, why are you running so fast? Wait for me!" A little boy sitting in his row immediately called out to him upon seeing this, then carelessly stuffed his books into his backpack and dashed out to catch up with Song Chengguang, who had already descended the stairs.

"Hurry up, today’s Little Baby’s first day at kindergarten, and I need to pick her up after school," Song Chengguang turned his head to glance at Shi Yu who caught up with him, frowning and impatiently said, worrying a great deal in his heart whether Little Baby would adapt to her first day at school, whether she had been bullied by other children, and whether Little Moon, as a little man and an elder brother, had forgotten to give her sister her daily snacks, among other issues, causing him anxiety and agitation.

"Aiyo! I get it! Do you really need to be so anxious? Our Little Baby is so cute; no one would want to bully her. You just worry too much," said Shi Yu, who had known Song Chengguang for two years, and knew full well how overprotective he was. Song Chengguang, this brother with a motherly touch, truly wished he could shrink his sister down and carry her in his pocket, constantly watching and protecting her to a frightening degree—he was at a loss for words.

"She’s my Little Baby, not our Little Baby," Song Chengguang corrected Shi Yu’s slip of the tongue with a frown, adamantly wanting to distance Shi Yu from any close relationship with Little Baby. "Today is her first day of school, what if she doesn’t adapt? She even told mom last night that she doesn’t want to go to school. If mom hadn’t threatened her with her snacks, she definitely wouldn’t want to go to kindergarten," Song Chengguang replied to Shi Yu with concern, then quickened his steps even more.

"Hey! I’m really at a loss with you," Shi Yu was left speechless by Song Chengguang’s worries.

Imperial Experimental Primary School and the kindergarten operated by the Military Academy were very close in distance and even dismissed classes at the same time. Xu Xiuxiu originally planned to send and pick up the twins on their first day, but considering that Song Chengguang was a child already familiar with two years of kindergarten life, she boldly entrusted the task of picking up and dropping off the twins to her motherly son Song Chengguang.

To be honest, it wasn’t that Xu Xiuxiu didn’t care about the twins; it was just that Song Chengguang’s anxiousness and care for Little Baby sometimes even surpassed Xu Xiuxiu’s occasional attentiveness as their mother. Moreover, Song Chengguang had now graduated from kindergarten to a primary school student, and he felt that he had left behind the age of childish ghosts to become a big kid, bearing much more responsibility.

As for the task of picking up his siblings from school given to him by Xu Xiuxiu, he saw it as nothing less than his duty.

Song Chengguang hurried towards the kindergarten, and at that moment, outside the kindergarten run by the Military Academy, the twins stood next to their teacher from the small class, waving goodbye to each and every child being picked up by their parents.

"Chen Xi, bye-bye, see you tomorrow..."

"Bye-bye..." Dressed in a cute pink dress and carrying a small backpack, she stood there delicately and responded to the little girl talking to her.

"Chen Xi, I’m going now, bye-bye." A chubby little boy stood in front of the girl Song Chenxi, one hand already held by his parent, reluctantly turning his head back to talk to the pretty little girl: "Chen Xi, I’ll bring you some chocolate cake to eat tomorrow, okay!"

"Okay, thank you, Zhu Ming," said the little friend Song Chenxi, her eyes sparkling like diamonds as she nodded.

"You’re welcome..." The chubby little boy’s cheeks flushed with a reddish hue when he heard the words of thanks, making his plump cheeks look especially tender.

After Zhu Ming was taken away by his parent, standing silently beside Little Baby was our little friend Song Chenhao, also known as Little Moon. He immediately expressed his disapproval with a clear throat: "Sister, brother has said you can’t just eat anything that other people give you." Little Moon spoke very sternly.

"But it was Zhu Ming who wanted to bring it for me to eat, not Chen Xi asking him to give me cake," Little Baby turned her head to look at her brother Little Moon, displaying an expression of innocence.

"You still can’t eat it, brother said, things from outside are not hygienic." Little Moon felt slightly guilty under his sister’s innocent gaze, but the little boy, not even four years old yet, puffed out his little chest, sticking to the words that his big brother Song Chengguang had told him in the morning.

He had to take good care of his sister, protect her well, not let her go hungry, not allow her to be bullied by other kids, and certainly not let little boys come near to please her. He might be small, but that didn’t mean he didn’t understand. That Zhu Ming was clearly trying to please his sister and be friends with her – he had to stop it.

"All right!" Little friend Song Chenxi nodded with a touch of disappointment.

"Little Baby." Suddenly, the voice of Song Chengguang resonated at the entrance of the kindergarten.

As soon as Little Baby heard her big brother’s voice, her eyes sparkled, and she looked up toward the entrance. There she saw Song Chengguang, out of breath and waving to her from outside: "Brother!" Little Baby also enthusiastically waved back at Song Chengguang.

"Hello, teacher, I’ve come to pick up my little brother and sister from school," Song Chengguang said, soothingly patting his rapidly beating little chest from the rush, and then approached the teacher with an earnest and sincere attitude.

"Be careful on your way home then!" The teacher was incredibly surprised in the morning when Song Chengguang and Shi Yu, two students who had just graduated from the kindergarten, brought the boy and girl twins to school. Among many anxious parents, these four distinctive little friends stood out, especially since twins were a rarity in an era advocating limited childbirth for a better quality of life – having two children at once would make so many people green with envy.