Eating Melons in the Police Station

Entering the activity classroom, Little Tong went to her usual spot, lying down on the floor by the door, her eyes fixed on the iron gate outside, beginning her long wait for her father.

Xiang Zimo, who had been entrusted by Uncle Zhong to keep an eye on his sister and prevent her from lying on the floor, immediately reached out to grab Little Tong’s arm as soon as he saw her on the ground, trying to pull her up.

However, despite her small size, Little Tong was surprisingly strong. When Xiang Zimo tried to pull her up, not only did she not budge, but he ended up tumbling to the floor himself.

Seeing Xiang Zimo sprawled out on the ground, Little Tong covered her mouth with her hand, giggling uncontrollably.

Noticing that his sister enjoyed seeing him fall, Xiang Zimo started pretending to slip, letting out exaggerated cries each time, which made Little Tong laugh even harder.

Teacher Zhuang, noticing Xiang Zimo’s antics, quickly intervened, “Xiang Zimo, you can’t do that. You might get hurt.”

Xiang Zimo, who was usually a well-behaved child, immediately stopped his playful falls as soon as the teacher spoke.

Seeing Little Tong lying back on the floor, Xiang Zimo racked his brains to find a way to grab her attention.

He crouched beside her and pointed to the children lining up to play on the swings outside. “Little Tong, do you want to play on the swings? I’ll go wait in line, and when it’s our turn, I’ll call you, okay?”

Little Tong, with her hands tucked under her belly and her round head swaying from side to side, replied, “No.”

Xiang Zimo then went to the toy corner and brought back some puzzle pieces, stacking them next to Little Tong. “Little Tong, let’s play with these toys together.”

“No.” Without her father around, Little Tong had lost interest in everything.

Xiang Zimo crouched on the floor, craning his neck to look around. In the corner of the activity room, he noticed a girl with a ponytail sitting quietly in her wheelchair. She glanced timidly in their direction, but as soon as her eyes met Xiang Zimo’s, she immediately looked away.

Seeing the black wheelchair beneath the girl, Xiang Zimo quickly turned his head, his heart racing as if he had stumbled upon someone’s secret.

“Little Tong, that girl is in a wheelchair,” Xiang Zimo whispered, lying down next to Little Tong and speaking softly into her ear.

Little Tong immediately tried to turn her head to look, but Xiang Zimo firmly held the back of her head. “Don’t look at her. She might get upset.”

Little Tong broke free from his grip, not only turning to look but also boldly greeting the shy girl.

“Hi, my name is Zhong Yuntong. What’s your name?”

The girl in the wheelchair pursed her lips tightly, looking at Little Tong with a mix of confusion and unease, her clear eyes misty with emotion.

Little Tong’s attention was successfully diverted. She got up from the floor and ran over to the girl, placing her chubby little hand on the wheelchair.

“Why are you sitting in this?” she asked.

The girl grew even more unsure of how to respond and could only glance helplessly at Xiang Zimo.

Xiang Zimo quickly ran over, wrapped his arms around Little Tong’s waist, and dragged her away.

Little Tong kicked her short legs. “Let me go! I’m not done yet.”

Xiang Zimo, who had never encountered such a bold child, didn’t know how to explain the concept of disability to her. He gritted his teeth and carried her out of the activity room.

Once outside, Xiang Zimo set Little Tong down on the grass, covering her mouth with one hand and placing the other finger to his lips. “Shh, Little Tong, keep your voice down. She might be hurt, and that’s why she needs the wheelchair.”

“Why can’t I talk about it if she’s hurt?” Little Tong asked, confused.

Xiang Zimo, though mature for his age, was still only five years old. He couldn’t explain why, but he instinctively felt it was wrong to discuss such things in front of others, as it might upset them.

Before Xiang Zimo could come up with an answer, a chubby boy playing on the slide overheard their conversation and ran over. His voice was hoarse, like a little smoker’s. “Are you talking about Miao Qingyue?”

The boy pointed through the window at the girl in the wheelchair. “Don’t play with her. My mom says she doesn’t have legs, and if she gets hurt, her parents will blame you.”

No legs?

Little Tong was curious. She had never seen someone without legs before. She stood on her tiptoes, straining to look through the window. The girl’s knees were covered with a floral blanket, so her legs weren’t visible.

Seeing that Miao Qingyue was also looking at her, Little Tong immediately grinned and asked cheerfully, “Hi, do you not have legs?”

Xiang Zimo, “......”

The chubby boy added, “Don’t say I told you. She might cry.” Then he ran off.

Little Tong slipped back into the classroom, making a beeline for Miao Qingyue. She casually took off her little water bottle and small bag, hanging them on the handles of the wheelchair.

“This cart is so cool,” Little Tong said, admiringly touching the wheelchair’s armrests. “Do you need to not have legs to sit in it?”

Miao Qingyue stiffened, replying in a voice barely louder than a mosquito’s, “I... I guess so.” After all, she had never seen anyone with legs using a wheelchair.

Little Tong turned to Xiang Zimo, who looked utterly baffled, and said, “I don’t want my legs anymore. I want to ride in this cart.”

Xiang Zimo stammered, “I... I don’t think... that’s possible. No one’s going to break your legs for you.”

Teacher Zhuang stood nearby, quietly observing the children’s interactions. As long as nothing serious happened, she usually didn’t interfere.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a message from Zhong Yuntong’s father: [Teacher, how is Zhong Yuntong today? Is she still lying by the door?]

Teacher Zhuang quickly snapped a photo and sent it to Zhong Jin, replying, [Little Tong is doing great today. She’s getting along well with the other kids.]

Zhong Jin had just finished interrogating a suspect in a theft case and was standing by the water cooler when he received the message.

He opened the photo Teacher Zhuang had sent. In it, Little Tong and Xiang Zimo were gathered around a child in a wheelchair, chatting animatedly. Little Tong was smiling brightly, while Xiang Zimo, usually so polite, looked slightly uncomfortable.

Zhong Jin automatically assumed that there was a child with mobility issues at the daycare, and Little Tong, being her usual friendly and enthusiastic self, was happily playing with her, while Xiang Zimo was a bit reserved due to the girl’s condition.

Zhong Jin felt a surge of pride. [Thank you, Teacher. Our Zhong Yuntong has always been warm and kind.]

*

At noon, the daycare served lunch in the cafeteria, located across the large playground from the activity room.

When the lunch bell rang, Teacher Zhuang came over to push Miao Qingyue’s wheelchair and called out to the other children, “Stop playing, everyone. Line up to wash your hands for lunch.”

Little Tong and Xiang Zimo flanked the wheelchair like two bodyguards, each holding onto one of the armrests as they followed Teacher Zhuang out of the room.

Usually, the other children avoided Miao Qingyue, so this was the first time she had received such attention. Her back stiffened, and her palms, resting on her thighs, began to sweat. She felt incredibly uncomfortable.

The seating in the cafeteria was fixed, and after washing their hands, the children took their usual spots. Since Zhong Yuntong and Xiang Zimo were new, they didn’t have assigned seats. Seeing them holding onto the wheelchair, Teacher Zhuang decided to seat them on either side of Miao Qingyue.

Miao Qingyue, unused to being around other children, blinked at the teacher and shook her head slightly, silently pleading not to be seated this way. But Teacher Zhuang pretended not to notice.

“Is everyone seated? We’re about to serve the food,” she announced.

The cafeteria staff wheeled out carts, placing trays and utensils in front of each child. Another staff member followed with a second cart, dishing out portions of food. The servings were adjusted based on the children’s ages, with older kids getting larger portions and younger ones receiving less.

Little Tong, being neither too big nor too small, was served four braised meatballs, a small scoop of rice, a bowl of pumpkin soup, a portion of vegetables, and half an apple.

Once the food was served, the children were expected to wait.

Only when Teacher Zhuang said, “Children, you may begin eating,” did they pick up their utensils and start their lunch.

Most children are well-behaved during meals, scooping food from their own plates without making a mess or bothering others. However, there are always a few who don’t follow the rules, and Teacher Zhuang’s sharp eyes are always watching.

Little Tong is one of those misbehaving children. She scooped one of her braised meatballs and plopped it into Miao Qingyue’s bowl beside her, then mixed the remaining vegetables and rice together before eating them in big mouthfuls.

After a few bites of her mixed meal, Little Tong glanced over and saw Miao Qingyue eating her meatball neatly and quietly. Little Tong scooped up another meatball and plopped it into Miao Qingyue’s bowl with a splat.

Teacher Zhuang noticed Little Tong giving her food to another child for the second time and scolded her, “Zhong Yuntong, you must eat your own food. You can’t do this, okay?”

Little Tong nodded obediently, “Okay, okay.” But as soon as Teacher Zhuang turned her attention to the other children, she tossed another meatball into Miao Qingyue’s bowl.

Teacher Zhuang looked back and saw the extra meatball in Miao Qingyue’s bowl. She didn’t say anything, but from then on, she kept her eyes fixed on Zhong Yuntong until she ate the last remaining meatball herself.

After nap time and a bit of cartoon-watching, it wasn’t long before night fell.

All the children except the full-day care kids had gone home. Little Tong and Xiang Zimo sat on separate swings, holding hands and gazing out at the big iron gate.

“My dad!” Little Tong suddenly shouted, her big eyes lighting up as she stared intently toward the gate.

Xiang Zimo craned his neck to look but saw nothing. “No, there’s no one there.”

Little Tong jumped off the swing and dashed toward the gate on her short legs. At the same time, Zhong Jin’s tall figure appeared in the children’s line of sight.

Xiang Zimo’s mouth fell open in amazement. “Wow, how did you sense that?”@@novelbin@@

“Dad!” Little Tong rattled the iron gate excitedly.

Zhong Jin picked up the two children and explained to Xiang Zimo that his mom was still working overtime and that he would take him back to the office to find her. Then, with Little Tong in his arms and Xiang Zimo’s hand in his, he stood at the gate chatting with Teacher Zhuang.

Teacher Zhuang mentioned that Little Tong had been generally well-behaved that day but had been a bit picky during meals, putting her food into another child’s bowl. As Zhong Jin carried Little Tong toward the parking lot, he gently scolded her for her behavior.

“If you don’t want to eat something, you should tell your teacher beforehand. You can’t just put your food into another child’s bowl, understand?” Zhong Jin’s tone was firm but not harsh.

Little Tong tucked her hands into her sleeves and snuggled into her dad’s arms, trying to explain. “But Miao Yueyue needs to grow a leg quickly.”

What on earth was she talking about?

Zhong Jin didn’t understand. He placed Little Tong into her car seat and said, “Don’t change the subject. I’m talking about your picky eating. It’s not okay to put your vegetables into another child’s bowl, got it?”

Little Tong, unable to explain herself clearly, patted her forehead in frustration. “Oh, I was just trying to help her!”

Xiang Zimo seemed to grasp what she meant and chimed in, “Uncle Zhong, Little Tong probably thought that eating meat would help Miao Qingyue grow a leg, so she gave her meatballs.”

The thoughtful boy then turned to Little Tong and patiently explained, “Little Tong, even if she eats a lot of meat, her leg won’t grow back. Once a person loses a leg, it’s gone forever.”

Zhong Jin sat in the driver’s seat, his hands resting on the steering wheel. He hadn’t started the car yet and was listening to the conversation between the two children. Hearing this, he turned around and asked,

“Little Tong, did you give your meatballs to another child today?”

Little Tong sat upright in her car seat, her big eyes glowing faintly in the dim light. “But Dad, can’t people’s legs really grow back?”

She touched her hair, puzzled. Her hair had been cut, but Rao Shishi said it would grow back soon. She had thought legs would grow back just as quickly.

Zhong Jin rested one hand on the steering wheel and turned around, his cool fingertips brushing over Little Tong’s head. “No, they can’t grow back. But it’s okay. You can still play with her like normal, alright?”