Eating Melons in the Police Station

Little Zhong Yuntong, ignoring her stunned parents behind her, covered her mouth and shouted a few more times,

"I, Zhong Yuntong, still don’t want to go to kindergarten. Bye-bye."

The louder she shouted, the more nauseous she felt, until she bent over and gagged a few times.

Zhong Jin and Qiu Sheng, who had been staring in disbelief, now lowered their heads, silently laughing. Qiu Sheng asked her, "Yuntong, are you feeling better now?"

The little girl covered her head with her hands, "I feel a bit dizzy."

Qiu Sheng, with experience, replied, "Yes, shouting loudly can make you feel dizzy." She then gently rubbed Yuntong's head to comfort her.

Yuntong, still holding her head, asked, "If I’m dizzy, can I skip kindergarten tomorrow? Ow."

Qiu Sheng replied, "It’s not that bad. You’ll feel better in a little while."

The little girl sighed heavily, squatted behind the railing, and plucked a small weed growing between the stones. She tossed the uprooted weed through the gaps in the railing,

"I’m not free anymore, little weed, but you are free now."

Zhong Jin, leaning against a pillar of the pavilion with her long legs crossed, smirked, "The weed will definitely thank your whole family."

Qiu Sheng added, "Her whole family is us, isn’t it?"

Zhong Jin, "..."

Qiu Sheng actually felt like shouting a few times too, but perhaps because she was older now, past her rebellious teenage phase, doing something like that would just feel awkward.

In the end, she didn’t shout. Zhong Jin didn’t say anything either, simply picking up the child who was squatting and pulling weeds, placing her in the car seat, and driving back home.

As the car approached the foot of the mountain, Qiu Sheng leaned back in the passenger seat, turning to look at Zhong Jin, "Zhong Jin, I want to eat something warm and comforting."

The little girl, who had been dozing off, immediately sat up, her big round eyes wide open, "Let’s go eat hotpot!"

Zhong Jin drove to a highly-rated hotpot restaurant, and the three of them, having just eaten fried chicken, indulged in a steaming hotpot meal.

Feeling too full to sleep right away, Zhong Jin and Qiu Sheng took the child for a walk around the sports field to help with digestion.

The night breeze was cool, and the shadows of the trees around the field swayed gently, as if they had returned to their high school days.

During their senior year of high school, the budding romance between the two young lovers was hard to suppress. It was also the most critical year, with teachers and parents watching them like hawks.

To save time, both of them had lived on campus that year.

Sometimes, after evening self-study, Qiu Sheng didn’t want to go back to the dormitory, so she and Zhong Jin would walk a few laps around the empty sports field. The academic workload during the day was heavy, and most of the time they were too exhausted to even talk, but they still couldn’t bear to go back to sleep.

Once, they encountered a couple hiding behind the bushes, kissing. Zhong Jin’s ears turned red, and she urged Qiu Sheng to stop looking and hurry away.

But Qiu Sheng grabbed Zhong Jin’s school uniform sleeve and asked, "Do you want to try it too?"

Zhong Jin hesitated for just a moment.

Then they heard a teacher’s voice not far away, "Who’s over there?"

In a panic, Qiu Sheng kicked Zhong Jin into the bushes. Zhong Jin fell into the flowerbed, startling the kissing couple, who screamed and ran out.

In the end, the couple was taken away by the teacher.

The teacher asked Qiu Sheng, "What are you doing here so late?"

Qiu Sheng replied, "I saw a cat run over here, so I came to look for it."

"Go back to your dorm. Haven’t you seen a cat before? Go to bed."

After that incident, for a while, Qiu Sheng would meow like a cat whenever she saw Zhong Jin.

Zhong Jin couldn’t do anything about it. Finally, on a drizzly night, she cornered Qiu Sheng at the corner of her family’s villa and silenced her with a kiss.

At some point, a light rain began to fall. Yuntong, with her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, stopped walking, tilted her head back, and opened her mouth to catch the raindrops.

"Zhong Yuntong, close your mouth, or you’ll get a stomachache," Zhong Jin called out.

Yuntong pretended not to hear. Zhong Jin walked over, took off her coat, and covered the child’s head. She picked her up and turned to Qiu Sheng, "Let’s go back. It’s raining."

By the time they got home, Yuntong was already asleep in Zhong Jin’s arms.

Zhong Jin carried the child, while Qiu Sheng fetched slippers and placed them on the floor. "It’s too late. Don’t wake her up for a bath. Let her sleep like this."

"Alright, I’ll wipe her face with a towel later," Zhong Jin said.

Carrying the child into the guest room, Qiu Sheng pulled back the blanket on the bed and found a pack of rainbow candies on the mattress.

She picked up the candies, "I don’t know what’s gotten into this child. At noon, she even put a crab on my bed."

Zhong Jin sat on the sofa with Yuntong in her arms, letting Qiu Sheng find pajamas for the child to change into.

She lifted the child, letting her head rest on her chest, and helped her take off her outer clothes, "The little dog is giving you gifts."

Qiu Sheng handed the pajamas to Zhong Jin and knelt beside her, gently undoing Yuntong’s little ponytail and combing her hair.

"Hey, Zhong Jin, you haven’t received any gifts from Yuntong, have you? I’m the first one to get a gift from her, right?"

Faced with Qiu Sheng’s sudden display of pride, Zhong Jin’s competitive spirit was immediately ignited.

Without even pulling the pajama top all the way over the child’s head, she took out her phone and showed Qiu Sheng a photo from her private social media account.

"See this little drawing? She gave it to me. A proper gift, with a box and everything. Not just some crab or rainbow candies."

Qiu Sheng glanced at it enviously.

Yuntong, half-asleep, felt a bit suffocated and reached up to pull the pajama top off her head. The stretchy fabric stretched longer and longer, tightly wrapping around her round head, making her look like a little ball.

The childish parents, who had just been bickering, now laughed together at their innocent daughter.

*

The next morning, Qiu Sheng collected all the sunglasses she had left at the entrance and put them back in the wardrobe. She also packed the masks into a box and placed them in the drawer above the shoe cabinet.

When they left the house, Qiu Sheng’s face was completely uncovered, while Zhong Jin felt a bit uneasy.

"Qiu Sheng, have you secretly made some kind of decision?"

Qiu Sheng nodded coldly,

"Yes. From now on, if anyone asks me if I’m Qiu Danhua, I’ll say, ‘So what if I am?’ If they say my acting is bad, I’ll say, ‘If you’re so good, why don’t you act?’ If they say big stars aren’t anything special, I’ll say, ‘I’m more special than you.’"

Zhong Jin affirmed her bravery but wasn’t optimistic about how things would unfold.

She couldn’t remember how many times Qiu Sheng had been brave like this. Each time, she charged out like a warrior, only to retreat back into her shell after hearing some harsh words.

At one point, Qiu Sheng had even considered moving abroad, but because Zhong Jin’s job made it impossible to leave, and she couldn’t bear to be apart from Zhong Jin, she gave up on the idea.

As they stepped out of the elevator, Zhong Jin made a decision of her own.

This time, she wouldn’t let Qiu Sheng retreat again.

If someone is beaten down too many times, even the strongest woman will lose her spirit.

When they dropped Yuntong off at the kindergarten gate, they ran into some parents from the Ginkgo class. Whenever someone came over to greet them, Zhong Jin would stare at them with her sharp, eagle-like eyes.

She left no room for anyone to make snide remarks.

Qiu Sheng even scolded Zhong Jin, thinking her attitude was too harsh and that she was scaring the other parents.

Xiang Ruicheng, who had just dropped off his son at the kindergarten, walked over with a smile, intending to greet his friends.

But one look from Zhong Jin stopped him in his tracks. "Sorry, I just remembered I left a pot on the stove at home," he said, before quickly making his exit.

Although Xiang Ruicheng didn't know what was going on, he could tell from Zhong Jin's expression that it wasn't anything good. He decided it was best not to get involved and risk getting burned.

Qiu Sheng couldn't bear to watch any longer and urged Zhong Jin to hurry off to work, telling him not to make a spectacle of himself outside.

Zhong Jin double-checked that Qiu Sheng would be going home after dropping off the kids and had no plans to go out today before he finally left, feeling reassured.

Just as Qiu Sheng got back into the car, she received a message from Zhong Jin: [If you need to go out today, let me know. I'll accompany you.]

[Zhong Big Head, have you forgotten that we're already divorced? What's with this sudden show of affection?]

Zhong Jin replied, [Don't overthink it. I just like to be thorough in my kindness so I can feel at ease when I act heartlessly later.]

Qiu Sheng couldn't be bothered to reply. She placed her phone back on the magnetic phone holder and drove home.

In the Ginkgo Kindergarten class, there was a painting lesson today. Little Tong sat on her small stool, her chubby cheeks puffed out in seriousness as she meticulously outlined an irregular shape with a black brush. Then, she picked up a red brush and began boldly coloring it in.

Only after filling the entire black area with red did she put down her brush. She folded the drawing and tucked it into her little backpack.

During free playtime, Little Tong sat on the steps under the classroom eaves and turned to Miao Qingyue, who was sitting beside her.

"Miao Yueyue, take a few steps."

Miao Qingyue immediately stood up, holding onto her knees, and walked from in front of Little Tong all the way to the sandpit. Then she turned around and walked back, sitting down next to Little Tong again.

Little Tong reached out and touched Miao Qingyue's little braid. "Good girl, well done."

Miao Qingyue smiled shyly, her lips pressed together. "My mom said I'm walking really well now."

Little Tong cupped her little face and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, yes, you're walking really well."

Tang Rongzong, a boy from their class, walked over to them and pulled a few lollipops from his pocket, offering them to the girls. "Zhong Yuntong, my mom told me to bring lollipops to share with you."

Tang Rongzong was the boy who had previously lifted a girl's skirt.

After the incident at the beach where things had gotten ugly, Tang Rongzong's mother had gone home and started to feel uneasy. She was afraid that the police station chief might find some excuse to retaliate against their family. So today, she had stuffed a few lollipops into her son's backpack and told him to give them to Zhong Yuntong.

It was a gesture of goodwill.

Some people are just like that—give them a little trouble, and they'll behave.

Little Tong, still holding Miao Qingyue's face, smiled brightly. "Wow, thank you, but I don't want any."

"Why not? It's your favorite strawberry flavor." Tang Rongzong pushed the lollipop closer, trying to place it in Little Tong's hand.

Little Tong brushed his hand away and stood up, shouting loudly to Teacher Luo, who was sitting not far away. "Teacher Luo, Tang Rongzong brought lollipops to school!"

Hearing the commotion, Teacher Luo stood up and walked over. Seeing the lollipops in the child's hand, she confiscated them and scolded Tang Rongzong for a few moments.

Meanwhile, Zhong Yuntong, having resisted the temptation of the lollipops and reported the incident to the teacher, was rewarded with a little star by Teacher Luo.

Little Tong peeled off the star and stuck it on Miao Qingyue's forehead. She gently patted Miao Qingyue's head like she was petting a little animal, tilting her head affectionately. "Happy?"

Miao ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‍Qingyue touched the little star on her forehead, a dazed smile spreading across her face. "Happy. Are you giving it to me?"

Little Tong nodded grandly. "From now on, all my little stars will be yours."