Chapter 4: Chi Yao (1)
Translator: NullTranslationGroup
Ming Miao was trembling, not knowing how to respond.
His first instinct was to clear his father's name because he knew his father wasn't mentally challenged; on the contrary, he was a very intelligent person.
But it seemed that his mother had already decided that his father was mentally challenged? If he refuted her, would she be unhappy?
Ming Miao was so conflicted.
Being a well-behaved, sensible, and perceptive child was really too hard!
Seeing Ming Miao's troubled face, Ming Can realized that she hadn't kept her expression in check, revealing some agitation.
She had indeed concluded in her heart that Miao Miao's biological father had a low IQ, which seemed to be the only explanation for her son's complete lack of talent in mathematics.
Miao Miao was a very sensitive child, something Ming Can had noticed early on. At the age of five or six, when most children are at the stage of being disliked by dogs and people alike, Miao Miao showed none of the mischievousness or willfulness typical of bratty kids. Not only was he obedient, but he was also very good at reading people's moods.
Ming Can often felt that he was too well-behaved, and she wasn't sure if it was because she had taught him well in another timeline, or if the child was just used to suffering in silence.
On the coffee table was a plate of washed strawberries. Ming Can picked up a few, removed the leaves, and fed them to Miao Miao, asking him a simpler question: "What's your dad's name?"
Ming Miao loved strawberries, his cheeks bulging as he chewed, answering vaguely: "Dad's name is Chi Xiao."
"Chi Xiao?" Ming Can still couldn't hear clearly, barely repeating it, she poked Miao Miao's cheek, "Swallow the strawberry first."
Ming Miao heard his mother's true thoughts in his ear: "No need to say more. This Chi something Xiao, I hope he can stay away from me."
Ming Miao blinked lightly, not surprised that his mother would say that.
Because his original mother was like that too, not liking to hear things related to his father, so Ming Miao had long been accustomed to not mentioning his father when he was with his mother.
Most children Ming Miao's age want both their father and mother, but Ming Miao had rarely had both parents by his side since he was young, so in his eyes, it was completely normal to have only his father or only his mother with him.
The strawberries were sweet and sour, and Ming Miao wanted to eat a few more. Just then, a system voice suddenly rang in his head: "Host, it is detected that your stamina is about to run out."
"Human real language is too complex and difficult to understand, especially for Ms. Ming Can, what she says and what she really means have almost no relation. Translating such an object once consumes a lot of stamina, which is too heavy a burden for a five-and-a-half-year-old human child like you. But don't worry, as long as you practice diligently, efficiency will gradually improve... host?"
"Huff... sleepy..." Ming Miao, still holding a strawberry in his hand, softly fell backward, and just before he hit the floor, Ming Can quickly grabbed him.
Ming Can couldn't help but scold him: "How can you just lie down on the floor? Do you remember what you need to do before going to bed at night?"
She bent down to pick up Ming Miao.
The five-and-a-half-year-old boy weighed over forty pounds, and Ming Can struggled a bit to carry him, feeling a bit of frustration in her heart.
Children are too capricious, and because of his special origin, Ming Can, as a rich girl, couldn't have a nanny always at home to help, always afraid that outsiders might notice something, so she often had to take care of him alone.
Turning her head, Ming Can saw Miao Miao's two small, round, white hands resting on his forehead, fingers pressing his eyelids to keep them from drooping, mumbling in response to her earlier question: "Need to wash face, brush teeth, take a bath, change clothes... then can sleep... Mom, I remember, don't be angry..."
"I'm not that easily angered."
Ming Can softly retorted, the corners of her mouth unconsciously lifting, suddenly feeling less frustrated.
After arranging for Ming Miao to fall asleep, it was not yet nine in the evening, and Ming Can was also exhausted, taking a shower before collapsing into bed.
The room was quiet, the air filled with the fragrance of sleep-inducing incense, but Ming Can lay there, feeling more and more awake, uncontrollably recalling the name of Miao Miao's father.
Even though she had heard it vaguely, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if she had heard of this person before.
Thinking carefully, she had no clue, after all, she hadn't even heard clearly whether this person's surname was "Chi" or "Chen."
Ming Can turned over, grabbed her phone, found a few parenting videos on teaching children mathematics, and projected them onto the screen.
The first teaching point given by the teacher in the video was: Parents must not be impatient.
This point directly knocked down the impatient Ming Can.
She hugged the quilt, rolled around on the bed, kicking and punching to vent her anxiety.
Hearing the teacher say "Mathematics is just hard, don't impose adult thinking on children," Ming Can felt somewhat enlightened, and her anxiety eased a lot.
She composed herself and continued watching.
The next day, waking up, Ming Can looked at the dark circles in the mirror and silently applied a layer of concealer.
She had a full schedule of classes this morning, and after sending Ming Miao to school, she immediately took a taxi to B University.
In the past, Ming Can had a driver to take her wherever she went, she never needed to take a taxi. Now, to avoid raising suspicions about her relationship with Miao Miao, Ming Can no longer used a fixed driver.
On the way, Ming Can considered whether she should learn to drive recently, so it would be much more convenient for her to go to school, pick up Miao Miao, or take him out to play. Unfortunately, she was too busy taking care of Ming Miao to be sure if she could find the time to learn to drive.
Fortunately, her school, Miao Miao's school, and home were all close to each other, forming a three-point line, and she could manage for now.
Arriving at B University. She had two major classes in the morning, and Ming Can, who had been a good student for so many years, felt for the first time that attending classes was really tiring.
Occasionally, she couldn't help but yawn, and Xu Jiayun sitting next to her would give her a very surprised look, as if she had mutated today.
She hadn't stayed up late even during the most stressful times of high school, but last night, cramming parenting knowledge, she almost stayed up all night. Who would believe it if she told them?
Ming Can rubbed her stiff scalp, and just then, the bell rang, sounding like heavenly music.
Ming Can and Xu Jiayun quickly packed their bags and left their seats, discussing which cafeteria to go to for lunch.
Walking through the aisle, when they reached the last two rows of the lecture hall, Ming Can was suddenly called out.
The boy calling her struggled to shake someone sleeping on the desk, "Brother Yao, I swear this is the last time I'll help you..."
This boring scene seemed familiar, and Ming Can didn't even bother to glance, walking straight away.
The boy called "Brother Yao" slowly got up from the desk, yawning, as if he had stayed up all night doing something sneaky.
He had a rather handsome face, and even with two creases on his face from sleeping, it didn't diminish his charm. Many girls deliberately passed by him, pretending to greet him casually.
He lazily responded a few times, scratched his messy hair, and complained in a low voice to his companion: "Why can't the class monitor wait for me for a while?"
"Who do you think the class monitor is?" The boy remembered a comment about Ming Can he had seen on the forum and directly recited it, "B University's famous academic god Can God, nicknamed the walking volcano, a combination of beauty and severity, with a highly deceptive appearance. Once approached, you are immediately given a crematorium package, regardless of whether you are the department's grass or the college's grass. Where Can God passes, no grass grows."
After a pause, the boy concluded: "Brother Yao, someone like you, wanting to chase the class monitor, I think it's a long shot."
"If the department's grass and college's grass don't work, what if I become the school's grass?"
"...A unique way of thinking. Our school hasn't selected a school grass this year, has it?"
"Then it's me." He stretched out his lazy back, glanced at the classroom's back door where students were filing out, "It's been several days since I've talked to her. Why is it so hard to ask her out for a meal?"
The boy rolled his eyes: "You said you wanted to sit next to her in class, but you couldn't get up early enough to grab a seat; you said you wanted to block her after class, and then you lay there leaving me alone to face the volcano... If I help you again, I'm a dog."
"Don't be like that, bro." He hooked his arm around the boy's shoulder, his mind turning, "I remember there's a class at one in the afternoon today? I won't go back to the dorm at noon, I'll wait for her in the teaching building."
"Courageous." The boy patted his arm, with sympathy, "Good luck, bro."
On the campus path, the golden leaves of the plane trees covered the ground, making a crisp sound when stepped on, resembling the sound of fine rain when many people walked on them.
The road to the cafeteria was particularly crowded at this time, filled with noise.
Ming Can, who hadn't slept well last night, was walking with a groggy head, lost in thought,
Just then, she heard someone shouting loudly behind her: "Chi Xiao! Get me a beef noodle, I'm in a meeting and can't make it!"
A lightning bolt flashed through Ming Can's muddled brain.
Chi Xiao? Who is Chi Xiao?
She turned around and saw a tall boy stopping by the roadside, waving to someone behind him, "Which meeting room are you in?"
"Big Activity 302, right next to your office. Thanks!"
The boy retracted his hand, turned around, and just met Ming Can's slightly stunned gaze.
He tilted his head, lips curling up: "Minister Ming?"
Recognizing him as an acquaintance, the breath Ming Can was holding in her chest relaxed, her eyelids twitching slightly.
The boy's name was Chen Yixiao, the president of B University's student council, Ming Can's superior, a third-year law student.
His name... sounded very similar to what Miao Miao had said last night.
Ming Can stood still, watching Chen Yixiao walk up to her. Her gaze involuntarily carried a bit of scrutiny, examining him from head to toe and back again.
Chen Yixiao was fair-skinned and tall, with a pair of narrow gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, his features behind the lenses gentle and scholarly, the typical look of a herbivorous campus male god.
Facing Ming Can's not-so-friendly gaze, he asked gently: "What's wrong?"
Ming Can: "Nothing. Senior, are you going to eat?"
"Yeah. Want to join?" Chen Yixiao said, "I know the South Campus cafeteria well, my treat."
Ming Can shook her head: "South Campus is too crowded, we're planning to go to Nongyuan, no need to trouble you, senior."
She refused straightforwardly, and Chen Yixiao nodded, not insisting.
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