Due to the population density in the Walled City far exceeding its land area, illegal construction businessmen built buildings wherever there was space. “Handshake buildings” and illegally constructed, non-compliant houses were everywhere. Staircases and passageways crisscrossed, and sometimes the narrow gaps between buildings could be called a street.
This chaotic, unplanned construction that did not conform to the Beidao building regulations meant that the vast majority of areas in the Walled City could be described as dim, damp, and narrow.
The kindergarten was one of the exceptions.
After all, it was a cultivation ground for future flowers. A spacious area had been neatly demarcated here, and a kindergarten was built.
It was also one of the rare places where one could see green plants outdoors within the Walled City.
On the open ground of the playground, the kapok trees were lush and green, their flowers blooming like red clouds.
There was a row of sinks on the outer perimeter of the teaching building, probably for the children to line up and wash their hands after playing on the playground and before returning to the classrooms.
“Bleurgh…” Xin Hexue bent over towards the sink, one hand supporting himself against the white wall. He didn’t vomit anything, even though his face was pale green and his condition looked bad enough.
So disgusting! how could he develop an appetite for such disgusting things?
Was he too hungry?
But he had already eaten breakfast before coming.
Osthamus had been planted in the flower bed next to him. The light grassy floral scent mixed within the shrubs made his churning stomach feel a little better.
A sharp, stern voice came from behind.
“Teacher Xin, you’d better not tell me you’re taking maternity leave soon after joining. There is no maternity allowance here, and we will not hold your position for you.”
The principal, whose style resembled that of a high school head teacher, stood not far behind Xin Hexue at some point, speaking coldly.
“If you won’t do it, there are plenty of others who will.”
The salary offered by the kindergarten was quite considerable within the average wage range for job types in the entire Walled City.
Xin Hexue took a tissue from his pocket, dabbed the corners of his mouth, straightened up to face the principal, and said seriously, “Please rest assured, I just still feel a bit nauseous after recovering from my cold.”
The principal’s cold gaze swept over the new employee’s pale face, then assessed the other party’s frail and thin physique. Her harsh expression softened slightly, and she let out a snort from her nose. “It better be so.”
“Where is Teacher Li?” she asked.
Xin Hexue: “I wasn’t feeling well earlier, so I told Teacher Li not to wait for me. He went back to the class first. I’ll be there in a moment.”
The principal offered no evaluation, only handed over a thin booklet. “Take it. I forgot to give it to you earlier.”
‘Flowers Kindergarten Code of Conduct’ was printed on the cover.
……..
Teacher Code of Conduct:
1.Must wear the kindergarten uniform during work.
2.Dyed hair, dark nail polish and exaggerated jewelry are not permitted. Light makeup is permitted.
3.When children behave well, give more praise and encouragement; when children misbehave, firmly explain the “reason”.
4.After school, ensure every child going home is led away hand-in-hand by their corresponding parent. Must strictly adhere to work hours. Staying overtime within the kindergarten after nightfall is not allowed.
.
.
.
The next page revealed some basic job content.
It was already clearly written on the recruitment notice: arrange daily teaching, lead children in games, handicrafts, singing, communicate with parents…
“The kindergarten uniform will be given to you tomorrow,” the principal said. “So today, just follow Teacher Li and see how he works. Learn well.”
“Okay, Principal.”
Xin Hexue smiled.
The class Xin Hexue was assigned to was the senior class, in the sixth classroom on the left after the staircase landing on the third floor.
The Flowers Kindergarten Code of Conduct included not only content aimed at teachers but also restrictions and requirements for the children.
In Xin Hexue’s opinion, the latter’s content was more noteworthy than the former, as it didn’t seem like normal regulations no matter how one looked at it.
1.Adhere to arrival and departure times. Wear the kindergarten name badge. Children not from this kindergarten are not allowed to enter. When leaving school, you cannot leave with strangers. You must wait for your own parent, bid farewell to the teacher, and leave hand-in-hand with the parent.
2. Go to the playground during outdoor activity time, participate in group activities. Children who leave the group to play alone are not good children.
3.Good children must eat their meals obediently.
4.When parents are not around, the teacher is your “parent”. Please respect them and obey them. Only children who listen to the teacher are good children.
It looked like some kind of rules-based strange tale.
Should one say it was indeed a compound type dungeon?
‘The sixth classroom on the left…’
Xin Hexue pushed open the peeling red wooden door before him.
The classroom walls were pasted with colored small tiles. The cartoon relief on the wall next to the entrance was a classic black-and-white round-eared mouse with a bright U-shaped smile, its distinct black-and-white eyes looking down, pulling open a small banner on its chest that said “my room”.
The not-very-high ceiling hung various colored paper Christmas trees cut out from last Christmas, strung together with stars, ribbons, and balloons, all colorful.
On top of the cabinet at the back of the classroom were each child’s water cups. Two large-capacity thermoses with floral patterns were placed at the very front. The cabinet contained picture books arranged in rows. On the bulletin board position was a felt board taking up most of the wall, pinned with drawings and handicrafts.
Judging solely from the environment, it was a warm and ordinary classroom.
Teacher Li stood at the front maintaining order. Below, the children had pushed their tables and chairs together, playing with building blocks, puzzles, and connecting train tunnels, chattering and laughing but not too noisily.
The sound of the door opening easily attracted their attention.
Teacher Li said with a clear laugh: “This is our new teacher, Teacher Xin Hexue. Unless something unexpected happens, Teacher Li and Teacher Xin will be spending this academic year with everyone. Everyone, give a round of applause to welcome Teacher Xin!”
The classroom erupted into lively applause and the children swarmed up.
“Teacher, do you also live in the Walled City?”
“Teacher, Teacher Li said you can play the violin, is it true?”
“Teacher, shall we play train?”
“Teacher, teacher…”
A light flashed in Xin Hexue’s eyes.
This was originally a good start.
If only the child in front of him didn’t have a pair of horns, with ears like palm fans gently swaying on either side of its furry head, looking at him, “Teacher, tea…”
The child on the left had bright red compound eyes on either side of its head, composed of thousands of small lenses. Short, feathery antennae extended from the front of its head, carefully probing the scent of the new teacher, its mouthparts wriggling.
“Mee, mee meee meee…”
The little goat’s eyes with brown elongated pupils were secreting tears. Clearly, this was a child who cried easily.
The reason was that the crow had extended its long beak into the cup belonging to the little goat to get water.
Teacher Li had to mediate. “Xiao Ya, go to the back and get your own cup to drink water. Your behavior today is very bad. Snatching another child’s water cup will cost you one Little Red Flower.”
Xiao Ya was stunned. The beak withdrew from the cup and returned it to the goat. “Teacher, I’ll give it back to him, don’t deduct my Little Red Flower!”
But it was too late. Teacher Li peeled off a Little Red Flower sticker from the small blackboard at the front.
[Good Child Ranking.]
The small blackboard had the names of each child written on it, followed closely by the number of Little Red Flowers each child had earned.
Some had many, some had few, but without a doubt, all the children in the entire classroom particularly treasured every Little Red Flower sticker.
But adults are very cunning. Sometimes, the underlying meaning behind their generous praise and encouragement is that you must do this, you must be obedient.
Teacher Li came to Xin Hexue’s side, smiling cheerfully. “Just use this method. If they make a mistake, then deduct their Little Red Flower count.”
“Children who behave well will get Little Red Flowers, and the parents who come to pick them up after school will be happy too. The rules are quite reasonable, right?”
“The children in our kindergarten are all good children.”
Meeting Teacher Li’s pitch-black eyes, Xin Hexue curved the corners of his lips politely in agreement.
……
On the small blackboard, only one child’s name had nothing next to it. This meant she had not earned a single Little Red Flower.
She was very quiet, wearing the blue and yellow kindergarten uniform, sitting in the corner with her head buried, doing a puzzle by herself.
Her small pigtails were tied up and sticking out to the sides, and her hair was somewhat disheveled. Her fair, clean face still had very obvious baby fat.
“Mingzhu.” Xin Hexue read the name on her chest badge and sat down on the small stool next to her. “What are you playing? Can I play with you?”
He intentionally tried to get the child to talk.
Mingzhu looked up, glanced at him, said nothing, and lowered her head again.
From the moment Xin Hexue spoke his first word to her, the entire classroom suddenly fell silent.
Pairs of animal eyes looked in this direction.
“Teacher, Mingzhu doesn’t like playing with other children. Come play with us?”
“Moo…moo…”
Xin Hexue’s clothes were tugged from another direction. “Teacher, Xiaoyu knocked over my blocks…”
The classroom became a chaotic mess.
Soon, Teacher Li told them to put away their toys first. “Children, are you hungry? Put the toys aside for now, have something to eat…”
There were many classes in the kindergarten. The cafeteria staff delivered meals starting from the first floor in order. When Xin Hexue saw the meal cart for this class, the clock was pointing to 9:50.
“Line up one by one, hold your bowls properly,” someone waved to Teacher Li from outside the door. Teacher Li turned back and instructed, “Teacher Xin, you serve the congee for the children. I need to step out for a moment.”
As Teacher Li walked out, he didn’t forget to say to the children, “What did we say before…each grain in the plate comes from toil and pain. The farmer uncles work very hard. Good children must eat their meals obediently, don’t waste food…”
Xin Hexue lifted the lid of the food thermal container. Sure enough, it was the food he had seen before.
His eyelids twitched. He dipped the long-handled spoon into the soup and stirred it up. The pieces of floating meat looked like wrinkled human skin covered in blisters.
It emitted an indescribable foul stench.
A piece of skin and flesh adhering to a black hair root floated to the surface. The eyeball underneath bulged, stared at him, and spun around in a circle.
Xin Hexue’s face turned pale, and his stomach started churning. He somewhat regretted eating a whole bowl of wontons with fresh meat for breakfast.
He blinked rapidly, only to find it was merely a bulging fish eye.
A symptom of visual hallucinations.
“… You’re scared like this, I’ll do it.”
A hand reached out from the side to take the long-handled spoon from Xin Hexue.
It was the temporary worker who had pushed the meal cart and hadn’t left since.
Under the deliberately lowered brim of a baseball cap, one could glimpse a strand of red highlighted hair on the forehead. A familiar silver bone stud was by the ear.
Yu Xingzhou glanced at Xin Hexue’s pale face. His distinct and sharp jaw lifted, but his tone was somewhat more restrained than before. “Princess, give me the spoon. I’ll do the dirty work, hmm?”
Xin Hexue let go of his hand. As Yu Xingzhou took it, his fingers just happened to brush against the back of the fair hand.
‘Ah… Held hands!’
Yu Xingzhou pressed down the brim of his cap with one hand, unable to hide the red rising to the roots of his ears.
[Brother, what were you just spraying about the little cat?]
[Brother still says he’s not a closeted fan of Snow Cat… You guys are really full of schemes, wearing one set of masks after another…]
[What set? Don’t you dare not wear a condom with our cat!]
[These comments are really crazy, a complete mess like a pot of congee.]
[I’m dying of laughter, our closeted brother was fiercely rejected by the princess that day, went back and directly became emo. I can’t laugh anymore.]
[Now that he’s bumped into the cat, he’s secretly happy again.]
[Who dares to look at this guy’s browser search history after being rejected?]
[Can the age on the ID card be changed? What proof materials are needed to increase it by five years?]
[I’m not gay, but after being called ‘little brother’ by a young man two years older than me, the little brother got hard, is that normal?]
[I saw a very good looking young man, I always feel his lip shape is perfect, and I really want to appreciate it up close, is that a bit psychologically extreme…]
Yu Xingzhou did not know what the audience from his live stream had gone to spam in Xin Hexue’s live stream, but even if he knew, he wouldn’t care, since Xin Hexue had the barrage blocked.
He honestly took over the dirty and tiring work of scooping the congee.
………..
Xiao Ying, who had just gotten a bowl of soup, finished it in a few sips with his mouthparts and ran back into the line. “Teacher, I want more! Today’s soup tastes like fruit pulp… It’s good!”
His bright red compound eyes stared at Xin Hexue expectantly.
Xin Hexue could only tell him, “You can’t drink too much. One bowl per person. Otherwise, you won’t be able to eat lunch at noon. Put the bowl back on the meal cart.”
Xiao Ying, with the head of a red-eyed fruit fly, lowered his head in disappointment and put down the bowl.
Probably each child tasted the breakfast differently.
The child that kept mooing moved its mouthparts incessantly, as if chewing grass.
Pah!
An iron bowl half-filled with soup suddenly fell onto the tiled floor.
Mingzhu stood in place, looking bewildered and uneasy, clutching the edges of her clothes and murmuring, “Good children must eat obediently…”
“Teacher, can I have another bowl?”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked up at Xin Hexue.
Xin Hexue went to get a clean bowl from the meal cart. “Of cou…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Teacher Li, who had returned to the classroom, stopped him: “Mingzhu, why are you being disobedient again?!”
The phrase ‘disobedient’ made the entire classroom go silent in an instant.
Teacher Li: “Since you won’t eat properly, then don’t eat! You’re wasting food!”
Xin Hexue stepped forward, “Teacher Li, please calm down. It’s just a spilled bowl, it can be cleaned up quickly…”
Yu Xingzhou squatted down and wiped away the mess with a cloth in a few quick strokes.
Teacher Li’s face turned cold, “Teacher Xin, you are not an official staff member yet. The principal asked you to learn from me, not to put on airs.”
“In kindergarten, teachers are the ‘parents’ of the children. When the children make mistakes, we must firmly explain the reasoning. Indulging them like this will only worsen the atmosphere of our Flower Kindergarten.”
As he talked, his pupils began to tremble in an inhuman way, and his body gradually tilted, his shoulder blades and neck emitting old, creaking sounds.
Xin Hexue stared at him intently for a moment, then took a step back.
Only then did Teacher Li’s condition barely stabilize.
Noticing the gaze from behind Xin Hexue, Teacher Li glared back defiantly, “Why didn’t the cafeteria manager mention hiring new staff?”
Xin Hexue gave Yu Xingzhou’s hand a slight, deliberate squeeze. Yu Xingzhou’s Adam’s apple tightened, “Sister Chen went back to her hometown. We’re short-handed, and I’m just here to help temporarily.”
Teacher Li withdrew his scrutinizing gaze, “I see…”
Turning to the little girl who was standing with her head lowered, Teacher Li said with a dark expression, “Mingzhu, return to your seat. I won’t deduct your little red flower, since you have none left to deduct anyway.”
As his words fell, the other children still eating below began whispering and giggling in unison from all directions.
Childish, yet dark, shadows were cast on the floor beneath the fluorescent light. “Bad child……”
“Her mom and dad must have abandoned her.”
“My mom said, Chen Mingzhu’s mother was a slut before, so Chen Mingzhu is a fatherless bastard……”
Xin Hexue swept his gaze around the classroom.
Hearing such words from innocent young mouths was cruel and jarring, like the sound of tearing silk.
If adults didn’t spread these words, the children probably wouldn’t have had the chance to imitate and learn them.
It seemed that neither Mingzhu nor her mother had an easy life in the Walled city.
Yu Xingzhou lowered his voice and said to Xin Hexue, “The Sister Chen I mentioned, the one who went back to her hometown, is Chen Mingzhu’s mother.”
The answer to the fourth question was already obvious.
Xin Hexue looked towards the blackboard with the little red flowers.
[Question 4: Who is the most disobedient child in Flowers Kindergarten? (5/5 points)]
The identity card in his hand began to grow hot and Xin Hexue lowered his gaze to look.
[Who killed the mockingbird?
The sparrow said, it was I, who killed the mockingbird with my bow and arrow. The fly said, I saw him die. The fish took away his blood, the beetle made the shroud, the owl dug the grave, the crow served as the priest, the lark acted as clerk, the linnet brought the torch, the dove was the chief mourner, the kite came to carry the pall, the wren and the rooster carried the coffin, the thrush sang the hymn, and the cow rang the bell.*]
[Please listen to the fifth question: Who killed Chen Mingzhu? (10 points)]
‘Killed……?’
The context made it seem like a murder case was about to happen, requiring them to find the killer.
Or perhaps, this murder had already happened?
Xin Hexue looked towards Mingzhu, who had been ostracized to a corner by the other children and was drawing by herself.
Meanwhile, Teacher Li stood at the front, cleared his throat, and had returned to his gentle, good-tempered demeanor, “Children, I just received a notice. The principal has arranged a physical examination for this afternoon. After you wake up from your nap, everyone must line up in an orderly manner. That way, we can finish the check-up early and start playing games on the playground sooner as we wait for Mom and Dad to pick you up at four o’clock. Okay?”
The children cheered.
A little girl with a deer-like head walked over to Mingzhu.
Xin Hexue remembered her; he had seen her during the Qingming Festival. She lived in 411, and was called Xi Mei.
Xi Mei had white fine fur around her eyes. Her thin, herbivore lips moved as she asked Mingzhu quietly, “Mingzhu, your mom went back to the countryside. Is that dad of yours coming to pick you up?”
A flicker passed through Mingzhu’s eyes. She finally raised her head and looked towards the little red flower blackboard. She shook her head violently, and her neck bent down again.
………
For the last class of the morning, Xin Hexue led the children in learning “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” while playing the violin, and then it was lunchtime.
Lunch was in the cafeteria, followed by returning to the dormitory for nap time.
Thanks to the cafeteria, the food was again those indescribable things, so Xin Hexue didn’t eat any of it.
Fortunately, the afternoon task was to lead the children in line to the health clinic for their physical examination, which didn’t require much physical exertion.
There were no arrangements for blood tests or urinalysis, just the more common items like height, weight, head circumference measurement, vision and hearing checks, oral examination, etc.
Xin Hexue was getting some air outside the health clinic when a familiar face emerged from inside.
The permed hair remained unchanged, but the dizzyingly patterned shirt was now covered by a white lab coat, and the sunglasses had been replaced with silver-framed glasses, giving off an air of a mature adult.
When he saw Xin Hexue, a ripple passed through the long, narrow phoenix eyes. His hands were in the loose pockets of his lab coat, and his long legs strode straight and purposefully towards Xin Hexue. In the blink of an eye, he was standing before Xin Hexue, smiling like a peacock spreading its tail, “Madam, what a coincidence. I didn’t expect to meet here. Is it a match made in heaven?”
“…”
Xin Hexue was silent for a moment, “You can just call me by my name, Doctor Gu.”
Gu Mifeng: “Then you can also call me by my name.”
Gu Mifeng: “Oh, by the way, your husband won’t mind if you meet me, right?”
It seemed that based on his previous conversation with Xin Hexue at the clinic, he had concluded that Xin Hexue’s husband was an old-fashioned, feudal patriarch, a fossil dug up from the earth, the kind who would take his wife home and discipline her with a stick for merely speaking a few words to another man or using his first name.
Thus, the beautiful wife, unable to bear the oppression, sought comfort from the young man next door during her husband’s absence.
Xin Hexue: “…No, Zhou Liao won’t mind.”
Gu Mifeng: “Oh, then does that Mr. He you’re having an affair with mind?”
Gu Mifeng: “Don’t misunderstand, I’m a civilized person after all. I have to observe the basic etiquette of first come, first served. Although, in the context of true love, trivial etiquette can be cast aside.”
Gu Mifeng: “Rules can be dead, husbands can be dead, but love is alive.”
Xin Hexue: “…”
He pressed his lips together and smiled politely, “Doctor Gu, isn’t it not good for you to be absent from your post during work hours? Won’t this delay your work?”
Gu Mifeng said leisurely, “It’s fine. My assistant is inside; he’ll handle everything.”
The wind rustled through the branches and leaves of the kapok tree, but it didn’t cover up the slight rumbling sound. Xin Hexue covered his stomach in embarrassment.
Several packaged snacks, chocolate and Crispy Rice bars, were offered to Xin Hexue. Gu Mifeng persuaded, “You’re so hungry your face is pale. Dieting to lose weight isn’t good for your health.”
Xin Hexue took the packages from his hand and said indifferently, “Thank you, but I’m not dieting.” He simply couldn’t bring himself to eat the other food.
He tore open the food packaging.
Gu Mifeng nodded in strong agreement with Xin Hexue’s words, leaning forward slightly with his hands in his pockets to look at Xin Hexue’s expressionless face, his cheeks puffing out as he chewed.
“That’s good. After all, it’s a special time. You need to replenish your nutrients properly. Of course, it’s also good for the baby…”
Xin Hexue didn’t get the chance to explain to this overly familiar Western medicine doctor that he was not, and could not be, pregnant.
Because a certain high school student strode over, “What baby?! You’re pregnant?!”
Yu Xingzhou’s eyes held three parts shock, the remaining seven parts filled with indignation.
He looked like a little cat who had just found out the object of his affection had been mounted by a tomcat from outside.
