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Jiang Lin heard that they had come with Grandpa and Grandma, and she let out a sigh of relief.
She still reminded them, “Don’t run off by yourselves.”
Dabao replied, “We’re not stupid. We know.”
Wensheng, who never thought of himself as foolish, smiled slightly and nodded.
When he saw someone walking towards them, he greeted them with a smile.
That pure and healing smile could melt hearts.
Su Xingyun thought, This can’t be Jiang Lin’s husband, can it?
The change in demeanor over just a few days is too drastic.
Or could it be that I’m so envious of someone more handsome than me that I can’t even remember their appearance?
To avoid awkwardness, Jiang Lin didn’t introduce them individually, as it would be too cumbersome with so many classmates.
“Jiang Lin, is this your husband and son? Wow, your sons are twins! They’re so beautiful!” Yao Zhenxia’s eyes were fixed on Dazhuo and Xiaobao, unable to look away.
The male students were focused on Wensheng.
Wensheng, feeling the friendly or unfriendly gazes from others, instantly slipped into his acting mode.
They had gone to the theater today and attended a rehearsal, so he was quick and skilled in his role.
As long as Dabao told him not to call her “mom” he knew someone might mock or make fun of the term, so he had to act accordingly.
Acting wasn’t difficult for him; he stood straight like a scholar, his face expressionless, but he was extremely gentle when looking at Jiang Lin.
Jiang Lin quickly said goodbye to her classmates and led Dabao, Xiaobao, and Wensheng to leave.
Wensheng saw that Jiang Lin’s backpack was heavy with books, so he took the initiative to carry it for her.
Yao Zhenxia watched the family of four’s departing figures and sighed, “Sister Jiang Lin is so lucky.”
A male classmate teased, “Then you should hurry up and get married!”
Yang Lu remarked, “Even getting married, you wouldn’t find such a handsome man!” She looked disdainfully at the others, who seemed eager and impatient.
Hmph! Then she turned and walked away.
As they watched her arrogant back, some classmates wondered, “Did someone offend her?”
Zhu Caiping suggested, “She’s probably just jealous of Jiang Lin’s handsome husband and children.”
Su Xingyun laughed, “I don’t think so. Yang Lu might just be a bit sensitive and serious about things. We should all try to get along well.” As the class monitor, he hoped for a more united and friendly class.
Zhu Caiping smiled at him, “You’re right, Class Monitor. Let’s all go have dinner together.”
Su Xingyun replied, “Not tonight, I need to meet some high school friends I’ve scheduled with.”
Among the female classmates, he was interested in Jiang Lin, but since she was married, he could only wish her well.
He wasn’t interested in the unmarried girls, Yao Zhenxia and Zhu Caiping.
He decided to explore opportunities in the Faculty of Arts to see if he could find someone he liked.
Jiang Lin took the kids to the library, where she borrowed Records of the Grand Historian for Cheng Yunzh, and a collection of folk tales for Da Bao and Xiao Bao.
She then left a note on the bulletin board for Sun Qinghui and Zeng Hongjie, informing them that Wen Sheng, Da Bao, and Xiao Bao had come to pick her up, and that she would meet them tomorrow morning if they couldn’t come today.
She took the kids home, and on the way, Da Bao asked, “Has anyone been bothering you?”
Jiang Lin laughed, “With me around, who would dare to bother me? Don’t you worry about me.”
Xiao Bao added, “I said the same. Da Bao is always so worried and can’t even focus on the play.”
Da Bao retorted, “I don’t like listening! The yips and yaps, it’s annoying!”
Wen Sheng smiled, trying to ensure that their mother left a good impression on her classmates.
After leaving the school gate, they walked to the theater.
Wu Shuxian, Yan Runzhi, and Cheng Yunzhi were already there.
They had come by jeep in the morning, but now there were too many people to fit, so Jiang Lin suggested taking the bus.
Dabao and Xiaobao insisted on coming with her.
They wanted to get familiar with the route from the courtyard to the school so they could visit their mom secretly in the future.
Seeing their insistence, Jiang Lin had no choice but to agree.
The bus only came every so often, and they weren’t in a hurry.
Jiang Lin asked them what play they had seen.
Wensheng sang softly for her, which delighted the people waiting for the bus.
They encouraged him to sing more.
They thought his tall and elegant figure and beautiful voice made him seem like a member of a theater troupe.
Wensheng felt a bit embarrassed, “I’m just singing randomly.”
Jiang Lin encouraged him to sing, not to worry about whether others liked it, as long as she did.
Dabao said, “Wensheng, I think you sing very well. Grandpa and Grandma also like to listen.”
Xiaobao continued to flatter him with praise.
Jiang Lin was delighted to hear this.
The entire bus was in high spirits, and the conductor, caught up in the moment, almost offered Wensheng a free ride.
When they arrived at the courtyard, they got off the bus.
The conductor called out, “Young man, you sing very well. Keep singing!”
Wensheng waved and gave her a smile.
Bie Dongshan saw them returning and greeted them quietly, informing them that her parents had already come back.
Jiang Lin instructed them to change shifts and hurry home for dinner.
Bie Dongshan was so pleased that he couldn’t stop smiling, which made the opposing He Changjiang roll his eyes in frustration.
Nearby, Du Qiang kept reminding him not to roll his eyes to avoid being seen by the leaders and appearing unprofessional.
Yan Runzhi and Cheng Runzhi returned by car with Wu Shuxian and were already preparing dinner.
Wu Tingting and Wu Shijin, siblings, came over to Jiang Lin to review their lessons.
Wu Tingting, who was studying liberal arts, needed to focus on history and geography, while Wu Shijin, who was studying science, had to tackle physics and chemistry, with politics being a compulsory subject for both fields.
Regarding English, during her college entrance exams last year, she had the option to take a foreign language test, which didn’t count towards the total score.
Generally, only those applying to foreign language schools would take the English written test.
If they scored above 20 points, they would then participate in a spoken interview.
Those selected could then enroll in the foreign language school.
Wu Tingting, who was keen on studying English, naturally devoted more energy to it.
Jiang Lin shared some tips from her past experiences with English teachers with Wu Tingting, adding, “It’s really important to listen, read, and speak more to expand your vocabulary.”
Although she lacked confidence in her English, her proficiency was actually higher than most of her classmates since many of them didn’t even recognize all 26 letters.
She pulled out some of her previous study notes and shared her revision methods, dividing tasks into several blocks.
The first step was to thoroughly memorize the basics.
The initial phase of revision was to review all the knowledge points, ensuring that each one could be answered fluently.
She also taught some memorization techniques and assigned learning tasks for the next week, promising to check their progress in a week’s time.
After chatting for a while, they left to study, and Jiang Lin saw them off.
He Liang and Bie Dongshan returned together, washed their hands and faces, and came to the backyard just as Yan Runzhi had finished preparing dinner.
Before the meal, Jiang Lin communicated with her family to ask how her parents enjoyed their time at the theater.
She hoped they were having a good time and not feeling pressured by her and Cheng Rushan’s social interactions.
Yan Runzhi spoke enthusiastically about the theater group, “It was great! Your father even discussed scriptwriting with them. They were working on a new play and couldn’t quite capture the right feeling, so your father chatted with them. He got them so excited that they kept asking for his advice, saying he had literary talent and wanted to hire him as a consultant.”
He Liang said, “Our dad is truly impressive, no doubt about it!”
Bie Dongshan smiled and said, “He is impressive. Many people have tried to submit their works to him but were unsuccessful.”
Cheng Yunzhi replied, “Stop praising me. I was just chatting with people out of boredom, showing off a bit.”
He Liang said, “Dad, don’t be modest. Even with my work, I couldn’t understand it, and I needed help revising. The more I revised, the worse it got, haha.”
Cheng Yunzhi was being pulled to study scripts and play texts, while Yan Runzhi was being consulted on embroidery, as the theater troupe wanted to add new costumes.
Wensheng joined the theater rehearsals and was even asked to make a guest appearance.
He had a lot of fun. Although he wasn’t a professional and needed more experience to perform on stage perfectly, his appearance and stature were unmatched in the troupe.
The troupe leader was particularly interested in him and wanted to persuade him to join as a performer.
Even if his singing wasn’t perfect, his stage presence was captivating.
Besides, singing skills could be trained.
Wensheng asked Jiang Lin, “Mom, should I go? They said they’d pay, and if I go, it’s forty-something a month.”
He was tempted by the idea of earning money for the family.
Jiang Lin smiled and said, “You can go and have fun, help them out as a guest performer. Don’t treat it as a job.”
She didn’t want him to feel pressured as it could affect his mental well-being.
Wensheng agreed.
Bie Dongshan said with a smile, “When our art troupe performs, Wensheng should also give us a performance.”
Xiao Bao: “I can play Pan Dongzi!”
Da Bao: “Then I’ll play Gao Yubao.”
Wen Sheng: “Well… Yang Zirong?” He looked at He Liang, who quickly said, “I’m not playing Zuo Shandiao, I’ll play Shao Jianbo.”
Xiao Bao: “Grandma can play Xiao Baige.”
He Liang: “!”
“Hahaha.”
After dinner, Wen Sheng, Da Bao, and Xiao Bao went to play with He Liang and the others.
The young people were lively and full of energy, finding everything fun.
Jiang Lin brought books to Cheng Yunzhi, who was reading.
Yan Runzhi was preparing fabric to make summer clothes, aiming to make Bao’er’s mother the most attractive student in the school.
Jiang Lin was studying professional books borrowed from the library to get an overview of her field.
In the evening, after they came back, Da Bao and Xiao Bao took the initiative to sleep with Jiang Lin.
Da Bao thought that since girls are afraid of the dark at night, their mom must be afraid too.
With Dad not at home, they would keep Mom company.
There are girls in his class who are scared of bugs and the dark and want him to protect them.
He doesn’t have time for that!
He has two women at home!
Xiao Bao just wanted to be with Mom at night.
Especially when he was very sleepy, his IQ seemed to drop to three or four years old.
He remembered that when he was very young, his mom didn’t like him being close to her, so he always wished he could stay with her from morning till night.
Now his wish has come true.
Mom loves him, and he has grown up and doesn’t need to stick to Mom every day.
Lying next to his mom, he felt extremely happy.
The fragrant scent gave him a sense of security, as if he had returned to his childhood when he felt content and no longer afraid.
In the end, his little self and his present self fell asleep together, feeling cozy and beautiful.
Fast forward ten days, and Jiang Lin had already adapted to school life.
On this Saturday, Jiang Lin still had classes.
After school, there was a social event at the school, so she decided to stay in the dormitory for the night.
She had informed her family in the morning not to worry, but Wensheng, Dabao, and Xiaobao were still concerned and felt that it wasn’t safe for Mom to sleep in the dorm.
Dabao said, “The dormitory building has mice.”
Jiang Lin laughed, “I’m not afraid of that. Besides, there are eight aunts in the dormitory, so what is there to worry about?” In fact, there were no mice.
Dabao asked, “But what if bad people come in?”
Jiang Lin reassured him, “There are dormitory supervisors who patrol every day and people on guard, so don’t worry.” She noticed that Dabao was very anxious.
Just then, Fang Chengguang, who had just finished washing his hair, came over for a meal.
He mentioned that He Liang and Bie Dongshan, who had been on a mission yesterday, hadn’t returned yet.
He offered, “I’m free tonight; I can come pick you up.”
The three young ones immediately nodded, “That’s settled then.”
Jiang Lin thought to herself: … I brought my bedding to school and had a nap twice during the day. I haven’t slept at night. My bedding must be feeling lonely and missing me!
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