Chapter 12

After leaving school, Yang Tianxing took a bus for about an hour and a half to reach Qinchuan Kindergarten, where he met Xie Yüan's daughter, Xie Silu; however, the kindergarten teacher was very uneasy about Yang Tianxing's identity and watched him with great vigilance.

"You can just call Xie Silu's father to verify it."

Yang Tianxing suggested this to the cute, big-eyed young preschool teacher.

"I certainly need to verify it; please wait outside the door for now."

She first dialed Xie Yüan's mobile phone, only to find it ringing in Yang Tianxing's hand, so she switched to dialing the landline to get through.

The teacher explained the situation over the phone and even described Yang Tianxing's appearance while looking him over.

"Silu's father wants you to say the number on your student ID."

After the physical description matched, the teacher proceeded with the final verification.

"0"

After Yang Tianxing said it and both sides confirmed it was correct, the teacher finally felt at ease and led Xie Silu over: "Silu, this big brother is your father's student; he's here to pick you up tonight."

Xie Silu was a fair, chubby little girl in her final year of kindergarten; her own sense of caution was still very weak, so she did whatever the teacher said and obediently took Yang Tianxing's hand.

"Sorry about just now, I misunderstood who you were."

The teacher apologized to Yang Tianxing, feeling that her attitude had been a bit poor earlier.

Yang Tianxing smiled indifferently: "It's fine, teachers should be rigorous; say goodbye to the teacher, Silu."

Yang Tianxing acted with such maturity and composure that the teacher was surprised by his age.

"Goodbye, Teacher Xiaoyun."

Xie Silu trotted over on her short legs and gave the teacher a kiss.

"Goodbye, Silu."

The teacher also kissed Xie Silu's chubby cheek.

Yang Tianxing waited patiently on the side, then picked up the chubby Xie Silu and walked out the gate.

He figured the kindergarten teacher would still contact Xie Yüan, and if such an action were relayed to Old Xie through the teacher's mouth, it would further highlight Yang Tianxing's image.

Xie Silu was chubby but not heavy, as if all the fat had grown on her face; she hugged Yang Tianxing's neck and asked, "Big brother, where are we going?"

"How about I take you to eat KFC?" Yang Tianxing asked.

Xie Silu clapped her hands happily: "Yay, I love KFC the most!"

The little chubby girl seemed to really love eating; to express her happiness, she even kissed Yang Tianxing on the cheek.

This gesture couldn't help but remind Yang Tianxing of the kindergarten teacher from earlier, so he said, "Silu, big brother wants to test you with a question."

"Okay."

Xie Silu replied in a milky voice.

"What is the name of that teacher from just now?"

"Teacher Xiaoyun."

"Emmm, her full name."

"It's just Teacher Xiaoyun."

At her age, Xie Silu had no idea what a full name meant.

Yang Tianxing thought for a moment: "Let's change the question then; do you know Teacher Xiaoyun's phone number, Silu?"

"I don't know." Xie Silu shook her head.

"What about her QQ?" Yang Tianxing asked again.

"What is QQ?"

After a while.

"Big brother, why aren't you holding me anymore?"

"Big brother is tired and doesn't want to hold you."

At a KFC near the kindergarten, Yang Tianxing bought Xie Silu a burger, fries, and chicken wings, while he bought himself a cola and started reading a newspaper.

After eating, Xie Silu went to play on the slide in the children's play area, where there were other children, and she played until she was covered in sweat; around seven o'clock, the phone in Yang Tianxing's hand rang.

"Tianxing, I've finished my meeting; where are you two now?"

"Teacher Xie, I'm with Silu at the KFC by the plaza."

"I see, I'll be there in about an hour; thank you for your hard work."

After hanging up, Yang Tianxing grinned; he had finally gone from "Yang Tianxing" to "Tianxing" in Old Xie's mouth.

Around seven-thirty, Yang Tianxing called Xie Silu back, wiped her sweat, and asked, "Are you sleepy, Silu?"

"I'm not sleepy!"

Xie Silu struggled, wanting to go back to play.

"No, I think you should be sleepy now."

Yang Tianxing wouldn't let her go; just like how every movie has a climax, today had to have a perfect ending.

Yang Tianxing put down the newspaper, held Xie Silu in his arms, and thought of children's stories he had heard before, slowly telling them to her.

Xie Silu had played for too long and was actually already quite exhausted; plus, with stories to listen to, her mind didn't want to sleep, but her eyelids were already fighting each other, and finally, before Xie Yüan and his wife arrived, Yang Tianxing lulled Xie Silu to sleep.

Thus, when Old Xie and his wife arrived, they saw this scene.

In front of the transparent KFC window, Yang Tianxing was cradling Xie Silu with a peaceful and kind expression, his arms gently swaying to try and make her sleep more comfortably; the couple looked at each other, and his wife said, "I didn't expect Silu to get along so well with your student."

"His name is Yang Tianxing; his ability and character are both quite good, and I owe him a favor tonight," Xie Yüan said.

At this moment, Yang Tianxing also saw Xie Yüan walking over and said softly, "Silu is incredibly well-behaved; it wasn't tiring at all to look after her."

Xie Yüan's wife was very tactful; seeing her daughter's complexion was rosy and healthy and that she was sleeping very soundly, she took a bag of fruit from the car and said, "Thank you, Xiao Yang, for running so far to help us watch the child."

"You're too kind, Madam; I just happened to want to go out for a walk, as the military training is truly exhausting," Yang Tianxing said with a smile, declining the offer.

"Since you've already called me Wife of the Teacher, take the fruit back. Also, find some time this weekend to come to our house for a simple meal. Old Xie, you must remember this."

Xie Yu'an also nodded: "Take the fruit. I'll walk you to the bus stop. In the future, you must set a good example in your class."

Yang Tianxing's heart stirred, and he nodded slightly.

After getting on the bus, Yang Tianxing reviewed his recent actions and found no loopholes, so he began to tilt his head and watch the neon lights sliding rapidly past the window.

"Chang'an Jiaotong University?" When passing the gate of the university, a thought crossed Yang Tianxing's mind.

Arriving at a public phone booth, he first inquired about Tan Zhizhi's mobile number from a former classmate, then dialed it.

"Hello, it's me, Yang Tianxing. I'm at your school gate right now. You must be exhausted from military training these past few days, right? I specifically bought you some fruit, hurry down and get it."

Tan Zhizhi was very surprised to receive Yang Tianxing's call; she had once thought that Yang Tianxing would never contact her again, as this bastard had acted so heartlessly after all.

She was a bit conflicted about whether to go down; her tsundere personality made her very conflicted, as she both wanted to see Yang Tianxing and was angry at what he had done.

After a long internal struggle, Tan Zhizhi finally decided to go down; she hadn't been having an easy time in the dormitory lately, and she was feeling quite aggrieved.