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墨書 Inktalez
Then I took Li Hua out for a cup of coffee. When we returned to school, a number of parents had gathered at the entrance for the meeting. Upon seeing Li Hua, they all nodded respectfully in acknowledgment.
Li Hua lowered her chin slightly, exuding both warmth and the demeanor of a teacher, appearing serious and dignified.
I couldn't help but smile, my mind filled with memories of her wildness and moans from last night.
“Dad—”
I turned at the sound and saw Xiao Ran standing at the classroom door, looking quite surprised at me. However, she just stood there, fingers pinching the hem of her clothes, not coming closer.
I pressed my lips together and walked toward her, but before I could reach her, she suddenly stepped back, lowering her head. “I didn’t say you could come to the parent meeting.”
I instantly understood the implication behind her words; she knew that Li Hua had been to our home again last night.
In public, I didn't want to create a scene with her. I put on a serious face and said softly, “If you don’t want me here, I can leave right now. The company is busy, and I don’t have time to waste at some parent meeting.”
Her face was already paler than others due to her heart condition. After hearing my words, the color drained from her face as she cautiously glanced at me. “I was wrong.”
Over there, Li Hua chatted with the parents for a while. After confirming attendance, the parents began to enter the classroom one after another. Li Hua came over to me and Xiao Ran, noticed the awkward atmosphere between us, squatted down gently, and asked Xiao Ran, “What’s wrong?”
Xiao Ran pouted and remained silent.
Li Hua felt a bit awkward, stood up, and said to me, “Let’s go in; the parent meeting is about to start.”
The meeting was nothing more than discussing students' performance changes, conveying school educational policies, and urging parents to cooperate with the school to improve students' academic results. After more than an hour, it was as bland as plain water.
Xiao Ran sat in the middle of the front row; it seemed that Li Hua was giving her special treatment out of consideration for me. I lowered my head to browse news on my phone while occasionally glancing up at Li Hua on stage who was speaking with great authority. I would flash her an ambiguous smile, causing her to momentarily freeze before showing brief panic as she scanned the crowd, afraid someone might notice our secret interaction. This feeling was quite thrilling.
Xiao Ran sat next to me, her arms crossed neatly on the desk, her posture upright as she stared blankly at the podium in front of her.
"Speaking of this, I must commend our classmate Xu Xiaoran. In this city's joint final exam competition, Xu Xiaoran achieved first place in the city with full marks in all subjects, truly deserving of the title of top student. She is also likely to participate in the Elementary School Mathematical Olympiad," Li Hua paused, and applause erupted in the classroom. Parents leaned in to look over, while Xiao Ran remained oblivious, lost in her thoughts. I tapped her on the back of her head, and she snapped back to reality, noticing everyone's gaze. She quickly lowered her head as if afraid of being noticed, which was not like my daughter Xu Zhou.
Li Hua continued, "I must mention that Xu Xiaoran recently transferred here and is not familiar with our curriculum. Her excellent results are primarily due to her own efforts. So parents, I suggest you pay more attention to your children's physical and mental health, allowing them to maintain a positive and proactive attitude towards learning. This way, they can achieve twice the result with half the effort..."
After the parent-teacher meeting, many parents who were eagerly hoping for their children's success gathered around me, seeking advice on educational methods and asking Xiao Ran about her study techniques.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Ran showed no interest at all; she packed her bag and squeezed through the crowd, walking out of the classroom on her own.
"This child really... needs to build good relationships with her classmates. What's the use of just studying well? She won't be able to interact with others in the future. If this continues, she'll just end up being a bookworm."
I heard someone whisper this and felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me. I smiled apologetically at the gathered parents, left the crowd, and chased after Xiao Ran, who had already reached the corner of the hallway.
"Xu Xiaoran, stop right there!" I called out firmly without caring if there were other classes in session.
Xiao Ran halted and turned to face me, holding onto her bag straps without saying a word.
Seeing her like this left me momentarily speechless. After a long silence, I finally said, "Let's go home."
That evening after work, I sat on the balcony gazing at the lonely night sky, feeling empty inside. Checking the time, it was past ten; Xiao Ran should have already gone to bed. Remembering Li Hua's composed demeanor earlier made my mind race again.
"Hey."
"It's me. What are you doing?"
"Are you watching a movie? What's up?"
"Are you at the film studio?"
"No, I'm watching it at home on my computer. It's rare to have a weekend off, so I didn't feel like going out."
"Come over."
"Huh? Are we going to the hotel again? Isn't it a bit late?"
"Come to my apartment." Li Hua shares an apartment with someone, so it's not convenient for me to go to her place, and tonight I really don't want to go out again.
"Isn't Xiao Ran at home?"
"It's fine, she's already asleep."
"This..."
"I miss you." I rarely say emotional things.
"Okay, I'll tidy up and come over."
There's no need to elaborate on the matters between men and women (even if I did, it would be automatically censored). After a pleasant time together, Li Hua brought up Xiao Ran's safety concerns again.
"By the way, there's something I need to remind you about. When you have a chance, ask Xiao Ran if anything bad has happened recently, especially regarding anything sexual."
"What do you mean?" Li Hua was not a gossipy person, and this was the second time she had asked, so I had to be cautious.
"Liu Junliang, our school principal, has been spending a lot of time with Xiao Ran lately. I'm worried he might have ulterior motives and could harass her. You might not know this, but he doesn't have any children of his own, and over time, that can lead to psychological issues."
Hearing this, I couldn't help but smile. If perversion were rampant in the world, then it wouldn't be considered perverse anymore; it's called perverse precisely because it's rare.
"That's quite normal," I said dismissively. "I've met him and exchanged greetings. It's not surprising that he pays extra attention to Xiao Ran; you're overreacting."
She thought for a moment and said, "Don't you think you're being irresponsible?"
"Let's not talk about that; it's depressing. Put on your clothes and go wash up." No one wants to face their own issues.
She pouted, put on her clothes, and her attitude became much colder as she walked out in her slippers.
"Is Xiao Ran asleep? Why do I feel like there's no one in her room?" She turned on the light and stood in the living room, looking toward Xiao Ran's room.
"Don't go in there; if you wake her up, you'll have to explain why you're here. That would be troublesome. Just go take a shower."
The thought of Xiao Ran's dark eyes made me uneasy.
"Oh," she replied and went into the bathroom.
Afterward, I lit a cigarette—a habit of men. As I immersed myself in fatigue and nicotine, Li Hua returned from washing up, mumbling, "I still feel like there's no one in Xiao Ran's room."
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