Chapter 25: First Day of Primary School

“One egg each,” Song Wenbin said, handing the boiled eggs to Xu Hengzhou and Xiang Chen.

Xu Hengzhou cracked open his shell, quickly peeling a perfectly intact egg. Then, he placed his own egg into Xiang Chen’s bowl.

“Thank you, Gege,” Xiang Chen said with a bright smile, accepting Xu Hengzhou’s thoughtful gesture. He then returned the favor, placing his own egg in front of Xu Hengzhou.

Song Wenbin, as usual, finished first. He set down his bowl and went to check Xiang Chen’s schoolbag.

The small, green satchel, adorned with a red star, perfectly matched Xiang Chen’s little military uniform. Song Wenbin had specifically sourced the fabric and asked Granny Li downstairs to help make it.

Xiang Chen adored it, carrying it for an entire day the moment he received it.

After confirming that all the books and pencil case were packed, Song Wenbin put the satchel away. He turned to Xiang Chen, saying,

“Today is your first day of school, Chenchen. You must listen to your teacher. If anything feels uncomfortable, come back and tell your uncle, and we’ll go back to kindergarten. If anyone bullies you, find your Gege. Do you remember where your Gege is?”

Xiang Chen nodded vigorously, obediently replying, “I know. I’ll listen to my teacher.”

Children typically started school later during that era; eight years old for primary school was quite normal. Xiang Chen was still so young, and Song Wenbin had been reluctant to send him to primary school, always worried older children would pick on him.

However, Xiang Chen was insistent. He charmed and pleaded, nearly resorting to the tantrums and theatrics of a truly spoiled child. Fortunately, after enjoying the spectacle for a while, Xu Hengzhou stepped in to offer a few words of persuasion.

His arguments were sound and well-reasoned. Moreover, he and Xiang Chen attended the same school; their classrooms, though on different floors, were in the same building, meaning he could keep an eye on things.

Song Wenbin hesitated for a long time, but eventually relented. He agreed to let Xiang Chen try primary school first, with the understanding that he could return if he couldn’t adapt.

Having finally convinced his uncle to let him attend primary school, how could Xiang Chen possibly agree to go back to kindergarten?

He wasn’t a real child. Attending class with primary schoolers was already tragic enough. If he went to kindergarten, would he cry with the other children, or would he play in the mud with them?

After breakfast, Xu Hengzhou and Xiang Chen shouldered their schoolbags, and Song Wenbin led them to school. This was a special privilege reserved only for the first day.

Song Wenbin had specifically taken the day off; from now on, Xu Hengzhou and Xiang Chen would go to school by themselves.

As they stepped out, Song Wenbin used his key to lock the door while Xu Hengzhou and Xiang Chen waited beside him.

Suddenly, the front door of Chen Guoliang’s house next door opened, and Chen Fen emerged, her bag slung over her shoulder, a look of impatience on her face.

Upon seeing the Song family trio, Chen Fen paused. The impatience on her face vanished instantly, her gaze lingering on Xu Hengzhou for a moment. A sudden blush bloomed on her sallow cheeks.

Among the Chen family children, the youngest, Chen Xiaocao, was too small to judge her looks. Of the other three, Chen Fen most resembled her mother, Cai Zhen: thin and long-faced, with a poor complexion.

However, her features still showed some resemblance to Chen Guoliang, making her generally quite refined.

Chen Fang, however, was rather unfortunate. It was as if she had inherited all her parents’ flaws. Chen Guoliang had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and well-proportioned features.

Though his skin was dark, he was considered handsome—otherwise, he wouldn’t have caught the eye of Cai Zhen, the ‘factory director’s daughter’.

But Chen Fang was truly tragic. She had Chen Guoliang’s dark skin, Cai Zhen’s unattractive features, and was short. She usually trailed behind Chen Fen, utterly devoid of presence, looking like a dusty little mouse at first glance.

Xiang Chen felt that the prettiest girl in the Chen family was Chen Xiaohua. It wasn’t him being petty or biased; it was simply that Little Flower was the complete opposite of Chen Fang, having inherited all her parents’ good qualities.

Though still young, her delicate features were already discernable. Her skin, while a little sallow from not eating enough, was not naturally that color.

At that moment, Chen Fen, her face flushed, gazed at Xu Hengzhou. Though she didn’t dare to look directly, only pretending to wait for Chen Fang while stealing glances, Xiang Chen still perceived her subtle intentions.

‘Impressive,’ Xiang Chen thought to himself. ‘Chen Fen has excellent taste, immediately falling for my Gege. Male God lives up to his name, attracting admirers wherever he goes.

It’s a pity my Gege is gay; he only loves other men, not women. I made sure to confirm that before I dared to confess.’

What Xiang Chen could see, Xu Hengzhou could discern even more clearly. He lowered his eyes to the little bundle beside him, seemingly unaware that someone was secretly watching him.

Though these thoughts raced through the brothers’ minds, only a brief moment had passed. Song Wenbin quickly locked the door and led Xu Hengzhou and Xiang Chen towards the stairwell.

Chen Fang had already been hiding by the door, unwilling to leave until Chen Fen did. As soon as Song Wenbin and the two boys departed, Chen Fen immediately followed, slowing her pace as if merely a fellow traveler.

Along the way, Song Wenbin had long noticed the two young girls trailing behind them, but he didn’t give it much thought, assuming they were simply going the same way.

Upon reaching the school, Song Wenbin brought the two students who were transferring mid-term to the main office. He believed it would be better for a teacher to escort them in.

The man, surnamed Liu, appeared quite refined. He simply nodded at Song Wenbin, said nothing superfluous, and then led Xu Hengzhou away.

The other teacher, a woman who looked to be in her early twenties, had two braided pigtails. Upon seeing Xiang Chen, she first offered him a warm smile.

Song Wenbin entrusted Xiang Chen to this teacher, whose name was Zhang Xiaoman, and gave a few more uneasy instructions. It wasn’t that he was overly fussy; it was simply that Xiang Chen was very young, almost half the age of his classmates.

Teacher Zhang listened intently to Song Wenbin’s words, assuring him that she would take good care of Xiang Chen. Then, she led Xiang Chen to his classroom. Xiang Chen was in the first grade, so his classroom was on the ground floor; there was no need to go upstairs.

Only after watching Teacher Zhang lead Xiang Chen by the hand toward the classroom did Song Wenbin turn to leave the school. He still had to rush to work. He had just started at the factory, and things were busy everywhere.

The affiliated primary school had two first-grade classes. Xiang Chen was assigned to Class Two. As Teacher Zhang led him towards the classroom, a woman emerged from Class One.

The woman, also in her twenties, cast a disdainful glance at Teacher Zhang. “Some people, honestly, will stoop to anything just to curry favor, even losing all dignity.

A perfectly good teacher, yet she acts like a nanny, looking after someone’s child. It’s utterly disgraceful.”

Zhang Xiaoman had been about to greet Zhang Lili, as they were colleagues, but hearing her words, she didn’t even pause. She simply continued, holding Xiang Chen’s hand, towards her own class. If someone didn’t want to speak civilly, there was no need to engage.

Zhang Lili, left behind, instantly stiffened. “Zhang Xiaoman, do you have no manners, no upbringing? Did you hear me talking to you? Do you not even greet your seniors?”

Zhang Xiaoman turned, a smile gracing her lips. “Teacher Zhang, I thought you were talking to yourself. I didn’t want to disturb you, which is why I didn’t greet you.”

Xiang Chen, listening from the side, felt an urge to laugh. He hadn’t expected his little teacher to be quite so sharp.

Zhang Xiaoman was genuinely annoyed by Zhang Lili. So what if she had started at the school earlier?

She constantly put on airs of seniority, rushing forward for any benefits but pushing all the troublesome tasks onto Zhang Xiaoman, claiming they were opportunities for her to gain experience.

Take this time, for instance. When she heard that the new factory director wanted to enroll his nephew mid-term, Zhang Lili immediately approached the dean, boasting about how excellent her class was and her teaching experience.

However, the moment she learned the child was only four years old, Zhang Lili immediately backed out. She had previously taken in a similarly young child of a leader, and that six-year-old would constantly wet his pants.

Each time he did, he would cry, forcing Zhang Lili to take him to her office to clean him up. In the dead of winter, with no hot water, a month of this ordeal had been enough to break Zhang Lili.

Zhang Lili abandoned the task, and the school, having no other option, assigned it to Zhang Xiaoman.

Now, their paths had crossed again, and Zhang Lili was brimming with resentment, feeling that Zhang Xiaoman had snatched an advantage from her. Hence the sarcastic remarks, which Zhang Xiaoman promptly retorted.

Zhang Lili, rebuffed by Zhang Xiaoman’s two sharp sentences, was so furious she simply rolled her eyes, her finger trembling as she pointed at Zhang Xiaoman.

Zhang Xiaoman, seemingly oblivious, continued to smile. “Teacher Zhang, I’m taking my student now. I have a class first period, so I won’t disturb you further.”

With that, she disregarded Zhang Lili’s sour expression and walked away with Xiang Chen.

Class Two’s classroom was right next door. Zhang Xiaoman led Xiang Chen inside.

With no teacher present, the classroom was a noisy hubbub. As Zhang Xiaoman entered, the room gradually quieted. Children of that era held a great sense of awe and respect for teachers, generally not daring to misbehave in their presence.

Zhang Xiaoman led Xiang Chen to the front of the classroom. “This is our new transfer student. His name is Xu Xiangchen. Everyone, please get along well with him from now on. Come on, let’s welcome our new classmate!”

A scattered round of applause immediately broke out in the classroom. Xiang Chen stood at the front, stared at by rows of curious eyes, his determinedly serious little bun-face struggling to maintain its composure.

Fortunately, Teacher Zhang quickly released him. She patted Xiang Chen’s shoulder, pointed to a little girl in the first row, and said, “You can sit next to He Yingying.” Then, she had He Yingying’s deskmate move to another seat.

Xiang Chen obediently walked over and sat beside the little girl. Seeing her clean little dress and leather shoes, he understood why Teacher Zhang had placed him there.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this little girl’s parents probably worked in the same office as his uncle.

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