My Taoist nun girlfriend is from the Republic of China era, 1942.

Chapter 180 Lu Yang and Jasmine

Time flies, and another year and a half has passed.

The little bundle of flesh that could only babble and take its first steps has now grown into a two-and-a-half-year-old boy.

Lu Yang grew taller very quickly, with long legs and arms, completely inheriting Lu Yuan's physical advantages. However, his face shape is becoming more and more like Chen Xiaomiao's, with a delicate and clever look.

His language skills have improved by leaps and bounds. His vocabulary is astonishing, his logic is clear, his pronunciation is standard, and he can communicate with adults with almost no difficulty. His fluency even surpasses that of ordinary five- or six-year-old children.

It was the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, and the heating was on full blast in the villa in the capital.

Outside, the snow was white and the ground was covered in snow. In the yard, a little girl wearing a thick pink down jacket was following closely behind a little boy.

"Yangyang... wait for me..."

Zhao Moli is almost four years old, only a little over half a head taller than Lu Yang, and she still stumbles a bit when she runs.

She held two candied hawthorns in her hand, licking one of them slowly while persistently offering the other to Lu Yang's lips.

Lu Yang stopped and looked back at her: "Jasmine, I've already said I don't like eating too much sweet food. You should eat less too, or you'll get fat."

Zhao Moli had no idea about any of this. She blinked her clear, innocent eyes, stubbornly holding up the candied hawthorn, repeating, "Sweet...delicious...Yangyang, you eat..."

Lu Yang sighed, looking at Zhao Moli's face which seemed to say "I'll be unhappy if you don't eat it," and finally lowered his head slightly, opened his mouth, and gently took a small bite of the glistening candied hawthorn.

"Okay, okay, I'll eat it."

Zhao Moli immediately beamed with joy, gave a satisfied "Mmm," and happily took a big bite, her cheeks bulging out.

In the living room, several adults were sitting around the coffee table by the floor-to-ceiling window, drinking tea and chatting.

Zhao Qiang held his teacup, his gaze falling on the two children in the yard, and he poured out his bitterness.

“Yuanzi, you have no idea how worried your sister-in-law and I have about getting this girl into kindergarten. Our hair is almost turning white.”

He took a big gulp of tea and sighed, "Last September, I found a really good private kindergarten, but the tuition was ridiculously expensive."

The results of it?
On the first day I sent her there, Jasmine cried her heart out, clinging to my leg and refusing to let go, as if I were sending her to the execution ground.

The teacher coaxed and tricked her into going in, but she didn't eat, drink, or speak all day, just huddled in a corner staring at the door, and no amount of persuasion could stop her.

Qi Lili chimed in, her face equally troubled: "There was nothing we could do; we had to bring them back after two days."

The doctor said it was delayed cognitive development, accompanied by mild autistic tendencies.

"Right after the New Year, we found her an even more expensive one, supposedly using the Montessori method, with more patient teachers. Classes start next week."

Lu Yuan put down his teacup, his brows furrowing slightly.

He had always been aware of Zhao Moli's situation.

This girl was diagnosed when she was three years old. Although it was not serious, the symptoms she showed were heartbreaking.

Aside from Lu Yang, she was almost completely closed off in front of others, slow to react, not fond of communicating, and always immersed in her own world.

Sending her to an environment full of strangers is really putting her in a difficult position.

"Qiangzi, Lili, how about... we don't send her to kindergarten yet?"

Lu Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "Going to school is a minor matter; the child's mental health is the most important thing. Let's find some experts in this field to see if there are any better rehabilitation methods."

That's what the doctor recommended!

Zhao Qiang said helplessly, "The doctor said we have to put her in a crowd, let her hear more, see more, and have more contact! If we keep her at home, she'll never get better!"

Qi Lili seized the opportunity and cautiously spoke, but her words were directed at Chen Xiaomiao: "Xiaomiao, you see... our Jasmine only acts like a normal child when she's with Yangyang."

She...she's too dependent on Yangyang.

I was thinking... could... could Yangyang go to kindergarten with Jasmine?
With Yangyang around, she might be a little more normal.

As soon as she said it, Qi Lili felt uneasy.

She knew about Lu Yuan's family's circumstances, and she also knew how smart Lu Yang was.

Asking someone's "genius" son to accompany their "slow" daughter to an ordinary kindergarten seems excessive no matter how you look at it.

Moreover, the kindergarten tuition was an astronomical sum for her family, but for Lu Yuan, it was probably not even a drop in the ocean.

Before Lu Yuan could speak, Chen Xiaomiao spoke up first.

"Oh dear, I thought it was something serious!"

She waved her hand, her face displaying her usual憨厚 smile: "Alright, let Yangyang accompany Jasmine to school!"

Qi Lili: "Xiao Miao, have you thought it through?"

Chen Xiaomiao didn't care at all: "It doesn't matter where my son goes to school. With his brain right now, he knows more than others even if he doesn't go to school. It's good for him to go to kindergarten and keep Jasmine company!"

Chen Xiaomiao genuinely likes Zhao Moli, her current goddaughter and future daughter-in-law.

Although she looks a bit simple-minded, her obedient nature and dependence on her son make her, as her mother, very happy.

Since his wife had spoken, Lu Yuan naturally had no objections.

He looked at Zhao Qiang and Qi Lili, and finally said, "Zhao Qiang, sister-in-law... Jasmine is my goddaughter. If you have anything to say in the future, just say it directly. Don't beat around the bush and act like an outsider."

Qi Lili was embarrassed when Lu Yuan exposed her, so she just smiled and said nothing more.

The matter was settled, and the adults started talking about other topics, but Lu Yuan's gaze was once again turned to the window.

She sent her son, whose mental capacity far surpassed that of ordinary people, to kindergarten.

I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing...

After the first month of the lunar calendar, the weather in Wuhan is still chilly despite the warming trend.

The entrance to "Qimingxing International Kindergarten," which boasts the most advanced educational philosophy in Jiangcheng, is more bustling than a vegetable market.

Luxury cars filled the streets, and well-dressed parents surrounded their children who were crying their hearts out, using a mix of coaxing, deception, and threats.

"Don't cry, baby, Mommy will be the first to pick you up this afternoon!" "If you cry again! If you cry again, I'll leave you here!"

"Waaaaah... I want to go home... I don't want to go to school..."

Cries, soothing words, and scolding voices mingled together, composing a "back-to-school symphony" that is performed twice a year.

Amidst this chaotic background noise, two families stood out.

Zhao Qiang and Qi Lili stood aside, looking at their daughter with disbelief on their faces.

Zhao Moli, who usually bursts into tears whenever she arrives at this place, didn't utter a sound today.

She just stood there quietly, her little hand tightly gripping Lu Yang's, her other hand carrying her pink schoolbag, like a loyal little follower.

"Children, welcome to kindergarten! Saying goodbye to your mom and dad is what makes a brave child!"

At the entrance, a young teacher with a bun hairstyle and a sweet smile was bending over, trying to comfort a chubby little boy who was clinging to his mother's leg.

She quickly noticed the two quiet children, especially the little boy with a calm demeanor and exceptionally handsome features.

"Hello, little friend," the teacher with the bun hairstyle greeted Lu Yang with a smile.

Lu Yang looked up at her, nodded politely, and said in a clear voice, "Hello, teacher."

After he finished speaking, Lu Yang felt Zhao Moli's small hand behind him tighten even more.

He turned around, patted Jasmine's hand, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Jasmine, don't be afraid, your teacher isn't a bad person."

Then, pulling Zhao Moli along, she walked up to the teacher, tilted her little face up, and gave a clear and organized introduction.

"Teacher, my name is Lu Yang, and her name is Zhao Moli. We are together."

The teacher with the bun hairstyle was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting a two-and-a-half-year-old child to be so calm and composed, and to express himself so clearly.

"Okay, Lu Yang, Zhao Moli, welcome! Come on, let me take you into the classroom."

The classroom was even more lively, with toys of various colors covering the play area and cartoon stickers on the walls.

A dozen or so children were crying, making a fuss, and a few were running wild like runaway horses, scattering building blocks everywhere.

Lu Yang, holding Zhao Moli's hand, subtly avoided a small, reckless "cannonball" and walked straight to a relatively quiet corner.

There was a small table with several thick, hardcover picture books on it.

Lu Yang himself wasn't particularly interested, but he still took the initiative to open one of the books and place it in front of Zhao Moli.

"Jasmine, let's draw together."

"Ok!"

Zhao Moli obediently sat on the small stool. Although her eyes still occasionally scanned her surroundings warily, as long as Lu Yang was there, she felt like she had a pillar of support and her whole body calmed down.

Not far away, a "territorial battle" is unfolding.

A chubby-faced little boy took a liking to the Lego bucket next to Lu Yang and his friends and reached out to grab it.

"Mine!" he shouted domineeringly.

Before Lu Yang could even look up, Zhao Moli beside him suddenly stood up, spread her arms to protect the bucket of building blocks, puffed out her cheeks, and launched a strong counterattack.

"No! Yangyang's! I won't give it to him!"

The little boy was startled by her sudden outburst and stood frozen in place.

Lu Yang looked up from the picture book, glanced at the boy, then at Zhao Moli, who was "defending" her toy to the death, and sighed helplessly.

He took half a building block out of the small bucket and handed it to the boy.

"Here, take this. Let's play together."

The little boy's attention was immediately drawn to the building blocks, and he happily took them to play with.

With the crisis averted, Zhao Moli sat down again, giving Lu Yang a smug look, as if to say, "I helped you get rid of the bad guys."

At lunchtime, the kindergarten teacher brought in a food cart.

Today's meal is scrambled eggs with tomatoes, served with chicken drumsticks, green vegetables, and winter melon soup.

Across from Lu Yang sat a little boy dressed in a blue Ultraman costume. He used a spoon to push all the vegetables on his plate to one side, pouting and shouting.

"I don't want vegetables, I want meat!"

Lu Yang ate his meal silently, his mind filled with his mother's countless teachings—growing food is hard work, and we must not waste it!

He tapped the table with his spoon to attract the Ultraman boy's attention.

Lu Yang asked, "Do you want to be Ultraman?"

"miss you!"

The boy answered loudly.

Lu Yang said in a serious tone, "Ultraman needs to eat vegetables to replenish his energy in order to protect the Earth."

The boy asked skeptically, "Really?"

"real."

Lu Yang nodded and pointed to the chicken leg on his plate: "If you don't want it, I'll trade you the chicken leg. As long as I eat more vegetables, I can become Ultraman and protect the earth."

"I won't give it to you! I want to become Ultraman myself and protect the Earth!"

The Ultraman boy quickly picked up some greens and stuffed them into his mouth.

The teacher with the bun hairstyle, who was patrolling nearby, was dumbfounded.

Wow, this kid is even better at fooling people than she is.

(End of this chapter)