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

Chapter 182 A Girl Who Isn't Good at Making Friends

Around 4 p.m., the kindergarten enters free play time.

On the children's playground, most of the children rushed to the most popular slide.

Lu Yang did not get involved.

The slide, from going up to coming down in just three seconds, held no appeal for him.

He led Zhao Moli to the reading corner at the other end of the classroom.

The room is covered with soft floor mats, and the bookshelves against the wall are filled with various picture books.

Zhao Moli wasn't interested in books, but she would do anything as long as she could be with Lu Yang.

In the shadows of the corner, Zheng Qingtong, like an outsider, stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall, scrutinizing the space filled with "foolish" peers.

Her gaze finally settled on Lu Yang and Zhao Moli.

The boy who lived downstairs from her stood out among them.

Zheng Qingtong herself couldn't quite put her finger on what was so special about it.

The somewhat dazed girl beside him followed the boy the whole time, like a mindless accessory.

One is willing to hit, and the other is willing to be hit?
Zheng Qingtong pursed her lips and strode towards them.

She stopped in front of the two of them, slightly raised her chin, and pointed at Zhao Moli next to Lu Yang with a condescending attitude.

"Hey, is she your sister? Why is she following you around like a shadow?"

Lu Yang raised his head and calmly replied, "Her name is Zhao Moli, and she is my friend."

"Friend? She seems a bit silly. Don't you find it boring to hang out with her?"

Zhao Moli sensed the other party's malice, gripped Lu Yang's clothes tightly, pouted, and her big eyes quickly filled with tears.

She glared at Zheng Qingtong, mumbling a protest, "I...am not stupid...!"

Zheng Qingtong scoffed dismissively: "Look at her, she's just like those other people, all she does is cry."

Lu Yang frowned slightly; he disliked this unwarranted malice.

He stood up; he was a head shorter than Zheng Qingtong, but his imposing presence was in no way inferior.

"Apologize."

"what?"

Zheng Qingtong froze, as if she hadn't heard clearly.

You must apologize to Jasmine.

Lu Yang's gaze was clear and firm.

"Why should I apologize? I'm telling the truth! Besides, you're shorter than me, what gives you the right to order me around?"

In her world, strength and weakness, superiority and inferiority, are ingrained in her very being.

The honest, sullen father at home is always being bossed around by the glamorous mother.

"Because telling the truth and hurting others with the truth are two different things. The teacher just said that children should get along well with each other."

When Lu Yang brought up his "teacher," Zheng Qingtong's momentum instantly weakened by more than half.

She wasn't afraid of making Zhao Moli cry, but she knew that in kindergarten, "teacher" meant rules and authority.

I ran into trouble on the very first day, and when I got home I was bound to hear my mother's nagging and complaints again.

That's what she hates the most...

"Um...I'm sorry!"

After saying that, Zheng Qingtong fled in panic.

With the crisis averted, Zhao Moli's eyes were still moist as she whispered, "Yangyang...is she a bad person?"

"No."

Lu Yang patted Jasmine's head and murmured, "She's just not very good at making friends."

Halfway through free time, the teacher with the bun hairstyle brought out snacks... fruits, cakes, cookies, etc., as a break meal.

Zhao Moli picked up a cookie from the plate, held it in her hand, and ran to the swing set at the other end of the playground.

Zheng Qingtong remained alone, sitting on the swing with her toes touching the ground, like a beautiful porcelain doll, completely out of place with the surrounding noise.

Zhao Moli held the biscuit up to her eyes.

Zheng Qingtong glanced at her, then turned her head away: "What are you doing? I don't want to."

Zhao Moli didn't speak, but stubbornly held it up, her clear eyes looking straight at her, without any flattery or fear, just a simple "Here you go."

"My mother doesn't let me eat food given to me by other people."

This time, Zheng Qingtong turned around directly, but she found a reason for her refusal.

Zhao Moli still wouldn't leave, she just kept holding it up.

A minute passed.

Two minutes passed.

Zheng Qingtong felt like she was being pricked by needles.

She glanced at the girl out of the corner of her eye and saw that the "silly" girl was still standing there, in the same pose.

What is this? Is it a provocation? Or some kind of ritual she cannot understand?

"What on earth do you want to do?"

Zheng Qingtong finally couldn't hold back and turned around to glare at her.

Zhao Moli blinked, then pushed it forward a little further, uttering two words: "Yangyang... say..."

She has poor language skills. What she wanted to say was, "Yangyang said you're not a bad person, you just don't know how to make friends, so I'm here to be your friend." But when she got to her lips, the words came out as fragmented syllables.

"What did Lu Yang say?"

Zheng Qingtong's curiosity was piqued.

"Yangyang... my friend..."

Zhao Moli gestured as she went, pointing to herself and then to Zheng Qingtong.

Zheng Qingtong guessed the general meaning and felt a strange, indescribable feeling welling up inside her.

After a brief standoff, she finally reached out, took the biscuit from Zhao Moli, quickly stuffed it into her mouth, and mumbled something indistinctly.

"Thank you!"

Zhao Moli didn't understand the other person's arrogant thoughts; she only knew that the cookies had been accepted.

She immediately grinned, revealing a satisfied, silly smile, and then ran back to Lu Yang's side.

As the school bell rang, the teacher with the bun hairstyle led a group of children to the door, handing each child over to their parents with a professional, sweet smile on her face.

"Are Zheng Qingtong's parents?"

"Teacher, over here!"

A stylishly dressed woman with exquisite makeup walked briskly forward.

"Qingtong was great today. She was very quiet and well-behaved."

The teacher with the bun hairstyle bent down, smiled, and waved to Zheng Qingtong: "Qingtong, see you tomorrow!"

Zheng Qingtong looked up, her face displaying a perfectly obedient smile: "Goodbye, teacher."

Gao Rong pulled her daughter in front of her, saying "Thank you, teacher" while her eyes subtly scanned the surrounding parents, mentally judging their attire and the cars picking up their children.

"Come on, Tongtong, what do you want to eat today? Mommy will take you to eat something delicious."

Gao Rong led her daughter outside.

Zheng Zhifeng followed behind, carrying his daughter's small schoolbag: "Tongtong, are you tired on your first day of school?"

"Not tired."

Zheng Qingtong shook her head, her reply concise and to the point.

Gao Rong clicked her tongue lightly: "Zhifeng, look at the cars they drive. They're either Range Rovers or Cayennes, and just now a Bentley drove by."

"You've had your A6 for almost five years, haven't you? Shouldn't you get a new one?"

Zheng Zhifeng gripped the car door, his smile stiff: "The company has a project that needs investment recently, and cash flow is a bit tight. Let's wait a bit longer."

"Wait, wait, wait, that's the word I've heard most often since we got married!"

Gao Rong raised her voice, opened the car door, shoved Zheng Qingtong into the back seat, got into the passenger seat herself, and slammed the door shut.

The atmosphere inside the car instantly plummeted to freezing point.

Zheng Zhifeng sighed silently and started the car.

Zheng Qingtong turned to look out the window, not wanting to hear the countless arguments her parents had engaged in. Her gaze happened to fall on something not far away.

Lu Yang and Zhao Moli also came out, each being led by a tall man.

The man squatted down, seemingly talking to Lu Yang, and then patted Zhao Moli's head.

Immediately afterwards, a black Toyota Alphard silently glided up beside them, and the side door opened automatically.

The man carried Zhao Moli into the car, while Lu Yang climbed up himself using both his hands and feet; the whole process was smooth and natural.

"Mother."

Zheng Qingtong suddenly spoke up, breaking the tense atmosphere between her parents in the front row.

"what?"

Gao Rong's tone was impatient.

Zheng Qingtong pointed to the black van: "What kind of car is that? It's huge."

Gao Rong glanced in the direction she was pointing, her tone a mixture of envy and disdain: "That's an Alphard, the favorite chauffeur-driven car of celebrities and the wealthy, it costs over a million yuan to get it."

People who drive this kind of car probably have a driver at home.

Your father... there's no hope for him in this lifetime.

Her words were like a needle, causing Zheng Zhifeng, who was in the driver's seat, to flinch slightly.

"I...I just like riding in my dad's car."

Looking at her father's somewhat forlorn profile in the rearview mirror, Zheng Qingtong suddenly spoke.

Zheng Zhifeng glanced at his daughter through the rearview mirror, and the darkness in his eyes was instantly brightened by a warm light. He grinned, revealing a relieved smile.

Gao Rong, however, was unconvinced and sneered, "What do you know about good and bad, you little brat? When you grow up, you'll know how hard it is to get by without money."

Zheng Qingtong didn't say anything more.

She turned her face to the window and watched the black van turn and disappear at the intersection.

Her small, expressionless face was reflected in the car window.

…………

A black Alphard arrived downstairs at Zhao Qiang's house.

The car door slid open, and Qi Lili was already waiting at the entrance of the building. Seeing her daughter peeking out of the car, she walked over in a few steps and quickly carried Zhao Moli out of the car.

"Jasmine, say goodbye to your godfather and Yangyang."

Zhao Moli squirmed in her mother's arms, calling out indistinctly, "Yangyang... Yangyang..."

She stretched her little hand straight into the car, as if she wouldn't give up until she got to go with her brother.

"Oh my little darling, are you trying to kidnap your brother and bring him home?"

Qi Lili was both amused and exasperated by her daughter's stubbornness. She gave her daughter a light slap on the bottom and said, "Let go! Yangyang still needs to go home for dinner!"

Lu Yang leaned out of his seat and waved to Zhao Moli: "Moli, see you tomorrow."

Upon hearing this promise, Zhao Moli stopped struggling. She looked at Lu Yang, then at her mother, and finally obediently buried her head in Qi Lili's neck, letting out a soft "Mmm".

After saying goodbye to Zhao Moli, Lu Yuan signaled the driver to start the car again: "Yangyang, how was your first day of kindergarten?"

Lu Yang turned to meet his father's gaze: "It's alright, nothing special... My task was to stay with Jasmine, and she didn't cry today, so the task was successfully completed."

Lu Yuan was speechless for a moment.

What is a "task"?
It's like clocking in at work.

……

By the time I got home, it was completely dark.

Lu Yang changed into his slippers, looked up and asked, "Dad, Mom hasn't come back yet?"

"It's your senior's birthday today. Your mother is with her and probably won't be back until later."

As Lu Yuan muttered to himself, he turned on the main light in the living room.

"Isn't your senior sister going to her birthday party?"

"It's fine as long as the gift is delivered. Kids getting together is too noisy..."

"Indeed! Senior sister is a bit too...lively."

The father and son share a quiet nature.

Dinner was simple and cozy.

Lu Yang finished his food, put down his spoon, and stood up: "Dad, I want to go for a walk."

Lu Yuan instructed, "It's getting dark, just walk around the neighborhood, don't go too far."

"know."

Lu Yang put on his coat and walked out of the house alone.

He arrived at the small garden in the center of the community, where many children were playing and frolicking, except for one.

It's Zheng Qingtong; she seems to really enjoy sitting on the swing.

She was wearing the same princess dress as during the day, with a thin knitted cardigan over it, and her two white stockings dangled gently in the air.

Hearing footsteps, Zheng Qingtong looked up and saw Lu Yang. Her face showed no surprise: "Why are you out?"

"Let's take a walk." Lu Yang sat down on the swing next to her and asked, "You don't seem very happy."

"My mom and dad are fighting again."

Zheng Qingtong began, as if stating something perfectly ordinary: "Because of the car my dad drives, my mom said that other dads drive cars worth over a million yuan, but my dad has only driven this car for five years. It's embarrassing."

Lu Yang listened quietly without interrupting.

Zheng Qingtong continued, seemingly oblivious to her own thoughts: "They always argue about money. Is money really that important?"

Lu Yang thought for a moment and replied, "Money is for solving problems, not creating them. If money makes your family unhappy, it means you're using it the wrong way."

Zheng Qingtong remained silent for a while before changing the subject.

"What about your mother? Does she argue with your father?"

"My mom is stupid and not good at arguing."

"Will she buy you lots of pretty clothes and toys? Will she take you to expensive restaurants?"

These are the things Gao Rong does most often, and they are also some of the few "warm" moments between her and her daughter.

"No, Mom will cook delicious meals for me and tell me stories..."

Lu Yang listed all of his mother's good qualities, but in the end he didn't forget to emphasize: "So, although she's a little slow, she's definitely the best mother in the world!"

Zheng Qingtong seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this.

Her mother would buy her the most expensive princess dresses, but would scold her severely when she dirtied them.

He would take her to fancy restaurants, but she would keep making phone calls or complaining about her father's incompetence at the dinner table.

After a long while, Zheng Qingtong finally spoke in a low voice, her voice filled with envy.

"Your mother...sounds wonderful."

"Ah."

Lu Yang responded with a nod, his tone one of certainty.

"What about your father? What does he do for a living?"

Zheng Qingtong suddenly changed the subject.

She remembered the black van that drove her home from school, and the tall man.

Lu Yang answered honestly, "My dad doesn't work."

"How can you afford such a big car if you don't work?"