Chapter 13   – Poverty Stunts Ambitions (3)

Zhang Yuanjia already has his backpack on his back. Standing next to Yan Shuyu and looking up at her, perhaps noticing something different about her today, his eyes beamed and he said, “Mommy is so pretty today, like stars in the sky!”

Yan Shuyu assumed he was praising about how amazing she looked. Filled with mysterious self-confidence, she leaned down and gave him a smack on his cheek, “Of course, your mommy is the prettiest!”

Even without makeup, she still was the prettiest woman on this street!

Filled with confidence, Yan Shuyu left the house holding her son’s hand in hers.They lived in a dual purpose residential / commercial building, but even though there were malls and shops on the streets and lots of food places, none of them were opened at this hour.

Zhang Yuanjia, the one who’d be competing with the male lead for his glory, was quite a smart boy at his young age. When Yan Shuyan was standing downstairs in the middle of the busy commercial street, baffled, he suddenly said to her, “Mom, Lingling said there’s a shop by our school that serves really good soy milk. She gets a bowl of it everyday on her way to school.”

“Really?” Yan Shuyu held his hand tight and said, “Then let’s go get ourselves some soy milk!”

Following the lead of kiddo Zhang Yuanjia, they easily located the breakfast shop by his kindergarten. After a hearty meal, the mother and son resumed holding hands and walking toward the kindergarten again.

The teacher welcoming the students of the kindergarten happened to be Zhang Yuanjia’s class teacher, Teacher Lin, today. Teacher Lin looked like a very quiet and very patient young woman. She waved at them from a distance away, “Classmate Zhang Yuanjia, Yuanjia’s Mommy, good morning.”

Zhang Yuanjia, in his well-mannered way, greeted his teacher, “Good morning, Teacher Lin.”Teacher Lin bent over and patted him on his head, took his hand, and said, “Say bye-bye to mommy then go to your own classroom, okay? Your little buddies are all there.”

Compared to the gentle and delicate kindergarten teacher, Yan Shuya looked much more like a single person. She didn’t even bother with any routine enjoining. She just casually waved at the little kiddo and acted like her job was done, acting nothing like a real mother.

Zhang Yuanjia seemed to already be used to that. He politely bid her farewell before he nonchalantly turned around and walked inside the kindergarten.

Now that her kid was gone, she wasn’t in a hurry to go home. She stood where she was and approached Teacher Lin in a very straightforward manner, “Teacher Lin, I have a favor to ask.”

“Oh, what is it?”

Yan Shuyu casually made up an excuse, “There were some changes at my workplace, we might be transferred to Tianning District….”

Hearing that, Teacher Lin looked worried, “That’s pretty far away, you will need to switch the subway a few times to get here.”

That was the whole purpose. Ideally, she would never seen the male lead or his father for the rest of her life. Thought Yan Shuyu, but she maintained the troubled look, “Exactly, it will be a hassle to commute here, which is what I wanted to ask, if we are to transfer in the middle of the school year, can we get a refund for the remaining time?”

Teacher Lin shook her head and said definitely, “Yuanjia’s Mommy, unfortunately our school has very clear rules about that. We will not be able to refund you for that reason. In fact, not just our school, no kindergarten in the city would issue a refund.”

Even though Yan Shuyu hadn’t been around the block many times, it didn’t mean she was stupid. She understood subtext, the definitete way that Teacher Lin had put it meant there was no room for negotiation at all. There was no possibility at all, she felt very defeated.

Teacher Lin was still comforting her gently next to her, “Yuanjia Mommy, maybe you can see if there any other options at your workplace. His tuition aside, switching schools is not a good thing for a child. Yuanjia is a smart and mature kid, so he’s also more sensitive than other kids his age. He had finally gotten familiar with the kids in his class, going to a new environment now would surely be a shock for him.”

Hearing Teacher Lin’s words, Yan Shuyu had no choice but to nod unhappily, “Okay, let me see what other options I have.”