Chapter 5: The Ugly Girl

“Old An, after the summer break, let’s transfer him to another kindergarten,” Aunt Liu said, exhausted—more tired than after rehearsing a dance.

She had been scolding him for days and didn’t want to waste her breath anymore.

He was just stubborn as ever, only getting names wrong, never nicknames.

Only a week had passed, and the kindergarten was already on winter break.

Today, she watched the final performance and then took the two children home.

On this very day, Xixi’s kindergarten holiday began, and Liu Jing was ordered to withdraw.

He was undefeated in the kindergarten, despite multiple warnings from the administration.

In the end, they reluctantly informed the parents that their child would not be allowed to return next year, and they’d refund the full tuition.

She had exhausted every argument, but the school was resolute.

Liu Jing was obedient at home and work but domineering at kindergarten.

If any child so much as clashed with him or exchanged a few words, he would immediately resort to fists and kicks.

This was no orphanage; every child was a precious treasure of their mother. Which parent could tolerate that?

Liu Jing attended school for seven days; teachers called his parents six times, and he was only well-behaved on the first day.

Grandma, maternal grandmother, aunt, grandpa, and Teacher An took turns going; she was the last.

Aunt Liu had figured it out: this child was deliberately refusing to go to kindergarten.

“There’s no other way,” Teacher An said, troubled. He had always been the one to call parents before, but this was the first time he was summoned as a parent.

“Stubborn one, don’t you want to go to kindergarten?” Aunt Liu asked directly.

“It’s too childish. I want to go to the theater with you,” Liu Jing said bluntly. He had finally found a place to collect bubbles and wasn’t about to give it up.

Though the daily yield was often small—sometimes less than a hundred points—it added up over time.

Still, there was some gain at the kindergarten today. During the performance on stage, he collected dozens of entertainment energy points, equivalent to a whole day at the theater.

Aunt Liu’s heart stirred, and in a conciliatory tone she said, “Stubborn one, why don’t you and Xixi practice dancing well during the summer break?”

Teacher An shook his head; he had never seen his wife so tolerant of anyone. For a moment, he felt a twinge of jealousy, for he had never enjoyed such leniency.

Liu Jing hadn’t answered yet when Xixi, playing with toys, suddenly perked up.

“Sure! I’m older than you, stubborn one. Let’s practice martial arts together—I bet you can’t beat me.”

“The dance kind of dance,” Aunt Liu snapped irritably.

Since the girl became fascinated with martial arts, she liked dancing less and less.

“I want to review my lessons. Let stubborn one dance,” Xixi said, shrinking her neck to make herself less noticeable.

That wasn’t entirely an excuse. She was already beyond teaching little kids and felt a heavy burden.

“And you?” Aunt Liu asked, not expecting much.

“I still prefer watching dancing. Or maybe you can take me somewhere else to watch?” Liu Jing pondered a while. Dancing was absolutely out of the question.

He collected bubbles every day at the theater; there was no need to do it daily—once every ten or fifteen days was enough.

---

“Sorry, our unit is about to have a holiday,” Aunt Liu said, rubbing Liu Jing’s head, curious to see what he looked like inside.

“Dad, can I watch TV now?” The little girl, hearing the news of the holiday, immediately asked their father for permission.

During the school term, the TV at home was mostly news, rarely cartoons.

“Half an hour a day, and don’t sit too close to the TV,” Teacher An instructed.

“Yay!” The little girl jumped happily as the TV turned on. Whether it was half an hour or not was beyond their control now.

“Childish,” Liu Jing scoffed. What was so interesting about cartoons? The visuals were childish, the characters childish, the plots childish. And those who watched cartoons were even more childish.

“Stubborn one, if you’re so capable, don’t watch then,” the little girl sneered.

“I like reading books.”

“Like the Xinhua dictionary? I have an English-Chinese dictionary here; you can study that properly.”

“As a proud Chinese, why learn a foreign language? That’s pathetic.”

“Dad, stubborn one called you pathetic,” the little girl turned to complain to their father.

Teacher An laughed wryly. You two bicker, and how do I get dragged into this?

“Liu Jing, foreign countries are more advanced than us. They…”

“Do they have five thousand years of history?” Liu Jing asked.

Teacher An shook his head. What was he even saying to a three-year-old? No point arguing.

“The New Year’s coming soon. We’re going to buy festival goods. Are you coming?” Aunt Liu asked.

“No,” the two kids answered in unison.

Liu Jing wasn’t going because there was nothing to see and it would waste his time learning characters.

Xixi didn’t want to go because she could watch cartoons instead. Why go shopping now, when they could do it anytime?

“Stubborn one, if you get sleepy reading, I’ll wake you up,” the little girl said with a smile, grabbing a feather duster, ready to pounce.

“No need, I’m not sleepy,” Liu Jing firmly refused. “You’re not waking me, you’re taking revenge.”

“No, you use it.”

“No need.”

The couple watched the two children get along reasonably well and shook their heads, putting on their shoes and coats before heading out.

When they returned, the atmosphere in the living room was somewhat strange.

Liu Jing looked calm, sitting on the sofa watching TV.

Xixi looked aggrieved, bent over a book at the table.

“What’s going on here?” Liu Xiaoli was stunned.

“Water Margin? Why aren’t you watching cartoons?” Teacher An frowned. It was not recommended for children to read this.

This wasn’t the Li Xuejian version but an even older production by Shandong TV.

---

“Dad, Mom…” The little girl pouted, looking like she wanted to cry but was too embarrassed.

“She lost a bet and voluntarily decided to study hard,” Liu Jing explained, then asked the girl, “Right?”

“Hmph! What’s there to be proud of? I’m reading the dictionary too. You always fall asleep when you read; I learn characters faster,” the little girl protested.

“Get moving and pack up,” Aunt Liu smiled, pleased to see them spurred on.

“No, busy reading,” the little girl shook her head.

Liu Jing got up to help but was stopped by Teacher An. “You’re still young. Just watch TV properly. Less Water Margin, and no more Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Change the channel.”

“Why?” Liu Jing was puzzled. The show was quite good, though somewhat distorted. What dynasty was this Song? Such civilized bandits wouldn’t be shot to death by arrows.

“Water Margin is full of brotherhood and chivalry; young people watching it might go astray. Romance of the Three Kingdoms is full of schemes; older people watching it isn’t good for their health,” Teacher An explained.

“Then I’ll watch the Three Kingdoms,” Liu Jing picked up the remote to change the channel.

“The Three Kingdoms is still filming,” Aunt Liu said with a sigh. Did he think he was an old person?

“Filming? How? What are they filming?” Liu Jing’s curiosity was piqued, and he fired questions.

Teacher An didn’t answer but picked up some newspapers from a pile and handed them to Liu Jing. “Read it yourself; you know quite a few characters now.”

He had noticed that day the child was holding a dictionary and was genuinely absorbed in it.

From then on, Teacher An became numb. This kid was smart—no, a prodigy.

His wife had insisted on adopting him, and now he had his answer. Had he known earlier, he would have been more assertive and given the child his own surname.

“Dad, stubborn one asked you something, and you were too perfunctory,” the little girl was displeased. He could understand the papers, but she couldn’t.

Liu Jing picked up the newspapers; he could understand most of the content. The twenty days of dictionary study hadn’t been in vain.

“Uncle An, Sister Li, and… ugly girl, the New Year is coming. I’ll take you all to Zhuozhou Film City to play,” Liu Jing said with sudden clarity. This little stuff wouldn’t make him overwhelmed.

“Ugly girl?” The little girl was furious.

“Zhuozhou?” Teacher An was puzzled.

“How will you treat us?” Aunt Liu sneered.

“Lend me some money now, and I’ll pay you back tenfold later,” Liu Jing answered seriously.

“Spring Festival travel rush, tickets are hard to get,” Teacher An smiled wryly. What kind of child was this?

“The crew is on holiday too,” Aunt Liu sighed.

“Then after the New Year, when ugly girl goes back to school, we’ll go,” Liu Jing decided firmly.

“You still call me that? Stubborn one, I’m going to fight you!”