Volume One, Chapter 8: Uncle, Did a Little Bird Bite You?

Director Chen gently pinched the little girl’s soft cheek and smiled warmly as she praised her.

“Yes, Duoduo is really smart—twelve candies in total. Now, shall we move on to the second question…”

The kindergarten interview questions weren’t particularly difficult. Aside from simple addition and subtraction, the rest were mostly common knowledge.

Of course, these questions were very easy for children raised with strict education from an early age. But for Duoduo Jiang, who had grown up alongside a fierce figure, it wasn’t so simple.

Fortunately, her mind-reading ability came in handy at this moment.

Sitting next to Director Chen, Duoduo smoothly answered the following questions, surprising Jiang Cheng and Jiang Rui, who were waiting nearby.

Jiang Cheng had only intended to encourage the child, hoping Duoduo would perform well, without expecting her to answer every question correctly.

Who would have thought Duoduo could achieve this level?

Jiang Cheng stroked her chin thoughtfully.

It seemed she had set the bar too low for this little rascal all along.

Maybe using TV dramas as a reward would help her learn faster?

“Ah-choo!”

As if sensing her mother’s thoughts, Duoduo let out a big sneeze.

Children’s balance was unstable, and while the chair’s height was just right for Director Chen, Duoduo’s feet couldn’t even touch the ground.

Such a big sneeze caused her small body to lurch forward, almost falling off the chair, but fortunately, Director Chen caught her just in time.

The interview questions were nearly finished.

Director Chen ruffled Duoduo’s hair and said to the two adults in the room,

“Duoduo is very intelligent. We’re delighted you’ve chosen Sunflower Kindergarten for her. That concludes today’s interview. You may go home and wait for the enrollment notice.”

Jiang Cheng was overjoyed and asked,

“Director Chen, do you mean… Duoduo passed the interview?”

Even with the Jiang family’s influence as a safety net, hearing such good news firsthand was truly thrilling.

Having adopted Duoduo less than a year ago, Jiang Cheng had completely embraced the role of a mother.

“Yes,” Director Chen confirmed, then turned to Duoduo.

“Congratulations, Duoduo. From now on, you’ll be a student here at our kindergarten and will make many, many good friends!”

For some reason, Duoduo thought of the name Xiuying and asked,

“Is it like Grandma Chen’s good friend?”

Director Chen chuckled.

“Little one, everyone has different friends. You’ll find out soon enough!”

Duoduo wanted to hear more about Xiuying, but the interview had ended. She was quickly handed over to Jiang Cheng, bid farewell to Director Chen, and walked out toward the kindergarten’s exit.

Next, they only had to wait at home for the official notice before bringing her belongings to school for enrollment.

They had come happily, and now they were even more excited to leave.

Duoduo held hands with Jiang Cheng and Jiang Rui, bouncing along and reminding her mother,

“Mom, you promised to show me ‘President Ba’! Don’t forget, okay?”

Jiang Cheng naturally wouldn’t break her promise and just as she was about to reply, someone approached.

In the next moment, Jiang Rui stepped forward, positioning himself protectively behind his mother and sister.

They then saw a burly man in a suit and sunglasses suddenly appear before them.

Jiang Rui asked coldly,

“Who are you? What do you want in broad daylight?!”

Jiang Cheng’s palms grew sweaty with nervousness.

Only Duoduo, driven by curiosity, peeked out from behind Jiang Rui, stretching her little head almost to the man’s knees, her big eyes rolling upward with a look of sympathy.

Even the man in sunglasses couldn’t help but glance down at the girl before answering Jiang Rui,

“My lady wants to see you… or rather, she wants to see the little miss.”

He glanced again at Duoduo.

Jiang Cheng and Jiang Rui followed his gaze to a black sedan. After taking note of the car’s appearance and license plate, Jiang Rui’s puzzled expression turned to anger.

Damn it! Why won’t the Qin family just go away? Jiang Cheng, keep an eye on Duoduo here. I’ll go talk to them.

Jiang Cheng immediately shielded Duoduo behind her.

But just as Jiang Rui started toward the car, Duoduo darted out from behind Jiang Cheng and stood before the man in sunglasses, peering up at his dark glasses and asking,

“Uncle, how come you can’t see? Did a little bird peck your eyes with its sharp beak?”

Earlier, some animals on the mountain had been blinded by black birds, unable to hunt or escape danger, and had fallen off cliffs in panic, dying.

This uncle looked tall and formidable, but he was blind too? How pitiful…

Jiang Cheng was wary of the Qin family but didn’t want to target their employees. She quickly pulled Duoduo aside and apologized to the man.

“Sorry, this little girl doesn’t know how to speak properly. She always thinks of strange things. Please forgive her.”

Then she turned to Duoduo.

“Duoduo, don’t say silly things. Uncle’s eyes are perfectly fine. Now apologize to him.”

Duoduo was unconvinced and said,

“No, no. I saw on TV that a lot of old men wear these black glasses because they can’t see and use a stick to tap around. Uncle, where’s your stick? Also, can you tell fortunes? You know, that thing… about the chickens in the sky not being eaten, no no, that kind of thing.”

“Ah, you mean secrets that cannot be revealed, little one?” The man suddenly removed his sunglasses, revealing perfectly fine eyes. He crouched down to show Duoduo and said, “Besides, my eyes are fine. These are just sunglasses, and their purpose…”

Seeing the puzzled look on the little girl’s face—clearly reading, “Why are you pretending to be blind and stealing blind men’s stuff?”—the man pulled out his phone and tapped a few times, showing her the screen.

“See, this is just adults trying to look cool. Many people wear them. You can still see through them. You try it.”

His sunglasses were custom-made by the Qin family, high quality and safe for children’s eyes. He carefully placed them on Duoduo’s nose and, seemingly from nowhere, produced a small mirror.

“Look.”

Duoduo looked at her reflection wearing the sunglasses in the mirror, then at the handsome model on the phone screen. It was as if a fashion gene had been instantly activated. She no longer accused the uncle of stealing from blind people but turned to Jiang Cheng and said,

“Mom! Duoduo wants sunglasses too! I want to be the coolest little friend!”

Jiang Cheng thought, …What on earth is this about now?

Before she could answer, a voice came from behind them.

“Buy it! Whatever Duoduo wants, Grandma will pay!”