Lu Wanqing's old face, no, her young face, flushed, clearly embarrassed. She hadn't expected her confession to her third brother to be overheard by her mother.
"I know." Despite being overheard, Lu Wanqing said with utmost seriousness.
She was serious about her third brother, definitely not just playing as a child.
As Lu Wanqing spoke earnestly, beside her, young Lu Yang's ears turned red once more, a bright crimson.
Lu Yizhi entered from outside and, upon hearing young Lu Wanqing's words, asked with a smile, "What does Qingqing know?"
Lu Wanqing: "..."
It was over. Not only did her mother know, but her father was about to find out too.
Jiang Yu smiled as she glanced at Lu Wanqing, then turned to her husband and said, "Qingqing just told Yangyang that she likes him."
Lu Wanqing looked at her parents, inexplicably wanting them to know that she liked her third brother, and that her third brother also liked her, and that they would be together when they grew up.
"Dad, Mom, when Third Brother and I grow up, we will get married and be very happy," young Lu Wanqing said seriously.
Jiang Yu and Lu Yizhi were stunned. The couple exchanged glances, then looked at Lu Wanqing and couldn't help but laugh.
"You're only three, you don't understand what liking is yet," Lu Yizhi said with a smile.
"Right, Qingqing, you and Yangyang are old enough now. You should go to kindergarten next semester," Lu Yizhi said to young Lu Wanqing with a smile.
Kindergarten?
Lu Wanqing was stunned, shocked and disbelieving.
Lu Wanqing turned to look at her third brother beside her, wanting to see some expression on his face, but... she was disappointed.
Her third brother at this moment was still his original childhood self; his future self had not yet returned through transmigration.
Lu Wanqing looked at her third brother, feeling a pang of sadness. She was truly unsure if her third brother had transmigrated to another time or if he... was really not coming back.
"It's okay, I can go to kindergarten with Third Brother!" The next moment, Lu Wanqing said seriously.
No matter when her third brother transmigrated back, she would wait patiently. She would always stay with the young third brother until the day his future self returned.
Lu Yizhi had only casually mentioned it to Lu Wanqing. Children had to go to school. If they were unwilling, they would be sent, even if it meant a spanking.
Young Lu Yang stood by, his lips pursed, secretly watching his excited sister Qingqing, his feelings complex.
In the following months, Lu Wanqing and young Lu Yang lived their days. Their eldest and second brothers would play with them every day after school. The second brother, in particular, always took them to do interesting things.
However, the second brother was quite a troublemaker. Whenever he made a mistake, he liked to shift the blame onto Lu Wanqing. His reasoning was that his sister was younger, and a girl. Even if she made a mistake, her parents would at most scold her, not whip her.
If their parents found out he had brought his sister to do these things, young Lu Ze's backside would be whipped raw by their father!
Lu Wanqing, no longer truly a child, could roughly understand her second brother's thoughts. She felt helpless yet amused. She had almost no memories of her childhood, but after interacting with him, her second brother's irresponsible behavior felt strangely familiar, evoking a sense of melancholy.
However, Lu Wanqing was willing to take the blame for her second brother. Young Lu Yang, however, was not. After months of interaction, young Lu Yang had come to regard Lu Wanqing as his best friend, or rather... the person he had the best relationship with. He wanted to protect Qingqing, because Qingqing was also very good to him.
Young Lu Yang didn't want Lu Wanqing to take the blame, nor did he want to expose Lu Ze. So, whenever Lu Ze tried to pin the blame on Lu Wanqing, he would step forward, anxiously explaining that the idea was his, not Lu Wanqing's, and that it had nothing to do with Qingqing.
The children, thinking they had pulled the wool over everyone's eyes, were unaware that the adults had seen through it all long ago.
Lu Yizhi and Jiang Yu watched their children's unity and mutual protection. While they would still get angry, they felt more relief and happiness. They liked seeing their children united and friendly. As long as the children's mistakes were not too severe, they would not punish them too harshly.
Time flew by, and the next semester arrived. The eldest and second brothers moved up a grade, and Lu Wanqing and young Lu Yang also enrolled together, attending the same kindergarten.
At the kindergarten entrance, many children panicked after their parents left and burst into tears, filling the kindergarten with the sound of wailing.
This was Lu Wanqing's first close encounter with the roar of children crying. Her ears felt almost deafened. It was too... noisy.
"Let's go over there. It's quieter there," young Lu Yang seemed to sense Lu Wanqing's fear of the crying and quietly took her hand, whispering.
Lu Wanqing looked at her young third brother and immediately nodded, "Mm."
So, on their first day of kindergarten, the first thing they did was find a quiet corner to shield their ears from the cries of the children filling the yard.
However, hiding all the time was rather boring. Lu Wanqing looked at her young third brother. Although he was very well-behaved and sensible, he was still a real child now. He would probably... like to play with children's toys?
"Shall we go play on the slide?" Lu Wanqing whispered to her third brother.
Young Lu Yang looked at Lu Wanqing, then at the slide. He thought Lu Wanqing wanted to play, so he nodded, "Okay."
While the kindergarten teachers were busy comforting the crying children, Lu Wanqing and young Lu Yang secretly ran to the slide and soon began to play happily.
There were still many children in the kindergarten. The teachers couldn't attend to every child simultaneously. Many children, crying until they were tired, happened to see Lu Wanqing and young Lu Yang playing on the slide. That thing... looked a little fun?
Some children, watching, forgot to cry and quietly followed Lu Wanqing and young Lu Yang to the slide like little ducklings. They lined up and slid down one after another.
Sliding was a source of great joy for young children. The children who had been crying moments before, after one slide, suddenly felt happy, completely forgetting their recent sadness.
Soon, more children joined in. The crying children in the kindergarten gradually turned into a group of happy and joyful babies.
The kindergarten teachers were also surprised to see this scene and looked towards the slide. However, since the children had stopped crying, they felt much more relaxed.
On the first day of school, children were not forced to study. The primary goal was for them to adapt to the kindergarten environment.
So, the teachers did not prevent them from playing. Instead, they encouraged the children to play together. When children played happily together, they would come to love kindergarten, wouldn't cry for their mothers, and would be able to attend classes normally in a few days.