Lu Wanqing grew more uneasy as she thought about it. When Harvey came out of solitary confinement, she couldn't help but ask the child, "Harvey, do you want to go to school?"
Children must go to school, regardless of whether they want to or not. Children who don't go to school...
Lu Wanqing shook her head as she thought about it. It wasn't acceptable even in the ancient Earth era, let alone in the interstellar era with such advanced technology. How could a child not go to school?
"School?" Harvey asked, puzzled.
The little guy spent his days on the spaceship, mingled with pirates, and didn't quite understand normal human life.
"Why should I go to school?" Harvey couldn't help but ask.
Lu Wanqing: "..."
"No, you must go to school. Harvey, you're seven years old. By age, you should be in the first grade," Lu Wanqing insisted.
"Is Mom worried I can't read? Dad registered me on the star net to study online," little Harvey said earnestly.
"There are also learning classes, and I'm learning to recognize characters," little Harvey added.
"What class?"
"Can Mom take a look?"
Lu Wanqing asked seriously, thinking about it.
Little Harvey was happy that his mother cared about his life. He immediately opened his personal datapad and showed his mother the learning classes his father had downloaded for him.
Lu Wanqing watched the classes carefully from beginning to end. She had to admit, the videos from the interstellar era were truly amazing, with a sense of immersion that was very real.
And this class seemed to be a recording of a lesson from a primary school. It even featured other children, who were the same age as little Harvey, first-graders.
But...
No matter how real, these were just videos, not reality.
Lu Wanqing still felt worried, thinking, would little Harvey grow up like this?
"Mom, I know so many words now. I'll show you my homework!" little Harvey exclaimed happily.
As he spoke, little Harvey flipped through his homework again and showed it to Lu Wanqing.
Lu Wanqing looked at it, and her unease lessened slightly. Although Harvey hadn't attended school, Xavier had ensured he studied diligently through the star net. At least his learning progress was no different from that of a normal child; he had learned everything he should have, and completed all his assignments.
"My handwriting is a little ugly, but it's okay. Everyone's handwriting is ugly," little Harvey said cheerfully.
"No." Lu Wanqing refused without a second thought.
"You must practice your handwriting well. You're already seven years old and need to study hard," Lu Wanqing said.
"Do you have a copybook? Starting today, you'll practice writing from a copybook every day," Lu Wanqing instructed.
Little Harvey: "???"
Despite saying this, Harvey's education remained a heavy burden on Lu Wanqing's mind. She couldn't let it go.
Learning through the star net was one option, but...
If the child studied this way, without going to school, wouldn't he lack real classmates and the atmosphere of a real school?
Little Harvey might not even have any friends his age.
At this moment, Lu Wanqing suddenly understood why the child yearned for his mother so much. He was too lonely, without a single friend his own age.
Lu Wanqing thought this and gently stroked little Harvey's head, then said, "Mom will talk to your dad."
Little Harvey: "???"
Lu Wanqing then left, heading to find Xavier.
Xavier had been in seclusion in his study for a long time and had since emerged. However, Lu Wanqing usually had no reason to seek him out. But today, the matter of Harvey's schooling was something she absolutely had to discuss.
"Boss, Miss Lu is looking for you," a pirate member reported to Xavier, who was directing a pilot in the cockpit.
"I'm very busy and don't have time," Xavier replied without turning his head.
The entire galaxy was watching them now, and they had to be extremely cautious. One wrong move and they would be finished.
The members of the pirate crew also knew the boss was engaged in a dangerous endeavor. So, after hearing his reply, they quickly left.
"Miss Lu, the boss said he's very busy and doesn't have time," the pirate member told Lu Wanqing.
Lu Wanqing: "..."
Lu Wanqing understood that Xavier was likely preoccupied with evading the federal pursuers. However, Harvey's schooling was truly a very important matter.
"Mommy." Little Harvey approached, looking cautiously at Lu Wanqing. "Mommy, are you unhappy?"
Mommy used to smile all the time, in a very gentle way. But these past few days, Harvey always felt his mother was acting strangely. Especially when she looked at him, he felt her gaze was...
"Mommy, why are you angry? Did Harvey do something wrong?" little Harvey asked, unable to help himself.
Lu Wanqing shook her head. "No, Harvey didn't do anything wrong."
"I don't want to practice writing," little Harvey suddenly said.
Harvey wasn't one to hide his feelings. If he didn't want to practice writing, he simply said so, feeling he had done nothing wrong.
"Mommy, writing is so hard. It's so annoying, I don't like it," little Harvey complained.
Lu Wanqing: "..."
"No, you must practice," Lu Wanqing insisted.
Since Xavier was temporarily unavailable, Lu Wanqing felt helpless. She could only take Harvey back. After much thought, she downloaded copybooks for handwriting practice on the star net using Harvey's datapad and had the little guy practice along.
This was one of the good things about the interstellar era; even learning was done through high technology. Handwriting practice was also on an electronic screen. So, when one wanted to practice with a copybook, they just needed to download one and follow along.
Little Harvey: "..."
Lu Wanqing watched Harvey, and after he finished a page of calligraphy, she praised him, "Harvey, you're doing great. You can have a piece of candy."
The candy was something Lu Wanqing had stocked up on in the capital, all kept in her spatial storage. She had bought it to be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances, and it was perfect for Harvey's snack now.
Harvey was a little happy and a little unhappy to receive the candy.
He really disliked practicing handwriting, but he loved the candy his mother gave him. It was delicious, as sweet as his mother.
However, little Harvey's smile didn't last long, because his mother not only demanded he practice handwriting but also supervised his other lessons. When he watched the class videos, his mother would stay by his side, occasionally asking him a few questions.
Harvey was happy that his mother was accompanying him, but clearly, a few times, when his mother asked him about the content of the class and he couldn't answer, her expression made him a little scared.
What should have been a happy time, however, became tense for little Harvey as time went by. He couldn't help but secretly hope that the class would end sooner.
For this reason, he even secretly fast-forwarded, wanting the class to finish earlier.
Lu Wanqing noticed Harvey's subtle actions. Her eyelids twitched slightly. Did Harvey... dislike learning?
Little Harvey used his little trick to end the class early. When the video finished, he looked at Lu Wanqing with beaming eyes, "Mommy, it's over!!!"
Lu Wanqing looked at Harvey and after a long moment, sighed, "Harvey, how much of the content in this class have you learned?"