Teasing the Strawberry-Flavored Baby Alpha (ABO, GL) - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

In Class Six, Lu Ningwan sat at her desk, feeling upset. Her reaction earlier was instinctive. When she was at her uncle’s house, her cousin Lu Deyu always liked to grab her hand. Lu Ningwan didn’t like being touched too much, especially by Lu Deyu, whom she disliked. She had shaken off his hand many times, and for that, she was often scolded by her aunt, Zhang Ruohua.

At home, even if she was scolded by her aunt, Lu Ningwan felt satisfied inside. She just didn’t want Lu Deyu to touch her. He always clung to her, which annoyed her greatly.

But Tiantian was different. She was her only friend. How could Lu Ningwan forget her? But with her parents gone, her life had changed completely this year. She was no longer the same Lu Ningwan. Could she still be friends with Tiantian?

Earlier, she had instinctively tried to avoid Tiantian. She didn’t want Tiantian to see her in such a pathetic state. But thinking of Tiantian’s red eyes just now, Lu Ningwan felt anxious. Had she made Tiantian cry by upsetting her?

Lost in these thoughts, Lu Ningwan barely paid attention to the first class. Luckily, she learned quickly before, so even though she could read books full of text, not just pinyin, it didn’t affect her much.

Shen Tian and her classmates had already learned most of the first-grade curriculum in kindergarten. Pinyin, addition, and subtraction within 100—they had covered it all. So, during the first class, Shen Tian found the content quite simple.

She wrote down the pinyin the teacher taught in her notebook, checked and saw she already knew it. The teacher led them to read it a few times and then had them write in their notebooks. While writing, Shen Tian’s thoughts drifted elsewhere, only hoping the class would end soon.

She filled a page with pinyin, and finally, the bell rang. As soon as Teacher Qiao said, “Class dismissed,” the kids started chattering.

Teacher Qiao tapped the desk and said, “During the break, you can only move around in the hall or corridor, not the playground outside. Don’t roughhouse. If you need the bathroom, line up, and the teacher will take you.”

The kids quickly formed a line, chattering as they followed the teacher. Seeing the teacher leave, Shen Tian dashed out of the classroom. Li Mengmeng and Huang Shuai exchanged a quick glance and rushed after her, worried their friend might get hurt.

Though Shen Tian’s legs weren’t long, she was fast, her steps pattering. In no time, she reached the door of Class Six. She took a deep breath and peeked inside.

A boy in the front row frowned and asked, “Who are you looking for? Why are you at our class?”

Shen Tian scanned the room and spotted her Little Sister Lu in the back row. “I’m looking for Lu Ningwan.”

The kids, still unfamiliar with each other, shouted inside, “Lu Ningwan, someone’s looking for you.”

Lu Ningwan saw Shen Tian standing pitifully at the door, looking at her. She hesitated but got up and walked to the door.

When Shen Tian saw her coming, a smile finally appeared on her face. But remembering how Little Sister Lu had shaken off her hand, she pouted slightly and said awkwardly, “Little Sister Lu.”

Lu Ningwan and Shen Tian stepped out into the corridor. Lu Ningwan noticed Shen Tian had brought two tagalongs and glanced at Li Mengmeng and Huang Shuai with confusion.

Shen Tian also saw her two friends and turned to them, saying, “Mengmeng, Huang Shuai, you guys go back. I need to talk to Little Sister Lu.”

Li Mengmeng and Huang Shuai looked at Shen Tian, seeming a bit worried.

Shen Tian hadn’t expected her friends to be so loyal. She added, “It’s fine. Little Sister Lu isn’t a stranger.”

Li Mengmeng shook her head at her naive friend. Lu Ningwan had shaken off her hand and hadn’t even comforted her yet, but Shen Tian was already calling her Little Sister Lu again. She and Huang Shuai had given up their bathroom break to come with her! Li Mengmeng decided to ignore Shen Tian and called Huang Shuai to head back to class.

Shen Tian then looked at Lu Ningwan with some grievance. Lu Ningwan already regretted shaking off Shen Tian’s hand. Seeing that Shen Tian didn’t blame her, she felt even worse. She reached out, took the hand she had shaken off, and looked at it. “Tiantian, I didn’t mean to do that earlier. I’m sorry. Does it still hurt?”

Seeing Lu Ningwan willing to talk, Shen Tian felt a bit happier. “It doesn’t hurt. I thought Little Sister Lu forgot about me~” she said with a slight whine, sounding a bit aggrieved.

“I didn’t forget. It’s just… we’re not in the same class anymore. Tiantian, you’ll make lots of new friends. You shouldn’t come looking for me anymore,” Lu Ningwan said. She was unhappy every day now and didn’t want Tiantian to be unhappy because of her. A bright girl like Tiantian should always be happy.

Hearing this, Shen Tian panicked and grabbed Lu Ningwan’s hand. “No, no! I don’t want other friends, just Little Sister Lu. It doesn’t matter if we’re not in the same class. I run fast. I can come find you!”

Seeing Shen Tian’s happy expression, Lu Ningwan couldn’t bear to say more. She thought Tiantian didn’t understand yet but would after coming to find her a few times.

“Class is starting soon. Go back and focus on your lessons. Don’t think about other things,” Lu Ningwan instructed like a little adult.

“Okay, Little Sister Lu. I’ll come find you later~” Shen Tian gave her a sweet smile, turning back every few steps as she walked to her class.

When Shen Tian returned to class, her face was beaming. Li Mengmeng wanted to cover her eyes. Her friend was too easy to please! It had only been a few minutes, and Lu Ningwan had her so happy? Little did she know, Lu Ningwan hadn’t really comforted Shen Tian much.

For the next few classes, Shen Tian studied much more seriously. After all, Little Sister Lu told her to focus, and she listened obediently, afraid that if she didn’t, Little Sister Lu would ignore her.

At noon, when it was time to go home, Shen Tian was reluctant to leave, wishing she could talk to Lu Ningwan more.

Shen Xian and Lin Qinghan were usually busy at the company during lunch, so Shen Wenkang and the family driver, Tian Lei, picked up Shen Tian. Fang Jinglan stayed home to watch the little one, even though there was a nanny to care for her, just to have someone at home.

Shen Wenkang waited at the school gate and saw his little one coming, looking around as she walked. He approached with a smile and asked, “Tiantian, what are you looking at?”

As Shen Tian followed Shen Wenkang, she said, “Nothing, Grandpa. I saw Little Sister Lu at school today—the one who came to our house to see my sister. It’s great! I can play with Little Sister Lu again…”

Shen Tian was thrilled, chattering nonstop.

At lunch, Shen Tian obediently went to Aunt Wang and asked her to make pineapple pastries to bring to school.

Lu Ningwan wasn’t so lucky. Her uncle drove her home, and her aunt had prepared lunch. But as soon as Lu Ningwan sat at the table, her aunt started nagging. “Look at our little princess. She doesn’t have to do anything, just comes back to eat ready-made food. And she still argues with me every day, bullying her younger brother and sister. What are you staring at? Did I owe you in my past life? Eating my food, drinking my drinks, and glaring at me. Lu Ming, look at her. We’ve raised an ungrateful brat.”

“Come on, Ningwan’s just in elementary school. There’s no helping it. She’ll definitely be filial when she grows up, right, Ningwan?” Lu Ming tried to change the subject to save face.

Lu Ningwan ignored Lu Ming’s words. She ate with her head down, her eyes turning red. She hadn’t done what her aunt accused her of. She wasn’t ungrateful. She didn’t want to eat at this house, but she had no choice. She was too young to live on her own. Lu Ningwan only wished she could grow up quickly and leave this suffocating place.

She quickly finished her food, ran back to her tiny space, climbed onto her bed, and pulled the covers over herself to sleep. She didn’t want to hear her aunt’s sarcasm, even though it was a daily routine. It still made her uncomfortable, almost nauseous.

Lu Ningwan forced herself not to think about those unhappy things and slowly fell asleep. When she opened her eyes again, the house was silent, as if she were the only one there.

She hurriedly climbed out of her small bed and ran to the living room. It was already three o’clock. She shouted, “Uncle, Uncle…”

No one answered. The house was probably empty. She was still just a child, and no matter how mature she was, Lu Ningwan couldn’t hold back her tears. No one in this house cared about her, and no one would wait for her.

Her heart ached deeply. She missed her parents so much. At her uncle’s house, even eating a little came with her aunt’s cold sarcasm and her cousins’ cruel mockery. She could only try to be stronger.

She wiped the tears from her face, grabbed her backpack, struggled to open the door, and walked downstairs to school.

The school wasn’t far from where Lu Ningwan lived, just across a street—about ten minutes for an adult. But she was only six. Though she had a good sense of direction and knew the way, she was sweating by the time she arrived.

When she reached the school, the gates were closed. Lu Ningwan clung to the railing and shouted toward the security room, “Grandpa, Grandpa, please open the gate.”

The gatekeeper was kind. Seeing Lu Ningwan anxiously standing outside, he hurried to open the gate. “Little one, why are you alone? Don’t worry, don’t worry. You’re just a bit late. Don’t fall.”

“Thank you, Grandpa.” Lu Ningwan thanked him and rushed toward the school building as the bell for the second class rang.