Teasing the Strawberry-Flavored Baby Alpha (ABO, GL) - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Shen Tian’s smile didn’t fade even after she returned to class. Huang Shuai noticed his friend’s happy expression and pouted, feeling puzzled. Why didn’t Shen Tian ever look this happy when she saw him or Li Mengmeng?

“Did you give it to your Little Sister Lu?” Huang Shuai asked his friend.

“Yup, Little Sister Lu accepted it! Now, with the alarm clock, she won’t be late anymore,” Shen Tian said, completely missing the sour tone in her friend’s voice.

Because she successfully gave away the alarm clock, Shen Tian was in a great mood all day, even humming a children’s song on the way home.

Seeing Shen Tian like this, Lin Qinghan thought of how Shen Tian wanted to give something to Lu Ningwan that morning and knew it went well. She tugged Shen Tian’s hand, teasing, “Did you give the alarm clock to your Little Sister Lu?”

Shen Tian took the bait instantly, nodding eagerly and saying in her sweet, childish voice, “Yup, Little Sister Lu took it and even poked my dimple!”

Lin Qinghan chuckled at her daughter’s beaming face, teasing, “That happy, huh?”

“Yup, super happy! I’m going to listen to Little Sister Lu and study hard!” Shen Tian said, raising her little face.

Both Lin Qinghan and Shen Xian burst out laughing at their little cub’s antics.

When Lu Ningwan returned to class, she was in a good mood. At least she knew a girl half a year younger than her was thinking of her, making her feel she wasn’t so alone.

Her classmates noticed her return and curiously eyed the box in her arms and the small bag in her other hand.

A bold boy asked, “What’s in there?”

Lu Ningwan glanced at him but didn’t answer, heading to her seat. She carefully placed the box in her backpack, then looked at the bag of puffs, took one out, and ate it.

Puffs like these were something she could eat anytime before, but since her parents passed, she hadn’t had snacks in a long time. Her uncle and aunt always bought only two portions, as if they forgot she existed.

She ate a puff slowly. Her desk mate, Liu Jiahao, couldn’t sit still and asked, “Hey, give me one. I want to try it.”

Lu Ningwan gave him a faint look and put the puffs away. These were from Tiantian, and she didn’t want to share, especially not with a desk mate she didn’t like.

Seeing her put the puffs away, Liu Jiahao glared at her angrily. “Tch, what’s so great about it? Stingy. Who cares about your dumb puffs? Tomorrow, I’ll bring a big cream cake and share it with everyone except you.”

Lu Ningwan focused on eating her puff, ignoring Liu Jiahao. She didn’t want unnecessary trouble. Before, if trouble came, her parents would shield her. But now, she knew the people who protected her were gone.

She usually didn’t bring her backpack home at noon. Lu Ningwan zipped it up carefully before heading out of the classroom. She’d eaten five puffs and wasn’t too hungry, but she still went home with her uncle and aunt. If she kept doing this, maybe they’d remember her more. Though she thought this, her little heart was still uneasy. At just six and a half, being left behind had hurt her deeply. She always rushed out after school, afraid her uncle and aunt would leave without her—because she knew it could easily happen.

At noon, Lu Ningwan didn’t bring the alarm clock home—it was too conspicuous, and Lu Deyu and Lu Zixuan would surely try to take it. She didn’t want Tiantian’s gift snatched away.

So, she didn’t dare nap at noon, terrified of missing afternoon classes. That day’s experience was something she never wanted to relive.

On the way to school in the afternoon, her uncle, aunt, and cousins chatted happily, while Lu Ningwan stayed silent, closely following to avoid being left behind.

After getting in the car, Lu Deyu couldn’t resist mocking her. “Wow, the princess is pretty fast today. Got scolded a lot for being late, huh?”

“Hahaha, so funny, brother. You’re hilarious,” Lu Zixuan said dramatically, laughing so hard she slumped in her seat.

“It’s not me being funny—it’s Lu Ningwan who’s laughable.”

As Lu Zixuan and Lu Deyu kept joking, Lu Ningwan sat in her seat, not even lifting her eyes. She was still too young, still needing this family to survive. She silently prayed to grow up quickly.

When Lu Ningwan entered the classroom that afternoon, the first thing she did was check her backpack. But something felt wrong—it was too soft for a box to be inside. She hurriedly opened it and found the pink box from Shen Tian was gone.

Her heart sank. She looked up and saw Liu Jiahao smirking at her mischievously.

“Did you see the stuff in my backpack?” Lu Ningwan asked, staring at Liu Jiahao.

“How would I know about your stuff? What’s it got to do with me?” Liu Jiahao snapped, then pulled a small cake from his cubby.

Yang Liqin, sitting in front, turned and said to Lu Ningwan, “When I came in, I saw Liu Jiahao at your seat, messing with something. Lu Ningwan, let’s tell the teacher. They can help you find it.”

“You’re lying! I wasn’t at her seat! And you two, how old are you, still tattling to the teacher? Shame on you!” Liu Jiahao said, panicking, his voice unsteady.

Lu Ningwan and Yang Liqin exchanged a glance. “Fine, I’ll go to the teacher. There are cameras in the classroom. It’ll be clear who took my stuff. If the teacher finds out someone stole from me, they’ll call their parents, and no one will want to play with a thief.”

Before Lu Ningwan finished, Liu Jiahao panicked, clutching his backpack tightly. “Lu Ningwan, don’t go!”

His face was red, either from anger or embarrassment. “I took it, okay? Don’t tell the teacher. I didn’t break it—I just wanted to scare you.” He pulled the pink box from his backpack, his tone flustered but not apologetic.

By now, several classmates had noticed the argument and looked over. Liu Jiahao grew anxious. “It’s just one thing! Lu Ningwan, you’re so petty. Is it that serious?”

“Wrong is wrong. It has nothing to do with me being petty. I just want an apology. If you don’t apologize, I’ll have to tell the teacher,” Lu Ningwan said calmly, reasoning with Liu Jiahao.

Seeing she was serious about wanting an apology and would tell the teacher if he didn’t, Liu Jiahao panicked. With the whole class watching, he felt humiliated either way. He broke down crying in his seat.

A few classmates, seeing Liu Jiahao cry, ran to the teacher’s office to report. Homeroom teacher Wang Ping came quickly. New to her job, she cared deeply about her first group of students.

“What’s going on?” Wang Ping asked, standing by Lu Ningwan and Liu Jiahao’s seats.

Lu Ningwan looked at the teacher, then at Liu Jiahao, who was crying hard. “Liu Jiahao took my stuff without permission. I asked him to apologize, and he started crying.”

“I-I didn’t! Waaah, Lu Ningwan, you’re lying! Your stuff’s right there on the desk!” Liu Jiahao said, pointing to the pink box he’d placed on the table.

“I’m not lying. Teacher, the cameras will show if Liu Jiahao took it,” Lu Ningwan said, looking at Wang Ping.

Classrooms nowadays had cameras front and back to avoid unclear situations. Wang Ping nodded, had Lu Ningwan take the pink box, and brought both her and Liu Jiahao to the office.

The next class was supposed to be Wang Ping’s, but she switched with another teacher to handle this. She reviewed the camera footage, and just as Lu Ningwan said, Liu Jiahao had taken her things.

Wang Ping had Lu Ningwan sit in a chair and looked at Liu Jiahao, who was still crying, feeling a bit helpless. The one whose stuff was taken hadn’t said much, yet the thief was crying like this?

She walked over to Liu Jiahao. “Taking someone else’s things is wrong. I’m not scolding you harshly, but you must apologize to your classmate because you did something wrong. Crying doesn’t solve anything, understand?”

“Waaah, I didn’t! I’m not apologizing! My mommy never makes me apologize!” Liu Jiahao sobbed loudly.

Wang Ping glanced at him, knowing Liu Jiahao came from a well-off family—his father owned a company in Linhai City. He was clearly spoiled. Some veteran teachers had advised her not to be too strict, especially with kids from wealthy families, since their parents might be useful someday.

But Wang Ping disagreed. She’d seen too much unfairness in college and didn’t want such young kids to face adult biases. To Liu Jiahao, she said, “Your mommy not making you apologize doesn’t mean you didn’t do wrong. This could’ve been simple, but if you don’t apologize, we’ll have to call your parents.”

Spoiled as he was, Liu Jiahao glared at Wang Ping. “Call my mommy then! She’d never let me cry like this.”

Zhao Guangming, who had been treated to dinner by Liu Jiahao’s parents before school started and knew their family ran a company, tried to smooth things over. “Teacher Wang, maybe let it go? They’re just first graders. We can teach them slowly. Look, he’s crying so much. Lu, can you forgive your desk mate?”

Zhao Guangming was trying to give Liu Jiahao an out, thinking this small matter didn’t need parental involvement. To him, Wang Ping, as a new teacher, was too rigid, always sticking to principles.

Lu Ningwan looked at Zhao Guangming calmly. “No, I don’t think this is a small matter. He stole my stuff, and he should apologize.”

Zhao Guangming hadn’t expected Lu Ningwan to be so unyielding. He glared at her and went back to his work, thinking he’d see how Wang Ping would handle the fallout from offending someone.