Chapter 87: The Second Road of Exile (29)

The godmother looked at the tightly shut car door, concern written across her face. “Little Pear did indeed have an argument with the children at the nursery. Today there was a talent showcase, and one segment was an imitation contest. I encouraged all the children to go onstage and show what they could do. Little Pear took part very enthusiastically too, but because she was wearing a dress, the other children laughed at her, and then they started fighting.”

Shi Xianyu looked bewildered. “They laughed at her because she was wearing a dress? Are children not allowed to wear dresses at the nursery?”

“It’s not that they aren’t allowed to wear them. How should I put it...” The godmother looked troubled. “Perhaps it was a little too flashy.”

Shi Xianyu hurried to explain, “Teacher, I chose the dress for her. Since I knew there was an event at the nursery today, I specially had her wear a new one.”

The godmother looked at her helplessly and sighed softly. “Yes, not only did you have her wear a new dress, you also put a bow in her hair, a pearl necklace and little bracelets on her, and even lipstick and rouge on her face. But do you know what Little Pear dreams of becoming? That child wants to become a maternity mother.”

Shi Xianyu froze, staring at her.

The godmother said, “We cultivate this awareness in the children from a young age. A maternity mother’s body must be cared for with extreme caution. Most cosmetics contain toxins, and maternity mothers absolutely must not come into contact with them. Necklaces and bracelets can scratch newborn babies, so they are absolutely forbidden as well. Since Little Pear wants to be a maternity mother, why does she dress herself up so flamboyantly every day? How are the other children supposed to see her?”

“Flamboyantly...” Shi Xianyu felt somewhat uneasy. “Isn’t that a little too harsh a word?”

The godmother smiled apologetically. “Of course. It’s only natural for little girls to like dressing up, but it has to stay within proper limits. I bear responsibility too, for not guiding and educating the child in time. Originally, I thought that since Little Pear had only just come to the nursery, our first priority should be helping her adapt to the environment as quickly as possible. The other matters could be set aside for the time being. I neglected the other children’s thoughts, which led to today’s sudden conflict. I want to apologize to you.”

Although the other party’s attitude was gentle and her apology sincere, a fire seemed to be burning in Shi Xianyu’s chest, one she could not vent no matter what. She could only force it down, clenching her jaw and enduring it.

The godmother said, “For the time being, Lu Li probably isn’t suited to come to the nursery for lessons anymore. Let her adjust her state first, and we’ll arrange for her to move to another class. Please rest assured, the nursery will not give up on any child. Every one of them is a hope for the future of the oasis.”

Shi Xianyu bit her lower lip and asked, “Teacher... may I ask what the other children were wearing today?”

The godmother replied, “Because there was an imitation segment, some children imitated doctors and wore white clothes, some imitated soldiers and carried toy guns, and some imitated all kinds of mutated beasts from the desert and painted their faces with various colors.”

Shi Xianyu said, “Then Little Pear...”

“She imitated a mutant rat.” The godmother gave an embarrassed smile. “But because the outfit wasn’t quite appropriate, she was mocked by the children as looking like a courtesan from a pleasure house.”

After a slight pause, the godmother said to Shi Xianyu, “The children who mocked her, I have already criticized. But if we want to completely change the way the children think, Little Pear will also need to pay more attention to what she wears from now on.”

Shi Xianyu lowered her head. The anger that had surged up a moment ago was already dying out, as though all fuel had been drained from it, leaving only disappointment and self-reproach.

After the godmother left, Lu Li still had not opened the car door.

Ye Liuyun gently patted Shi Xianyu’s shoulder and comforted her. “The nursery really does have this kind of atmosphere, and there’s also the godmother’s deliberate guidance behind it, to keep the children from losing ambition and choosing degrading professions. In recent years, this trend has only grown more intense. It feels like it has gone a little too far. If someone dresses up even slightly, they’ll be ostracized by the children.”

“I didn’t know it would be like this...” Shi Xianyu said quietly. “I thought it was some kind of arts performance, so I dressed her up on purpose...”

Every time she thought of Lu Li being ridiculed and mocked by those children, a dull pain surged through her heart.

Lu Li could not speak. Faced with those taunts, she could not even fight back, only lash out in fury and stubbornly scuffle with the others. But even if she won a fight, it would not change the way those children looked at her. How much hurt must she have been carrying inside...

Lin Yuan knocked on the car door, and after receiving no response, said to Shi Xianyu, “We can find a tool and open it.”

Shi Xianyu slowly shook her head.

Ye Liuyun also disagreed with forcing it open. He sighed. “Let her cry for a while.”

Lin Yuan’s brows drew together slightly. He silently watched Shi Xianyu. Her eyes were red, as if tears might fall at any moment.

He walked over, gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and let her lean into his chest, patting her back without a word.

She had actually been able to hold it in, but he was suddenly so gentle that she could no longer stop herself. One tear fell—then another, and before long she was sobbing uncontrollably, tears streaming down like a broken string of pearls.

Choking on her words, she said, “I should have asked more clearly in advance.”

Lin Yuan said, “You can’t do everything perfectly.”

Ye Liuyun echoed him. “That’s right. You’ve only been an adult for not that many years yourself. You’ve already done very well.”

Shi Xianyu still felt wretched to the core, because not long ago she had clearly reminded herself not to impose the rules of her own world onto Lu Li, and yet in the blink of an eye she had forgotten all about it. It was her taken-for-granted approach that had hurt Lu Li.

All of this could have been avoided!

It was unclear whether Lu Li had heard the obvious tremor in Shi Xianyu’s voice, but the car door clicked, and Lu Li opened it herself.

She had already changed out of the dress from earlier and torn out the hair tie and clips from her head. Standing by the door, her eyes red, she looked at Shi Xianyu.

Shi Xianyu felt embarrassed to be seen crying by a child. She hurriedly wiped away her tears, came out of Lin Yuan’s embrace, and walked up to Lu Li. Forcing a smile onto her face, she said, “Our Little Pear was really brave today. If someone bullies you, you should fight back and let everyone know you’re not someone to be pushed around.”

Lu Li pouted and said nothing, only staring at her.

Shi Xianyu pressed her lips together. She reached out to smooth Lu Li’s messy hair, her heart aching terribly. “But... we may really have done something wrong today, so please don’t hold it against those classmates, all right? And don’t blame me either...”

She gave a wry smile and sniffled. “I’ve never been a mother before. This is my first time, after all... I’ll learn slowly.”

Lu Li suddenly buried herself in Shi Xianyu’s arms and began to cry in earnest.

She could not make a sound, only her thin back shaking violently. Shi Xianyu started crying along with her.

Ye Liuyun had always been the tough sort, but seeing the two of them weeping like this, he could not help feeling his nose sting. He raised a hand to the corner of his eye and said softly, “Ah, you’re making this so sentimental that I want to cry too...”

Lin Yuan frowned at them, a trace of worry gathering between his brows.

“This can’t go on,” he said gravely. “Lu Li should go back to her biological mother.”

His instincts told him that if that child stayed by Shi Xianyu’s side any longer, it would be dangerous...