Chapter 48: Dad, Listen To Me! (1)

At that moment, Huo Xiaoxiao still had not recovered from the shock of the homework book that Yi Qian stuffed her with. When she heard Lu Jingyi’s words, she turned her head to look at him.

This kid was so silly.

Teacher Zhao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Lu Jingyi, when you didn’t do your homework yesterday, what did you promise to Teacher? You haven’t done it again today. So now you don’t do it at all?”

Lu Jingyi’s eyes widened. He was stumped when his lie was caught. “Teacher, how do you know I didn’t write it?”

“What does your teacher not know? You are slacking again. Stand up first. Teacher will talk to you later.” After that, she looked at Yi Qian. “Yi Qian, it’s okay if you forgot to bring it. You can bring it tomorrow, but next time, you can’t be like that, understand?”

“Yes, Teacher.”

Huo Xiaoxiao looked down at the signature on the homework book Yi Qian had given her—Yi Yang.

“Teacher, I’m sorry. It’s me who didn’t bring it, not Yi Qian. I forgot my homework in Dad’s car. This is Yi Qian’s homework, not mine.”

Yi Qian became anxious. “Xiaoxiao!”

Teacher Zhao picked up the workbook in front of Huo Xiaoxiao and glanced at it. She also caught the signature at the end. She looked at Yi Qian, who could no longer make out what was going on.

“Yi Qian, Teacher knows you and Xiaoxiao are good friends. You are worried that Xiaoxiao was going to be reprimanded by Teacher for not bringing her homework. But if you did it, you did it. If you did not bring it, you did not bring it. How can you deliberately lie and cheat your Teacher for the sake of being good friends?”

Yi Qian lowered his head in shame. “Teacher, I am sorry. I know I’m wrong.”

“Don’t do it any more next time. Good friends have to help each other, but you can’t lie for each other. This is wrong. You can’t do this again next time. Understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Teacher Zhao told Yi Qian to sit down.

Huo Xiaoxiao was a little nervous. With Lu Jingyi’s foolishness as a lesson, she didn’t know if her teacher would believe her.

“Xiaoxiao, it’s okay. You just forgot to bring the workbook; Teacher believes you. Just bring it over tomorrow.”

Huo Xiaoxiao looked up. “Really?”

“Of course. You can sit down.”

Huo Xiaoxiao was overjoyed. “Thank you, Teacher.”

Only Lu Jingyi was punished. The kid was a repeat offender. No matter how much he promised that day, the next day, he would act like there was no such thing at all.

“Teacher, I know I’m wrong. I will definitely submit it tomorrow.”

“Lu Jingyi, how many times has this happened? And how many times has Teacher let you off? Have you ever listened?”

Lu Jingyi thought for a while, then shook his head. “Teacher, I can’t remember it.”

“That is why Teacher wants to give your dad a call.”

“Teacher!” Lu Jingyi was in tears. “I promise! It won’t happen again!”

“No, Teacher won’t spoil you again this time. Now sit down. Teacher will call your dad later.”

Teacher Zhao’s words were like a knife hanging over Lu Jingyi’s head. All day long, he slumped over the table, unable to cheer up at all.

Xiang Chen and Jiang Yue came over. “Lu Jingyi, what’s wrong with you?”

Lu Jingyi turned his head in a different direction and tilted it down. “You guys are so mean.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Yeah, what do you mean?”

Lu Jingyi shot to his feet when he heard that. “I called you last night. You all said that you didn’t do your homework yet. But… but all of you handed in your homework today. Is it not mean enough?”

“I really hadn’t written it when you called me.”

“Who told you not to do it yourself every day.”

Hearing this, Lu Jingyi slumped back down in anger.

“Teacher wants to call Dad now. Mother is not at home these two days. He will definitely beat me. It is all Yi Qian’s fault. You put me into trouble.”

Yi Qian retorted, “Don’t talk nonsense. How did I put you into trouble?”

“If you hadn’t said that you forgot to bring it, I wouldn’t have said that I forgot to bring it too. And Teacher wouldn’t have known that I didn’t do it.”

Huo Xiaoxiao knew that these kids nowadays were unafraid of heaven and earth, but they would be definitely scared when the teacher threatened to call their parents.

“Who told you not to do your homework every day? You never change despite repeated scoldings.“

‘Only when you’re at the end of your life will you know what regret is.’ This sentence really matched his current situation.

Lu Jingyi grunted in annoyance. “As long as I can get away with this, I swear I’ll study hard and listen to Teacher. I’ll never forget my homework!”

“Really?”

Lu Jingyi nodded with determination.

“Actually, it is easy to let your dad’s beating…” Huo Xiaoxiao jumped in their conversation at a key moment to keep the listeners in suspense.

Lu Jing Yi looked up at Huo Xiaoxiao in surprise. “Easy?”

" "

“Do you want to know?“

“I want, I want, I want! Tell me. I’ll bring you chocolate tomorrow!”

“I don’t want chocolate.”

“Then what do you want?”

Huo Xiaoxiao thought for a while. She looked at the kid in front like a little devil. “I’ll tell you when you call me Elder Sister.”

Hearing this, Lu Jingyi pouted. “I’m obviously older than you. I have a cousin who is as old as you, and she calls me big bro. How about this, if you call me Big Brother, I’ll protect you in the future. No one will dare to bully you!”

Huo Xiaoxiao let out a cold snort. “It’s fine if you don’t want to hear it.”

“Huo Xiaoxiao!”

“Are you going to call her that or not? If not, you will get beaten when you go home.”

“…” Lu Jingyi looked at Yi Qian and stomped his feet. He still chose the latter between being beaten and having no dignity. “I’ll do it!”

Huo Xiaoxiao cocked her head to listen.

Lu Jingyi blushed in humiliation. After a long while, he finally spat out with difficulty, “Sister Xiao!”

" "

“?” Huo Xiaoxiao looked at him as if she had constipation. “…What did you call me?”

“Sister Xiao!” Lu Jingyi didn’t think anything was wrong. In fact, he even presented his arguments. “I have a younger cousin who calls me Brother Jing. Yi Qian should be called Brother Qian, while Xiang Chen is Brother Chen. Lastly, Jiang Yue is Brother Yue. Then, aren’t you Xiaoxiao a SisterXiao?”

“…” This made so much sense that she couldn’t even refute it.

“Okay, I already called your name. Tell me what I should do.”

“No, you have to call me Sister Huo!”

“I did it. Xiaoxiao, are you trying to go back on your own words?”

“…”

“Quickly tell me. Quickly tell me!”

“…”

She could not be bothered with these kids anymore.

She said, “Do you know why your father wants to beat you? Because you have done something wrong and never want to change yourself. Adults don’t like children who lie. As long as you honestly admit your mistakes to your father and promise you will never do it again, he won’t beat you up.”

Lu Jingyi was half suspicious. “Really?”

“Of course, it is true. You can give it a try. Adults like kids who know their mistakes and correct them. But the premise is that you must truly know your mistakes and make a change. If you repeat them again, he will definitely beat you even harder next time.”

Lu Jingyi’s brows wrinkled, as if he was thinking about whether Huo Xiaoxiao’s words were feasible.

“Don’t worry. I won’t lie to you. Trust me!”

Lu Jingyi hesitated for a moment. He glanced at Yi Qian, Xiang Chen, and Jiang Yue, as though asking if they had other ideas. Seeing them all shake their heads, he could only resort to this method.

But having said that, Huo Xiaoxiao felt that her name was indeed casual when Lu Jingyi called her sister just now.

Huo Xiaoxiao, only Xiaoxiao, so simple?

However, the more you thought about it, the more casual it sounded.

Her grandfather was not such a casual person. It was impossible to give her a random name.

Only her dad could do this.

He must have done it casually.

Now that she was still a child, there was nothing serious. However, when she grew up, her name would be too lackluster.

At this moment, while Huo Xiaoxiao was thinking of her father, the latter was discussing with recently returned Yi Yang about the progress of the Luming Mountain project.

The excavation of the ancient tomb under Luming Mountain went smoother than expected. After entering the ancient tomb, the archaeological team found that the place had been completely destroyed after so many years. It basically had no archaeological value.

Although the professors of the archaeological team felt regretful, there was nothing they could do.

Therefore, the Luming Mountain project would start again soon.

“By conservative estimates, the project will resume in a month, half a month optimistically. It won’t take too long.”

“Let’s start with an optimistic estimate. The suspended work must be resumed within three days. All…”

The phone rang.

Huo Suicheng glanced at the number. It was the teacher at Huo Xiaoxiao’s kindergarten calling. He gave Yi Yang a gesture to stand up and connect the phone.

“Hello, is this the parent of Huo Xiaoxiao? This is Xiaoxiao’s homeroom teacher. My surname is Zhao.”

Huo Suicheng frowned slightly. “Teacher Zhao, hello, may I ask what is the matter?”

“It’s like this. Xiaoxiao said that she left her homework in your car. Was there such a thing?”

Huo Suicheng remembered that before sending Huo Xiaoxiao to the kindergarten, he did sign her homework.

“It did happen. I probably forgot to put it back in her school bag.”

“So, it’s like that. Then, I understand. I’m sorry, Mr. Huo, for disturbing you.”

“It’s alright.” Huo Suicheng thought for a moment. “Miss Zhao, I would like to ask; I suppose you didn’t have any misunderstandings about Xiaoxiao over this matter, right?”

“No, no, I believe in Xiaoxiao. There’s another child involved, so I called to ask you.”

“That’s good.”

He then hung up the phone after a few complementaries.

Yi Yang got the general picture after listening from one side. He asked, “Your daughter was just promoted to the middle class. The teacher already called you? What’s the matter?”

Huo Suicheng raised his eyes and glanced at him. “I sent her to kindergarten in the morning, but her homework was left inside my car.”

“That’s it?” Yi Yang shook his head. “Fortunately, that kid Yi Qian is obedient and doesn’t give me any trouble.”

As soon as the voice fell, his phone also vibrated.

Taking a look, his eyebrows wrinkled for a moment. He looked at Huo Suicheng, got up, and walked to the French window to talk.

After a while, he hung up the phone and walked over.

Huo Suicheng looked at him. “Is it Teacher Zhao?”

Yi Yang remembered what Teacher Zhao had said on the phone and smiled. “Your daughter didn’t bring homework, so my son gave his homework to her. He lied that he didn’t bring it.”

“Is this your worry-free son?”

“Didn’t he do that for your daughter?”

Huo Suicheng was dumbfounded for a moment. “All right, forget about it. Let’s talk about the project… Where were we just now?”
——

Huo Xiaoxiao was picked up by Auntie Zhao. On the way, she was preoccupied with something else.

Before Auntie Zhao came to pick up Huo Xiaoxiao, Old Master Huo had told her that he had mentioned Huo Xiaoxiao’s mother yesterday. Xiaoxiao would probably think about it, so she should pay more attention.

Seeing Huo Xiaoxiao’s gloomy look, she smiled and said, “Xiaoxiao, what’s the matter? Did you feel unhappy in the kindergarten today?”

“No.”

“Then, why does Xiaoxiao look unhappy?”

Huo Xiaoxiao thought for a while before asking, “Auntie, why am I called Huo Xiaoxiao?”

Auntie Zhao was taken aback. She then smiled instantly. “Why does Xiaoxiao ask that?”

“I just want to know who gave me the name.”

Auntie Zhao’s memory was a little vague. She could not remember it clearly. “This… I don’t remember it either. It should be Master who gave you the name.”

As expected, her father gave her that name!

She knew that there were so many collections of ancient paintings and books in her grandfather’s study.

Only her dad would have given such an unqualified name!

At the dinner table in the evening, Huo Xiaoxiao stared at her dad while holding the food.

Huo Suicheng took two bites and looked up at Huo Xiaoxiao, who was staring at him sideways.

“Huo Xiaoxiao, why are you staring at me without eating your food?”

“Daddy, did my homework was left inside your car today?”

“Yes. I will give it to you later. Eat first.”

Huo Xiaoxiao took a bite and looked up at him again.

“Daddy, did you give me my name?”

Old Master Huo and Huo Suicheng stopped eating for a moment.

“Why ask this all of a sudden?”

Huo Xiaoxiao had an unhappy expression all over her face. “Yi Qian, Xiang Chen, Lu Jingyi, and Jiang Yue, as soon as I heard their names, I knew that their parents had taken their names seriously. Mine, Huo Xiaoxiao, Xiaoxiao, it sounds like it is randomly given. Daddy, tell me, were you the one who named me?”

Huo Suicheng remembered that he had brought Huo Xiaoxiao to Huo Mansion from the Orchid Pavilion Residence. When Old Master Huo asked him what the child was called, he really chose the name casually. “Huo Xiaoxiao.”

“Daddy indeed gave you the name, but how can you say that I did it casually?”

“Then, tell me, what is the meaning of my name?” Huo Xiaoxiao looked at her dad with an expression, “You did make it up. It is up to you how you make an excuse”.

Huo Suicheng looked at Old Master Huo.

Old Master Huo glared back at him and told him with his eyes, “Don’t look at me. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Xiaoxiao, it has been years. Daddy can’t remember it anymore.”

“How is it possible that you can’t remember?” Huo Xiaoxiao poked the rice. “Daddy must have given me a name casually. Xiaoxiao, what does this mean?”

Old Master Huo sighed and smiled at Huo Xiaoxiao. “Xiaoxiao, the name is just a tag for a person. No matter what your name is, you are always Grandpa’s good granddaughter.”

“Then, I want to be a good and meaningful granddaughter.”

“What is a meaningful granddaughter?”

“I want to change my name. I want Grandpa and Daddy to change my name into a more meaningful one.”

“A meaningful name…” Old Master Huo thought about it deeply.

Indeed, the name Huo Xiaoxiao was too casual.

Thinking of this, Old Master Huo glared at Huo Suicheng again.

“Eat first. Grandpa will give you a meaningful name in the evening, okay?”

“Okay!”

Huo Xiaoxiao also didn’t think that her dad would disagree when she proposed changing her name. After all, her dad had a guilty conscience in choosing the name casually.

She just didn’t know what name her grandpa would give to her.

Huo Xiaoxiao inexplicably had some expectations.

The next day, Huo Suicheng sent her to kindergarten. Before getting out of the car, Huo Xiaoxiao checked her bag over and over again. She made sure everything was in place.

Zhouzhou waited for her at the door of the classroom early in the morning. He put the chocolate he had brought in Xiaoxiao’s hands.

“Xiaoxiao, I brought this for you.”

“Zhouzhou, thank you. Here, this is the candy I brought for you. Go back quickly. Otherwise, the devil kings will bully you when they come.”

Hearing Huo Xiaoxiao’s words, she was obviously protecting him. He grinned happily and ran away with a smile.

Soon after taking the chocolate into the classroom, Yi Qian’s demon kings came.

Lu Jingyi, who was sorrowful yesterday, was feeling excited today. As soon as he entered the classroom, he ran towards Huo Xiaoxiao. “Xiaoxiao, you are amazing! My father really didn’t beat me!”

“Did you finish your homework?”

“It’s done!”

He took out his homework and showed it to Huo Xiaoxiao. “I also brought you delicious chocolate. These are much better than Zhouzhou’s!”

Yi Qian also passed the chocolate he brought from home to Huo Xiaoxiao. “I brought you this.”

Huo Xiaoxiao collected the bag full of chocolates and gave the candy she brought to Yi Qian.

Life in the middle class was quite interesting. The courses mostly integrated learning and games so that the children could learn common sense and etiquette.

Compared to small classes, they needed to use more brains, although it was already not much.

In the afternoon, Teacher Zhao came again.

“Children, today, Teacher wants to ask you, do you know who gave you your name?”

The classroom became chaotic. Some said that their father gave it, while others’ mothers had named them.

“Do you know what your name means?”

Huo Xiaoxiao, who was named casually by Huo Suicheng, seemed to have a needle in her chest.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t know. After you get home today, ask Mommy and Daddy to tell you the meaning of your name, okay?”

“Okay!”

“Then, Teacher will teach everyone to write their names today. Everyone, take out a piece of paper and pencil. Teacher will teach everyone one by one.”

There were not many students in the class, around twelve. One teacher was more than enough.

Teacher Zhao went to every student’s desk one by one. When it was Huo Xiaoxiao’s turn, she herself had already written her name crookedly on the piece of paper: Xiaoxiao.

“Xiaoxiao, your handwriting is so amazing! You don’t know how to write Huo? Come, Teacher will teach you.”

Xiaoxiao’s two characters were indeed simple for children. However, the word “Huo” was complicated. Huo Xiaoxiao had written her name on a small piece of paper. Her handwriting couldn’t occupy the entire paper.

“Okay, just follow what Teacher just taught. Write slowly. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you, Teacher.”

The two Xiao Xiao characters were simple, but the Huo character was a bit laborious.

Huo Xiaoxiao followed the teacher’s strokes one by one. Her pencil twisted and turned around. She finally wrote a ball that could barely be regarded as the word “Huo”.

After she finished writing, she couldn’t help but feel a little grateful that the name wasn’t that difficult to write. Otherwise, she wouldn’t know how to write it!

After Teacher Zhao finished with her, she went over to Lu Jingyi and tried to console him.

“Why is my name in three characters? Yi Qian, Xiang Chen, and Jiang Yue both only have two characters…”

“Lu Jingyi, don’t cry. Look at how easy your name is and how simple it is. Don’t be lazy.”

Lu Jingyi also enjoyed the process of crying without a drop of tears. He pretended to choke twice and continued to paint his illegible handwriting.

After Teacher Zhao finished teaching all the children how to write their own names, the entire classroom was filled with cries of children raising their heads and shouting “Too difficult”.

Yi Qian leaned over. “Xiaoxiao, can you write your own name already?”

“Yes.” Huo Xiaoxiao showed him her name. “Take a look. It’s easy!”

“Can you teach me how to write your name?”

“Of course, I can.”

Huo Xiaoxiao taught Yi Qian to write her own name in one stroke.

Yi Qian wrote better than her. The three characters, “Huo Xiaoxiao”, were written more neatly than her.

“Wow, Xiaoxiao, your name is so easy to write.”

When Lu Jingyi heard Xiang Chen say this, he leaned over to take a look. He then started crying again, “Why is my name so difficult to write? I want to change it! I want to change it to Lu Yi Yi–!”

“Children, I will give you another task today. Show the names you wrote to your parents and practice it a few times at home. Tomorrow, Teacher will select the three best children who wrote them, okay?”

The children were so troubled by their names. They reluctantly responded one by one. “…Okay.”

——

When Aunt Zhao came to pick her up in the afternoon, she excitedly showed her the name she had finally learned. “Auntie, take a look. Teacher taught me to write my own name today.”

Aunt Zhao glanced at the paper. Although the three characters, “Huo Xiaoxiao”, were written crookedly, it was not easy for a child to write it like this.

“Xiaoxiao is amazing! When we return home, show it to Grandpa. He will be very happy!”

“Okay!”

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Huo Xiaoxiao held the homework book full with her name all the way. As soon as the car turned into the Huo Mansion, she jumped out in a hurry. Huo Xiaoxiao ran into the living room and showed the homework book to her grandpa.

“Grandpa, Grandpa! Let me show you the name I wrote!”

Old Master Huo smiled and took her homework book. He looked at the homework book full of Huo Xiaoxiao’s name and praised her, “Xiaoxiao wrote all of this? Such amazing handwriting!”

“Teacher taught me. I will write it twice later. It will be even better!”

“Oh right. Xiaoxiao, didn’t you say that the name ‘Huo Xiaoxiao’ was too simple and casual? Grandpa decided on a name after a whole night of serious thinking. Tell me if you like it or not.

“Ping Ting, Huo Ping Ting. This Ping Ting means beautiful girl, like Xiaoxiao. How about it? Do you like the name that Grandpa gave you?”

“…”

“Come, Grandpa will teach you how to write it.”

“…”

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