Just as Qi Rang was about to calculate the answer to a formula, his mother woke him up. "Curly-baby, get up, you've got to go to kindergarten today."

Opening his eyes in a daze to his mother's familiar face, he crawled out of bed slowly to hug and kiss her. "Mommy, good morning."

"Good morning~" Yang Wei patted his head. His curly black hair was just like his father's. "Does your head still hurt after two days of rest?"

She tested the temperature of his forehead with the back of his hand. The fever had apparently retreated.

"It doesn't hurt. Mommy, dress me." Qi Rang handed the clothes on his quilt to his mother. Yang Wei pulled a white t-shirt over his head, with a bright yellow coat over that, and ruffled his soft black hair. "Our family's Curly-baby's the handsomest."

Curly-baby giggled. Then from the door came a cool voice, "Qi Rang, How many times have I told you that you should dress yourself? You're already six this year."

Qi Rang pouted, pulling on his pants in a limp and lethargic manner, and running to the drawers to rummage for socks. Walking into the bedroom, Qi Xiao Yan asked, "Did you work out that question last night?"

"Mom woke me up right before I did."

"So you didn't?"

Qi Rang: "..."

Although he felt a strong sense of humiliation, he couldn't deny it.

"Until you figure it out, you'll sleep alone." Having made this announcement, Qi Xiao Yan turned and pulled Yang Wei away.

Qi Rang turned a disdainful glance to his father's back. He had been sick for the last two days, and finally managed to sleep with his mom for two nights. Today hadn't even begun, yet here that man was, impatient to kick him out and using the problem as an excuse. Did he have no shame?!

Qi Rang brushed his teeth angrily, and vowed in his heart to figure out that problem today.

Breakfast was milk buns and eggs, fried by Qi Xiao Yan.

When the family of three had eaten, Yang Wei hurriedly picked up her bag from the sofa. "Curly-baby, hurry up now, or you'll miss the school bus."

"Okay." Qi Rang drank the last sip of his milk and jumped off his chair. He picked up his schoolbag and tugged at his mother's hand as they left together.

The orange school bus was just arriving when they got to the community gate. Climbing in, Qi Rang waved back to Yang Wei. "Mommy, goodbye."

"Bye-bye." Yang Wei waved back with a smile.

 

As he made his way into the bus, the crisp sound of a girl's voice rang out. "Curly-baby Qi, sit with me!"

His brow shooting up, Qi Rang followed the sound toward a little ponytailed girl by the window.

"Liu Bei Bei, don't call me Curly-baby, that's what my family calls me," he reminded, crossing to her. Once upon a time, she had called him by his given name, but upon hearing his mother calling him by his nickname, she had begun using it.

Liu Bei Bei grumbled with dissatisfaction, but then perked back up after a bit. "We'll be family after we get married, so I can call you Curly-baby!"

Qi Rang's mouth twitched. He sat down across the aisle from her. "We're too young to get married."

Apparently dissatisfied with how far away he was sitting, Liu Bei Bei walked over and squeezed him into the window seat, then sat down next to him. "It doesn't matter, I'll wait for you to grow up!"

Finally feeling like he could put an end to this topic, Qi Rang said, "Until we grow up, you still have to call me Qi Rang."

Liu Bei Bei's little eyebrows floated up and down, and she conceded, "Well then, before we get married, I'll call you Ah Rang¹Calling someone with Ah (or A', or however you want to Romanize it) indicates intimacy.!"

"Qi Rang."

"Ah Rang!"

"I won't reply if you call me Ah Rang."

"..."

Liu Bei Bei sulked for a while, before pulling at Qi Rang's clothing excitedly. "Look my dress, isn't it pretty? My aunt brought it back for me from abroad!"

Qi Rang's eyes swept over her pink dress. "The colour's too bright for you. There's too much lace, too. But the patterns are alright, they have a good design sense."

His sense of aesthetics had been passed down wholesale from Yang Wei. Perhaps prenatal educated had played a part in it, but in short, whenever the kindergarten teacher had asked everyone to draw, his paintings would be exhibited.

Liu Bei Bei didn't quite get what 'design sense' meant, but she understood 'too bright for you'. "It's fine! My aunt got a lot, I'll wear something else for you tomorrow!"

Liu Bei Bei came from a wealthy family. As a little Miss, she had her own driver at home. However, one day she had found out that Qi Rang took the school bus every day, and from them on she had refused to take the car.

Qi Rang made no comment. Staring out the window instead, he begun figuring out the math problems his father had given him in his mind.

The school bus didn't take long to get to the kindergarten, and the teacher was waiting for them at the school gate.

"Good morning, Teacher Qiao," Qi Rang greeted the class teacher politely.

Teacher Qiao bent down to touch his forehead. "Feeling better, Qi Rang?"

"A lot better, thank you Teacher Qiao."

Teacher Qiao's face bloomed as she laughed. "You're such a good child, Qi Rang." Adorable, too.

Watching, Liu Bei Bei said indignantly to Teacher Qiao, "Teacher, don't touch my husband's head so casually."

Teacher Qiao: "..."

Qi Rang ignored them, walking across the lawn toward the teaching building.

 

The biggest class was on the third floor, and Liu Bei Bei chased him inside. Seeing the two of them walk in side by side, a boy in the back row frowned and walked to Qi Rang's desk, knocking on it.

Qi Rang put away his schoolbag. Looking up at him calmly, he asked, "Zhang Lixin, what can I do for you?"

Little classmate Zhang Lixin said fiercely, "I'm gonna marry Liu Bei Bei when I grow up."

"Oh, I wish you both the best."

Nettled, Liu Bei Bei interjected, "Zhang Lixin, you're so shameless! When did I say that I wanted to marry you?!"

Equally nettled, Zhang Lixin replied, "Why not? Our family's richer than the Qi's!"

"But Qi Rang's cuter than you!"

"I can buy you better clothes to wear!"

"But Qi Rang's cuter than you!"

"I'll wear a crown for you!"

"But Qi Rang's cuter than you!"

"......"

It was a good move, responding to all changes with the unchanging²From Daoist philosophy..

Before Zhang Lixin could come up with a countermeasure, Teacher Qiao entered the classroom and announced that the class had begun.

 

The first lesson was drawing, and the theme is their parents. When they were done, it could be taken home to be shown to their fathers and mothers.

Qi Rang spent thirty-five minutes carefully and painstakingly drawing his mother, then in the last five minutes, hastily scribbled his father in.

"Hey, can I use your red watercolor pen? Mine's out of ink." Next to Qi Rang, Shen Jie had painted nearly the entire white paper with a red pen, leaving only a few dry spots.

Qi Rang pushed all his watercolor pens over. "Go ahead, I'm done painting."

"Thank you." Shen Jie gazed at his enormous box of watercolor pens, a little envious. "You've got so many colours. How many are there?"

"Fifty-four colours. My mom bought them for me."

Shen Jie ooh-ed and ahh-ed. From among a large pile of red watercolor pens, she finally chose the most brilliant red one. However, before she was able to take off the cover, the pen was snatched away. Off to one side, Liu Bei Bei demanded angrily, "You're not allowed to use his things!"

Her voice was rather loud, and Shen Jie was a timid child. Embarrassed and frightened, she immediately began crying.

Teacher Qiao bustled over hurriedly with a tissue, cheering her up while wiping her tears. Meanwhile, Qi Rang picked another red watercolor pen and handed it to her. "You can use this one. The colour's even better than the one just now."

Still snuffling, Shen Jie made to pick up the pen. However before she could touch it, it was snatched away again by Liu Bei Bei. "Other girls aren't allowed to use it!"

Qi Rang frowned. Getting a little angry, he looked at her and said, "This is my pen. I can lend it to whoever I want. It's none of your business."

Now it was Liu Bei Bei's turn to cry. "You're being mean to me for the sake of other girls!"

Zhang Lixin, who had been waiting in the wings for the opportunity to strike, seized the moment and hurried over to offer his attention. "Don't cry, I'll give you sweets."

"I don't want your sweets!" Tears swirled in Liu Bei Bei's eyes.

Seeing that before one had even stopped crying the other was about to begin, Teacher Qiao quickly looked to Qi Rang. "Be a little nicer to her now."

Hearing Teacher Qiao say so, Liu Bei Bei eagerly looked toward Qi Rang, as if waiting to be coaxed.

Qi Rang pulled a pen out from his pencilbox and wrote four numbers onto the white paper. “Use addition, subtraction, multiplicated, and division to make it so that the result with these four numbers are equal to 24.”

Teacher Qiao: "..."

This was her first time seeing a math equation being used to coax a girl.

Completely taken in, Liu Bei Bei seriously studied the four figures that she had been given, as if it were Qi Rang's love letter to her.

Teacher Qiao breathed a sigh of relief. Scraped by by the skin of one's teeth.

 

Later that morning during lunch, Liu Bei Bei took the initiative to give Qi Rang her strawberry cake. "Curly-baby Qi, you like strawberries so I'll give you this."

Qi Rang looked at the cake she was holding. He picked off the strawberries and ate them. Liu Bei Bei looked silently at the bare cake.

Shen Jie handed over her strawberry cake as well. "I'll give you mine too. Thanks for letting me borrow your pen."

With absolutely no shame, Curly-baby Qi picked the strawberries off of her cake as well and popped them into his mouth.

Zhang Lixin approached with strawberry cake in his hand, and Qi Rang's hand darted out to pick the strawberries off of his cake. He ate them as well.

Zhang Lixin: "..."

"Qi Rang! I'll fight you!" To dare eat the strawberries that had been earmarked for his family's Bei Bei!

Qi Rang was just now also realizing that his actions had been a little too smooth. But before he could speak, Liu Bei Bei came forward. "Zhang Lixin, you're not allowed to bully my family's Curly-baby!"

Qi Rang's brow knitted. "Call me Qi Rang."

Obligingly, Liu Bei Bei corrected herself. "Zhang Lixin, you're not allowed to bully my family's Qi Rang!"

Zhang Lixin was so angry that his eyes turned red. "Liu Bei Bei, you can't be with him forever!"

"Why not? I'll go to primary school with him in the future!"

Hearing this, Qi Rang was shocked enough to blurt out, "You got recommended for a key primary school³'Key' schools in China are schools with an excellent academic reputation. They're generally allocated more resources, have a great deal of privileges, and are correspondingly harder to get into. Since Qi Rang is being recommended to such a school, he's able to get in without taking the examination. Think being recommended for the Ivy League of primary schools. too?"

Liu Bei Bei: "..."

She didn't even understand what 'recommended' meant.

 

Noon was nap time, and as usual, Liu Bei Bei spent hers peeking at Qi Rang, watching him fall asleep. In the afternoon, there was another burst of chaos⁴lit: chickens flying and dogs jumping, and little classmate Qi Rang was finally able to usher in his happy after-school time.

He could see his mother again at last.

Zhang Lixin also stood by, waiting for his own mother to pick him up. Liu Bei Bei had just been picked up by her family's car, so he could now freely glower in Qi Rang's direction.

It’s just that he was completely ignored.

A red Cayenne pulled up at the kindergarten entrance, causing a great deal of commotion. The car door opened, and from within stepped a young woman, high-heeled, whom a single glance showed anyone who cared to know that she was a wealthy woman.

The other children in the kindergarten and their parents couldn't help but look in her direction. Her carefully painted red lips hooked into a smile, her long fingers pushed expensive sunglasses a little higher on her nose. She seemed to bask in this much anticipated feeling of attention.

"Zhang Lixin, your mother's here to pick you up." Teacher Qiao was already familiar with this scene. So long as it was Zhang Lixin's mother who was picking him up, there would surely be great fanfare all around. Today was actually pretty tame.

But she had her own natural enemies.

Just as this came to Teacher Qiao's mind, a silvery-white vehicle pulled up by the open gate. A woman emerged from the car. Her legs were long and gorgeous, and even her casual black commuter pants was unable to hide her smooth lines. Over her sky blue shirt was a long white coat, and her black hair tumbled down her back.

Although both the car and clothing were much lower-key than Zhang Lixin's mother, all eyes once focused on Mother Zhang had shifted.

"Mom." Seeing Yang Wei, Qi Rang rushed over happily. Catching him in her arms, Yang Wei knelt to ruffle his hair. "Curly-baby, were you a good boy today?"

"Yes."

"Well done! Have a kiss." Yang Wei kissed him on the face as Mother Zhang made her way over, Zhang Lixin by the hand.

"Mrs. Qi, what a coincidence."

Yang Wei looked up at her, stood up and smiled. "Indeed it is, Mrs. Zhang."

She didn't know why, but this Mrs. Zhang had always been inexplicably a little hostile toward her, and this time was no exception. Glancing at Yang Wei's car, she smiled. "My dear Mrs. Qi, why are you still driving this car? Isn't it at least two years old by now?"

Yang Wei's mouth twitched. Not wanting to talk to her further, she greeted Teacher Qiao and took Curly-baby out. When they passed Zhang Lixin’s mother, Qi Rang interjected suddenly, “Auntie, your makeup is coming off.”

Teacher Qiao couldn’t help but snort behind them while Yang Wei pulled Qi Rang away quickly. As they drove out, they could see Mother Zhang peering in a mirror.

As she drove, Yang Wei asked, "Curly-baby, did you offend Zhang Lixin in kindergarten?

Her son thought for a moment. "He might think that I snatched his wife away."

Yang Wei: "..."

No wonder Mrs. Zhang hated her so.

 

Even up until going to bed that night, Qi Rang wasn't able to solve the question Qi Xiao Yan had posed. His little face unhappy, he ran over and knocked on their door. "Dad, I want to sleep with mommy."

Qi Xiao Yan, who currently had Yang Wei pressed under his body, frowned in impatience and climbed off to open the door. "Did you find the answer?"

"......Not yet."

Qi Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow.

"But I still wanna sleep with mommy!"

With a cold snort, Qi Xiao Yan replied, "Let's put aside the math problem. Here you are, wanting to cheat? When we named you 'Rang', we hoped that you would live up to your name and be polite and humble, but you can't even do that."

His face scrunched up, Qi Rang retorted, "When grandmother named you 'Xiao Yan', she was hoping that you could laugh and smile when you talked, and you can't even do that!"

"Ha!" Yang Wei, inside the room, couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Curly-bae, what he said makes sense!"

Hearing his mother's voice, Qi Rang attempted to squeeze through the crack in the door, but was blocked by Qi Xiao Yan. "Well, I'll give you another chance."

Not falling for it, his son said, "All the questions that you made up are so difficult that I can't figure them out."

"It's very simple this time, just one-digit multiplication."

Surprised, Qi Rang blurted out, "Seriously?" Wasn't this too easy?

With a smile, Qi Xiao Yan said, "What is the multiplication of the 135th and 426th decimal numbers of pi?"

Qi Rang: "..."

He was sleeping alone tonight.