“If you want one, then you’ll have to help Daddy with this, okay?”
Xu Xun coaxed Xu Rui, and Xu Rui nodded: “Okay.”
“Tomorrow, when Mommy takes you to kindergarten, tell her you want a little sister.”
Xu Rui looked at Xu Xun: “Daddy, so if I just tell Mommy, she’ll give me a little sister?”
“After you tell Mommy tomorrow, we’ll see how she reacts.”
Xu Xun instructed Xu Rui: “Rui Rui, if Mommy asks whether Daddy told you to say that, you shake your head and say no. Just say you want a little sister yourself. Got it?”
“But it was Daddy who told me to ask Mommy.”
Xu Rui shook his head: “Daddy, Mommy and my teacher both say we can’t lie. Lying makes you a bad kid.”
Xu Xun held Xu Rui by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes: “Daddy isn’t teaching you to lie. He’s teaching you how to help fix the relationship between Mommy and Daddy. You don’t want Mommy and Daddy to fight and get divorced, do you?”
Xu Rui was very agitated: “I don’t want Mommy and Daddy to fight! I don’t want you to get divorced!”
“If Mommy and Daddy have a little sister, they won’t fight anymore, and they won’t get divorced.”
Xu Xun genuinely believed this was the best solution.
The reason he and Kang Zhimiao were fighting right now was that she insisted on going out to work.
But if they had another daughter, then Kang Zhimiao wouldn’t want to go out to work anymore, and they’d have both a son and a daughter—a perfect pair.
Xu Xun’s thinking was simple, and his plan seemed good. But Kang Zhimiao, in the other room, had no idea Xu Xun would think this way.
She waited a while, and when she saw that Xu Xun had no intention of coming back to the room to sleep, she stopped waiting for him and went to sleep on her own.
The next morning, Kang Zhimiao got up as usual to make breakfast. After breakfast, Xu Changkong and Xu Xun headed to the military, while Kang Zhimiao took Xu Rui to kindergarten.
“Rui Rui, buy your own lunch at the cafeteria at noon. Mommy’s going to work in a bit.”
On her first day of work, Kang Zhimiao’s mood was as light and cheerful as a bird singing loudly on a branch.
But Xu Rui’s next words were like a fierce gust of wind that blew her right off that branch.
“Mommy, I want a little sister.”
Kang Zhimiao thought she hadn’t heard correctly: “Rui Rui, you want what?”
“A little sister. A real sister.”
Xu Rui swung Kang Zhimiao’s hand: “Mommy, please?”
“Rui Rui, a little sister isn’t something you can just have whenever you want. She’s a person, not a toy.”
Kang Zhimiao crouched down: “And right now, the country has a family planning policy—each family can only have one child. We already have you, so we can’t have a little sister.”
“Really?”
Xu Rui was very confused: “But Daddy said if I just told you, Mommy would give me a little sister.”
Kang Zhimiao suppressed her anger and asked through gritted teeth: “Rui Rui, did your daddy teach you to say you want a little sister?”
Xu Rui waved his hands vigorously: “No, no, it’s me who wants a little sister.”
Even though Xu Rui said that, Kang Zhimiao still understood exactly what was going on.
Xu Rui had mentioned wanting a little brother or sister before, but back then it clearly sounded like a child’s passing whim—not like this time.
And besides, he’d always treated Ya Ya as his own little sister. How could he suddenly out of nowhere start saying he wanted a real sister?
No wonder Xu Xun had been spending so much time with Rui Rui yesterday. She’d thought he was finally acting like a proper father—but it turned out he was plotting something sneaky!
She really had underestimated Xu Xun. He could actually come up with such a lousy scheme!
“Mommy, are you mad?”
Xu Rui was very anxious: “It really is me who wants a little sister. Please don’t fight with Daddy, and don’t get divorced. I don’t want you and Daddy to fight, I don’t want you to get divorced. I don’t want to be a kid without parents.”
As he spoke, Xu Rui was about to cry. Kang Zhimiao quickly pulled him into her arms and gently comforted him: “Rui Rui, don’t be scared. You won’t become a kid that nobody wants. Daddy and I will always be by your side.”
“Rui Rui, the reason Daddy and I fight is because we have a conflict between us. This isn’t something that having another child between us can fix.”
Xu Rui’s little face was full of confusion: “Mommy, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“It’s okay if you don’t understand. You’ll understand when you’re older. Just remember—if you get married someday and you and your wife are fighting, don’t think that having a child or having another child will fix the problem. Remember that, okay?”
Xu Rui didn’t understand why his mom was telling him this, but he nodded anyway.
“Alright, off to kindergarten now, or you’ll be late.”
Kang Zhimiao dropped Xu Rui off at kindergarten and then hurried to the dance school.
The school was mostly girls, with only a handful of little boys.
After talking things over with Ye Zhiqiu, Kang Zhimiao started dancing again, beginning with the basics.
She’d given it up for a long time, so starting over was naturally difficult—anyone could imagine that.
It was no exaggeration to say that going back to practicing flexibility stretches hurt so much she wanted to die.
Fortunately, hard work pays off. She had a foundation, and after practicing for a while, she slowly found her old feeling again.
Whether she danced as well as before or not, at least her mood was much better than before.
Spending an hour or two every day focused on dance practice made her feel like every day was bright and sunny.
That day she’d taken Xu Rui to the park, and on the way she saw the dance school was hiring dance teachers. She went to try out the next day and unexpectedly got hired.
Even though it was a temporary position and the pay wasn’t very high, she was still overjoyed.
Not only could she dance and earn money at the same time, but she also felt like she had value now.
Before, at home, every day was just housework and taking care of Rui Rui. She often felt like her life was something she could see the end of at a single glance.
She didn’t know what the meaning of a life like that even was.
A full day wasn’t easy, but Kang Zhimiao didn’t feel tired at all—instead, she was happier than ever before.
Hearing the children call her “Teacher Kang” and dance along with her, she felt like she was back on stage.
No—it made her even happier than being on stage ever did.
She had finally found the job that suited her best.
She actually wasn’t very suited for the stage. Once she got up there, not a single mistake was allowed, so she’d be tense and couldn’t fully enjoy the joy of dancing.
She couldn’t do what Ye Zhiqiu did—the moment she stepped on stage, completely immersing herself in the dance.
And being around those colleagues made her uncomfortable too.
But being with these children made her feel especially relaxed. Looking at their innocent little faces, their eyes full of pure love for dance, it was like she’d been transported back to the days when she’d first joined the cultural performing arts troupe.
Simple, pure, no other distractions—just love for dance.
In the evening, when Kang Zhimiao got home, Xu Xun had already picked Xu Rui up from kindergarten.
