Xia Dabai remained silent. The little girl whispered to Xia Xingchen, "Auntie, I have a father. If Dabai doesn't have a father, I will lend him half of my father, okay?"
"..." The child actually meant well, but Xia Xingchen still felt a pang in his heart.
She touched the little girl's head and said, "You are so generous. I would like to thank you on behalf of Dabai."
The little girl's mother smiled awkwardly and held her daughter in her arms, "Don't mind it, the child is ignorant."
Xia Xingchen shook her head and silently held Xia Dabai's hand tightly. She lowered her head, leaned close to his ear, and said gently: "Don't be sad, you don't have no father, on the contrary, you have a very, very good father. Your father is very popular and respected. He is very busy, so he can't accompany you to the parent-teacher meeting. You shouldn't be sad about this, but you should be proud of him."
Xia Dabai seemed to be thinking about this seriously. After a long while, he nodded his head. Compared to before, his face looked much better. Xia Xingchen pinched his ears and said, "Go and tell that kid to thank her for lending it to your dad."
He was very obedient and went to say thank you. At the end, he did not forget to proudly add: "My dad is so good! In the future, when my dad is not busy, I will give half of it to you!"
Xia Xingchen laughed.
Is there anything else that can be shared between the old men? Actually, there is a way.
After the headcount was counted, the parent-child activity was about to begin. However, the classroom broadcast suddenly sounded, and the principal's voice suddenly rang out: "Teachers, please organize all students to wear school uniforms and go to the playground to sit in order according to class. An important leader is coming to inspect the school today! Teachers, please organize all students to wear school uniforms and go to the playground to sit in order according to class. An important leader is coming to inspect the school today!"
I could tell that the principal sounded a little nervous. It looked like the leader coming to inspect this time must be some important person. I was afraid it was someone from the Education Department.
After the broadcast stopped, the teacher asked everyone to tidy up their clothes and even wear the school badges.
Everyone gathered on the playground. Parents also went and sat with their children. After Xia Xingchen sat down, he helped his son straighten his bow tie and joked with him, "You just said you wanted to give half of your dad to that kid?"
"Um."
"You two, you take this and I take that. Do you know what it's called?"
"Dad, we call this 'loyalty'." Xia Dabai puffed out his small chest.
Xia Xingchen teased him, "You two are engaged. The two families become one family, so your dad is her dad, and her dad is your dad. Hey, tell mom, are you secretly in love with that little beauty?"
"No! You're talking nonsense!" Xia Dabai retorted immediately, but his little face turned red.
When Xia Xingchen saw this, she thought to herself, "It's over, it's over." Their child is only four years old and has already fallen in love.
Just as I was thinking this, I saw the teachers who were busy setting up the venue running down the podium in front. Everyone stood upright on the lawn on both sides of the red carpet, as if welcoming the leaders.
All the parents and students here leaned over and looked in a certain direction.
Xia Xingchen and Xia Dabai naturally looked over as well.
At the first sight, Xia Xingchen was shocked.
I saw a long convoy coming in from the school gate, passing the school's big fountain, the Fuli Castle, and then passing through the teaching buildings, and finally stopped under the red carpet that led down the long stairs from the playground.
Xia Xingchen couldn't help but stand up. He really wanted to see if the person who came was really as he thought, but the long stairs blocked their view.
Xia Dabai was obviously very excited as well, his small body kept jumping up and down, "Is it Xiaobai? Dabao, it's Xiaobai!"
"Hush!" Xia Xingchen sat down, hugged the child, and gently pressed her fingers between the child's lips. She looked around and found that no one was paying attention, so she breathed a sigh of relief. Xia Dabai looked at her and lowered his voice, "Is it Xiaobai?"
"… I don't know." Xia Xingchen shook her head. Fearing that the child would have too high hopes and be disappointed, she only said, "He may not have time."
Xia Dabai's small shoulders drooped again.
Although she kept reminding herself and her child not to have too high expectations, her eyes still looked over there involuntarily. She saw the principal had hurried down the stairs.
Apparently, a very important guest had really arrived at the bottom of the stairs. The teachers standing on the top of the stairs had already seen the person coming. After being shocked, they were all surprised and excited, and they almost cheered out loud.
"Who's here?" Some parents could no longer hide their curiosity and were whispering.
"When I called my child's teacher yesterday, the teacher only said that the leaders of the Education Department would come today. Oh my god—"
Before the parent could finish his words, he couldn't help but exclaim.
Suddenly, Xia Xingchen could only hear voices calling out one after another, "Mr. President!"
"Look, is this really Mr. President?!"
"It's really Mr. President!"
…
The parents kept looking over, unable to hide their excitement.
Xia Xingchen stared at the familiar figure in a daze, and his eyes were unconsciously filled with mist.
She... didn't expect that he would really come...
From a distance, she looked at him - he was wearing a dark blue coat with a white shirt underneath. Unlike the formal attire he wore in the office, today he unbuttoned his shirt collar, revealing his perfect collarbone, just right, casual but not frivolous. A light grey cashmere scarf was casually hung around his neck, making him look noble and reserved.
Surrounded by the crowd, he walked slowly up the stairs against the wind.
That moment...
All the people around him, the whole world, seemed to have become nothingness...
In Xia Xingchen's eyes, there was only him left.
The people from the Education Department were beside him, cautious and respectful. The principal was behind him. The group walked forward while talking.
Behind them, there were dozens of people, all dressed in suits and ties. Except for Leng Fei and two secretaries, Xia Xingchen didn't recognize any of the others.
Walking up the stairs and onto the red carpet, he seemed to hear the cheers of the parents and slowly raised his head. He raised his hand and gestured to everyone. The mood here was even higher, and everyone excitedly called out "Mr. President".
She alone was quiet.
She knew that these calls were useless. Even if she really called him as excitedly as everyone else, she would just be drowned in the crowd.