"Xiaomei, come here to your aunt." The young girl squatted down and greeted Xiaomei familiarly.
Xiaomei looked hesitant.
Lu Yao was not in a hurry either. He squatted where he was and looked at Xiaomei with a smile.
At this time, Xiaomei's head teacher came out of the school gate, holding her phone. She looked up and saw Xiaomei and a young woman in a stalemate. She walked over and asked, "Ms. Lu Yaolu?"
Lu Yao stood up and nodded.
The head teacher looked at Lu Yao, said a few more words to the person on the other end of the phone, and then looked at Lu Yao with a smile after hanging up the phone: "Are you Xiaomei's aunt?"
Lu Yao nodded.
The head teacher then squatted down and pointed at Lu Yao and introduced him to Xiaomei.
The wariness in Xiaomei's eyes gradually disappeared, and she slowly walked up to Lu Yao, "Hello, Auntie."
The little girl felt a little aggrieved and helpless when a stranger came to pick her up without her parents notifying her. But the child was also very good at observing people's expressions. When she found out that the stranger was really her relative, she took the initiative to greet him despite her unfamiliar and fearful emotions.
Lu Yao saw all of this, and children like this actually make parents feel at ease.
Sometimes, it is precisely this overly sensible and tolerant character that is so reassuring that their needs in the process of growing up are ignored.
Lu Yao took Xiaomei's hand and said goodbye to the head teacher.
Along the way, Xiaomei was very quiet.
Lu Yao looked around and saw a vendor at the intersection ahead. He pulled Xiao Mei over and said, "This little butterfly hairpin is so cute. Do you want to buy one?"
Xiaomei's eyes lingered on the hairpin for a moment, then she looked up at Lu Yao and shook her head.
Lu Yao squatted down next to her, "But I like them very much, can you help me pick one?"
Xiaomei blinked her eyes, stood in front of the wooden rack and looked at it carefully for a while, then pointed to a butterfly with blue wings in the middle.
Lu Yao asked the vendor to take it down and handed it to Xiao Mei: "Can you help your aunt put it on?"
Xiaomei didn't say anything, she took it and put it on Lu Yao carefully.
Lu Yao took a picture of the phone screen and said with a smile: "My little niece has good taste. I like it very much."
Xiaomei's eyes sparkled and she pursed her lips in happiness.
The next second, my aunt took a pink and purple butterfly hairpin from the wooden shelf and said, "My niece picked such a beautiful hairpin for me. I also want to give you a hairpin as a gift. Does this one look good?"
Xiaomei lowered her eyelashes and nodded shyly.
Lu Yao put the pink and purple butterfly hairpin on Xiaomei and said, "Very beautiful."
On the way back, Lu Yao bought some taiyaki, small cakes, and also brought some pastries for Xiaomei's grandparents.
When she got home, there were still some Taiyaki crumbs on the corners of Xiaomei's mouth.
Lu Yao reached out to help her wipe it clean and said goodbye to her at the door.
Xiaomei looked reluctant, "Auntie, won't you live in my house?"
Lu Yao pointed to the door number next to him and said, "My aunt lives next door to you. If you have anything to say, just knock on the door."
Only then did Xiaomei let go.
When she got home, Xiaomei put the cakes on the table and said her aunt bought them for her. Her grandparents looked as if they were used to it and didn't react when they saw the hairpin in Xiaomei's hair.
Xiaomei was certain in her heart that the aunt was indeed her aunt.
That afternoon, Jia Jia went to Xiao Mei's house to play with Xiao Mei again. Grandma brought a piece of cake and gave the big piece to Jia Jia and the small piece to Xiao Mei.
Xiaomei and her aunt had eaten Taiyaki and small cakes outside, and didn't feel like eating cakes at all. She saw Jiajia grabbing a large piece of cake and stuffing it into her mouth, but she didn't feel anything.
Jia Jia played for a while and then went back home. When grandma called her to eat, Xiao Mei got up obediently to eat.
From that day on, my aunt would go to the daycare center to pick up Xiaomei every afternoon.
At the age of six, Xiaomei started attending elementary school, and her aunt would pick her up after school every day.
My aunt is a gentle and patient person. After school, she often takes Xiaomei out to eat and drink, and she also listens carefully to what Xiaomei says about what happened at school.
The time I spend with my aunt is always relaxing and happy.
A few years passed and Xiaomei went to middle school.
When I started boarding in middle school, I could go home at least once a week.
Xiaomei knocked on Lu Yao's door and stood by the door, looking reluctant: "Aunt, I have to go to school."
Lu Yao touched Xiao Mei's forehead and took out a black doll from behind. "I'll give you a little doll. His name is Alfred. If you encounter any problems at school, you can discuss it with him."
Xiaomei took the little dragon doll and took out a box from behind her, with a smile on her face: "This is my farewell gift to my aunt."
Lu Yao was a little surprised: "This is the first time a tutor has given me a gift. Can I open it?"
Lu Yao said the word "tutor" vaguely. Xiao Mei didn't hear it clearly, nor did she distinguish it carefully. She smiled and nodded: "I tried to make it with my superpowers, don't despise it, auntie."
Xiaomei's superpower is that she can manipulate metal at will, making it deform, melt, or suspend.
After developing her abilities over the past few years, she can now finely manipulate metals.
For her birthday this year, her parents gave her a thin pure gold necklace.
Xiaomei secretly cut off a large piece from it, and used the New Year's money she had saved for many years to buy one gram of the super precious metal, melted it into gold water, and made this delicate and exquisite lotus earring.
Lu Yao's eyes lit up: "Did you really do this? This is so cute."
The delicate and small lotus serves as the base, and a thin chain hangs from the slender branches, refracting the sunlight and creating sparkling light.
Xiaomei pursed her lips shyly, "As long as Auntie likes it."
She didn't tell me where the material of the earring came from, but as long as my aunt liked it, everything was worth it.
The earring that my aunt wears on her left ear all year round is really eye-catching. I can’t tell what it is made of, but I just feel that it is expensive and rare.
It is really difficult to create a corresponding texture.
She thought about it for a long time before she came up with this idea.
That piece of gold chain is actually nothing. What is valuable is that gram of super-new metal, which has been tempered by her superpowers and perfectly integrated with gold and water.
After saying goodbye to her aunt, Xiaomei prepared to go to school.
Lu Yao hesitated for a moment and called her: "Xiao Mei, Auntie is preparing to move."
Xiaomei was stunned.
Lu Yao folded his hands and said solemnly, "My aunt has to move to another city for work. I think I should formally tell you."
Xiaomei: "Auntie will never come back?"
Lu Yao thought for a moment and shook his head: "We will meet again, but probably in a few years."
Xiaomei let out a long sigh, "That's good. Auntie, I'm going to school."
Lu Yao nodded: "When you are troubled, just discuss it with Alfred. He is also a very good teacher."
Xiaomei’s first tutoring session is over.
Back at the cram school, Xiaomei's consciousness merged with her cram school memories.
Lu Yao stood up and poured her a glass of warm water, "Come back for a while."
Xiaomei looked up, her eyes stung by the tiny rays of light. She opened her eyes after a while and saw the earring on the shop owner's right ear. She was a little surprised: "Are you really my aunt?"
Lu Yao sat down opposite her: "How do you feel?"
Xiaomei recalled for a while, smiled and nodded: "Very good."
She also realized that the store owner couldn't really be her aunt.
But the gift she gave to the owner and the little black dragon doll the owner gave her were all real.
Does this mean that the delicious food, the toys, and the childhood she spent with the owner were not just a dream
Lu Yao asked: "I should have confirmed it again, but I felt that I should trust you. Did you run into him again when you were in college?"
Xiaomei nodded: "He took the initiative to pursue me. But those sweet words and gifts that moved me before seemed to be covered with a false veil and could no longer touch my heart."
Lu Yao nodded with satisfaction: "It seems that there is no need for a second tutoring session. Congratulations on your successful graduation."
Xiaomei couldn't help but stood up and hugged Lu Yao, "Thank you, auntie."
The tutoring program at the Childhood Tutorial Center was completely different from what Xiaomei had expected. Even though she had heard some of it from Zheng Siyao, it was still far less shocking than the actual tutoring experience.
During the tutoring period, the owner did not instill any values into her, nor did she preach any big principles. Xiaomei felt like she was just living with her aunt for a few years.
When her aunt left, she began to face the world alone. The world around her was both strange and familiar.
It feels strange because she has to face the world alone, but it feels familiar because her aunt seems to have taught her how to get along with the world invisibly.
When I was a child, those trivial moments of neglect, those emotional needs that were not met, and those sources of inferiority later on were all smoothed out by my aunt without a fuss.
Later on, when I encountered those lame tricks for chasing people and those wholesale sweet traps, they all seemed like a farce and lost interest.
Lu Yao hugged her back, "I like the earrings, too."
Xiaomei couldn't help but said, "I thought it would disappear."
Lu Yao smiled but said nothing.
It seems like a dream but not a dream, like reality but also like fantasy. This is probably the most attractive and imaginative aspect of the childhood tutoring center, and it can also maximize the effectiveness of tutoring.
If tutoring is just an illusion, for the students, it is not much different from watching a movie or undergoing psychotherapy.
The childhood tutoring, which is both real and imaginary, is a real experience as long as you believe in it.
Xiaomei came out holding a little black dragon doll and a graduation badge and joined Zheng Siyao in chatting with the experimental subject.
An Yan turned his head and looked towards the cram school room.
Xiaomei noticed and said with a smile: "The owner finished two tutoring sessions in a row and is very tired. He went to rest."
An Yan touched Er Xin's smooth and warm belly without saying a word.
The experiment subject beside him said: "This is so interesting. I also want to spend my childhood with the store owner."
An Yan lowered his eyebrows and his mind was in turmoil.
-
The weather is getting colder, and Bai Jing has been very busy recently. He hasn't been to the shopping street for nearly half a month.
After parking the car, I saw a new sign next to the blind box shop, which turned out to be a tutoring center.
Bai Yi got down from the passenger seat, bent down to brush off the dust on his leather boots, and then stood up to look around: "There is a psychological counseling room in this place. If it wasn't for the contact of my family, I really wouldn't believe it."
Bai Yi is from the side branch of the Bai family. He is one year younger than Bai Jing and is also called Bai Jing's cousin.
When Lu Yao wanted someone, the Bai family would send the best.
However, among the Bai family's generation, few have studied psychology, and most of the children have chosen the path of clinical medicine and traditional Chinese medicine.
Suddenly we needed to find a psychology expert who was of the right age, so we had to choose someone from the side branches.
Bai Jing initially chose his cousin Bai Yi and Zhong Qiu Sheng.
Zhong was from a different family and since he married a girl from the Bai family, he was also included in the selection category.
But Zhong Qiu Sheng refused as soon as he received the call, saying that he had his own connections and did not care about the Bai family's connections.
This is a more euphemistic way of saying it. In fact, he just means that he is not satisfied with the direction of the shopping street.
Bai Yi readily accepted the arrangement of his family, so he appeared here.
Bai Jing was upset by Zhong Qiusheng and cursed him countless times. Seeing the obedient Bai Yi, he did not hide it: "If there were suitable people in our family, we would not choose you and Zhong Qiusheng. That idiot is ignorant and cannot bear such an opportunity."
Bai Yi was surprised that Bai Jing could say such words. It seemed that this journey was indeed unusual.
Bai Jing added: "The owner is a friendly person. You don't have to be too reserved, but don't get carried away either."
After hearing this, Bai Yi became more curious about the legendary shop owner and secretly confirmed his guess.
This work may seem insignificant on the surface, but it may have a profound background in secret.
Bai Yi also knew something about the jokes that happened among the younger generations of the Ji family some time ago.
The most bizarre things are about Ji Zhixin.
A man who had been paralyzed for five years, with no one knowing how to cure him, happened to have his legs healed in Yaoguang City.
The man returned to his Tianji family, slapped everyone in the face, and returned to Yaoguang City alone.
There are all kinds of rumors out there, but Ji Zhixin has not come out to clarify.
This makes people feel even more itchy.
Bai Yi thought to himself, maybe Ji Zhixin works here.
Bai Yi was thinking about laughing, and when he looked up, he saw Ji Zhixin walking out of a door beside the main road. He turned his head to see them and greeted them.
Bai Jing walked over: "Let's go find the owner."
Ji Zhixin glanced at Bai Yi and pointed across: "She is at the cram school. I'll take you there."
Bai Jing noticed that he had been glancing at Bai Yi intentionally or unintentionally, and took the initiative to say, "The owner contacted me and is looking for a new employee. Bring her over to try."
When Ji Zhixin thought about what happened when he came to the shopping street, he couldn't help but think of Ji Zhixun and the others, and a smile appeared on the corner of his lips.
Bai Yi's scalp felt a little tingling. It was indeed the eldest young master of the Ji family. But why did his expression feel like a sneer
Ji Zhixin had sharp senses. "I was just thinking about those idiots in my family. I wasn't laughing at you."
Bai Yi laughed dryly: "..."
There's no way to reply to that.
Ji Zhixin brought Bai Jing and Bai Yi to the Childhood Tutorial Center. Hearing that Lu Yao was still resting, the three of them sat down and waited.
Bai Yi found something strange when he walked into the cram school. Looking outside the door, he saw tall buildings and a constant flow of people.
It is completely different from the barren mountains and wilderness just now.
Bai Yi pointed outside and asked Xu Xiaoxiao: "Excuse me, where is this outside?"
Xu Xiaoxiao looked at her strangely and said, "Sanhua City."
Sanhua City
A place name I've never heard of.
Bai Yi wanted to observe it more carefully for a while, but when she heard Bai Jing calling her, she turned around and walked behind the shelf.
In the glass tea room, a young girl sat next to Bai Jing. She looked even younger than Bai Yi.
Bai Yi walked over: "Shopkeeper?"
Lu Yao nodded: "Are you applying for a tutoring position?"
Bai Yi said honestly: "My cousin said that you are recruiting people here and require a foundation in psychology."
Lu Yao nodded: "You should have seen it when you came here just now. We are far away from the city, and the working environment is not very good. You think about it first. If you are willing to learn more, I will take you to experience the work content."
Bai Yi looked at Bai Jing, but Bai Jing had his eyelashes drooped and did not give any hint.
Bai Yi asked, "I want to know about salary and vacation first."
Lu Yao: "Normal salary, work six days and rest one day, and there is overtime pay for the extra day worked."
The shops in the shopping street rarely close and are basically open all year round. The clerks can only take adjusted days off, and this is basically the treatment they receive.
Regardless of whether it was just a polite remark or not, it was better than Bai Yi expected. She couldn't help but ask again, "What's going on outside the door? It didn't seem like that when we came in just now."
Lu Yao: “This question is related to the content of the work.”
Bai Jing coughed lightly.
Bai Yi understood: "I want to know the content of the work."
Lu Yao stood up and took Bai Yi into the cram school.
About an hour later, Bai Yi and the owner came out of the cram school together.
Bai Yi took the initiative and said, "Cousin, I signed a contract with the owner."
After the test, Bai Yi's physical fitness was good, and she had no burden in traveling through time and space for a short period of time. She also had professional qualities in psychology and a certain degree of empathy. Her work ability must continue to be cultivated. Lu Yao was already very satisfied and directly signed an employment contract and a confidentiality agreement with her.
Bai Jing breathed a sigh of relief.
The task of recruiting new store clerks was half completed. Since Bai Jing didn't have anyone suitable, Lu Yao planned to recruit someone in Sanhua City.
The next day, Lu Yao arrived at the Super Energy Research Institute early in the morning and picked up Jiao Jiao to go to the cram school for the second cram school session.
The receptionist at the Super Energy Research Institute looked at Lu Yao's business card for a while, then looked up with a hint of surprise in her eyes: "Miss Lu, I'll take you to the third floor."