Zhang Zian put away his mischievous thoughts and gently patted Little Celery on the shoulder.
"Good morning, Little Celery."
Even so, Little Celery was still startled. She jumped up and stared at the person behind her with her eyes wide open. After recognizing that it was Zhang Zian, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, it's Brother Store Manager. You scared me." She patted her chest and said.
"Haha, Little Celery, you were so funny. How about we do it again next time?" Zhang Zian joked with her.
"Please don't!" Little Celery believed him. She waved her two small arms and said anxiously, "Brother Store Manager is an adult. Don't bully a child!"
Being called an adult by her, Zhang Zian suddenly felt that his image had improved. He, who had been embarrassed in front of the elves in the shop, could finally be the master.
"Well, I was just joking with you." He laughed. "Little Celery, you seem to be afraid of being scared. Do you dare not watch horror movies?"
"I hate horror movies the most!" Little Celery's face changed. "Some boys at school are particularly annoying. Sometimes they scare us with horror movies during breaks!"
Boys at this age were at the age where they were not afraid of anything. When they were naughty, they even dared to pull a few strands of Laotzu's beard. Zhang Zian remembered when he was a child. Although there were no electronic devices such as cell phones, some boys would catch caterpillars or beetles from outside to scare girls. At that time, Zhang Zian was still relatively honest. He would not do such things with boys, nor did he have the courage to stand up for girls.
"Is that so … Did you tell the teacher?" he asked.
"I told the teacher. The teacher confiscated their cell phones and asked their parents to come and get them. Then they said I was a tattletale..." Little Celery said with grievance.
Zhang Zian sympathized with Little Celery and comforted her, "It's okay. Little Celery did the right thing. Let them say whatever they want."
Having said that, he knew that Little Celery was far from being indifferent to others. Even he could not reach the state of mind of a saint. Therefore, the effect of his comfort was limited.
Little Celery nodded with a slight smile on her face. "That's what my mom said."
"That's right. This is what a mature adult would say. You don't have to care about what your little classmates say," Zhang Zian agreed.
"Okay, I understand." She nodded obediently.
"So, Little Celery, are you coming to feed Xiao Ling and Ears today?" he asked as he walked with the foam insulated box under his arm. Actually, he was just trying to find something to talk about, because he expected to get a positive answer.
"Hmm … today … I'll forget about it for today …"
However, unexpectedly, Little Celery refused to do so. She lowered her head and kicked the stones as she walked like a little boy. Her tone seemed to be confused and embarrassed.
Huh? Was this the real problem?
Zhang Zian became serious and asked, "What happened? Did your mother forbid you to come? "
If Little Celery's mother did not allow her to come to the store, no matter what the reason was, Zhang Zian would respect her mother's opinion. He didn't want his love for his pet to affect the relationship between the mother and daughter.
"It's not my mom … It's …" She hesitated, probably hesitating whether she should say it or not.
"Is it inconvenient for you to say it?" Zhang Zian was more confident when he heard that it was not her mother. As long as it was not her family, why couldn't she come to the pet store?
"It's my classmates …" She raised her little face and said with grievance, "I told my classmates at school that Xiao Ling and Er Duo at Brother Store Manager's house could talk, but none of them believed me. They even laughed at me for being a fool …"
"Uh …"
Zhang Zian didn't expect this and thought that he had miscalculated. Children at this age were not scheming, especially innocent children like Little Celery. They always wanted to share good things with others. Therefore, it was reasonable for her to tell her classmates about the hamster and the lop-eared rabbit. She did nothing wrong. It was Zhang Zian's fault that he didn't remind her not to tell others about the hamster and the lop-eared rabbit.
Zhang Zian couldn't blame Galaxy for doing a good deed, nor could he blame Little Celery for being too talkative because of her innocence. In the process of children's growth, the words and deeds of adults would subtly influence them, because children were really good at observing and imitating. If the upper beam was not straight, the lower beam would be crooked. If the parents and adults could not set an example, then it would only be a matter of time before the children learned bad things or became sophisticated in advance.
Similarly, Zhang Zian couldn't blame Richard. He had told a small lie, and Richard had spoken for the hamster and the lop-eared rabbit. Was it wrong? Yes.
No one was wrong. Zhang Zian could only blame himself for not considering the possibility of Little Celery telling others. However, even if he reminded Little Celery not to tell others, it would be difficult. After all, children's mouths were not very tight. Besides, she couldn't even hide it from her mother.
Little Celery stood with her head down and hands down, staring at the tips of her shoes, as if she had made a mistake and was waiting to be punished.
Zhang Zian stared at the pair of braids behind Little Celery's head that moved periodically. It was carefully designed by her mother for her daughter, and maybe only those who really cared about Little Celery could notice it. He believed that Little Celery's mother loved her daughter with all her heart. Anything that might affect their relationship, no matter how small the possibility was, he would not do it. This was his principle and bottom line.
Therefore, even if he could go back in time, he couldn't hide anything from her.
Seeing that he didn't speak for a long time, Little Celery quietly looked up at him, and then lowered her head anxiously, even lower than before. She had never seen her brother store manager show such a depressed expression. She couldn't help but feel scared. It must be because she had done something wrong that her brother store manager, who was always kind, would be sad and angry. If her brother store manager lost his temper, would he drive her away and never let her play with Xiao Ling and Er Duo again?
She rubbed the tips of her shoes nervously, and tears gathered in her eyes. Her vision became blurred, and she might cry at any time.
Zhang Zian was indeed very depressed. He was facing two completely opposite paths. One path was to confess to her that he had lied to her. He could tell her that her classmates were right, that the hamster and the lop-eared rabbit couldn't talk, and that he was just joking with her. This path was very simple. He could easily shirk the responsibility. It was just a joke. Who said you can't joke with a child?
However, Little Celery might lose trust in adults because of this.
Zhang Zian could only choose the difficult path.
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