At the Little Swan Kindergarten in Tiannan City.
It was rush hour at the moment. As the bell rang, cute little faces walked out of school one after another. Meanwhile, many parents were standing at the entrance to pick up their children.
Ye Chen stood aside and watched the group of children carefully with his eyes wide open. He was afraid that Mengmeng would be among the crowd and miss him.
He had never picked up a child from school before. Never had he thought that it would be so heartwarming and nerve-wracking. Perhaps this was what it felt like to be a parent for the first time.
Ah Hu asked for Ye Chen's phone number after sending him there. Ye Chen recalled that he had just returned and did not have anything, so he got Ah Hu to bring him to the ATM nearby to withdraw some money. He then bought a phone and a SIM card. He then called his mother to tell her that he was coming to pick Mengmeng up.
He would be lying if he said he was not envious of the other children acting like a spoiled child to their parents.
Ye Chen's eyes lit up just when he was thinking about that.
He saw a lady in a white chiffon dress walking out with a little girl.
The lady was only 24 or 25 years old. She had a pretty face and an extraordinary aura. She attracted many adults' attention as soon as she walked out.
Meanwhile, the little girl wore a light black school uniform with two braids on her head. She had a straight little nose and a pair of big, watery eyes. She was a beauty.
Who else could it be but Mengmeng?
"Mengmeng!" Ye Chen called out and walked over rather excitedly.
Mengmeng scoffed and turned her head away, refusing to look at him.
The smile on Ye Chen's face froze and he secretly sighed.
The lady smiled politely after taking a good look at him. "Hi, you must be Ye Mengmeng's father, right? I'm Mengmeng's teacher, Ou Lan. "
Wu Lan used to be the one who picked Mengmeng up. However, Wu Lan had called her today, saying that Ye Chen was picking up the little girl. Therefore, Ou Lan recognized Ye Chen as soon as she saw that he looked similar to the little girl.
"Hi, Ms. Ou." Ye Chen nodded while smiling. Just when he was going to say something, he heard the little girl shriek all of a sudden.
"He's not my father, Ms. Ou. He's not my father!"
Ye Chen forced a smile.
He could be calm and domineering to others. He could even laugh it off.
However, when it came to his daughter, he was helpless. After all, he owed the mother and daughter too much.
Ou Lan squatted down and patted the little girl's head. "Mengmeng, you can't talk to your daddy like that. Have you forgotten that your teacher taught you to be a polite and filial child?"
Ye Chen glanced at Ou Lan with utmost gratitude upon hearing that.
The little fellow pursed her lips and looked stubbornly at the crowd, as if she was looking for someone. "Where's Grandma? I want Grandma to pick me up. "
"Grandma has something on today, so she can't come. That's why she asked Daddy to pick you up," Ye Chen comforted while smiling.
Ou Lan glanced at her helplessly and said while smiling, "Grandma has a hard time at work. It's the same for Daddy to pick you up. Mengmeng, can you wait at the security guard's place for a while? I want to say a few words to your father. "
The little girl held her hand tightly and wanted to reject her by instinct. Ou Lan pulled a long face. "Be good, Mengmeng. Otherwise, I'll be mad."
The little fellow nodded reluctantly.
Ou Lan turned her head and said to Ye Chen while smiling after sending her to the security guard's office and greeting him, "Mr. Ye, can we talk?"
Ye Chen looked at the little girl and nodded after confirming that she was fine.
The duo walked in the school field. Ye Chen had mixed feelings as he looked at his daughter's school environment. He said sincerely, "Ms. Ou, thank you for taking care of Mengmeng all this while."
He saw very clearly that the other kids walked out on their own while Mengmeng walked out with Ou Lan's hand. One could tell how Ou Lan usually treated Mengmeng.
"You're welcome. Actually, I like Mengmeng a lot."
Ou Lan chuckled softly, but her pretty face looked rather sad. "But Mengmeng is quite pitiful. I heard from Auntie Lan that you disappeared before she was born. Her mother disappeared when she was just two years old. The little girl was diagnosed with leukemia when she was three and a half years old.
Although Mengmeng and I have nothing to do with each other and I'm paid to eat, my biggest wish is for this child to grow up healthily. "
Ye Chen felt a little heavy in his heart. He said after taking a deep breath in, "Ms. Ou, I …"
"Mr. Ye, you don't have to explain anything. Speaking of which, I'm an outsider, so I shouldn't be asking about your family. But Mengmeng is really pitiful. Although she's only four years old, she's much more mature than her peers."
Ou Lan sighed while looking heartbroken. "My classmates always tease me that I'm a kid who has no parents. Mengmeng doesn't cry. Instead, she pinches and scratches the people who tease her. She offended her classmates, so many of them don't play with her. That's why she might be a little lonely and has low self-esteem."
Ye Chen listened quietly and turned around to look at the security guard's office quietly.
"Mengmeng likes to draw when she's alone, especially drawing pictures of the sky in the grassland. I asked her before and she said that she heard that the stars are the closest to the grassland.
Meanwhile, people who disappear from this world will become stars in the sky. Therefore, Mengmeng's dream is to draw stars on the grassland with her drawing board when she grows up. Then, she'll be closer to her daddy. "
Ye Chen's body jolted slightly upon hearing that. He felt like he was about to cry.
He had been missing for five years. Nobody knew if he was alive or dead. Perhaps everyone thought that he was dead, including his parents.
His daughter came up with such a thought under the influence of what she saw and heard.
In her heart, her father was already dead, which was a kind of despair.
Meanwhile, his sudden appearance before her was equivalent to setting a fire in the vast desert. There was no passion or light that could be ignited.
Ou Lan suddenly turned around and said to him in all seriousness, "Mr. Ye, in reality, Mengmeng acknowledges you deep down in her heart. She's a kid after all. Like most kids, she yearns for a father's and a mother's love. However, she's a little conflicted. Perhaps it's related to her experience after she matured earlier. That's right. She's such a stubborn and lonely little girl."
Ye Chen nodded.
One could say that apart from his parents, Ou Lan before him knew Mengmeng the best. If she did not say that today, he would never be able to walk into his daughter's heart.
Ou Lan looked at the time and said while smiling, "Alright, the little girl must be getting impatient from waiting. Mr. Ye, let's call it a day."
"Thank you so much, Ms. Ou," Ye Chen stretched his hand out and thanked her from the bottom of his heart.
Ou Lan shook his hand softly and stopped there. "You don't have to thank me. It's my duty."
Ye Chen smiled and returned to the guard room with her. At that moment, the little girl was pacing back and forth at the door. She was clearly impatient.
Ou Lan squatted down and smoothed the hair on her forehead. She said while smiling, "Go home with Daddy, Mengmeng. Don't forget what I taught you. Listen to Daddy."
She got up and walked out as she spoke.
"Goodbye, Ms. Ou!" The little girl waved at her reluctantly.
Ye Chen held his head down and said to the little girl after she walked far away, "Mengmeng, can Daddy carry you home?"
"Hmph, only kids have to carry me. I'm not a kid." Mengmeng lifted her chin proudly and walked in front.
Ye Chen followed her immediately, afraid that she would fall or be hit by the cars on the road. When they passed by the entrance of a supermarket, the little girl turned her head to look at the beautiful goat cartoon bag in the window by instinct. There was a hint of eagerness in her eyes.
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