Chapter 1271: I Want to Make You Stay (149)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Shi Bao’er was attending lessons and playing together with the other children in the mountains.
No. 5 had grown to fancy the tranquil and serene place after staying there for some time.
He informed the teachers that he would be taking Shi Bao’er away for good, after which he packed their belongings and headed to Shi Bao’er’s classroom.
After her lesson ended, No. 5 entered the classroom and said, “Bao’er, we’re going home now.”
“Okay, Uncle No. 5.”
“I mean we’re going to A City.”
Shi Bao’er stared at the textbooks on the table, which she had been sharing with her table mate because the latter did not have any of her own. She had already gotten used to staying on the mountain, despite finding the living conditions rather arduous at the start. Hence, she was, in fact, extremely reluctant to leave.
“Can we stay here instead of going home?”
Surprised to hear her words, No. 5 said with raised brows, “If you like it here, we can come back frequently from now on.”
Knowing that she could not defy No. 5’s orders, she decided not to insist any further. Instead, she placed her textbooks and pencil case inside her bag before removing the floral rubber band wrapped around her hair, which she then handed to her table mate. She said, “I’m really glad to have been able to sit beside you all this while. Thank you for helping me. Here’s a memento for you that’ll always remind you of me. I’ll visit you when I’m free in the future and we can play together.”
The table mate took it from her and said, “Thank you…”
She then took out a soybean bun from the drawer of her desk and handed it to Shi Bao’er. “My grandma made this for me. You can have it.”
Shi Bao’er accepted it with a nod.
She left reluctantly.
During her time on the mountain, she could sense the curiosity and bewilderment that her classmates had about the outside world. They were easily contented and would often ask her questions about the world outside the mountains.
After comparing herself to the rest of the children there, she realized how ungrateful and discontented she was with the luxurious life she lived.
Most of her classmates’ parents were either busy with work all the time or had broken families with divorced parents. There were also those who were orphaned or had a deceased parent. Life was indeed very tough for them.
Noticing that she had been remaining silent throughout the flight home, No. 5 said, “There’s something I must let you know.”
“What is it?”
“I heard that your daddy has divorced your stepmother.”
Unlike what he had expected, Jin Bao’er was not happy at all to hear the news. Instead, she looked at her own hand and asked, “Why?”
“Your stepmother was so badly scalded. Of course your daddy wouldn’t want her anymore.”
She cocked her head toward the window without uttering another word.
More than an hour later, she said, “Uncle No. 5.”
“Yes?”
“Does Mommy hold the rights to my custody now?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t call me Shi Bao’er anymore. I prefer to be called Jin Bao’er.”
“…”
After they disembarked from the plane, Xiao Huang picked them up in the car.
They returned to Wei Ni Estate to see that An Xiaoning was reading some books in the yard while the other children were playing with each other. Upon seeing Shi Bao’er, the handful of children completely disregarded her presence and pretended not to see her.
An Xiaoning put down her book and called them to her side.
Staring at Jin Bao’er, An Xiaoning asked, “Has it been hard on you?”
“Not at all, Auntie. I really enjoyed it there.”
“Oh, is that so?” Pointing at the other children, An Xiaoning said, “Say hi to your friends.”
Jin Bao’er smiled and greeted them with a smile, “Hello Yiheng, Xiaoxi, Wenlun, Minhe, Rongyan.”
An Xiaoning said, “You shall go back to the boot camp tomorrow.”
“Will Uncle No. 5 be accompanying me?”
“Do you want him to?” An Xiaoning asked.
“Yes.”
“Why so? Don’t you hate it when he supervises you?” An Xiaoning asked, resting her chin in her hand.
“I no longer do.”
“He can follow you, but you’ll have to promise me one thing. I’ll let Uncle No. 5 accompany you so long as you do.”
“What is it, Auntie?”
“Get along well with your little buddies. I heard that you’re on bad terms with Xiaoxi. Bao’er, Xiaoxi has been engaged to Yiheng. We’ll be family from now on. Xiaoxi is younger than you too and you ought to give in to her. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Yes, I do,” said Jin Bao’er.
“Alright, we’ll send all of you back to the boot camp tomorrow. The sky is still bright. Go play with them.”
Jin Bao’er walked toward the children and asked, “May I play with you guys?”
Not wanting to defy her godmother, Long Xiaoxi agreed reluctantly.
Jin Bao’er left with the children.
“Sis, why have you agreed to let her return to the boot camp?”
“I don’t want to disrupt her education. I never planned to let her stay at the boot camp alone anyway. I was already planning to let you chaperon her. No. 5, has she grown to become attached to you?”
“I don’t think so. We haven’t spent that much time together…” No. 5 said bashfully.
“Seems like it to me, though. Although her mother has left her under my care, I can’t possibly look after her every day. No. 5, you must help me guide her.”
No. 5 answered, “Yes, Sis, rest assured. I’ll keep correcting her until she completely turns over a new leaf. When we arrived at the entrance just now, I saw Director Jing Tian getting inside his car. Was he here to discuss a new production with you?”
“Nah, there has been some delay in the post-production of the previous television series and it has yet to be broadcast. He’s not that free. He came to give me a suggestion.”
“What suggestion?”
An Xiaoning picked up her book and said with a smirk, “He said that a sudden idea popped up in his mind and he’s planning to produce a television series based on my past experiences. He suggested that I write an autobiography that he can use as the core material of our next cooperation.”
No. 5 gasped in shock and asked, “Sis, I find it to be an absolutely great idea. Are you going to write it?”
“I haven’t thought about it yet.” She then turned around and left.
While walking toward the living room, An Xiaoning recalled everything that took place in the past. So many years had passed by in the blink of an eye, and her memory had begun to fail her. She thought that it would be rather meaningful if she could document everything about her past with Jin Qingyan.
She stepped foot inside the living room to see that Jin Qingyan had just made his way downstairs. “What’s on your mind?” he asked.
“Jing Tian dropped by for a discussion with me.”
“Was it regarding the television series?”
“No, we were discussing our next cooperation. He wanted me to write an autobiography about us and our past that he can use to produce a new television series.”