Chapter Seventy: Returning to Old Haunts is Not for Young Men

  Xue Xiang took three little ones to visit Xue An Yuan yesterday, and the old man was in good spirits, but had caught a cold and was coughing. Xue Xiang told the old man about his failure on the road, but the old man didn't seem disappointed as he thought, just smiled and said "as expected". It seems that the old man had already determined that he was all talk and no action, and hadn't placed any hopes on him. Xue Xiang was greatly shocked, and immediately took out his military officer's certificate and waved it in front of the old man. The old man quickly grabbed it and asked him a series of questions. Xue Xiang recounted his recent actions in detail, and when he got to the part about rushing to reinforce, the old man sighed and said "So you're the Xue Xiang from the newspapers! I thought it was just someone with the same name". He then scolded him for being "overly ambitious" without mentioning anything else. As they were about to part ways, he comforted the old man, saying that he should wait patiently for good news, and that within ten months there would be a new world. The old man smiled but didn't say anything, waving his hand to shoo him away, clearly no longer believing in his unreliable predictions.

  The motorcycle drove to the entrance of the junior high school department, revisiting the old place, with a different feeling lingering in my heart. Inside the school gate, there were already many parents sending their children to school, crowded and noisy, bustling about. Four or five security guards were directing a cargo truck that was trying to enter the campus to move outwards, while the parents around it who were eager to get inside were also forced to retreat.

  Xue stopped the car far away, wanting to wait for the truck to leave, but the little guy was unhappy. She was in a hurry and had previously argued with her brother and sister about whether to send them or Xiaoyi first, and finally reached an agreement. Because they were sent there first, the siblings would have to walk to the primary school department and junior high school department, which no one wanted to do. Seeing that the car was not allowed in, the little guy's excited smile immediately fell, and she hummed and grumbled about her big brother being unreliable, and her second sister and third brother making bad decisions, causing her to have to walk a long way.

  Xue comforted her by rubbing her little head, "Don't worry, big brother won't let our little treasure down." After saying that, he stepped on the gas pedal and the engine roared loudly. He yelled at Xiao Wan and Xiao Yi to hold on tight, released the brake, and the motorcycle sped off. The roaring engine was extremely frightening, causing the crowd in front to quickly disperse. Xue's superb driving skills were fully displayed as he navigated through the crowded streets with ease, his large motorcycle handling like a nimble fish. The motorcycle narrowly avoided pedestrians, bicycles, and other vehicles, causing Xiao Yi and Xiao Wan to cover their eyes in fear, while the little guy laughed gleefully. As they approached the gate, Xue intentionally revved up the engine but held onto the brake, and the specially designed engine's loud roar instantly drowned out all other noises. The truck driver hastily stopped his vehicle, not daring to move, and cleared a path for them to pass through.

  Four or five security guards directing traffic discovered the situation was not right and rushed over together, preparing to teach this arrogant kid a lesson. As they approached, they saw clearly who it was and their faces immediately changed to big smiles, nodding and bowing as they said: "Ah, so it's Third Brother who has arrived, welcome back to your old haunt, please, please come in." The angry expressions on the few people's faces instantly turned into smiling faces. With this master arriving at school, who would dare block him? What principal's orders, just forget about them and relax.

  "Hey, hey, hey! I'm saying, what's going on with you guys? Why can his motorcycle go in, but my bicycle can't? Little comrade, this is discriminatory treatment, it's not fair!" Seeing Xue swaggering in, some dissatisfied parents immediately started shouting.

  "What's all the noise about? Don't you even care who the other person is?" A fat security guard with a garlic-shaped nose yelled as he rushed towards the protesting parent, seemingly ready to take action.

  "Third son, it's done, take good care of the shift." Xue stopped the fat security guard at the entrance, tossed him a pack of cigarettes, and loosened his grip. A puff of smoke went out. He also knew that he hadn't followed the rules today and had abused his privilege, but now he couldn't satisfy Xiao Mo's demands, and he didn't care about anything else. After all, he was most fond of this little sister.

  "In the green garden, the sunflower awaits the dawn. The warm spring spreads its virtue, and all things are born with splendor." As he stepped into this sunny and hopeful campus, Xue couldn't help but think of these four lines from "The Long Ballad". He clenched his fist secretly: Time is fleeting, I must cherish it.

  The campus is lush with trees, green grass like a carpet, and a wide cement road lined with white birch trees on both sides, red maple trees like an array. The hundred or so red leaves reflected the surroundings, doubling the interest. Xue's car stopped steadily in front of a six-story teaching building with red walls and green tiles, under the gaze of many students' admiring eyes.

  "Xiao Wan, over here!"

  Xiao Wan had just gotten off the bus when she heard a familiar voice calling out to her. She turned around and saw that it was her classmate and close friend Miao Miao. She flashed Miao Miao a smile, waved goodbye to Xue Yang, and ran over to her.

  "Xiao Wan, you look so pretty today! It's been a whole summer vacation and you're getting more and more beautiful!" Miao Miao warmly pulled Xiao Wan over, looked up at the motorcycle driving away in the distance, and whispered in her ear: "That guy on the motorcycle is your legendary big brother, right? He's so handsome! No wonder they call him Handsome Song Jiang. I saw it earlier at the gate, that swagger was simply impressive. You didn't see how happy Pig Head Three was after you guys left - the pack of cigarettes your big brother threw to him was clutched tightly in his hand, and Mao Four and the others almost fought over it. That fat pig refused to give it up, even pulling out money to let them buy their own, saying 'this is what Third Brother gave me, where can I share it with you guys?' Xiao Wan, ah, I'm so envious of you! Does your big brother have a...?"

  "Alright, alright, you silly girl, how old are you, aren't you ashamed? Hurry up and go in, or else Teacher Ma will scold us again." Xiao Wan interrupted Miao Miao's teasing.

  "Ma Siyan wouldn't dare scold you, she must be scolding me again. Wait a minute, there's still something important that hasn't been said yet?"

  "I said you had so many nice words, and it turns out you were waiting for me here. Speak up, let's see if this girl can help, or are you going to check my homework?"

  "Alright, I've already finished my homework, stop showing off in front of me. It's Xia Donggua who asked me to beg you."

  "Qiao Xiaodong? What does he want me to help him with?"

  "Oh, it's a piece of cake for you, and there's something in it for you too."

  "I asked you why you're so enthusiastic, tell me, how many boxes of candies did that kid give you?"

  "Alright, alright, you're too sensitive. This time Xiao Donggua has really suffered a loss, two big slaps in the face. Please help him deal with Gao Dazhuang and his gang."

  "So much money, where did he get it from? Besides, what does he want with me? I'm not familiar with Gao Da Zhuang."

  "To be honest with you, Gaodazhuang wants to make Xiao Donggua his apprentice, and now Xiao Donggua has come to me for help, asking me to ask you to put in a good word for him with Gaodazhuang."

  "Is saying hello useful?"

  "Silly girl, with your status, just casually passing a message to Gao Dazhuang is enough, would he dare to say another word? You're always buried in your studies and don't even know how famous you are. Last time you saved Fang Guohua's situation was spread by him, this kid has become so arrogant now, walking with his head held high every day, followed by a group of bad students, being extremely domineering. If you don't want to go find Gao Dazhuang, let Fang Guohua pass the message too."

  "Alright, I'll go tell Fang Guohua. Whether it works or not, I don't know. And forget about the money."

  Miao Miao jumped up excitedly, hugging Xiao Wan and laughing: "I knew my Xiao Wan was the best, if you don't want to then forget it, let Little Winter Melon treat us to ice cream, I'll see who dares to mess with me in the future."

  ………….

  "We're here, Old Three, do you want Big Brother to accompany you inside." Xue turned off the engine and reached back to pick up Xiao Yi.

  Xiao Yi frowned, apparently somewhat dissatisfied. "Can't a big man like me even get off the bus?" He tidied up his slightly disheveled hair and shook his head: "No need, I saw several classmates on the road just now, I'll wait for them to go in together."

  Xue smiled and nodded, adjusting his slightly crooked backpack, ruffling his hair, and started the motorcycle. He didn't care about the resentful gaze behind him, "You've messed up my hair again! What will Mei Li think when she sees me?"

  Yu Ying Kindergarten is located in the northwest corner of Yu Ying School, just a few hundred meters away from Yu Ying Primary School. Xue stepped on the accelerator and then turned off the engine, letting it coast forward. After a few breaths, the kindergarten's gate came into view. Unlike the primary school, which was a multi-story building, the kindergarten was a single-story compound that occupied a large area of land. Three sides of the compound were lined with classrooms, while the interior was made up of several thick lawns surrounded by stone paths. The entire compound did not have any hardwood trees, but had several flower beds, where fresh flowers bloomed profusely. In addition to this simple structure, an area was set aside in the northwest corner of the compound for children's playground equipment, such as slides, seesaws, and merry-go-rounds. At this moment, there were no children playing inside, and the warm sunlight shone quietly on the still merry-go-round, filling the empty space with a sense of peace.

  The little guy saw this scene, his small head warmly leaned against Xue's chest, and complained: "Not a single friend is here, they must be in class. It's all Third Brother's fault, I knew he came first, and finally made me late."

  "It's okay if we're late, I'll take the blame later and make sure the teacher doesn't scold Little Treasure." Xue Xiang parked his motorcycle against the wall of the courtyard. At the entrance of the kindergarten, in addition to his motorcycle, there were many sedans and jeeps parked in a disorderly manner, almost blocking the door.

  "It seems that I'm not the only overbearing one, there are many fellow travelers on this path." Xue thought to himself with a smile, and carried the little guy into the gate.

  The little guy suddenly squirmed in his arms and said in a milky voice, "Put me down, others will laugh at me 'so big but still want to be held by an adult', I'm so shy."

  Xue Xiang let her down, and the little flower backpack in his hand was also snatched away by the little guy, who pretended to be serious and put it on. He found it funny, the little guy was quite clever, knowing when to perform.

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