bayedsolid Chapter 419 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (30)
Chapter 419 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (30)
When Lu Liruan touched that wrinkled mark with her finger, it felt rougher than the rest of the area, as if it had been vigorously rubbed.
It must be... the marks left by tears on the paper.
Lu Liruan repeatedly stroked that small spot, feeling a pang of sadness in her heart.
The child sat at the table, sadly writing this diary entry, expressing his longing for the kitten. Before he knew it, tears were falling onto the paper, and he quickly wiped them away to prevent the writing from smudging.
Liao Tingyuan's fingertips brushed past the spot where Lu Liruan's fingers had touched, but his gaze lingered more on those few lines of text.
Grandpa and Grandma...are dead.
He read aloud, "Did his diary mention when his grandparents died?" Liao Tingyuan asked.
Lu Liruan shook her head; this diary was less than half full.
If the little boy has always had the habit of writing a diary, then this diary must not have been used for very long.
“Grandpa and Grandma are dead. Mom said the kitten might have gone to find Grandpa and Grandma…” Lu Liruan kept repeating this sentence, feeling that something was wrong.
At first glance, this sounds like something a mother would say to comfort her child, but...
"Why say that the kitten might have gone to visit its grandparents? Is it so that the child can more easily understand that it's normal not to see the kitten again, because the grandparents will never see it again either? And saying that the kitten went to visit its grandparents makes the child feel a little better, right?" Lu Liruan murmured, thinking that there was nothing wrong with this idea.
“In the past, there was a child in my class whose pet bird flew away because the cage wasn’t properly closed. When the child’s mother brought him to kindergarten, she asked us teachers to help persuade the child.”
Liao Tingyuan thought for a moment and continued, "I don't know how to comfort it more effectively. A female teacher colleague of mine once told the child that the little bird had gone to find its friends. It saw its friends singing outside the window every day in the cage, so it was very envious and wanted to play with its friends. That's why it went to find its friends. But you are also its friend. Maybe one day, it will come back to play with you, and it might even bring its new bird friends to sing for you!"
Liao Tingyuan speaks as if he's telling a story.
Lu Liruan now understood why he was able to work as a kindergarten teacher. In Lu Liruan's mind, this profession truly required some talent and a natural affinity for children.
Liao Tingyuan must be one of those people. Lu Liruan felt that as long as he wanted to, he could make people listen to him and listen intently, even if the stories he told were a bit childish to Lu Liruan.
Upon hearing this, the story Liao Tingyuan told was remarkably similar to the one the child's mother had told him.
There are only a few tricks to coaxing children...
But these two stories still feel different, even though the elements are basically the same.
Suddenly, Lu Liruan's eyes widened. She clapped her hands and patted Liao Tingyuan's arm: "I know what's different!"
Liao Tingyuan looked at her, signaling her to share her insights.
“It’s hope…it’s giving children hope!” Lu Liruan licked her dry lips: “Whether it’s an adult or a child, what do they hope for most when they lose something?”
Lu Liruan asked Liao Tingyuan
Liao Tingyuan thought for a moment and replied, "I hope nothing is lost."
“Yes!” Lu Liruan nodded vigorously.
"The story you told was like this: the teacher told the children that the bird wasn't lost, but went out to play, and it would come back on its own sometime later! It will come back!"
"It's about letting children see it again, giving them hope without end. That way, even if the bird doesn't come back, when the children see the birdcage left behind every day, they might be thinking, 'Maybe it will come back someday!'" As Lu Liruan spoke, she unconsciously stroked the cat bowl on the table with her fingertips.
“But what the woman was telling the child, although at first glance it seemed like she was telling the child not to worry about the kitten, that the kitten was probably doing well now, actually her whole way of narrating, what she said, and her intended meaning were the opposite.” Lu Liruan spread two fingers apart.
"Yes, the little boy obviously noticed this too. He wrote in his diary: Is the kitten dead?" Liao Tingyuan had also been paying attention to this sentence, reading it several times.
“Logically speaking, when a woman comforts a child, she absolutely does not want to make the child feel more upset and sad.” Lu Liruan followed Liao Tingyuan’s words.
"When she said those words..." Liao Tingyuan said softly, "she already knew that the little boy's kitten was dead."
The two looked at each other.
Yes, analyzing from the little boy's diary, the final conclusion is this.
"Her intention was to make the child feel better, just like the story you told, but because of what she knew, what she said subconsciously carried the opposite meaning." Sometimes, by delving into the details, you can arrive at many conclusions that are not immediately apparent.
"She probably didn't think about it very carefully when she said that. Or maybe... she wasn't in the mood to think about it and just said those words to the child perfunctorily." Lu Liruan continued to think slowly, like unraveling threads, delving deeper into the matter.
"Her intention must have been to make the child less upset." Liao Tingyuan flipped through the diary again and found that in the later entries, the little boy was clearly in a worse mood.
"Today I asked my mom if the kitten would be okay, but she didn't answer me. I asked her again before going to bed last night, but she suddenly got angry and scolded me for always asking such questions. She said I should spend more time studying. But I've already finished all my homework today, and I asked her to check and sign it, but she didn't. The teacher will scold me again tomorrow. She's already scolded me several times. I said it was because my mom forgot, but the teacher thinks I'm cheating. I'm not cheating." Liao Tingyuan read aloud from the next entry in his diary.
The little boy wrote very carefully, and he wrote with great force. He also marked the words he didn't know how to write with pinyin.
One can imagine that he must have felt very wronged when he wrote this diary entry.
"I want to ask my mom if the kitten is dead, but I don't want to. Every time I mention the kitten, my mom gets angry with me. I want to sleep with my mom at night, but she won't agree. She always gets angry at night, and I don't like it when she gets angry. Why has my mom become like this? I'm so sad."
"Mom... always gets angry at night?" Lu Liruan felt both hot and cold.
Because her mind was racing, Lu Liruan felt her face burning, but her back felt chilly, as if something was spying on her in the dimly lit living room.
She subconsciously shifted herself, moving in front of Liao Tingyuan so that he could completely cover her back.
I'm relieved now.
She breathed a sigh of relief in her mind.
Liao Tingyuan was unaware that he had become Lu Liruan's shield.
He thought Lu Liruan suddenly squeezed in front of him so that the two of them could see the diary more clearly together.
So he readily agreed, resting his chin on Lu Liruan's shoulder from behind, and leaned down to look at the diary.
His hair fell near Lu Liruan's ear, tickling her slightly.
Lu Liruan was now completely focused, all her energy was on that diary.
She didn't react to Liao Tingyuan's actions. Instead, when Liao Tingyuan tried to get closer to see what the words below were, Lu Liruan, being too thin, grabbed a tuft of hair and tucked it behind his ear.
Liao Tingyuan: ...?
“You see, I told you, this child hasn’t told his mother about his sadness until now, and his mother isn’t in the mood to listen.” Lu Liruan didn’t notice Liao Tingyuan’s momentary helplessness, and calmly turned her head slightly to say to him.
Seeing that Liao Tingyuan wasn't looking in their direction, she clicked her tongue and tugged at his sleeve: "Concentrate! We'll be going back soon!"
"His mother seemed very resistant. When she heard about the kitten, even her words of comfort sounded forced, as if she had to come up with them out of necessity." Liao Tingyuan noticed this as well.
The child has mentioned it several times in his diary; every time he talks about the kitten, the woman gets angry.
When Lu Liruan first saw the child looking for the kitten downstairs, she didn't pay much attention.
Looking back now, I realize that the little boy was ahead of me that day, searching for the kitten very carefully.
But the lady of the house seemed somewhat distracted in the background…
Moreover, she only followed the little boy and did not search together.
What seemed like an insignificant action at the time, upon closer reflection now...
Lu Liruan asked Liao Tingyuan, "Do you think the lady of the house already knew at the time that the kitten wasn't lost, but dead?"
"Hmm." Liao Tingyuan calculated the time; it was less than two days after the space appeared.
"If the kitten had an accident without the little boy's knowledge, and the woman knew about it but couldn't bear to tell the little boy, she shouldn't have acted this way."
Lu Liruan put herself in the situation: "If it were me, I would feel guilty when I told this lie. I might also be more patient and more careful in guiding the child. Even if the child finds out the truth later, I don't want this to leave any shadow on his young mind. It shouldn't be done with such impatience, stopping, and not allowing the child to discuss it."
Just by reading the diary, Lu Liruan could sense that the little boy was very aggrieved.
But he didn't know who to confide in about his grievances.
"When some people feel guilty, they subconsciously use tantrums to cover it up. Such people are usually quite assertive and intolerant of disobedience, or rather, the target of their tantrums is someone they feel is in a lower position than them," Liao Tingyuan suddenly said in a very academic tone.
"You studied psychology?" Lu Liruan thought what he said made sense and asked casually.
"I've studied some child psychology, and this is something that needs to be avoided when teaching children. You can't lose your temper with children easily, and you can't subconsciously treat children as people who don't understand anything and can be fooled. A superior attitude when educating and caring for children is a common misconception among many teachers and parents," Liao Tingyuan said, speaking of his past work, demonstrating a solid theoretical foundation.
"It sounds...impressive." Lu Liruan gave a thumbs up, feeling a sense of awe at someone who was both academically gifted and able to explain things clearly.
I'm a little afraid of you academics.
It reminds me of the fear of being dominated by teachers' education long ago.
"I'm not that great. Before I took the teacher qualification exam, I did some cramming on some basic stuff..." Liao Tingyuan said casually.
Lu Liruan: ...
You don't have to be so honest.
“If that’s the case, the woman wanted to hide the fact that the kitten had died from the child. Actually, I think the kitten’s death itself was suspicious. That’s why the woman used her temper to cover it up when the child mentioned it. What she really cared about was the kitten’s death, not how to explain it to the child.” Lu Liruan tried to clarify.
“She cares about the child, but she’s put that last thing on her mind right now… From all the signs, it’s clear the woman loves her child very much. She doesn’t usually treat her child this way, so what could have made her so irritable? She seems guilty, barely able to care about her child, and even… filled with fear.” Liao Tingyuan twirled his pen with his fingertips.
Lu Liruan had seen him twirl the knife; he seemed to have a habit of playing with something in his hands, and his hands were beautiful, making these movements pleasing to the eye.
Lu Liruan's gaze was unconsciously drawn to him, so much so that she listened to Liao Tingyuan's words haltingly.
So she held out her hand.
"Snapped!"
She grabbed Liao Tingyuan's hand, preventing him from attracting her attention any further!
Liao Tingyuan didn't know how he had offended Lu Liruan again, but he still quietly put down his pen and let Lu Liruan hold his fingers.
This time, it became an unconscious action for Lu Liruan. Liao Tingyuan's fingers were cool and felt like jade carvings. Lu Liruan didn't realize that she had already pinched them up and down several times, and her mind was still racing.
“Look here.”
Liao Tingyuan suddenly withdrew his hand, causing Lu Liruan to regain her senses.
She noticed that Liao Tingyuan had already walked towards the door. He pointed to something on the door, his brows furrowed in seriousness.
Lu Liruan leaned closer and saw the thing, and she also felt... it was very strange.
Neither of them noticed the door when they came in.
Now see
This door has two locks.
Inside, there's a normal latch lock; the child can close it from the inside.
The other one is the external bolt lock.
Someone can lock the child from the outside, completely locking him inside so he can't get out!