My College Teacher is My Children's Mom-Chapter 613: Xiao Bao is Starving to Death

The next day at school, Xiaobao suddenly remembered what her father had told her the previous night. If she didn’t study hard, she might starve to death in the future. She trotted over to her teacher and asked with a mix of confusion and apprehension, "Teacher, is studying really important?"

The teacher answered with a smile, "Of course. Studying is a very important thing. There are many things we can only learn about by reading."

Xiaobao furrowed her little brow. "Could you starve to death if you don’t study?"

Mentioning something as serious as death to a child required a delicate approach, so the teacher changed her tack. "Sort of. If you don’t study hard, you’ll find it difficult to get a good job later on. For an adult, that means losing out on a lot of important opportunities, like better career prospects, earning more money, and so on. Of course, studying isn’t just about that. It’s also about enriching yourself. You can learn so much from books."

Xiaobao nodded, though she didn’t fully understand.

Anyway, studying is important. If I don’t study well, I won’t have a good job in the future, and I won’t make any money. And if I can’t make money, how can I buy food?

Xiaobao concluded that her father must have been right. The thought made her panic. It felt like she was doomed to starve to death in the future.

The teachers in her class noticed Xiaobao wasn’t herself that day. She was very distracted. "Xiaobao, what’s wrong today? Are you feeling unwell?"

All the smiles were gone from Xiaobao’s face as she shook her head. "Teacher, Xiaobao doesn’t want to go to school."

The teacher was curious. "Is that why you’re unhappy?"

Xiaobao nodded. She felt this was an extremely serious issue, one that concerned her future ability to eat.

The teacher laughed. "You’re still young. Just let things happen naturally as you grow up."

Xiaobao didn’t understand.

The teacher asked again, "Did your father tell you to study hard?"

Xiaobao nodded, then shook her head again.

The teacher sighed. "Don’t think so much about it. We’ll worry about the future when it comes."

Xiaobao’s older brothers and sisters are all so talented, each with their own small achievements in different fields. This is probably why her parents have certain expectations for her. I should find some time to make a home visit and discuss this with her parents.

But she was just a child, after all. After playing for a little while, she completely forgot about the matter.

That evening, her older brothers and sisters video-called. While they were all chatting and laughing, Xiaobao suddenly snatched the phone away.

Lin Feng and Zhang Yuxi didn’t know what was going on.

"I have a secret to tell my brothers and sisters. Mom and Dad can’t know, okay?" Xiaobao said.

The couple looked at each other, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Xiaobao was so young, yet she already had secrets.

Zhang Yuxi asked her husband gossipily, "What secret do you think Xiaobao has that she can’t tell us?"

Lin Feng decided to respect Xiaobao’s privacy. "If she doesn’t want to tell us, then let her be."

It’d be a miracle if a child this young could actually keep a secret. She’ll probably spill the beans before bedtime. Still, the fact that she’s trying to keep a secret shows she’s grown up a bit and is starting to have more of her own thoughts.

Xiaobao trotted upstairs with the phone. The moment she saw her brothers and sisters on the screen, tears started to fall, pitter-patter. They streamed down her face like pearls from a broken string, giving them all a fright.

Good heavens, is our carefree Xiaobao actually crying?

The siblings all started talking at once, trying to comfort her.

"Xiaobao, don’t cry! Tell Fourth Brother, did a classmate bully you?"

"Yeah, who bullied you? Tell Second Sister, and I’ll go take care of him."

"Xiaobao, stop crying. Tell Third Sister what happened, okay?"

"That’s right, Fourth Brother will help you figure it out, okay?"

"Stop crying now. Our Xiaobao is the best-behaved girl. Crying makes you look all blotchy; our little Princess won’t be pretty anymore."

Between sobs, Xiaobao said, "Brothers, Sisters... Xiaobao is going to starve to death."

The siblings were speechless. They were certain the "starving to death" Xiaobao was talking about was not the literal kind.

Dabao pursed her lips. "How are you starving to death? What do you want to eat? Should we have Dad make it for you?"

Fourth Brother was the most anxious. "Little Princess, don’t cry! Hurry up and tell us what happened!"

Third Sister comforted her gently. "How could you starve? You have us, your brothers and sisters."

Second Sister sighed. She understood Xiaobao the best, as the two of them usually played together the most. "Xiaobao, don’t just cry. Tell us what happened."

Xiaobao wiped away a tear. "Daddy said that if I don’t study hard, I’ll starve to death. The teacher said studying is very important!" The more she spoke, the more wronged she felt. "But Xiaobao doesn’t like school! Just thinking about school gives Xiaobao a headache. If Xiaobao doesn’t study hard, I won’t be able to earn money in the future... and I won’t be able to buy yummy food..." She wailed, "This is so sad!"

Ohhh, so that was it.

Her four siblings finally understood, and they couldn’t help but laugh. Isn’t it a bit early to be worrying about school when she’d only just started preschool?

The siblings all began to coax Xiaobao at once.

"It’s okay, Xiaobao! You don’t have to go to school. We’ll support you!"

That comment from Fourth Brother earned him several eye-rolls from the others. They might have felt that way, but it wasn’t right to instill that kind of idea in her, was it? Look, Xiaobao had just been crying a moment ago. Now her eyes were shining as brightly as stars.

"Really?"

Well, the words were already out. What else could they do?

The siblings all explained, "Xiaobao, no matter what happens, your brothers and sisters will always be here for you!"

"That’s right. Just do your best when it comes to studying. Whether your grades are good or bad isn’t important."

Meanwhile, Zhang Yuxi received a call from Xiaobao’s teacher. After a twenty-minute conversation, she hung up.

Lin Feng came over and asked, "What did the teacher say?"

Zhang Yuxi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "The teacher asked if we’ve been putting pressure on Xiaobao."

Lin Feng was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Today, Xiaobao asked the teacher if studying was really important, and if she’d starve to death if she didn’t go to school... The teacher also said Xiaobao wasn’t focused today and kept getting distracted."

Lin Feng slapped his forehead. He understood everything now. Needless to say, Xiaobao’s "secret" was probably about this.

"I explained to the teacher that we’ve always been hands-off about our children’s education and have never forced them," Zhang Yuxi said, still amused. "We had Xiaobao later in life. We don’t ask for anything from her, other than that she has a safe and happy life."

This was their honest feeling. However, Lin Feng’s desire to set Xiaobao’s attitude toward her studies straight was also sincere.

Just then, Xiaobao came out after finishing her call. Her eyes were red, but she looked very happy.

Lin Feng asked knowingly, "What was the secret? Can you share it with Mommy and Daddy?"

Xiaobao hummed a song, her smile radiant. "I’m not telling you!"

At bedtime, Xiaobao couldn’t hold it in any longer. She whispered into Lin Feng’s ear, "Daddy, my brothers and sisters said they’ll support me in the future. Xiaobao doesn’t have to study and still won’t starve to death."

Lin Feng was speechless.

For many years to come, whenever Lin Feng held Xiaobao’s report card, he would think back to this night and regret not having been a bit more insistent.