Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart-Chapter 644 - 643: Zheng Shan, Smiled

"No way? Xiao Lan lost?" Wang Shumei’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Lin Nianhe stared at the score sheet, then gave Zheng Shan a thumbs-up after a moment: "Well played!"

Zheng Shan held her paddle, looking somewhat awkward.

Lin Nianhe put aside his notebook, took out a handkerchief to wipe Zheng Shan’s sweat, and said, "Come on, let’s get inside the classroom so you don’t catch a cold."

It wasn’t noticeable during the activity, but now stopping and facing the northwest wind could lead to a cold.

As everyone entered the classroom, Lin Nianhe carefully dried off Zheng Shan’s sweat before handing her some warm water: "Drink slowly, take small sips."

Zheng Shan silently sipped the water, her eyes shining brighter than before.

Wen Lan also came in and after drinking some water, nodded towards Zheng Shan: "You’re good, I really can’t beat you."

Holding the cup, Zheng Shan suddenly smiled.

She did not laugh out loud, but her smile was exceptionally radiant.

Lin Nianhe watched her, his pupils trembling greatly.

After more than a year, Zheng Shan finally smiled.

Not only was he surprised, but everyone else was stunned as well, even the goofy Bai Xiaojun had his eyes wide open:

"Sis, did you take the wrong medicine?"

Zheng Shan: "..."

Her smile faded gradually as she looked at her slightly worn table tennis paddle in her hands, head down and silent.

Lin Nianhe gave Niuwa a look, who immediately covered Bai Xiaojun’s mouth and dragged him out of the classroom to play somewhere.

Seeing this, Wang Shumei pulled the others out as well and closed the classroom door behind them.

Lin Nianhe put down the water cup and gently pulled Zheng Shan into his arms, letting her sit on his lap.

He took a comb out of the drawer, began to tidy up Zheng Shan’s slightly disheveled hair from playing, and asked while combing, "Shanshan, you enjoy playing table tennis, right?"

Zheng Shan nodded, still holding the paddle.

"Do you like playing with Teacher Wen?" freeweɓnovel~cѳm

Zheng Shan continued nodding.

Lin Nianhe pinned a small butterfly knot in her hair and softly asked, "Then from now on, whenever you want to play, go find Teacher Wen, okay? Or whoever you want to play with, just go find them, okay?"

Zheng Shan froze, looking up blankly at Lin Nianhe.

She looked at Lin Nianhe for a while before asking, "Aren’t we supposed to learn?"

"I care more about your happiness than your grades," Lin Nianhe gently tugged at her pigtails, his tone soft, "Do you feel happy when you play?"

Zheng Shan didn’t take long to nod in response to this question.

Lin Nianhe looked at her and smiled: "Do what you love. Your grades are good, so don’t worry about studying too much. Focus on what you enjoy."

Zheng Shan was different from the other kids; her psychological issues were quite severe. Between studies and health, the latter is always more important.

Over the past year, Lin Nianhe’s attention on Zheng Shan was actually the most significant, worried about her during and after classes.

Now that he has found the little girl’s smile, he wanted to help her hold on to that joy.

"But..."

Zheng Shan hesitated, glanced at the books on the desk, and fell silent.

"What’s wrong?" Lin Nianhe asked softly, overflowing with patience.

Zheng Shan pursed her lips, hesitated for a while before whispering, "I might become someone without prospects."

"How could that be?" Lin Nianhe embraced her, "A good athlete can represent their hometown or country in competitions to win honors. They are champions, representing the highest level of that event for that year... I should have told you all, in every profession, there’s a leader."

Zheng Shan looked at Lin Nianhe, her long and dense eyelashes unable to hide the longing in her eyes.

"You don’t have to grow into a towering white birch tree," Lin Nianhe said, "You can be a rose, you can be grass, you can be anything you wish to be..."

"Enabling you to study is for you to have the power to choose in the future. You can choose to go to university, to learn a craft, or after completing university to return to the village to farm... rather than having only farming as an option."

"Shanshan, if you like it, then go do it, just like He Jianyu wants to be a soldier, you can choose what you want to do."

Zheng Shan smiled again, but as she did, tears started streaming down her face.

She cried loudly, as if trying to let out all the frustrations she had been holding in for over a year.

Grasping the ping pong paddle in one hand and encircling Lin Nianhe’s neck with the other, she buried herself in her embrace, crying loudly like all children would, her cries hoarse and exhausting.

Lin Nianhe patted her back to help her regain her breath. She didn’t console her but quietly stayed with her, allowing her to vent her emotions.

Zheng Shan cried for a long time until she became tired and drained, a smile lingering at the corners of her mouth as she gradually fell asleep in Lin Nianhe’s arms.

Lin Nianhe held her, drying the tears on her face.

The little girl’s face was flushed from crying, but she looked more peaceful in her sleep than she had on any other day.

Before long, the thick door curtain was quietly parted, and Wang Shumei peeked in, her gaze questioning Lin Nianhe.

Lin Nianhe gave her a look, and Sister Shumei immediately understood, retracting her head and closing the door firmly.

Soon after, Wu Genmao and Cao Shijian came with the blankets.

They wrapped Zheng Shan up snugly and tucked a hat over her head before carefully carrying her away.

After the child had left, Wang Shumei and Wen Lan finally came in and asked, "What happened? Shanshan was crying so hard, we thought you had hit her."

"Would I do something like that?" Lin Nianhe took a sip of water, shaking her sore arm, "Shanshan really likes playing ping pong. Sister Lan, when you’re free, why not play with her for a bit?"

Wen Lan was amazed, "That’s not just playing, playing a round with Shanshan is more tiring than playing ten rounds with Wang Dong."

Wen Lan frowned, thinking for a while before adding, "And this girl learns too fast! At the beginning, it was somewhat easy to play her, but by the second round, she was clearly much better..."

Wang Shumei suddenly asked, "Hey, does that mean she could compete?"

"I hadn’t thought that far," Lin Nianhe admitted truthfully, "If Shanshan can be happier, that’s more important than anything. As for whether she can compete... She’s still young, there’s no rush. Let her play on her own for a while. If she really likes it, I’ll take her to the provincial city during the winter break to try out for a training team."

"That’s right, the child hasn’t smiled for over a year..." Wang Shumei sighed lightly, "Xiaoxiao used to smile all the time when she was her age."

"She’s very beautiful when she smiles," Wen Lan said.

"I think so too."

Lin Nianhe pondered for a good while, then said to Wen Lan, "Sister Lan, try to wait for Shanshan to come to you on her own. Occasionally coax her into playing with others, encourage her to talk more to people."

"Sure, that’s easy."

Wen Lan flipped her hair, "But, I don’t think she’s willing to play with others."

Lin Nianhe nodded as well, "Indeed, we need to find her a few regular play partners."

"Ha, where do you plan to find them?"

"Hmm... we’ll think about it."

Lin Nianhe stroked her chin, deep in thought.

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