Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 21

First Day of Elementary School (Part 1)

The fifth day of the New Year passed in a flash, and the first day of school arrived.

Yan Qi used to live in an apartment provided by the TV station. She worked late, often pulling overtime, so she always woke up late, too. The Auntie Yan Yidong had hired for her didn’t come in until noon, which meant Yan Qi was on drop-off duty in the morning, while the Auntie would handle pickup in the afternoon.

Today was Anzhi’s first day at Shida Affiliated Primary School,¹ and Yan Qi had to set an alarm just to wake up. By the time she did, Anzhi was already dressed in her school uniform, washed up, and waiting for her on the first floor.

Yan Qi’s house was a three-story duplex villa, a standalone building in the community with its own small courtyard. The first floor held a large living room, the kitchen and dining area, and a spacious guest room.

A staircase wound its way up to the second floor, where custom-built bookshelves were embedded into two walls of the living room, crammed so tightly with books that a small ladder was needed to reach them all. It was an open-concept study with birchwood floors covered in rugs, and an assortment of throw pillows and cushions scattered about. A desktop computer sat in one corner, while the opposite wall was a floor-to-ceiling window leading to a large balcony. Two bedrooms faced each other, with a bathroom between them. The third floor had another guest room and a rooftop terrace.

Father Yan had personally designed the villa and supervised its construction. It was in a prime location, and the residential community was extremely safe. The elementary school was a fifteen-minute walk away, and two middle schools were within a half-hour’s journey. The environment was quiet and serene, with high green-space coverage, and it wasn’t far from a major commercial shopping district. The original plan had been for the whole family to move here when Yan Qi started elementary school. But after the accident, the Yan children had returned to the Yan Family Old Residence, and the house had been left vacant.

When Yan Qi’s parents bought it, they intended for it to be their only daughter’s dowry.² The deed had been transferred to her name on her eighteenth birthday.

“Ah! I’m so sorry!” Yan Qi called out as she rushed down the stairs, still fumbling with the buttons on her blouse. Her blood sugar was always low in the mornings, and the sudden dash left her feeling dizzy. She steadied herself against a table and, without revealing sound or color,³ pulled a piece of candy from her pocket and slipped it into her mouth.

She looked at Anzhi, who was watching her patiently. “Let’s go out for breakfast…”

I can’t believe I forgot to prepare breakfast last night, Yan Qi thought, a pang of guilt rising in her chest.

There was a bun shop just downstairs from their building. Yan Qi bought a few egg yolk and red bean buns, along with two cups of freshly ground soy milk.

Anzhi seemed perfectly content as she nibbled on her bun. She was wearing her blue-and-white school uniform, her shoulder-length hair combed smooth, and the new schoolbag on her back.

“We’ll have something different tomorrow…” Yan Qi plotted. I’ll have to wake up earlier to make breakfast from now on. Maybe I should set my alarm even earlier. And I need to buy groceries. Ahhh! Back at the old residence, I never had to think about these things.

Besides buns, soy milk, fried dough sticks, and congee… what else was there for breakfast?

Like any young professional in her early twenties, Yan Qi usually chose a few extra minutes of sleep over worrying about breakfast.

As she was agonizing internally, she felt a tug on her clothes. Yan Qi turned her head and saw Anzhi pointing at the watch on her wrist. “We’re going to be late.”

One look at the time was enough to jolt Yan Qi. She took a huge bite of her bun and hurried to the car, speeding toward Shida Affiliated Primary School.

Anzhi sat in the passenger seat, watching Yan Qi’s grave expression as she chewed her bun, and couldn’t help but hide a small smile.

In theory, the walk from Yan Qi’s house was fifteen minutes. Driving, however, was even slower, thanks to an intersection with an incredibly long traffic light.

By the time Yan Qi reached the school gate, it was already 7:50. The morning reading session was over. Waiting for them at the entrance was Anzhi’s Homeroom Teacher.

Anzhi was enrolling directly into the second semester of first grade, so her teacher had made a point to meet her at the gate and walk her to class. Who would have thought this parent would be so unreliable, leaving her to wait at the school entrance for twenty minutes?

The air was still chilly in early spring. Although the sky was clear and the sun was warm, the Homeroom Teacher’s face was as stiff as a winter stone.

It had been years since Yan Qi had to deal with a teacher. This one was a city-level senior teacher, named “Excellent Homeroom Teacher” year after year. She stood at the gate, spine straight, radiating the shining brilliance of an educator. Yan Qi couldn’t help but feel nervous in her presence. She nodded and offered an apologetic smile.

The teacher was not yet forty. Seeing Yan Qi, with her high ponytail, looking as vibrant and youthful as a new willow branch, she found it hard to stay angry—especially with the porcelain-doll-like Anzhi standing beside her, so fair-skinned and adorable.

“Alright, parent, you can leave the child with me. Remember to pick her up when school lets out at noon.”

“Okay,” Yan Qi said brightly. She knelt down and placed her hands on Anzhi’s small shoulders. “Be good, okay? Grandmother Liu will come get you at noon. I’ll call the house phone, and you can call me if you need anything. Tell me what you had for lunch…”

She turned back to the teacher. “Teacher, please take good care of my Anzhi. She’s still little and new to the school, and she doesn’t know any of her classmates yet. Please look out for her, and as for her seating arrangement…”

Yan Qi finally understood why some of the leaders at her station, who were as swift and decisive like thunder and wind⁴ at work, could transform into meek little kittens in front of their children’s teachers.

The Homeroom Teacher’s mouth twitched. This little girl had some serious connections. The principal himself had called to give a heads-up. She had scored full marks in all three subjects—language, math, and English—on her entrance placement exam, and several of the first-grade teachers had fought to get her in their class. Otherwise, why would she be standing out here in the cold morning wind?

She kept her expression neutral and nodded. “I understand.”

Yan Qi stroked Anzhi’s head. “You have to listen, okay…”

Anzhi nodded with a small smile. “Mhm!”

“Don’t leave until you see Grandmother Liu, and don’t talk to strangers, you hear me?”

“Mhm!”

The Homeroom Teacher thought, It’s just school. She’s in elementary school now, not leaving home for the first time. Is all this really necessary?

Outwardly, she said, “Parent, I need to take the student inside. The bell for the first period is about to ring.”

Yan Qi finally stopped her stream of instructions. She watched as Anzhi followed the teacher, step by step, into the school.

Shida Affiliated Primary School was an old institution. Two ancient ginkgo trees stood at its entrance, their canopies lush and sprawling. Their fan-shaped leaves, a mix of winter’s remnants and spring’s new growth, fluttered in the morning breeze.

A deeper emotion flickered in Yan Qi’s eyes. The image of that sad little figure trailing behind her father after being abandoned by her mother suddenly flashed through her mind.

Yan Qi’s eyelashes trembled slightly as she focused on Anzhi’s back. The uniform fit her well, just a little bit big. Her hair was jet-black, and her small steps were light and quick. The new schoolbag she carried had a picture of Sleeping Beauty on it, a recent favorite from the fairy tales she’d been reading.

A small smile touched Yan Qi’s lips.

Just then, as if their hearts had a spiritual connection,⁵ Anzhi turned around to look at her. She broke into a wide grin and waved.

The smile on Yan Qi’s lips deepened, and she gave a gentle wave back.

Her heart ached with a soft, sour pang.

Sigh. Another new environment. I wonder if she’ll be able to adapt.

Only after Anzhi had disappeared into the academic building did Yan Qi remember to check the time. When she saw it, she nearly jumped out of her skin. She scrambled to her car.

I’m done for, I’m so done for. Now I’m really late. For the entire morning, Yan Qi’s mind was all seven up, eight down,⁶ and she couldn’t concentrate at all.

Anzhi, on the other hand, was quite looking forward to school. During past summer and winter breaks, her retired Grandfather (Maternal)⁷ would run a small tutoring class with a large wooden table and benches. She would sit on a little chair to the side, watching the older brothers and sisters listen to the lessons, stand up, and answer questions.

Since it was just her and her grandfather at home, he had to keep an eye on her while he taught. She couldn’t understand any of it. Sometimes she would get sleepy and doze off in her chair. Other times, she’d get bored and run outside to play by herself for a while before coming back. Her grandfather’s students were very kind to her and would play with her during their breaks, teaching her poems and arithmetic.

In her heart, she felt that classrooms were fascinating places where they taught a lot of difficult but amazing knowledge. That was why she disliked the simple lessons in kindergarten. Now that she could finally go to a real school, Anzhi was a little excited.

She was small, so she was seated in the very front row. The Spring Festival had just ended, and the elementary school students were still immersed in the holiday atmosphere, chattering about their red envelope money and gifts.

Only Anzhi took out her textbooks, arranged them neatly one by one, and began to sharpen her pencils. Her hand-cranked pencil sharpener was shaped like a little pink house with a rabbit drawn on it.

Her deskmate, a little boy, saw her pencil sharpener and, naturally familiar,⁸ took out his own to show her.

“Look, mine is shaped like a car. Isn’t it cool?”

Anzhi played along and smiled at him. “Mhm!”

The little boy was thrilled and kept glancing at Anzhi. He wanted to say more, but just then, the bell for class rang.

The math teacher was a recent graduate. She wore her hair in a ponytail, had glasses on, and seemed a little shy. But she was more than capable of handling a class of first-graders.

Today’s lesson was on subtraction with regrouping within 20.

Integrating education with entertainment. I must always remember that. The young math teacher repeated this four-character truth to herself before every class.

“Last semester, Teacher taught everyone a ‘Make Ten Song.’⁹ Do you all remember? It was about our five pairs of good friends: 1 and 9, 2 and 8, 3 and 7, 4 and 6, and 5 and 5, right?”

“Let’s all sing it together with Teacher to review, okay?”

“Okay!!!”

“1 and 9, 1 and 9 are good friends! 2 and 8, 2 and 8 hold hands! 3 and 7, 3 and 7 are so close! 4 and 6, 4 and 6 walk together! 5 and 5 make a pair of hands!”

“So we know that when good friends get together, they make 10, right? If 2 leaves, who is left? That’s right! 8 is left, because they’re a pair of good friends. So we can write that as a subtraction problem: 10 – 2 = 8!”

“Right!!!”

“Now, Teacher is going to test you all. What is 10 – 5? And 10 – 3?”

Anzhi, who could already do three-digit multiplication and division: “……”

She had not anticipated this situation.

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The author has something to say:

Just got home, soaked from the rain, haven’t even eaten. A little late.

This chapter is about little Anzhi going to school. Does everyone feel the same way as Yan Qi? Worried, worried, worried…

Mhm, the Study Tyrant¹⁰ little Anzhi has begun.

After finishing this chapter, I’m going to take a nap. My eyes are all bloodshot.

I hope to see a lot of comments when I wake up. (No need to talk about me, just the content of the story is fine!!)

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