Chapter 541: Change the Female Lead
Chengcheng scolded a little friend named Yue Tao, and then lamented, 'Friendship among women is indeed unreliable, and so is the friendship between men and women,' leaving Zhao Yun bewildered. Such a young girl, where did she learn all this from?
In the end, Chengcheng turned around and hugged a Kung Fu Panda plush toy that was lying on the sofa to her chest.
This plush toy was a limited edition souvenir from the zoo's martial arts competition and was very rare in the market, almost impossible to buy.
She hugged the panda tightly and huffed, "I'm not going to give it to Yue Tao!"
Zhao Yun asked curiously, "Baby, who told you to give the panda to Yue Tao?"
"Yue Tao said so! He knew I had a limited edition panda and had Shen Junjun relay the message that if I was willing to give him the panda, they would include me in their games from now on. Otherwise, they won't vote for me when class representative is chosen next semester!"
Chengcheng hugged the panda tightly and said, "I won't be threatened by them! Humph!"
Zhao Yun and Zhaoqian exchanged looks, realizing that Chengcheng was being isolated at school and the situation seemed a bit worrisome. Had that little boy named Yue Tao really learned the ins and outs of extortion already?
If it were just an ordinary little conflict between children, parents could stay out of it, but now it was clear that they were bullying Chengcheng.
Zhaoqian's face darkened, about to say something, when Zhao Yun shook his head at her and smilingly asked Chengcheng, "Why don't you give him the panda? If you like it, we can ask Su Ming to get another limited edition panda for you."
"Dad, you don't understand anything!" Chengcheng, looking exasperated as if she were dealing with the hopeless, held up a little finger and seriously 'lectured' Zhao Yun, "Everyone plays with him and not with me because they think he's better than me! If I give him the panda, it's like admitting defeat, and then everyone will look down on me even more. Even if they are willing to play with me again, it won't be the same as before..."
"How would it be different?" Zhao Yun asked with interest, not expecting his daughter to be so perceptive.
"Well... I can't explain it well, but it's just different! So I can't admit defeat!" Chengcheng pouted.
"So what are you planning to do?" Zhao Yun asked further.
Chengcheng's big eyes spun around a few times, then she shook her head, "I haven't figured it out yet. I need to think quietly. Sigh, I should do my homework first. If I don't finish my homework, even the teacher won't like me..."
Zhao Yun: "..."
While Chengcheng ran upstairs to do her homework, Zhao Yun and his wife Zhaoqian huddled together to ponder the matter.
"I'm saying you need to do something about this, that group of kids is bullying!" Zhaoqian said angrily, sitting on the sofa looking very much like a grown-up version of Chengcheng as she punched the sofa, "I'm going to talk to their class teacher!"
"How can you, an adult, still act like a child, always running to report to the teacher?" Zhao Yun shook his head, "The teacher can't solve this problem either. Children hate snitches who tell on them to the teacher the most. In the end, it would make the other students isolate Chengcheng even more."
"Then what do you suggest we do!" Zhaoqian slapped her full chest, "It angers me so much, bullying my daughter..."
"Do you want me to help you pat it..." Zhao Yun glanced at his wife's continuously bouncing chest and asked with a chuckle.
"Go away!" Zhaoqian slapped Zhao Yun's hand away and chided, "Be serious!"
Zhao Yun thought for a moment, "You can't really blame Chengcheng and her little friends. For kids their age, from a psychological perspective, they just can't resist the allure of a successful peer..."
"It's not like I'm asking you to teach, stop rambling about psychology and just tell me what we should do!" Zhaoqian interrupted Zhao Yun, then mumbled an answer to her own question, "What if we sign our daughter up for more tutoring classes? Learn the zither, learn piano..."
"Stop, stop!" Zhao Yun quickly made a 'stop' gesture with his hand, "Do you want to work our daughter to death? Is it that our daughter is getting bullied, or is it that you want her to win face for you?"
"So, as the father, what do you suggest we do?" Zhaoqian retorted.
"Tutoring classes won't solve the problem in the short term. Yue Tao is a kid who has won awards in the city, it's going to be very hard to surpass him," Zhao Yun said.
"Aren't you well-connected?" Zhaoqian clenched her teeth, "If worst comes to worst, get in touch with the city's youth center. We can pay to hold some kind of children's competition, and let our Chengcheng win a first prize!"
"Now that's just too much. You don't lift up your own child that way," Zhao Yun was at a loss for words. Zhaoqian was a sharp woman, or else he wouldn't have married her, but ever since they got married, especially after having a child, her IQ seemed to drop significantly, irretrievably veering on the path of the layman, especially when it came to their daughter.
However, high culture is only suited for romance. Living with a worldly person feels more like real life.
"I'll ask Su Ming, their zoo has something to do with kids, maybe there are some solutions," Zhao Yun said.
"He's not even married, what kind of solution could he have for a child's issue? It's not like we can have Chengcheng go play with Lure kids, right?" As she spoke, Zhaoqian's eyes lit up, "Hey Zhao, what if we get Su Ming's help, to transfer a group of Lure kids to attend Chengcheng's school, how about that?"
"What are you thinking of?! Why not just send our daughter to the Russian Airborne Troops Kindergarten..." Zhao Yun was speechless again.
"If it weren't for the distance, I would've seriously considered it. Military units, kindergartens definitely have good conditions, and she could learn a foreign language... Hey Zhao, seriously, it's worth considering!"
Zhao Yun was resigned and didn't dare to argue further, quickly taking out his phone to dial Su Ming's number.
"What are you up to?" Zhao Yun asked.
"Nothing much, just shooting scenes, fighting, smashing bad guys' cars, had some Japanese food, still hungry, now I'm out getting some skewers," Su Ming said.
Zhao Yun didn't ask for details, just said, "Need help with something?"
"No need, already taken care of. I'm now a people's representative, ordinary people can't touch me. You calling me so late, you got something on your mind?"
"Indeed, there is an issue." Zhao Yun briefly explained Chengcheng's situation to Su Ming.
On the other end of the phone was Whisperwind Pavilion downstairs.
With a clear moon and sparse stars, a cool breeze drifted over from Shuijun Lake. Hong Feifei had set up a barbecue grill at the entrance, the red charcoal fire hosting rows of skewered bamboo sticks, wild boar meat sizzling away, oozing fat under the fire's teasing. Su Ming, once a barbecue expert, had stepped back, joining Guo Zijian, Nangong Huang, and Tony with a few bottles of beer around the table, enjoying their skewers.
"Hmm... okay, I got it. Wait for me, I'll call you back in a bit," he said.
Su Ming hung up the phone and asked Guo Zijian, "Director Guo, if the female lead in this movie can be anyone... then, can it be switched to a little girl?"