Chapter 476: Chapter 437: Don’t Want to Go Home

As the simmering continued, the aroma of the five-spice eggs grew stronger, akin to an invisible wave silently sweeping through every corner of Dorami Kindergarten, engulfing teachers and students alike in a sweet torment.

Especially the little four-year-old class, they were deeply affected...

"It’s been ages since snack time ended, why is the kitchen still making stuff?"

Xie Jianing was tightly ensnared by that fragrance, she couldn’t help but move closer to the window, her eyes sparkling as she peeked outside, her stomach untimely letting out a growl. She chuckled wryly, "This aroma is literally a ’hunger’ dream creator for me! My stomach, just filled not long ago, is now singing a tune of emptiness again..."

"Exactly, exactly, my just-filled stomach feels empty again after smelling this." Wang Wenxia empathized, her expression enough to say: Greedy, that’s my current mood.

"Indeed, Qingqing’s dad is not giving our stomachs any room for survival, the kitchen door isn’t even closed, and this aroma tickles the heart." Yang Yuxi also moved closer, taking a deep breath, trying to inhale all the aroma into her heart, "But this smell, why does it resemble the scent of five-spice tofu slices?"

"Now that you mention it, there is some similarity!" Xie Jianing lightly furrowed her brows, switching to detective mode, "But it doesn’t seem entirely right, there’s more layers and depth to it."

"That’s right, that’s right, I’ve had a lot of five-spice tofu slices before, but there’s a slight difference from those I’ve tasted before, I think it’s something else!" Wang Wenxia nodded in agreement.

For a moment...

The teachers couldn’t focus on supervising the kids’ drawing, their thoughts drifting towards that tempting aroma.

The kids were the same!

Their attention was completely captivated by the scent, leaving them with no mind to continue drawing.

Yuanyuan licked her lips lightly, leaning her little head towards Qingqing, and whispered, "Qingqing, Weiwei, do you know what your dad is making?"

"No idea!"

Qingqing and Weiwei shook their little heads gently.

Yuanyuan blinked her round eyes, "Aren’t you curious at all?"

"Of course I’m curious, but when dad comes to pick me and my sister up after school, I can just ask him~" Qingqing smiled sweetly.

She had a point, leaving Yuanyuan at a loss for words...

Smelling the rich, enticing aroma, Yuanyuan couldn’t help but swallow, her eyes glistening with longing, "I really want to eat it!"

Right after she spoke.

The nearby kids couldn’t help but chime in, "I want to eat it too!"

Their eyes were filled with a desire for delicious food, hoping to taste the delicacy Uncle Huang Jun made by the end of school.

But despite their hopes...

They didn’t get the drool-worthy treat they craved but instead the approaching end of school time.

Yuanyuan, more than anything, expected her dear mom to come...

Li Xiuxian chose to come early because she happened to finish shopping nearby. On her drive back, she passed by the kindergarten and thought she might as well pick up her child, saving a trip later.

So...

She contacted Uncle Li at the kindergarten gate, asking him to notify Yang Yuxi to bring Yuanyuan out.

Upon receiving Uncle Li’s call, she immediately shouted to Yuanyuan, "Yuanyuan, your mom is here to pick you up."

Usually, when a parent comes early to pick up a child, the moment the teacher calls their name, the kid would immediately respond, swiftly grabbing their bag and little water bottle.

But at this moment!

When Yuanyuan heard Yang Yuxi’s call, she was unfazed, remaining seated without any indication of getting up.

Seeing this.

Yang Yuxi instinctively felt a pang of concern, thinking Yuanyuan might be feeling unwell and hadn’t responded to her call.

She quickly walked over to Yuanyuan, gently touched her forehead to check her temperature. Finding it normal, she felt slightly relieved.

She asked gently, "Yuanyuan, your mom’s here to pick you up. Why are you still sitting here without moving?"

Yuanyuan lowered her head, muttering softly, "Miss Yang, I don’t want... I don’t want to go home..."

Yang Yuxi was taken aback, then jokingly said, "You little one, not going home after school, planning to stay at the kindergarten tonight?"

Saying that, she reached out to guide Yuanyuan from her chair, steering her to fetch her bag and little water bottle.

Though she wasn’t sure what was on Yuanyuan’s mind, being a seasoned kindergarten teacher, she handled the children’s ever-changing thoughts with poise.

In this class, the three teachers divided their roles. Some played the stern role, while others offered gentle care to balance the children’s education and management.

In the children’s hearts, the class teacher often held more authority, so when Yang Yuxi led Yuanyuan to get her bag and water bottle, Yuanyuan behaved very obediently, unlike at home where she might throw a tantrum.

However, Yuanyuan might not dare to throw a fit with Miss Yang, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try that with her mom.

Therefore.

The moment she saw Li Xiuxian at the kindergarten gate, Yuanyuan’s worries vanished, and she suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "I don’t want to go home now, Mama, you go, don’t pick me up now..."

This sudden outburst took everyone by surprise and made Yang Yuxi a little embarrassed...

She turned to Li Xiuxian and quickly explained, "Yuanyuan’s mom, Yuanyuan was performing very well at kindergarten today, and I’m not sure why she suddenly doesn’t want to go home after school."

Li Xiuxian stood at the kindergarten gate, observing Yuanyuan’s stubborn little face, while the aroma in the air reminded her of Yuanyuan’s craving for delicious food.

She thought to herself that the reason Yuanyuan didn’t want to go home after school was probably that she wanted to tag along with Huang Jun’s family to have dinner at their place!

This sort of thing had happened before and she was used to it now.

She waved her hand and said to Yang Yuxi, "It’s fine, Miss Yang, don’t worry about it. She probably had too much fun at kindergarten and doesn’t want to go home."

Saying this, Li Xiuxian took Yuanyuan’s small hand and gently said, "Yuanyuan, stop making a fuss, say goodbye to Miss Yang."

"Mama, I don’t want to go home..." Yuanyuan shook her head and tried to pull away from Li Xiuxian’s hand.

Li Xiuxian: "..."

No, you want to go!

Fearing that Yuanyuan would insist on going to Qingqing’s house for dinner in the next second, she quickly covered Yuanyuan’s mouth with her hand, picked her up, and said to Miss Yang while walking, "Miss Yang, you go ahead and be busy, we’ll see you tomorrow..."

"Okay, see you tomorrow..."

Yang Yuxi watched as Li Xiuxian and her daughter left, seeing Yuanyuan still restless in her mother’s arms, she felt quite puzzled.

What’s up with this little Yuanyuan in the afternoon?

Why, just before school ends, is she making a fuss about not going home?

She decided that after school tomorrow, she must find out from Yuanyuan the reason for her change in mood.

As she turned to walk to the teaching building, the youthful voices of other kids saying they "don’t want to go home" kept ringing in her ears, making her even more perplexed.

When she entered the classroom, she found Xie Jianing trying hard to organize the kids into lines, though it was not very effective.

One by one, the kids sat in their places, reluctant to stand up, muttering, "Teacher, I don’t want to go home..."

This left Xie Jianing and Wang Wenxia quite bewildered, and deepened Yang Yuxi’s confusion.

She couldn’t help but ask, "Kids, why don’t you want to go home either? What’s going on today?"

"Because... because I like the teacher and want to stay with the teacher," Liu Ruihan blinked and said.

Apart from Qingqing and Weiwei, the other kids nodded in agreement.

"But... the teacher has to go home later too..." Yang Yuxi comforted the children with a smile, "How about you come back tomorrow to keep the teacher company? Your parents are already at the gate to pick you up, if you don’t go home with them, they’d be very sad."

Hearing Yang Yuxi’s words, the kids fell silent.

They were torn between the desire to taste the delicious food and their love for their parents.

Liu Ruihan blinked and cautiously asked, "Miss Yang, could we eat the delicious food made by Qingqing’s dad before we go?"

This made Yang Yuxi and the other teachers realize that these little ones were enticed by the aroma of the food made by Huang Jun, and were hankering for that deliciousness, and since they hadn’t had a taste yet, they were unwilling to go home.

At that moment.

Huang Jun came in to pick up Qingqing and Weiwei.

Seeing this, Xie Jianing jokingly said, "Qingqing’s dad, thanks to you, the kids in our class and other classes don’t want to go home because of the aroma of your food!"

Yang Yuxi, with her bright eyes, looked at Huang Jun curiously and asked, "Qingqing’s dad, what delicious food were you making in the kitchen just now? The aroma has all the kids in the kindergarten reluctant to leave."

Huang Jun smiled and replied, "It’s snacks prepared for tomorrow, spiced eggs..."

Upon hearing "spiced eggs," the kids immediately got excited, babbling their delight:

"I love eating fragrant eggs the most."

"Qingqing’s dad, can we eat the fragrant eggs now?"

"..."

Facing the enthusiasm of the children, Huang Jun gently responded with a smile, "Kids, the spiced eggs aren’t ready yet, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to have them. Be good and go home now; you can try them when you come to school tomorrow."

The children reluctantly asked, "Qingqing’s dad, we really can’t have them now?"

Huang Jun nodded, "That’s right, you can’t have them today."

"Okay then!"