4
The next day, I went to school to pack up Lele's belongings.
Through the window, I saw Lin Qingyu, sitting in Ruru's classroom at a parent-teacher meeting.
"Mom, I scored 98 points on my finals, and the teacher is going to ask me to speak on stage in a bit." Ruru coquettishly showed her report card to Lin Qingyu.
My heart felt cold; I never expected that Ruru would already be calling her mom.
Lin Qingyu affectionately patted Ruru's head and praised her, "I've already looked over this report card several times; Ruru, you're the best!"
In the past, she wouldn't even glance at Lele's report card.
But now she claims to have read Ruru's report card several times.
Love or lack thereof, it's apparent at a glance.
My brother-in-law helplessly chuckled, "Don't overpraise the child and make her too arrogant."
Lin Qingyu retorted, "Children need to be praised more to build confidence, especially when Ruru is so well-behaved."
"Hee hee." Ruru giggled and burrowed into Lin Qingyu's embrace, rubbing her head against her stubble.
The three of them seemed inseparably close, as if they were a real family.
I felt a great sense of irony, perhaps she doesn't remember that Lele's class also has a parent-teacher meeting today.
In the past, she never attended Lele's parent-teacher meetings, always saying, "I'm busy with work, and as a troupe leader, it's inconvenient for me to attend."
But now, for the sake of my brother-in-law and Ruru, she breaks the rules again and again.
When the outstanding student was invited on stage to speak, Ruru read her essay: "My Mom."
Her tender, youthful voice echoed in the classroom: "My mom is a troupe leader, but she's always very gentle..."
Lin Qingyu sat attentively below, her eyes filled with pride and satisfaction.
And other parents kept casting envious glances at her.
But I only felt it was not worth it for Lele; my brother-in-law had seamlessly integrated into our lives, and now even Ruru in her essay treats Lin Qingyu as her father.
The Lin Qingyu described by Ruru was so gentle and patient, completely different from the Lin Qingyu who would punish Lele with confinement.
If she liked other people's children so much, why did she even give birth to Lele in the first place?
Such a person has no right to be her mother, maybe Lele left first because she didn't want to suffer any more grievances in this world.
It wasn't until the parent-teacher meeting ended that Lin Qingyu conveniently went to Lele's classroom.
Frowning, she told the teacher, "Lele is a naughty child, and needs to be disciplined when necessary; don't worry about sparing the parents' face."
The teacher shook her head and replied, "Lele has been very good, but she hasn't been coming to school in recent days."
"What?!" Hearing this, Lin Qingyu furrowed her brows in anger, "This child is getting more and more disobedient; it's all because her father spoiled her. Now she even dares to skip classes."
"I'll definitely talk to her properly when I get home!"
With that, Lin Qingyu left the school in anger.