Give Me Another Smile

"A few brothers and I paid for it together," the blond delinquent said, awkwardly scratching his head after having his little lie exposed. But then, he hurriedly added, "But I paid more money than they did, so I'm using the bike most of the time."

Yin Zhao-an nodded to express her understanding. Then, she hopped off the bike, returned the keys to the blond delinquent, and said, "I'm going home. You can continue having your fun here."

"Then, Big Bro…"

"You can come to me if you need help, but remember…" Yin Zhao-an let her words trail off for a moment and suddenly put on a serious expression. Then, she slowly and sternly said, "I won't do anything illegal, so you guys best not do it either, got it?"

The blond delinquent nodded in a daze and fell into thought as he watched Yin Zhao-an leave. Then, a moment later, a look of realization appeared on his face as he concluded:

Does Big Bro want us to clean up our acts and become better people?!

…

Wang Zhen had a distracted look on her face as she blankly stared at the potted lucky bamboo before her, the bamboo leaves covered in water droplets. At the same time, she rhythmically pressed down on the end cap of her ball pen one time after another, causing clicking sounds to echo throughout the office.

After the clicking sounds continued for some time, a female doctor from the same department couldn't help but softly call out to Wang Zhen, "Doctor Wang! Doctor Wang!"

Wang Zhen snapped out of her daze and looked at the doctor who had called out to her, asking, "Is something up?"

The female doctor shook her head and smiled, saying, "Nothing. I just saw that you look a little out of sorts. Is something bugging you?"

Upon hearing her colleague's words, Wang Zhen sighed and said, "I don't know… I think my daughter started dating..."

The female doctors' eyes brightened at the sign of potential gossip. Immediately, she slid over to Wang Zhen's side in her chair and curiously asked, "Oh? Are you talking about that cool, short-haired kid of yours?"

Rolling her eyes, Wang Zhen said, "Who else could I be talking about? I only have one daughter."

"Tell me the details, then! Maybe I can help you!"

"You? Forget it. You don't even have a baby. How would you know how to deal with such a problem?" Wang Zhen said as she waved her hand, gesturing for her colleague not to meddle in her household affairs.

However, the female doctor refused to back down. Grabbing onto Wang Zhen's sleeve, the female doctor smiled and said, "I might not have a child yet, but…I'm younger than you."

Upon seeing that Wang Zhen was about to take action, the female doctor hurriedly fled back to her desk. Then, she earnestly said, "Don't mind it. I used to be a child as well. Don't girls your daughter's age usually take a liking to boys who treat them well?"

"Treat them well?"

"Yes. For example, buying food for them or sharing good things with them. Little girls in puberty are fools for such acts," the female doctor said.

Wang Zhen did not refute her colleague's words, but she also knew that her daughter was different from other girls. Her daughter was very much a tomboy, and the girl wasn't the kind to get shy around people. "But my daughter doesn't seem to care about such boys..."

"No!" The female doctor crossed her two index fingers. "Girls of this age are the easiest to be tempted. Even if you don't see any changes to her on the surface, she is bound to subconsciously wonder if she is a good match for the boys around her. This is how children work."

After saying so, the female doctor crossed her arms. Then, putting on a sagacious look, she ruefully sighed and said, "It's good to be young…"

Wang Zhen did not respond to her colleague. Instead, she fell into thought as she stared at her computer.

…

When evening arrived, Wang Zhen took off her white coat and hung it on a nearby wall. Then, she picked up her small leather bag and got ready to go home.

But just as Wang Zhen was about to take her leave, the female doctor from before poked her head out from behind her computer and asked, "Are you going home now, Doctor Wang?"

Wang Zhen nodded. Then, she asked, "Are you leaving, too?"

In response, the female doctor pitifully lay on her desk and mourned, "No, I'm on duty today…"

Wang Zhen chuckled at her colleague's behavior. Then, she grinned and asked, "Will that person be coming over to keep you company again?"

The female doctor smiled in embarrassment when she heard Wang Zhen's question.

Wang Zhen shook her head helplessly. Then, while making her way out of the office, she exclaimed, "Oh, how good it is to be young!"

…

Wang Zhen did not see Yin Changcheng when she arrived home. However, the man had already texted her saying he would be busy with his new company and wouldn't be coming home tonight, so she didn't think too much about his absence. Though, she wondered what kind of company her husband had started, seeing as it kept him busy.

After setting her bag aside, Wang Zhen went to the kitchen and started making dinner. Since she would only be making dinner for two, she didn't prepare many dishes.

Once dinner was ready, Wang Zhen went to the staircase and yelled, "Time for dinner," like usual, before returning to the kitchen to bring out the dishes.

…

Yin Zhao-an looked dazed when she sat at the dining table. Combined with her messy hair, it was obvious she had been sleeping upstairs until just a moment ago.

"Are your studies becoming more stressful recently, An-An?" Wang Zhen worriedly asked, her daughter's spiritless look aching her heart.

After sending a piece of fried egg into her mouth, Yin Zhao-an widened her eyes and tried her best to wake herself up. Then, she answered, "It's not bad. The high school entrance exam is coming soon, so I have a lot of mock papers to do."

While placing a few slices of fried meat into her daughter's bowl, Wang Zhen said, "Be sure to balance out school and rest. Wander around outside during the weekends; don't just stay at home all the time."

Yin Zhao-an listlessly nodded. Of course, she wasn't trying to be perfunctory. She was simply too tired after doing mock papers all afternoon.

…

After the meal, Wang Zhen tidied up the kitchen and brought a warm glass of milk to her daughter's room.

However, to Wang Zhen's surprise, Yin Zhao-an had already gone to bed. Seeing this, Wang Zhen quietly walked over to the desk and set down the milk, just in case her daughter woke up in the middle of the night.

Setting down the glass, Wang Zhen noticed many mock papers full of written words haphazardly scattered across the table, so she decided to tidy up the papers into one neat stack. When she finished doing so, she found a book hidden under the papers, and the book's title was…No Longer Human.

Are they testing children on such topics nowadays?