In the blink of an eye, the midterm exams arrived.

On the day the scores were released, the teachers held a parent-teacher meeting while the students were in physical education class. Zhang Yuxi went to Class Six for San Bao and Si Bao's meeting, while Lin Feng attended the one for Da Bao and Er Bao in Class Eight.

As the class president and a class committee member respectively, Da Bao and Er Bao didn't leave the classroom. Instead, they stayed behind to help the teacher distribute test papers and books.

The main purpose of the parent-teacher meeting was to report on the children's situations and discuss any problems they were having in class.

"It's time for the children to learn independence; they aren't little kindergarteners anymore. There are some things parents shouldn't be indulging them in!" Teacher Yue of Class Six said earnestly. "If there's something they can do, you should let them do it themselves! We have students in our class who still can't dress themselves or tie their own shoelaces. Their pencil cases are right in their schoolbags, but they think they've forgotten them. And after all this time in school, they still can't tell the difference between their homework and classroom workbooks!"

"Some are even more extreme—they still wet their pants when they go to the bathroom! This simply won't do. They are big kids in the first grade now! Parents, don't be too soft on them. It's not a bad thing to let your children do more of what they are capable of!"

After discussing their life skills, she finally moved on to their studies.

"Over half the semester has passed. Children have different learning and absorption rates, which varies from person to person. That's normal. However, paying attention in class and diligently completing homework should be the bare minimum, shouldn't it? Some students don't focus in class at all; their little mouths are quite good at chattering away..."

Everything she said sounded to Lin Feng like a description of Si Bao.

"The handwriting of some students is, to put it mildly, a disaster. I've been a teacher for many years, and even I can't decipher what they're writing! Some students just don't listen to me, so I have to bring it up with their parents, hoping they will provide more supervision at home. But among you all, only a few parents have actually taken it to heart; the rest haven't!"

"You don't believe me, do you? Come now, let me show you an example." The teacher scribbled two strange-looking strokes on the board. "Parents, can you guess what character this is supposed to be?"

Everyone guessed wrong, except for Lin Feng.

"Correct, it's 'fly'! Can you even recognize it?"

Sigh, the only reason he understood was from experience.

The parent-teacher meeting was meant to help parents understand their children's performance at school, and the teacher also hoped the parents would cooperate with her work.

"Take last time, for example. I asked parents to help their children cut out ten cards each of triangles, circles, squares, rectangles, and ovals. Half of the parents in this class didn't prepare them! You tell me, how am I supposed to carry on with my lessons? It's impossible!"

When the meeting ended, the children returned from their PE class. The teacher assigned homework and then asked, "Whose turn is it to clean today? Stay behind to clean up. I'll be in the office, so let me know when you're finished."

As it happened, it was Er Bao and Si Bao's turn to clean, along with six other students. This time, the parents of those six students didn't leave, staying to help their children with the cleaning duties. Zhang Yuxi brought San Bao and Da Bao over to help as well.

After the cleaning was done, Er Bao, as a class committee member, led the other students on duty through an inspection.

"Okay, everything looks good. I'll go get the teacher."

A moment later, Teacher Yue came in, not at all surprised to see Lin Feng and his family. After her own inspection, she gave them the all-clear. "Alright, you can go home. Be safe on your way!"

On the way back, Lin Feng gave the children a general summary of what was discussed at the parent-teacher meeting.

In what felt like the blink of an eye, the final exams were upon them. The teachers led the students through their reviews. Lin Feng and Zhang Yuxi weren't worried about the quads' results; they were fine.

The one who was truly worried, however, was An Lan.

An Lan was pregnant.

「It was Sunday.」

Lin Feng took the children to the residential complex's track to play with their balance bikes. Just as Zhang Yuxi was about to head out, she received a frantic phone call from An Lan that gave her quite a fright.

"What's wrong? Calm down and talk to me!"

"Yu Xi, what do I do? I... I'm pregnant..."

"What? Pregnant? You're having a second child?"

"Waaah, yes! That bastard Liu Bo said it wouldn't happen, but it did... What do I do now?" An Lan sobbed.

Zhang Yuxi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You guys are really having two in three years!"

"Yu Xi, how can you still laugh at me at a time like this!?" An Lan exclaimed, on the verge of tears from frustration.

Zhang Yuxi quickly soothed her. "No, no, I'm not. So, what are you thinking of doing now?"

"I don't know! Guo Guo alone has already worn me out. Just when I finally got the hang of raising a kid, I got pregnant again. Isn't this going to be the death of me?" An Lan was genuinely crying now. "It's all that bastard Liu Bo's fault!"

Zhang Yuxi gave Lin Feng a look, signaling him to take the kids to play first while she handled this. She would join them in a bit.

An Lan continued to curse Liu Bo on the other end. Once she had vented enough, Zhang Yuxi finally asked gently, "Do you want to keep the baby?"

"I don't know..."

"You probably do. Otherwise, you would have just told me you didn't."

An Lan gave a bitter smile. "Yu Xi, my mind is a mess. If I give birth, my mother-in-law will definitely come over to help. You know there's a generational gap between us. Even though she's a nice person, I just can't get along with her! We'll definitely end up fighting. And it's not realistic to ask my mom to come all the way from Modu. A few months would be fine, but one or two years? No way! I don't trust hiring a nanny to watch the child, either."

For An Lan, this baby had come at an inconvenient time. Their plan had been to wait until Guo Guo was in elementary school before trying for a second child. Now, being caught completely off guard was a real headache.

Zhang Yuxi pursed her lips. "Problems can be solved one by one. If you want to have the baby, then have it. We'll just take it one step at a time. Weren't you scared of this and that back when you were pregnant with Guo Guo? Look at you now, you're taking such great care of him all by yourself!"

An Lan's voice softened. "Guo Guo is so happy about having a younger brother or sister. He's lying on my belly talking to the baby right now."

Zhang Yuxi chuckled softly. "Then you should have the baby."

Everyone, including An Lan herself, was surprised by her second pregnancy. Zhang Yuxi advised her to keep it, but the final decision was up to her and Liu Bo. As An Lan had said, waiting until Guo Guo was in first grade would have been much easier.

That evening, the children went to their rooms to review their lessons and do homework. Lin Feng was cooking in the kitchen with Zhang Yuxi helping him. She was on speakerphone, chatting with An Lan.

"My mom said I should have the baby and that she'll come back from Modu to help me take care of it. She said she can help until the baby starts elementary school, no problem."

Zhang Yuxi could hear the emotion in An Lan's voice and smiled. "That's great! Having your own mom help is much more reassuring than finding a nanny."

"She knows I can't get along with my mother-in-law, and she said that getting pregnant now is actually pretty good. By the time Guo Guo starts kindergarten, I'll be able to carry the little one around."

Zhang Yuxi considered it. "That's true. Once the older one is in kindergarten, you'll have a lot less on your plate. And when the older one starts first grade, the younger one can start kindergarten. It all works out perfectly!"

An Lan sighed in relief on the other end. "Yeah, my mom will come and help me with the kids for a few years. I'll just take it one step at a time." Then her tone shifted. "I mean, Yu Xi, I'm already pregnant with my second. When are you guys going to have another one? The quads are already in first grade. If not now, then when?"

Zhang Yuxi laughed. "Don't try to sell me on a second pregnancy. I'm not having any more. Four is more than enough."

An Lan scoffed, "You say that like you're the one taking care of them."

Zhang Yuxi coughed lightly. "Well, I'm just worried about Lin Feng getting tired."

Zhang Yuxi could practically feel An Lan rolling her eyes through the phone.

"Come on, let's get pregnant together and be new moms together, what do you say? Best friends, being moms together, how awesome would that be!" An Lan was already lost in her fantasy.

Zhang Yuxi ignored her, focusing on peeling garlic and washing vegetable leaves.

"Hello? Yu Xi? Are you there?"

"I'm here."

"Were you even listening?"

"I was."

"So, do you want to have another baby or not?"

"No!"

"Stingy, hmph!"

An Lan hung up in a huff, leaving Zhang Yuxi not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

After dinner, she shared the happy news of An Lan's pregnancy with the children, and every single one of them was absolutely thrilled.

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