My College Teacher is My Children's Mom

The father and son duo left, heading toward the excavator. The excavator was a small model, perfect for children to ride.

As soon as they reached the stall, the owner greeted them enthusiastically. "Hey there, kids, want to play? It's ten yuan for two minutes!"

Dabao and Sibao stared eagerly, while Erbao rubbed his little hands together in anticipation. The owner had piled up some sand for the activity, and the entire area was covered in it.

Sanbao stood the farthest back, so Lin Feng went over and picked her up. "Daddy, my shoes are dirty," she whispered as a reminder.

Lin Feng looked down and saw that some sand had gotten on them. How could the beauty-conscious Sanbao tolerate that?

While wiping Sanbao's little leather shoes, Lin Feng said, "Dabao, you go first. We'll stand a bit farther back."

The owner showed Dabao how to operate it. "This lever turns it left and right, and if you push this handle down, you can control the scoop to dig..."

After the owner's instruction, Dabao learned quickly and operated the excavator like a pro. He giggled nonstop. "Daddy, Mommy, this is so much fun!"

Dabao operated it with a steady hand, placing the sand into a small bucket without spilling any.

The owner chuckled. "This little guy's got some real skill!"

The two minutes for ten yuan ended quickly, but Dabao hadn't had his fill yet. Sibao, who had been watching with longing, was just about to go up when Lin Feng said, "Erbao, you're next!"

Erbao climbed on, and after a flurry of haphazard moves, the excavator started bucking as if it had gone haywire. He even sent sand flying everywhere. Fortunately, they had the foresight to stand far enough away to avoid being caught in the spray.

Erbao just laughed heartily. "This is really fun!" His technique, however, was terrible.

Next was Sibao's turn. As soon as he got on, he unleashed a flurry of moves as fierce as a tiger, but his performance was even worse than Erbao's. He wasn't digging sand so much as he was flinging it.

Sibao was incredibly optimistic, however. He didn't think his technique was poor at all; he thought he was doing an amazing job. When his two minutes were up, he still hadn't had enough fun and climbed down with a pout.

Sanbao didn't want to play; she was particular about staying clean and preferred not to move around.

Lin Feng paid for each of the boys to have another turn.

Lin Feng whispered to Zhang Yuxi, "Honey, did you notice how steady Dabao was?"

Zhang Yuxi nodded. "It seems Dabao is really interested in mechanical things!"

"I forgot to tell you something. A few days ago, Dabao's Transformer ran out of batteries. I got the batteries for him but got sidetracked and forgot to give them to him. He ended up installing them himself."

This wouldn't have been worth mentioning, but this particular Transformer was special. Changing the batteries required operating a tricky spring-loaded mechanism.

Lin Feng didn't say anything more because Sibao's personal sandstorm had started up again...

Even after they finished playing, the kids still wanted more. Lin Feng glanced at the time and realized it was already 5:30 p.m. He took the children home to make dinner.

Zhao Lizhen had a piano at her home, so when Sanbao had free time, she would go upstairs to play. Erbao started on his arts and crafts, working on an artistic creation. Meanwhile, Dabao and Sibao began practicing their taekwondo moves.

While it looked like Zhang Yuxi was supervising them, she was actually the only one with nothing to do. After sitting for a while, she began organizing the toys. Suddenly, she found a LEGO Transformer set and a LEGO Ultraman set. They were sitting untouched in a drawer, the boxes still sealed.

Zhang Yuxi called out with a laugh, "Dabao, Sibao, come over here! Look what Mommy found."

Dabao and Sibao scampered over and immediately started screaming with excitement.

Startled, Lin Feng came out from the kitchen. "What's going on?"

Zhang Yuxi smiled. "I found these in the drawer. They're just excited!"

"Oh," Lin Feng said, before returning to the kitchen to continue his work.

Zhang Yuxi stopped the boys from opening the boxes. "Let's call Grandma first and get her permission."

She dialed Zhao Lizhen's number.

"Yu Xi, I'm just getting in the car. I'll be home in about fifteen minutes," Zhao Lizhen said. "Your dad won't be home for dinner tonight; he has a social engagement."

Zhang Yuxi waited for her to finish before speaking. "Mom, I found the LEGO Transformer and Ultraman sets in the drawer, and the boys want to build them."

Zhao Lizhen said, "Oh," as if just remembering. "Let them play with them. I bought those for them anyway.

"If they hadn't found them today, I might have forgotten all about them."

Zhang Yuxi gave the boys a look, signaling that they could open the packages.

"Okay, Mom, drive safely. I'm hanging up now."

"Mhm."

Zhang Yuxi designated areas for them. "Alright, this space here belongs to your sister Sanbao, so you two play over here. Dabao, you take this spot, and Sibao, you take this one. It'll be hard to tell the pieces apart if they get mixed up."

With their new toys, Dabao and Sibao began building in their separate areas.

Zhang Yuxi sat cross-legged next to Dabao, sensing that his Transformer was the more complex of the two. A glance at the instructions confirmed her suspicion. This is really complicated!

Zhang Yuxi could assemble simple things, like little houses or cars, but this was beyond her. She glanced over at Sibao's set. Hmm, that one didn't look simple either. Nope, can't do that one either!

Dabao, meanwhile, was seriously studying the diagrams and meticulously comparing the pieces. His focused expression seemed to say, "No big deal."

Turning to Sibao, she saw his spirits were high as he prepared to start. He dove in with a flurry of moves as fierce as a tiger, looking like he could handle it all by himself.

Zhang Yuxi pursed her lips. "Um... why don't you two start building by yourselves for now? I'm going to go check on the kitchen."

When she arrived in the kitchen, Lin Feng had already started cooking. "Honey, stand back a bit. I'm about to stir-fry."

Zhang Yuxi took a step back. Once Lin Feng got started, he noticed she was still there. "Not helping the boys with their LEGOs?"

Zhang Yuxi shook her head.

"Is it because you don't know how?" Lin Feng teased.

Zhang Yuxi knew he was teasing her, so she lifted her chin proudly. "They don't need my help. They didn't even ask; they're building them all by themselves."

Lin Feng raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's impressive."

Zhang Yuxi nodded. "It is! I'll go check on them!"

Less than a minute later, Zhang Yuxi returned, holding back her laughter. "Honey, Sibao is hilarious. He went at it with such confidence, I really thought he was going to amaze me! But this is what he made?"

She showed Lin Feng the photo she had taken. Lin Feng glanced at it while cooking, and when he saw the indescribable creation, he couldn't help but laugh too.

Zhang Yuxi swiped to the next photo. "Honey, I was about to tell Sibao he was doing it wrong, but then look..." The next picture showed Sibao's serious and confident little face, and she just couldn't bear to burst his bubble.

Lin Feng smiled. "Just let him be. As long as Sibao is happy, that's all that matters."

Then, Zhang Yuxi said with a hint of mystery, "Honey, now let me show you Dabao's."

Lin Feng detected the hidden meaning in her tone. "What about it?"

The photo she showed him revealed that the Transformer was already taking shape. "I looked at Dabao's instructions, and I think they're way harder than Sibao's," she said. "I can't believe he's gotten this far without any help from an adult. It's looking really good."

Lin Feng leaned in for a closer look. "He hasn't made any mistakes."

This reminded him of the other building sets they had bought in the past. Dabao had never seemed to have any trouble with them either. Perhaps to an adult, these sets seemed as simple as one plus one equals two, but it was easy to forget the age of the children putting them together. After all, they were still just kids.

Once Lin Feng finished cooking, Zhang Yuxi called Zhao Lizhen. "Mom, when will you be back?"

"About three minutes. I'm at the intersection now."

Zhang Yuxi hung up and gestured for the children to come wash their hands for dinner.

Lin Feng went over to see how Dabao and Sibao were progressing with their models. Hmm, Sibao's was a complete jumble; every piece was in the wrong place. As for Dabao, everything he had assembled was correct. Hmm... that's a bit of a surprise, he thought.

It seemed that Dabao, unlike his younger siblings who had their own distinct strengths, possessed a bit of them all. You could always see traces of his brothers and sister in him.