It was with some difficulty that I managed to calm the two little children before the end of the school day arrived.
Sitting in the classroom, Tang Yuran watched as the other kids were picked up by their parents and grandparents, resting her chin on her hands with a sigh of resignation. Her mother was late again today.
"I was terrified this afternoon; if Youran had fallen onto the fence, the consequences would have been unthinkable..."
"Yes, and who knows which child pushed her. Once they start running, they're like wild horses without reins."
"Luckily, Gu Yu reached out and pulled Youran back. To say it was a life-saving grace wouldn't be an exaggeration."
"That's true... but..."
Suddenly, the sound of teachers' voices traveled from the corridor outside, and as they drew closer, the door to Tang Yuran's classroom was pushed open with a "creak."
The two teachers talking walked into the classroom and upon lifting their eyes, saw a pair of big, round eyes blinking at them.
"Youyou, you haven't left yet?" One of the teachers paused, then smiled at Tang Yuran and said, "What's the matter, your mom is late again today?"
"Seems like it..." Tang Yuran sighed again. When would her mother's habit of always being late change?
"Did you hurt yourself when you fell today?" Another teacher crouched down beside Tang Yuran, gently touched her head, and asked with concern.
Tang Yuran shook her head and bit her lip; in fact, she had landed on Gu Yu today, so she didn't really fall anywhere. But Gu Yu...
"That's good." The teacher was about to say something else with a smile when the classroom door was pushed open again, and a panting voice said, "I'm so sorry; there was a traffic jam on the road. Youran, let's go home."
"Mommy!" The moment Tang Yuran saw her mother enter the door, her eyes lit up. She quickly stood up, grabbed her backpack from the little chair, and ran toward her mother.
"Sorry, so sorry." Tang Yuran's mother greeted the two teachers in the classroom with a smile while holding Tang Yuran's hand and walked out.
"Goodbye, teachers!" Tang Yuran waved at the teachers, calling out with a clear voice.
On the way back, Tang Yuran suddenly looked up at her mother and asked, "Mommy, what is 'a life-saving grace'?"
"Hmm?" While steering the wheel, Tang Yuran's mother casually replied, "It means someone saved your life. It's very important and needs to be repaid with gratitude."
"How should it be repaid?" Tang Yuran stood up from the back seat, her little hands gripping the front seatback, asking curiously.
"Well..." Tang Yuran's mother pondered for a bit before answering seriously, "That depends on the person's appearance."
"Appearance?"
"It means whether someone is good-looking or not."
"Ah?"
"Generally speaking, if the person isn't good-looking, you say, 'Your life-saving grace is beyond repayment; in my next life, I'm willing to be a cow or a horse to repay you.'
???
With a face full of question marks, Tang Yuran looked at her mother, utterly confused, and asked, "And if the person is very good-looking?"