Three months of program recording came to an end, and "Falling in Love with Kindergarten" was about to hold a graduation ceremony.
Wang Zihan finished his buffet lunch early and was the first one to dash into the ceremony classroom.
He found a seat right in the middle and then sat down, propping his arms on the table and eagerly looking towards the classroom door.
Zhang Jiahao was the second to come in, hopping over to Wang Zihan.
Just as he was about to sit down in the seat next to him, Wang Zihan hooked his foot on the chair.
"Beat it, this seat is reserved for Ling Nai."
Zhang Jiahao stared at Wang Zihan, his eyes wide as brass bells.
Audacious!
How dare you not reserve the best seat for your brother Hao!
Brother Hao will smash your head in!
Zhang Jiahao was about to unleash his mighty American kendo on Wang Zihan when he suddenly remembered he had forgotten his toy gun today.
Zhang Jiahao touched his nose and sat down behind Wang Zihan.
He massaged his temples, glaring viciously at the back of Wang Zihan's head.
Brother Hao used his glare attack!
After a while, Asai Reina, wiping her hands, sauntered into the classroom.
She touched the things in her bag.
Yes, today was her last chance.
Wang Zihan saw Asai Reina and immediately waved at her joyfully, "Ling Nai, Ling Nai, come sit here!"
Asai Reina glanced at Wang Zihan and shook her head indifferently,
"No, I want to sit with You You."
She was going to give the thing to You You...
Ling Nai's words instantly chilled Wang Zihan's heart, and he just sat there dumbfounded in his original spot.
His face was a mix of three parts desolation, three parts wistfulness, three parts grievance, and a touch of longing.
But, but!
After all, he was just a child!
The teachers in the studio saw the rich mix of expressions on Wang Zihan's face and couldn't help but smile.
Zhang Na propped her cheek, "Oh my, Zi Han must be so heartbroken to hear that..."
Xiao Lu covered her mouth, "He really does want to be friends with Ling Nai... pfft."
Jiang Tianbao gave a thumbs-up, "Zi Han, you tried your best, it's okay! There will be plenty of opportunities!"
As soon as Fang You entered the classroom, several kids immediately surrounded him.
Du Anqi clung to his arm, "You You, how about sitting with An Qi today?"
Asai Reina tugged at his other arm:
"You were on the same team last time, this time You You has to sit with Ling Nai!"
Ah, this...
Things seemed to be moving in an awkward direction!
Fang You didn't like being such a winner in life.
What's there to be happy about, getting entangled with kids?
"Go on, fight, fight!"
Zhang Jiahao loved watching the kids get into scuffles and was cheering for the two on the sidelines.
Following that, Xia Nuo and Ayu walked into the classroom hand in hand.
Seeing everyone was scrambling for Fang You, Xia Nuo happily joined in:
"What game are you guys playing? Include me, include me, I want to play too!"
"Stop messing around!"
Fang You took advantage of the chaos to grab Xia Nuo's hand, pulling her to a side seat to sit down together.
This not only left Du Anqi and Asai Reina stunned but also caused Luo Xianyu, who was behind Xia Nuo, to show a shocked expression as well.
At the graduation ceremony, the three teachers from the program led the children in reminiscing about the different events that had happened.
Most of the children were experiencing kindergarten for the first time.
They left their parents' side and started to live, study, and grow together with the other children.
From crying and yelling for their parents due to separation anxiety when they first joined the program to later starting to enjoy life at kindergarten, everyone could visibly see that they had grown a lot.
Only Fang You, from the first class to the last, showed virtually no progress in his performance.
Fang You was given a high evaluation of excellence from beginning to end, truly deserving the title of the class's top student.
After the group photo, the parents exchanged contact details, agreeing to keep in touch and to let their children socialize more in the future.
Seizing this last opportunity, Asai Reina finally mustered up the courage to speak to Fang You.
"You You... I, I also want to be friends with you, can I?"
While she spoke, Asai Reina took out a small gift box from the little bear bag she carried.
"I, I brought you a gift!"
Asai Reina presented the gift and opened it up.
Is this the legendary friendship fee?
It was a state-of-the-art children's smartwatch.
This was the most popular digital product among kids at the time, and the smartwatch that Asai Reina gave seemed to be this year's flagship model, priced at over 2000.
This children's smartwatch could make phone calls to parents, had GPS tracking, could download various apps, and even be used to add friends, essentially a social networking circle for kids.
However, Fang You still shook his head, "Mom said kids shouldn't accept gifts that are too expensive."
He knew that the pressure of reciprocating gifts among children would fall on their parents, and he was a considerate child. His family was of modest means, and he didn't want to add to his parents' worries.
"You, you still don't want to be friends with me..."
Hearing Fang You clearly express his refusal, Asai Reina's eyes immediately turned red.
While sobbing, she said, "I said some very selfish things before. I shouldn't have broken the rules, and I apologize to you... Sorry, You You, I was too little back then and didn't know better, please forgive me..."
"Huh?"
Why does this child talk like an adult?
At three years old, she's this impressive; she'll be incredible when she grows up.
Asai Reina cried with one eye open and one eye closed, her tears like a spring day's rain accompanied by pear blossoms.
Just then, Xia Nuo stepped forward, watching her curiously with a puzzled face:
"Ling Nai, how do you manage to cry with one eye open and the other closed? You're amazing!"
Xia Nuo cocked her head, looking from left to right, completely catching Asai Reina off guard.
"Did you just smile?"
Xia Nuo, with her little head bowed, sneaked a look at Asai Reina's expression, "I think I just saw the corner of your mouth move!"
"No... Uh ah ah ah!"
Asai Reina began to squirm and wriggle.
"I saw you smile."
"I, I didn't!"
Nuo Nuo is so annoying!
Ling Nai was really brought to tears by Xia Nuo this time.
She's crying so miserably.
A crying signal from Ling Nai has been detected!
Wang Zihan's Ling Nai radar shot up.
He ran over to Ling Nai with great momentum, spreading his arms wide.
"I am the righteous knight here to save Princess Ling Nai, and it's time to make my stand!"
"You guys aren't allowed to bully Ling Nai!"
Wang Zihan struck a pose of high moral standing, leaving Xia Nuo feeling completely baffled, "No, we didn't, we just think Ling Nai is amazing, very good at crying."
Xia Nuo explained, "She started crying on her own, I didn't even touch her, right, You You?"
Fang You nodded in agreement with Xia Nuo, and Wang Zihan was very angry:
"Do you even know that Ling Nai is a star! She has 20,000 followers on Little Purple Sweet Potato, how could she be a crybaby who loves to cry!"
"Wang Zihan, you're so rude!"
Asai Reina chided Wang Zihan as she rubbed her eyes, "20,000 followers is not a lot at all, and Ling Nai is not a star!"
You You, already a fan of more than 50,000 on Little Purple Sweet Potato and even starred in the Sparrow Food Group's diaper commercial, found Wang Zihan's mention of followers humiliating for Asai Reina.
I'm going to lose followers because of you!
After being scolded by Asai Reina, Wang Zihan felt very wronged and skulked off to one side.
At this moment, Fang You spoke to Ling Nai:
"Even if we don't accept gifts, we can still be friends."
As soon as Asai Reina heard this, she quickly stopped her tears and gazed at Fang You excitedly:
"Really? For real?"
"Of course," Fang You nodded.
"Then, I want to hold hands with you, can I?"
Asai Reina looked at Fang You with hopeful eyes.
Fang You slightly raised his hand, and Asai Reina immediately came close and firmly grasped Fang You's hand.
Happy, so happy!
Asai Reina smiled through her tears, joyfully shaking her body.
You You agreeing to be Ling Nai's friend made her happier than gaining a thousand followers!
At this moment, Wang Zihan, watching enviously from the side, found himself unable to resist joining in.
He fiddled with his little fingers and said in a low voice, "I, I also want to be friends with Ling Nai..."
Fang You could instantly see through the child's thoughts: You want to hold hands with Asai Reina!
Just then, the mischievous Xia Nuo imitated Wang Zihan's speech in a twisted, coy voice: "I, I also want to be friends with Ling Nai..."
"No! Stop! Copying! My! Speech!"
Wang Zihan's face flushed with embarrassment.
[You have become friends with Asai Reina, current new friends count (4/4).]
[Congratulations, you have unlocked a new talent: Mind Catcher.]
[Mind Catcher: Your emotional insight has increased, and now you can harvest Emotional Energy from the strong feelings others have towards you.]
[Emotional Energy: Arises from social interactions between people and can be used to level up your Growth Energy.]
The new talent provided Fang You a stable new channel for Energy acquisition, so he no longer had to force himself to eat and drink excessively every day.
Even though he exercised daily, Fang You also worried that eating this way could lead to nutritional excess and eventually turn him into a little chubby boy.
But this ability felt somewhat like being a Joyous Man...
Shortly after the recording ended, "Falling in Love with Kindergarten" Season 9 began airing during the weekend prime time slot at seven o'clock on Mango TV.
The entire season was also available on major online video platforms, with a sweep of barrage comments from viewers.
Due to the sensational promotion early on, the online discussion about the children's performance in this season was heated:
[Came here for Nuo Nuo]
[Seeing the look of despair on Nuo Nuo's father's face, I felt it deep in my soul.]
[Nuo Nuo is so cute!]
[I feel like the childhood friends duo is to die for.]
[Such a cute little lolita from Sakura Island, kawaii!]
[Honestly, don't you guys think You You and Zi Han look better together?]
[A song of drifting snowflakes for our baby Zi Han.]
[Call him Brother Hao!]
[Brother Hao, a legend forever.]
After watching several episodes, Fang You noticed that many controversial scenes had been cut, such as the girls' princess tantrums and the boys' fights; none of it was aired.
But it was understandable; after all, they were all still children. It wouldn't be good if their naive actions were remembered by the internet and became the target of keyboard warriors, potentially casting a shadow over their childhood. The production team did a good job of protecting them, showing a certain level of professional ethics.
Fang You's account also gained nearly ten thousand new followers.
However, despite this exposure, he did not harvest any Growth Energy that came from emotions through the TV screen.
It seemed this ability could only be applied in real life.
But that was understandable too; if one could harvest Energy from emotions just through exposure, it would be far too easy.
Xia Nuo and Fang You sat on the sofa together, rewatching their own performances on TV. After a while, Xia Nuo got bored and lay in Fang You's arms, tilting her head up to look at him.
"You You, You You, you've been in the kindergarten for so long, who is your favorite friend there?"
"Nuo Nuo." Fang You answered immediately.
"Ah, what a coincidence! How could it be so coincidental!"
Xia Nuo touched Fang You's cheek, "The little friend I like the most is also You You!"
[What you said has made Xia Nuo super, super happy, Emotional Energy +2.]
Xia Nuo got up from Fang You's body, leaned on his shoulder, and whispered into his ear:
"You You, do you want that super smartwatch? The one Ling Nai wanted to give you last time…"
"Huh?"
Why is she suddenly bringing this up?
Xia Nuo whispered, "If you want it, I'll get my dad to buy one for you, he is so rich, let me tell you..."
Nuo Nuo, your voice isn't quiet enough.
Dad heard you!
Xia Anyang's eyebrows at the side of the TV furrowed into knots.
Just then, a line of text appeared in Fang You's mind.
[Xia Anyang is anxious you might have a mischievous streak, Emotional Energy +10.]
Oh? Things are starting to get interesting...
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