Daddy Academy

Article 3302: Entering the Classroom
The first class on Wednesday morning was Chinese. The morning sun shone into the classroom of Class 1, Grade 3, and a sense of anticipation was already in the air.

Xiaobai accompanied Chengcheng into the classroom, introducing her to everyone she met: "See? See? Our class is having a story-sharing session today! This is Chengcheng, Meng Chengcheng from second grade, my good friend, the story queen, she's going to publish a storybook..."

These words made Chengcheng blush.

Liu Liu went even further. She stood directly on the podium, mimicking Teacher Wu Mei's usual manner, tapped the blackboard eraser, making a clicking sound, and loudly proclaimed, "Attention! Attention! Chengcheng is in our class today! She's Chengcheng, the most storyteller, the most mysterious, and the most talented child at Little Red Horse Academy! She's also my good friend, everyone should applaud..."

The children in the audience looked up, their faces full of curiosity. Some knew who Chengcheng was, some had heard her story, and some were just there for the fun of it.

A classmate whispered to Xie Xiaoxu next to her, "Who is Chengcheng? I've never heard of her before?"

Xie Xiaoxu said, "You don't even know who Chengcheng is, so what right do you have to sit here?"

The student looked completely bewildered and instinctively asked, "You know?"

Xie Xiaoxu said, "Of course I know, and I've also listened to Cheng Cheng tell stories, and they're really well told."

Just then, the school bell rang.

Teacher Wu Mei walked into the classroom carrying the Chinese textbook. She immediately saw Liu Liu standing on the podium, then Xiao Bai standing in the classroom, and then Cheng Cheng sitting in Xiao Bai's seat!
Teacher Wu said with a smile, "Liuliu, hurry back to your seat. It seems everyone already knows there's a special arrangement for today?"

"Know--"

The whole class spoke in unison, their voices filled with barely suppressed anticipation.

Ms. Wu walked over to Chengcheng and said gently, "Chengcheng is willing to come to our class today to share the story she wrote. Let's give her a warm round of applause."

Thunderous applause erupted.

Chengcheng's face remained calm. Today, she had specially worn a light blue dress, her hair was neatly combed, and she was holding a light blue notebook in her arms.

Xiao Bai whispered to Chengcheng, "Chengcheng, don't be nervous. Just pretend that the people sitting below are all pumpkins."

Chengcheng glanced at her indifferently and said, "It's not like this is the first time I've told a story."

Teacher Wu asked, "Chengcheng, which story do you want to tell?"

Chengcheng said, "I'll tell the story of 'The Girl with the Oil-Paper Umbrella in the Rainy Alley,' which is my latest completed story."

"Okay, let's talk about this then."

Teacher Wu helped her clean the podium and made room for her.

Chengcheng walked up to the podium, and the classroom instantly fell silent. All eyes were focused on this little girl who was usually quiet and always sat quietly in the corner.

She opened her notebook, and her clear voice softly rang out in the classroom:
"Long, long ago, there was an ancient alleyway, with ivy climbing all over the blue brick walls on both sides. Whenever it rained, a thin layer of mist would rise from the alleyway..."

Chengcheng's voice was steady and focused as she told the story. Unlike Liuliu, who gesticulated exaggeratedly, she was simply immersed in her own story world, telling the tale in a gentle and detailed manner...

This focused narration created a wonderful atmosphere in the classroom.

The children unconsciously leaned forward, afraid of missing a single word. Even the few mischievous boys who usually loved to whisper among themselves in class were now quietly resting their chins on their hands, their eyes fixed on the words.

The story reached a crucial point: "The girl with the oil-paper umbrella finally turned around, revealing her face." Chengcheng paused naturally, her gaze sweeping across the classroom. She was now quite adept at controlling the pace of the story, knowing when to speed up her speech to create tension and when to pause to build anticipation.

"What does she look like?" Xie Xiaoxu couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

One of his classmates retorted, "You don't even know this? What right do you have to sit here!"

Xie Xiaoxu was speechless. He had used those words to retort to the other party just a few minutes earlier.

Chengcheng continued, "Her face had no features, only a soft light, but everyone who saw her would see the image of the person they missed most in that light..."

"Wow--"

A murmur of amazement rippled through the classroom; everyone thought the girl with the oil-paper umbrella was truly amazing.

Liuliu excitedly nudged Xiaobai with her elbow: "Chengcheng is so good! Although I've read this story before, I'm still very curious and looking forward to it!"

Xiao Bai said, "Of course, this is the story king, Little Melon."

Liu Liu nodded in agreement and hummed in agreement: "The cantaloupe really smells good."

He then took a deep breath in a somewhat lewd manner, which made Xiaobai extremely disgusted.

The story was finished ten minutes later. When Chengcheng said, "From then on, whenever the alley was shrouded in mist, people said they could hear soft singing, and that singing could heal all sad hearts," there was a moment of silence in the classroom, followed by enthusiastic applause.

"It sounds amazing!" Liu Liu was the first to shout, she was an openly "shill".

"Chengcheng, you're amazing!"

Many students' eyes lit up, offering heartfelt praise. Not only was the story captivating, but Chengcheng's storytelling was even more engaging, adding much to the story's charm.

Looking at the scene, Teacher Wu was filled with satisfaction. It seemed that inviting Chengcheng today was the right decision.

She walked over to Chengcheng and encouraged her, "That was a really good story, Chengcheng. Have you ever thought about coming to our class to share stories more often? Or, we could organize a Chengcheng Story Time and have her come regularly?"

Chengcheng thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay."

Upon hearing this, the students were all extremely excited, not only because they could hear the story today, but also because they could hear it often in the future!

Next, Chengcheng told two more stories. Finally, the bell rang, but instead of rushing out of the classroom as usual, the students in Class 1, Grade 3 gathered together and bombarded Chengcheng with questions:
"Chengcheng, what's the story behind that little stone?"

Do dandelions really walk?

Chengcheng was surrounded, listening quietly to everyone's questions and giving concise answers. Xiaobai and Liuliu stood by her side like two little bodyguards, helping her maintain order.

Liuliu struck a pose like a class monitor: "One by one! One by one! Chengcheng will come again next time! You can ask her then!"

Looking at the lively scene, Teacher Wu suddenly remembered something and took out a delicate little box from the teacher's desk drawer: "Chengcheng, this is a gift from your teacher to thank you for the wonderful story you shared today."

Chengcheng took the box, opened it, and found a beautiful water-based pen inside.

"Using this to write stories in the future might give me more inspiration," Teacher Wu said with a smile.

Chengcheng's eyes lit up for a moment, and she said solemnly, "Thank you, Teacher Wu."

The sunlight was perfect in the corridor.

Xiaobai, Liuliu, Chengcheng, and Xiaomi, four little girls, walked side by side in the sunlight, their shadows stretching long on the ground.

Xiaobai proudly said to Liuliu, "See? I told you Chengcheng could definitely do it!"

Liu Liu nodded sincerely: "Cheng Cheng is really amazing, even my Yan Yan is impressed!"

Xiaomi then asked Chengcheng which story she planned to tell next, and Chengcheng said, "Next time I can tell 'The Boastful Elephant'."

Xiaomi immediately pressed Chengcheng about what new stories she was writing, and Xiaobai and Liuliu both perked up their ears.

Chengcheng said, "I'm currently writing 'The Old Piano Singing at Midnight'."

Xiaobai asked, "A ghost story?"

Liuliu immediately feigned fear and said dramatically, "Oh dear, I'm so scared!"

Everyone rolled their eyes at her.

Chengcheng smiled, a rare occurrence, and said, "It's not a ghost story, it's a very heartwarming story."