Chapter 455: Xixi Seems to Be Smarter?
The fun sports meet held by the kindergarten naturally wouldn’t include major events like an 800-meter or 1,000-meter run. Taking the children’s physical condition into consideration, even the cooperative running event that Xixi and Lan Xin were participating in covered only a very short distance.
The straight running track was only fifteen meters long, so even after running back, the total distance was only thirty meters.
Of course, for the little ones, this was still quite a challenge. What was more, the two children in each group had to be tied together around the waist with a rope and work together to complete the 30-meter round-trip race.
Before the competition began, Teacher Mu heard that Xixi’s grandpa had come. Seeing how popular he was, she invited him to serve as the starter and referee for the running event. Mo Henian happily agreed.
The old man, dressed in full cowboy attire, stood at the starting line waving a yellow starting flag. His cool appearance still attracted quite a few admiring “looks” from the children.
The starting point became completely packed, and it was only after Teacher Mu helped clear the crowd that the competition could proceed normally.
Yang Yi was tying the rope around Xixi and Lan Xin. The rope was meant to be tied around their waists, forming a loop that would fasten the two little girls together.
“Hehe, Xin’er and I are hugging each other.” For some reason, the two little girls found this incredibly funny, and they were delighted as they hugged each other.
“Xixi, don’t lean on me! I can’t walk!” Lan Xin giggled as well.
The two little girls hugged each other, twisting and squirming back and forth, having a wonderful time playing. Their bell-like laughter filled Yang Yi’s ears, but they also made it impossible for him to tie the rope.
After all, they weren’t supposed to hug each other and run sideways facing one another. They were supposed to run side by side, keeping pace with each other.
“All right, listen to me!” Yang Yi had no choice but to hold them still, make them both face him, and say seriously, “Do you want to win this competition?”
“Yes!” Lan Xin quickly answered.
“Super want to!” Xixi followed.
“Super, super want to!” Lan Xin refused to be outdone.
“I ten thousand supers want to!” Xixi giggled.
It was never-ending!
Yang Yi was helpless and could only interrupt them: “All right, I know you both really want to win, so you have to listen to the coach, which is me, and follow my instructions, otherwise you won’t be able to win.”
Yang Yi wasn’t exaggerating. Xixi and Lan Xin had a strong pair of opponents. Just now, Yang Yi had even heard the teacher calling out their names: Wang Xijun and Wang Xiyun. As siblings, their level of coordination was definitely higher than that of Xixi and Lan Xin.
The two little girls finally quieted down, blinking their big eyes as they listened attentively.
Yang Yi took the opportunity to tie the rope around them, making sure it wasn’t too tight but also not so loose that it would fall off, and he cleverly made two loops that Xixi and Lan Xin could each hold with one hand.
“Like this, Xixi, Xin’er, I’ll count one, two. When I say two, you two take one step this way and see.” Yang Yi clapped his hands to keep the rhythm.
Xixi was quite sensitive to rhythm. When she heard her father call out “two,” she stepped forward with her left foot. Lan Xin was slightly slower, but she quickly followed with a step of her own, only with her right foot.
“…” Yang Yi was somewhat helpless when he saw that Xixi, whose legs were longer, had taken a noticeably bigger step than Lan Xin.
“This won’t work. Xixi, don’t run so fast. Slow down. Lift this foot.” Yang Yi had Xixi draw back her left foot, then took hold of the little girl’s ankle and adjusted it to match Lan Xin’s stride. “In this competition, you’re taking a step this big. Remember?”
Yang Yi raised his head and saw the little girl looking at him with a bewildered expression in her big eyes, her attention seeming to drift a little. She nodded as if she understood, though she clearly didn’t quite understand.
“It’s okay. Let’s try it.” Time was running short, and the competition was about to begin. Yang Yi said, “Here’s what I want you to do. You both use the same stride. For example, when I say one, you both step forward with your left foot. Then when I say two, you both step forward with your right foot. The other foot stays planted and doesn’t move.”
Xixi nodded, but Lan Xin said in confusion, “Uncle Yang, I… I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“It means you step this foot forward when I say one, and this foot when I say two. That way, you can move forward together.” Yang Yi had no choice but to hold Lan Xin’s ankle and teach her. The little girl seemed to have trouble telling left from right.
Yang Yi thought to himself, “Xixi is still the smartest.”
However, when he began calling out the rhythm for practice, Lan Xin successfully moved forward, while Xixi still stepped outward with her left foot, making the distance between her two feet even greater.
No! Xixi realized that she was holding them back and hurriedly pulled back her right foot, but she still caused the two of them to get slightly out of sync, and the rope pulled Lan Xin into a stumble.
“Ah! Xixi, that’s not right!” Lan Xin quickly called out.
Xixi raised her head and looked at her father with her big eyes, somewhat confused. She also felt that something was wrong, but didn’t know what was wrong.
Yang Yi covered his forehead from the side, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
It turned out Xixi hadn’t understood at all; she had merely nodded out of habit while listening in a daze!
“Xixi, you can’t pretend to understand when you don’t. If you don’t understand, you have to ask Papa!” Yang Yi squatted down and continued teaching his daughter the steps and rhythm.
Before long, Mo Henian waved the flag and called out loudly, “Children from Group Three of the middle class, hurry over for inspection. The competition is about to begin!”
The old man’s shout was quite rhythmic, almost like he was herding cattle, and it attracted many of the little onlookers to imitate him. They also began calling out, “The competition is about to begin!”
These childish, adorable voices also drew kindhearted laughter from the parents nearby.
There were five lanes and three groups of children. Xixi and Lan Xin were in the lane on the right. Yang Yi stood to the side, clapping his hands and cheering for Xixi and Lan Xin, who were standing on the track: “Come on, Xixi! Come on, Xin’er!”
Nearby, Chen Shiyun, Yang Luoqi, and Nan Zhaoyu, along with their fathers or mothers who had come to watch with them, also called out to cheer for Xixi and Lan Xin one after another.
Lan Xin was fine. The little chubby girl waved at Uncle Yang, but Xixi seemed a little nervous. The little girl turned her head and looked up at her grandpa, her little face tightly tensed and her little mouth unconsciously slightly open.
“All right, little ones, listen to Grandpa. In a moment, Grandpa will blow the whistle and wave the flag down, and the race will begin. Before the flag is waved down, you mustn’t start early!” Mo Henian was having a great time and patiently explained the rules as well.
“Listen to my rhythm, Xixi. Look over here. In a moment, Papa will call out one, two, one, two for you!” Yang Yi tried to draw his daughter’s attention over.
Mo Henian, however, said unhappily, “People who aren’t involved aren’t allowed to interfere with the competition. Be quiet!”
Yang Yi looked embarrassed and could only say softly to Xixi and Lan Xin, “All right, I can’t call out anymore. You two call it yourselves. Xixi, you call out one, two, one, two.”
The parents around them all knew about the relationship between Mo Henian and Yang Yi. Seeing the two of them at odds, they couldn’t help laughing. Yang Luoqi’s mother, Wu Yue, laughed even harder, doubling over with laughter as she patted Yang Yi on the arm and said, “Oh my, why is Xixi’s grandpa so funny? He’s truly impartial when he serves as a referee.”
Yang Yi could only smile bitterly and shake his head.
Without her father’s help, Xixi and Lan Xin could only rely on themselves.
Fortunately, Xixi didn’t let them down when it mattered. Although taking in so much information during this time had made the little girl look a little dazed and adorable, she still firmly remembered her father’s guidance from earlier.
“Tweet!” The whistle sounded. Mo Henian leaned forward, swung his arm in a wide circle, and coolly brought the flag down. The pose earned him another round of admiration from the children watching nearby.
The competition begins!
TN: If you like my translations, support me in ko-fi: Here.
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