After I had finished Bai Long Qiang's plate of food, he grabbed it from me and took the two trays over to a counter.
That done, he turned around and looked at me. "So, Kitten, what's next?"
I raised an eyebrow, not sure what he was talking about.
"What are your classes this afternoon?" he asked, coming to stand beside me. He didn't push me to walk or leave the cafeteria; he just stood quietly beside me, waiting for my response.
"I have history and then social sciences," I said with a sigh. I hated both, but at the same time, I wouldn't accept anything less than perfection when it came to my marks.
"Perfect. I think I am in both of your classes then. Shall we?" he asked, tilting his head to the exit.
"By all means," I answered. I would just have to get through the next four hours, and things would be all good.
----
Bai Long Qiang walked into his house after school and dropped his backpack by the front door.
Taking off his shoes, he put on his slippers and walked into the kitchen at the back of the house.
"I'm home," he called out, opening the pantry to find something to snack on before dinner.
"Welcome home!" replied his mom as she walked into the room. "Your grandfather is here. He and Dad are talking for a bit before dinner."
Bai Long Qiang nodded his head and grabbed a handful of crackers before going to the fridge to get a drink.
"How was your day at school?" asked his grandfather as he walked into the kitchen, his father following close behind. "Did you find her?"
"I did," he nodded as he crunched down on a cracker. "And I have no problems keeping an eye out for her. Like you said, she was in the majority of my classes today. We'll see if that changes tomorrow."
"If it does, get the office to change it. It's rare that the Song patriarch asks for a favor, and I want to make sure that he isn't disappointed," nodded his grandfather as he swiped one of the crackers from Bai Long Qiang's hand.
"I feel like I am missing something," said his father as he looked back and forth between Bai Long Qiang and his father.
"Song called me last night asking if Bai Long Qiang could help keep an eye on his granddaughter. Apparently, she started at Trinity High today, and he was worried about her."
"Are you trying to set Long Qiang up again?" sighed his mother, rubbing her forehead as if she could feel a headache coming on.
"His granddaughter is six, mom. Not even Grandpa is so desperate that he would set me up with a child," chuckled Bai Long Qiang.
"If she is six, what is she doing in your classes?" asked his mom, her forehead wrinkling in confusion.
"She's a genius," said both Grandpa and Bai Long Qiang at the same time.
"Apparently, they had given her only four hours to do all of the exams for grades 9 to 12. She only got done up to the end of grade 10 in that time," expanded Grandpa.
"That's actually quite impressive," whistled his father.
"It doesn't hurt that she is adorable," laughed Bai Long Qiang.
"Well, now I want to meet her. Bring her over sometime. Make sure to clear it with her parents first," said Mom as she got started on dinner.
"I will," answered Bai Long Qiang as he and the other men got kicked out of the kitchen.
-----
"How was your first day?" asked Dad as soon as I got into his car after school.
"Not horrible," I said. I didn't know any other way to describe the day. It could have been better, but it wasn't so bad that I wanted to turn around and go back to grade one. Therefore… it wasn't horrible. "I think I have been adopted, though," I grumbled.
It was the only explanation that I could think of as to why Bai Long Qiang stayed so close.
"Who?" growled Dad, and I could only laugh.
"Bai Long Qiang. Mom said that she knew his father," I answered.
"No boys until you are 50. And even then, I am not sure I will approve," grumbled Dad as we drove across the city.
"Yes, Daddy," I said. "No boys until I am 50. Got it."
"You aren't going to listen to me, are you?" he sighed, and I shook my head.
"I'm too young to date, and there are a lot of things that I want to do before then. But he did take a food bullet for me, so that is in his favor."
"Food bullet?" asked Dad, looking at me in the rearview mirror.
"Mmhm," I said. "It's like taking an actual bullet for someone, but in this case, the bullet was food."
"And you couldn't just eat the food?" he asked.
"Nope. They put a salad with dressing on top of my meat and added some type of oil to the rice."
Dad gasped in mock outrage, but he understood how much I hated my food touching. If it was something that was meant to be together… like all the ingredients in a potato salad, then I could eat it. But if that potato salad touched something else on the plate, then both were contaminated by the other, and I couldn't eat it.
What can I say? I never said I didn't have any 'quirks'.
"That was kind of him to do that," agreed Dad. "I guess he will get a pass. But not as your boyfriend. Only as your food bodyguard. That way, he can continue taking those bullets for you."
Food bodyguard? I didn't think it was an actual profession, but it really needed to be.
"Fine. I'll hire him as my food bodyguard. But enough about me, how was your day at work?"
"Same old, same old," groaned Dad. "The numbers never change. It is both a blessing and a curse when it comes to my job. Two plus two always equals four."
"Be thankful," I advised him. "Imagine if two plus two sometimes equaled five, but only if one plus one was nine."
He shuddered at that, though, and we changed the subject to something else.
I was happy and content. I had my mom and dad, and nothing was taking them away from me this time.