Chapter 70: "Old Drivers" Never Brake
This morning, the Lingus house was a little more lively than usual. Lacus was preparing breakfast for three, while Ade was teaching Mineva to brush her teeth.
"Don't swallow, spit out the bubbles in your mouth." Ade watched Mineva spit out the toothpaste bubbles and stroked Mineva's little head, "Yes, that's right. Not bad for an elementary school student. So smart."
Mineva smiled and looked at herself in the mirror with the white toothpaste foam still in the corner of her mouth. She rubbed the top of her head against Ade's big hand with an expression of enjoyment. After that, she learned how to wash her face, and Ade did not spare his praise, and the little girl was even happier.
According to the little girl, although Char loves her very much, he has been very busy and doesn't have time to take care of her. Aunt Haman treated her like a princess, and let maids do all kinds of things for her. The result is that the little girl, although she is six years old, doesn't know how to brush her teeth and wash her face and dress. However, she had finished most of the courses of the elementary school.
The little girl has NT qualities, sensitive to the attitudes of people around her. In this complex environment, she is cultivated a very intelligent, but also more precocious personality. The best indication of this is that she can already call herself Audrey outside while remembering that she is also called Mineva, something that should be very difficult for a child of this age.
Yesterday, Minister Lingus just opened his mouth, and his men had already done all kinds of formalities for Audrey. Now, the little girl is his adopted daughter - Audrey Lingus. Today is her first day at school, and she has been placed in the best first-grade class at Anaheim Annex. If Char does not intend to take her back, she will probably go to Anaheim Annex High School after that.
Lacus is concerned about Mineva's social anxiety, but Ade doesn't feel the same way. Mineva is a very smart child, the reason for her social anxiety is mainly because of Haman and Char's education, and she had no friends of the same age. As long as she gets used to the environment, she will soon be able to get better.
After freshening up, Mineva sat down at the table and breakfast was ready. She dutifully waited until all three were seated before starting.
"Although you may know everything the teacher is talking about, you still have to pretend to listen carefully in class so that the teacher will like you." Ade took advantage of the breakfast time to impart tips to her in a serious manner, "As long as the teacher likes you, the other kids will follow, and then you can do whatever you want."
"Well, hmm." Mineva nodded her head vigorously while chewing the food in her mouth.
"Ade, what are you teaching her?" Lacus sighed, "It's not good to teach that to a first-grader, right? And she probably won't even understand what you're talking about."
"Don't underestimate her. She is brought up by Karn, she understands what I'm talking about. She is a smart child, it's better to tell her everything directly." Ade reached out and wiped the crumbs of food off the corner of Mineva's mouth with his fingers, "That's how I dealt with my fellow teachers back in the day. It's all in my experience."
"Ade, weren't you self-taught?" Lacus looked at him in confusion, "I don't remember you going to school in your resume, right?"
"… Yeah… oh, I didn't go to school on the moon." His voice gradually lowered, "Back in the day, when was that …"
Lacus looked at Ade with concern. Sometimes, he would make such a look as if he was nostalgic and as if he was despondent, but she had no idea why, nor did she know how to comfort him. Does "that woman" know?
At that moment, Mineva suddenly jumped down from the chair and stretched out her short arms to hug Ade's waist, "Uncle Ade, don't be sad."
"Hey?" Ade came back to his senses, then hugged Mineva back to his seat and rubbed her soft cheek affectionately, "I'm not sad anymore, thank you, Mineva."
Mineva looked at him and blinked her big eyes and nodded as if she understood something. Lacus looked at them with a complicated expression, not knowing how to insert herself into it.
"Mineva, you must retaliate back if you're bullied by a classmate." Ade broke away from that inexplicable emotion just now and continued to impart the experience, "After retaliating, wait for the teacher to come and then you can start to cry, so that the teacher will favor your side and preconceived that you are aggrieved."
Mineva listened so intently that she forgot to eat.
"Although I don't think any parent on the moon would be stupid enough to let their children bully the famous Lingus' child, nor would any teacher be stupid enough to favor the bully, just in case, you still need to master these tricks." Ade coughed, "In short, do not bully nor be bullied. Our Mineva is a lady, it is best to make friends with all the other children, such as talking to them about cartoons and so on."
"But," Mineva squirmed uneasily in place, "I haven't seen any cartoons."
"…What did Haman Karn do!" Ade slapped the table irritably and the little girl was startled, "It's okay, if the other kids say something to you that you haven't seen, just answer 'Why don't you ask the magic conch?' They will certainly ask you what the magic conch is, and then you can tell them the story of SpongeBob SquarePants that I told you. they must not have heard of it."
"Stop, you're going to be late." Lacus said helplessly, "Aznable will surely regret to let you take care of Mineva."
Mineva lowered her head after hearing Lacus's voice and began to eat breakfast quietly. Ade doesn't know what had happened between them in the past two days, but he felt that Mineva was a bit afraid of Lacus. The three packed up after the meal, went out together, and Uraki was waiting for them at the door.
"Audrey, good morning." Uraki cheerfully greeted the little girl.
"Uncle Uraki, good." Mineva also greeted back politely.
In the past two days, Ade introduced Mineva to all his acquaintances, and everyone seemed to liked Mineva, but the only ones who would talk to her were Uraki and Cagalli, and she treated these two better than Lacus. As for the reason, Ade had a vaguely guess in mind.
In the car, Mineva consciously sat between Ade and Lacus, just as she always did, and Lacus kept a smile on her face. When she arrived at school, she didn't shrink back and entered the door directly. It seems that Haman's education is not entirely without merit.
Ade is not worried much about Mineva in the school. From the principal to the teachers, he had asked all of them to take care of Mineva but to not treat her special, in the case that other children would crowd her out.
Ade as a senior official, a researcher whose name can be written into the history books, the principal and teachers feel nervous to talk to him. At this time, Lacus played her affinity, there were many teachers whose families were her fans, and she signed for all of them.
After that, Ade and Lacus left, and Lacus told him the day's schedule on the way. She is a perfect secretary, and the only problem is that he has zero privacy time now. He can never find excuses such as "I have a meeting today", "I need to work overtime", "my friends looking for me for dinner", and etc. Ade's every minute is in the girl's hands now.
Thanks to Mineva, he can finally sleep well at night, but the noon nap is still canceled. No matter what, this frequency is too much, Ade has begun to feel a little problematic, and he does not feel as if the young girl is enjoying herself, but rather as if she is doing something for the sake of doing something. Several times, he tried to have a good talk with Lacus, but she subtly stopped his words every time.
"You're going to see Athrun in the afternoon according to the schedule. I'll wait outside and not go in with you." During the lunch break, Lacus sat next to Ade and talked to him, "You can ask Mr. Kira to go with you. He looks like he has a knot in his heart, and doing so should increase his goodwill."
"Hmm, but you really don't want to see him?" He asked casually, "After all, he and you actually have no direct grudge, and you look like you knew each other well before. Didn't he give you a present on your birthday?"
"I knew Athrun before we met, but we have no other relationships apart from that. Jealous?" Lacus came to his ear and whispered, "Then what do I have to do to make you feel more at ease?"
"I don't mean that. Let's talk like normal people for a while, ok?" Ade alertly pulled away from the young girl and sat up straight. No matter what happens today, he won't let the situation go on, "Lacus, you are not quite right lately. I admit that you are too attractive to me, and I do not have much self-control every time, but even so, I have noticed that you are not acting normal."
"Are you getting tired of me so quickly?" Lacus made a sad expression.
"You know that's not what I meant." He looked at the young girl and felt sad in his heart, "Is it because of Mineva? After all, she is Aznable's daughter, I can understand that you do not like her. Or is it that the interaction between NTs makes you feel disconnected? That's not true either, it feels like it started much earlier. Anyway, can you tell me why? Don't continue to force yourself. I feel sad for you."
"… feel sad? This is the first time you've said that." The young girl put away her seductive posture and quieted down, after a while, she slowly hugged him and buried her face in his arms, "I'm happy to hear you say that."
"Can you talk to me about it?" He gently stroked the young girl's long hair, "If there are any problems, we can solve them together."
The young girl did not answer, and he did not rush, but just quietly waited for her to speak. He knew she would try to communicate, with Lacus's perfect acting skills, there was no way he could spot the breakage. Since he could tell something was wrong, it must be because she wanted him to see it.
"… I'm upset." Lacus hid her face in his chest, "You said that you want me to stay, although I was happy, it was because of my half-cajoling, half-deception tactics, right? After seeing your interaction with Mineva, I think that kind of you is the real you, and then I feel even more uneasy."
"…"
"Others may think that it was Ade you who pursued me, but I know I'm the person who is getting more and more from you. I was given too much and I'm not being able to pay back, that makes me even more upset." Lacus's voice was calm, "The life now seems to be as happy as a dream, and I wish it could last forever, but no matter what tricks I play, it only seems to make the dream wake up earlier. I can't think of a better way than to do that."
A very simple reason, a very simple solution, the moment she said it, he was suddenly enlightened.
"Sorry, it's my fault that I make you feel uneasy." He stretched out his arms to hug the young girl hard, "There is no need to play any more tricks, you have given me enough, so much that I do not know how to live without you. Your previous ploy has worked perfectly, I've got Lacus dependency, no matter what happens, I can't leave you."
Lacus was silent for a while, then laughed softly, "It's not very convincing for someone who has already reneged on an important agreement to say such things. But I can't help it, I'm too soft-hearted for you, let me believe you once more. By the way, Ade, you are getting more and more skilled in coaxing girls. Can you please return that dull Ade to me?"
"I'm sorry, I'm not pure anymore after being coached by you."
"Oh, it seems to be the fault of me. I'm really a bad woman." The young girl raised her head from his arms, and the corners of her mouth were full of smiles, "Seriously, not a bit of jealousy about Athrun? Not even a little bit ever? Ade, I'm already so unattractive to you?"
"… a little bit, but only for a moment. "
"Sigh, since you say so, what am I gonna do with you?" Lacus came up to his ear and whispered, "So what do I have to do to reassure you a little?"
"Uh, why is the topic coming back around? All that talk just now for nothing?"
"Please Dr. Lingus answers such a simple question by himself. And I won't be going there in the afternoon. You can try to think of an excuse to explain my absence and tardiness, as the compensation for you making me uneasy for so long." The young girl glanced at the time, and her voice raised with joy, "So we still have a lot of time, Ade, give you one last chance, what do I have to do to make you feel more at ease?"
…
When he arrived at Athrun's room in the afternoon, Athrun had been waiting for him for a long time. He had also invited Kira, and although he was ultimately rejected, Kira was indeed grateful for his invitation, as Lacus had expected.
"Minister Lingus, does Your Excellency know how late you are? Is this the attitude of a Lunar government official to do business?" Athrun recently encountered many things, it is justifiable for him to be a little sensitive, "Also, about that data disk you gave me before, there are 20G e-books in it! Is this the amount a human can finish reading in his life?!"
