Chapter Text
"I already told you time and time again that I won't sell! I thought we all agreed on this?!"
The sharp squeak of tennis shoes against the floor told those eavesdropping that a new lap of pacing had started.
" YOU WHAT??? WHAT THE FUCK WEI CHEN YOU - (shit)." The voice continued in a furious whisper. "(You greasy money hungry pig! You-)"
Rapid footsteps and then another sharp squeak.
"(NOT EVERYONE HERE IS JUST LOOKING FOR SOME EASY MONEY SO THEY CAN JUST LAZE AROUND ALL DAY TILL IT RUNS OUT AFTER A FEW MONTHS! YOU-) What? Old man Song wants out too?"
Silence. Those listening crept closer to the door, straining to hear. Then, a big sigh.
"Well everyone knows he's been wanting to retire and none of his kids want to take care of the arcade. But that doesn't mean the rest of us want out too. Just...a lot of us still love what we have here and- Shut up you know you do too. Crabby bastard."
A round of questioning eyebrows from the eavesdroppers and then a round of shrugs. Another thing to ask about later.
"Giving way to a shopping center would change too much and you know it. Even if we transferred our stores into it we'd just be renters. We'd have less control, we'd have uniforms, we'd have to put up with so much from management and it just wouldn't be the same. You think they'll allow you to come to work in your ratty t-shirt and flip-flops and let you scratch your feet all day?"
A loud snort.
"Thought so. Look, I'll talk this over with Wu Chen and we'll talk to Old man Song. Just don't go making any deals yet. We'll think of something………… Hey! You think of something too! Lazy A-"
"Kids? Shouldn't you be napping?"
The six children flinched in unison and turned guiltily to look at Wu-ge who was leaning on the window sill, with his gardening gloves and hat still on. Why was his gentle scolding so hard to bear?
A sharp gasp came from above their heads. They turned back to see Chen-jie staring at them in horror through the hallway window, hand covering the landline’s receiver, spiral cord stretched to its limit . "Oh no, I'm sorry kids, you weren't supposed to hear that. It wasn't a very nice grown up conversation."
“Well,” Wu Chen said as he came in and deposited his gardening things in the Gardening Cabinet, “it seems they were very determined to hear it. Nap time or not.”
“We know something bad’s happening,” An Wenyi stated, straightforward as always. “We don't want to be kept in the dark.”
Chen Guo and Wu Chen glanced at each other hesitantly, a silent conversation in the quirk of their eyebrows and the purse of their lips.
“W- we’re sorry!” Qiao Yifan blurted out at their obvious reluctance. “It’s just that…” they turned to him and he curled into himself, making himself smaller, “just…”
Wu Chen and Chen Guo turned back to each other and nodded in determination. Chen Guo disappeared back into the corridor with a soft “Wei Chen, sorry, got to go. Let’s talk later. Yeah okay bye,” and a click.
Wu Chen meanwhile sat on the mats in the center of the room, patting the mats in his usual ‘ Come, sit’ gesture. They sat in their usual circle with Chen Guo hurrying back in to fill her spot across Wu Chen.
Chen Guo looked at the young faces of her six charges; Tang Rou, Bao Zi, Qiao Yifan, Luo Ji, Mo Fan, and An Wenyi. There used to be so many more kids coming to Happy Daycare during her dad's time. But with more and more Kindergartens and Pre-schools and Pre-pre-schools popping up, the children were just entering formal education earlier and earlier. All in the hopes that it might start them on a path to some far off bright future. It really broke her heart. Children should be playing. Going outside! Discovering things! Not stuck in a chair for hours memorizing things. She just found it all so stifling.
Taking a biiiiig inhale and letting it out in a whoosh, she said: “Okay, the reason why your Wu-ge and I were trying to hide this from you was because we didn’t want you to worry. But,” she paused, looking at their very worried faces, “I guess we didn’t do a very good job.” She and Wu Chen shared sheepish smiles.
"Chen-jie?" Tang Rou asked, her gaze unnervingly mature, "Are we going to lose Happy?"
"No Sweetie-"
"Are we in trouble?" Luo Ji's asked shakily, eyes wide in panic and tearing up; the effect only magnified by his thick glasses.
"Oh Honey-"
"Is Boss Man Wei in danger?" Bao Rongxing demanded. "Do we gotta save him? Beat people up?"
"Absolutely not!" Chen Guo said, scandalized. But then Bao Zi started tying his shoelaces together. "Wait- No- Bao Zi- what?" Then he started removing his shoes. "Wait Xiao Bao,let me untie your laces if you need to walk-"
“No! I gotta be prepared to help Boss Wei!”
“No no no no no nonononono. Stop. Please. Wait,” she begged, hands repeatedly doing Calm Down motions. “Wei-ge is not in danger. Neither are we in trouble. Not really. It’s just that some people have been coming over and making...making offers, trying to get us to leave.”
The children gasped in horror, “”””“The Suit Men!””””””
Chen Guo blinked. Gosh that was adorable. “Um yes, the Suit Men. But! We don’t need to leave if we don’t want to! They can’t force us. So there’s really no reason to be worried. Okay?” She beamed at them with her most cheerful smile hoping it would be enough to convince them (and herself honestly).
The children looked at each other before nodding up at her. “Okaaay,” they chorused, placated for the time being.
Mo Fan on the other hand nodded once.
“Okay!" She clapped her hands in relief. "This calls for a group hug!” she cheered, kneeling and gathering the kids between her and Wu Chen. “Thank you so much for worrying about us but we’ll be okay,” she assured, leaning over them. Ah, Wu Chen smells like sunlight and plum blossoms.
When they let go, Wu Chen asked, “Just to make sure, does anyone still have questions?”
Luo Ji looked pensive for a moment before nodding.
“Yes Xiao Luo?”
“What does ‘What the Fuck’ mean?”
Chen Guo and Wu Chen froze.
“Also, ‘bastard’, ” Mo Fan added.
Chen Guo’s high pitched screech was probably only heard by the dogs.