A reborn mother longs for her daughter's happiness.

Chapter 20 Bedtime Story Determination

Night fell, and the moonlight, like water, streamed into the room through the gaps in the curtains, immersing the world in tranquility. Just as Li Yuan was about to fall asleep, she heard a soft knock on the door, followed by her daughter Li Shiqing's slightly coquettish voice: "Mom, I can't sleep."

Li Yuan turned on the light, looked at her daughter standing in the doorway wearing cute pajamas and hugging a small teddy bear, smiled gently, and beckoned her over: "Sweetie, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare? Or is something on your mind?"

Li Shiqing climbed into bed, snuggled into her mother's arms, and shook her little head, saying, "No, Mom, I just can't sleep. Can you tell me a story?"

Li Yuan gently stroked her daughter's soft hair, thought for a moment, and began to tell the story: "Once upon a time, in a beautiful forest, there lived a clever little fox. This little fox had fiery red fur, as beautiful as the sunset clouds on the horizon. The little fox was very mischievous; it was always running around in the forest, exploring those mysterious corners."

One day, the little fox discovered a sparkling cave deep in the forest. The cave was filled with a mysterious atmosphere, and the walls were inlaid with all kinds of beautiful gems, which emitted colorful light, like stars falling into the cave. The little fox was very curious. It carefully entered the cave, its eyes full of wonder.

Li Shiqing listened intently. She blinked her big eyes, looked up at her mother, and asked, "Mom, isn't the little fox scared? Is there any danger in the cave?"

Li Yuan smiled and pinched her daughter's nose: "Sweetie, the little fox was a little scared, but its curiosity overcame its fear. However, there are indeed dangers in the cave. When the little fox walked deeper into the cave, it heard a deep roar, like thunder. It turned out that a big lion guarding the treasure was sleeping, and the little fox accidentally woke it up."

"The lion was furious. It opened its blood-red mouth and roared at the little fox: 'You little rascal, how dare you disturb my sweet dreams! I'm going to eat you!' The little fox trembled with fear, but it knew it couldn't panic. Its eyes lit up and it came up with a good idea."

Li Shiqing nervously grabbed her mother's pajamas: "Mom, what plan has the little fox come up with? Will it get eaten by the big lion?"

Li Yuan continued, "The little fox said to the lion, 'Your Majesty, I have come here because I have heard that you are the most powerful and wisest king in the forest. I have come to ask you a question. If you can answer it, you can eat me later.' The lion found this very interesting. He thought to himself, 'I am so smart, why would I be afraid of a question from a little fox like you?' So he agreed."

The little fox asked, "King Lion, what do you think is the most precious thing in the world?" The lion thought for a moment and said, "Of course, it's the treasure in my cave! These gems are priceless." The little fox shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, you are wrong. The most precious thing in the world is friendship. Because of friendship, we will have help when we encounter difficulties, and we will not be alone. Like me now, if I had friends, they would definitely come to save me, unlike these gems, which can do nothing."

Li Shiqing nodded thoughtfully: "Mom, the little fox is right, friendship is very precious. And what happened next? Did the big lion release the little fox?"

Li Yuan kissed her daughter's forehead: "The lion was stunned by the little fox's words. It had never thought about this before, and it felt that the little fox's words made sense. So, the lion let the little fox go and even became friends with it. From then on, the little fox often came to the cave to chat with the lion, and their friendship became a beautiful story in the forest. The other animals in the forest also knew that the most precious thing in the world was not gold and silver treasures, but the friendship between friends."

Li Shiqing yawned, her eyes a little blurry: "Mom, this story is so nice. I also want to have good friends like the little fox and the big lion."

Li Yuan hugged her daughter tighter and whispered, "Baby, as long as you are kind and sincere, you will have many good friends. Now, close your eyes, sleep, and have a sweet dream."

Before long, Li Shiqing fell asleep sweetly in her mother's arms, a slight smile on her lips. Perhaps she was dreaming of playing with a little fox and a big lion.

The morning sunlight, like golden threads, gently spilled onto the path leading to the kindergarten. Li Yuan held her daughter Li Shiqing's chubby little hand, humming a cheerful nursery rhyme as they walked towards the kindergarten. The little one skipped and hopped along the way, like a happy little angel, her two little braids swinging with her movements, melting Li Yuan's heart.

Upon arriving at the kindergarten, Li Yuan found the principal talking to several teachers at the entrance. She leaned closer to overhear and learned they were recruiting a new male teacher surnamed Fu. Hearing this, Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and images from her previous life instantly flashed through her mind.

In her previous life, Teacher Fu came to the kindergarten to teach the children how to protect and take care of themselves. It was all incredibly practical knowledge, like how to identify bad people, how to treat injuries, and how to keep their belongings safe. But the parents, like a swarm of wasps whose nest had been disturbed, kept buzzing and objecting.

"Why should a male teacher be teaching this? This isn't something he should be teaching!"

"Won't this set a bad example for the children?"

All sorts of inexplicable reasons bombarded Teacher Fu like cannonballs. Li Yuan didn't pay much attention at the time, going along with the crowd like other parents. Little did she know, this would affect her daughter's entire life.

Back then, her daughter Wang Shiqing (Li Yuan clenched her fist, thinking of her daughter's experiences in her previous life) loved Teacher Fu's classes; the little girl listened very attentively. But as the parents' opposition grew stronger, Teacher Fu's classes were canceled. After that, Shiqing seemed like a different person; she lost interest in many things, her studies deteriorated, and she eventually gave up her studies.

As she grew up, Shi Qing unwittingly got a boyfriend. At first, he seemed decent enough, but after marriage, his true colors were revealed. He took his anger out on Shi Qing every day, tormenting this once beautiful young woman beyond recognition. Thinking of all this, Li Yuan's eyes welled with tears. She hated her own ignorance and foolishness in her previous life, which had caused her daughter so much suffering.

"In this life, I will never let this happen again!" Li Yuan secretly vowed in her heart.

She led her daughter to the principal's office, where the principal greeted her with a smile: "Li Yuan, what brings you here today?"

Li Yuan took a deep breath and said, "Principal, I heard that we are recruiting a male teacher surnamed Fu, to teach psychology, right?"

The headmaster nodded: "Yes, what's wrong?"

Li Yuan patted her chest and said, "Principal, let me tell you, Teacher Fu's class is incredibly important. You know what? Kids these days really need this knowledge—to protect themselves and take care of themselves—it's a lifelong skill!"

The principal frowned: "I know this knowledge is useful, but some parents don't understand. They feel it's inappropriate for male teachers to teach this."

Li Yuan waved her hand: "Principal, don't listen to them. Those parents are just worrying unnecessarily. They have no idea how good this knowledge is for their children. Take last time, for example. My neighbor's child was playing outside and accidentally fell and scraped his knee. He was so scared that he cried and didn't know what to do. If he had learned those simple treatment methods taught by Teacher Fu, he could have saved so much trouble!"

The principal was somewhat tempted by Li Yuan's words: "What you said seems to make sense, but changing the parents' minds won't be easy."

Li Yuan chuckled: "Principal, leave this to me. I have a way to get the parents to support Teacher Fu."

The kindergarten director looked skeptical: "You really have a way?"

Li Yuan said confidently, "Of course. We can give a lecture to the parents first, and have Teacher Fu demonstrate his teaching content. I don't believe they will still object after seeing it."

The principal thought for a moment and said, "That's a good idea, but we need to prepare this lecture properly."

Li Yuan said excitedly, "No problem, I'll help. We can prepare some props, such as things that simulate injury scenarios, so that parents can experience it more intuitively."

After leaving the principal's office, Li Yuan immediately took action. She contacted several parents with whom she had a good relationship and shared her thoughts with them.

At first, the parents didn't quite understand, but Li Yuan patiently explained, "Think about it, our children are like tender seedlings; we need to teach them how to protect themselves in the wind and rain. The knowledge that Teacher Fu teaches is like putting a layer of armor on them."

(Note: Li Yuan's daughter, Shi Qing, has two names. In her previous life, she was called Wang Shi Qing, and in this life, she is called Li Shi Qing.)