“Wei Wei, teach Tangtang how to read the flashcards…”
“Wei Wei, tell Tangtang what one plus one equals…”
“Wei Wei… Teach Tangtang how to draw an apple…”
Older children, let alone geniuses like Gu Tingwei, were usually rather impatient with younger children.
Ms. Zhou thought that Gu Tingwei would grow to dislike Tangtang.
No matter how much he liked her, he wouldn’t be able to bear this child’s terrible, muddled literary skills.
After all, many parents would grow frustrated with their children when they helped them with their homework!
But in reality—
Gu Tingwei displayed an unprecedented level of patience.
For example, a simple arithmetic problem like one plus one.
Gu Tingwei held up one hand, raised two fingers, and asked Tangtang, “If I add one finger to another finger, how many fingers are there in total?”
Tangtang sat upright and mumbled, “One feenga.”
Gu Tingwei: “…”
He used a different approach. Holding up one finger of his left hand, he asked Tangtang, “How many fingers are there in total?”
Tangtang sucked on her lips. She imitated Gu Tingwei and held up one finger of her left hand. “One feenga.”
“Very good,” Gu Tingwei praised. Then, he held up another finger and asked, “How many fingers are there in total?”
Tangtang imitated his actions and parted her delicate lips. “One feenga.”
So far, so good.
Satisfied, Gu Tingwei put his hands together and hooked his fingers into little bunny rabbit ears. “If I bring them all together,” he asked her, “how many fingers are there in total now?”
Tangtang stared at Gu Tingwei’s hands and then at her own. Copying his every move, she brought her plump little hands together and bent her fingers into little bunny rabbit ears. She was so adorable that she could make anyone’s heart melt.
Gu Tingwei rubbed his nose: Ah~~ This is a real killer!!
Who was going to be killed?
Tangtang was so frightened that her back stiffened. She didn’t dare to move an inch.
Gu Tingwei continued, “Tangtang, answer me. How many fingers are there?”
Tangtang glanced at her own little hands before answering sincerely, “One feenga…”
Gu Tingwei: “…”
I lost.
He gave Ms. Zhou a pleading look. Ms. Zhou was seated off to the side with her legs crossed as she admired her immaculate nails. If she had been holding a cup of coffee, Gu Tingwei would have mistaken her for Yu Jiaojiao sipping tea at a high-end café.
Gu Tingwei put his hand to his forehead and took a deep breath before holding up his fingers once more. “Tangtang is right. This is truly one finger. But when I bring the fingers from both hands together, it’s two fingers.”
Oh~
The clever Tangtang finally reacted. So this was what Gu Tingwei had been trying to tell her, ah!
When Gu Tingwei brought two of his fingers together again, and when he questioned her about how many there were, Tangtang answered with utmost confidence, “Two feengas.”
Gu Tingwei heaved a sigh of relief. He was even happier than when he solved a difficult math problem. He stretched out his hand and stroked Tangtang’s head. “Tangtang is impressive. You even managed to solve such a difficult question!”
Tangtang instantly raised her head up proudly. Her large eyes, which were like black grapes, glimmered. Hmph, we mermaids are smart creatures!
Tangtang was truly intelligent.
After Gu Tingwei made a few more attempts at teaching her how to add, he realized that he had been using the wrong method before.
He couldn’t ask Tangtang the question straightaway. He needed to teach her the correct answer first before testing her on it.
As long as he mentioned or demonstrated it once, this kid would immediately commit it to memory. She had an exceptional memory and was especially skilled at the art of imitation… She simply progressed at lightning speed.
Tangtang was completely different from all the other kids that Gu Tingwei had interacted with in the past.
She was like a clean canvas, perfectly blank. Any brushstroke Gu Tingwei added would be the first.
She was also like a dry sponge. If Gu Tingwei added a drop of water, she would spare no effort to absorb it.
Gu Tingwei was extremely overjoyed. He no longer thought about ending school early to head to the laboratories.