Very gentle hug.

Hug. Pat. "Rules are usually there for a reason. Following them most of the time is a good idea. But there are things important enough to break the rules for, and I didn't understand that." 

"...Rules are silly."

"Your other father thought so too." 

More gentle hugging.

"Rules do have reasons. A rule against loud noises prevents those who are meditating from being disrupted by the sound. A rule against running decreases the risk of accidental injury and facilitates a peaceful atmosphere. But the rules that some people need stifle others." 

She makes a dubious face about this. Other people having different needs is a really big thought.

"When I told you to tell no one who your other father was, that was a rule. That rule is because you would not be safe if the truth about you were known to the wrong people. If you break that rule casually, people will hurt you. But if you find someone you can really trust, who you really want to truly understand you, then breaking the rule would be the right choice." 

Slowly: "...Okay."

"Thank you." That was SO MANY WORDS AUGH maybe he can just cuddle her silently for a while. 

She has acquired many things to think, and is okay cuddling quietly! And then sleeping. (It was a good bedtime story, after all.)

Oh good. 

Lan Wangji continues to be unable to get out of bed. Her uncle wants to put her in classes with the other children her age. 

She's more excited about the 'children her age' part than the 'classes' part. Why can't daddy just tell her everything, since he knows everything???

Oh no that's so cute. 

"Some things can't be learned just by being told them. Writing, for example, or meditation, or martial arts; you have to practice those things."

"...Okay. Martial arts first?"

"We only have so many teachers, so you have to learn with the other children, and right now the children are learning to write." 

"I guess. I like stories."

"Stories are wonderful," he agrees. 

He brings her to the classroom, where she is introduced to the teacher and the other children, most of whom are also surnamed Lan. She is given a baby-sized brush and set to learning to read and write. 

This is soooooooooooo tedious. She amuses herself by being as creative as she can with the brush strokes, as long as the final result's still readable (it's not readable to anyone but her). She likes reading, though, except for all the memorization parts.

The teacher chides her lightly on her penmanship but don't seem to have any idea she's doing it on purpose. 

Maybe she can. Trick teachers??? This seems like it might be entertaining. More entertaining than copying the same thing over and over at least.

The teacher seems to have no idea a small child would want to trick them about their penmanship! This makes them much easier to trick. 

Heeeeeeeeee.

Then she won't be disrupted in drawing animals and plants shaped in a vague impression of words! This swoosh can be a FLOWER and that figure is a HORSE with a HAT...

The teacher thinks her handwriting is HORRIBLE but she's progressing acceptably on reading. 

It's actually a lot easier to remember 'horse with hat' than 'collection of swooshes' and now writing is FUN, so she's practicing lots, so she's going really quickly on reading!

(Also being HORRIBLE is really funny to her for some reason.)