“Dad, the class isn’t over yet...”
Su Yuxin glared at Su Wanli like a bristling kitten when she heard her father mention the end of the lesson.
“I’m sorry, Yuxin. The reason I’m home today is because I need to take you and your mother to a very important meeting later.”
Su Wanli hadn’t expected the usually obedient Su Yuxin to act so fiercely in front of Ye Feng, but he spoke with a calm and earnest tone.
“Ye Feng, I’m very satisfied with today’s lesson. I apologize for my earlier rudeness, but we do have family matters to attend to, so the lesson has to stop here.”
“It’s alright, Mr. Su. I understand.”
Ye Feng waved his hand dismissively, clearly pleased with the prospect of leaving early.
“Thank you. The payment for the lesson will still be calculated as usual. Let’s end here for today.”
Su Wanli nodded at Ye Feng, now fully confident in his character. It seemed he wouldn’t need to supervise the lessons like he did today.
“Yuxin, go change your clothes. You’ll need to wear a dress for tonight’s banquet.”
Su Yuxin, standing in place with her head lowered, didn’t move. Then, a tear rolled down her cheek and fell to the ground.
“Yuxin?”
Noticing something was wrong, Su Wanli slowly approached and realized his precious daughter was crying. This immediately flustered him, as he was most afraid of seeing his daughter in tears.
“Why... why do you have to take up my time! Shouldn’t you discuss things with me first? Does that mean you can just do whatever you want without considering me?”
“I’m sorry, Yuxin. I didn’t want it to be like this either...”
Su Yuxin suddenly raised her head, her small hands clutching her skirt tightly. Her eyes burned with anger as she shouted at Su Wanli, “I hate you, Dad!”
“!!!!”
Su Wanli felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. His daughter had never said such a thing to him before, and hearing it now from her made him realize the gravity of the situation.
He knew if he didn’t act quickly, things could spiral out of control. Desperate, he glanced at Ye Feng for help.
Ye Feng, though reluctant to get involved in Su Yuxin’s family matters, walked over to her and handed her a tissue from the table. “Don’t cry, Yuxin. Look, your makeup is all smudged.”
“Wah... I didn’t mean to... I just wanted to show my best side to you, Brother Ye Feng... But... but I messed everything up.”
Ye Feng’s words worked like magic. Su Yuxin’s anger deflated like a punctured balloon, and her mood improved slightly.
“Not at all, Yuxin. You’ve done very well.”
Seeing that Su Yuxin was still thinking of him even in this state, Ye Feng couldn’t help but feel a growing fondness for the adorable girl.
“I should be the one feeling lucky to be tutoring such a lovely girl like you.”
“Lovely? Am I... really lovely?”
“Of course!”
“Wah...”
With just a few words of comfort from Ye Feng, Su Yuxin stopped crying. Su Wanli watched silently, his heart growing heavier with frustration.
“Yuxin, go get changed. We don’t have much time...”
“Brother Ye Feng, let me walk you to the door. There are still some things from today’s lesson I don’t understand.”
Su Yuxin suddenly interrupted Su Wanli, not even glancing at him.
“Isn’t that a bit inappropriate, Yuxin? Don’t you have to attend the banquet?”
“I’m not going with a father who doesn’t respect me!”
“......”
Su Wanli sighed helplessly and finally turned to Ye Feng.
“Ye Feng, could you come three hours earlier for tomorrow’s lesson?”
“Well... I can, but are you sure that’s okay?”
“This is what I owe Yuxin. The lesson should last as long as it’s supposed to. As a father, I can’t go back on my word.”
“If you say so, Mr. Su, then I have no objections.”
“Really?”
Su Yuxin wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, her gaze and tone toward Su Wanli now free of the earlier resentment.
Only when Su Wanli nodded did Su Yuxin break into a happy smile. She ran over and threw herself into his arms, once again becoming his obedient little girl.
“I knew Dad was the best! Thank you, Dad!”
You weren’t saying that earlier...
“So, Yuxin, can you go upstairs and get ready now?”
“Okay, but I want to walk Brother Ye Feng to the door. Just to the entrance.”
“Alright, is five minutes enough?”
“Plenty~”
With that, Su Yuxin tugged at Ye Feng’s sleeve and looked up at him.
“Let’s go, Brother~”
“Uh... sure.”
“By the way, Brother Ye Feng, this was your first time teaching me today. Was there anything I didn’t do well? I’ll take your advice and improve.”
Ye Feng thought back to the day’s lesson and shook his head. “Your performance was fine, Yuxin. There are still some gaps in your theoretical knowledge, but overall, you did well.”
“I did well? Then... compared to Li Mucheng, who do you think is better?”
“Do you even need to ask? Of course, it’s you, Yuxin. You have no idea how resistant Li Mucheng was at first. If I hadn’t used some tricks, I might’ve been fired by now.”
“Hehe, thank you for the praise, Teacher~”
Ye Feng’s words clearly pleased Su Yuxin, her cheeks flushing slightly.
After agreeing on the time for their next meeting, Ye Feng said goodbye under Su Yuxin’s watchful gaze. Only when his figure had completely disappeared did Su Yuxin reluctantly turn back toward the house.
“Did you see that, Li Mucheng? Brother Ye Feng likes me more! You’re just someone who’s using your authority to keep him around! Brother Ye Feng would never like you. I’m the best student!”
......
“Hehe, I finally did it!”
Xie Yuyan looked at the plate of golden, fragrant shredded potatoes, a hint of joy in her tired eyes. After countless attempts, she had finally succeeded in making a dish she was satisfied with, a testament to her hard work over the past few days. She eagerly awaited Ye Feng’s return, looking forward to showing him her true culinary skills.