The bowl Ji Xuan brought was respectfully given by Xiao Ruoguang to Xiao Yu, but Ji Xuan didn’t mind. He just sat there, watching his son drink the soup eagerly and asked, “Does it taste good?”

Xiao Ruoguang nodded as he drank, his words muffled between sips. “It’s good! Really good! So, so good!”

Seeing that, Ji Xuan felt like a needle had pierced his heart. He gently patted the boy’s head and said kindly, “Slow down, don’t drink too fast.”

Xiao Yu smirked and teased, “Well, it’s not you who’s starving, is it?”

Ji Xuan shot back, “…Just drink your soup.”

Xiao Yu turned her head and went back to sipping her soup. Ji Xuan was used to her jabs by now. Still, he looked over at her and asked, “You didn’t feed him this morning? The kid’s starving.”

Kong Yuqing quickly chimed in, “Exactly! The little master looks famished. Did you two skip dinner and breakfast?”

Still drinking, Xiao Yu replied casually, “We probably ate… just, you know, lightly.”

Ji Xuan frowned. “What do you mean by lightly?”

Xiao Yu thought for a moment, then said, “Drinking soy milk and eating plain steamed buns for a month—does that count as light?”

Ji Xuan turned to Xiao Ruoguang again, lowering his voice. “Xiaoguang, didn’t I give you the bank card? Why didn’t you buy something better to eat?”

Xiao Ruoguang nodded and said, “I did! But… the card didn’t work?”

Ji Xuan paused, confused. “Why wouldn’t it work?”

“The grandpa who sells soy milk said they don’t take cards,” Xiao Ruoguang replied matter-of-factly.

Ji Xuan: “……”

Xiao Yu immediately laughed. “My son is so smart!”

Xiao Ruoguang blushed and looked down shyly. “Thank you, Mommy!”

Ji Xuan: “!!!”             

What just happened? How did she win Xiaoguang’s favor again so fast?!

Kong Yuqing: “!!!”

What does that have to do with being smart?

Ji Yu quickly ran over and said, “Mommy, Mommy! Am I smart too?”

Xiao Yu turned serious. “Xiaoguang bought the soy milk and discovered on his own that the vendor doesn’t accept cards. What did you do?”

She took a big sip of soup while she waited—Wow, this is good. I could definitely down two more bowls.

Ji Yu tilted her head and thought hard. After a long pause, she said, “I… I respect Teacher Yi a lot. I’m a good student?”

Xiao Yu replied, “That’s something you’ve always done, and it’s something you should do. It doesn’t count as something Mommy needs to praise you for.”

Ji Yu frowned. “But other moms always praise their kids for respecting teachers!”

Ji Xuan also chimed in, “You can’t say it like that. Even if it’s expected behavior, it still deserves encouragement.”

Kong Yuqing added, “Exactly. If you put it that way, the young miss might lose motivation. She could start thinking, ‘If I’m not going to be praised anyway, then why bother respecting the teacher at all?’”

Xiao Ruoguang blinked his big eyes and looked at them curiously. “But Mommy said respecting others is something you should do. She never said you wouldn’t be punished for not doing it. For example—getting a beating!”

Ji Yu: “!!!”

Getting beaten?!

Ji Xuan: “…”

…That actually makes a lot of sense.

Kong Yuqing: “…”

Huh. I’ve… never thought of it that way.

Xiao Yu looked at Ji Yu with a smile. “So, do you have anything else you can trade in for a compliment?”

Ji Xuan: “…”

She didn’t even deny it…

Ji Yu was still in shock over the mention of getting beaten, but when Xiao Yu asked her that question, her desire to be called smart by her mom quickly took over. She began racking her brain.

When she couldn’t think of anything, she asked, “Mommy, what kind of things do I have to do to be a smart kid?”

Xiao Yu gave her a warm, gentle smile and said, “Why don’t you write an essay? Call it ‘I Love My Mommy.’”

Ji Yu’s eyes widened. “But the teacher didn’t assign that!”

Xiao Yu leaned in with a mysterious look. “Of course not. Everyone else is still learning how to read pinyin. Nobody else can read or write yet—but you can! You can already write an essay! Oh my goodness, what a smart little girl!”

Ji Yu nodded enthusiastically. “Really? That means I’m smarter than my little brother?”

Xiao Yu smiled and nodded. “Yes, you can write about how excited you were to have dinner with Mommy tonight. Then let Granny Kong accompany you to review it!”

Ji Yu nodded eagerly, whilst Xiao Yu turned to drink a big gulp of soup. “After Granny Kong reviews it, you can read it to Teacher Yi. She’ll think you’re so smart! No first grader should be able to write an essay while still learning pinyin!”

Kong Yuqing had been somewhat confused by the conversation, but hearing about reading it to that “fox lady” made her immediately jump in. “Young Miss, I’ll help you with your essay later. This is the first assignment Mommy’s given you, so we must take it seriously!”

Ji Yu nodded determinedly. “I will!”

Ji Xuan sighed. “…How about we have dinner now?”

Kong Yuqing cheerfully set up a comfortable seat for Xiao Yu, placing all the delicious dishes in front of her. Then, she happily served the two children, beaming with joy.

Ji Xuan, on the other hand, looked at the vibrant green vegetables in front of him, then glanced over at Xiao Yu’s feast—tubular bone soup, braised pork, and even the white-cut chicken made from the local chickens Granny Kong had sent from her hometown. What was once meant for him was now laid out for Xiao Yu.

Ji Xuan instantly felt exhausted. This is only the first day!

The next day, Ji Yu excitedly ran in, shouting, “Mommy, Mommy! Teacher Yi really said I’m smart!”

Xiao Yu had just come out of the rehabilitation room, drenched in sweat.

Seeing Ji Yu running toward her, Xiao Yu smiled and asked, “What did Teacher Yi say?”

Ji Yu immediately replied, “Teacher Yi said she’s really envious of Mommy and hopes I can write an essay called ‘I Love Teacher Yi’.”

Trying to get back at me? Xiao Yu smiled and nodded. “That’s not hard.”

Ji Yu tilted her head and asked, “Then how should I write it?”

Xiao Yu replied, “Just write that Teacher Yi tutored me, and she’s beautiful. I love Teacher Yi.”

“Is that all?” Ji Yu asked, just as Xiao Ruoguang came back from a walk with Ji Xuan.

Seeing Ji Yu, Xiao Ruoguang happily ran over and said, “Sister, you’re back?”

Ji Yu nodded proudly and said, “I wrote an essay yesterday, and Teacher Yi said I was amazing!”

Ji Xuan immediately added, “Don’t be proud.”

Ji Yu huffed and turned away, not wanting to look at Ji Xuan. Xiao Ruoguang then said, “Sister is amazing!”

Ji Yu, with a smug look, patted Xiao Ruoguang’s head and shot Ji Xuan an eye roll. “Well, at least my little brother is great.”

“Mom, what were you and Sister talking about?” Xiao Ruoguang asked, blinking his big eyes.

Ji Xuan was also curious. Ji Yu didn’t try to hide anything and repeated their conversation.

Xiao Ruoguang immediately looked at Ji Yu with a hurt expression. “Why would you love your teacher? I love Mommy the most.”

Ji Yu stammered, “I… I love Mommy too! I wrote about loving Mommy yesterday!”

Xiao Ruoguang remained sad. “But you wrote about loving your teacher here. Mommy will definitely be sad.”

Ji Yu turned to look at Xiao Yu, who immediately dropped her playful expression and adopted a sorrowful one. “Don’t worry about Mommy.”

Ji Xuan: “…”

Ji Yu blinked her doe-like eyes and said cautiously, “Then I’ll write about Mommy too. I’ll say I love Teacher Yi, but I love Mommy more! Is that okay?”

Xiao Yu shook her head. “This is an essay about loving your teacher. How can you include Mommy? The focus won’t be clear.”

Ji Yu agreed, but then heard Xiao Ruoguang say, “I can write it!”

Ji Yu’s expression instantly turned competitive as she declared loudly, “I can do it too!” Then she turned to Xiao Yu and said, “It’s okay, Mommy, this isn’t homework, I can write it like this!”

Xiao Yu gave Ji Xuan a wink and with a righteous expression said, “Well, that’s too bad. But why am I so happy inside?”

Ji Yu felt revived instantly. “It’s just seven extra words! It’s not hard at all!”

Ji Xuan: “…”

Meanwhile, Kong Yuqing, who had been secretly watching the whole time, quickly jotted down notes in her little notebook. So this was how it’s done!

=^_^=