Yu Jinxiao started with a few simple math problems, and Yuanyuan answered them all correctly.

But as soon as the numbers got bigger, she began scratching her head, clearly confused.

After observing her for a while, Yu Jinxiao figured out the issue—she struggled with two-digit sums, and that’s when things got fuzzy for her.

Patiently, he explained the method again, and each time, Yuanyuan would nod and get a few problems right. But soon enough, she’d revert to making mistakes.

After several rounds of this, Yu Jinxiao felt like the little rascal had tested the limits of his patience, possibly for the rest of his life.

“Yuanyuan, are you even paying attention? This is so simple, and you still can’t get it,” he said, his frustration bubbling over. His tone turned harsher as he continued, “I’ve explained it a thousand times. If you don’t focus, you’ll never learn.”

Yuanyuan, who feared nothing more than Daddy’s “dragon roar,” shrank back, as if trying to make herself smaller in his presence. Her big, tearful eyes looked up at him, trembling as she whispered, “Daddy is so mean…”

“I’m not being mean! You keep getting it wrong, and now I can’t even point it out?” Yu Jinxiao softened his tone slightly, but still kept his “stern father” demeanor.

Yuanyuan turned her head, her tiny hands weakly resting on the desk. “I missed you at school, Daddy. How could you be so mean?”

Huh?

Her voice was soft, but Yu Jinxiao heard her clearly. She missed him at school?

All the frustration and irritation melted away, as if it had been soothed by a wave of love. His tone immediately softened, as gentle as a breeze. “Really?”

“Really,” Yuanyuan nodded, her voice muffled and small.

“Alright,” Yu Jinxiao let go of his earlier irritation, speaking in a gentle tone. “If you want to get good at math, you have to focus and really listen. It’s just like when you sneak up on me—if you don’t use your brain, you’ll always fail.”

Sensing that Daddy’s mood had improved, Yuanyuan straightened up proudly. “I am listening carefully!”

After another thirty minutes of practice, both Yu Jinxiao and Yuanyuan were visibly exhausted. Yu Jinxiao was sweating, and Yuanyuan stared intently at the paper, not even daring to blink. At last, she managed to answer seven out of ten questions correctly.

Not bad—her success rate had climbed to seventy percent.

The picture Yu Jinxiao had envisioned of a serene father-daughter bonding session was nowhere to be found. Instead, the reality was a grueling session that nearly broke his patience and took the edge off his temper.

He couldn’t yell, couldn’t scold, and had to be careful not to raise his voice too much, fearing he’d scare the little dumpling to tears.

Those forty minutes felt like they had taken years off Yu Jinxiao’s life.

Thankfully, the sound of approaching footsteps came to his rescue.

Yu Yingze dashed over and, spotting his sister, casually said, “I figured she’d be in here. Want to come play hide and seek?”

It was a summer evening, and although it was already 6:30 p.m., there was still plenty of daylight left for another hour of play.

The moment she heard the words “hide and seek,” Yuanyuan slid off Yu Jinxiao’s lap and landed smoothly on the floor. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

Yuanyuan had become a legend at hide and seek, her reputation spreading throughout the neighborhood kids. They were all eager for Yu Yingze to bring his sister out so they could witness her skills firsthand.

Yu Yingze felt a bit proud too—after all, no one else had such a talented sister.

“Second Brother, second brother! I played soccer today at school and won!” Yuanyuan was eager to share her success.

Yu Yingze, who had been the one to first develop her goalkeeping skills, listened to her story with interest, already planning to get her involved in a real match sometime soon.

As Yuanyuan happily skipped along, humming a tuneless song, she suddenly felt a strange sensation… like someone was watching her.

She whipped her head around, but all she saw was the long, empty road behind her. Not a single person in sight.