These kinds of days aren’t bad either

After seeing Qín Yuè off, Féng Yè collapsed onto the sofa, utterly exhausted.

He felt a profound sense of weariness.

He knew that once he relaxed, he would become listless.

This was why he always forced himself to stay energetic while working.

This time, however, he was simply too tired to maintain the facade.

“It feels like ages since I last had a vacation, doesn’t it?”

Stretching, Féng Yè rose and stepped out of his office, wandering aimlessly down the corridor.

If he could just catch an employee slacking off, he could use the vigor of scolding them to re-energize himself.

Yet, this idea seemed destined to fail.

Every subordinate Féng Yè encountered today was fully engrossed in their work, showing no signs of idleness whatsoever.

‘Never mind,’ he thought.

‘This is a good thing, after all.’

Just as Féng Yè was about to return to his office, ready to immerse himself in work once more, he spotted a furtive figure standing by his office door.

The moment he saw her, Féng Yè immediately felt a surge of renewed energy.

“Qiao Yíng, what are you doing?”
“Uncle Féng?”

Qiao Yíng’s shoulders trembled slightly, seemingly not expecting him to appear from behind her.

“Are you looking for me?” Féng Yè noticed the hesitation in her eyes.
“Ah, yes.”
“Uncle, let’s talk inside.”
“Alright.”

Since he was now facing his niece, Féng Yè naturally dropped his formal demeanor.

He sat at his desk, allowing her to speak first.

“Uncle, I’ve come to say goodbye.”
“You’ve finally come to your senses and decided to go home?” Féng Yè raised an eyebrow.
“Do you know your mother calls me every single day?”

Ever since the incident in Wufeng City spread, Féng Yè had been dealing with a barrage of calls amidst his work, always from the same person.

She was subtly trying to ascertain if her daughter was indeed with Féng Yè.

Despite it being his own sister, Féng Yè would break into a sweat every time.

He secretly thought it was fortunate they weren’t face-to-face; otherwise, his terrible acting would be exposed within three seconds.

However, family pressure would eventually crush him, and Qiao Yíng’s whereabouts would ultimately be revealed.

It was a good thing she chose to leave on her own.

“Home?”
“No, I’m not going back yet.” Qiao Yíng stuck out her tongue.
“I haven’t had enough fun.”
“Still playing?”
“You haven’t released a new song in months.”
“Your fans…”
“Stop, stop, stop!”
“Can we please not talk about work?”

At the mere mention of her dreadful job, Qiao Yíng’s face instantly went pale.

“The reason I ran away so desperately was precisely because I didn’t want to go back to that.”
“Is that so?”
“But my son really loves your show.”
“But it’s exhausting!”
“Waking up early, working late into the night, getting home past midnight—I’ve gained so much weight.”
“Plus, I have to spend over two hours on makeup every time.”
“My skin feels rougher than others my age.”
“You really aren’t going back?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Sigh, then do as you please.”

Féng Yè had no way of dealing with her.

He knew his niece possessed extraordinary talent, and it was only a matter of time before she would travel widely to fully develop it.

The fastest hundred years of growth shouldn’t be wasted.

He also trusted his niece to solve any difficulties she encountered on her own.

Before she left, he simply asked, “Where are you heading next?”

“Well…”

Qiao Yíng kept him in suspense.

“I think it’s not bad to occasionally revisit old places.”
“There are still some secrets waiting for me to uncover.”
“Secrets?”

Qiao Yíng extended her right hand, propping her elbow on the desk, and leaned slightly forward.

Instead of answering, she pulled a scroll-like object from her bag.

Féng Yè had seen this before; it was a secret manual for a certain sword technique.

Neither he nor Qiao Yíng could master this particular sword technique, yet one unexpected person had succeeded.

It was precisely because of this success that Qiao Yíng wanted to explore its secrets.

She increasingly felt that this sword technique was not as simple as she had imagined.

Returning to the welfare institute, Mù Qīngyǔ immediately spotted Xǔ Tiānlí playing ‘eagle catching chicks’ with the children in the courtyard.

‘Such a grown man playing such a childish game.’

Upon meeting her gaze, Xǔ Tiānlí deliberately made a mistake, losing to the child playing the ‘eagle.’

He then told the children to continue playing amongst themselves before rushing over to Mù Qīngyǔ.

“Master, you’re finally here.”
“What, have you missed me after a few days apart?”

Mù Qīngyǔ walked towards the hall, a faint smile playing on her lips.

“It’s just that I haven’t seen you these past few days, and without any classes, I’ve felt quite bored.”

In truth, Mù Qīngyǔ had also been quite bored for the past few days.

However, she had deliberately hidden in a hotel, waiting for the brewing storm to subside before venturing out.

“You were just beaten half to death.”
“If you don’t recover properly, how will you face the upcoming lessons?”
“Does Master mean the next stage will be even tougher?”
“Are you scared?” Mù Qīngyǔ turned her head to look at him.
“No.”

Xǔ Tiānlí immediately adopted a serious expression.

“No matter how Master tests me, I won’t complain about being tired.”
“Even if you bring that scoundrel Mù Qīngyǔ in front of me to provoke me, I will still perform well.”

Upon hearing this, Mù Qīngyǔ, who was standing right in front of him, felt her lips twitch twice.

‘You still hate me that much,’ she thought.

Finding a random chair, she sat down, crossing her long legs clad in black stockings.

For a moment, she didn’t know how to begin.

After more than a month of interaction, Mù Qīngyǔ had indeed gained a better understanding of Xǔ Tiānlí.

She also felt that his temper had mellowed considerably, no longer as volatile as in the beginning, constantly talking about revenge.

However, after their recent conversation, Mù Qīngyǔ could still clearly sense the burning flame of hatred within him, still raging intensely.

If she dared to reach out and touch it, she would surely be burned to ashes.

‘The plan to turn him around still has a long way to go.’

Noticing the grim expression on her master’s face, Xǔ Tiānlí grew tense, wondering how to break the silence.

Perhaps due to his excessive nervousness, the words he had been brewing for a while suddenly turned into a strangely phrased greeting when they reached his lips:

“Master, is there any dish you’d like to eat?”
“Ah?” Mù Qīngyǔ was somewhat bewildered by his question.
“I mean, as a student, it’s my duty to satisfy Master.”
“But if Master doesn’t like…”
“Mapo Tofu.”

Mù Qīngyǔ provided her answer.

“Hmm?”
“I want to eat Mapo Tofu.”
“Can you make it?”

Xǔ Tiānlí had never made Mapo Tofu before.

However, as he looked into her golden eyes, the gloom in his heart instantly vanished.

At this moment, he couldn’t possibly say he couldn’t.

Instead, he needed to respond with high emotional intelligence:

“I can learn!”
“Oh, confident, are we?”
“Then work hard.”
“The road ahead is still long; don’t disappoint me.”
“Understood!”

Xǔ Tiānlí declared before dashing out to buy ingredients for Mapo Tofu.

Mù Qīngyǔ watched his retreating figure, then sighed in relief, slumping into her chair.

“It seems living like this isn’t so bad after all.”

She didn’t even notice the gentle smile that graced her own face.