Thanks to her classmates’ warm little gestures, Qian Yu’s mood had actually improved quite a bit.

Before she knew it, it was already afternoon dismissal.

The moment the bell rang, the students packed up and filed out of the classroom in order. Qian Yu, however, didn’t go home with her friends today—she was on cleaning duty.

After each of her classmates said goodbye to her one by one, only a handful of students were left in the room.

Seeing her friends already gone, Qian Yu didn’t hesitate. She picked up a broom and started sweeping.

Because of her family situation, she’d been doing housework since middle school, so sweeping was nothing to her.

And thanks to this “housewife” side of her, every time it was her turn to clean, the classroom ended up spotless.

Bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, Qian Yu gently brushed the broom across the floor, clearing away dust and trash like a quiet little nun.

If the boys in class saw this scene, they’d probably all go crazy again.

Suddenly, something occurred to her and she stopped.

Cleaning duty was always done by two people. Yet right now she was the only one working in the whole classroom. Obviously, someone was slacking off.

The duty roster rarely changed, so of course Qian Yu remembered who was on duty with her.

She glanced toward that person’s seat—and found that girl was actually still here.

Following Qian Yu’s gaze, you’d easily notice a plain-looking girl sitting in the back corner by the rear door. Her hand was propping up her chin as she stared somewhat aimlessly out at the corridor, as if she’d completely forgotten she was supposed to be on duty today.

Qian Yu walked over with the broom and said,

“Xiao Yu, time to sweep.”

From the way she addressed her, their relationship seemed to be pretty good.

But the girl called Xiao Yu immediately showed a hint of impatience on her face. She didn’t even bother to look at Qian Yu, just replied coldly,

“Not doing it.”

“Oh? Then why are you still here if you’re not sweeping, Xiao Yu?”

Qian Yu wasn’t annoyed at her answer. She just looked at her with a faint, almost teasing smile.

“Huh? I—I can’t stay and enjoy the view a bit?”

Her gaze accidentally landed on Qian Yu, and the originally cold-faced Xiao Yu suddenly got a little flustered.

“All right then, Xiao Yu, you stay here and enjoy the view. I’ll go sweep. Don’t worry, I’ll do your share too.”

With that, Qian Yu turned away like some long-suffering Cinderella, her face full of quiet sorrow.

“I was just kidding, Mo Qian Yu. Don’t look so sad, okay? I’ll sweep, I’ll sweep, all right…”

Seeing her like that, Xiao Yu’s tone finally softened.

Almost the instant Xiao Yu’s words fell, Qian Yu’s expression turned into a silent “just as planned”—though with her back to Xiao Yu, the girl didn’t see it.

She’d known Xiao Yu for a while already, and she had a pretty good grasp of the girl’s personality. Her mouth was sharp, but Qian Yu knew she was a good kid—she just wasn’t good at saying what she really felt.

But why would someone that kind…

Qian Yu seemed to think of something. Her eyes dimmed slightly.

“Since you’re sweeping, I’ll mop then… Hey, Mo Qian Yu, what are you spacing out for…”

She hadn’t had long to sink into her thoughts before Xiao Yu’s impatient voice cut in from a short distance away, mop in hand.

Qian Yu had no choice but to snap back to reality.

This wasn’t the time to be thinking about that. Better to finish cleaning first…

With that in mind, she quickly gave Xiao Yu a small, light laugh and said,

“Mm, got it.”

————————————————————————————————

With the two of them working together, the classroom was cleaned up in no time.

Looking at the neat, spotless room, Qian Yu felt an unexpected little sense of accomplishment.

After putting the cleaning tools back in the supply corner, she grabbed her backpack, ready to head home.

“Xiao Yu, wanna walk home together?”

Shouldering her bag, she called over to Xiao Yu, who was still packing up in the back corner.

“No. We’re not close.”

Xiao Yu’s face had gone back to its usual cold look.

Qian Yu wasn’t surprised by that answer. Ever since they’d met, they had never actually gone home together.

She’d always treated Xiao Yu as a friend, but clearly the feeling wasn’t mutual.

Once Xiao Yu finished packing, she didn’t even say goodbye. She just left straight through the back door.

Watching her walk away, Qian Yu let out a small, helpless bitter laugh without thinking.

She really didn’t understand why Xiao Yu seemed to dislike her so much, when she’d clearly helped her so many times.

But she didn’t dwell on it. She glanced outside at the buildings covered in a thin veil of orange-red, then swung her bag onto her back and murmured,

“Time to go home…”

————————————————————————————————

“Whoa, who’s that hottie? And is that a BMW?”

“Is he here to pick someone up?”

“Could he be someone’s older brother from our school?”

A few students who had just walked out the school gate started pointing when they saw a man leaning against a black BMW sedan. The passing girls took one look at his face and instantly flushed, hands over their mouths as they whispered among themselves.

You couldn’t really call them boy-crazy. They were just straightforwardly appreciating the view.

Some of the boys, however, clearly didn’t see it that way. When they saw the girls all looking at the man with hearts in their eyes, one totally average-looking boy jumped out and scoffed,

“You girls are so shallow. You think a handsome face can feed you?”

The girls exchanged looks. Then one of them shot back with open disdain,

“It’s still better than not being much to look at.”

“Pfft. Right in the feels, man.”

Clutching his chest like he’d taken critical damage, the boy trembled as he spoke.

Not far away, the man watched the scene, and something about it made him feel nostalgic. It reminded him of his own school days.

He’d noticed the little reactions around him, but he neither got smug nor embarrassed. He just stayed calm. After all, he was older now, he’d seen a lot, and it took more to rattle him.

Besides, he had other things on his mind today. There was a reason he’d come to this school.

He gazed past the gate toward the depths of the campus, as if searching for something.

When he couldn’t spot what he was looking for, he muttered with a puzzled frown,

“Why isn’t that brat Qian Yu out yet?”

He was about to step through the gate and go look for her, but before he could move, a familiar figure caught his eye. He stopped, raised his hand, and called out,

“Qian Yu!”

Just as she stepped out of the school gate, Qian Yu heard that familiar voice and instinctively looked up. But when she clearly saw the man’s face, her eyes stung. She didn’t answer. Instead, she quickly dropped her head and hurried off in another direction.

Seeing her react like that, the man gave a wry smile, then walked up to intercept her.

“Qian Yu…”

He seemed to want to say something, but before he could get more than a couple of words out, Qian Yu didn’t even glance at him. She just tried to walk right past.

He could only let out a dry laugh at that, then turned and reached out to grab her hand, apologizing,

“My dear Lady Qian Yu, I was wrong, okay? Please stop being mad at me.”

He tugged her arm lightly. With her level of physical ability, Qian Yu could’ve easily shaken him off—but she didn’t. Instead, she turned her head, her pretty face slightly flushed as she yelled,

“Idiot Xia Chuan, let go of me!”

That’s right—the man holding onto her was Xia Chuan. He was supposed to work overtime today, but for his rebellious daughter’s sake, he had taken leave without hesitation.

And clearly, after hearing his apology, Qian Yu’s anger had cooled a little. Otherwise, with her personality, she would’ve shaken off his grip and stormed away already.

But Xia Chuan couldn’t see through her mood that easily. Hearing her snap like that, he assumed she was still mad, so he hurried on,

“I’m not letting go! Qian Yu… I admit I went too far with what I said yesterday. But I really was only thinking of you. I know I was wrong now. Can you forgive me?”

As he spoke, his fingers quietly tightened around her hand.

Looking at his earnest face, feeling the warmth at her arm, the blush on Qian Yu’s cheeks deepened. She lifted her head just a little, her reddened eyes meeting his as she muttered,

“Wrong about what?”

“I shouldn’t have opposed your feelings like that. No matter who you like, the most important thing is that you’re happy, Qian Yu.”

On the surface, Xia Chuan was smiling, but in his heart he was cursing up a storm. Honestly, even now he still couldn’t accept the whole yuri thing at all.

He really couldn’t imagine how awkward it would be if Qian Yu married some girl in the future.

But remembering the method Mr. Xiao had told him at noon today, he could only bite it back for now and go with a “retreat to advance” approach.

Qian Yu froze for a second at his words. When she finally processed them, her whole face went bright red, a hint of delight in her voice as she asked,

“Really? You’re not against it?”

He really wanted to smile and just say he wasn’t, to go along with her. But before he could speak, his conscience gave a sharp twinge. So he scratched his head awkwardly and said,

“Uh… I’m not against it. But I don’t… really support it either…”

Not against it, but not supporting it… Did that mean there was still a chance?

Looking at Xia Chuan, Qian Yu suddenly felt that big empty space in her heart slowly filling again. The small face that had been weighed down with gloom finally lifted into a smile.

“What kind of answer is that… But… I’ll let you barely pass.”

Seeing the smile on her lips, Xia Chuan finally let out a long breath, relieved. At the same time, he sighed inwardly at how much of a high-level skill it was to coax a daughter…

He hadn’t had to comfort her much in the past. Ever since middle school, she’d been able to handle things on her own. She might look all tsundere on the surface, but she was surprisingly considerate, so with a lot of things, she knew right from wrong without him needing to say anything.

That was why he’d spoken so bluntly yesterday and told her to let go. He never expected such a fierce backlash.

Looking at the smile blooming on her pink lips, he even wondered for a moment if maybe he should just let her be with that girl.

That way, she wouldn’t cry as hard as she had last night…

But he knew he couldn’t. As her father, even if he had to be the bad guy, he had to pull her back onto what he believed was the right path.

With that thought, something in Xia Chuan’s heart quietly solidified.