The End 03

In the following moments, Ye Shuang chatted with the teacher for a while about Yezi’s situation. Upon learning that Yezi was well-behaved at school and performed excellently, Ye Shuang couldn’t help but pat Yezi’s head before continuing to speak with the teacher.

“Grades are certainly important, but I feel that at this stage, developing their interests and character matters more. As long as they don’t go down the wrong path, everything else will sort itself out.”

“It’s rare for a parent to have such a mindset,” the teacher remarked. After all, this was the best public elementary school in the area. Even though the students were only in second grade, the homeroom teacher had seen plenty of tiger parents who signed their kids up for over a dozen tutoring classes, practically hoping they’d skip sleep to study.

“Money can never be fully earned anyway. It’s better to keep an optimistic attitude and enjoy life,” Ye Shuang said.

Besides, now that he knew Yezi was his biological daughter, Ye Shuang had no intention of subjecting her to an elite upbringing. If anyone were to be groomed as the successor to the group, that would have to be Chen Qin’s child.

“Alright, Yezi, say goodbye to your teacher. We should head back for dinner,” Ye Shuang said, noticing the time.

“Oh, goodbye, Teacher,” Yezi said.

“Goodbye, Yezi.” The teacher nodded.

After greeting the homeroom teacher, Ye Shuang and the others turned and left.

Two adults and one child—Ye Shuang and Bai Yuyou held Yezi’s little hands on either side, making them look like a concave shape from a distance. The teacher, meanwhile, cupped her face in her hands. “The parents of Yezi… are way too good-looking, aren’t they?”

Could they be some kind of celebrity she didn’t recognize?

Would she ever get to see them again at future parent-teacher conferences?

…

When they arrived at the parking lot, Yezi ran into Hao Hao again. “Ah…”

Hao Hao looked at Ye Shuang and Bai Yuyou behind Yezi, momentarily at a loss for words. He just pouted and muttered, “They’re just young. So what?”

“A classmate of yours?” Ye Shuang noticed the kid and his parents.

“Yeah, they’re in the same class.” Hao Hao’s parent spoke up first, greeting Ye Shuang. “Hello, my kid doesn’t know any better. Please don’t mind him.”

“Oh, they’re just kids,” Ye Shuang said with a slight smile. He certainly wasn’t going to dwell on such a trivial matter.

Coincidentally, both of their cars were parked side by side. After getting into his car, Ye Shuang reminded Yezi, “Yezi, say goodbye to Uncle and Auntie.”

“Bye-bye, Uncle and Auntie,” Yezi said politely.

“Er… goodbye.” Hao Hao’s parents, clearly distracted by Ye Shuang’s Mercedes-Maybach, nodded at Yezi’s words.

“Hao Hao, say goodbye to the big bro—Uncle and Auntie,” the other parents said to their child, but Hao Hao stubbornly turned his head away.

The parents looked a bit awkward, but by then Ye Shuang had already started the engine and drove off with Yezi and Bai Yuyou.

A polite farewell was all they needed; they didn’t really care about the boy’s response.

It was a chance encounter. They might never meet again.

“Don’t mess with that kid anymore,” Hao’s father said, noticing the consecutive-numbered license plate, and gave his son a tap.

“Why?!”

“That Maybach costs millions. Do you think he’s an ordinary person?” Hao’s father said meaningfully. “Our BMW isn’t cheap either, but it’s not in the same league.”

“I’ll be able to afford one someday too,” Hao Hao muttered. “I’ll go into business, drive a luxury car, and marry a college graduate wife like him!”

“Good, ambitious.”

Still, the parents didn’t take their son’s words seriously. After all, who hadn’t dreamed big in their youth? But encouragement was still necessary.

…

Under the night sky, the traffic was particularly congested. The flowing stream of cars stretched endlessly like streaks of light, weaving into the distance without a break.

“There’s cake in the fridge. Yezi, are you hungry?” Ye Shuang said while driving. Glancing at the traffic light ahead, he spoke to Yezi.

“A little. Have Mom and Dad eaten?” Yezi asked.

“I have… go ahead and eat,” Ye Shuang said with a gentle smile.

Yezi opened the fridge, spotted the cheesecake inside, and took it out. But instead of digging in right away, she asked Bai Yuyou in the passenger seat, “Mom, want half?”

“I don’t want any. I had cake earlier,” Bai Yuyou said softly. “I’m a mom, so I should learn to let the kids have it.”

But Yezi already used a fork to pick up a piece of cake. “Open up—ah—”

“Mmm, next time I’ll let you have it,” Bai Yuyou said without much thought, popping it into her mouth and chewing.

Ye Shuang: “…”

Your actions don’t exactly match your words, do they?

“Since we’re all hungry, let’s eat out tonight.”

Yezi asked, “What about Keke?”

“She said she’ll order takeout herself.”

“Okay.”

Ye Shuang picked a random restaurant for dinner. Maybe because it was just past seven, the dinner rush was in full swing, and the place was packed. Ye Shuang asked the server for a private room, then took Bai Yuyou and Yezi in to eat.

“Ding, ding——”

As soon as they sat down, Bai Yuyou’s phone rang. She pulled it out, glanced at it, and began replying.

“Is that Keke?” Ye Shuang asked, helping Yezi wash her dishes and noticing Bai Yuyou looking down.

“It’s my mother,” Bai Yuyou said, then handed her phone directly to Ye Shuang.

Bai Yuyou’s phone had Ye Shuang’s fingerprints and facial recognition saved. Even though Ye Shuang never snooped through her phone, Bai Yuyou kept nothing from him.

“Hmm.” Ye Shuang took the phone and glanced at the chat window. It was a conversation between Bai Yuyou and Aunt Xian.

It started with casual greetings, followed by Aunt Xian asking if her daughter had enough money. Bai Yuyou sent a screenshot of her savings, and Aunt Xian added a line saying if it wasn’t enough, Mom still had plenty more.

In the middle, Aunt Xian mentioned visiting the elders in Hong Kong, but Bai Yuyou turned it down. Aunt Xian didn’t press further—if Bai Yuyou didn’t want to, that was fine.

Aunt Xian: The concert is coming up soon, sweetie. Don’t forget to come.

Then the conversation shifted to the concert, which was about a week away.

“Speaking of which, where is Aunt Xian’s concert?” Ye Shuang asked.

“I don’t know… I think it’s in our city,” Bai Yuyou said, shaking her head.

“Let’s ask.”

Ye Shuang pulled out his own phone and asked Aunt Xian about the concert date, finally getting the location: Guangzhou.

“Ah, that’s not too far. I was worried it might be somewhere in the north,” Ye Shuang said with a nod.