Shooting Oneself in the Foot

"Even though I’ve just become an adult, I’m mentally prepared. But... this is my first time... Brother Ye Feng, could you be gentle with me?"

"......"

Wait, what?

"Yuxin... do you know what you’re saying? What I meant was that you shouldn’t open up your heart to someone you’ve only known for a few days. You always need to be cautious, because even I could be a bad person."

Ye Feng was utterly speechless. How did Su Yuxin manage to steer the conversation in such a dangerous direction? If Su Wanli had witnessed that scene just now, Ye Feng would probably be done for...

"No way! Brother Ye Feng is definitely not a bad person!"

Su Yuxin immediately refuted, not even allowing Ye Feng to badmouth himself.

"......"

"Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. We should hurry to class."

Ye Feng quickly changed the subject, though his micro-expressions revealed a complex mix of emotions after hearing Su Yuxin’s words.

As soon as they entered the house, Su Yuxin swiftly closed the door. While Ye Feng was changing his shoes, she turned and locked the front door.

"Brother Ye Feng, today it’s just the two of us at home~"

"Uh... I know. Mr. Su already told me yesterday. Don’t worry, Yuxin, I’ll protect you."

"Mmm! That’s not what I meant, though I do feel safe with you here..."

Su Yuxin then walked further into the house. Just as Ye Feng was about to head to the living room to start the lesson as usual, she stopped him.

"Yuxin, you seem a bit off today. Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Um... well..."

Su Yuxin lowered her head, her hands fidgeting nervously behind her back, and asked softly.

"Brother Ye Feng, can I ask where you usually teach Mu Cheng?"

"Sometimes outdoors, sometimes in a room. Why do you ask?"

"I... I’d like to have the lesson in my room. M-mainly because I can sit on my comfortable chair! And with a desk, I don’t have to bend my head down too much."

"That’s fine, as long as you’re comfortable with it. After all, it’s your room, and it might not be appropriate for me, a man, to be in there."

"I don’t mind at all!"

"Alright then. Do we need to go upstairs?"

"Yes! Follow me, brother~"

Once they reached the attic, Su Yuxin opened her room door and glanced at Ye Feng with a hint of worry.

"Please come in, brother..."

"Mm-hmm..."

Without much hesitation, Ye Feng stepped inside and began to take in the layout of Su Yuxin’s room.

Unlike the simple and minimalist style of Li Mucheng, Su Yuxin’s room could be described as cute. The plush dolls on the desk, the pink-themed decor, and the strawberry-scented fragrance all reflected her personality.

"So... what do you think, Brother Ye Feng?"

"It’s very cute, just like you, Yuxin."

"Mmm~"

Hearing Ye Feng’s compliment, Su Yuxin’s tense heart finally relaxed a bit.

He said I’m cute... Brother said I’m cute!

(˵¯͒〰¯͒˵)

"Alright, Yuxin, we’ve already wasted some time. Let’s sit down and start the lesson."

Ye Feng took out the teaching materials he had brought with him from his bag. After yesterday’s session, he felt that Su Yuxin wasn’t as clumsy as she claimed to be. In fact, she seemed to remember everything after just one explanation.

"Okay~"

Su Yuxin quickly sat down on her chair, opened her textbook, and began to listen attentively.

"Yuxin, do you remember the problems I explained yesterday?"

"I remember... some of them. It’s mainly because my memory isn’t great. My previous teachers always said I couldn’t remember formulas."

"Is that so? Then let me give you two relatively simple problems to see how you do, okay?"

"Sure, but don’t be disappointed in me, brother..."

"Of course not. That’s why we’re learning, isn’t it?"

Ye Feng then took out a blank sheet of paper and, under Su Yuxin’s watchful gaze, wrote down two problems and placed them in front of her.

"Let’s begin."

"Mm-hmm..."

Su Yuxin stole a glance at Ye Feng before focusing on the problems he had prepared.

The problems weren’t too difficult, but Ye Feng had intentionally designed one that required a formula he hadn’t taught yet. He set this trap to test whether Su Yuxin was pretending not to know.

"This problem..."

Seeing Su Yuxin furrow her brows in confusion, Ye Feng decided to add a little incentive.

"Yuxin, if you solve this problem correctly, I’ll give you a mysterious reward."

"W-what! A reward?"

Su Yuxin’s head shot up, her eyes locking onto Ye Feng’s.

"What kind of reward is it? Can you give me a hint, brother?"

"Of course not. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a mysterious reward, would it?"

"Hmph... you’re such a tease..."

"Oh? Are you giving up already, Yuxin?"

"Not a chance!"

Su Yuxin clenched her fists in determination.

"Whatever the reward is, I’m going to get it!"

"Haha, you seem pretty confident. Let’s see what you’ve got then."

......

"How was it, brother? Did I get it right?"

"Uh..."

Looking at the completely wrong answers, Ye Feng put down the paper without showing much emotion.

Was I overthinking it? Is Yuxin just naturally talented? But any other teacher could have achieved the same results.

Could she be pretending? But I used a bit of reverse psychology, and from her reaction, it didn’t seem like she was acting...

"Brother Ye Feng?"

"Ah... Yuxin, I just checked. Although you wrote the initial formula correctly, the subsequent steps were incorrect. In short, you didn’t get it right."

"None of them were right? Oh... I’m sorry... It’s all because I’m so dumb..."

The once-confident Su Yuxin wilted like a flower upon hearing that she had gotten everything wrong, her head drooping as she let out a few soft sobs.

Ye Feng panicked. He hadn’t expected Su Yuxin to burst into tears over just two problems. Who could have predicted it would end like this?

"Yuxin, don’t be upset. These problems are actually beyond our current curriculum. The fact that you remembered the formulas from yesterday already shows how smart you are."

"R-really? You’re not just making up an excuse to make me feel better, are you?"

"Not at all. I actually included today’s material in the problems by mistake. I only just realized it now, so I’m really sorry."

"Then... what about the reward?"

Su Yuxin wiped her tears and looked at Ye Feng with a pitiful expression.

"It’s still there! Of course, it’s still there!"

In the end, Ye Feng had no choice but to face the consequences of his own actions.