CH 19

The fact that Qi Yanbai and Lu Ye became neighbors couldn’t be hidden from Lu Mingming, the little child, in the end. The next day, Qi Yanbai accidentally let it slip.

At that age, children are overflowing with self-awareness, naively thinking that everything in the world revolves around them. So, upon hearing this news, it was like a bolt from the blue for her. She couldn’t believe that her “favorite uncle” and “favorite teacher” had secretly become neighbors without her knowing.

“How could this be!” Lu Mingming protested in anger, “I haven’t even been to Uncle’s house to play yet!”

“No, whether we become neighbors or not, what does it have to do with you?” Lu Ye laughed, half kneeling down and looking at Lu Mingming, pinching her face playfully. He said, “You’re already acting like a housewife at such a young age? Do we need your permission?”

“It does matter!” Lu Mingming protested, “You’re living together!”

“Allow me to correct your phrasing.” Lu Ye chuckled and corrected her seriously, “We are neighbors, not living together.”

“That’s the same thing!” Lu Mingming said.

Children have simple and innocent perceptions. She didn’t necessarily have a strong objection to this matter, but she suddenly felt a sense of being “abandoned” by the small team. So, she threw a tantrum and insisted on squeezing in to make her presence felt.

She began to make a fuss about visiting Uncle and Teacher’s homes, claiming that she would also help with warming the house.

It was now lunchtime after school, with a multitude of adults and children coming and going from the training institution. The little commotion in the corner quickly attracted the attention of other parents, and even caught Qi Yanbai’s attention.

Lu Ye had initially tried to reason with Lu Mingming, but his patience quickly ran out after a couple of unsuccessful attempts. He was about to pick her up and take her away, ignoring her protests, when Qi Yanbai arrived just in time and gently held his wrist.

“Let’s handle this calmly,” Qi Yanbai said softly, “Don’t be hasty.”

While Lu Ye could suppress Lu Mingming’s tantrums with discipline, he always had a bit more patience with Qi Yanbai’s gentle approach. Upon hearing his words, Lu Ye gently twisted his wrist, softening his tone a bit.

“It’s alright, don’t mind her,” Lu Ye said, “She’ll calm down after a while. If it really doesn’t work, I’ll go out and buy her an ice cream.”

Lu Mingming was not pleased with Lu Ye’s way of pacifying children, so she straightened her posture and was about to argue that she was serious about visiting their homes. But then she saw Qi Yanbai standing behind Lu Ye, making a shushing gesture to her.

Children are quite perceptive about emotions, and she seemed to sense a certain wavering attitude from Qi Yanbai. So, she quickly shut her mouth and started pretending to be well-behaved.

“She can actually come if she wants to, children are curious by nature,” Qi Yanbai easily appeased the little one and then turned to deal with the adult, “Anyway, I only have one class in the afternoon, and you’re not on duty. If her mother agrees, she can come over and take a look, so she won’t keep thinking about it.”

“Hmm?” Lu Ye turned to look at him, puzzled, “How did you know I’m not on duty today?”

“Guessing,” Qi Yanbai smiled with a twinkle in his eyes, as if afraid Lu Ye wouldn’t believe him. He added, “If you were busy going back to work, you wouldn’t be standing here trying to reason with her.”

Lu Ye thought that Qi Yanbai had a pretty good understanding of his character, so he couldn’t help but chuckle and say, “You guessed right.”

Qi Yanbai had just moved in, and Lu Ye didn’t really want Lu Mingming to disturb his peace. Besides, taking care of a child while working could be considered a responsibility, but dealing with small clients after work was quite a struggle.

But Lu Mingming didn’t make any unreasonable requests. She just wanted to visit her Uncle’s house, and since Lu Ye was also off work, it wouldn’t hurt to take her along for a while.

Lu Mingming was a clever child. She almost instantly realized that her Uncle had been persuaded by her Teacher Qi with just a few words. So, taking advantage of the situation, she hugged Lu Ye’s leg.

“Take me with you—please,” Lu Mingming blinked her eyes and whispered softly, “I’ll be very good.”

“Besides, I have some extra lunch with me today,” Qi Yanbai added fuel to the fire, “If you’re not in a rush to go back, why don’t you just have lunch with me? We can all leave together in the evening.”

Lu Ye was cornered by Qi Yanbai’s words and the child’s clinginess, and he ended up giving in and making a call to Lu Wenyu.

Qi Yanbai’s weekend classes were for beginners, and the students were roughly the same age as Lu Mingming. Since young children have short attention spans, they couldn’t sit in the waiting room for two hours. So, Qi Yanbai simply inserted Lu Mingming into the afternoon class, helping her reinforce what she had learned in the morning.

Lu Mingming was still immersed in the joy of being able to visit her teacher’s house, so she had no objections to taking an extra class. Lu Ye followed the stream of parents to send her into the small classroom and was about to find a place to sit and rest for a couple of hours when Qi Yanbai accurately caught his wrist.

“Where are you going?” Qi Yanbai asked.

“Just looking for a place to sit for a while,” Lu Ye replied.

“It’s cold outside, don’t go out,” Qi Yanbai said, “The school has free trial classes for parents. You can come in and wait.”

Lu Ye could only smile wryly, thinking that he was now squeezed into a classroom with a bunch of little kids. He was about to refuse, but before he could say anything, Qi Yanbai grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the classroom through the back door.

“Sit here,” Qi Yanbai firmly made him sit behind a drawing stand near the back door, saying softly, “You can use your phone. If you need something, just call me.”

Lu Ye found himself arranged by Teacher Qi, and he had no choice but to accept it. Fortunately, this position was far from the crowd of children, and they didn’t notice him at the moment.

That spot was in the far corner of the classroom, but it didn’t affect his line of sight. Lu Ye leaned back in the low chair, looking around with interest. His gaze roamed around the classroom, and eventually, it landed on Qi Yanbai at the front.

It must be said that seeing Qi Yanbai from this angle did give a different feeling.

Qi Yanbai was gentle and diligent, and he was serious and focused while teaching. Due to caring about others’ reactions too much, he could sometimes appear a bit constrained.

However, in the classroom, he appeared confident and at ease. He handled things calmly and confidently, despite teaching a bunch of kids who barely reached his knee. His pace was steady, capturing their attention effortlessly.

He didn’t have any teaching materials in hand, just a short pencil. He casually made a few strokes on the white paper attached to the plaster block nearby, and the outline of the plaster piece was immediately portrayed on the paper.

Soft exclamations of “ah” emerged from the little heads like a group of small sunflowers, all of them tilting their heads and focusing on him.

People who had achieved something in their professional fields were always charismatic, especially when they were showcasing their abilities in their domain. This charm inevitably multiplied when the person in question was proficiently displaying their expertise. Holding the pencil between his fingers, Lu Ye leaned against the corner and gazed at Qi Yanbai. He started to appreciate the subtle charm in the teacher’s approach.

It wasn’t just his face and personality that made Qi Yanbai a star teacher, Lu Ye thought. There was something more to it.

The room was quiet, and only the faint sound of Qi Yanbai’s pencil scratching on the paper could be heard. His teaching voice was gentle yet not soft, carrying a touch of teacher’s authority that could command the classroom. It was easy for him to capture people’s attention.

Lu Ye twirled the pencil attached to the drawing stand between his fingers a couple of times. He looked at the plaster block Qi Yanbai was using for demonstration and couldn’t resist making a few strokes on the paper.

Unfortunately, the last time he had encountered sketching was back in the first year of middle school. His artistic skills were extremely limited. Even though he vaguely managed to sketch the outline of a cylinder following Qi Yanbai’s teaching, it didn’t look like a sketch at all; it resembled a child’s doodle.

Having a strong and determined personality, he obviously couldn’t be defeated by a plaster block. A sense of resistance emerged, and he was eager to fix the sketch. However, due to his lack of foundation, the more he tried, the messier it became.

After a while, he sighed in frustration and finally realized that his skills were probably on par with the little kids’ drawings in front of him.

“You’re pressing too hard.”

Lu Ye didn’t know when Qi Yanbai had approached him. He stood next to Lu Ye, slightly bent at the waist, supporting his shoulder. Then he extended his arm and gently held the hand Lu Ye was using to hold the pencil. He lightly sketched next to the “child’s cylinder” drawing and added a light gray shade.

“Even though the pencil is black, the effect varies with different pressures,” Qi Yanbai said as he corrected Lu Ye’s drawing. He spoke softly, almost in a whisper, “The pencil is an extension of your fingers. To create a good drawing, you need to learn to control your strength—apply more pressure when needed, and less when necessary.”

“Timing is important,” he said softly.

Qi Yanbai usually wouldn’t stand this close to his students; he maintained a certain distance for safety. But perhaps because Lu Ye was an equal “adult,” Qi Yanbai didn’t care as much. He used one hand to support Lu Ye’s shoulder, nearly embracing him, and held his hand. He gently marked a light gray imprint on the blank white paper.

His voice was focused and serious, almost brushing against Lu Ye’s ear, like a gentle and soft murmur.

A tingling sensation spread at the root of Lu Ye’s ear, and he couldn’t help turning his head to look at Qi Yanbai.

Qi Yanbai’s position blocked the nearby window, blocking off most of the bright sunlight, while his soft hair was bathed in the afternoon sunlight, casting a gentle color. His brows and eyes looked soft and unreal in the gentle sunlight.

Lu Ye had never seen Qi Yanbai’s profile from such a close distance. Now, in this sudden encounter, he realized that Qi Yanbai’s appearance actually suited his taste.

Pure, clean, serious, and attentive when working, with a touch of youthful inexperience due to his excessive concern for others’ opinions. He seemed to strike a balance between maturity and innocence, and his gentleness was just right.

Perhaps it was the intense afternoon sunlight, but Lu Ye suddenly felt something gently settling in his heart, spreading a warmth that was hard to ignore.

Perhaps his gaze lingered on Qi Yanbai’s face for too long, as Qi Yanbai eventually noticed. He paused in his sketching, turning his head to meet Lu Ye’s gaze.

Lu Ye didn’t know what Qi Yanbai saw in his eyes, but he could clearly see the delight and tenderness hidden in Qi Yanbai’s eyes. This indescribable emotion was quickly overshadowed by surprise, almost as if it were a figment of Lu Ye’s imagination.

This fleeting moment passed in an instant. In the next second, Qi Yanbai smiled, his lips curving, and he shyly averted his gaze, his loose hair falling to reveal slightly blushing earlobes.

Lu Ye’s heart momentarily skipped a beat, his Adam’s apple bobbed, and he suddenly felt inexplicably thirsty.