Chapter 36: This is no lesson—what you're doing is flirting!

Only then did Xia Yan notice the man's right cheek, where a hideous, terrifying scar ran from the tip of his brow down to the corner of his mouth. His right eye was clouded with a sickly whiteness, devoid of any trace of black.

He couldn't see out of his right eye...

She was momentarily distracted, but quickly regained her composure. "Hello, Brother Ruan."

Ruan Xiaotian also noticed the change in her expression and offered a small, melancholic smile. "Did I frighten you with my appearance?"

"No," Xia Yan shook her head. She was merely surprised, not frightened, thinking about how perilous the situation must have been for him to sustain such a grievous injury.

Just as she was struggling to find the right words, Erdan called out from the side, "Wow, this is delicious! Auntie, your fish is amazing!"

"Father, you should try some too."

Ruan Xiaotian didn't refuse. He took the small fish from his son's hand, tasted it, and immediately nodded, giving a thumbs-up. "This is wonderful, little sister, your cooking is truly impressive."

"I heard all about you from my mother when I returned. Erdan must have caused you a lot of trouble these past days."

"Not at all. On the contrary, he's helped me a great deal. Whenever I cook, he helps look after Nuannuan. He’s quite the little man."

As Xia Yan spoke, she ruffled Erdan's hair. Taking advantage of the lively conversation, she added, "Brother Ruan, sister-in-law, please go ahead and eat. I’ll head back to make dinner for the three kids."

Wang Guilan saw Xia Yan to the courtyard gate before returning.

When Xia Yan got home, Lin You had already set all the dishes on the table. Seeing her enter, he asked, "Where did you go just now?"

"Oh… I went to Aunt Wang’s next door. Lin You, there’s something I wanted to ask you."

Her mind was still full of the image of Ruan Xiaotian’s sickly right eye.

Lin You noticed the odd look on her face and nodded slightly. "What is it?"

"Is it very dangerous when you go up the mountain for your missions?"

Lin You's hand paused mid-motion. "Why ask that all of a sudden?"

"I just saw Brother Ruan next door. His eye…"

"Big Brother is back?" Lin You, upon hearing her words, immediately rushed out, visibly emotional. It was her first time seeing him like this.

Ten minutes later, he returned with red-rimmed eyes.

Had he been crying?

"Father, come eat," Nuannuan called.

"Nuannuan, you start first. I’ll eat in a bit," Lin You replied before heading to his room.

Xia Yan set down her bun. "Xiao Zhe, keep an eye on your brother and sister. Auntie will go check on your father."

Inside the room, Lin You pinched his nose as he heard the door open. "What are you doing here?"

"What’s wrong? Not eating? Is today’s meal not to your taste, you glutton?" Xia Yan teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Her words seemed to lift his spirits somewhat. "Xia Yan, sit down. I have something to tell you."

"Can’t it wait until after dinner? If it’s something heavy, it’ll spoil everyone’s appetite. Come on, the kids are waiting for you."

Xia Yan went over, squatted beside him, and looked up into his reddened eyes. She unconsciously covered his hand with hers, her fingertips feeling the tense veins pulsing on the back of his hand.

They held each other's gaze for quite a while, until a faint blush crept onto Xia Yan’s cheeks, and then both looked away.

"Big sister, Dad, what are you two doing?" Nuannuan’s voice at the doorway startled them, prompting them to let go quickly. Xia Yan, especially, seemed flustered. "Nuannuan, your dad… your dad hurt his hand, Auntie was just checking it."

The little one blinked her big eyes and shouted toward the living room, "Brother! Dad hurt his hand, and Big Sister is holding his hand to check it!"

Xia Yan thought, My little darling, is it really necessary to be so loud?

She shot Lin You a look. "Still sitting around? Go eat. What will you do when those two boys come in?"

"Auntie, I'm already here!"

Lin Hongzhuo was already standing behind Lin Nuannuan, blinking his large, sparkling eyes, though his expression was full of disappointment—clearly, he hadn’t seen what he’d hoped to.

Lin You got up, coughed twice, and picked Lin Nuannuan up at the door, shooting Lin Hongzhuo a look. "Getting bold again, huh? Even want to see your own father's embarrassment?"

"Auntie, Dad’s scolding me again."

"I’ll help you teach him a lesson," Xia Yan said, giving Lin You’s back a gentle pat.

"Auntie, you and Dad are just flirting, not scolding him at all…" Lin Hongzhuo seemed thoroughly ‘disappointed’ with Xia Yan’s method.

"Oh? You know what flirting means? Good, tonight, copy that idiom fifty times, so you remember it well," Xia Yan bent down and pinched the boy’s cheek.

"Brother, Auntie bullies me too."

Lin Hongzhe glanced at his younger brother and shook his head helplessly, clearly unwilling to get drawn into this smoke-free battle.

During dinner, everyone ate happily, except for Lin You, who remained preoccupied.

After supper, Lin You went to tidy up the kitchen, while Xia Yan tutored the two boys.

Today, she’d prepared an error notebook for them, hoping to instill the habit of reviewing their mistakes.

"Auntie, do you know English?"

"English? They’re teaching English at your school now?"

While checking Lin Hongzhe’s language homework, she heard Lin Hongzhuo ask from the side.

"I saw an English book in the school library today. I couldn't read it, but it seemed interesting. Didn’t you go to high school?"

Xia Yan had already noticed Lin Hongzhuo’s fondness for literary works and history.

"Xiao Zhuo, Auntie wants to ask you—what do you want to be when you grow up?"

She set aside the homework and posed the question.

"I want to be a great writer! Or maybe a diplomat," the boy replied without hesitation.

"Very good. If you want to learn English, Auntie will start teaching you tomorrow," Xia Yan praised. Although Chinese is vast and profound, with a long history, before she came here, English was a compulsory subject and widely used internationally.

"Really? Auntie, you know English? That’s amazing!"

"In time, you’ll see even more of Auntie’s talents."

She was quite pleased to hear the children express their admiration.

When the tutoring ended, Xia Yan couldn't find Lin You in the living room. After searching for a while, she finally found him smoking in the courtyard.

Nights in the northwest were still quite cold. Xia Yan wrapped her coat tighter around herself. "Why are you out here?"

"If I smoke in the house, the smell lingers. Are the kids finished with their studies?"

"Yes, they're all washing up now."

She walked over and spoke softly, "Don’t smoke anymore, it’s cold at night. Come inside. Didn’t you have something you wanted to tell me?"

Lin You exhaled a long breath. "Xia Yan, do you know how Brother Ruan lost his eye?"