Chapter 100: A Turn of the Corner

In the courtyard, looking at the food on the table, Lin Xun fell into deep thought once again.

One big and one small, one human and one fox, both were dazed.

Takeout again, that same common taste.

After being “baptized” by Jiang Nongqin’s cooking these past few days, Lin Xun and Yaya found this takeout to be as tasteless as chewing wax.

It wasn’t that Lin Xun hadn’t tried cooking himself, but he only knew four dishes: Sweet and Sour Chicken Wings, Braised Chicken with Mushrooms, Stir-fried Free-range Chicken, and Seaweed Egg Drop Soup.

That’s right… Lin Xun only knew how to make dishes related to “chicken”… Well… he could swap the chicken for other meats, but the resulting dishes tasted about the same, aside from the texture of the meat… Besides that, the food Lin Xun made was truly worse than ordering takeout; at least takeout had more variety.

After all, having the same few dishes every day, let alone Yaya, even Lin Xun himself was about to vomit from eating them.

“Yaya,” Lin Xun said with some emotion.

“Hmm?” Yaya raised her eyes and looked at Lin Xun with a blink.

“Why is it that your Sister Qinger and Sister Nongqin both cook so well?”

“Yaya doesn’t know either.”

Yaya lowered her head and shoveled a mouthful of rice. Although it didn’t taste good, Yaya couldn’t be a picky eater, or she wouldn’t grow up.

While chewing the food, Yaya muttered with her little mouth, “Actually, the food Brother Lin makes is also very delicious, it’s just…”

“It’s just?”

Yaya tilted her little head up and swallowed in one gulp. “It’s just that the food Sister Qinger and Sister Nongqin make has a special taste.”

“A special taste?” Lin Xun was stunned. Did Qinger and Nong Qin have some secret recipe for cooking?

“Mhm, mhm.”

Yaya nodded, resting her little finger against her chin as she spoke while thinking.

“It’s like… like… like the taste of happiness. It tastes soft, sweet, and beautiful. Yaya can feel that when the two sisters are cooking, they are thinking about Big Brother.”

“…Yaya, about Sister Nongqin cooking for us, you must never tell Sister Qinger, okay?”

“Why?”

“Because Yaya might very well lose her Big Brother…”

“…”

The big one and the small one continued to eat. There was no choice; even if they weren’t used to it, they had to live their lives.

After finishing their meal, Lin Xun took Yaya to school, and Lin Xun went to teach as well.

Returning in the evening and pushing open the courtyard gate, there was no longer the fragrant aroma of food filling the courtyard. Leaves had fallen in the yard, and no one was there to sweep them anymore. There was a thin layer of dust on the table, and no one to wipe it away.

In the kitchen, there was no longer any figure. Everything was so quiet.

“Brother Lin…” In Lin Xun’s arms, Yaya lowered her little head, her little nose twitching. “Yaya misses Sister Qinger and Sister Nongqin…”

“It’s okay. It won’t be long before Sister Qinger returns.” Lin Xun stroked Yaya’s little head.

“What about Sister Nongqin then?”

“Sister Nongqin…” Lin Xun shook his head and didn’t answer.

Breaking through from Golden Core to Nascent Soul would take at least seven or eight years, including preparation time. As for whether Nong Qin would return to Luo City after seven or eight years, he didn’t know.

“Brother Lin~”

“Hmm?”

“Brother Lin, why don’t you marry Sister Nongqin?”

“Because Brother has already married Sister Qinger.” Lin Xun smiled and rubbed her head.

“But… but why did Huahua’s father marry five wives?”

“That…”

“And, and, Honghong’s daddy also married four wives.”

Yaya cutely counted on her fingers.

“Xiao Ming said he wants to marry eighteen wives just like his daddy and make Yaya the primary wife, but Yaya refused.”

“Xiao Gang wants Yaya to be his first wife, but Yaya also refused. In the future, Yaya is going to marry Brother Lin.”

“Brother Lin, why did Brother Lin only marry Sister Qinger?”

“…”

Hearing Yaya’s questions, Lin Xun was somewhat speechless.

Lin Xun knew all the people Yaya mentioned; they were all local gentry and such in Luo City. Honghong’s father was even a wealthy and idle Prince who was on good enough terms with Lin Xun to discuss the ‘Scroll of a Hundred Beauties.’

“Yaya.”

“Hmm?”

“Yaya, do you see that big rock over there?”

“Mhm, mhm.”

“If Brother Lin were to take a Secondary Wife, he would likely be buried under it.”

“Eh?”

Yaya blinked, not understanding why Brother Lin would be buried for marrying more wives.

Clearly, Honghong and the others’ fathers were all living perfectly well, though their faces were a bit pale and their steps a bit unsteady.

“Alright, Yaya will understand when she grows up.” Lin Xun pinched Yaya’s smooth little face. “In short, if your Sister Qinger doesn’t agree, then Brother Lin will not take a Secondary Wife or any concubines.”

“Ohhh~~~” Yaya nodded her little head, her eyes suddenly brightening.

So it’s fine as long as Sister Qinger agrees. Then when Sister Qinger comes back, Yaya will tell her that when Yaya grows up, she wants to marry Brother Lin.

“Yaya, come out and play~~~”

“Yaya, I have pretty dresses at my house, come over and try them on.”

“No way! I want to dress Yaya up!”

“Me, it’s me!”

Outside the courtyard, the voices of Yaya’s little playmates rang out again.

“Alright, go play. Remember to come back before sunset.”

Lin Xun set Yaya down.

“Mhm, mhm.” Yaya trotted out of the courtyard on her short little legs, tucking away her tail and ears.

“Kisses for Yaya~~~”

“Cuddles for Yaya~~~”

From outside the courtyard, the cheerful voices of the little girls drifted in again.

The students who could attend Luocheng Academy were either wealthy or noble.

Not to mention the guards protecting them along the way, even if they walked down the street alone, their luxurious dresses would make ordinary people afraid to approach. Moreover, Yaya had the Magic Treasure given to her by Lin Xun.

After Yaya left, Lin Xun also locked the courtyard gate.

Lin Xun first went to Xiao Ming’s house for a home visit, then to Xiao Gang’s house for another.

Although Lin Xun was a School Teacher, in the Qian Kingdom, especially at Luocheng Academy, School Teachers held official ranks.

Moreover, Lin Xun was usually incorruptible and filled with “righteous” Qi, earning him great respect. He even received special attention from the City Lord of Luocheng, in addition to his status as the students’ teacher.

After Lin Xun expressed his care and earnest teachings for the children to Xiao Gang and Xiao Ming’s parents, no sooner had he stepped out than he heard the sound of a father chasing his son with a bamboo cane in the courtyard.

“Failed the exam and forged my signature?”

“Skipping class to catch crickets?”

“Tearing up books to use as toilet paper?”

“See if I don’t beat you to death!”

Listening to the screams inside, Lin Xun felt that this approach was inadvisable.

Education should influence children through persuasion, not physical punishment or verbal abuse. So, Lin Xun gave the butler who saw him out a stack of exam papers, asking him to pass them along.

After the home visits, Lin Xun felt refreshed, thinking that he was indeed a very competent teacher.

The sky gradually darkened.

He bought some roasted chicken, braised pig trotters, and spicy bean curd skin, then ordered a few more takeout meals to be delivered to the house. Humming a little tune, he walked home.

But just as he was passing by a small alley…

Suddenly, at a corner, a dark shadow walked toward Lin Xun step by step… and then…

The figure fell forward with a “thud.”