Ultimate Teacher

"Teacher Fang, have a chicken leg—"

"Teacher Fang, my pan-fried squid is the best. It goes perfectly with some wine—"

"Teacher Fang, eat up! Don't be shy. Here at our place, treat it like your own home—"

Fang Yan looked at the mountain of food piled up on his plate and realized that fulfilling the promise he made to Jiang Qin might be more difficult than he thought.

After all, when you eat someone's food, it's hard to refuse their request.

Jiang Qin's father, Jiang Daye, who was a butcher, sat quietly holding his wine glass, grinning as he occasionally urged Fang Yan, "Teacher Fang, let's have another round." Whether Fang Yan drank or not didn't matter; Jiang Daye drank everything in his own glass until not a drop was left. If they kept this up, Fang Yan might end up stumbling out half-naked.

Li Sao (Mrs. Li) was a shrewd and enthusiastic woman, with the typical sharpness of a city village resident. Her husband, Jiang Daye, was quiet and honest, and besides saying, "Teacher Fang, let's drink," he and Fang Yan had almost no conversation.

Li Sao was stout, with a round waist and hips, and Jiang Daye, although a butcher, looked more like a kind-hearted restaurant chef or the owner of a small diner.

Despite this, such an ordinary couple had given birth to a daughter who was clever and mischievous—and, to be honest, quite beautiful.

In fact, Jiang Qin was really pretty. Well, aside from Ye Wenrou—no, no, no, how could someone like Ye Wenrou even be considered a woman?

Big, bright eyes, fine, arched brows, and a straight nose. Even without makeup, her little cherry lips were enough to make anyone's mouth water. Her skin was soft and fair, her expression innocent and carefree, and her long black hair cascaded freely down her back. Sitting there seriously eating with her parents, she looked like a little princess of this city village.

Every adorable girl is her family's little princess.

Although Jiang Qin's features weren't fully matured yet, there was already a hint of charm in her eyes. This charm was still subtle, but as she aged, who knew what kind of breathtaking beauty she would blossom into?

"Teacher Fang, try some beef. Pineapple beef—it's made the same way in the North, right?" Li Sao said as she added yet more food to the mountain on Fang Yan's plate, making it even more towering and treacherous.

"Yes," Fang Yan nodded.

"Teacher Fang, are the students at Suzaku Middle School easy to teach?" Li Sao asked casually.

"They're not bad. I've just started there, though," Fang Yan knew this was the prelude to the real topic.

Jiang Qin, who had been quietly eating, gave Fang Yan a quick glance, reminding him to keep his promise and refuse the tutoring.

"Suzaku Middle School is a prestigious school. The students there must be of very high caliber," Li Sao continued. "Unlike our Qin Qin…"

"Qin Qin?"

"Mom," Jiang Qin's cheeks turned slightly red as she angrily said, "My name is Jiang Qin."

"Oh, right, Qin Qin is Jiang Qin." Li Sao quickly corrected herself.

Jiang Qin wished she could bury her head in her seafood soup. How could her mom call her by such an intimate nickname in front of a stranger? And such an embarrassing one at that!

"Jiang Qin didn't perform too well during her primary school years and only got into the 26th Middle School. It's a good school, but there are so many better schools ahead of it. Getting into Suzaku High School won't be easy," Li Sao lamented.

"Where there's a will, there's a way. Jiang Qin is smart and clever. I'm sure she'll get into Suzaku High School," Fang Yan said tactfully, implying that with her intelligence, she didn't really need extra tutoring.

"If she performs exceptionally, she might even get into a school better than Suzaku," he added.

Jiang Qin's lips curled into a satisfied smile at Fang Yan's answer—though not fully satisfied.

Why only partially satisfied?

Because this guy was being sneaky. Just because she was smart and clever didn't guarantee she'd get into Suzaku High School. Plenty of top students fail their exams every year. If she didn't get in, would it mean she wasn't smart enough?

"So Teacher Fang also thinks our Qin Qin is smart?" Li Sao said happily. "I'm not exaggerating, but Qin Qin has always been clever. She started speaking earlier than other kids her age, walking faster too. At three, she could tell me English stories, and by five, she was reciting Tang poetry—like that long one by Bai Juyi? She could recite it all!"

"That's amazing," Fang Yan praised her. "She's already qualified to be my teacher."

Jiang Qin burst into laughter. What a lame excuse!

She tapped her chopsticks against her plate and said, "Mom, can you stop? In your eyes, I must be some kind of genius, huh?"

Li Sao chuckled awkwardly. "Well, I'm only speaking the truth—"

She added more vegetables to Fang Yan's plate. "Teacher Fang, though this is our first meal together, you know my straightforward nature. I don't treat you like an outsider, and I hope you don't treat me that way either. Here's the thing, Qin Qin is in her final year of middle school now. This is the most critical year before the high school entrance exam. Huacheng is a strong city for education, but with her current grades, getting into a key high school is a bit risky."

Smiling sheepishly, Li Sao continued, "Teacher Fang, you're a Chinese teacher at Suzaku Middle School, so you must be highly knowledgeable. I was hoping to ask if you could tutor our Qin Qin in Chinese to give her an extra boost for the entrance exams. What do you think?"

Fang Yan glanced at Jiang Qin. The little girl was quietly shaking her finger, signaling: Don't you dare agree!

"Li Sao, it's not that I don't want to help, but the truth is—there's a lot going on at school. My schedule is unpredictable, and I'm afraid if I come home too late, it will interfere with Jiang Qin's studies, which would be counterproductive," Fang Yan said hesitantly.

"That won't be a problem at all," Li Sao quickly reassured him. "How could it interfere? You can tutor her when you're home, and when you're not, she can study on her own. And anyway, you still have to eat, right? From now on, you can just have dinner at our place. What's one more pair of chopsticks? I'll cook whatever you like. My husband is a butcher, so we've got plenty of pork—pork head, pork intestines, pork ribs—you name it, we've got it!"

"How could that be appropriate?" Fang Yan hesitated, but the offer tempted him. If he ate here every night, it would save a lot of money. At least until he got his first paycheck, he wouldn't have to worry about his financial situation.

As for the future, he could always say he was too busy with work and back out later. Plus, the food was delicious.

"It's no trouble, no trouble at all. Teacher Fang, please say yes. Every parent wants the best for their children. I'm not expecting Qin Qin to be some top scholar; I just want her to get into a good high school, then a good university, so she can find a job where she won't go hungry," Li Sao pleaded sincerely.

Fang Yan thought for a long time before saying, "Li Sao, it's not about the food or whether Jiang Qin owes me anything in the future. It's about what you just said—every parent wants the best for their child. Even though I don't have children of my own yet, I understand how hard parents work for their kids. My own parents struggled to support me, and I can feel their pain."

At that moment, Fang Yan felt a sharp kick to his leg under the table. Jiang Qin was clearly expressing her dissatisfaction.

Fang Yan pointed at Jiang Qin and said, "But I'm afraid Jiang Qin might not want the tutoring."

"How could she not?" Li Sao grabbed her daughter and asked, "Qin Qin, do you want Teacher Fang to tutor you?"

"I want to," Jiang Qin said, her face crumpled in frustration.