"Xiao Yuan, you’re coming earlier and earlier."
"Good morning, Aunt Liu."
"I haven’t even started making breakfast yet, what would you like to eat?"
"I’m fine with anything."
"Then wait a bit, I’ll comb Grandma Liu’s hair first before making breakfast for you."
"Okay, no rush, I’m not very hungry."
Li Zhiyuan walked into the living room and sat down on a chair.
Liu Yumei sat with her back to him, and Aunt Liu walked behind her, picking up a comb.
It wasn’t long before Alii, dressed in a white silk pajama, came downstairs.
Liu Yumei had to say, "Just a quick comb will do."
"Okay, got it," Aunt Liu quickened her movements.
"That’s good enough," Liu Yumei turned towards Alii, waving at her, "Alii, come here, come to grandma."
Alii looked towards Li Zhiyuan; he smiled at her.
The girl sat down next to her grandma, and Liu Yumei personally did her hair.
Li Zhiyuan continued to sit quietly, watching as Alii raised her hand and asked to play chess. Li Zhiyuan accepted.
But when the boy habitually thought about starting a second and third game at the same time, the girl did not make her move.
Liu Yumei glanced at the boy, asking suspiciously, "What’s wrong, did you start a fire again last night?"
Li Zhiyuan shook his head: "No, went to the construction site."
"Didn’t your Grandmaster send you living expenses? Did you need to work at a construction site to earn money?"
Having finished doing Alii’s hair, Liu Yumei looked satisfied.
These years, her greatest joy every day was fixing her granddaughter’s hair and designing new clothes for her.
"Let’s eat breakfast."
The three of them sat down at the dining table.
Aunt Liu brought over the breakfast with a smile.
In the past, if Alii hadn’t done her hair before meeting the boy, Grandma Liu would have been unhappy and nagged a lot about "decency". Now, it seemed like Grandma Liu had become used to it.
Li Zhiyuan didn’t have much of an appetite; before Liu Yumei could say "let’s talk in the study after you finish your meal", Li Zhiyuan also put down his chopsticks.
The old and the young proceeded to the study.
Li Zhiyuan opened his bag and took out the fully written "Liu’s Qi Observation Technique".
Liu Yumei glanced at its thickness and sighed silently.
Truthfully, she had translated two volumes in the past few days and was somewhat tired. On one hand, her age made it inevitable that her energy was lacking, and on the other, her work was intended to provide a better learning path for the next generation.
The outcome was that the beginner she was now teaching, still so young, and also presented by someone else, meant that the work she was doing now likely wouldn’t be used by someone in her lifetime.
It’s always easy for humans to lose patience with an unseen future.
Li Zhiyuan also took out the advanced version of "Qin’s Jiao Observation Method" and handed it over.
Liu Yumei looked slightly startled, though she had been shocked before, facing a similar situation still surprised her.
After flipping through it again, confirming it was the complete book, and seeing the tiredness between the boy’s brows, she couldn’t help feeling comforted yet also very heartbroken:
"You’ve worked hard, child."
"Grandma, it’s what I should do."
"Staying up late is harmful to the body, doing something that harms the body while staying up is likely to cause harm."
Li Zhiyuan knew that Liu Yumei thought he had stayed up all night writing these.
"Not hard? Is ’Qin’s Jiao Observation Method’ easier?"
"Yes, after reading ’Liu’s Qi Observation Technique’, ’Qin’s Jiao Observation Method’ became simpler."
Liu Yumei covered her mouth and laughed.
After a while, she calmed down and added, "I told that old fool before, said his old Qin family’s stuff was very crude and simple, and look, isn’t it?"
Li Zhiyuan just smiled and didn’t join the conversation.
"Alright, go upstairs and find Alii."
Li Zhiyuan left the study and went upstairs.
Aunt Liu came in with a fruit plate, seeing only Grandma Liu left, she couldn’t help but say with a smile, "I say, why is this teaching pace getting faster and faster?"
"I’m in a good mood today, I won’t pinch your cheeky skin."
"What happened? Tell me so I can be happy too."
Liu Yumei handed "Qin’s Jiao Observation Method" to Aunt Liu, who flipped through it briefly, surprised: "Xiao Yuan wrote it all directly?"
Then, Aunt Liu added, "That’s much faster than reading our ’Liu’s Qi Observation Technique’."
"Okay, stop flattering to make me happy. Qin Liu’s two books are essentially from the same source but split paths; understanding one and then the second will certainly be twice as effective.
If he observed Qin’s before Liu’s, it would be the same.
The boy didn’t lie, but he arranged the truth in a way to make me happy."
"You see, when he says that you just laugh happily, I was cutting fruits outside and could hear it. But when the same words come from my mouth, you scold me.
Alright, I see it now, blood is thicker than water, no matter how close, can’t compare with a direct disciple."
"If you’re capable, why don’t you try to perceive these two books to a higher understanding in a few days?"
"Hmph, I don’t have that ability nor the spare time. What can I compare with him? He is the direct disciple, maybe even the principal disciple later.
In past, when the house rules were strict, with his status, Ali and I would have had to bow and call him young master when seeing him."
"What principal disciple or not, isn’t it still early? Even if we talk about it, it would be a few more years."
Aunt Liu deliberately leaned on Liu Yumei, gently brushing against her while laughing and caressing the old lady’s arm.