They all got a taste of the first batch of tomato sauce that Liu Duo and her gang had made that morning.
They found it delectable and worthy of praise!
After lunch, Ye Liu and Ye Mo visited the potter to check if the clay jars they had ordered were finished yet.
Liu Duo and the rest stayed home and continued making tomato sauce, when an uninvited guest dropped by.
At the sound of Hei Xiaomeng barking, Liu Ran ran out of the kitchen to see what was happening.
“Teacher? What brings you here?” Liu Ran welcomed him in, “Hush, Xiaomeng, he’s a guest.”
Ye Xuan put on a gentle smile and patted Liu Ran’s head, “I forgot to tell you yesterday. I’m not just your teacher, I’m also your in-law’s cousin.”
Upon hearing that, Liu Ran stared at him in disbelief, “Huh?”
It seemed his teacher was now ‘family’. What an unexpected turn of events.
“In the future, I’ll call you Ran Er in private, but at school, you’re still Liu Ran,” Ye Xuan said as he guided Liu Ran across the yard, as though he owned the place.
Naturally, Ye Xuan asked, “So, have you been revising, Ran Er?”
Er…
After waking up, washing up, and having breakfast, he had been helping out with work. He had barely started revising.
After Aunt Li and Little Lian had arrived, Liu Duo allowed him to go play or read through his books, but he was adamant about helping.
Ye Xuan could tell Liu Ran hadn’t revisited his studies, based on his lack of response.
“Ran Er, have you forgotten what I told you in class? We gain new insights through restudying old materials,” Ye Xuan explained to him, his smile still hanging. He didn’t get mad just because Liu Ran hadn’t done his revision.
They went indoors, and Liu Ran poured him some water, “Yes, sir, I remember that.”
Liu Duo exited the kitchen and was heading to the outhouse to change her cloth strip when she met Ye Xuan.
There was a slight, undetectable arch in her brow, but she didn’t say anything and went straight to the outhouse in the backyard.
Ye Xuan took a sip of water as he sat on a stool, “Don’t have to call me that now. You can call me Brother Xuan. Ran Er, go get your textbook for your revision. You can ask me anything you don’t understand.”
Ye Ling also walked out of the kitchen and saw Ye Xuan. He furrowed his brow and walked closer, “Why are you here?”
It had been a month since he last came, and Ye Ling had thought he wouldn’t step foot in their house again.
“Ling, I’m here to tutor Ran Er,” Ye Xuan stood up, particularly polite.
Liu Duo hadn’t told them about that she got home. Neither did Liu Ran, because he didn’t know that Ye Xuan was ‘family’ to them!
Ye Ling stood there, bewildered. Tutor Ran Er? Why?
Ye Xuan deduced what he might be thinking, “I’m Ran Er’s teacher now, so I can tutor him, even during the weekends.”
Given the relationship, it was natural that he would offer special favors, wasn’t it?
Of course, his main purpose was to get closer to Liu Duo. Tutoring Liu Ran was such a righteous reason that he wasn’t worried he would be held back or chased away!
He could tell Liu Duo cared a lot for this brother.
“Oh.”
Ye Ling may not have liked him, but Ye Xuan said he could tutor Liu Ran on weekends, and Ye Ling knew it would benefit Liu Ran, so he relaxed and let things slide.
“Ran Er, go get your books. You don’t have to help,” Ye Ling said to him kindly.
Liu Ran nodded and went upstairs.
With Liu Ran out of sight, Ye Xuan chuckled at Ye Ling, Ling, I’ll come to tutor him whenever I’m free. He’s sure to make it to the top of the class.”
That meant, when Liu Ran went home for the weekend, he would report for duty too! Ye Xuan was merely giving Ye Ling an idea of what to expect.