Chapter 194: Better to grow old alone

When the Fifth Young Master of the Zhou family puts on a stern face, he's intimidating; he's not just joking.

Wen Ling lifted her eyes, looking at Qin Yuyang who had entered together with Wen Lao and Qin Lao, and couldn't help feeling a little pity.

Unlucky kid, even when he goes out to play he still has to do homework—what kind of older brother is this?

But Wen Ling also had a mischievous streak; she pressed her lips, gave a quiet chuckle, agreed, and silently assigned the task of supervising the homework to Zhou Yinhe.

Qin Yuyang still had no idea, wandering in front of Wen Lao and Qin Lao, chatting with one person then another, which kept Lu Zhaoye frowning, his face full of irritation, to the point he even wanted to feed him a mute pill.

Wen Ling walked over to the group; the butler happened to be carrying a backpack in, smiling and saying, 'Just now the Eldest Young Master Qin had someone send this over, saying it's the Young Master Qin's homework.'

Qin Yuyang's face fell instantly; he stared at the backpack full of books before him and, somewhat struggling, said, 'Why won't my older brother let me off?'

Wen Ling burst out laughing with a 'pufu' sound, reached up to ruffle Qin Yuyang's short hair, and said gently, 'Be good—why don't you start writing now? That way, when we go to Guishan with us, you'll still have time to play more.'

'…' Qin Yuyang didn't understand why someone would use that tone to say such harsh, hurtful words.

Zhou Yinhe also didn't know what he was doing, still hadn't come downstairs; Wen Ling, feeling lazy and not wanting to watch Qin Yuyang do his homework, handed the task to Lu Zhaoye, who was sitting beside the two elders and feeling a bit bored.

Lu Zhaoye felt helpless, but still sat beside Qin Yuyang and watched him.

Lu Zhaoye also began to wonder why a child could talk about fishing and chess with such ease, mastering all sorts of techniques, yet his own homework looked like heavenly script to him—he could barely recognize each character, but put together they made no sense.

'How about I find him a tutor? I'll pay—would that work?' Lu Zhaoye's eyes were vacant; seeing Qin Yuyang's math problems a mess, he couldn't hold back and turned to look at Wen Ling.

'I can't take it—I'll find him a tutor.' He repeated, 'I'll pay, just let me off.'

Wen Ling couldn't hold back; she covered her face, laughing until her cheeks hurt. Indeed, tutoring homework really could drive an adult mad—she had never seen such an expression on Lu Zhaoye's face before.

Zhou Yinhe finally appeared; Lu Zhaoye looked at him like a savior, stood up, walked to Zhou Yinhe's side, grabbed the bewildered Zhou Yinhe and brought him to Qin Yuyang's side, then with a shove seated him on the stool.

He almost wanted to cry, grateful, saying, 'I'll never be angry with you again—please tutor him in his homework.'

'…???' Zhou Yinhe stared blankly, glanced sideways at the innocent-looking Qin Yuyang, blinked, and asked, 'What do you mean?'

'Brother Zhaoye said you're to tutor me in my homework.' Qin Yuyang also blinked.

Upon hearing that, Zhou Yinhe raised an eyebrow and said, 'No problem.' He looked at Lu Zhaoye and asked, 'You're really not mad at me anymore, right?'

Lu Zhaoye slumped onto the sofa, heard him, nodded, and firmly said, 'Exactly!'

What's there to talk about love? If things go smoothly, marriage is inevitable; if they ever have a child, like Qin Yuyang, he'd rather stay single forever and grow old alone than risk making himself sick from anger or being tortured to death.

Zhou Yinhe satisfied, withdrew his gaze, patted Qin Yuyang, and whispered proudly, 'Thanks to you, you've helped your brother get rid of a rival.'

'Ah…' Is there? Qin Yuyang didn't understand either.

Wen Ling didn't interject the whole time; when Zhou Yinhe began tutoring, she rose, walked to the two, and with hands behind her back circled them as if watching a show.

Then he saw Zhou Yinhe's gaze grow colder, his face darker, his brows knit tight—he looked utterly aggrieved.

'No, wait a moment—what are you writing? Can't you use your brain? I really want to crack open your skull to see if you have no brains or if they're rusted; if not, I'll go to the kitchen for some peanut or corn oil to lubricate you.'

Qin Yuyang blinked his big eyes, thick-skinned—or rather, used to being scolded—and showed no reaction to Zhou Yinhe's sarcasm; the oil and water wouldn't go in, enough to drive mad anyone he tormented.

Zhou Yinhe opened his mouth; Wen Ling stood behind him, unsure if it was an illusion, but she felt smoke rising from the top of his head.

'It's fine, let's continue.' Zhou Yinhe lowered his eyes, adjusted his breath, then lifted his gaze with a firm expression and said, 'I can train wolves; I can't possibly fail to teach an elementary schooler?'

Qin Yuyang, quite moved, dropped his pen and grabbed Zhou Yinhe's hand—the size contrast was stark.

He said gratefully, 'Thank you, Fifth Brother, you're wonderful.'

'Don't be polite.' If it weren't for Lu Zhaoye, you'd see whether I'd bother with you,' Zhou Yinhe forced a smile, lowered his head, and kept teaching.

Wen Ling could no longer hold back; she turned away, her body trembling with laughter, the sound leaking from her hands over her face. Not wanting to disturb the two, she simply left the villa for the backyard to find the two elders who had just watched Lu Zhaoye teach the child homework and been driven to laughter.

Seeing her arrive, the two roughly guessed what had happened; Wen Lao, while reeling in his line, asked, 'Couldn't hold back the laughter?'

Wen Ling sat beside the two; her breathing, which had just been regulated, hitched again when she heard grandfather's question—this time she didn't care if others heard, she laughed loudly, startling the fish about to bite the hook so it flicked its tail and swam away.

'Ah Ling! My fish!'

Wen Ling's laughter hitched, then she buried her head in Qin Lao's broad back, laughing until her cheekbones ached.

Meanwhile inside the villa, Lu Zhaoye had the butler escort him to the room arranged for him; he could no longer bear to listen, fearing nightmares.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yinhe, with a wooden expression, mechanically instructed Qin Yuyang, wanting to explain each problem over and over—Qin Yuyang only grasped half.

Sometimes Zhou Yinhe especially hated himself for having such a useful mind, remembering elementary school problems and their solutions crystal clear.

He leaned back in the chair, eyes vacant; the butler noticed his off complexion, hurried forward, and asked softly, 'Young Master, what's wrong?'

'Nothing much,' he said, 'I'm just thinking—if I and Ah Ling have a child in the future, and he's like Qin Yuyang, what should I do? Will I still be able to accompany Ah Ling to the end?'

'Hmm… Young Master, why not hire a tutor for Young Master Qin? Then when we go to Guishan we can bring the teacher along, and you won't have to worry about Young Master Qin's homework.'

'That makes sense,' he said, 'Go, see if any teacher is willing to start now—offer extra pay, double, no, five times, ten times, whatever—hurry.' Zhou Yinhe seemed to see hope, excited, saying, 'Hurry, hurry—if this continues I'll run out of breath.'

The butler promptly replied, turned, and strode out.

After he left, Zhou Yinhe also couldn't hold back, but he forced himself, softening his tone as much as possible to ask Qin Yuyang.