After a moment of darkness, Xia Yu found himself facing a small table placed beside a bed and a book.
It was a book about programming.
Flipping through the pages, Xia Yu asked Xu Youxiang, “Why did you decide to read this?”
In the past, whenever Xia Yu came over, the girl was always playing games.
“I found it while I was looking through some stuff, so I just picked it up to have a look,” Xu Youxiang replied.
“Really?” Xia Yu expressed doubt.
Leaving aside how Xu Youxiang, with her limited mobility, could be rummaging through things, the book clearly looked brand new. In the nearby trash bin, there was even a delivery package that had been used to carry the book.
Was it because his current skills had become comparable to hers that she had developed a competitive spirit?
He looked at the book in his hands.
Until now, all of Xia Yu’s skills had been self-taught or learned from others; he had never actually studied from a book.
However, he thought that learning from books was the least efficient method.
“I can’t teach you anymore. You should ask your lover to find a good teacher for you,” Xu Youxiang said, her tone filled with disappointment.
That was exactly what Xia Yu had been thinking, but there were two issues to consider.
First, how he would bring this up with An Siyao, and second, whether Xu Youxiang could accept the teacher who came.
As for An Siyao, this could be resolved by simply being a bit more persistent. But dealing with Xu Youxiang would be more difficult.
The girl had strong pride; being seen lying in bed by a stranger would surely be very stressful for her.
“Don’t worry, I won’t find a man, nor will I find someone difficult to get along with,” Xia Yu assured Xu Youxiang.
“What are you talking about? Do you think I’m some fragile girl?” Xu Youxiang’s words carried anger.
“Alright, alright, it’s just that I don’t like men or difficult people myself,” Xia Yu said.
“What’s that tone of yours? You pervert, you lesbian with your feet in two boats…”
Xia Yu didn’t mind Xu Youxiang’s scolding; he even wanted to record it, adjust the pitch, and make a song out of it.
At the same time, he remained skeptical of her claim that she was strong.
He remembered clearly who had once thought about committing suicide, only to be stopped thanks to him.
Tossing the programming book aside, Xia Yu grabbed a notebook and opened a video game.
Xu Youxiang’s scolding also stopped.
“Play the one in the top right corner. Yes, that one. I’m stuck on it; you help me beat it.”
Xia Yu still had a video game skill. He had obtained it previously while searching for programming skill boosts, from female programmers who only knew how to slack off and shift blame. Although it was only level 1, combined with his dexterity at level 4, it was already enough to make Xia Yu a master in many action games.
They played games all evening, and in the morning, Xia Yu returned to his own body.
It was 6:30 a.m. He wouldn’t have wanted to wake up this early normally, but today was the day to visit his grandmother’s house.
His grandmother was waiting for him to have breakfast.
After washing up, Xia Yu, together with Youxue, walked for more than ten minutes to the other side of the small town.
This area was already close to the countryside. Unlike his grandmother’s apartment building, his grandparents lived in a tiled-roof house with a small courtyard.
The tiled house had a large hall and two bedrooms, and directly opposite was a small attic.
As soon as they entered through the courtyard gate, Xia Yu and Youxue saw Kong Hanyue.
Kong Hanyue was sunbathing and eating an orange.
In the kitchen, his grandmother and grandfather were cooking meatballs and vermicelli.
Taking an orange from Kong Hanyue, Xia Yu asked, “Where’s Zhong Yunze?”
He peeled the orange, first putting a segment into Youxue’s mouth before eating his own.
“He went river racing,” Kong Hanyue replied.
“Racing what?” Xia Yu was puzzled.
“In the river behind here. Go check it out yourself,” Kong Hanyue yawned.
Leaving Youxue with Kong Hanyue to eat oranges, Xia Yu went to the back of the house.
In the big river, he saw Zhong Yunze, who was holding a long pole and steering a small boat.
Seeing Xia Yu, Zhong stopped the boat at the side.
His face was flushed, and he was slightly out of breath.
Steering a boat in heavy winter clothing was indeed tiring work.
But his expression was excited.
“Xia Yu, come steer with me? I worked really hard to learn how to do it. Mom said you already knew how. Let’s have a match?” Zhong Yunze’s eyes were full of fighting spirit.
“No, no, you come up first. It’s time for breakfast.”
Just as Kong Hanyue had said, Zhong Yunze was actually treating boat steering like a car race.
This guy, did he get excited every time he saw a vehicle?
If it were a bicycle or a car, Xia Yu might have been interested in racing with Zhong Yunze, but steering a boat…
Xia Yu imagined the scene in his mind:
“Alright, we see competitor Xia Yu arriving at the legendary deadly bend. This stretch of the river is full of fishing nets, waterweeds, and lotus fields, extremely dangerous. One careless moment could result in a capsized boat and a drowning.”
“Xia Yu has already rushed past. Oh my God, his speed hasn’t decreased! If he continues like this, he will enter the lotus fields! Amazing! With a quick turn, he just barely avoids the lotus fields and heads toward the fishing nets…”
Shaking his head, Xia Yu pushed this awkward scene out of his mind.
“Steering a boat feels completely different from driving a car. You really don’t want to try?” Zhong Yunze was still insistent.
After Xia Yu firmly declined, Zhong reluctantly came ashore.
Returning to his grandmother’s house, Xia Yu was bombarded with questions from both his grandmother and grandfather while having breakfast.
Since Kong Hanyue had already bragged about Xia Yu to them, they were mentally prepared and relatively calm.
After breakfast, refusing Zhong Yunze’s invitation to go play on the boat again, Xia Yu took Youxue and followed Kong Hanyue closely, intending to improve their relationship.
Getting annoyed by being followed, Kong Hanyue pulled Xia Yu aside.
“There’s something I think I should tell you now,” she said seriously.
“What is it?” Xia Yu asked.
“Actually,” she glanced around to ensure no one could hear, then whispered, “Youxue isn’t my biological daughter.”
In response, Xia Yu raised his fist.
“Ouch.” Kong Hanyue covered her head where Xia Yu had lightly tapped her, looking pitiful.
“So just because she isn’t your real daughter, you think she shouldn’t follow you anymore?” Xia Yu saw through Kong Hanyue’s intention. “You were even taken to the hospital by me when you gave birth, and I saw the doctor carry Youxue out with my own eyes!”
“Then maybe the doctor got the baby mixed up!” Kong Hanyue stubbornly insisted.
“She’s already grown up now; she won’t be a burden to you, and she can even take care of people,” Xia Yu said, patting Kong Hanyue’s head. “Why don’t you give it a try with her around?”
“I don’t want to.”
“I can help you keep an eye on Zhong Yunxin and guarantee she’ll never cause any trouble,” Xia Yu tempted with an offer.
Compared to Youxue, Kong Hanyue disliked Zhong Yunxin even more, so she agreed to Xia Yu’s request.
At noon, after entrusting Youxue to Kong Hanyue, Xia Yu confidently logged into An Siyao’s body.
After lunch, he satisfiedly took a nap and then went to the art studio.
He had already grown tired of the piano, but painting was a skill he had just recently acquired, so it was still exciting.
When he arrived at the studio, he noticed three new self-portraits by An Siyao.
No, the expression on those portraits was too cold; they must have been painted when he was in control.
“Because you don’t look in the mirror often, they don’t look quite right,” An Siyao explained.
“They’re much better than mine,” Xia Yu replied. After acquiring the painting skill, his appreciation abilities had also improved, and he realized he was still not at An Siyao’s level.
“Teach me,” Xia Yu requested.
His piano skills had already reached nearly the same level as An Siyao’s, so he hadn’t taken any lessons from her in the past month. He missed her instruction.
“Okay,” An Siyao happily agreed. “Let’s have the maid prepare first.”
There was a dedicated maid responsible for the studio. Xia Yu summoned the maid, but she didn’t arrive.
Frowning, Xia Yu called another maid to inquire.
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