After being reborn, I raised my childhood sweetheart.

Chapter 22 I Want to Serve You Too
"Yes...yes, of course you can!"

Being able to help her good friend Xu Yuan was exactly the moment Lin Yueyao had been looking forward to. She gently waved her hand and said with a smile:

"But I don't need to repay you; friends should help each other."

Lin Yueyao asked Xu Yuan to show her her homework.

To avoid arousing suspicion from adults, Xu Yuan imitated his own handwriting from second grade, which is why it was somewhat crooked.

"Actually, your handwriting is not bad, but Xia Ke's handwriting is really just scribbles."

Lin Yueyao is usually quite disciplined in her work, and her handwriting is neat and orderly, making it very pleasing to the eye.

“Then it’s settled. You’ll teach me calligraphy, and I’ll give you one yuan every day.”

"I'll help you, I don't want any money!" Lin Yueyao's attitude remained unchanged; she refused Xu Yuan's offer of help.

"No, you have to keep this money."

Xu Yuan said, "You are my tutor. Since you have put in the work, you should be paid. Otherwise, I would be violating the Labor Law. Besides, I have something else I would like to ask you for help with."

"Something else?"

Xu Yuan smiled and nodded, "However, we need to discuss this privately, how about this..."

Then he leaned close to Lin Yueyao's ear and said, "If you have time this Saturday, come to my house. Remember to come alone, don't bring Xia Ke with you."

"okay."

Lin Yueyao felt that the two seemed a little intimate, and her ears turned slightly red.

"What are you two... whispering about behind my back?!"

Xia Ke's sudden remark made the guilty-looking Lin Yueyao tremble, and she quickly looked at Xia Ke beside her.

However, although Xia Ke complained that Xu Yuan and Lin Yueyao didn't include her in their games, her eyes were still glued to the TV screen.

It's safe to say that cartoons have an incredibly strong appeal to children.

Lin Yueyao stammered, changing the subject: "Xia, Xia Ke, it's almost six o'clock, you have to go home."

"But I haven't met the young master's father yet."

Xia Ke rubbed her head. "Then I might as well not go back!"

"Are you trying to eat at my house...?"

Xu Yuan tugged at Xia Ke's ponytail, and Xia Ke grinned, "You found out!"

Lin Yueyao quickly replied, "We can't eat at Xu Yuan's house. Mom is just helping to cook here."

"Aren't you going to eat together later?"

“My mom usually goes home after cooking, and my husband and I don’t eat here.”

Lin Yueyao was explaining to Xia Ke when the roar of a car engine came from outside the door.

Xu Yuan glanced at it and said, "It's my dad who's back."

Upon hearing this, Xia Ke quickly opened the door to greet him. Just then, Xu Jingguang got out of the car alone, and the sudden sound startled him:
Hello, Uncle Xu!

"You... are you?"

Xia Ke bowed deeply to Xu Yuan's father, Xu Jingguang, then smiled brightly, "I'm Xia Ke, a good friend of Yueyao and Yuanyuan. You can call me Xia Ke or A Ke!"

Xu Yuan had repeatedly emphasized to Xia Ke that she should not call her father "Master," and now she finally remembered what he had said.

"Hello, hello, what a polite child."

Xu Jingguang patted Xia Ke's head, "I've heard Yuanyuan and Yueyao talk about you a lot."

Xia Ke let out a sweet laugh: "Hehe..."

Seeing Xia Ke's well-behaved and adorable appearance, Xu Yuan and Lin Yueyao were both shocked.

What is this girl doing!
It's so unfamiliar!
Xu Yuan was astonished by Xia Ke's Sichuan opera face-changing performance, while Lin Yueyao was astonished by Xia Ke's initiative in greeting him. She hurriedly ran forward to greet Xu Jingguang as well.

"Hello, uncle!"

"Yueyao, you're here too..."

Just as Lin Yueyao was about to muster up the courage to chat more about everyday things, Xia Ke took Xu Jingguang's arm.

"Uncle, let me help you with your bag!"

"Huh? You don't need that... huh?"

Xu Jingguang had just said that he didn't need it when Xia Ke snatched his briefcase away.

Isn't this a bit too much of a show of flattery?
What on earth is Xia Ke up to...?

Xu Jingguang was welcomed into the house by the two girls, and Lin Jing had just finished preparing the meal.

"Brother Xu, you're back just in time! Wash your hands and we're about to eat. Yuanyuan, come on over too!"

"it is good."

Just then, Xu Jingguang came out of the bathroom after washing his hands and saw Lin Yueyao and Xia Ke whispering to each other in the corner of the coffee table. He immediately smiled and reminded them:
"What are you two doing here? Go wash your hands and go eat!"

Lin Yueyao quickly waved her hand and shook her head, "My mother has cooked dinner at home, I'll go back and eat in a little while."

"I only waited until now because I said hello to Uncle Xu. I'll leave as soon as I'm done!"

Xu Jingguang was puzzled. "Aren't you going to stay home for a meal? You're already here."

"Alright, since Uncle Xu invited me, I'll stay for dinner!"

“Hey…” “Yueyao, you can eat at my place. If you go back, you’ll have to reheat the food, right?”

Lin Yueyao didn't dare to agree easily, and instead turned her gaze to Lin Jing who was standing to the side.

"This...this is so embarrassing."

Lin Jing, who is usually outspoken, seemed a little flustered at this moment. "We've cooked at home, we've cooked at home, Yueyao and I will just go back and eat—"

"Aunt Lin, since you're already here, please sit down and eat with us."

Xu Yuan said, "Anyway, my dad and I always have a lot of leftovers from the dishes you make, which is quite wasteful."

"Yes, there are only two people in our family, and we always trouble you to cook three dishes and a soup."

Xu Jingguang said, "This saves you from having to make two trips a day to cook. You can just cook at my house and eat at my house, which will also save you some money."

Xu Jingguang's idea was actually very simple. After all, he didn't have time to cook for Xu Yuan every day. Sometimes he was busy with work and had business dinners, so he had to eat out.

Xu Yuan was left alone while waiting for him to bring back food, and his mealtimes were irregular. He felt quite lonely while eating. If there were more people to eat with, the meal would be more lively.

"Then I'll make it for you guys to eat first. Homemade food won't go to waste."

Lin Jing said with a smile, "Let's start eating together like this from next week..."

"Yay! Yay!"

Xia Ke was so happy she almost jumped for joy. "Uncle, can I borrow your landline? I need to call my dad and tell him I won't be coming home for dinner."

"Okay... but why are you so happy?"

Xia Ke said with a smile, "Actually, I've been waiting for Uncle Xu for so long just so I could have a meal at Uncle Xu's house!"

You don't need to tell my dad the truth...

Xu Yuan stood to the side, rubbing his forehead in exasperation, while Xu Jingguang seemed to have a strong liking for her.

He thought Xia Ke was a very interesting child.

No wonder Yuan Yuan cares so much about her.

After all, such a lively and lovely girl can make you very happy just by chatting with her, and can sweep away the fatigue and gloom of work.

Ah... I wish I had a daughter like that.

Xu Jingguang couldn't help but feel this way in his heart.

Xia Ke then carried a stool to the dining table, while Lin Yueyao helped her mother get the bowls and chopsticks.

"I think I'll cook another dish, since there are two more kids now."

"It's alright, Xiaolin, you...you don't need to bother."

Xu Jingguang said, "If it's not enough, we'll talk about it again."

Xia Ke suddenly looked delighted: "The dishes Aunt Lin cooked at Uncle Xu's house are even better than what she makes at home!"

"Is it that exaggerated..."

"some!"

Xia Ke picked up a piece of meat from the shredded pork with green peppers and said, "At your house, I can only get a little bit of minced meat, but here I can get so much shredded pork!"

Her words made Xu Jingguang laugh out loud, while Lin Jing, who was standing to the side, felt a little embarrassed.

After all, the budget expenditures are different. Here, it's all booked and reimbursed, so Xu Yuan's family is definitely more willing to spend money on their dishes.

"Mom, are you really not going to eat?" Lin Yueyao felt bad seeing her mother standing there without eating.

"No need, I'll eat at home."

Lin Jing smiled and waved her hand, "We'll eat together tomorrow, it's fine."

Xia Ke then fixed her gaze on Xu Jingguang, "Uncle Xu, would you like some wine? I'll pour it for you, okay?"

"No need... Uncle doesn't usually drink, and you're a guest in our family, so don't treat people like this."

Xu Jingguang reminded Xia Ke.

But Xia Ke said in a serious tone, "Yuanyuan is my and Yueyao's young master. We usually serve him like this. You are the young master's father. Although the young master doesn't allow me to call you that, you are also my master, so I have to serve you like this too."

"Huh? Yuanyuan, that won't do. Friends should treat each other as equals."

"Dad, don't listen to her nonsense."

Xu Yuan said, "She just saw that I had juice at home and wanted to drink some. She thought I was easy to talk to, so I would definitely let her have some."

Xia Ke stared at Xu Yuan in utter shock: "Young Master! Are you a tapeworm in my stomach?! How do you know everything?!"

"Your eyes betrayed you when Aunt Lin opened the refrigerator."

Xia Ke immediately turned and fell to the side next to Xu Yuan, touching her face and sticking out her tongue somewhat embarrassedly, but Xu Jingguang laughed happily.

"Haha, hahaha..."

He was laughing so hard he was almost crying, and the sight of him laughing all by himself surprised everyone else.

Only Xu Yuan, who lived with his father, could understand the loneliness and isolation his elderly father, Xu Jingguang, felt during this time.

"Xiaolin...remember not to cook dinner at home anymore, okay!"

Xu Jingguang wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes and reminded Lin Jing again, "Let's have dinner together at our house. It'll make the house much more lively that way."

"okay."

(End of this chapter)