Madam, Please Behave

Chapter 76: Parent-Teacher Meeting

How did things turn out this way?

Liu Changqing couldn’t figure it out.

As they drove to Liu Xiazhi’s school, he could clearly hear An Yuanyao chatting with his daughter in the back seat.

She was supposed to come just to tie Xiazhi’s hair, so why did she tag along to the school?

Liu Changqing was baffled.

With a beaming smile, An Yuanyao released Xiazhi’s newly tied hair and cupped the little girl’s face in her hands. She tilted her head to one side, then the other.

“Absolutely gorgeous.”

“Really? Give me a mirror! I want to see!”

Girls loving to look pretty seemed innate, and Liu Xiazhi was no exception.

When An Yuanyao pulled a small mirror out of her bag, Xiazhi eagerly snatched it up and opened it. Staring at her reflection, she was awestruck.

“Too... beautiful...”

“You’ve looked in mirrors plenty. Aren’t you tired of it yet?”

Liu Changqing couldn’t help grumbling, casting a somewhat jealous glance at the back seat. Liu Xiazhi was nestled in An Yuanyao’s arms, completely ignoring him.

This little girl...

While the car was in motion, An Yuanyao held Xiazhi tightly to prevent her from falling.

“Be careful. What if you bump your head?” she said, her voice tinged with concern.

Her slender fingers gently poked Xiazhi’s forehead as she pretended to scold her, “Girls shouldn’t just throw themselves into someone’s arms like that.”

“But Aunt An isn’t ‘someone else!’”

“That’s true~”

Hearing Xiazhi’s words, An Yuanyao’s heart melted. She couldn’t resist planting a kiss on the girl’s cheek, which made Xiazhi giggle uncontrollably.

The harmonious scene made Liu Changqing a little envious.

His daughter had never asked him for a hug...

As if noticing his jealous gaze through the rearview mirror, An Yuanyao smirked and playfully squished Xiazhi’s cheeks with her hands, as if showing off.

“...”

Liu Changqing averted his gaze and sped up slightly.

The school wasn’t far, so it didn’t take long to arrive.

This time, there were so many parents that both sides of the street were lined with parked cars. Since they were a bit late, Liu Changqing had to drive farther away to find a spot.

After much searching, he finally managed to park the car.

Once everything was settled, Liu Changqing got out and opened the back door.

An Yuanyao stepped out slowly, holding Xiazhi’s hand, and the two of them—one tall and one small—descended gracefully.

With a thud, Liu Changqing closed the car door and locked it. He pocketed the keys and glanced at An Yuanyao.

After a moment of thought, he suggested, “Why don’t you wait at the nearby milk tea shop during the parent meeting?”

“Why would I do that?”

An Yuanyao gave him a puzzled look.

“...”

Liu Changqing didn’t respond. Instead, he walked ahead of them.

There were no rules against bringing someone else to a parent meeting, and many parents attended together as a couple.

Leading the way, Liu Changqing glanced back to see An Yuanyao walking hand-in-hand with Xiazhi, her head tilted slightly as she listened attentively to the girl’s chatter.

His gaze drifted lower, landing on her fingers.

They were bare.

---

After paying the tuition fees, Liu Changqing led them to Xiazhi’s classroom.

Inside, he immediately spotted Feng Qian chatting with Feng Shuyan at one of the desks.

Feng Shuyan noticed them first. She leapt to her feet and waved energetically. Her slightly uneven twin ponytails swayed as she moved.

“Fat Uncle, over here!”

Her loud call drew the attention of nearly all the parents and children in the classroom, and their heads turned to look.

“...”

Being the center of attention, Liu Changqing felt awkward and managed an embarrassed smile before quickly heading over to Feng Qian and his daughter.

Seeing Feng Qian stifling a laugh, Liu Changqing gritted his teeth and whispered, “Can you stop your daughter from calling me that?”

“She’s just a kid. It’s hard to make her change, and she doesn’t listen to me anyway.”

Feng Qian chuckled, then noticed An Yuanyao and Xiazhi following behind Liu Changqing. His expression turned a bit peculiar but said nothing.

“So, the three of you... that makes seating arrangements tricky.”

“No problem. Have your daughter sit on your lap, and mine can sit on mine. We’ll squeeze a bit.”

“I don’t want to!”

Xiazhi immediately rejected the suggestion, clutching An Yuanyao’s hand.

“I want to sit with Aunt An!”

“...”

An Yuanyao covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Liu Changqing shot her a glare.

“Fine. An Yuanyao, you sit inside with Xiazhi.”

“Okay.”

Holding Xiazhi’s hand, An Yuanyao moved to the inner seat. She carefully smoothed her skirt as she sat down, then placed Xiazhi on her lap. Holding the girl gently by the waist, she shifted slightly to expose part of the bench and looked at Liu Changqing with a smile, patting the spot.

“There’s space for you here.”

“...”

Liu Changqing’s expression was odd as he stared at her.

“You’re playing with fire...” he muttered before grabbing a stool from another spot and placing it beside An Yuanyao to sit down.

Next to him, Feng Qian sat with his daughter on his lap, nearly spilling into the aisle.

Liu Changqing didn’t say much, focusing his gaze on the blackboard and waiting for the teacher to arrive.

Suddenly, he felt a poke on his arm.

Turning, he saw it was An Yuanyao.

“What is it?”

“What did you mean by ‘playing with fire’?”

“Uh... just take it as a compliment. You’re fiery and passionate.”

“Really...”

After speaking, Liu Changqing ignored the contemplative look on An Yuanyao’s face.

Meanwhile, Feng Shuyan, who hadn’t seen Liu Changqing in a while, was staring at him with her head tilted, her big, bright eyes fixated on him.

At first, he intended to ignore her, but her gaze was too piercing.

Unable to bear it any longer, Liu Changqing asked, “What do you want to say?”

“Why are you pretending not to see me, Fat Uncle?”

“Can you drop the ‘Fat’ part?”

“Okay, Fat Uncle.”

“...”

Hearing her response, Liu Changqing didn’t reply but turned to glare at Feng Qian, who was laughing while patting his daughter’s head.

“By the way... Old Feng, you’re okay with me calling you that, right?”

“No problem.”

“Good. Then let me ask you something. Is developing a pixel art game hard?”

“It depends. If you have a framework and storyline, it’s not too difficult. But if you have to create everything from scratch, it can take a lot of time.”

“Is that so...”

“Why do you ask?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

“Alright...”

With that, Liu Changqing lowered his head in thought.

Parents continued trickling into the classroom.

Since Liu Changqing had taken a stool from another spot, that seat was now empty. When its original occupant arrived, they couldn’t find the stool and had to get a replacement from the teacher.

Liu Changqing, however, paid no attention. His main goal today was to attend the meeting for his daughter and discuss some matters with Feng Qian.

What he failed to notice was Xiazhi, sitting on An Yuanyao’s lap, her head lowered in deep thought.

Her small face bore an increasingly uneasy expression.