Extra 4 : The Cub Turns into a Little Bear (4)
That night, in the study on the second floor of Xie mansion.
This was where Xie Yizhao usually did his homework. On weekends, the family would invite teachers to tutor him here as well.
The study was spacious, over 130 square meters, and even had a piano.
Aside from classes and daily practice, Xie Yizhao rarely touched it.
He was working on a ninth-grade math test when he heard a knock on the door.
The sound was steady, just two knocks. Xie Yizhao knew immediately that his father had returned.
A few days ago, his father, Xie Mingheng, had been away on a business trip. The butler had mentioned his father would be back today.
Every few days, his father would check on his studies and also share some insights from his business trips.
Xie Yizhao understood, his father was intentionally cultivating his business acumen.
“Come in,” he said.
Xie Mingheng pushed the door open.
Seeing his son working on his homework, his expression remained neutral. His usually serious face showed only a faint smile as he walked over to the desk.
After asking about his studies and discussing some business matters, he brought up the birthday banquet that weekend.
“Your mother likes lively gatherings, so we’ve invited quite a few guests this time. After your golf lesson in the morning, come back to help with the reception,” Xie Mingheng said.
Xie Yizhao nodded. “Got it.”
Seeing his son’s indifferent expression, Xie Mingheng knew that he had no interest in these social events.
In fact, Xie Yizhao had always been like this—reserved, never particularly enthusiastic about anything, and often seeming detached. But he was intelligent, steady, and never caused trouble for the family.
Even if there were things he didn’t like, he would still put in the effort if the family required it.
This was something Xie Mingheng appreciated and found reassuring.
A future leader of the family business needed such a composed temperament.
Everything his son had learned so far—his education, his training—had all been arranged by him. Yet, his son had rarely ever made personal requests.
Except for that one time…
When Xie Yizhao was eight, he was nearly kidnapped. Fortunately, the bodyguards arrived in time, and the kidnappers failed.
That was the only time Xie Yizhao had ever asked for something—he wanted to learn self-defense.
Without hesitation, Xie Mingheng had agreed and arranged for the bodyguard who had saved him that day to be his instructor.
Now, Xie Yizhao had grown into an exceptional young man, and Xie Mingheng was confident in him.
But sometimes, seeing how mature his son was beyond his years, he also felt guilty—his child had borne responsibilities he shouldn’t have had to. He wished his son could let himself relax once in a while.
So, he took the initiative and asked, “By the way, do you want to invite any close classmates over this time?”
“Classmates?” Xie Yizhao was slightly taken aback.
Xie Mingheng nodded. “Yes. There will be many guests this weekend, and they’ll bring their children too, but you might not be familiar with them. You can invite any friends you’d like.”
Xie Yizhao knew the type of guests the family would invite, and indeed, he wasn’t close to many of them.
He hadn’t really considered inviting classmates over before.
But suddenly, a person came to mind.
“Father, are the Lu family among the invited guests this time?” Xie Yizhao looked at his father.
Xie Mingheng paused for a moment before asking uncertainly, “Lu family? You mean Lu Yuehua?”
Xie Yizhao nodded.
“I invited him. Why? Are you close with his sons?” Xie Mingheng’s eyes showed a hint of doubt.
He had seen Lu Yuehua’s two sons before. Whenever there was a banquet, he would bring them along. But they were quite ordinary, not outstanding.
He doubted his son would be interested in befriending them.
“Not really…” Xie Yizhao paused for a moment before saying, “The Lu family has a daughter, she’s my classmate.”
Xie Mingheng frowned slightly.
He had never heard about this before, nor had he ever seen Lu Yuehua bring his daughter out in public.
He had other matters to attend to, so he couldn’t question his son further. He simply told him, “If you’re close, invite her over sometime. It’s up to you.”
With that, he left in a hurry.
Later that night, just before going to bed, he suddenly recalled the conversation and casually mentioned it to his wife.
Mrs. Xie, however, was well aware of the situation. “That’s not Lu Yuehua’s daughter, she’s his older brother’s daughter. The girl’s parents passed away, so she’s being raised by her uncle.”
So that was the case…
Lying down, Xie Mingheng closed his eyes and replayed the events of the day in his mind. The last thing that surfaced was the rare trace of youthful nervousness in his son’s eyes when he mentioned this female classmate.
Could it be that his son was experiencing his first crush?
He had never discussed relationships with Xie Yizhao, nor had he forbidden him from dating early. That was because he was confident that even if his son had such inclinations, it wouldn’t interfere with his studies.
Whether they were just classmates or something more, he would know soon enough, depending on whether this girl eventually showed up at their home.
He trusted that his son wasn’t a coward. If he truly liked someone, he wouldn’t be too afraid to invite her over.
Early the next morning, as he was leaving for school, Xie Yizhao asked the butler for some invitation cards, saying he wanted to invite some classmates.
The butler handed him ten invitations at once and said with a smile, “If it’s not enough, just let me know, Young Master. I’ll have more sent to your school.”
Xie Yizhao shook his head.
He wasn’t interested in inviting that many people.
It was just that inviting only one person would seem too obvious, and he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable.
But when, and how, should he give it to her? He had no experience in this at all. He thought about it the entire way but still had no clue.
Today, he was assigned as the duty student, responsible for recording late arrivals at the school gate.
His car dropped him off at the entrance, where he stood with other duty students and teachers. Once the bell rang for morning self-study, any student who arrived late would be stopped and required to write down their name before they could enter.
Lu Xi had stayed up late watching dramas the night before and overslept this morning. Predictably, she was late.
She wasn’t particularly worried about tardiness, but the homeroom teacher had a rule: if a student was late more than three times a month, they had to write a 1,000-word reflection.
Lu Xi had already been late twice this month. She really didn’t want to write that reflection.
Her driver rushed as much as possible, but she was still late.
Lu Xi was not in the best mood.
Her little cub sensed that she was unhappy about being late, but he didn’t know how to comfort her.
The Brother next door had once told him that if you were late, you could just climb over the wall, no big deal.
Couldn’t Mom climb walls?
The little cub clenched his fists. When he grew up, he would definitely teach his Mom how to climb walls!
At the school gate, Lu Xi saw the group of duty students standing there and knew she couldn’t avoid getting caught this time.
Usually, as long as she wasn’t caught at the entrance, she could slip into class unnoticed, unless the homeroom teacher happened to check.
It was raining. She held up her umbrella and kept her head down as she casually walked up to one of the duty students.
She saw that he was holding a notebook and pen at his side and couldn’t help but pout.
As someone who had a thing for hands, she would usually appreciate his long, clean fingers, but she wasn’t in the mood now.
“You’re late,” a cool voice sounded above her. “Write your class and name in the notebook.”
Lu Xi found the voice familiar. She looked up.
The first thing she saw was a handsome, refined face.
Of all people, she had to run into Xie Yizhao?
She was stunned for a second, her expression slightly complicated.
She knew he was in the student council and sometimes took duty shifts at the gate. She had encountered him before, but back then, she hadn’t thought much of it. But now…
Lu Xi didn’t feel embarrassed about being late, but a thought suddenly crossed her mind. Could Xie Yizhao let this slide?
Just as she was about to make an excuse, he simply handed her the notebook and gently urged, “The sooner you write it down, the sooner you can go in.”
Lu Xi : “…”
She suddenly understood why Xie Yizhao was so good-looking yet didn’t have a girlfriend.
Feeling speechless, she glanced at him, then raised her umbrella slightly. “I can’t write while holding an umbrella.”
Xie Yizhao pressed his lips together slightly. Without hesitation, he took the umbrella from her and moved a little closer to shield her from the rain.
Lu Xi gave him another look and sighed lightly. “You haven’t given me the pen yet.”
As she flipped open the notebook, she noticed a delicate invitation tucked inside.