Zhao Lihua sat for a moment longer. Then she shifted quietly, lifting Li Xian against her shoulder. The little girl stirred but didn't wake, one arm still wrapped around Baozi, her head dropping against her mother's neck. The bedroom door closed softly behind them.
The apartment was quiet.
Li Feng sat at the dining table with his laptop open, the screen the only light in the living room. Outside, the city had settled into its nighttime rhythm — distant traffic, the occasional voice from a neighboring floor, the faint hum of the building itself.
He checked the time. 7:55 PM.
He opened the video call app and waited.
At exactly eight o'clock, Chen Yiran's face appeared on the screen. Her hair was slightly messy, a textbook open beside her, a pen tucked behind her ear that she had clearly forgotten about.
"Mr. Li," she said, sounding both relieved and already slightly exhausted. "I read through the materials you sent."
"And?"
She hesitated. "...I have questions."
Li Feng leaned back. "That's what the next two hours are for. Ask away."
Yiran tapped her pen against the table. "Okay… first question." Li Feng waited. "In the example you wrote about the small restaurant budgeting case," she said, flipping through the document, "why did you calculate fixed costs before projected revenue? Wouldn't it make more sense to see how much money you might make first?"
Li Feng immediately understood the mistake in her thinking. She was approaching it emotionally instead of structurally.
Before he could answer, she added: "Also… that restaurant example. Was that based on somewhere real? Because the numbers felt suspiciously specific."
Li Feng raised an eyebrow. "That wasn't your question."
"Oh." She blinked. "Right."
She flipped another page. "Second question. You said when analyzing profit margins I should ignore the final number first and focus on the components. But that feels backwards. Isn't the final profit the most important thing?" She paused. Then suddenly leaned closer to the camera. "Also… do you drink coffee while working? Because I tried studying with coffee today and now my heart feels like it's doing cardio."
Li Feng rubbed his temple slightly.
Two hours. This was going to be another long session.
"Miss Chen," he said calmly. "One question at a time."
She grinned sheepishly. "Right. Sorry." Then leaned forward again, eyes bright. "So… about the fixed costs."
---
The tutoring session continued. Li Feng answered her questions one by one, explaining the reasoning behind each step. Whenever she misunderstood something he broke it down further, guiding her through the logic instead of simply giving the answer. At first she occasionally drifted off-topic, but tonight she was far more focused. They went back and forth through the material, testing examples and correcting her approach.
Toward the end of the session, her voice suddenly rose.
"Oh — wait!" she said, flipping through the notes. "So the reason we calculate fixed costs first isn't about the revenue… it's about understanding the minimum survival point of the business, right?"
Li Feng nodded slightly. "Correct."
She laughed, sounding genuinely pleased. "Wow… that actually makes sense now." She leaned back in her chair, looking proud of herself. Then leaned closer to the camera. "Mr. Li."
"Yes?"
She tilted her head, a playful smile forming. "Do you have a girlfriend?"
Li Feng raised an eyebrow. "Why are you asking that?"
She chuckled. "Well… because you're too handsome. I was honestly expecting someone older. My dad usually hires tutors who look like they've been teaching since ancient times." She studied the screen curiously. "You look really young."
A brief silence.
"I don't have a girlfriend," Li Feng answered calmly.
Chen Yiran's face immediately lit up. "Really?"
"I have a wife."
She blinked. "Wait — what?"
"And a daughter."
Her eyes widened. "Seriously?" She slowly lowered the notebook she had been holding. "Can I see her picture?" she asked innocently.
"Hmm." Li Feng scoffed lightly. "Miss Chen, I am here to help you with your studies, not to discuss my personal life."
Chen Yiran's excited expression immediately soured. She leaned back and muttered under her breath, "You don't have to be so grumpy about it…" Then leaned forward again. "Just one picture," she insisted.
Li Feng let out a quiet sigh.
After a moment he picked up his phone, scrolled briefly, and turned the screen toward the camera.
A picture of Li Xian.
She sat on the floor, her silver hair falling softly around her small face, pale blue eyes wide and focused on something just outside the frame. Her little hands were pressed flat against the floor as she leaned forward slightly, completely absorbed in whatever had captured her attention. Utterly unaware that anyone was watching her — let alone taking a picture.
Chen Yiran's eyes widened instantly. "Awwww… isn't she the cutest thing ever!" She leaned closer to the screen. "She looks like a little Pokémon!"
Li Feng couldn't help smiling. "My wife is just as beautiful," he said proudly.
Chen Yiran grinned. "Show-off.*
For a brief moment the atmosphere felt oddly relaxed.
Then Li Feng realized he had drifted off-topic as well. He cleared his throat and put his phone away. "Miss Chen. Enough of that." His tone returned to its usual calm firmness. "Let's focus."
He asked the question this time.
"Miss Chen… why are you studying Business?"
She leaned back in her chair, spinning her pen between her fingers. "Honest answer?" Li Feng nodded. "This is what my dad wants," she said plainly. "He has a few businesses here and there. I'm supposed to take over the family business one day." She shrugged. "So… Business major."
Li Feng studied her quietly for a moment. "Miss Chen," he said calmly, "to truly improve at something, you need to at least find a reason to care about it. I'm not saying you must love it overnight. But you need some level of interest. Otherwise everything you study will feel like torture."
She sighed. "That sounds about right."
Li Feng folded his hands on the table. "You paid me to tutor you, so I will do my job properly. But improving your grades will not come from my effort alone. You must focus more. You must train yourself to stay engaged with the material." His tone wasn't harsh, but it carried weight. "I don't just want your money, Miss Chen. If I accept payment for teaching you, then I intend to fulfill my responsibility. That means your grades will improve."
A short silence followed.
Chen Yiran looked at him thoughtfully. Then slowly, a small grin appeared. "You're kind of scary when you say things like that, Mr. Li."
She looked at him for a moment longer. Then leaned back and folded her arms. "You know," she said, "my last tutor also gave me a big speech about responsibility and focus." She tilted her head. "He lasted two weeks." She spun her pen between her fingers, studying him. "So what makes you different?"
A brief silence settled between them.
"Your last tutor told you to focus," Li Feng said calmly. "I'm going to show you why it's worth focusing." He opened the next section of the document. "There's a difference."
Chen Yiran stared at him for a moment.
Then slowly, the corner of her mouth curved.
"Okay, Mr. Li." She picked up her pen and straightened in her chair. "Show me then."
Li Feng gave a small nod. "Good.*
He began.