Yukinoshita's Correction Method

Yukino Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes slightly. "No need?"

"She's only six months old. Those abilities you mentioned, sooner or later... though of course, not too late." Dong Yunshan glanced at the plan. It was only an outline, yet it was already making his head spin. "When she grows up, there'll be school, exams, work evaluations... plenty of things she'll need to accomplish. There's no need to assign her so many tasks when she's this young."

"You're changing the subject and making excuses for your own laziness." Yukino Yukinoshita spoke with righteous severity. "The essence of early education is allowing children to grow through play. It's different from workplace evaluations and school exams. For a child, it means high-quality, targeted companionship, fun games, and happy playtime. Otherwise, what do you intend to do? Turn on the TV and watch it with her? Or throw a pile of toys at her and let her play by herself?"

Dong Yunshan recalled something he had read. "Didn't they say letting children play by themselves can train their concentration?"

Yukino Yukinoshita stared at him expressionlessly.

Dong Yunshan vaguely sensed the calm before the storm.

His phone ringtone shattered the silence.

"This is Dong Yunshan. Mm, yes, that's right." Dong Yunshan answered the call. "But I don't have time these next few days, so I'm not taking commissions for now. How about this? If you're not in a hurry, wait a while longer and I'll help you deal with it then. If it's urgent, I can contact someone else for you now... Is that so? All right, I'll contact someone. I'll have him call this number when the time comes."

Yukino Yukinoshita's gaze shifted slightly. She looked back at the computer screen and continued editing the plan.

After exchanging a few pleasantries and hanging up, Dong Yunshan dialed another number.

"Little Knife, it's me, Brother Shan. Who's running things around Inage now? Oshimibe? Didn't they get dealt with before? They came back... Fine, here's the situation." Dong Yunshan relayed the commission he had just received. "It's school bullying, still at the petty stage—aren't we trying to keep it from escalating? If there are signs, snuff it out right away. What do you mean, just beat them up? Shouldn't we investigate first? I can't explain it to you. Is Little Wen beside you? Put him on. Hey, Little Wen, have you heard that I..."

Yukino Yukinoshita was not deliberately listening, but Dong Yunshan clearly had no intention of lowering his voice.

She looked at Dong Yunxi and saw that she was sleeping soundly, with no sign of being disturbed. That put her somewhat at ease.

"Yes, investigate first. If it's false, I'll find someone to handle it afterward. Even if it's true, don't hit anyone. Stop learning from Little Knife. Do this: discuss a nickname with him, go straight to his class, and call him out using that nickname. Right, keep it up for two days so everyone else gets the message." Dong Yunshan emphasized repeatedly, "No violence. Obey the law. Self-defense is another matter. Mm, I'll send you the number later. That's it."

When Dong Yunshan finished the call, Yukino Yukinoshita raised her eyes. "School bullying?"

"A bunch of brats throwing their weight around, picking on the weak and fearing the strong. Once they get a little influence, they start pressure-testing people. Anyone who doesn't pass becomes a target for bullying." Dong Yunshan sneered. "They'll behave once they run into someone tough. There are plenty of little groups around Inage, and a few people at our school are members over there too."

Yukino Yukinoshita stared at Dong Yunshan. "What about you?"

"See the results of all this training? Three to five people can't get near me. Even if seven or eight come at me together..." Dong Yunshan struck a pose to show off his muscles, "they still can't stop me from calling the police."

Obeying the law was not just something he said.

"That's good." Yukino Yukinoshita withdrew her gaze and continued refining the plan.

"Right, about this plan..." Before Dong Yunshan could finish, his phone rang again. "This is Dong Yunshan... So it's you, kid. Thanks for your hard work with that building manager last time. Mm, it's all settled. Of course it had a happy ending... Moving? Coming to Chiba? Tokyo... If you arrange it, of course I'd want to go, but I have things to take care of here and can't leave. Sorry about that. Maybe another time... Mm-hm, it's a deal."

"Does everyone know I'm on break now?" Dong Yunshan hung up. "The plan..."

"That call just now," Yukino Yukinoshita interrupted, "was it the person who helped you find the apartment building manager from Yuigahama's childhood?"

"Yes. He moved from Nagoya to Tokyo. He doesn't have many friends, so he contacted me and wanted to get together." Dong Yunshan asked, "What is it?"

"You can go." The image of Yui Yuigahama with tears in her eyes surfaced in Yukino Yukinoshita's mind. "As thanks for last time."

"But Xixi..."

"I'll look after her." Yukino Yukinoshita raised her pale chin slightly. "What, you don't trust me?"

"Honestly, after seeing that plan of yours, I get the feeling that compared to me not trusting you, you trust me even less."

Yukino Yukinoshita nodded. "Your feeling is correct."

"...I do trust you with her, but this is too much trouble for you."

"Since your friend helped Yuigahama, then as Yuigahama's fr..." Yukino Yukinoshita pressed her lips together. "As the club president, I'm also responsible for helping you express your gratitude."

The logic was a little roundabout, and it took Dong Yunshan quite a while to sort it out.

With his friend's help, Dong Yunshan had helped Yui Yuigahama find Little Flower.

Having received his friend's help, Dong Yunshan naturally needed to express his thanks, and this gathering was a good opportunity.

But because he had to look after baby Xixi, Dong Yunshan could not get away.

Solving the troubles of club members was the responsibility of Yukino Yukinoshita, the Service Club president.

Yet during the previous effort, Yukino Yukinoshita's help had been limited.

So Yukino Yukinoshita had taken the initiative to offer to look after Dong Yunxi. This was repayment for Dong Yunshan helping Yui Yuigahama.

That way, Dong Yunshan could meet with his friend and thank him for his previous help.

Someone would look after Dong Yunxi, and Dong Yunshan could rest easy.

Yukino Yukinoshita was repaying Dong Yunshan in Yui Yuigahama's stead, which also counted as fulfilling her responsibility as Service Club president.

She had almost called herself a friend... Dong Yunshan felt deeply gratified.

It seemed his correction of Yukino Yukinoshita was already showing initial results.

"Then I'll leave her to you." Dong Yunshan quickly tidied himself up. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

PS: There are no recommendations this week... I'm relying on everyone!

(??????)?? Please vote!

Finals and Spring Break: Game Time

Dong Yunxi slept until two in the afternoon.

Yukino Yukinoshita, who was refining the plan, noticed Dong Yunxi stir. She shifted her gaze and met the baby's big eyes.

The instant their eyes met, baby Xixi gave her an adorable smile.

"You're drooling." Yukino Yukinoshita saved the document, closed her laptop, and went to Dong Yunxi's side to wipe away her drool. "You're awake?"

"Ah!" Dong Yunxi replied in a muffled voice. Her huge eyes remained fixed on Yukino Yukinoshita as her little hand grabbed her clothes and gave them two gentle tugs.

"Do you want to be held?" Yukino Yukinoshita tried picking Dong Yunxi up, and baby Xixi immediately released her grip on Yukino Yukinoshita's clothes.

She was really so tiny...

Though this was not the first time Yukino Yukinoshita had held Dong Yunxi, she could not help sighing again.

She was like a chubby little kitten.

"Ah~" Dong Yunxi leaned against Yukino Yukinoshita and pointed in a direction with her tiny hand.

"Do you want to go over there?" Yukino Yukinoshita carried her over.

"Ah..." Dong Yunxi turned her head and pointed in another direction. "There!"

"Is there something over there?" Yukino Yukinoshita walked over.

"Ah, ah!" Dong Yunxi pointed toward the balcony again.

"Do you want to go outside?" Yukino Yukinoshita carried Dong Yunxi to the balcony. "Do you want to have a look outside?"

But Dong Yunxi did not look out the window. Instead, she pointed toward the kitchen again.

Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly understood what Dong Yunxi meant. "Dong Yunshan went out. He isn't home right now."

Dong Yunxi blinked her big eyes, looking at her in confusion before pointing toward the bedroom again.

"Dong Yunshan..." Yukino Yukinoshita pursed her cherry lips and struggled a little before saying the word. "B-Big brother isn't home. He'll come back later."

Dong Yunxi clearly did not understand. She wriggled in Yukino Yukinoshita's arms, no longer as obedient as before.

Yukino Yukinoshita had no choice but to carry her around Dong Yunshan's home for a full inspection.

Then she placed Dong Yunxi on the sofa.

Her arms simply could not take it anymore.

Dong Yunxi finally realized that Dong Yunshan was not home, and having left Yukino Yukinoshita's embrace, she promptly...

"Waaahhhhh!"

"Don't cry, don't cry..." Yukino Yukinoshita frantically picked Dong Yunxi back up, but baby Xixi twisted about anxiously, tears streaming down her face.

Her cries were frighteningly loud, making Yukino Yukinoshita's ears ache.

Noisy, impossible to communicate with.

The piercing wails were like sharp awls drilling into Yukino Yukinoshita's head, poking the adorable image of Dong Yunxi in her memories full of holes.

All the harmonious scenes she had imagined in her plan burst one after another like bubbles, leaving nothing but a mess.

When she had let Dong Yunshan leave, she had confidently believed she could easily take care of Dong Yunxi.

Now that Dong Yunshan had truly left, she finally realized that caring for a child was nothing like she had imagined.

Calm down... Calm down.

Noticing Dong Yunxi's cries had begun to turn hoarse, Yukino Yukinoshita repeatedly took deep breaths, trying to block out the crying and calmly think of a solution.

There was no way to bring Dong Yunshan back now...

She could only keep Dong Yunxi from thinking about Dong Yunshan.

Distract her!

Yukino Yukinoshita brought over brightly colored toys and shook them gently before Dong Yunxi, using their rattling sounds to counter her crying.

Dong Yunxi's cries gradually weakened. She raised her hand and pushed the toy away.

"You don't like this one? How about this... Or this?" After switching through several toys with no effect, inspiration struck Yukino Yukinoshita. She picked up a toy resembling a fidget spinner and gave it a light flick. Its colorful petals began spinning rapidly. "Do you like this one?"

"Waaah..." Dong Yunxi's crying noticeably weakened. Her tearful eyes fixed on the spinner. "Ah!"

The sound was similar, but the emotion within it had clearly changed.

As expected of Dong Yunshan's little sister. Her fondness for spinning things was exactly the same as his.

When the spinner was about to stop, Yukino Yukinoshita flicked it again.

"Da..." Dong Yunxi watched without blinking.

When the spinner was nearing stillness again, Dong Yunxi slapped it before Yukino Yukinoshita could move.

Seeing baby Xixi completely absorbed in playing, Yukino Yukinoshita finally let out a breath of relief and brought her several more toys that could spin.

While Dong Yunxi focused on her toys, Yukino Yukinoshita prepared a bottle of formula for her.

After eating her fill, Dong Yunxi seemed to have completely forgotten Dong Yunshan was not home. She lay on the sofa, stuffing the toys into her mouth one after another.

Fortunately, they had all been specially selected. They were soft and appropriately sized, so there was no need to worry about Dong Yunxi swallowing one by accident.

Watching Dong Yunxi play so happily, Yukino Yukinoshita realized this was the perfect opportunity to train her observation skills and memory.

She found a suitably sized box, put away all the other toys to avoid distracting Dong Yunxi, then placed the toy that interested her most inside the box.

"The toy is gone." Yukino Yukinoshita closed the lid and placed the box in front of Dong Yunxi. "Find it."

"Ah... ah!" Dong Yunxi tilted her head and looked at Yukino Yukinoshita for quite a while. Only after Yukino Yukinoshita repeated the process several times did Dong Yunxi seem to understand something and pat the box with her little hand.

"Is it really inside?" Yukino Yukinoshita gave two light coughs and tried to soften her voice as she pushed the box toward Dong Yunxi. "Take a look yourself."

Dong Yunxi grabbed the ribbon tied around the box and tugged at it haphazardly, finally managing to open it.

"It really is inside!" Yukino Yukinoshita showed her the toy in the box. "Good job, baby!"

"Ah!" Dong Yunxi clumsily took out the toy.

After letting her play freely for a while, Yukino Yukinoshita brought over a towel and covered the toy. "The toy is gone again~"

This time, Dong Yunxi understood faster. Her little hands waved around wildly, brushing the towel aside and revealing the toy.

"You found it again. You're amazing, baby~" Yukino Yukinoshita clapped softly. "Good job, baby~"

"Da!" Dong Yunxi replied and happily continued fiddling with the toy.

Five minutes... Yukino Yukinoshita silently kept track of the time. When she felt it was about right, she tied a ribbon to the toy and placed it farther away, then tugged on the ribbon. "Look, baby. This makes the toy come over."

After demonstrating three times, Yukino Yukinoshita placed the toy farther away again and handed the ribbon to Dong Yunxi. "Baby, give it a try."

Dong Yunxi blinked and handed the ribbon back to Yukino Yukinoshita.

Finals and Spring Break: Changing Clothes

Yukino Yukinoshita could only give the ribbon a light tug, pulling the toy over, then demonstrating for Dong Yunxi once more.

Then she placed the toy farther away again and handed the ribbon to Dong Yunxi.

Dong Yunxi handed the ribbon back to her again.

"Do you not understand what to do? It's very simple, just like when you pulled the towel earlier." Yukino Yukinoshita explained while demonstrating again, but Dong Yunxi still refused to pull it.

Yukino Yukinoshita demonstrated once more before finally realizing what the problem was.

Dong Yunxi had been staring at the toy the entire time. She had not looked at the ribbon at all.