Yukinoshita's Correction Method

Perhaps in baby Xi's eyes, the ribbon and the toy were two separate things.

Thinking of that, Yukino Yukinoshita held Dong Yunxi's hand and helped her tug the ribbon, pulling the toy over. "See? Just like this..."

Once the toy came closer, Dong Yunxi threw the ribbon away and reached out to grab the toy.

Yukino Yukinoshita's delicate brows drew together slightly. She moved the toy farther away and handed the ribbon to Dong Yunxi again. "Come on, you try."

Dong Yunxi handed the ribbon back to Yukino Yukinoshita.

"No, you can't. You have to do your own things yourself, and you have to get the toys you want yourself too." Yukino Yukinoshita handed the ribbon back to Dong Yunxi. "I believe you can do it."

"Ah..." Dong Yunxi tugged it, and the toy moved with it. "Mm..."

"Yes, that's it." Yukino Yukinoshita encouraged her aloud. "Keep going."

Dong Yunxi tried to hand the ribbon to Yukino Yukinoshita again.

"You've already made a very good start." Yukino Yukinoshita put her hands behind her back. "As long as you keep trying, you'll be able to do it."

"Ah..." Dong Yunxi looked down at the ribbon in her hand, then at the toy. After hesitating for a while, her little hands tugged one after another, pulling the toy in front of her and grabbing it.

"Well done." Yukino Yukinoshita gave her affirmation and praise at once. "Xixi, you're amazing..."

Before she could finish, baby Xi clutched the toy and clumsily pushed her beloved toy toward Yukino Yukinoshita. "Dada..."

Yukino Yukinoshita froze for an instant, then reached out and took the toy.

Everything that had just happened roared through her mind, and she suddenly understood the root cause behind all of Dong Yunxi's previous behavior.

It wasn't that Dong Yunxi didn't know how to pull. She had simply thought Yukino Yukinoshita wanted to play with the toy.

That was why, when Yukino Yukinoshita handed the ribbon to Dong Yunxi, Dong Yunxi had handed the ribbon back.

And after getting the toy she liked, Dong Yunxi had also immediately handed her beloved toy to Yukino Yukinoshita.

If you want to play with it, then I'll let you play.

If you don't know how to pull it over, I'll help you pull it over so you can play.

That was Dong Yunxi's logic.

Looking into baby Xi's bright, sparkling eyes, Yukino Yukinoshita's gaze grew complicated. She reached out and pulled baby Xi into her arms. "Good girl~"

["The essence of early education is letting children grow through play. It's different from assessments at work and exams at school."]

Yukino Yukinoshita had once said those words to Dong Yunshan.

And yet, when she truly began early education, she had started treating it like an exam, requiring Dong Yunxi to give the correct answer according to her expectations.

She had completely forgotten her original idea.

"I'm sorry..." Yukino Yukinoshita gently stroked baby Xi's back and spoke softly. "I'm sorry."

"Dada..." Dong Yunxi didn't understand Yukino Yukinoshita's apology. She only nestled in her arms and made happy sounds.

"If you're giving this one to me, then we'll pick another one you like." Yukino Yukinoshita took out the toy she had put away earlier. "Then we'll play together."

Not in the way Yukino Yukinoshita had planned, but in the way Dong Yunxi liked.

Time flew by, and soon Dong Yunxi started getting sleepy again.

Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at the clock, picked Dong Yunxi up, and coaxed her to sleep. Only after she had fallen asleep did she put her down.

After making sure Dong Yunxi was completely asleep, Yukino Yukinoshita finally had time to get up and move around.

It was her first time taking care of Dong Yunxi for so long, and Yukino Yukinoshita felt exhausted in both body and mind.

When she looked at the laptop again, she no longer had any desire to keep refining the proposal.

For one thing, she had a new revision plan. For another, she really didn't want to move.

She would wait until Dong Yunshan came back.

Thinking of that, Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly realized she still didn't know when Dong Yunshan would return.

From Chiba to Tokyo, the round trip took less than two hours.

But how long would the gathering last?

No one could say for sure.

Yukino Yukinoshita did want to send an email and ask, but she didn't actually do it.

No matter what she thought, the act of emailing Dong Yunshan carried a feeling of urging him.

It was like a wife at home sending her husband, who was at a drinking party, a message: When are you coming back?

It always gave off the meaning of [Are you even coming back?]

If she added: I'm not rushing you, I'm just asking.

Then it would seem even more like she was rushing him.

A similar example would be a wife saying, when her husband came home: You're back.

That also carried a hint of [So you still remembered to come home, huh?]

Of course, Yukino Yukinoshita didn't care about Dong Yunshan misunderstanding her.

But she did not want Dong Yunshan to think she could not handle it.

If she sent a text asking, Dong Yunshan would definitely think Yukino Yukinoshita was asking for help: When are you coming back? I can't manage at home by myself.

Yukino Yukinoshita did not want Dong Yunshan to think that.

After all, she was the one who had told Dong Yunshan to go.

Besides, she would be fine at home alone.

Yukino Yukinoshita put down her phone and washed her face to ease her fatigue.

It was almost time to prepare dinner, too.

She opened the refrigerator, chose a few dishes, and took them out.

Just as she was about to close the refrigerator, she felt it was not quite enough, so she took out a few more.

Only after closing the refrigerator did she remember that she could not eat this much by herself.

Then... she would make them into lunchboxes.

Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at the time.

She did not know whether Dong Yunshan would be able to come back today, but in any case, she would first make him one portion... three portions of lunchboxes.

If he came back, they would eat together;

If he came back late, he could heat them up before eating;

If he did not come back until tomorrow, then if she put them in the refrigerator, they would not go bad overnight.

By the time she finished making dinner and the lunchboxes, Dong Yunxi, who had been napping, had already woken up.

After putting Dong Yunxi in the dining chair and eating dinner under her gaze, Yukino Yukinoshita realized that she had still subconsciously made a little too much.

As she was taking the bowls, chopsticks, and plates back to the kitchen, Dong Yunxi, beside the dining table, applied what she had just learned. She reached out her little hand, grabbed the edge of a plate—and tugged.

By the time Yukino Yukinoshita noticed, it was already too late. She did not have Dong Yunshan's reaction speed, and could only reach out to shield Dong Yunxi.

The plate fell to the floor, and the food landed on her clothes.

After confirming that Dong Yunxi was fine, Yukino Yukinoshita let out a deep sigh.

If she had known this would happen, she should have brought a change of clothes when she came.

[I need to borrow your clothes.]

Yukino Yukinoshita sent Dong Yunshan an email.

Dong Yunshan replied instantly: [Use anything in the house as you like.]

She had permission.

Yukino Yukinoshita walked into Dong Yunshan's bedroom and opened his wardrobe.

She knew there had been no need to make a point of asking. After all, Dong Yunshan had even entrusted Xixi to her care, let alone a piece of clothing.

But Yukino Yukinoshita had still sent the email.

No matter how much Dong Yunshan trusted her, she was unwilling to touch someone else's belongings without permission.

"So big..." Yukino Yukinoshita took out a T-shirt and held it against herself.

It could easily pass as a short one-piece dress.

Even though it was a relatively fitted athletic T-shirt, the neckline was still a little too large.

It could easily pass as a low-cut short one-piece dress.

The only choice left was a shirt.

Yukino Yukinoshita did not rush to change. She simply did some preliminary cleaning, then got busy.

She filled the baby bathtub with the mesh sling with bathwater, tested it with a thermometer until the temperature was suitable, then placed baby Xi on the sling and washed her clean.

It should have been a very simple task, but Dong Yunxi seemed to like the feeling very much and happily waved her little arms, taking up a great deal of time.

After finally finishing Dong Yunxi's bath, Yukino Yukinoshita deeply realized how wise her earlier decision had been.

If she had bathed first, then after bathing Dong Yunxi and working herself into a sweat, she would have had to wash all over again.

She played with Dong Yunxi for a while, fed her a bottle of milk, and when she saw Xixi begin to yawn and rub her eyes, Yukino Yukinoshita carried her into the bedroom, placed her in the little bed, and gently patted her to sleep.

After Dong Yunxi was sound asleep, Yukino Yukinoshita cleared the dining table and kitchen, washed the bowls, chopsticks, plates, and milk bottle clean, put the toys away, and only then placed the dirty clothes into the washing machine before going into the bathroom to take a shower.

The warm water flowed over her body, as if trying to carry away her fatigue.

But how could it be that easy?

Yukino Yukinoshita felt that the amount of exercise she had done today was almost equal to what she usually did in an entire week.

She had clearly already made a plan, yet she still inevitably found herself flustered and rushed.

Even when it was not for the purpose of teaching, and she was simply playing with Dong Yunxi, it still consumed a tremendous amount of energy.

One moment she wanted to play this way, the next she wanted to play that way. Sometimes she needed help, and sometimes she did not want to be disturbed. Toys were thrown everywhere, drool flowed nonstop, one moment she was gnawing on a toy, the next she was biting her fingers...

Yukino Yukinoshita let out a long breath, turned off the shower, dried herself, and wrung the water from her long hair with a towel.

At first, she had only been helping Dong Yunshan hold the child for a moment, and somehow it had turned into this.

If she could do it over again...

After changing into a clean shirt, Yukino Yukinoshita lightly pressed her cherry lips together.

Even if she did it over again, she still would not be able to leave it alone.

Those who were capable had a duty to help those who were pitiable.

At first, she really had only wanted to help Dong Yunshan hold the child for a while.

But now, she wanted to help Dong Yunxi get through this period in peace.

If she approved of Dong Yunshan, naturally there would be no need for this.

But she believed Dong Yunshan needed correcting, so of course she could not let Dong Yunshan take care of Dong Yunxi alone.

Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at the time. It was almost eight in the evening.

Dong Yunshan still had not returned.

Around three in the morning, Dong Yunxi would still need another feeding.

To avoid sleeping too late and not being able to wake up, Yukino Yukinoshita could only rest early.

The quilt was cold.

But in the crib by the bed, there was a warm, soft little baby, sound asleep.

Reaching out to lightly touch baby Yunxi's chubby cheek, Yukino Yukinoshita closed her eyes while the warmth still lingered on her fingertip. "Good night."

Perhaps it was because of that warmth, or perhaps she really had been exhausted today.

Though she was clearly in Dong Yunshan's home, Yukino Yukinoshita slept especially peacefully.

She did not even dream.