Have you finished your homework?

Once the groups were assigned, Xiaomai eagerly led four children over to Xie Yuan.

"Big brother, we're in your group."

Xie Yuan looked at each of them in turn, his gaze finally settling on the child who only reached his thigh.

After a moment of silence, he looked at his partner, Mu Ze. "Mu Ze, do you know how to look after children?"

Mu Ze stared at the child, who looked about two or three. "This is my first time with one this young."

Well, neither of them had any experience looking after children.

Seeing Xie Yuan's difficulty, Xiaomai walked over to the youngest child and scooped her up. "Don't worry, big brother. Xiao Hua is very well-behaved. I can look after her."

Xiao Hua was a girl with two little tufts of hair tied on top of her head, smooth, rosy skin, and big, adorable eyes.

Noticing the worry in Xiaomai's eyes, Xie Yuan stepped forward and lifted Xiao Hua with one arm. "Don't worry. When I can't carry her anymore, I'll dump her on you."

He turned and put Xiao Hua straight into Mu Ze's arms. "Hold her properly."

Mu Ze and Xiao Hua stared at each other, neither the adult nor the child saying a word.

Watching this, Xiaomai let out a breath of relief.

"Big brother, let's go into the classroom. It's too hot outside."

It was getting late in the morning, and the sun beating down on the courtyard was indeed scorching.

They followed Xiaomai into the classroom.

By the time Xie Yuan and the others arrived, another group of guests was already there.

Enemies were bound to cross paths.

That described Xie Yuan, Su Wanyue, and Gu Yanzhou perfectly.

When Gu Yanzhou saw Xie Yuan enter, his brows drew together almost imperceptibly.

Lately, nothing good had come of running into Xie Yuan.

He glanced at Su Wanyue, and seeing her interacting with the children with a face full of smiles, most of the worry in his eyes instantly disappeared.

With him here, he couldn't let Xie Yuan bully Yueyue.

The classroom was fairly large, with plenty of room even for over a dozen people.

Xiaomai led the three older children in moving the tables.

Xie Yuan watched for a while. Seeing that they could manage, he didn't step forward to help.

The four of them carried the tables together and soon pushed them into one large table.

They brought over six chairs and arranged them before sitting down.

While Xiaomai was leading the others in moving the tables, the comments in Xie Yuan's livestream never stopped.

[What's wrong with this guest? Can't he see those children moving tables? Why isn't he helping?]

[Xie Dog is showing his true colors. How is someone like this worth liking? Look at our Yueyue. She personally helped the children move their tables and chairs over.]

[Honestly, Young Master Xie is going a little too far.]

[How can he let children do it themselves? What if they accidentally fall?]

[Seriously, did your eyes fall into a cesspit? Can't you see how happy those children are?]

[I don't understand. If the children want to do it themselves, why dismiss their efforts?]

While the comments argued, Xie Yuan and the others had already begun their task.

Xiaomai looked at Xie Yuan with shining eyes. "Big brother, you haven't told us your name yet."

"Xie Yuan." Xie Yuan's lips parted slightly as he said his name.

Xiaomai asked curiously, "Which yuan?"

"The yuan that means 'round,' like in 'reunion'?"

Xie Yuan said, "The yuan in one yuan, two yuan."

Xiaomai flashed a mouthful of white teeth. "That's a good one. It sounds rich."

The corners of Xie Yuan's lips lifted. "Good taste."

Xiaomai introduced the remaining children to him and Mu Ze. "He's Xiaocao. Director Mom said she hoped he would grow as full of life as grass."

"This is Xiao Yu. He wants to fly like a bird, but 'little bird' didn't sound nice, so we used the character for 'feather.'"

"He's Xiaoyu. He really likes water. He's never cried during a bath, even when he was little. He just smiles." Xiaomai pointed at the last child.

The children obediently greeted him. "Big Brother Xie."

Xie Yuan tilted his head with a smile and pointed at Mu Ze, who was holding the child. "He's Mu Ze."

"Big Brother Mu Ze."

The children obediently greeted him too.

Mu Ze's expression was gentle, his eyes smiling. "Hello."

With the introductions finished, they began the task.

Xie Yuan looked at the children. "You know we have a task, right?"

"Tell me your wishes. As long as they aren't too outrageous, I can help make them come true."

Xiaomai nodded. "We know. We've already discussed it."

A rare look of apprehension appeared on Xiaomai's face. "We hope you can be our family for a day."

"No." Xie Yuan shook his head.

Xiaomai and the other children visibly wilted.

Were we asking for too much after all?

The livestream comments rolled in.

[Wait, what is Young Master Xie doing? It's just being family. It isn't hard. Why won't he agree?]

[Sigh, these poor children. They just want a family member. It isn't hard. Young Master Xie, please say yes.]

[Xie Dog, have some decency. Can't you see those children are about to cry?]

[Don't cry, kids. Go find Yueyue. She'll definitely be willing to be your family.]

[My daily reminder: Xie Dog, get out of the livestream.]

As the comments cursed him, Xie Yuan said, "It's too hard."

"Pretend family will never be real family."

"One day, you'll have family who truly love you."

"And besides..."

His gaze passed over the children's faces. "You already have wonderful family."

Xiaomai froze for a moment, then raised his eyes and looked at Xie Yuan with a shining gaze. "Big brother, I understand."

"Xiaocao, Xiao Yu, Xiaoyu, and Xiao Hua are all my family. We all love each other."

The other children's eyes lit up as well, and they nodded along.

"We already have family."

Xie Yuan gave them a look of approval for catching on. "All right, think about what other wishes you have."

At that, Xiaomai and the other children were completely stumped.

They hadn't thought that far ahead.

Seeing the children's brows nearly knotting together, Xie Yuan said, "No rush. Just think of something before we leave."

"Now..."

Xie Yuan's gaze settled on the children. "Have you finished your homework?"

That single question instantly changed all their expressions.

Xiao Hua clapped happily with a silly grin. "Homework! Homework!"

The livestream comments burst out laughing.

[Hahahahaha, forgive me, I really couldn't hold it in. How can Young Master Xie be so wicked?]

[The children: the sky is falling.]

[Wait, you promised to grant our wishes, and now you're making us do homework?]

[Boohoo, finally someone can feel my pain when I do homework.]

[The demon children fear most: homework.]

Xie Yuan spotted their guilty looks immediately. "Since there's nothing to do, we'll help you with your homework."

He casually draped an arm over Mu Ze's shoulder. "Big Brother Mu Ze graduated from a prestigious university. Usually, even tens of thousands might not be enough to get him to tutor you."

"Are you sure you don't want to do your homework?"

Hearing this, the children stared at Mu Ze with shining eyes. "We do! We'll do it right now!"

The children hurried off to get their schoolbags.

Mu Ze lowered his eyes and met Xiao Hua's big eyes in his arms. Only after a long moment did he say helplessly, "Young Master Xie certainly knows how to assign work."

Xie Yuan raised an eyebrow. "What? Not willing, Teacher Mu Ze?"

"I'm willing." Mu Ze looked up, his gentle expression softening further as his gaze fell on Xie Yuan. "As long as Young Master Xie asks, I'm willing."