Coward?

Yu Heng will be out for the weekend in a couple of days.

Classes are held for half a day in the morning, and there are no classes in the afternoon.

He planned to stroll around the commercial street in the university town; he hadn't used the camera he bought yet.

Let's go shoot some outdoor scenes to get a feel for it.

In his past life, he was in operations; he didn't really know much about cameras.

He went back to the villa first to get his camera.

The commercial street in the university town is about the same distance from the school and the residential area, about a ten-minute walk.

When Yu Heng arrived at the place, he realized that he hadn't really explored it properly since his rebirth.

So he brought Qin Ya along for a visit.

This place is really big; the university town has nearly 20 students and faculty members, so the consumer base is quite large.

The commercial street has almost everything, including restaurants and entertainment.

He even remembered that a new nightclub had opened, and there should also have been a nicely decorated foot massage parlor.

The afternoon was a busy time for people, and students strolled around the streets in twos and threes.

Yu Heng took out his camera, adjusted the settings, and started taking pictures of the street scene.

I shot a few videos and the results were pretty good. Sony cameras are pretty easy to use for shooting videos.

Yu Heng put away his camera, went into a milk tea shop, and sat by the window to look at the photos he had just taken.

Just then, the shop door was pushed open, and the wind chimes jingled.

Yu Heng subconsciously looked up and was surprised to see Qin Lu and her daughter walking in.

Qin Lu was dressed in a business suit, and she had changed the stockings she wore under her skirt.

Qin Ya followed behind, carrying a backpack.

"Yu Heng?" Qin Lu saw him too, somewhat surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Let's try out the camera," Yu Heng said, waving the camera in his hand. "Counselor, what are you doing...?"

"I brought Qin Ya here to browse around," Qin Lu said, walking to the counter and glancing at the menu. "What would you like to drink?"

"Lemonade is fine with me," Yu Heng said without hesitation. "Thank you, counselor!"

"Then let's add two more milk teas," Qin Lu said to the clerk, "one pearl milk tea and one taro ball milk tea, both hot."

Qin Ya had already sat down in the chair opposite Yu Heng, her eyes glancing at his camera: "What are you photographing?"

"Street scene," Yu Heng handed over the camera, "just take some random pictures."

Qin Ya took the camera and looked through the photos on the screen.

This girl didn't call me "brother" when we met today. It seems she's only obedient when she's feeling vulnerable; she's reverted to her old ways these past two days.

"That's boring." Qin Ya pouted. "I thought you came to secretly take pictures up girls' skirts."

"Tsk!" Yu Heng almost choked on her lemonade. "Do you think I'm that kind of person? Besides, how many people wear skirts in the middle of autumn?"

"Why not?" Qin Ya shrugged, looking at Qin Lu at the bar. "Isn't there one?"

As soon as he said that, Yu Heng subconsciously looked up at Qin Lu in front of the bar.

Qin Lu was looking down at the QR code to pay when she heard it.

She paused for a moment, holding her phone, but didn't turn around; she simply pressed her legs together under her skirt.

What are those two kids saying?!

"What are you thinking about all day, you little brat?" Yu Heng lowered his voice and glared at Qin Ya.

"To be honest," Qin Ya handed the camera back, looking completely innocent, "don't you men love watching this kind of thing? I think my mom is quite pretty, isn't she?"

"Tsk, where did you learn all that?" Yu Heng squinted at her. Kids these days are really precocious.

"Don't you think my mom is pretty?" Qin Ya asked again.

Qin Lu, who had just received her milk tea and was about to turn back, stopped and stood still with the plate in her hand after hearing Qin Ya's words.

"Of course your mom is beautiful!" Yu Heng said subconsciously.

"That's amazing!" Qin Ya said, raising an eyebrow. "Then you can take a picture of her!"

"What are you talking about?" Qin Lu asked as she brought over a tray.

"Haha, it's nothing," Yu Heng squinted at Qin Ya, telling her not to talk nonsense, "We were just talking about where to take her this weekend."

"Coward!" Qin Ya pursed her lips and said, picking up a cup of milk tea and standing up. "I'm going to play at the cat cafe next door for a while."

???

She said she was a coward?

Damn it, talking is one thing, doing is another. If I actually eat it, I'm afraid you won't be happy.

Qin Ya left, and Qin Lu and Yu Heng sat facing each other.

"This child..." Qin Lu shook her head helplessly, "always so impulsive."

"She's just a kid, it's normal." Yu Heng took a sip of lemonade, his eyes involuntarily glancing at Qin Lu's legs again.

After a few seconds, she spoke again: "Qin Ya has become much more cheerful lately, thank you."

"She's just bored being alone all the time," Yu Heng waved his hand, "Now that she's doing a live stream, she has someone to keep her entertained, which is good."

"Yes, ever since she came here, she just stays by herself at home," Qin Lu said softly, "and it's not just because of the live streams."

She paused, then looked up at Yu Heng: "You play with her, listen to her talk, she likes you quite a bit."

"I quite like her too," Yu Heng said honestly. "Although she has a bad temper, haha, she's not a bad person at heart."

Qin Lu smiled, then said with a somewhat forlorn expression, "When she first dropped out of school last year, she hung out with a bunch of people who didn't go to school every day, and that's how her personality changed. I thought it wouldn't work, so I wanted her to repeat a year, but she absolutely refused, so I brought her here."

"Like Mencius' mother moving three times!" Yu Heng chimed in. "But it's really lonely here; there are practically no kids my age around."

"This child is actually just like me." They've gotten to know each other quite well these past few days, and Qin Lu was a bit more talkative today. "He's become too soft-hearted. When he plays with those kids, if he doesn't act tough, he gets bullied."

"You're still soft-hearted?" Yu Heng raised an eyebrow. "You're so authoritative."

"That's just an act," Qin Lu said with a smile. "You always have to put on an act in front of your students."

"And now?" Yu Heng looked at her. "Now you don't have to pretend anymore?"

Qin Lu was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled: "I guess it's time to get off work now?"

"What is Teacher Qin like after get off work?" Yu Heng leaned forward.

Qin Lu felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze: "Just an ordinary person, eating, sleeping, and taking care of children."

"Don't you have any other hobbies?"

"for example?"

"For example, going shopping or watching movies," Yu Heng said casually.

Qin Lu was silent for a few seconds, then shook her head: "No, I don't have the time for that."

"It's tiring to raise a child alone," Yu Heng said, expressing her understanding, "but one should also have some life of their own."

Qin Lu glanced at him, her expression somewhat complicated: "You're right."

"It's almost time, Qin Ya should start her live stream," Yu Heng glanced at his phone. "Want to come to my place together later?"

"Okay," Qin Lu nodded. "She's been quite attentive these days."

The two chatted for a few more minutes, mostly about Qin Ya's live stream.

Yu Heng discovered that Qin Lu actually knew nothing about the live streaming industry.

But for her daughter's sake, she was willing to understand and support her.

She's a good mother, and a fairly competent one at that.

It wasn't as reckless as Qin Ya made it out to be.

Perhaps she and her husband had some irreconcilable conflict?

Bankruptcy? Infidelity?