A social phobic can also fall in love.

Xing Yi, feeling guilty, offered Yan Tingmo a cup of osmanthus and plum tea, but Qi Xing was dissatisfied, not letting the matter go.

“What did you do?” He frowned and asked Xing Yi.

Xing Yi feigned innocence. “What did I do?”

“You know exactly what you did,” Qi Xing sneered.

Xing Yi pretended to be clueless, but just as he was about to say something, Yan Tingmo suddenly tugged at the hem of his shirt. “I’m fine.”

Qi Xing, following the motion, pinched Yan Tingmo’s fingertips and mimicked Xing Yi’s earlier move by kicking his leg.

The kick was perfectly timed, and Xing Yi yelped, “Ouch!” He glared angrily at him. “Are you out of your mind?”

Qi Xing raised an eyebrow. “Is this the first time you’ve realized that?”

Xing Yi, now furious, pointed at him. “You wait.”

Qi Xing shrugged, showing no fear.

Yan Tingmo, fearing the two would start arguing, quickly intervened. “I’m fine. Let’s eat, okay?”

With Yan Tingmo in the middle, Xing Yi grew bolder and openly made faces at Qi Xing.

Qi Xing clenched his fist, looking like he wanted to punch him, but Yan Tingmo quickly grabbed his arm and muttered how hungry he was. Qi Xing, finally giving in, let the matter drop.

The meal was tense, but in the end, the decision for Yan Tingmo to tutor Xing Yi’s little cousin was made.

The next morning, accompanied by Qi Xing and Xing Yi, he arrived at Xing Yi’s uncle’s house.

Xing Yi’s uncle was a man in his forties. Yan Tingmo was polite, addressing him as “Mr. Xing.”

Mr. Xing warmly invited them in, and after exchanging pleasantries with Xing Yi, he got straight to the point.

“So, you’re here to tutor my youngest son?” Mr. Xing asked.

Xing Yi, unfazed, replied, “Yes.”

Qi Xing chimed in, “Don’t worry, Uncle Xing. My classmate’s grades are excellent. He’ll definitely be able to teach your son well!”

“That’s not what I meant!” Mr. Xing seemed somewhat awkward. “It’s just that…”

Xing Yi decided to pull the family card. “Don’t you trust me, Uncle?”

Xing Yi hesitated, glancing at Yan Tingmo.

Yan Tingmo, quiet and obedient, listened to their conversation without interrupting. He certainly wouldn’t speak up unless it was necessary.

Everyone loved a well-behaved child, and Xing Yi clearly liked him—he was good-looking, well-mannered, and polite.

After a moment of thought, Mr. Xing sighed and agreed, “Alright, I’ll call him down.”

Yan Tingmo, Qi Xing, and Xing Yi sat in the living room drinking tea while he went upstairs to fetch the child.

Xing Yi clearly frequented his uncle’s house, lounging lazily on the sofa. There were many snacks on the coffee table, and seeing that Yan Tingmo was nervous, Qi Xing stood up and brought him two puddings. “Do you want some?”

He shook his head and quietly replied, “No, thank you.”

“Don’t be nervous.” Qi Xing also spoke in a soft voice. “Zhi Zhi is easy to get along with, just a little mischievous.”

Knowing that Qi Xing was trying to comfort him, Yan Tingmo made an effort to relax and gave him a small smile. His smile was subtle, but the dimples on either side of his mouth deepened.

Qi Xing stared, mesmerized, until he realized what he was doing and quickly poked his dimple with his finger.

Yan Tingmo blinked in confusion, and Qi Xing, flustered for a moment, quickly regained his composure and unwrapped a pudding. “Here, try it. It’s vanilla flavor.”

It would be rude to refuse, so although Yan Tingmo wasn’t fond of sweets, he accepted the pudding, especially since it looked so tempting. Under Qi Xing’s watchful eyes, he took a bite.

“How is it?” Qi Xing’s gaze gleamed. “Isn’t it delicious?”

Yan Tingmo swallowed and nodded. “Mm, it’s fragrant.”

Qi Xing smiled, satisfied.

Meanwhile, Xing Yi, lying off to the side, had been silently enduring the display of affection. When he saw Qi Xing’s behavior wasn’t stopping, he found an excuse to go to the bathroom and left the living room.

When Yan Tingmo heard the footsteps, he looked up, confused. He tilted his head but couldn’t see Zhi Zhi, only Mr. Xing walking ahead.

Then, a little child appeared from behind Mr. Xing, and he was stunned.

There was no mistake—the child was just too small, and he hadn’t seen him earlier because Mr. Xing had blocked his view.

Mr. Xing rubbed his youngest son’s head. “This is Zhi Zhi. He’s two and a half years old.”

Zhi Zhi blinked his big, watery eyes, curiously staring at him.

Yan Tingmo also looked at him with curiosity.

“Zhi Zhi, this is the art teacher Daddy found for you,” Mr. Xing patiently introduced Yan Tingmo to the child. “His last name is Yan. You can call him Teacher Yan or Big Brother if you like.”

Zhi Zhi seemed to understand the second part of the sentence and cheerfully called out, “Hello, Big Brother!”

Yan Tingmo was completely charmed. “Hello, Zhi Zhi.”

Though he was cute, Yan Tingmo still couldn’t believe his student was a toddler wearing diapers.

Zhi Zhi immediately took a liking to him and wobbled over, reaching his arms out to be picked up. Yan Tingmo, unsure of what to do, turned to Qi Xing for help.

Qi Xing chuckled and leaned down to pick up the little one.

Zhi Zhi wasn’t happy and struggled in his arms, twisting his body to get closer to Yan Tingmo.

“Hey, kiddo,” Qi Xing turned around, trying to stop Zhi Zhi from reaching out for Yan Tingmo. “Isn’t Big Brother Qi enough for you?”

Zhi Zhi pouted, his eyes welling with tears.

“Aw, my little darling.” He sighed. “Why are you crying?”

The moment he spoke, Zhi Zhi began crying even harder.

Yan Tingmo felt awkward, unsure how to react. Zhi Zhi liked him, which should have made him happy, but instead, he felt reluctant and overwhelmed.

The more he cried, the louder it got, so Yan Tingmo finally mustered up the courage and said, “How about… I try holding you?”

Qi Xing, still trying to calm Zhi Zhi down, asked, “Are you sure you can do it?”

Yan Tingmo nodded. “I’ll give it a try.”

Mr. Xing smiled and shook his head. “You little rascal,” he said affectionately.

Yan Tingmo raised his arms, and Qi Xing carefully handed Zhi Zhi over. Yan Tingmo held the little one tightly, afraid of dropping him.

Zhi Zhi, smart enough, grabbed onto his sleeve, laughing joyfully.

“Why aren’t you crying anymore?” Qi Xing, unable to resist, poked Zhi Zhi’s soft, white cheek. He refused to be poked, burrowing further into Yan Tingmo’s shoulder.

It was Yan Tingmo’s first time holding a child, and he felt lost. Zhi Zhi, however, clung to him, calling “Big Brother” in a sweet voice.

Hearing Zhi Zhi’s voice made him stop in his tracks, and he stood still, letting the little one nestle quietly in his arms.

Though Zhi Zhi was being good, he still felt his arms growing tired. Despite being small, the child was quite heavy—around twenty-seven to twenty-eight pounds. After holding him for a while, his arms were sore, and Zhi Zhi started sliding down.

“Big Brother, Big Brother!” Zhi Zhi called softly, still holding onto his sleeve.

Yan Tingmo helplessly looked around for help. Qi Xing, seeing his discomfort, was about to take Zhi Zhi back, but just as he reached for him, both Mr. Xing and Xing Yi extended their arms to take the child.

“I want my brother!” Zhi Zhi protested, twisting and pushing away from Mr. Xing and Xing Yi. “I don’t want you, I want brother!”

“No!” Mr. Xing immediately scooped him up. “You’re too heavy, your brother can’t carry you.”

“Waahhh…” Zhi Zhi broke free from Yan Tingmo’s arms and began rolling around on the floor in a tantrum.

At that moment, Xing Yi pulled out a small drawing board from somewhere and waved it in front of him. “Zhi Zhi, don’t cry. How about Brother Yan teach you how to draw?”

Upon hearing that Brother Yan would teach him, Zhi Zhi immediately stopped crying, clapped his little hands, and said he wanted to draw.

One hour later.

Yan Tingmo sat on the sofa, blankly staring ahead, feeling utterly defeated. On the other side, Zhi Zhi was making a mess on the floor, his hands covered in paint, carelessly smearing it everywhere.

“Zhi Zhi,” Yan Tingmo weakly said, “Can we stop painting the floor?”

“Okay!” Zhi Zhi wiped his colorful, paint-covered hands on his clothes and quickly ran toward him.

“Hey! Wait—”

Before Yan Tingmo could finish his sentence, Zhi Zhi’s little body collided with him, leaving paint on his clothes and hands.

Ah!

Yan Tingmo silently screamed in his mind. He didn’t want to teach anymore! Why were kids so mischievous? Why?!

Of course, no one heard his inner thoughts. In order to create a better learning environment for Zhi Zhi, Mr. Xing had cleared out a room to serve as a studio.

However, after less than two hours of tutoring, Yan Tingmo was starting to lose his patience.

Objectively speaking, he really liked Zhi Zhi—he was cheerful, lively, and cute. But rationally, he couldn’t handle kids like him. It was like there was a little trumpet blaring in his ear, making it impossible for him to concentrate and draining all his patience.

Finally, after two hours, he took Zhi Zhi out of the study. Qi Xing, Mr. Xing, and Xing Yi gathered around them.

“How was it?” Qi Xing asked.

“It was okay?” Xing Yi chimed in.

“Zhi Zhi didn’t cause trouble, right?” Mr. Xing asked.

Yan Tingmo smiled awkwardly and gently pushed Zhi Zhi toward Mr. Xing. “He has a lot of talent. He could probably learn well even without a tutor.”

His words were tactful, but the meaning was clear—Zhi Zhi was still too young to need a tutor.

Unfortunately, Mr. Xing didn’t catch his hint and politely asked, “Would Teacher Yan be willing to continue teaching him? We can discuss payment!”

Qi Xing looked a little surprised at Mr. Xing. Before this, he had arranged this tutoring job for Yan Tingmo as a quick way to earn some money, but now Zhi Zhi liked Yan Tingmo, and Mr. Xing seemed to be thinking about long-term plans for Zhi Zhi.

Yan Tingmo actually didn’t mind teaching, but he was still getting used to interacting with kids, especially transitioning from being a student to a teacher.

Mr. Xing genuinely hoped he would continue teaching Zhi Zhi, but Yan Tingmo couldn’t refuse outright. He explained that his schedule was full, and he might not have enough time for regular tutoring.

“It’s fine,” Mr. Xing said cheerfully. “Come whenever you have time, there’s no time limit here.”

Yan Tingmo paused, opened his mouth, but wasn’t sure what to say.

Qi Xing noticed and, with a smile, placed a hand on his shoulder. “Uncle Xing, we have something to do in the afternoon, so we’ll head back to school now.”

“Okay, okay,” Mr. Xing didn’t want to keep them, so he got up to see them off. “Come visit when you have time.”

Qi Xing nodded and left with Yan Tingmo following behind him.

Only Xing Yi remained, lazily lounging on the sofa, munching on fruit.

Once outside Mr. Xing’s house, Yan Tingmo walked quietly with his head lowered. Qi Xing suddenly stopped, turned to Yan Tingmo, and said, “Mo Mo.”

Yan Tingmo slowly raised his head, instinctively starting to explain himself, “I don’t not want to tutor Zhi Zhi, I just… I’m afraid I’m not patient enough yet and might hurt him.”