Rebirth Begins with Rejecting my Childhood Friend-Chapter 375 - A Tutor?

After Xu Xiuwen tidied up, the kitchen looked brand new.

This made him both relieved and inexplicably annoyed.

But he quickly remembered that he and the woman had only shared one night, and after today, they would no longer know each other.

So he didn’t dwell on it.

Xu Xiuwen tossed the used bed linens into the washing machine, swept the bedroom floor, and even found some air freshener to spray in the bedroom.

After finishing everything, the woman still hadn’t returned.

Xu Xiuwen grew impatient.

He walked to the refrigerator, opened it, and took a quick look inside.

The fridge contained some common ingredients, though not much.

However, it was enough to make a meal.

Xu Xiuwen took out all the food and started preparing lunch.

He ended up making four dishes and one soup.

It was actually enough to make just one or two dishes to satisfy his hunger, but he deliberately made four dishes and one soup.

The reason behind this was anyone’s guess.

As he was making the final soup, the front door of the house sounded.

Soon, the woman returned with shopping bags in hand.

Entering the living room, she immediately saw the three dishes and one soup on the table, and her eyes widened.

Had a thief broken in?

But she quickly dismissed that thought as she saw Xu Xiuwen busy in the kitchen.

The woman hurried to the kitchen door, opened it, and asked, “What are you doing?”

Seeing the woman appear at the kitchen door with an unfriendly tone, Xu Xiuwen turned and, upon seeing her return, smiled, “You’re back.”

“What are you doing?” the woman asked again.

Xu Xiuwen chuckled and said, “I was a bit hungry, and since you had ingredients in the fridge, I made us lunch.”

Hearing this, the woman’s tense mood gradually eased.

She also noticed that Xu Xiuwen was wearing her apron, which made him look quite comical.

She couldn’t help but laugh, but the smile quickly vanished.

“Who gave you permission to do these things?” the woman asked.

Xu Xiuwen didn’t answer her but instead said with a smile, “You should hurry and wash up. This dish will be ready soon, and you can eat it then.”

With that, Xu Xiuwen casually closed the kitchen glass door.

The woman was unaccustomed to Xu Xiuwen not responding to her.

The only person who usually ignored her was her daughter, but now there was another one: the man before her.

Her feelings were complex, but she didn’t seem very angry.

She turned and walked back to the living room.

Xu Xiuwen quickly finished cooking and brought the dishes out, placing them on the table.

“The dishes are ready. You can eat now; I’ll go get dressed.”

Saying this, Xu Xiuwen picked up the shopping bags the woman had brought and went into the bedroom.

The woman remained silent, just watching him.

After Xu Xiuwen went into the bedroom, her gaze shifted to the table.

The four dishes and one soup were all colorful and aromatic.

She was both surprised and puzzled by Xu Xiuwen.

The man she met yesterday seemed to be full of secrets and brought her different feelings at every moment.

Xu Xiuwen came out of the bedroom with the clothes the woman had bought.

The underwear was ordinary, but the clothes and pants were another story.

The white shirt and men’s suit were quite outdated, resembling the style worn by older clerks.

Fortunately, Xu Xiuwen was handsome.

Even in the old-fashioned suit, he still looked charming and had an added touch of maturity.

Xu Xiuwen changed into the clothes and emerged from the bedroom.

The woman immediately looked over.

It was the woman’s first time buying clothes for a man, so she wasn’t sure what to choose. In the end, she picked a set of clothes that resembled what the men she usually encountered wore.

She didn’t have any expectations when she bought them.

But seeing Xu Xiuwen in the clothes she had bought made her somewhat flustered.

By the time she collected herself, Xu Xiuwen was already standing in front of her.

He waved his hand in front of her and smiled, “Although I know I’m handsome, you don’t have to look so mesmerized.”

Fortunately, the woman was accustomed to various situations and had a strong psychological resilience.

She calmly looked away and replied, “You’re thinking too much. I was just lost in thought.”

“Heh heh.” Xu Xiuwen didn’t press the issue.

He glanced at the dining table and asked, “Aren’t you hungry? Why aren’t you eating?”

“Did you cook all these dishes?”

“Who else would?” Xu Xiuwen replied.

The woman fell silent again.

Xu Xiuwen didn’t pay her any more attention and went into the kitchen to serve himself a bowl of rice from the rice cooker.

He returned to the dining table, sat down, and started eating.

He was truly hungry.

The woman watched him eat ravenously.

Normally, she disliked people who didn’t follow etiquette.

But seeing Xu Xiuwen eat this way, she found that she didn’t actually mind.

After Xu Xiuwen took a big bite, he paused and asked, “Aren’t you eating? Aren’t you hungry?”

The woman thought for a moment, then got up and walked to the kitchen.

She served herself a bowl of rice and returned to the dining table.

She chose to sit opposite Xu Xiuwen.

He noticed but said nothing.

“Try the shredded potatoes; it’s my specialty,” Xu Xiuwen said.

The woman, however, chose not to take any of the shredded potatoes and instead served herself some of the other dishes.

“Heh heh.” Xu Xiuwen didn’t say anything further and focused on eating.

The woman ate with grace and poise.

After she had a bite, Xu Xiuwen asked, “How does it taste?”

The woman remained silent.

Xu Xiuwen thought she was ignoring him.

But after a few seconds, the woman calmly said, “It’s okay.”

“Ha ha...” Xu Xiuwen couldn’t help but laugh.

At that moment, the door of the house suddenly rang.

Before either of them could react, the door opened.

The next second, a young girl walked in.

The girl was wearing heavy make up and looked like a little gangster.

As soon as she took off her shoes and looked up, she saw her mother’s back at the dining table.

The girl was immediately stunned.

“Mom? What are you doing here?”

Hearing her daughter’s voice, the woman’s heart tightened, and her body tensed up.

Xu Xiuwen also stopped his actions immediately.

The woman didn’t turn around right away.

At this moment, the girl sensed something was off.

She quickly walked over and soon saw Xu Xiuwen sitting on the other side of the dining table.

Seeing a stranger in the house, the girl was very surprised.

When she saw the stranger’s face more clearly, her mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened even further.

“What are you doing here?” the girl asked in disbelief.

The house fell silent in an instant.

The three of them stood still.

The woman, being older, was the first to regain her composure.

She calmly turned to her daughter and asked, “Why are you back? Aren’t you supposed to be at school?”

She quickly noticed that her daughter wasn’t wearing a school uniform but the same clothes from yesterday.

She immediately guessed that the girl hadn’t come home the night before.

The woman was furious.

She slammed the table and shouted at her daughter, “Li Ke, what are you doing? Not coming home at night and skipping classes during the day—do you even care anymore?”

Li Ke was rebellious, but she usually avoided direct confrontation with her mother.

Normally, she might have said nothing.

But with Yang Baishan present, she didn’t want to lose face in front of him, so she retorted, “None of your business!”

The woman was instantly enraged.

Without hesitation, she raised her hand to slap her daughter.

Li Ke didn’t expect her mother to be so severe, actually intending to hit her.

Even if she had wanted to dodge, she wouldn’t have had time.

As the woman’s hand was about to strike Li Ke’s delicate face, Xu Xiuwen reacted quickly and grabbed her swinging arm.

“Let’s talk this out. No need for violence,” Xu Xiuwen said, holding her wrist.

Li Ke finally reacted.

She stared at her mother in disbelief and asked, “Li Haimei, you actually want to hit me?”

Hearing her daughter call her by her first name, the woman was even angrier.

“Just watch me how I beat you up!” she said, instinctively trying to hit her.

But her hand was held by Xu Xiuwen and couldn’t move.

She was both angry and anxious, shouting at Xu Xiuwen, “Let go!”

Li Ke also shouted at Xu Xiuwen, “Let go! I want to see if she really will hit me!”

Xu Xiuwen felt helpless.

The mother and daughter were suddenly quarreling.

He was caught in the middle of it.

But he couldn’t just let go and watch Li Haimei hit her daughter.

He shouted sternly, “Both of you shut up!”

Xu Xiuwen’s sudden outburst stunned both women.

No man had ever dared to shout at them like this.

Both mother and daughter thought this simultaneously.

“What’s wrong with talking things out? Li Haimei, your daughter is already grown up. Are you really going to hit her? You’re supposed to be an adult.”

“I...” Li Haimei started to speak but was interrupted by Xu Xiuwen.

“‘I’ what? Am I wrong?”

Seeing her mother silenced by Xu Xiuwen, Li Ke felt a bit of satisfaction.

But her satisfaction was short-lived.

Xu Xiuwen suddenly turned to Li Ke and said, “She’s your mother. How can you call her by her name? And is she wrong? You’re still a student. Look at yourself. Do you even look like a student? You stayed out all night and skipped classes during the day. Don’t just say your mother wants to hit you; if I were your father, I’d want to hit you too!”

Li Haimei was somewhat surprised to hear Xu Xiuwen reprimand her daughter.

However, she didn’t stop him but instead watched quietly.

She thought that her daughter would be very angry and would retort.

But to her surprise, Li Ke did not immediately counter.

Her daughter’s face showed a hint of guilt.

Li Ke lowered her head, not daring to meet Xu Xiuwen’s eyes.

She softly explained, “There’s a reason. Yesterday was my best friend’s birthday, and I stayed at her place because it got too late.”

Her daughter wasn’t arguing but explaining?

Li Haimei’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Then why didn’t you go to school this morning? Don’t you know that a student’s primary duty is to study?” Xu Xiuwen asked calmly.

Li Ke was silent for a few seconds before responding, “I overslept this morning, and the school requires a uniform, so I planned to go to school in the afternoon.”

After hearing Li Ke’s explanation, Xu Xiuwen added, “If that’s the case, you should have a proper talk with your mother.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you know what you should do now?”

Li Ke showed a moment of hesitation on her face.

But her expression gradually firmed up.

She turned to face Li Haimei and said softly, “I... I’m sorry.”

Her voice was very soft, almost inaudible unless you were face-to-face.

Even so, it was enough to astonish Li Haimei.

Her daughter had been rebellious since starting junior high.

Getting her to apologize was almost as hard as killing her.

But now she had voluntarily apologized.

Li Haimei naturally didn’t think it was because of her own influence.

She instinctively glanced at Xu Xiuwen.

She didn’t understand why this man, or rather, this young man, could make her daughter so obedient.

Seeing that Li Haimei wasn’t saying anything, Xu Xiuwen spoke up, “She’s apologized. Don’t you think it’s time for you to say something too?”

Xu Xiuwen’s tone carried a hint of command.

It had been a long time since Li Haimei had heard a man speak to her like that.

She was momentarily stunned before coming to her senses.

She glanced at Li Ke, her expression softening considerably. “Ke Ke, this incident isn’t entirely your fault. I should have asked more questions. I shouldn’t have yelled at you or tried to hit you. I apologize.”

“It’s okay.”

Li Ke was evidently uncomfortable with this motherly, filial scene and looked slightly embarrassed.

After they both apologized, the atmosphere fell silent again.

At this point, Li Ke suddenly remembered something.

She looked up at Xu Xiuwen with confusion and asked, “Benefactor, why are you in our home?”

Li Ke’s question was very straightforward.

But this ordinary question put Xu Xiuwen and Li Haimei in an awkward position.

Both of them were taken aback, unsure how to answer Li Ke.

It wasn’t possible to tell her.

That they had spent the night together, right?

Upon seeing Li Ke, Xu Xiuwen also realized that Li Haimei had not lied to him before.

She really did have a daughter around his age.

This meant Li Haimei was indeed a woman at least ten years older than him.

Spending a night with such a woman was both awkward and exciting for Xu Xiuwen.

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Li Haimei, on the other hand, felt a different kind of emotion.

Facing her daughter’s question, she felt embarrassed.

She didn’t know how to face her daughter.

Should she tell her daughter that she had been intimate with a man around her age last night?

What would her daughter think?

Would she think she was a loose woman?

She didn’t want to ruin her image in her daughter’s eyes.

It was just a simple question.

But instead of an answer, there was only mutual silence.

Li Ke’s expression shifted from surprise to confusion.

She looked at her mother, then at ‘Yang Baishan.’

Hesitantly, she asked, “Mom, he wouldn’t... be the tutor you mentioned a few days ago, would he?”

Xu Xiuwen thought she had guessed the truth.

His heart almost jumped out of his throat with nervousness.

But hearing her mention a tutor, he sighed in relief.

Li Haimei felt similarly relieved.

However, admitting to being a tutor was not something Xu Xiuwen could do.

Yet, Li Haimei spoke up.

She said calmly, “Yes, he’s here for a tutor interview.”

Li Haimei knew her daughter’s character well.

Li Ke hated tutors and extra classes.

Whenever the subject came up before, Li Ke would get very upset, even angry.