"No, I'm fine." Ye Fei's eyes were fixed on that towering figure, wishing she would hold him a little longer, but it was just a fleeting hope, and he felt too embarrassed to ask for it.
"It's good that you're okay." Liu Yiru hugged Ye Fei gently again, but this time she didn't bury his head in her embrace. She smiled and said, "Why don't you tell Mom about your time in the army?"
Seeing his wish go unfulfilled, Ye Fei felt a bit disappointed. However, he was happy to chat more with his mom. He began enthusiastically recounting his experiences in the army. He used to be a kid who rarely left the house, spending his days either at school or buried in the online world. Life was monotonous for him. However, the two months in the army had broadened his horizons significantly. This period could be described as a transformative phase for him, and he spoke with great enthusiasm, gesturing and illustrating his stories, which amused Liu Yiru to no end.
It wasn't until nearly eleven o'clock that Ye Fei finished telling all the amusing incidents from that period. Although they were just trivial matters, Liu Yiru listened with great joy. She could see that her son had become much more cheerful than before. How could a mother not be delighted by this realization?
Realizing it was getting late, Liu Yiru affectionately ruffled Ye Fei's hair and said, "You should go to bed early. You have school tomorrow, and Mom needs to head back."
"Mom, can you stay? I want to sleep with you." Ye Fei swore that he simply wanted to spend more time with his mom and had no ulterior motives.
Seeing the longing look in her son's eyes, Liu Yiru felt a pang of guilt. However, given the current circumstances, she had to toughen up and said, "No, Mom has some things to take care of at home. Be good and go to sleep early. I promise that when you come home on the weekend, Mom will definitely cuddle you to sleep."
"Okay." Looking into her eyes, Ye Fei sensed that she might have some worries, but she didn't say anything. He simply consoled her, "Mom, don't overwork yourself. Money and such are just external things. It's most important for our family to be happy together."
"I understand." Watching her mature son, Liu Yiru made a silent resolution. No matter what, she was determined to create a peaceful and harmonious haven for him.
After Liu Yiru left, Ye Fei quickly fell asleep. This time, he didn't dream again and slept deeply. When he woke up the next day, he felt refreshed, and the usual sense of weakness had lessened.
After getting out of bed, Ye Fei freshened up and headed to the gym on the first floor. He picked up his small dumbbell, specially provided by Liu Yiru for him. Ye Yunqi would never touch this as it was too light for her.
As he lifted the dumbbell a couple of times, Ye Fei was surprised to find that his strength had increased overnight. Although lifting the small dumbbell was still a bit challenging, the progress was significant, more useful than his two months in the army.
Putting down the dumbbell, Ye Fei fell into contemplation. What had suddenly made him stronger? Was it because of the intense exercise in P.E. class yesterday? However, he quickly dismissed this thought. He had forced himself to do similar extreme exercises in the army a few times, but the next day, he felt exhausted, not invigorated, let alone stronger.
"Could it be?" Ye Fei muttered to himself, thinking of a possibility. Hurriedly sitting down, he activated his cultivation technique. Indeed, he could clearly sense a faint flow of energy circulating within his body, something that was absent before.
Ecstatic, Ye Fei realized that his perseverance had finally paid off. However, he found it strange that this energy had suddenly stirred. He had felt nothing when he practiced the day before.
Continuing his practice until Aunt Zhang called him for dinner, Ye Fei was disappointed to find that although he could sense the energy within him, his active practice didn't have any effect. The energy was simply following the path of the technique, moving slowly, and he couldn't accelerate it or make it grow.
Leaving the gym disheartened, Ye Fei saw that Ye Yunqi was already in the living room eating. He smiled and said, "Yunqi, why didn't you wait for me to eat first?"
"Hmph!" Ye Yunqi rolled her eyes at him, snorted without acknowledging him. This scoundrel was too much, not only did he make her drink his, but he also got her scolded by Mom. Absolutely unforgivable!
Ye Fei also roughly guessed why she was angry, chuckled, sat down beside her, and grinned at her. Seeing her small mouth opening and closing as she ate, he couldn't help but think of last night, that feeling was too good, and he couldn't resist teasing her.
Picking up a piece of sausage, Ye Fei put it in his mouth, but didn't eat it, just held it for a while, then took it out of his mouth, and took a small sip of milk, but didn't swallow it either. With the milk in his mouth, he smiled at Ye Yunqi, "Yunqi, is it tasty?"
Ye Yunqi didn't want to pay him any mind, but hearing his nonsensical question, she couldn't help but look at him, and immediately saw the milk in his mouth. She understood his intention right away, her little face blushing with embarrassment, she lifted her foot and kicked his shin hard.
"Ah!" Ye Fei couldn't help but cry out in pain. His sister had never hit him so hard before, it seemed like she was really angry. Ye Fei dared not tease her anymore, so he quietly started eating his breakfast, pondering his cultivation technique issue.
After finishing the meal, Ye Yunqi, as usual, rode her bike to take Ye Fei to school. However, today she didn't speak to him, no matter what he said.
Ye Yunqi had already made up her mind. Although she had been scolded by Mom because of him, he did make her very comfortable last night. If he was willing to apologize and say some nice words, she would forgive him. But he not only didn't apologize but also embarrassed her. This was absolutely unforgivable. So she was determined not to talk to him today.
After trying to tease Ye Yunqi for a while with no response, Ye Fei also felt a bit bored and fell silent as well. His thoughts shifted to the sudden changes within him today. What had stimulated that unlucky cultivation technique to start operating on its own?
Until they reached the school, Ye Fei still couldn't figure it out, so he temporarily set it aside since there was a looming test ahead of him, and he had to climb four flights of stairs. He had upset Ye Yunqi, and he wasn't sure if she would still wait for him like before.