At four in the afternoon, Chen Yu got up and freshened up a bit before heading straight to the school.
He had felt somewhat uneasy when he asked Zhang Fan to take Tuan Tuan in the morning, so he decided to pick up the child himself after school.
However, when Chen Yu arrived at the school gate and saw all sorts of family cars parked there, he suddenly had the idea of buying a car.
But then he thought, he only owned a food truck now, and even if he bought a car, he wouldn't have a place to park it.
After some consideration, Chen Yu decided to focus on saving money to buy a house.
Just as he was meticulously planning this, the school bell started ringing.
Chen Yu instinctively stayed away from the crowd, leaning against the tree. He had only waited a little while when he suddenly heard Tuan Tuan call out "Daddy".
Then he saw Tuan Tuan happily pulling Tong Ya, running over to him.
Tong Ya was dressed very simply today, a white short sleeve with a lace blouse, paired with a pair of slim-fit jeans, exuding an ineffable purity and beauty.
Parents picking up their children couldn't help but glance over, but since their own children were there, they dared not behave improperly.
"I'm really sorry, Teacher Tong Ya, for troubling you to personally bring her out every time!"
Tong Ya's face turned inexplicably red, and just as she was about to explain something, Tuan Tuan had already clung to Chen Yu's legs.
"This time it wasn't Teacher Tong Ya who brought me out, it was me who brought her out," Tuan Tuan said.
Chen Yu raised an eyebrow, "What nonsense are you talking about now?"
"No nonsense, I've already made a deal with Teacher Tong Ya to invite her to our food truck to eat fried cakes," Tuan Tuan said.
Chen Yu was stunned, "Fried cakes? What's so good about them? Besides, Teacher Tong Ya teaches dance, how could she eat such greasy food?"
"I can!" Tong Ya didn't know why, but she answered as if compelled and seemed somewhat eager.
Realizing her out-of-character response, Tong Ya coughed lightly.
"I made a pinky promise with Tuan Tuan this morning, agreeing to eat fried cakes after school. As a teacher, how can I go back on my word? I have to set an example!" Tong Ya said.
This explanation did indeed seem far-fetched; which teacher would be so punctilious?
Moreover, when Chen Yu had previously taken Tuan Tuan to dance, he had heard about Tong Ya's personality.
She was the quintessential ice queen!
Once a student's parent wanted to invite Tong Ya to dinner, but not only did Tong Ya not give face, she also transferred the child to another dance team.
Such a principled person agreeing to come to his food truck for fried cakes? Chen Yu couldn't believe it.
But then he thought again, could this be a home visit from Teacher Tong Ya?
Chen Yu picked up Tuan Tuan and pinched her little nose.
"Have you done something wrong at school, and Teacher Tong Ya has asked to speak with your parents, so you came up with this idea to bring her to the food truck?" he asked.
There was a slight look of disappointment on Tong Ya's face; she hadn't expected Chen Yu to think that way.
"Well! Actually, I also heard that your fried cakes are famous far and wide, so I wanted to try them specially! It really has nothing to do with the child," Tong Ya said.
Chen Yu didn't say much more; after all, his fried cakes were made with the system's help, so how could they not be delicious?
"Well then! As long as Teacher Tong Ya doesn't mind," he said.
"Of course not!" Tong Ya replied.
Chen Yu put Tuan Tuan down and held her little hand, while Tuan Tuan instinctively grabbed Tong Ya's hand.
And Tong Ya didn't feel it inappropriate but rather leaned towards Chen Yu as if possessed.
From a distance, the three of them looked like a family.
"Hey, who is that guy? He's so close to Teacher Tong Ya!" someone remarked.
"Who cares who he is? Don't all beauties like handsome guys?" another voice chimed in.
"It's too much, can someone do whatever they want just because they're handsome?"
...
The kindergarten wasn't far from the food cart, and even on foot, it only took ten minutes.
However, at the moment, the food cart had already been surrounded by a group of elderly people doing square dancing.
"Oh, young man, we thought you'd quit!"
"Come on, come on, everyone's been waiting for so long!"
"My grandson is still at home, crying out for food. Hurry up and give me fifty!"
...
Seeing that there was business to be done, Chen Yu unconsciously let go of Tuan Tuan's little hand, opened the vehicle door, and let down the food cart's counter.
Today was much easier than yesterday – he started the stove, heated the oil, and fried the cakes. In less than five minutes, the first batch was ready.
Tong Ya hadn't expected that Chen Yu, merely by setting up a food cart, could attract such a crowd.
It was just past four in the afternoon, and there were already so many people lining up here.
This was only Chen Yu's first day with a food cart!
"Teacher, dad is too busy, he might not have time to entertain..."
Before he could finish, a few elderly people had already come over.
"Hey, little sister, are we still paying you today?"
Tuan Tuan quickly agreed and took out a payment code from his backpack, handing it to Tong Ya.
"Scan this!"
After responding, Tuan Tuan moved a small table and two small stools out of the driver's cabin of the food cart and asked Tong Ya to sit down with him.
"Oh, boss! No wonder you only brought your child out yesterday. The mom is so beautiful; you must be afraid someone will steal her away!"
"Look at this mother and daughter, they look so alike, both so beautiful!"
"The boss is handsome too. The three of you as a family have off-the-charts good looks!"
Tong Ya's breath suddenly quickened, and she didn't know what to say, but she was somehow enjoying the feeling.
Chen Yu was flustered, "Auntie, please don't talk nonsense. This is my child's teacher, not my wife."
"Oh, the teacher! I'm really sorry."
Tong Ya didn't say much, just blushed and replied that it was fine.
"So where's your wife? She must be beautiful too, otherwise, you couldn't have such a beautiful daughter."
Chen Yu didn't shy away, "I just got divorced yesterday!"
As soon as these words came out, the elderly men and women there looked at him as wolves seeing a fat lamb, moving in closer.
"Oh, you're divorced! Such a handsome man with great skills, what a waste. Have you considered finding another one?"
"I have a niece, twenty-two years old, just graduated from university not long ago, do you want to meet her?"
"My niece is twenty-four this year, works in a government job, a stable 'iron rice bowl'. How about considering her?"
"Don't fight over him, my daughter, a graduate student and corporate executive, is definitely a match for this young man."
...
The sudden competitive scene stirred an inexplicable sense of crisis in Tong Ya.
She really hadn't anticipated that Chen Yu would be so in demand.
But she didn't know how to deal with the situation in front of her. She couldn't just step forward and confess her feelings to Chen Yu!