Before the young girl could finish her sentence, she saw a woman, appearing to be in her thirties, dressed in an off-white tracksuit, with a graceful figure, and a strong resemblance to the young girl, walk over anxiously.
At this moment, her delicate face was filled with anxiety, and a bead of sweat was trickling down her forehead.
"Qianqian, are you alright? I heard from your teacher that you got into a fight!"
Liu Yifei quickly waved her hand, "No, no, Mom, I'm fine, I didn't get into a fight."
Then, she glanced at Han Zhiyan and recounted the events to her mother.
Turning to Han Zhiyan, she asked, "Thank you, is your name Daxier? Are you also Chinese? Are you from Xinjiang? Or are you mixed-race? Do you have a Chinese name? How old are you? You look so tall."
Han Zhiyan, holding his head, was a bit speechless.
"Liu Qianqian, are you a walking 'Why' encyclopedia?"
Just as he was about to speak and answer her...
"My name is Crystal Liu, my Chinese name is Liu Yifei, you can call me Qianqian, everyone close to me calls me that."
Looking at the chattering young girl in front of him, the young Liu Yifei was so adorable, with chubby baby fat on her cheeks; he really wanted to pinch them.
The person he could only watch from afar in his previous life was now so close to him; it felt unreal.
Thinking this, he unconsciously started to smile.
"My name is Han Zhiyan.
I was born in America.
My father is Chinese, and my mother is German, so I look a bit mixed-race."
The young girl in front of him looked so beautiful when she smiled, and her large eyes looking at him made his heart flutter for a moment.
At this point, her mother, seeing that Liu Yifei seemed to be talking non-stop, quickly interjected, "Thank you, classmate.
I'll thank you properly later; I need to go find the principal to handle some matters first."
"No need, Auntie.
Principal John and my mother are very good friends; they are family.
Everything has been handled, so there's no need to trouble you further," Han Zhiyan quickly said.
"Classmate Han, I truly thank you.
I noticed Qianqian seemed unhappy when she came home recently, but when I asked, she just said she was fine.
If you hadn't helped her, I wouldn't know how much more she would have suffered."
As she spoke, her eyes began to redden and moisten.
"I only have this precious daughter now, and if something happened to her... Auntie doesn't know how to thank you."
As she spoke, tears began to stream from her eyes.
Seeing her crying, Han Zhiyan quickly said, "It's alright, Auntie.
Even if I didn't help, the teachers would have."
He said this while winking at Liu Yifei, and thankfully, she understood.
She quickly hugged her mother and cajoled, "It's nothing, Mom, I'm really fine.
And because Han Zhiyan helped me today, they won't dare to do it again."
It took a lot of coaxing and persuading from both of them before Liu Xiaoli's emotions stabilized.
Han Zhiyan looked at Liu Xiaoli and thought of the news he had seen in his previous life, realizing that even though she had no financial worries, it wasn't easy for her to raise Liu Yifei alone through two marriages.
"Classmate Han... may I call you Zhiyan?
Have your parents come to pick you up?
Would you and your parents like to come to Auntie's for dinner tonight?"
"That's fine, Auntie.
My mother is busy today, and someone will pick me up later, so I won't trouble you..."
Han Zhiyan was about to politely decline when he suddenly paused, then cautiously asked, "Auntie, if I may be so bold, is it Chinese or Western food?"
Although this body of Han Zhiyan was born in America, he had been eating bread, sausages, and pasta every day for the past six months, and he was truly sick of it.
"It's Chinese food.
Qianqian grew up in China and doesn't particularly like Western food, so I always cook at home.
Auntie's cooking is quite good; would you like to come and try it?"
Liu Xiaoli looked at the resolute, sharp-featured young man with a beaming smile.
"Yes, yes, my mom's cooking is super delicious!
You'll definitely regret it if you don't eat it!" Liu Yifei looked at Han Zhiyan with eager eyes.
His English wasn't very good when he first arrived, and he hadn't made many friends.
She really wanted to be friends with this tall and handsome classmate in front of her.
"Then I'll trouble you, Auntie, I won't be polite."
As he spoke, he felt a rush of delicious dishes come to mind: Guo Bao Rou (sweet and sour pork), Liu Rou Duan (sautéed pork slices), Jianjiao Gandoufu (stir-fried dried tofu with chili peppers), Di San Xian (stir-fried potato, green pepper, and eggplant)...
Although he had asked Mia to take him to a few Chinese restaurants in the past six months, they were all localized versions, especially the sweet and sour General Tso's Chicken and the overly sweet Kung Pao Chicken; he was truly fed up with them.
Fried chicken and burgers were quite tasty occasionally, but Mia had been too busy with the film crew lately to look after him.
He had been eating fried chicken, burgers, and pizza for many days and was tired of them.
Suddenly thinking of Chinese food, he was incredibly craving it.
Liu Yifei was delighted to hear this and pulled Han Zhiyan along with her mother into the car.
It was then that Han Zhiyan remembered that Mia had been busy during this period and had hired a driver to pick him up and drop him off at school every day.
He quickly pulled out his phone to say that he didn't need to be picked up and that he would go home on his own later.
Throughout the journey, Liu Xiaoli kept thanking Han Zhiyan and chatting with him about everyday things.
Liu Yifei sat next to Han Zhiyan, staring at him with curious eyes, almost making Han Zhiyan feel self-conscious.
"I helped you today, and eating one meal at your place shouldn't warrant you staring at me like this, as if I took advantage of you," Han Zhiyan thought to himself, but he still smiled at the young girl.
But she was so cute and beautiful.
What should he do if he felt a little flutter in his heart?
But she was only eleven, and perhaps he shouldn't be feeling this way...
"Do I look strange? You keep looking at me," Han Zhiyan teased, asking.
Liu Yifei's fair little face flushed slightly, and she whispered, "I'm just curious why you helped me today.
We haven't really talked before."
"Then I'll tell you a secret: I have the ability of foresight.
I only helped you for Auntie's dinner tonight."
He couldn't resist teasing the adorable young girl.
"Hmph..."
Throughout the journey, the young girl asked endless questions, like a household registration check, and the distance between them gradually closed, and their relationship quietly grew closer.
By the time they got out of the car, they were like old friends.
Looking at this innocent and lovely young girl, Han Zhiyan couldn't help but recall the news from later generations, starting when she was fifteen, being criticized for her poor acting.
After filming "Chinese Paladin" and "The Return of the Condor Heroes," she faced a continuous stream of negative publicity, being called a transsexual, questioned about her nationality, accused of scamming money, and stealing resources...
He couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her.
In the future, when he became a director, he would definitely take good care of this young girl.
This innocent and lovely smile shouldn't disappear from her face.
Han Zhiyan watched the happy young girl follow him into the house.
Liu Xiaoli instructed Liu Yifei to take Han Zhiyan to play for a while while she went to cook.
Liu Yifei took Han Zhiyan on a tour of the house and the yard.
When Han Zhiyan got tired of walking, he began to use his special talent, telling stories to Liu Yifei, which left the young girl spellbound, occasionally giggling, and she didn't even hear Liu Xiaoli call them for dinner.