112 But life is simply about surviving.

Zhang Pa hesitated for a moment before saying, "You tell me first—would you be upset?"

"I don't even know what the question is. How am I supposed to answer?" Liu Xiaomei replied.

Zhang Pa pondered for a bit longer and then said, "Forget it."

Liu Xiaomei stopped and faced him. "Are you trying to make me angry?"

"Of course not," Zhang Pa answered.

After a brief pause, Liu Xiaomei said with a thoughtful look, "Actually, I'm quite smart. How can you be so dumb?"

Zhang Pa grinned, "We're not in some government office scheming against each other. You don't have to guess what I mean when I talk."

Liu Xiaomei smiled and asked, "What did I just say?"

Zhang Pa thought for a moment and answered, "You said I don't call you or chat on WeChat, saying that others do, so why don't you get that kind of treatment?"

"Exactly," Liu Xiaomei said. "I've been that obvious, and you still can't tell?"

"I did catch that, so I wanted to ask," Zhang Pa said.

"Then ask," Liu Xiaomei encouraged.

"I really am asking," Zhang Pa said.

"Ask away," Liu Xiaomei said.

Zhang Pa took several deep breaths, coughed a few times, then breathed deeply again... Liu Xiaomei teased, "Are you doing rehab exercises?"

He chuckled nervously, "I'm just nervous."

"Hmph," Liu Xiaomei scoffed.

Still tense, Zhang Pa took a few more deep breaths and cautiously asked, "Have you ever had a boyfriend before?"

Liu Xiaomei puckered her lips. "You're such a disappointment. You wasted all that effort just to ask such a useless question. Sigh, how can you be so hopeless?"

Zhang Pa felt a dark cloud pass over him and asked, "What does that question have to do with being hopeless?"

"Want to know the answer?" Liu Xiaomei replied. "I'm just like you."

Zhang Pa shouted in disbelief, "No way!"

Liu Xiaomei smiled gently and looked at him. "Look at your face. Does that mean your past was exciting, with dozens of ex-girlfriends? Are you some legendary Casanova who’s a groom every night?"

Zhang Pa shook his head vigorously. "No, no, no."

"Repeating it won't change anything," Liu Xiaomei said with a humph, then continued walking.

Zhang Pa caught up and said, "You said you never enjoyed frequent calls or chatting on WeChat—does that mean you never had that before, or just not with me?"

"What do you think?" Liu Xiaomei replied coolly.

Zhang Pa sighed, "You women have a special talent for turning everything into riddles, making men endlessly guess."

"Do you want to guess or not?" Liu Xiaomei asked with a smile.

Zhang Pa sighed again. "You women also have this knack for giving multiple-choice questions where no matter the options, men can only pick the one you want."

Liu Xiaomei laughed. "We've only known each other for a few days, and you’re already a philosopher."

Zhang Pa said, "I have no choice. I just wanted to ask you a simple question, but you’ve managed to twist it... What were we talking about earlier?"

Liu Xiaomei chuckled warmly. "You’re really adorable." Then she said seriously, "My answer is the same as what you think."

"What is the same as what I think?" Zhang Pa asked, "Don’t make me keep discovering the real talents of women."

At this point, all their rambling really boiled down to one question: Had Liu Xiaomei ever frequently called or chatted with someone before? If not, that meant she’d never truly been in love.

But her so-called straightforward answer was like no answer at all, leaving Zhang Pa completely baffled.

Soon, they entered the elementary school teaching building. Many parents standing in the hallway had already spoken with Liu Xiaomei and Zhang Pa during Yezi’s birthday party. Seeing them now, they greeted each other more warmly.

Yezi’s mother said, "Thank you both for coming to Yezi’s birthday party."

Liu Xiaomei replied, "We should be the ones thanking you for the free food."

"As long as you like, you can come anytime," Yezi’s mother said generously.

After a few polite words, they went into the classroom to start the lesson.

Dance requires practice; any skill demands persistent training. It is a long, arduous process. First, getting started takes a long time, beginning with fundamentals...

Even someone as talented as Liu Xiaomei spent two weekly lessons teaching the children basic skills, continuing this for quite some time.

Some parents, especially grandparents or during birthdays, eagerly hoped to see their children perform something impressive—sometimes relatives would make these requests too.

But in the early stages of learning, such performances were best avoided.

At first, everything was about fundamentals: singers worked on breathing and voice projection; dancers practiced standing and posture; guitarists went through finger exercises; pianists trained finger lifts and keystrokes... None of these could be considered showpieces.

You might practice a song specifically, but that benefits the overall learning process little.

If a child had a responsible teacher and was at this stage, what could they possibly perform?

If a teacher rushed a child to perform a piece within a month or two, what was there to be happy about?

Learning is a slow accumulation, improvement and change happening bit by bit—like losing weight, where daily practice seems to show no change. But after six months or a year, the results become clear.

Liu Xiaomei was devoted to the children’s foundation, regardless of what the parents thought. If a parent was dissatisfied, they could always withdraw.

However, after more than half a year of classes, a parent finally voiced a complaint today.

An elderly lady peered through the classroom door glass, watching the children practice their positions and arm swings. Unable to hold back, she knocked and entered.

"Liu Teacher, can I have a word?"

Liu Xiaomei approached. "What is it?"

The elderly lady said, "My child has been learning here for half a year. At my birthday party, relatives asked her to perform, but she said you hadn’t taught her. What does that mean?"

Liu Xiaomei replied, "I have my own teaching plan. Everything they need to learn, I teach thoroughly."

"But you haven’t taught anything new. Every time she comes, it’s the same movements," the lady insisted.

Liu Xiaomei smiled and explained, "Fundamentals must always be practiced. I’m still working on them myself. The kids are building a foundation, but they also study other specialties and are quite busy. I don’t want them distracted, so we focus on basics at this stage."

"I see," the lady said, still uncertain, and asked, "When will the kids learn to dance? It doesn’t have to be ballet, any dance will do."

"Don’t rush," Liu Xiaomei said. "Trust me. I take responsibility for the kids once I collect tuition. At least that much. I wouldn’t want them to grow up and curse me. You’re paying money, but I’m investing my reputation. You came to me because of my name, right? I wouldn’t ruin it for a bit of money."

"Well, you have a point," the lady said after thinking. "Alright then, please continue with the lessons. Thank you, Teacher, sorry to bother you."

"No problem," Liu Xiaomei replied, returning to the classroom.

Nearly three hours of lessons passed. After seeing the children off, Zhang Pa contemplated solo practice. Suddenly, loud footsteps sounded outside the door.

A young man stood there—whether handsome or not wasn’t clear, but he commanded presence. Standing straight and neatly dressed, he radiated authority.

Through the glass, he saw Liu Xiaomei, then pushed open the door and strode in.

Liu Xiaomei frowned sharply and shouted, "Get out!"

The young man was taken aback for a moment, then laughed, "You want me to leave?"

"Get out!" Liu Xiaomei repeated loudly.

The young man seemed incredulous and asked, "Are you crazy?"

Liu Xiaomei pointed at his leather shoes. "Please take them off and leave!"

The young man glanced at the floor, then at the shoes on Liu Xiaomei and Zhang Pa, and back at his own. He chuckled and rubbed his shoes together, slipping them off and holding them in his hands. "Better?"

Liu Xiaomei looked at him with disgust and said to Zhang Pa, "Class is over for today. Let’s go."

Zhang Pa nodded. This young man was definitely trouble. Judging by his accent, he was likely the son of some high-ranking official.

Liu Xiaomei grabbed her coat and headed out, but the young man stepped to block her path.

She didn’t even look at him and sidestepped. But he moved to block her again.

Zhang Pa lazily said, "Move along, good dogs don’t block the way."

The young man’s eyes darkened at this insult, glaring coldly at Zhang Pa.

Liu Xiaomei turned back. "Ignore him, let’s go." She passed by the young man.

The young man tilted his head, looking at her, then at Zhang Pa. "I’ll give you a chance. Bow and apologize, and I’ll pretend none of this happened."

Zhang Pa shook his head. Another jerk?

Reflecting on his years in the provincial capital, it was a big city with many good people, but plenty of bad ones too.

He exhaled lightly and stepped forward toward Liu Xiaomei.

The young man stood his ground. As Zhang Pa approached, he suddenly swung his right hand, hurling his two expensive leather shoes like weapons at him.

Zhang Pa dodged by leaning lightly to one side. The young man immediately raised a high knee, aiming to strike.

Not wanting to fight in front of Liu Xiaomei, Zhang Pa retreated half a step sideways to avoid.

You could tell a man’s maturity by this: a mature man avoids fighting in front of a woman he likes, certainly avoiding physical fights. Only hot-headed youths want to show off in front of women.

The young man pressed his advantage, landing and following with a whip kick aimed at Zhang Pa.

Zhang Pa dodged again and shouted, "Are you crazy?"

Liu Xiaomei urged, "Ignore him, he’s a mad dog."

Hearing that, the young man smiled coldly, said nothing, and unleashed another kick at Zhang Pa.

Fighting is about speed and strength. If your movements are the fastest in the world, you become the top fighter because no one can hit you.

The young man’s speed was decent but not faster than Zhang Pa’s. Several attacks missed, yet he didn’t stop, truly like a mad dog relentlessly biting.

Zhang Pa asked Liu Xiaomei, "Can I fight back?"

She repeated, "Ignore him, let’s go," then pushed open the door and left.

While dodging, Zhang Pa spoke to Liu Xiaomei, then back to the young man, "You’re lucky."