Ch 240: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

On the way back from the Supernatural Research Institute to the tutoring center, Lu Yao asked, “What did they have you do at the institute?”

With his hands in his pockets, Hu Jiao’s expression remained calm. “They ran a power level test, a health check, and some thought adjustments. I haven’t started any official experiments yet since I just got there.”

Lu Yao frowned, “Are you going to become a test subject?”

Hu Jiao scratched his head. “I don’t know. The consequences of that livestream are serious, and I have to be accountable for my actions.”

Lu Yao sensed something was off. Hu Jiao should indeed take responsibility, but becoming a test subject didn’t seem directly related.

“Is there any other option besides becoming a test subject?”

Hu Jiao shrugged, “If my parents negotiated and paid the appropriate compensation, I wouldn’t need to be a test subject. But you know my parents; they’d never do that, and I don’t need them to.”

To him, accepting anything from his parents was worse than becoming a test subject.

Seeing the sadness in Lu Yao’s eyes, Hu Jiao thought of the test subjects he’d seen in the institute—teens, adults—people unable to control their powers, struggling to connect with others, or orphans who had nowhere else to go, all of whom had ended up as test subjects.

When he first arrived, Hu Jiao felt completely out of place. Maybe, somewhere deep down, he believed he wasn’t entirely without options. But the truth was that he wasn’t any different from those test subjects: no home, no support, nothing to hold onto.

He tried to reassure Lu Yao with a lighthearted tone, “Life as a test subject isn’t all that bad. You get food, drinks, a place to hang out, and they even give a salary, I heard.”

Lu Yao nodded quietly.

Maybe Hu Jiao hadn’t realized it, but the once indifferent boy was now learning to comfort others.

When they returned to the tutoring center, Xu Xiaoxiao spotted Lu Yao, her face lighting up as if she’d seen a savior. She pointed to the tutoring room and mouthed, “There’s a guest.”

Inside, Bai Yi was pouring tea for a woman who exuded elegance, dressed impeccably. Glancing at the tea Bai Yi offered, she didn’t touch it, instead urgently asking, “Where is the owner?”

Bai Yi took a seat across from her, “The owner had some errands this morning. I can help you schedule an appointment for now.”

The woman lifted her gaze to Bai Yi, glanced at the young girl beside her, and, with a slight frown, said, “I’ll wait for the owner.”

Her strong presence and determined tone made it clear she wasn’t inclined to accept alternatives.

It was Bai Yi’s first day on the job, so she didn’t want to take any liberties.

Lu Yao arrived just in time to hear this, so she approached, “Who would like to schedule a childhood tutoring session?”

The woman looked up at Lu Yao, sizing her up. “Are you the owner?”

Lu Yao nodded.

The woman stood up, a faint smile on her face. “Hello, my name is Ms. Chen. I heard this place can help correct bad habits in children, so I brought my daughter over.”

Ms. Chen tugged her daughter forward. “This is my daughter, Sang Li. She’s just started college.”

Sang Li’s appearance practically screamed “rebellious”—long, inky-purple hair, heavy makeup that blurred her age, a black chain tattoo around her collarbone, numerous colorful bracelets on her wrist, and a bubblegum bubble popping in her mouth.

Sang Li briefly glanced at Lu Yao, then lowered her gaze without speaking.

Lu Yao gestured for Hu Jiao to wait a moment and then took a seat across from Ms. Chen, “Is Sang Li the one you’d like to schedule for tutoring?”

Hu Jiao gave Sang Li a quick glance before casually heading to another round table, where he sat and petted the sleeping Alfred.

Ms. Chen also sat, her eyes still on Lu Yao. “Yes. She used to be so well-behaved. But ever since she started college far from home, she’s picked up all these bad habits—messing with her hair, covering herself in random tattoos. She won’t listen to anything I say. I saw your video online and thought you made some excellent points, so I wanted you to talk to my stubborn daughter.”

Ever since Sang Li came home for vacation, Ms. Chen had been distressed by her daughter’s transformation. She had tried reasoning, scolding, and even hitting her out of sheer frustration, but the once obedient girl seemed to have turned into a completely different person who wouldn’t listen.

Desperate, Ms. Chen came across a video clip of Lu Yao advising Hu Jiao. Intrigued, she searched the comments for more information and brought her daughter straight to the tutoring center.

Bai Yi sat beside Lu Yao, with a notebook under her hand to record client information.

As she listened to Ms. Chen criticize Sang Li, her brows furrowed.

Lu Yao listened to Ms. Chen’s grievances and then slid a Childhood Assessment Form across the table toward Sang Li, who had been quiet until now. “Sang Li, could you fill this out first?”

Sang Li seemed unaffected by her mother’s complaints, gave Lu Yao a glance, picked up a pen, and began reading the form.

Lu Yao explained to Ms. Chen, “We need to understand Sang Li’s situation first to tailor a suitable tutoring plan.”

Ms. Chen leaned over to see what Sang Li was writing.

Sang Li’s shoulders tensed, her pen paused mid-stroke.

Lu Yao interrupted, “Ms. Chen, let me go over a few things regarding the Childhood Tutoring process.”

Ms. Chen straightened, “Sure, go ahead.”

Lu Yao explained that the process required extracting a portion of bone from the pinky finger.

Ms. Chen’s initial interest vanished as her expression shifted. “You’re saying you need to remove part of my daughter’s pinky bone? How could that be acceptable?”

Lu Yao explained that this was a necessary step for the Childhood Tutoring process.

Ms. Chen’s face turned cold, her enthusiasm dissipating. “You’re talking about time travel? That’s absurd. I’ve heard that your power isn’t offensive or particularly rare. Making up this nonsense about returning to childhood for tutoring—it’s clearly a scam. I suspect that livestream was just staged, too.”

Bai Yi’s eyes widened, looking toward Lu Yao in surprise.

So the owner had a superpower? She hadn’t known that. While Bai Yi understood that Lu Yao was different, even with the support of powerful figures like the Ji family, she hadn’t considered her to have superpowers.

Lu Yao had mentioned superpowers last night, but judging by Ms. Chen’s reaction, Bai Yi realized that people here didn’t regard them with the awe one might expect.

Hu Jiao let out a snort from the back, “Believe it or not, you can leave if you don’t.”

Ms. Chen shot him an irritated look, her face growing darker.

Even Sang Li glanced up from her form to look at Hu Jiao.

Lu Yao didn’t offer any further explanation, merely saying, “He’s one of the tutoring students.”

Ms. Chen muttered something under her breath, her lips moving with inaudible words, then abruptly pulled Sang Li up and marched out of the tutoring room with a grim expression.

Bai Yi stood up, not daring to say a word.

Lu Yao watched the mother-daughter pair leave without anger. The more clients she encountered in her expanding business, the more she saw the wide array of personalities.

People’s judgments are often limited by their understanding of the world, and misunderstandings often stem from that.

Hu Jiao hugged the Alfred figurine impatiently. “Lu Yao, isn’t it time for my session?”

Lu Yao turned to him, “Of course.”

Then she motioned to Bai Yi, “You can join us, too.”

Bai Yi had already completed a time-travel adaptation test the previous night.

At the time, Bai Yi had been in a daze, unable to grasp the reality of it. But after returning to her place, she slowly processed the experience and stayed awake the whole night. Arriving early at the store the next morning, she confirmed that last night’s events hadn’t been a dream and was working to adjust her mindset.

When she was suddenly called, she was a bit confused, “What should I do?”

Lu Yao reassured her, “No need to worry. For now, you don’t have to do anything—just observe and get familiar with the work.”

Hu Jiao, being shy around strangers, didn’t want Bai Yi involved in his session. So, Lu Yao didn’t disclose the details of Hu Jiao’s tutoring session to her. Bai Yi was merely an observer, experiencing the tutoring environment.

Lu Yao and Hu Jiao returned to their residence in Kumquat Community, right in time for the morning school routine. Just as Hu Jiao got his bearings, the doorbell rang.

From outside came the young voice of Hu Qi, “Hu Jiao-gege, time for school!”

Hu Jiao ran to his room to grab his bag while Lu Yao went to open the door.

Hu Qi, already in his backpack, stood at the door and greeted her politely, “Good morning, Aunt Lu.”

Lu Yao grabbed a handful of candies from the coffee table and handed them to him, “Hu Jiao will be out in just a minute. Hang tight.”

A few minutes later, the three of them—a grown-up and two kids—walked down the hallway toward the elevator, ready to head downstairs.

Lu Yao taught at Kumquat Elementary, so every day, she’d leave and return with Hu Jiao. Since Hu Jiao was often with Hu Qi, they would all leave for and return from school together. Less than a week into the school year, this had already become their routine.

After quietly observing for a few days, Hu Qi’s mom noticed Lu Yao’s gentle, easygoing nature. She gradually felt at ease, letting Lu Yao pick up and drop off her son daily without any worry.

Although Hu Jiao felt frustrated with Hu Qi’s parents, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything when he saw Hu Qi’s innocent, slightly timid attempts to bond with him.

Taking the elevator downstairs, Lu Yao saw that they had some extra time, so she took the kids to a small breakfast place in the community to have fresh pork buns.

Hu Qi looked a bit reserved, glancing at Lu Yao’s face as if gauging her mood.

Lu Yao ordered three steaming baskets of buns, placing one in front of each of them. “Little Hu Qi, do you like sweet soymilk or plain?”

The buns, with their thin skins and generous fillings, steamed up with an aroma that was impossible to resist. Hu Qi swallowed involuntarily, his voice barely a whisper, “Sweet soymilk.”

Hu Qi’s face turned a little red; he had never experienced anything like this before.

Lu Yao turned and ordered three cups of soymilk—two sweet and one unsweetened. It was easy to guess that Hu Jiao would also prefer sweet.

Noticing Hu Qi’s shyness, Lu Yao placed a bun on the empty saucer in front of him, “Go ahead and eat. Once we’re done, we’ll head to school.”

She then put a bun on Hu Jiao’s plate as well.

Hu Jiao didn’t have many memories of eating breakfast at a bun shop with a parent downstairs. This seemingly trivial gesture made his nose tingle with emotion, and he kept his head down, lost in thought.

If… if Lu Yao were really his mom, how great would that be? Hu Jiao couldn’t help but think.

After finishing their buns, Lu Yao drove the two kids to school. As the PE teacher, her office was right on the edge of the sports field. She dropped them off at the office entrance, parting ways with them there.

Hu Jiao took Hu Qi’s hand, and the two slowly made their way up the steps and into the school building.

In the crowd, a little girl with two pigtails walked slowly across the school playground, carrying a pink backpack. She thought she saw someone resembling the store owner enter the P.E. office, hesitated for a few seconds, then quickened her pace and walked up to the office door.

Peeking in, she lightly tapped on the open door and called out tentatively, “Store owner?”

Inside, only one female teacher was present, someone who looked a lot like Lu Yao, just a bit more mature than the store owner Bai Yi knew.

Lu Yao looked up and smiled, “You’re here.”

Confirming that it was indeed the store owner, Bai Yi let out a slow breath. Even if she had turned into a child in this world, it wasn’t surprising that the store owner had a more mature appearance here.

Lu Yao noticed Bai Yi’s slight nervousness, “How are you finding things?”

Bai Yi, now in her child form, showed a hint of excitement in her eyes, “It’s really interesting.”

Since waking up in this world, Bai Yi had been adjusting to her new identity and experiencing life from a child’s perspective again. This form of tutoring was even more fascinating than she had initially imagined.

A hint of envy stirred within Bai Yi. If this store existed in her own world, it would certainly be incredibly popular.

Lu Yao nodded, “You’ll be in Hu Jiao’s class, but there’s no need to interact with him. Eventually, you’ll also guide other students as I do, but there’s no rush. For now, just see this as an experience in teaching.”

Finished speaking with Lu Yao, Bai Yi, full of curiosity, went off to find her classroom. Her presence as a new student raised no suspicion among her peers. Entering the classroom, she immediately recognized Hu Qi, whose features had a resemblance to the older Hu Jiao.

Her seat was behind Hu Qi and Hu Jiao, and she couldn’t help but observe the two little ones in front of her.

After listening for a while, Bai Yi noticed something odd. It seemed the boy next to her, who looked somewhat like Lu Yao, was actually the student named Hu Jiao. But then, who was the other boy beside him who resembled Hu Jiao so closely?

In the front row, Hu Qi, oblivious to Bai Yi’s curiosity, was quietly pulling Alfred out of his bag, eager to show him to Hu Jiao.

After his last tutoring session, Hu Jiao had spent a long time reflecting. How could he protect this silly, younger version of himself? He could feel that Hu Qi was quite attached to him, but it seemed that Hu Qi liked Lu Yao even more.

Lu Yao, during these tutoring sessions, really did feel like a gentle, kind mother. Both Hu Qi and Hu Jiao sometimes forgot and mixed up their feelings, especially when Hu Qi clung to Hu Jiao whenever Lu Yao wasn’t around. Hu Jiao couldn’t help but realize how simple-minded and somewhat naïve he’d been as a child.

Bai Yi, watching the two little heads in front of her, couldn’t guess what they were huddling over under the desk. The school day passed peacefully, almost too quickly.

As the afternoon drew to a close, Bai Yi’s allotted time for this world began to expire. Her presence was only set for a minute and a half. After school, she walked out of Kumquat Elementary, and a flash of white light signaled her return to the tutoring center.

Bai Yi looked down at the timer on the table—it read exactly one minute and thirty seconds. She marveled at how she had spent an entire day in another world while only a minute and a half had passed here.

Wanting to go outside, she stood but suddenly felt a wave of fatigue. Her legs weakened, and she sat back down to rest. Shortly after, Lu Yao and Hu Jiao returned as well.

Hu Jiao’s previously energetic demeanor was nowhere to be seen. His eyes looked gloomy and red-rimmed.

Lu Yao sat beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder, speaking to him softly. Near the end of his tutoring session, Lu Yao had left briefly to buy groceries, leaving Hu Jiao and Hu Qi at home. After Lu Yao left, Hu Qi was called home by his mother. Moments later, sensing something was wrong, Hu Jiao ran to knock on Hu Qi’s door and found Hu Qi bruised and battered by a drunk man, crying so hard he nearly passed out. Yet, when he saw Hu Jiao standing at the door in shock, Hu Qi, with a hoarse voice, urged him to hurry back home.

Hu Jiao stood there, frozen in place, feeling a heavy, cruel realization settle in. No matter past or present, he was weak, helpless, unable to save anyone.

Tears filled his eyes as pain seized his chest. He clung tightly to the hand resting on his shoulder, unable to speak.

Lu Yao let Hu Jiao hold her hand, waiting for him to recover from the moment.

The tutoring environment had been carefully adjusted by her, so this kind of mishap shouldn’t have occurred. The most probable cause, she thought, was Hu Jiao’s deeply ingrained insecurity from a childhood steeped in violence. During her brief absence, he had unconsciously recreated the traumatic scenes of abuse from his past.

Hu Jiao himself couldn’t detect this inner conflict.

As Lu Yao pondered adjustments to the tutoring plan, she realized another round of fieldwork might be necessary.

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