The aroma of the food on Zhu Xiaxia’s plate wafted into Zhu Qiu’s nose.
“What smells so good?”
Zhu Qiu followed the scent to Zhu Xiaxia’s side, but Zhu Xiaxia had already finished her breakfast, leaving the plate empty.
“Did my baby daughter come to eat breakfast?”
“I’m just hungry, so I came down to look. Zhu Xiaxia, what was that delicious scent just now? It must be very tasty, right?”
“Are you talking about breakfast? That was a strawberry small cake I specifically had Xiaguang prepare. The taste is excellent—”
“Strawberry small cake? Xiaguang actually knows how to bake cakes?”
“Of course. Xiaguang was handpicked by Mother from among ten thousand maids. Making a cake is a piece of cake for her.”
Just the scent alone was enough to make Zhu Qiu’s mouth water uncontrollably.
“Then… is there a portion for me?” Zhu Qiu asked tentatively.
“Your portion? Didn’t my daughter say just some milk would be enough? Not wanting to let it go to waste, Mother had no choice but to finish her daughter’s portion too.”
‘My strawberry cake!’
‘So Zhu Xiaxia hasn’t been making my milk for so long because she was sneaking my breakfast?’
“Zhu Xiaxia, I was just saying that casually. I was joking! You didn’t say today’s breakfast was strawberry cake either. Why didn’t you ask for my opinion?”
“My daughter didn’t ask either—”
Those few simple words left Zhu Qiu speechless.
“I don’t care! I want to eat strawberry cake too! Tell Xiaguang to make some more! I want it, I want it!”
Zhu Qiu threw a small tantrum, repeatedly drumming her soft pink fists against Zhu Xiaxia’s chest.
Zhu Xiaxia smiled knowingly; she had expected this.
“How could Mother possibly sneak her baby daughter’s breakfast? Look at this.”
She lifted a cover from another spot on the table, and a fragrant, soft strawberry small cake appeared on the plate.
“Strawberry cake!”
Zhu Qiu’s eyes instantly lit up. She picked up a nearby fork and shoved a piece directly into her mouth.
The milky cream was smooth but not greasy, the fresh strawberries were as sweet as candy, and the cake base was incredibly fluffy. With that one bite…
“It’s wonderful!”
The Little Princess gave it a very high evaluation.
“Then can my daughter take the initiative to give Mother a kiss?”
“A kiss? How was that possible?”
“How could the Human Sword Saint proactively kiss a Bad Dragon?”
Besides, it wasn’t like Zhu Xiaxia made the strawberry cake herself.
“No.”
With a push of her small hand, Zhu Qiu gave a clear refusal.
“Just one kiss— If you give me a kiss, Mother will have Xiaguang make you strawberry cake for lunch too.”
‘Strawberry cake for lunch as well? Yay!’
“Then I’ll give you a kiss just to satisfy you.”
Zhu Qiu proactively leaned toward Zhu Xiaxia’s cheek and planted a kiss.
*Muah!*
‘Did my daughter really kiss me on her own?’
Zhu Xiaxia wore a look of shock.
This was completely beyond her expectations; it was simply incredible.
She had thought Zhu Qiu would hesitate, her heart filled with her image as the steadfast and unyielding Human Sword Saint, and ultimately refuse her.
She hadn’t expected the girl to just lean in and kiss her.
It was truly unexpected—
It seemed her efforts over the past two months hadn’t been in vain. The relationship between her and her daughter had closed a significant gap.
In the near future, her daughter would surely acknowledge her as a good Mother.
Zhu Xiaxia stared at her daughter as she finished the cake bit by bit, her heart feeling warm.
“Zhu Xiaxia, why do you keep staring at me?”
“Ahem! It’s nothing. Baby daughter, you should have learned a lot from Teacher Ilanka these past few days, right?”
To hide her embarrassment, Zhu Xiaxia quickly changed the subject.
“Of course! I’ve been very serious so I can return to the Human Race.”
“Very serious? How serious is very serious?”
“Uh… it’s… thiiis serious.”
Zhu Qiu spread her arms wide, gesturing wildly.
“So it’s thiiis serious, huh?”
Zhu Xiaxia mimicked Zhu Qiu’s gesture.
“Of course.”
“If you’ve been thiiis serious, Mother will have to test my daughter’s learning results from these past few days.”
“Te-Test?”
“That’s right. Without a test, how would Mother know how serious you’ve been?”
“Maybe we don’t need a test,” Zhu Qiu began to back down.
“I still have to study today. If we do a test, it will definitely drag on until tomorrow. But I’m leaving tonight, so that would be very troublesome, wouldn’t it?”
Although she had been studying seriously these past few days, the things Teacher Ilanka taught were extremely simple.
They had almost zero practical effect and could only be played with like everyday toys.
What if Zhu Xiaxia was dissatisfied during the test and went back on her word?
That would be a total loss. Not only would a month have been wasted, but her subsequent plans would be completely ruined, and her Sword Spirit would be sad too.
So, the best course of action right now was to avoid it.
“Oh, so you’re just afraid of the trouble? Don’t worry, baby daughter, Mother won’t delay your vacation time,” Zhu Xiaxia said solemnly.
“Phew…”
Zhu Qiu breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the test was off the table.
“So, how about we cancel today’s daytime study tasks and replace them with an exam to test your results?”
“Huh? Today? An exam?”
“That’s right. That way, it won’t delay my daughter’s vacation.”
Zhu Qiu hadn’t expected Zhu Xiaxia to say that.
“C-Can we just not have an exam?”
“No. To save time, let’s start the exam right now.”
“Right now? I-I’m not ready yet. Can we wait a bit?”
“No. The exam will be very quick. Daughter, you don’t want to be unable to return to the Human Race, do you?”
“But I just finished breakfast. Can’t we really wait a bit before the exam?”
Zhu Xiaxia thought for a moment.
Her daughter’s health was more important, and waiting a little while wouldn’t hurt.
“Then rest for one hour. In one hour, we will go to the place where you and Ilanka usually study for the exam.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhu Xiaxia stood up to leave, turning back to give Zhu Qiu a smile.
“Mother is looking forward to my baby daughter’s performance.”
“…………”
Zhu Qiu was speechless.
‘Oh no! What should I do? Who can save me!’
“What did Zhu Xiaxia’s exam equate to?”
It was like the exam content was Advanced Mathematics, while she had only learned addition and subtraction within ten.
“There was only one hour left until the exam. To avoid failing, what was the best way?”
Find the teacher, of course! Even though the one who wrote the exam and the one who taught her weren’t the same person, it was better than nothing.
Zhu Qiu quickly ran to Ilanka’s room, hoping for some last-minute cramming.
“Teacher Ilanka!”
“The Princess is here. Let us continue our studies.”
“Oh! Stop studying! Zhu Xiaxia canceled today’s lessons and changed it to an exam! An exam, do you understand? This is a total disaster!”
“An exam?”
Upon hearing that word, Ilanka’s head went blank.
When Her Majesty the Queen spoke with her earlier, she didn’t mention anything about an exam!
If the Princess failed in front of Her Majesty, not only would the Princess be finished, but her own career as a teacher would also be over!