How to raise a father who is overly controlling of his daughter

Chapter Eighty Cake

When it was almost time, Yiyue took Yixue to school and returned home. After a while, she took off her cooking apron and said to Reina, who was watching TV on the sofa, "I'm going out to buy something. Remember to go back to your room to study later."

“Okay!” Rena said.

After Izuki left, Rena bounced up and down on the sofa unhappily and said, "I'm so tired of watching anime, but I don't want to study. There's nothing to study, it's so boring."

Suddenly, Reina had a brilliant idea: "That's it! I can invite Kyoko over to my house. If Dad asks later, I'll just say Kyoko helped me with my homework. Hehe, I'm so clever!" She picked up her phone and dialed Kyoko's number. After a short wait, the call connected, and it was Kyoko's grandmother on the other end.

"Hello?" Grandma Xingzi asked.

"Hey, I'm looking for Kyoko," Rena said.

Grandma Xingzi said in surprise, "You must have the wrong person. We don't have anyone named Xingzi here."

Rena then realized what was happening: "Oh, I'm looking for Lin Xin. I'm her classmate Rena. Please let her answer the phone."

"Xinxin, answer the phone, your classmate is looking for you." Grandma Xingzi called Xingzi over.

Kyoko picked up the phone and said, "What's wrong, Reina? Is something the matter?"

"Nothing much," Rena said with a smile. "Are you free?"

"I'm free," Kyoko said.

"How about coming to my house to play?" Rena said with a grin.

"No need," Xingzi said. "I don't even know where you live, how am I supposed to get there? Besides, your father lives at home, I'd feel awkward going over there."

“My home is near the Fandou residential area. Take the 811 bus to the West Gate, and I'll pick you up. Besides, what's there to be embarrassed about? You've met my dad before. He's a very nice person.”

“But…” Kyoko hesitated.

"What's the 'but' about it?" Rena pleaded. "Please, I'm so bored. Just keep me company, please."

“This…” Xingzi softened, “Okay, then I’ll ask my grandma if she agrees. Don’t hang up yet.”

“Yes,” Rena said with a smile, “Your grandma will definitely agree.”

Xingzi put down the phone and asked her grandmother, "Grandma, I need to go to a classmate's house for something."

"Okay, be careful on the road. Remember to come back early for lunch." Grandma nodded.

"I understand." Kyoko picked up the phone and said to Rena, "My grandma agreed."

"Yay! Then hurry up!" Rena said happily.

Xingzi said, "Ximen, right? I'll wait for you at the bus stop. I'll call you when I get there."

“Okay,” Rena said.

Xingzi hung up the phone and took the bus to the West Gate.

Apricots arrived a dozen minutes later.

Reina went to pick up Kyoko.

"Here I am!" Rena waved to Kyoko, who was standing by the bus stop sign in the distance.

Xingzi, wearing a dark green short skirt and with medium-length hair, stood there casually. She was simple yet pretty, like a girl next door.

Upon hearing Rena's voice, Kyoko looked up, smiled, and walked towards Rena.

"I didn't have to wait too long, did I?" Rena said irritably. "Honestly, don't call me when you arrive, call me when you're almost there."

"I didn't have to wait long," Kyoko said gently. "I was worried about traffic if we got stuck close, making you wait longer, Reina. It's no big deal if I waited for you a little while."

"Really, you're something else," Rena said softly. "If anyone should be waiting, it should be me. I feel really bad about you doing this."

Apricot just smiled gently.

The two walked and talked until they arrived at Rena's house.

Rena took out her key and opened the door.

"Wow, Rena's house is huge," Kyoko remarked, glancing at Rena and thinking, "It's a villa. Rena's family must be very wealthy."

Rena didn't seem to feel anything: "I'm fine." She smiled and said, "Come in quickly." She took Kyoko's hand and led her into the house.

"Isn't Uncle here?" Xingzi looked around.

"No, Dad went out to buy things. We can just play," Rena said.

Hearing Rena's words, Kyoko felt a little disappointed for some reason. Actually, she wanted to see Itsuki again.

"Come on, let's go to my room." Rena led Kyoko upstairs, introducing her home to her as she went.

No sooner had they returned to their room than Yi Yue came home, carrying large and small bags of eggs, flour, and cream.

He planned to practice making a cake in advance. After the exams, it would be Reina's birthday in a week. He planned to bake a cake for Reina himself on her birthday.

"I've never made one before, I don't know if I can do it well," Yi Yue muttered. He had never made a cake before, but he wanted to give it a try.

Following the instructions in the pastry book, Yi Yue found two clean bowls, one for holding the egg whites and the other for holding the egg yolks.

Strain the purchased flour and set it aside. Yi Yue took out an egg beater from the cupboard and began to whisk the egg whites.

This step requires adding granulated sugar three times.

The first time, when the egg whites are beaten to a foamy stage, add the granulated sugar.

The second time, when the egg whites are beaten into coarse foam, add the granulated sugar.

The third time, when the egg whites are beaten until they are quite thick and lines appear on the surface, add the granulated sugar.

After the first three steps, it's not over yet. You need to keep beating until the egg whites can form soft peaks when you lift the whisk, indicating that they have reached the soft peak stage. Only then are you done.

Izumi will cover the egg whites with plastic wrap and refrigerate them. This step is troublesome and requires great care.

Yi Yue picked up the bowl containing the egg yolks, added a small spoonful of granulated sugar, and gently whisked it. It's important to note here that you only need to whisk the egg yolks until they are just broken up; do not over-whisk them.

Add a small spoonful of salad oil and milk and stir well. Then add the sifted flour and gently stir with a knife to prevent the flour from developing gluten.

Finally, add the cooled egg whites to the egg yolks and mix vigorously until well combined. Pour into a pan and bake the cake.

Izuki followed the recipe in the pastry book meticulously, and felt exhausted and covered in sweat after finishing. But looking at the finished cake, Izuki smiled.

"It's not finished yet, let's try spreading the cream first." Yi Yue said, taking out the ingredients and slowly spreading the cream.

Almost two hours later, Izuki barely finished.

However, the cakes they made were really not flattering. The designs were awful.

"It's alright, practice makes perfect. I'll continue tomorrow. I'll definitely make a beautiful cake for Reina's birthday," Izuki thought to herself.

"Let's deal with this cake first. It's such a big cake, let's ask Rena to come down and eat with us. If we can't finish it, we can put it in the refrigerator and eat it together when Yixue comes back tonight." Izuki thought to herself as she went upstairs to Rena's room.

"Rena, come and have some cake." Itsuki said as she entered the room, and immediately saw Kyoko sitting next to Rena.

Kyoko stared blankly at Izuki, then blinked.

“Isn’t this Kyoko?” Itsuki said, turning to Rena, “Why didn’t you tell me your classmate was here?”

Chapter 81 Cutting the Cake (Happy Birthday to reader Tyr)

Rena stuck out her tongue and said, "Didn't Daddy come back without saying anything?"

Yi Yue laughed and said, "So you're blaming me?"

"Of course, is it my fault?" Rena snorted.

"Um... Hello, Uncle." Kyoko interrupted their conversation, forcing a smile, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"Hello, Xingzi." Yiyue smiled and nodded. "Xingzi, let's go downstairs and have some cake together."

"No need," Xingzi quickly waved her hand.

"Let's go, there's nothing to be embarrassed about," Rena said with a smile, taking Kyoko's hand and leading her out the door.

Kyoko followed Rena and secretly glanced at Izuki. Their eyes met, and she immediately blushed and lowered her head, not daring to look at Izuki. She nervously followed Rena downstairs.

"Dad, where's the cake?" Rena asked as she walked into the living room and looked at the empty coffee table.

“In the kitchen.” Yi Yue then came down.

Rena didn't need Izuki to say anything more and went straight to the kitchen table.

A large cake sat on the table. However, the cake's design wasn't particularly attractive; the frosting was crooked and uneven. While not beautiful, it wasn't ugly either; it was passable.

"Dad, did you make this?" Rena asked.

“Mm.” Yi Yue nodded.

Rena laughed and said, "Dad, the cake you made looks awful!" She muttered under her breath, "I thought you could make everything."

“No, I think Uncle is very capable.” Kyoko spoke up for Izuki. “If it were me…” Suddenly realizing something, she looked at Izuki, blushed immediately, and stammered softly, “If I were to do it, I definitely wouldn’t be able to do it well.”

“That’s not necessarily true!” Rena said. “Kyoko, don’t underestimate yourself.”

"No, no!" Xingzi quickly waved her hand. "I'm definitely not as good as Uncle." She blushed and pursed her lips.

"Kyoko, you're acting strange." Rena sensed that something was off with Kyoko.

"Alright, let's eat the cake," said Yiyue, taking out a small plastic knife and paper plate left over from last year's cake. She cut two pieces and gave one to Rena and one to Kyoko.

When Izuki handed the cake to Apricot, her fingers touched Apricot's fingers, and Apricot shyly shrank back.

"Thank you, Uncle," Xingzi said softly, her face flushed.

"Yeah." Yiyue smiled.

Rena ate the cake, her mouth covered in cream, and mumbled, "It's so sweet, a bit too much."

"Really? That's impossible. I definitely tasted it, and it should be just right." Yi Yue cut off a small piece, put it in her mouth, and said doubtfully, "It's just right, not too sweet."

"It's not very sweet yet!" Rena asked Kyoko. "What do you think, Kyoko?"

"Hmm...it is a bit too sweet." Kyoko hesitated for a moment, then spoke the truth. She immediately regretted it, looking at Izuki with his head down, thinking he was unhappy.

"Should I just go along with what Uncle says?" Kyoko felt a little stupid and nervous, but after thinking about it carefully, she immediately shook her head. "No, how could Uncle get angry over such a small thing?" She whispered, "Uncle is very gentle and a very nice person." After saying that, Kyoko's face turned slightly red. What was she saying?