Tong Tong's sadness was plain to see. Ke Ke immediately tugged at Ye Yun's hand.
"Daddy..."
Ye Yun understood what his precious daughter wanted to say from her pleading eyes.
Ye Yun glanced at his watch, then playfully flicked Tong Tong's nose and smiled.
"Alright, today Uncle Ye will make your favorite sweet and sour pork ribs, steamed perch, and braised prawns!"
"Really?" Tong Tong's dejected eyes instantly lit up.
"Of course!" Ye Yun chuckled.
"Wow! Thank you, Uncle Ye, muah!" Tong Tong gave Ye Yun a big kiss.
"Ke Ke's Dad, that won't do! You wait a moment..." Wu Ziqiong immediately grew anxious.
She hadn't forgotten that Ye Yun had said he was going to pick up Li Mengyao to go shopping at noon.
Ye Yun interrupted with a smile.
"It's only ten o'clock, still early. You must be tired after teaching all morning. I'll drive you back, and I can help you carry your things upstairs. You can take a shower and then come out to eat something hot."
"Ah! I'd feel too embarrassed..."
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I've always said I'd cook for Tong Tong, but I never had the time. I already bought the groceries, I wasn't expecting you to cook them at home." Ye Yun smiled.
From the very beginning, he had intended to cook a meal for this mother and son. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bought the ingredients this morning.
As for him and Ke Ke, they could wait to pick up Li Mengyao after everything was done.
The timing would be perfect.
Otherwise, with such limited time, he wouldn't know where else to go.
Seeing Ye Yun say this, Wu Ziqiong's heart warmed. She didn't refuse. She put on her clothes, tidied up briefly, locked the door, and left with her child and Ye Yun.
Upon returning home, she didn't shower. She just watched Ye Yun busy himself in the kitchen, feeling a sense of warmth.
Many times, Wu Ziqiong wanted to step forward and talk to Ye Yun.
But as soon as she thought of the house where Ye Yun and Li Mengyao lived, the prestigious Ying Tian Mansion in Jinling, her steps faltered.
That house, one guest room was almost as big as her entire attic!
A sense of inferiority began to well up.
Let alone comparing herself to Ye Yun's family, even compared to ordinary families, her life was far from satisfactory.
To put it bluntly, if Ye Yun hadn't come, she and her daughter would have been all alone.
Tong Tong was alright; the school cafeteria had some meat dishes.
As for herself, she mostly just made do with noodles.
Although the dance studio had opened, it was mainly for younger children, and most of the courses were basic. How much could she charge?
Two thousand yuan per semester per student, and that was only because her looks were good.
With over twenty students, one class in the morning and one in the afternoon, working hard for a year would bring in about ten thousand yuan.
Ten thousand yuan, it sounded like a lot.
But the rent for such a large, well-decorated dance studio alone would eat up ten thousand a year.
Add in utilities and Tong Tong's tuition and food expenses, and life was still a struggle.
She also wanted to teach advanced courses to charge higher fees.
But that was completely unrealistic!
It wasn't that Wu Ziqiong's skill level was insufficient.
It was that as a newcomer with no reputation whatsoever, which student would be willing to spend tens of thousands to have her teach them?
Furthermore, if any students did come, they would take one look at this remote and rundown dance studio and immediately run away.
She faced her own struggles with running a dance studio.
To have good business, one needed not only reputation but also a good location.
But the rent for dance studios in good locations alone cost four to five hundred thousand a year, not to mention the renovation costs. How could a single mother like her afford it?
Sensing the gloom on Wu Ziqiong's face, Ye Yun asked.
"Running a dance class here must be difficult."
"Yes!" In front of Ye Yun, Wu Ziqiong felt she could open up. She honestly replied, "Yes, mainly because the rent is too high. Most of what I earn goes to the landlord. And I don't have much of a reputation, so it's normal that I can't attract students now."
While Jinling's housing prices weren't as terrifying as Shanghai or Beijing, houses costing forty to fifty thousand per square meter were still unaffordable for most people.
For a professionally decorated dance room like Wu Ziqiong's, a rent of ten thousand a year in a less-than-ideal location couldn't be considered expensive.
"You're right, rent is indeed a major expense," Ye Yun said with a smile. "But you've overlooked something very important. Your strengths and weaknesses are very clear. Your weakness is your lack of fame, but your strengths are also very prominent. If you can leverage your advantages and avoid your disadvantages, you can definitely increase your income very quickly."
"Ah? What advantages?" Wu Ziqiong was taken aback.
What advantages could a divorced mother have?
"You have two advantages. The first is the city we're in, Jinling. Jinling has a permanent resident population of 9.4 million. Your district, Chengnan, alone has 1.95 million people, and at least a hundred thousand of them are interested in learning dance." Ye Yun said.
"There are many people who want to learn, but there are even more who teach. I have no reputation and no locational advantage, so I can't compete for students," Wu Ziqiong lamented.
"Why can't you compete? It's because your promotional efforts are insufficient. Traditional promotion methods, like word-of-mouth, have too small a reach. You could completely buy some live-streaming equipment and start live-streaming your classes simultaneously. This way, people can directly see the quality of your teaching and are more likely to pay attention to you."
"During each live stream, you can add your location as a remark, which easily increases local or even district-wide views."
"However, you'll need to pay attention to this: the best time for your classes should be from seven to ten in the evening, as this is when most people watch live streams on Douyin." Ye Yun explained.
Wu Ziqiong was also born in the 90s and wasn't an old-fashioned person who couldn't accept new things.
Instantly, her eyes lit up.
That's right!
If she started live-streaming, combined with the inherently captivating nature of dance, why would she worry about not having viewers?
This was equivalent to free, city-wide advertising for her online classes.
Most importantly, the advertising cost would be almost nothing!
In the past, her dance studio's biggest promotional efforts were her handing out flyers herself or asking friends to spread the word.
But how effective could that be?
Compared to wide-ranging online promotion, it was like comparing a glowworm to the bright moon.
Looking at Ye Yun, Wu Ziqiong was greatly impressed, but she still had some doubts. She asked.
"Can such a simple method really attract students?"
"Of course, it's not that simple," Ye Yun said with a smile. "You also need to fully utilize your own advantages. I saw this morning that your dancing posture is very beautiful and very captivating. If live-streaming is to increase the visibility of your dance studio, then you yourself are the best advertisement. Without you, the effect of the live stream would be minimal."
Wu Ziqiong was stunned by his words, but in a moment, the blush that had just faded from her face quickly returned.
This time, besides her usual shyness, there was also a hint of sweetness and excitement.
What did Ye Yun mean by that?
Did her graceful dancing earlier truly captivate this man?
So he wasn't completely uninterested in her after all!