"What kind of person is he? To get drunk and actually do something like that. I wonder what he'll think after sobering up if it makes the news and his friends and family see it."
Su Yue had also heard the news while washing dishes in the kitchen earlier, and could not help shaking her head.
Too close, too close... With Su Yue pressed against him, the fragrance lingering beneath his nose put Lin Li under immense pressure. He cautiously shifted a little to the side, creating some distance between them.
"Lin Li, why aren't you eating any fruit? Don't you like peaches? These Honey Peaches just came onto the market, and they're delicious. Hurry and have one. See if you like it."
Su Yue noticed Lin Li quietly shifting to the side. A faint smile touched her heart, and she reached out to pick up a large, bright-red Honey Peach from the fruit plate and handed it to him.
"Mm." After moving more than ten centimeters to the side, Lin Li felt the distance was about right. He nodded, reached out to take the large, bright-red Honey Peach Su Yue offered him, and took a big bite.
The Honey Peach was juicy and delicious, with a rich sweetness. One taste was enough to tell that it was a specially cultivated variety, and it certainly was not cheap... Lin Li, who was already penniless, immediately reached that conclusion after taking a bite.
"How is it? Tasty?" Su Yue already had her answer after seeing how eagerly Lin Li ate, but she still asked.
"It's delicious. You should have some too!" Lin Li noticed Su Yue watching him eat the whole time. Feeling rather embarrassed under her gaze, he hurriedly spoke up.
"My stomach is still full. I'll eat some later..." Su Yue said with a smile as radiant as flowers.
The fist-sized Honey Peach was quickly devoured by Lin Li. Just after he tossed the pit in his hand into the trash can, Su Yue, sitting beside him, picked up another Honey Peach from the fruit plate and handed it over.
"Crunch." Lin Li had not eaten fruit in several days, so he did not stand on ceremony with Su Yue. He took the Honey Peach she offered and bit into it again. After swallowing the flesh in his mouth, he casually asked,
"Su Yue, school's on summer vacation now too. When are you planning to return to your hometown?"
Su Yue's hometown was Yuwan Town, under the jurisdiction of Rong City. The small town did not have a large population, only a little over two hundred thousand people.
However, Yuwan Town was situated by the sea and was renowned for all kinds of seafood, so its economic development was quite strong. Among the dozen or so towns under Rong City, Yuwan Town's per-capita annual income ranked near the top.
In previous years, whenever summer vacation arrived, Su Yue would return to Yuwan Town and travel with her family. Thus, Lin Li naturally assumed that she would return to her hometown this summer as she had in the past.
"Lin Li, I spoke with my parents on the phone yesterday. I'm not going back to my hometown this summer." Su Yue's answer was completely beyond Lin Li's expectations.
"Not going back to your hometown? Then what are you planning to do in Rong City for the next two months of summer vacation?" Lin Li asked in confusion, then took a bite of the fresh, juicy Honey Peach in his hand.
"Next Monday, I'm going to my aunt's summer interest class to teach the children there." Su Yue smiled.
"This..." Lin Li was in the middle of chewing his Honey Peach when his expression froze at Su Yue's words. He immediately went still.
Then worry appeared on his face, and he said with concern,
"Su Yue, you're a tenured teacher! The government has expressly stipulated that tenured teachers aren't allowed to privately run extracurricular tutoring classes or work part-time at educational training institutions.
"If you go to your aunt's summer interest class next Monday to teach children and someone reports you, you might lose your position as a music teacher and be dismissed on top of that."
Seeing Lin Li watching her with concern, worried that she would be dismissed by the school, the corners of Su Yue's lips curved slightly upward.
"Hey, I'm talking about something serious. Why did you suddenly start smiling?" Lin Li saw the corners of Su Yue's lips lift into a charming smile and was thoroughly puzzled.
"Oh, my mind wandered for a moment. I thought of something else happy." Su Yue smiled faintly.
"I really don't know what to do with you." Lin Li said helplessly, "Back to the matter at hand—you aren't short of money, are you? Why did you think of working part-time at an extracurricular interest class? What will you do if someone reports you?"
"It's fine... I'll only teach the children at my aunt's extracurricular interest class for a few days, and I won't be taking any money." Su Yue picked up the teapot from the coffee table, poured herself a cup of water, and explained to Lin Li.
"Only a few days?"
"Mm." Su Yue lifted the cup, took a sip of water, and spoke to Lin Li with a beaming smile.
"That's right! I'm only going over to help... One of my aunt's employees had something come up at home and returned to their hometown. They won't be back for several days.
"So she called me and asked me to go over and help her teach the children for a few days.
"Of course I know everything you just said. The government expressly stipulates that tenured teachers can't work part-time at training institutions or privately run tutoring classes. Every tenured teacher knows that.
"I'm not an idiot. How could I possibly make that mistake?"
"Phew..." After hearing Su Yue's explanation, Lin Li let out a sigh of relief. Then he looked at Su Yue in confusion again and asked,
"Then after helping your aunt teach for a few days for free, how are you planning to spend all that remaining time?"
"How will I spend it? I'm planning to hole up at home watching television and playing games." Su Yue said cheerfully.
"This... You might as well return to your hometown and travel with your family."
"I don't really feel like going out this summer. I just want to hole up at home... I learned this from you, you know! In the past, didn't you always hole up at home watching television and playing games every summer vacation?"
"Why did you learn that from me? My situation is special. I'm a salted fish because I have to hole up at home, but you're different." Hearing Su Yue say that she had learned it from him, Lin Li scratched his head awkwardly.
"Giggle, giggle..." Seeing Lin Li grow embarrassed by her words, Su Yue immediately burst out laughing.
When Lin Li saw Su Yue suddenly looking at him and laughing heartily, he was once again utterly baffled... Ah, a woman's thoughts really were hard to read—especially a beautiful woman's.
"All right, I won't tease you anymore. I'll tell you the truth!" Su Yue took a sip of water, moistened her rosy lips, and said to Lin Li, "One of my college classmates opened a flower shop, and it'll be opening for business in a few days.
"Last week, she called me and asked whether I wanted to find a part-time job during summer vacation. If I did, I could work part-time at her newly opened flower shop.
"I've already agreed with her. Once I finish helping out at my aunt's place, I'll go work part-time at her flower shop."
P.S. Thanks to "08a" for the 200-point tip.
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