Like a Rainbow, Only Upon Meeting Them Do You Know They Exist

Ding Yuerong said, "After Mom finished talking to your homeroom teacher, she immediately told me to find you a tutor. So..." She paused, pointed at Yang Zhi with a proud look, and said, "She's right in front of you. That's what efficiency is."

Ding Yebai sighed with a cold expression. "Did none of you think to discuss this with me?"

Ding Yuerong said, "Mom said she notified you on your phone beforehand. You didn't know?"

[A notification]?

"I didn't check my phone."

While grumbling, he picked up the phone charging on the sofa and unlocked it.

The school did not allow students to bring phones, so he could only look through his whenever he got home at night.

The moment the screen lit up, he saw the five WeChat messages his mother had sent at four thirty.

[Your homeroom teacher said your English isn't very good and that you need to improve quickly. I can't keep an eye on you all the time, so I thought I'd have your sister find someone to tutor you.]

[Yang Zhi is only twenty-three, but you absolutely don't need to worry about her ability. I asked your sister all about her. She was Jinghuai's top humanities student back then, and now she's been admitted to graduate school.]

[Yang Zhi is a true academic star. She used to work part-time teaching classes at a tutoring center, though this is her first time doing one-on-one home tutoring.]

[Remember to be gentle with her. Put away that cold face of yours.]

[Class is from seven to eight thirty. Try one lesson first. If you don't like it, you won't have to continue tomorrow.]

It really was a notification. There had been no room for discussion at all—they had gone straight to starting class.

Fine, fine. It was for studying, after all. And if he did not like it, he would not have to keep going.

After accepting reality, Ding Yebai turned off his phone and looked up at Yang Zhi.

Their eyes met.

Even without anyone saying it, he could tell that this Older Sister had a scholarly air and exceptional refinement.

On the other side, Yang Zhi was also struck by him.

What left the deepest impression was the child's clear yet melancholy eyes. And that clean, icy, beautiful aura, like snow and ice in the north—untouched by any color or embellishment.

So clean and pure that he would probably look good even in a village party secretary's old military coat.

Ding Yuerong looked at Ding Yebai, then at Yang Zhi, and smiled mysteriously. After setting the coffee on the tea table, she rose unhurriedly and threw an arm around Yang Zhi's shoulders like some overbearing old man. Teasingly, she said, "Ye Bai, my junior schoolmate has a wonderful temper. You're not allowed to bully her."

Yang Zhi lowered her eyes slowly and gave a soft laugh.

Ding Yuerong said, "Oh, right, let me emphasize something. Your Sister Yang Zhi volunteered herself the moment she heard our family needed someone to tutor you! And she's doing it for free."

Ding Yebai said, "..."

For free...

Just what had his sister done to force someone into tutoring him for free...

Ding Yuerong continued patting Yang Zhi's shoulder lightly. "Yang Zhi, don't let my little brother's cold, aloof act fool you. Privately, he's just a kid."

Hearing that, Ding Yebai shook his head helplessly. With his mind full of studying, he did not think any more about whether the tutoring was free or not.

He quickly checked his watch and said, "It's already seven ten. Sorry, Teacher Yang. I got back a little late."

His words were sincere, but no matter what Ding Yebai said, there was always a cool, cocky edge to it.

Yang Zhi said, "It's fine. You only just found out about the tutoring too."

Yang Zhi added, "And... you should just call me Sister Yang Zhi. I'm only five years older than you, and this isn't an employment arrangement. I'm your sister's good friend, just here to help out."

Her big, innocent, bright eyes curved like crescent moons whenever she smiled.

Ding Yebai looked at her expressionlessly.

He truly did not understand.

He really, really did not understand!

How could someone love smiling this much?

And it was not one of those awkward, forced smiles with every muscle tensed up.

Even when she was not smiling, a trace of it still lingered on her face, like the lingering notes floating in the air after the music stopped.

Come to think of it, he had not even complimented her... so why was she smiling so sweetly?

Ding Yebai gave an "Mm" and pointed toward his bedroom with the shoulder bag slung over one shoulder. "That's my room. Then, Teacher Yang... cough, Sister Yang Zhi, I'll go in first." With that, he hurried over.

Ding Yuerong kept stirring things up behind him. "Oh~ my dear little brother, you can call her Sister Yang Zhi too~"

Ding Yebai frowned deeply, utterly troubled.

Like hell I'd call her Older Sister! What a terrifying form of address.

Ding Yuerong snickered twice, then turned and patted Yang Zhi on the shoulder. "All right. Go have your lesson. Senior year students are pressed for time—every second is precious."

Yang Zhi looked at her and naturally broke into a smile. Then she picked up the shoulder bag commonly carried by mature women and followed Ding Yebai into his bedroom.

Bang.

The door closed softly behind them.

Ding Yuerong watched Yang Zhi's retreating figure and subconsciously touched her eyelids. "Why do her eyes curve when she smiles? Why do mine turn into a slit?"

"No wonder her nickname is Yang Xian'er...

"Oh, Nuwa, why were you so biased when shaping people? Even if I were reincarnated three times, I still wouldn't grow up looking like this."

Sigh...

There was no point overthinking it. No matter what, this face had been given to her by her parents.

Ding Yuerong flopped onto the sofa and continued drinking her coffee.

Since she had this chance to come home, she really needed to get some proper rest.

Yang Zhi said, "..."

She quietly looked around Ding Yebai's room.

There was a simple, plain bed; a desk piled with test papers; one pale blue wall covered with basketball stars and another covered with first-prize certificates from various city-level competitions; a small bookshelf filled with detective, mystery, astronomy, and history novels; and a large bookshelf packed with exercise books...

After entering the room, neither of them spoke for a long while.

Ding Yebai found the atmosphere strange. He turned around, about to say something, but unexpectedly saw her walking toward him.

"..." Ding Yebai instinctively straightened up, his neck tilting back as well.

His face remained icy, but a closer look revealed a fleeting trace of unease in his eyes.

"Here."

Then he watched Yang Zhi take out a tissue from her bag and hold it out to him.

Ding Yebai stared at the tissue, black lines practically appearing across his forehead.

???

Why was she handing him a tissue...

Yang Zhi pointed at his forehead. "There's still some rainwater there. Wipe it off first."

Ding Yebai said, "..."

He took it and naturally said, "Thank you." Then he sat down, wiping his forehead as he took out his books.

Yang Zhi pulled over a chair and sat beside him.

They deliberately kept a certain distance between them.

After all, they were a young man and woman alone in one room.

Propriety and a sense of distance were things that had to be observed.

Once seated, Yang Zhi began flipping through the materials she had organized.

These were specialized worksheets she had prepared based on the weaknesses she found after looking over Ding Yebai's exam papers.

Even if I'm only teaching him once, I still have to take this lesson seriously.

As for Ding Yebai, he prepared to put on his glasses and study.

He was somewhat nearsighted, though he did not usually wear glasses in daily life.

Ding Yebai took his glasses from their case and put them on, then adjusted them with his fingertips until they sat at the most comfortable angle.

He had been about to snap the glasses case shut with a bang like usual, but the person beside him was so quiet, seemingly still reading seriously...

Tsk.

After thinking about it, Ding Yebai finally decided to hold the case closed with his fingers so it would not make a sound.

Yang Zhi said, "..."

She happened to see that, and a hint of curiosity mixed into the light in her eyes.

Ding Yebai said, "Hm?"

Their eyes met by chance, and Yang Zhi smiled out of habit. "I've looked over your grades. Your math and science subjects are both excellent. It's mainly your English and Chinese that are a little weaker. Your mother said I should focus on tutoring you in English."

As Ding Yebai listened, he raised his brows slightly, revealing a touch of helplessness.

Yang Zhi said, "..."

She was very familiar with that expression.

It was the expression of someone who did not like studying English.

That was perfectly normal. Many students had that problem.

"Ding Yebai, do you... not like studying English?" Yang Zhi tilted her head slightly, naturally brushed aside the bangs on her forehead, and asked gently.

Ding Yebai glanced at her and pushed up his thin gold-rimmed glasses. "It's not that I dislike it. I just think it isn't as interesting as math and the science subjects, so I never put much effort into learning it."

Yang Zhi nodded as if she understood.

She was neither confused nor troubled.

Instead, an exceptionally gentle smile rippled across her lips.

"How about this, Ding Yebai? I'll write a sentence, and you can translate it for me."

"Are you testing my level? Then why not let me do one of those vocabulary assessment papers?"

Yang Zhi glanced at him without speaking, still wearing her usual sweet smile. Unhurriedly, she took out a sheet of paper and a pen and wrote down an English sentence.

After a while—

"All right. Take a look."

Ding Yebai leaned forward and looked at the elegant line of handwriting on the white paper.

[But by chance, you will meet someone radiant, and she will make everyone you have met before seem like passing clouds.] (English)

"Isn't this very simple?"

There were no unfamiliar words. Ding Yebai translated it perfectly after reading it once.

He did not understand what a sentence at this level could possibly test.

Yang Zhi nodded after hearing his answer.

She seemed to have guessed that Ding Yebai would choose a literal translation. Her eyes and brows were as gentle as ever. "Haha, you're right. But I have another translation here. Would you like to hear it?"

Ding Yebai's pupils remained as indifferent as ever. In a steady voice, he said, "Go ahead."

"Like a rainbow, only upon meeting them do you know they exist."

Yang Zhi tapped the English sentence on the paper with her pen.