September 19, Wednesday.
The weather was clear and sunny.
Autumn had arrived, and the midday sun was no longer as scorching as it had been in the previous months.
Near the dormitory area, the School of Biochemistry's dorm basketball tournament was in full swing.
A total of 322 dorms had entered the competition, meaning there were 322 teams. According to the rules, the teams would first be whittled down to 80 through elimination rounds. Then, 20 teams would advance from those 80 to the semifinals, where five teams would earn a place in the finals.
The rules were the same as in a regular basketball game: a full-court match split into two ten-minute halves, with a three-minute break in between. If the score was tied, there would be a five-minute overtime.
The game underway was the second match for Dormitory 330 in Building 17. Their opponents were the neighboring Dormitory 316. If Su Yuan and the others beat them, they would advance straight to the top 80.
The rubber court was scorching, and the spectators on the sidelines were in high spirits. The only one in their dorm who wasn't playing was Su Yuan. Wearing a white sun hat, she stood beside a half-case of bottled water, cheering everyone on.
On the court, Ji Yehao, Gao Jun, and Yang Xiaowei raced around, passing the ball back and forth. In no time, they had reached the basket on the other side.
"Go, Ye Hao!" The ball was in Ji Yehao's hands, and the students from Class One, Bioengineering, cheered him on.
"Alas, though born of the same roots, why should we torment one another so?" A discordant voice rose from the crowd of cheering spectators. Looking at the scoreboard, where they led 34–18, Su Yuan sighed. They were already up by 16 points, and just like in their last game, there was no suspense left about Dormitory 330's victory. At that moment, she wasn't thinking about winning or losing, but about eliminating a team from their own Bioengineering class. The feeling was extremely complicated.
Jiang Yuan, who was watching the game, heard her lament and smacked her on the shoulder. "Heh, now that victory's in the bag, are you getting all sentimental?"
Su Yuan turned to her and chuckled. "Look at how Ye Hao and the others are getting more and more fired up, while the players from Dormitory 316 are getting weaker by the minute. Dorm 316 is done for. Now we just have to see whether they lose with their underwear still on or end up losing even that. Trust me, I'm never wrong."
"Uh, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?"
Su Yuan grinned and shrugged.
Jiang Yuan turned her attention back to the court. While they'd been talking, Dormitory 330 had scored again, bringing the score to 36–18.
The halftime whistle blew, and the players had three minutes to rest. For regular players like Ji Yehao and the others, a game at this level might have been nothing more than a warm-up. Once the second half began, the gap widened even further. When the game ended, Dormitory 330 had crushed Dormitory 316 by a score of 70 to [unclear], advancing to the top 80.
It was a complete rout, a clear sign of the difference between the two teams.
The crowd soon dispersed, and Su Yuan went over to help the others gather their clothes.
"Su Yuan, we played pretty well this game, didn't we?" Yang Xiaowei grinned, flashing his white teeth.
Su Yuan smiled. "The game and the result were both great. The only thing is, the score gap got a little too big. We should show some consideration for their feelings. The people from Dorm 316 are probably miserable."
Yang Xiaowei burst out laughing. "Winning and losing are part of the game. Besides, this is about skill. There's no point in going easy on them." As he spoke, he set down the ball and started changing clothes in front of everyone.
"Should we go back and shower, or head straight out to eat?" Ji Yehao asked.
"Of course we're going to eat! We should have a good lunch to celebrate our victory," Gao Jun called out.
"Then let's go!"
Su Yuan nodded, and the four of them headed for the food stalls outside the east gate.
After lunch, Su Yuan didn't return to the dorm with them. Instead, she boarded a bus right there. Xia Linfei had arranged to meet her outside today to introduce her to a job.
The idea had actually come from Su Yuan herself. With money getting tighter by the day, she'd decided to look for a proper part-time job. Handing out flyers all the time wasn't a solution. After her last time doing it, she'd learned just how exhausting it was, and she refused to do it again.
She'd mentioned it to Xia Linfei on QQ, and the helpful older girl had immediately said she knew of a suitable job she could recommend.
It was a tutoring job: three lessons a week, two hours each time. The student was a girl in the second year of middle school. She wasn't naughty or troublesome; she just wasn't very talented and was always falling behind her classmates in Natural Science and math.
Su Yuan thought it sounded great! She might have hesitated if she had to teach a boy in the second year of middle school; boys at that age were the hardest to teach and always getting into mischief. But since it was a girl, there was no problem. And the subjects were only second-year Natural Science and math. Even if she wasn't the best, surely she could handle a middle-school curriculum.
Most importantly, the pay was pretty good: 80 yuan an hour, or 160 a day. That came to 480 a week.
There was no reason for Su Yuan to turn down such a promising part-time job.
After five stops, she arrived at the meeting place. She waited by the bus stop for a while before Xia Linfei finally showed up.
"Sister Xia, did you take the 769 bus too?" Su Yuan asked, surprised to see Xia Linfei getting off the same bus.
They were even headed in the same direction. Maybe they could ride back together.
Xia Linfei smiled. "Did you forget I'm a graduate student at Binhe University of Science and Technology now?"
"Uh." Su Yuan froze for a moment, then gave an embarrassed smile. "I forgot."
Xia Linfei was 22 that year. She'd previously been an undergraduate at the medical university next door, where she'd studied in a four-year program. That year, she'd just been admitted to Binhe University of Science and Technology for graduate school, specializing in molecular biochemistry. They were fellow students, too. Su Yuan remembered that Xia Linfei had told her all of this.
"Well, I've told you again now, so you can't forget anymore. Otherwise, I'll knock you on the head!" Xia Linfei said in the tone of a big sister.
"Okay, I'll definitely remember this time!"
Su Yuan grinned. She'd been born in April 1993 and was 19 that year, so Xia Linfei was certainly old enough to be her big sister.
"Here, these are the textbooks and notes you'll need." Xia Linfei handed her a bag containing the first- and second-year middle-school textbooks for Natural Science and math, along with a few notebooks of collected exercises.
Su Yuan was deeply touched by Xia Linfei's thoughtfulness.
"Let me tell you a little about the family looking for a tutor."
"Sure!" Su Yuan turned serious at the mention of business.
They talked as they walked. After about ten minutes, they entered a residential complex, found the right building, climbed the stairs, and stopped in front of a security door.
Xia Linfei rang the doorbell. Before long, they heard the slap of slippers approaching. Seeing Xia Linfei outside, a girl of thirteen or fourteen called out happily, "Sister Xia, you're here..."
Then she opened the door and shouted into the apartment, "Mom, Sister Xia brought the new tutor!"
"Coming, coming!" A moment later, an elegant, poised woman welcomed Su Yuan and Xia Linfei inside.
On the way over, Su Yuan had already learned the basics about the family. The elegant woman's surname was Zhang, and her husband's surname was Tang. Together, they ran a company in Binhe City, and business was thriving. Their daughter was named Tang Wen. She'd been lively and adorable since childhood and was now fourteen—and already a little beauty.
The couple were busy with work and had neglected their daughter's studies. By the time they realized there was a problem, she had already fallen behind the other students in her class.
Xia Linfei had originally been the Tang family's tutor. But after getting into graduate school, she needed to spend more time in the lab, so she'd recommended Su Yuan to take over as the family's tutor.
Su Yuan really had struck it lucky. The Tang family had always been very satisfied with the way Xia Linfei tutored their daughter. As soon as they heard that she was recommending a "successor," they agreed readily and didn't even change the hourly rate.
Thanks to "Pig Can Fly" and "Carefree Young Master Qin" for the 10,000 Qidian Coins in tips. I'll post two extra chapters today; they'll be up later.
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