The child was happy about his own progress.
He had even forgotten that, at first, he'd been asking questions so earnestly partly in the hope of keeping the teacher from focusing on what he'd been looking for in the house earlier, and distracting him.
"That's right."
Grandpa Gu smiled until his eyes narrowed.
"The teacher Great Grandfather found for Linlin is very capable."
"Linlin needs to study hard with him, too."
"Don't let Great Grandfather down after he went to all the trouble of asking this tutor to teach you."
"Mm."
The child obediently promised, "I'll study hard."
The old man's coaxing brought a hint of amusement to Xiao Xiao's eyes.
Went to all that trouble?
He didn't remember being so unreasonable that the old man had to swallow his pride to ask him.
After a bowl of mung bean soup and a little more chatting, Xiao Xiao and Grandpa Gu said goodbye to the child's parents.
He would be coming here regularly for quite some time.
Since it was summer vacation, the child's parents had asked Xiao Xiao to come on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
The child would have weekends off.
Each lesson would last two hours.
It wasn't an overly packed study schedule.
Grandpa Gu declined the child's parents' offer to walk them downstairs.
"All right, you two go back inside."
The old man waved a hand. "There's no need to see us off."
"It's not as if we don't know the way."
"Why so formal? We're family."
"We're off."
The old man turned and headed downstairs.
Xiao Xiao smiled at the child's parents.
Then he bent down and waved to the child.
"Goodbye."
As they stepped out of the building, the brilliant summer sunlight came pouring down on them.
The old man narrowed