Upon seeing Zhao Zeheng's appearance, Xia Yunuo, who was originally riding on Song Yunshen, jumped off him in a panic, just like a startled fawn.
She stood awkwardly to one side, her two small hands clenched tightly together, unsure how to explain.
Song Yunshen, on the other hand, calmly got up from the ground, rubbed his aching back, and said irritably, "You'll have to ask your precious daughter about that. It's all for playing with her."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Zeheng was even more stunned. "What do you mean?"
"This girl is always nagging to ride a pony." Song Yunshen hugged Yingying and ruffled her hair. "At first, Xia Yunuo and I were letting her ride the pony, but she got tired and wouldn't let me rest. She insisted that Xia Yunuo ride me instead."
"There's no other way. Xia Yunuo took your wages, so she has to do her best to fulfill Yingying's requests."
"And then it looks like what you just saw."
After saying that, Song Yunshen leaned closer to Zhao Zeheng, rubbed his fingers together, and said, "This wasn't mentioned in the contract. Shouldn't you compensate the teacher for emotional distress?"
"Don't try to take advantage of me." Zhao Zeheng looked at him speechlessly, squinting at him. "I saw you enjoying yourself just now, and the young girl was laughing happily too. You need compensation for emotional distress? You should be compensating me for emotional distress for my eyes."
"Tch, stingy." Seeing that his attempt to extort money had failed, Song Yunshen said no more, turned around and went back to the sofa. "It's almost three o'clock anyway, so I'll return your precious daughter to you. We're dismissed from class now."
"Okay." Zhao Zeheng nodded indifferently. "You guys go back. Yingying, come here and see your brother and teacher off."
When Yingying heard that the two were leaving, she made a fuss for a while, clearly reluctant to part. As she watched Xia Yunuo leave, she held her hand earnestly and said, "Pretty sister, next time let's ride ponies together."
Xia Yunuo couldn't help but laugh.
Song Yunshen, his face dark with anger, said, "Isn't your brother's life a life too? How could you say such a thing?"
"What's wrong with letting them ride for a bit? I see you're enjoying it too," Zhao Zeheng chuckled. "Oh, by the way, we went to your grandpa's for dinner last night, and he asked you to come over sometime, and bring your little girlfriend along, don't forget!"
"Understood." Song Yunshen was too lazy to explain the matter of his little girlfriend to him, waved his hand, and took his leave with Xia Yunuo.
Xia Yunuo thought that the little girlfriend her uncle was talking about was herself, and her face immediately turned red. She quickly followed Song Yunshen away.
"Um... how did your grandfather know...?" Xia Yunuo asked hesitantly in a low voice.
"Huh?" Song Yunshen was taken aback before realizing that she had misunderstood.
The "girlfriend" that Grandpa was talking about must be Xia Jinshu, who accompanied him to the market to buy groceries yesterday. She has absolutely nothing to do with Xia Yunuo.
However, Song Yunshen wasn't worried that Xia Yunuo would find out, and even teased her with a smile, "So, do you want to go?"
"No, no." As expected, Xia Yunuo quickly waved her hand, blushing, "I won't bother you."
"Alright then." Song Yunshen Shen hadn't planned to take her anyway, so he nodded and led Xia Yunuo towards his house next door. Xia Yunuo felt a little disappointed; she had thought Song Yunshen would invite her again.
Seeing that he didn't say anything more, she felt too embarrassed to shamelessly ask to go again, so she could only purse her lips and follow behind him.
After changing into her signature navy blue slippers at Song Yunshen's doorstep, Xia Yunuo entered his living room. After composing herself, she remembered something else, so she went to the sofa, opened her backpack, and started rummaging through it.
As soon as Song Yunshen Shen entered the house, he went into the study and brought out two large bags of snacks, showing them to Xia Yunuo: "I have things to do this afternoon, so I won't keep you any longer. See if there are any snacks you like to take back and try."
"I don't usually eat snacks..." Xia Yunuo subconsciously shook her head to decline, then pulled out a stack of test papers and a workbook from her schoolbag and handed them to Song Yunshen, "This is my English summer homework, I've finished it all, you can take it if you want."
Song Yunshen looked at the exam papers, reached out and randomly picked one up, then looked down at it.
The handwriting on the exam paper was neat and clear, with a touch of coldness, similar in form but not in spirit to Xia Jinshu's handwriting.
This is also why I initially judged that the Future Diary was not written by Xia Yunuo.
But Song Yunshen also noticed that the handwriting on this test paper seemed neater and better than the handwriting on the English homework he had borrowed from her before.
I don't know if it's just my imagination.
[Because this is for Song Yunshen to copy, I made sure to write the characters neatly so it would be easier to copy.]
Okay, it seems it wasn't just my imagination. Hearing Xia Yunuo's thoughts, Song Yunshen felt a slight pang in his heart, and then said, "Look, you've already copied everything for me, so it's only right that you take some snacks. Don't be shy with me."
"Okay." Xia Yunuo felt that what he said made some sense, so she stopped refusing and sat on the sofa to pick out a bag of potato chips and a bag of chicken feet.
"Won't you take a little more?"
"I can't eat any more." Xia Yunuo shook her head gently, stuffing the potato chips and chicken feet into her schoolbag. "Then I won't bother you any longer, I'll go home now."
"Okay, I'll take you." Song Yunshen glanced at his phone; Xia Jinshu had already sent him a message, so he offered to walk Xia Yunuo downstairs.
Xia Yunuo was polite to him for a moment, saying that she would be happy to see him to the elevator.
As a result, Song Yunshen still took the initiative to enter the elevator and escorted her all the way downstairs, making her unable to help but overthink things.
Unfortunately, Song Yunshen only escorted her downstairs as a side benefit.
After she walked out of the building, Song Yunshen went to the charging shed next to the building, got on his electric bike, and slowly rode to the entrance of the community.
Xia Jinshu, who had been waiting there, took the helmet from Song Yunshen and was about to put it on when her eyes suddenly narrowed and she reached into the helmet and picked up a long hair.
"What's wrong? Hurry up and get in the car." Song Yunshen didn't turn to look at her, unaware of what she was looking at, but simply urged her on.
Xia Jinshu responded briefly, quickly put on her helmet, and sat sideways on his vehicle. After the electric scooter started, Xia Jinshu was still thinking about that strand of hair.
Did I leave this there myself yesterday?
But judging from the length, it doesn't seem quite right.
Xia Jinshu smoothed her hair behind her head and fell into deep thought. When she came back to her senses, the electric scooter was already parked at the entrance of the vegetable market.
As is customary, Song Yunshen ordered a few dishes. Xia Jinshu then went into the market and skillfully began bargaining with the older men and women, managing to settle her dinner for just a few dozen yuan.
And it also leaves a lot of ingredients for the next meal.
It's a pity I didn't see Grandpa setting up his stall today, otherwise I could have gotten some more vegetables for free to take home.
That's how it is in the market. NPCs like Song Yunshen's grandfather, who only appear occasionally, are non-fixed. They look like ordinary old men, but you have no idea how many houses they actually own.
He could easily live comfortably on rent alone, but even at his age, he still likes to find things to do; otherwise, he feels restless.
"Your grandfather doesn't seem to be here today," Xia Jinshu said after looking around.
"Yeah, that's just how he is, always appearing and disappearing without a trace. You'll get used to it." Song Yunshen stretched and took the groceries Xia Jinshu had just bought. "But he asked my uncle to tell me when I'd like to take you to the fishpond."
"Huh? Me?" Xia Jinshu was taken aback for a moment, then hesitated before saying, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" "What's inappropriate about it?" Song Yunshen smiled. "Although we haven't known each other for very long, we're still friends, right? Isn't it normal to bring a friend out?"
A friend...?
Before Song Yunshen uttered that word, Xia Jinshu had never really thought about this question.
For her, becoming Song Yunshen's tutor was partly for the salary, and partly because she was worried about her sister's love life, so she came to test Song Yunshen's character.
When did they become friends?
Xia Jinshu didn't understand.
"Friend?"
Doesn't that count?
Xia Jinshu shook her head. "I don't know."
She has very few friends.
Although she wasn't completely friendless like Xia Yunuo, at school, only her Zhuang Lujun was someone she often spent time with and played with.
Most of the other classmates were just casual acquaintances. Zhuang Lujun, the only close friend, was someone the other person took the initiative to approach. They naturally became friends after spending a lot of time together at school.
But Song Yunshen?
They've only known each other for a little over two weeks, and have met only a handful of times.
Xia Jinshu wasn't sure if they could really be considered friends.
"Why worry so much?" Song Yunshen waved his hand dismissively. "Even if you don't think it's a big deal yet, just come with me to the fishpond once, and that'll make it count."
Xia Jinshu pursed her lips, finding his somewhat shameless behavior amusing, like watching a child fooling around.
But when she thought about the diary entries she had seen last night, her heart softened unconsciously, and she suddenly wanted to fulfill Song Yunshen's wish.
So, almost as if possessed, she blurted out, "Okay, let's go then."
She was stunned for a moment after saying that.
Song Yunshen was also surprised that Xia Jinshu would agree. He looked at her with some astonishment, then laughed, "You said it yourself, don't go back on your word. As a teacher, you should set a good example and not corrupt my student."
Having already said it, Xia Jinshu realized her mistake and didn't intend to take it back. She just smiled helplessly and said, "Then you'll have to choose a suitable time so you don't miss class."
"Okay, okay," Song Yunshen agreed, thinking to himself that Mama Xia was really nosy. Couldn't she skip a day of class and go play at the fishpond instead? Why would he be dating Xia Jinshu Shu seven years later?
Could it be that deep down I'm actually a masochist? Do I just enjoy being controlled?
No, no, you can't think like that.
It's mainly because Xia Jinshu is beautiful.
Yes! That must be it!
After convincing himself again, Song Yunshen carried the groceries and took Xia Jinshu back to the electric scooter, driving her home safely.
After entering the house, Xia Jinshu, wearing beige slippers, went into the kitchen to prepare the ingredients.
Song Yunshen returned to his study and obediently followed Mama Xia's instructions, first reviewing the memorization assignment given yesterday before class.
However, before that, Song Yunshen took out his phone to check his messages and saw a barrage of messages from Xia Kening.
[ Xia Kening ]: Oh my god!
[ Xia Kening ]: You'd never guess who the math teacher is who my mom signed me up for!
[ Xia Kening ]: Oh my god, I'm really impressed. I thought I could slack off in class, but now I don't have that chance anymore. [ Xia Kening ]: Guess who the teacher is?
[ Xia Kening ]: Where is everyone?
[ Xia Kening ]: Xia Yunuo is giving your sister a lesson, and you're just sitting next to her, not even checking your phone?
[ Xia Kening ]: Reply to me!
[ Xia Kening ]: Aaaaaaaah!
This news came around 1:00 AM.
Around 2 PM, probably during the break between classes, another series of messages came in.
[ Xia Kening ]: It's Teacher Ruan!
[ Xia Kening ]: That's your aunt.
[ Xia Kening ]: Why did my mom sign me up for a math class that happens to be my homeroom teacher's class?
[ Xia Kening ]: I also asked Teacher Ruan, and she said she didn't know either. Because she was afraid of being reported, she didn't promote it in the parents' circle. Even the matter of accepting students was handled by your uncle.
[ Xia Kening ]: It's all your fault! You did too well on my final exam. Now Teacher Ruan is starting to doubt me. The test paper I did today was so hard. It's past 3 PM now.
[ Xia Kening ]: Class dismissed!
[ Xia Kening ]: If you don't reply to me, I'm going to come to your house!
[ Xia Kening ]: Hurry up and reply to me!
Looking at the screen full of messages, Song Yunshen shook his head with a wry smile.
[ Song Yunshen ]: Did you see my WeChat Moments a while ago? I remember posting an ad for a tutoring center.
[ Xia Kening ]: Huh? Really?
[ Song Yunshen ]: That advertisement is for my aunt's tutoring class. I guess your mom saw it and enrolled you.
[ Xia Kening ]: So this is all your fault? Turns out you're the real culprit!
[ Song Yunshen ]: Your mom probably wanted to enroll you in a class anyway, even if it wasn't with my aunt, it would have been with someone else. Isn't this good?
[ Xia Kening ]: What a load of rubbish! Teacher Ruan said she has high hopes for me. There are only ten people in the class to begin with, and now she's giving me special attention. My whole summer vacation is going to be miserable!
[ Song Yunshen ]: Study hard and try to improve your math score. Don't forget we have a bet, isn't that perfect? If you slack off, I'll be waiting for you to call me dad. [ Xia Kening ]: Pah! Dream on! You just wait!
After chatting with Xia Kening for a while and calming down his usually irritable but obedient daughter, Song Yunshen ended the casual conversation and began reviewing vocabulary in preparation for Mama Xia's surprise check.