Looking at the latest diary entry, Song Yunshen rubbed his chin and thought it over carefully.
2032...
That was seven years away, too.
So I have to wait seven years before I start dating?
Wouldn't I have graduated from college by then?
Song Yunshen had thought that he and Xia Jinshu would secretly develop feelings for each other in high school, then fly off together as a pair once they reached college.
As it turned out, the two of them wouldn't truly become involved until that distant future.
And judging by the diary entry, the two of them were probably still only in the ambiguous stage at that point, not officially a couple.
He would get divorced in 2036, four years after that.
In a mere four years, he would go through six stages: dating, breaking up, going on blind dates, getting married, cheating, and getting divorced.
What a series of ups and downs...
But he actually had to stay single for another seven years.
Song Yunshen scratched his head. He really hadn't expected that.
But it didn't matter. He hadn't been all that interested in dating during high school anyway, so he might as well stay single.
After reading the Future Diary, Song Yunshen took out his own diary, turned to the latest page, and began writing today's entry.
Meanwhile, after school, Xia Jinshu packed her schoolbag with Zhuang Lujun, her deskmate and close friend, and the two left the classroom together.
She didn't go looking for Xia Yunuo.
Her younger sister was used to keeping to herself at school and didn't much like Xia Jinshu coming to find her.
Apart from going to the library together to do homework on Saturdays, the two of them had little contact at school.
"Xiao Shu~ do you have any plans for summer vacation?" Zhuang Lujun asked curiously.
"Not really." Xia Jinshu shook her head, unwilling to tell her classmate that she was thinking of getting a part-time job. "Why do you ask?"
"No particular reason." Zhuang Lujun said expectantly, "I'm going to the beach over summer vacation. Do you want to come, Xiao Shu?"
"I'll pass." Xia Jinshu politely declined. "I need to study hard over summer vacation too, so I won't be going on any trips."
"All right~" Zhuang Lujun sighed regretfully. "Xiao Shu, you're practically an ascetic. It feels like you hardly ever do anything for fun."
"Studying is interesting too." Xia Jinshu smiled faintly.
Zhuang Lujun: "..."
After saying goodbye to Zhuang Lujun at the school gate and watching her get picked up by a parent in a car, Xia Jinshu sighed softly.
Her deskmate's family was well-off. Watching her order whatever she wanted at meals every day, buy snacks and drinks whenever she liked, and occasionally even sneakily order milk tea to school, Xia Jinshu couldn't possibly say she wasn't envious.
But she knew very well that their mother had already given them the best she could.
So Xia Jinshu didn't want more snacks or drinks. She only hoped to keep her grades up, get into a good university, find a good job, and properly repay her mother by helping ease the family's financial burden.
So that her mother wouldn't have to work so hard anymore.
Thinking about these things, Xia Jinshu walked slowly home.
By the time she got to the bedroom, Xia Yunuo had already picked up her pajamas and was getting ready to shower in the bathroom.
"Xiao Nuo, remember to put your clothes aside properly. I'll wash them later," Xia Jinshu said to her younger sister.
"Mm." Xia Yunuo nodded. "I just mopped the floor."
"Thanks for your hard work."
The first-year teaching building was closer to the school gate, and Xia Yunuo walked quickly on her own, so she had time to do some housework after getting home.
The fifty-square-meter apartment wasn't big, so by the time Xia Jinshu got home, Xia Yunuo had already finished cleaning.
To take more of the burden off their mother, the two of them usually handled all the housework.
That way, their mother wouldn't have to keep busy looking after them when she came home from work.
Now, while her sister was in the shower, Xia Jinshu hurried over to the desk, sat down, and took out the diary.
She turned to the latest page. As expected, a new entry had appeared that evening.
[Sunday, June 22, 2025] [Daily mention: Xia Yunuo called me handsome again. When I was teaching her a math problem, I kept feeling like she was stealing glances at my face]
Could Xiao Nuo really have fallen for him?
Reading this, Xia Jinshu pondered the matter, but she couldn't very well ask Xia Yunuo directly.
After all, she had no plans to show the diary to her family for the time being.
Given how little contact the two of them had at school, she really shouldn't have known so much about what went on in Xia Yunuo's classroom.
Oh, well. Xiao Nuo's old enough to start dating, after all.
Hopefully it won't interfere with her studies.
Xia Jinshu knew her younger sister well. With her personality, there was no stopping her.
So Xia Jinshu reconsidered and decided she should start with Song Yunshen. At the very least, she had to get to know him first and see what sort of person he was.
She couldn't let her sister get hurt.
With that thought, Xia Jinshu continued reading.
[I got a reply today. It looks like she really is open to working part-time as a tutor] [I just don't know whether she'd be willing to be my tutor] [Hmm... people from poor families tend to have a lot of pride. I need to think carefully about how to talk to her from here on without upsetting her] [Speaking of which, how much should I pay her?] [I'll look it up when I have time. The going rate for one-on-one tutoring seems to be one or two hundred yuan an hour] [Final exams are next Wednesday, but Dad replaced my allowance with rent, so I barely have any motivation to study] [Sigh... who knows when I'll have saved enough to buy a new computer]
After reading the entry, Xia Jinshu fell into thought. Her heart beat a little faster, and she felt tempted.
Who says people from poor families all have a lot of pride?
Xia Jinshu gently bit her lower lip, then pressed her lips together.
If I can earn one or two hundred yuan an hour, who needs pride?
The most important thing was helping ease the burden on her mother.
If it was a hundred yuan an hour, Xia Jinshu could teach him for ten hours a day, which would make a thousand yuan a day.
Wouldn't that be thirty thousand yuan a month?!
Of course, that definitely wasn't how the math worked.
Even so, Xia Jinshu's heart fluttered, and she thought it was worth a try.
Right now, she wished she could find Song Yunshen immediately and settle the matter.
But she couldn't tell him about the diary, so Xia Jinshu held back the impulse, quietly put the diary away, and locked it in the drawer.
I'll wait until tomorrow and see Song Yunshen's reply first.
There were still two weeks before summer vacation. There was no rush, no rush.
Having sorted out her thoughts, Xia Jinshu composed herself, took out her textbooks, and began reviewing.
When Xia Yunuo came into the room after her shower, Xia Jinshu got up to shower, taking the dirty clothes they had changed out of to the washing machine along the way.
After her shower, Xia Jinshu went to the kitchen to pour herself some water. She suddenly noticed an extra cup in the house and couldn't help looking puzzled.
"Xiao Nuo," Xia Jinshu said, bringing the new cup into the bedroom. "Where did this cup come from?"
"Ningning bought it, I think."
"Why did she buy a new cup?"
"I think she said the landlord came over to fix the water heater, and we didn't have a cup ready for guests, so she went and bought one."
"Huh? The landlord came over?"
"Mm, yesterday afternoon, while we were at the library."
"Oh, I see." Xia Jinshu didn't think much of it and put the cup back.
But when she returned to the kitchen and saw the packaging in the trash can, a sudden impulse struck her, and she bent down to pick it up.
The trash bag was a plastic supermarket shopping bag that had only been put in that afternoon. There was nothing in it besides the cup's packaging, so it was very clean.
Xia Jinshu spread out the packaging and looked at the promotional label still attached to it: [Couples' cups, buy one get one free]. For a moment, she fell into thought.
What on earth is going on?
Why have both of my younger sisters secretly started dating without telling me?
Xiao Nuo was one thing; there were only a few signs of it so far.
Ningning was only in her second year of middle school!
Which bastard was it who stole her away?!