Monday, June 23.
At six in the morning, Song Yunshen got up early for once, climbing out of bed as soon as his alarm went off.
Yawning, he washed up and changed into his blue-and-white school uniform. After making sure the reply he had written the night before was in his schoolbag, he slung the bag over his shoulder and prepared to go downstairs.
But as soon as he opened the door, someone came out of the apartment opposite.
"Oh, Yunshen." The middle-aged man, dressed in pink pajamas, yawned and greeted Song Yunshen.
"Uncle, you're up early too." Song Yunshen pressed the elevator button.
Every apartment in their building was 160 square meters, with two elevators serving two apartments per floor. His uncle's family lived right across the hall.
Zhao Zeheng, now thirty-one, scratched his somewhat messy hair and walked over with a grin. He ruffled Song Yunshen's hair. "As if I'd get up early. I haven't even gone to bed yet."
"Didn't Auntie scold you? You pulled another all-nighter." Looking helpless, Song Yunshen pushed his uncle's hand away.
"How could your aunt bear to scold me?" Zhao Zeheng snorted. "At home, if I say one, would she dare say two?"
"Let me tell you, Yunshen, when you look for a wife someday, you need to find someone obedient and sensible."
"You need to be the one in charge at home and have the final say. Understand?"
Song Yunshen said nothing, merely looking behind Zhao Zeheng.
Zhao Zeheng had been speaking with gusto, but when he noticed something was off about his nephew's gaze, he immediately changed his tune and continued:
"Of course, a family can't be a one-man show. Most of the time, husband and wife need to discuss things and communicate."
"A wife's opinion is important too. We can't just insist on having our own way."
"Good morning, Auntie." Song Yunshen chuckled and greeted Ruan Zheng behind Zhao Zeheng.
"Mm, good morning." Ruan Zheng smiled faintly, her fingers already pinching Zhao Zeheng's lower back. "You're quite right. Why don't you say a little more?"
"Ahem... the elevator's here, the elevator's here." Zhao Zeheng hurriedly caught his wife's hand and drew Ruan Zheng into his arms with a beaming smile. "Come on, Yunshen, come have breakfast with us."
"Auntie, are you up this early too?" Song Yunshen asked curiously as he followed them into the elevator.
"It's Monday. We have the flag-raising ceremony," Ruan Zheng said.
She was a homeroom teacher, so she had to get to her classroom early that morning.
"Oh, right." Song Yunshen nodded in understanding and followed his uncle and aunt to the breakfast shop at the entrance to their residential complex. He ordered a few things he liked, then sat down with them at the same table.
At that moment, Song Yunshen suddenly remembered Xia Kening, whom he had met yesterday. He looked at Ruan Zheng and asked curiously, "Auntie, is there a girl named Xia Kening in your class?"
"Hm?" Hearing the word "girl," Zhao Zeheng immediately perked up. Then he put on a stern face and said, "Yunshen, I'm not actually against you dating in high school, but you can't go setting your sights on a middle school girl."
Ruan Zheng glanced at her husband, then said, "Yes, there is. What about her?"
Song Yunshen rolled his eyes at his unreliable uncle and continued, "She's our tenant. Her family seems to be having a hard time. She had to put off this month's rent until next month."
"Which apartment is she renting?" Zhao Zeheng asked, counting on his fingers. "Waterside Homes? Or the one next to New World? Or the place in CBC? Oh, right, there's one in the East District too..."
"The one in the East District," Song Yunshen said.
"This is the first I've heard of it," Ruan Zheng said. "She seems perfectly normal at school. Aside from being a bit competitive, there's no sign that her family is poor."
"Is that so?" Song Yunshen had only brought it up to make conversation, so he didn't ask anything more.
But competitive?
Hmm... she was a little stubborn, all right. I gave her a cup, and she insisted on transferring me two and a half yuan.
Looks like Xia Kening's personality really is completely different from her cute appearance.
"I quite like her," Ruan Zheng said with a smile. "It would be even better if she argued with the boys less."
"That happens?" Song Yunshen raised an eyebrow.
Ruan Zheng went on to share some amusing incidents involving Xia Kening at school.
Before long, they finished breakfast.
Song Yunshen said goodbye and prepared to leave. Just before he left, Zhao Zeheng called out to him, "Come over for dinner Saturday night. Tell your dad too."
"OK," Song Yunshen answered, then rode his bicycle to school.
When he entered the school gates, he didn't go straight to his classroom. Instead, he went to the English Club's activity room first and left his reply on the bookcase.
After reaching the classroom, Song Yunshen walked to his seat, his gaze drifting unconsciously to Xia Yunuo's profile.
The girl's profile was framed by the morning sunlight, a small, faint beauty mark beneath her eye perfectly accenting the delicate contours of her oval face. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, revealing a slender, beautiful neck that made it hard to look away.
The next second, Song Yunshen heard a voice.
Where can I find someone looking for a tutor?
Xia Yunuo's voice rang out in his mind, making Song Yunshen pause.
Why does Xia Yunuo want to be a tutor too?
The question popped into Song Yunshen's mind. Then he imagined Xia Yunuo coming to tutor him over the summer vacation, but quickly shook his head.
Although Xia Yunuo's grades were fairly good, she ranked somewhere above a hundred in their year.
English was one of her strong subjects, but she couldn't reliably make the top fifty in the year for that subject alone.
Sometimes she did, sometimes she didn't, so she might not meet his dad's requirements.
Besides, Song Yunshen already had his sights set on Xia Jinshu.
She had come first in the year on the midterm exams, after all.
If he was going to hire a tutor, Xia Jinshu was the better value.
Besides, Xia Jinshu was his girlfriend seven years from now, at any rate.
Although he and Xia Yunuo did have some connection now, they weren't close enough for that yet.
He still didn't know what was going on with this ability to hear her thoughts. It worked one moment and failed the next, completely beyond his control.
But Xia Yunuo's profile really is beautiful, especially that beauty mark. The more I look at it, the more charming it gets.
Song Yunshen couldn't help thinking, and only withdrew his gaze when Xu Zhuoyue came into the classroom and sat down.
He recalled the firsthand information he had gotten from Zhong Long yesterday.
[Xia Yunuo, birthday: January 10, Capricorn]
[Likes vegetables and steamed eggs with meat patty; no record of favorite snacks yet]
[Cold and aloof, a loner with no friends; keeps people a thousand miles away and has rejected confessions multiple times]
[Exam ranking consistently between 110 and 130; strongest subjects are Chinese and English]
Come to think of it, he had forgotten to ask Doubao last night how compatible a Capricorn woman and a Libra man were.
Oh, no, he had temporarily banished Doubao to the cold palace. He could find time to ask Little Whale today.
Just as Song Yunshen's mind wandered aimlessly,
Xia Yunuo, sitting in the third row in the middle of the classroom, had been thinking about tutoring, but suddenly turned to glance at Song Yunshen.
Xia Yunuo's profile really is beautiful, especially that beauty mark. The more I look at it, the more charming it gets.
Could this guy really have fallen for me?
Looks like I can't keep asking him math questions. It would be trouble if he got the wrong idea.
Xia Yunuo turned back, her face stern, feeling a little troubled.
Before, it had always been boys from other classes confessing to her. She had simply turned them down.
If a boy from her own class confessed, they would still have to stay in the same classroom after she rejected him. That would be a little awkward.
Even if he was quite handsome, she couldn't possibly agree. Xia Yunuo had no interest in dating at all while she was in high school.
I'd better think about how to find a part-time tutoring job like my older sister.
At least I could help support the family.
As she thought this, the background music for Monday morning's flag-raising ceremony started playing.
Everyone got up and lined up in the hallway.
Once they had assembled in orderly rows on the sports field, the host said a few words and invited the student giving today's speech to come up.
Song Yunshen was in the line, taking Xu Zhuoyue's challenge not to laugh.
When he heard the host say "Xia Jinshu from Class 4, Grade 11," he instinctively turned his gaze toward the flag-raising platform.
It's my sister again. I wish I could get up there sometime too.
Xia Yunuo's voice rang out in his mind.
Song Yunshen's eyes widened as though he had seen something unbelievable.