When her sister asked, Xia Yunuo felt a little guilty at first and wanted to shake her head and deny it.
But then she thought that, since Xia Jinshu had asked the question, she most likely had some solid evidence, so she could only ask in return, "How did you know, sis?"
"I happened to see you at lunch," Xia Jinshu made up.
Of course, she hadn't actually seen her. With so many people in the cafeteria, how could it be so easy to spot Xia Yunuo?
But Xia Yunuo couldn't refute her if she put it that way.
After all, it was true.
"Um..." Xia Yunuo lowered her head and explained quietly, "I agreed to go over the English final exam paper with him, so he insisted on treating me to a meal. I didn't want to at first, but he ordered the food before I could say anything and shoved the tray into my arms. There was nothing I could do."
It was all Song Yunshen's fault, anyway.
Xia Yunuo felt that she was innocent.
Even when she took the initiative to buy Song Yunshen iced black tea afterward, it was only so she wouldn't owe him a favor.
There was nothing more to it.
But her sister probably didn't know she'd bought the iced black tea, so Xia Yunuo certainly wasn't going to mention it.
Of course, Xia Jinshu wouldn't bring it up either. After all, she could claim she'd happened to see them eating together in the cafeteria, but if she also mentioned the iced black tea Xia Yunuo had given him in the classroom, it would sound a little like she'd been deliberately spying on her.
Even so, Xia Jinshu was a little worried.
After all, she hadn't really interacted with Song Yunshen yet and didn't know what he was truly like.
Fortunately, she could still get an indirect sense of Song Yunshen's nature from his diary and roughly infer what kind of person he was.
At least he probably wouldn't do anything to hurt her younger sister.
As for what he was really like, she would have to meet Song Yunshen tomorrow and learn more about him afterward, perhaps even after becoming his tutor, before she could determine whether he was actually right for her sister.
"If you really do like him, you have to tell me," Xia Jinshu said at last, after turning it over in her mind.
"I don't!" Xia Yunuo immediately shook her head in denial, keeping it lowered so her sister couldn't see her face. "Sis, can you stop thinking so much? We just had a meal together, that's all. It's not what you think!"
"I'm only worried about you." Xia Jinshu's tone softened. She stood up, walked behind Xia Yunuo, and picked up the hair dryer to dry her hair. "Your grades still aren't consistent. You'll only have a chance to compete for a spot at Lan River University if you can make it into the top hundred."
"I know..." Xia Yunuo's voice grew subdued as she answered quietly.
She didn't have those kinds of feelings for Song Yunshen in the first place. It was just, just... it was all those inner thoughts' fault!
If she couldn't hear Song Yunshen's inner thoughts, how could there be so much trouble?
Xia Yunuo had found the root cause, neatly cleared herself of blame, and once again found a reason to convince herself.
"All right, I'm going to take a shower." After drying her sister's hair, Xia Jinshu picked up a change of clothes and went into the bathroom.
Strictly speaking, she didn't need to wash her hair today, but when she thought about meeting her employer tomorrow, Xia Jinshu considered it and decided to wash her long hair anyway.
After showering, she returned to the bedroom and dried her hair. Just as she was getting ready for bed, she heard the door open outside.
Xia Jinshu told Xia Yunuo to go to bed early, then got up and went out of the bedroom to greet Yan Zhenxia, who had just come home.
"Mom, you're home pretty early today?" Xia Jinshu went over to help put her bag away and asked with concern.
"Mm... I've been staying up too long on the night shift these past few days, so I asked the team leader to let me come home early and rest." Looking quite haggard, Yan Zhenxia forced a smile. "You should get to bed early too. You have school tomorrow."
"It's all self-study tomorrow morning, so I'm in no hurry." Xia Jinshu shook her head and pulled Yan Zhenxia down to sit beside the bed in the living room. "I still need to discuss the tutoring job with you."
"Oh, right. Have you spoken with them yet?" Yan Zhenxia asked with concern.
"We're meeting at noon tomorrow, so I'll know the outcome then," Xia Jinshu said. "I'll discuss having both sides' parents meet with him. Once we sign a contract, I can start tutoring."
"Mm..." Yan Zhenxia nodded lightly, then asked, "What grade is the student in? Elementary or middle school?"
"Uh..." Xia Jinshu blinked, feeling a little guilty. "First year of high school."
"First year of high school?" Yan Zhenxia frowned. "Aren't you only in your second year? Can you teach him well?"
"No problem." Xia Jinshu's expression turned serious. "His English grades are a little poor, and I've already memorized all the high school vocabulary. Teaching him is well within my abilities."
"You can judge that for yourself." Yan Zhenxia didn't know much about it either, so she could only continue asking, "Where does he live? What's his name? And how long will each lesson be?"
"Where he lives... I really don't know." Xia Jinshu hadn't asked about that. She scratched her head, then added, "As for his name, he's called Song Yunshen. You probably don't know him, Mom. The lessons will probably be an hour a day."
Xia Jinshu had read Song Yunshen's diary before and knew his monthly budget was about three thousand yuan.
By that calculation, an hour a day was just right.
But when Xia Jinshu said Song Yunshen's name, she didn't notice Yan Zhenxia, sitting beside her, freeze instantly.
She was somewhat embarrassed and at a loss, her hands instinctively clutching the hem of her clothes, as though she couldn't bear to face her daughter.
"Wh-what did you say his name was?"
"Song Yunshen."
"Which characters? It's quite a nice-sounding name." Yan Zhenxia did her best to conceal her purpose as she asked quietly.
"Song as in the Song dynasty, Yun as in cloud, and Shen as in depth," Xia Jinshu answered simply, without thinking much of it.
At that, Yan Zhenxia fell even more silent.
After a long silence, she finally said, "Xiao Shu."
"Mm?"
"When do you think you'll be able to sign the contract?"
"If all goes well, tomorrow or the day after? Otherwise, we'll have to wait until next weekend." Xia Jinshu counted on her fingers as she worked it out.
"Mm..." Yan Zhenxia nodded lightly, then said softly, "Once you've signed the contract, bring it home for Mom to have a look. I'll probably have to work overtime for a while, so I won't have much time to go with you to meet his parents."
"Oh, that." Xia Jinshu was taken aback for a moment, then immediately smiled. "It's all right. I'm grown up now, Mom, so you just take care of your work. I can handle it myself."
Looking at Xia Jinshu's sensible expression, Yan Zhenxia's own grew even more grave.
She didn't want her daughter to find out that Song Yunshen was their landlord's son.
A high school student working part-time as a tutor was already less than ideal. If her daughter learned that the person she was earning money from was their landlord's son, would she feel inferior again?
But the job really was quite suitable for her daughter, especially if the student was Song Yunshen...
After all, their landlord, Song Mingyuan, had always looked after their family, and Yan Zhenxia felt reassured about the character of his family.
But Yan Zhenxia still silently clenched her fists, feeling a tightness in her chest.
"Get some rest early, Mom. I'm going to bed too." Xia Jinshu, however, was very happy at that moment, feeling that she had taken another solid step toward becoming a real adult. "Once I get paid, I'll pay next month's rent~"