Song Yunshen had once caught a side view of Xia Jinshu at the English Club.
But she hadn't been particularly close, and he'd only seen her for a moment. It had been no more than a fleeting glimpse.
Now, as the two of them hid in the stairwell, Song Yunshen's gaze fell on Xia Jinshu's face, and he couldn't help looking a little longer.
Her face was different from Xia Kening's cute, rosy cheeks with their hint of baby fat, and from Xia Yunuo's delicate, aloof oval face.
Xia Jinshu's bone structure had a natural touch of heroic bearing, but her features were softer, blending seamlessly with it to create an entirely natural look.
Together with her tall, 1.72-meter frame, not even her bulky school uniform jacket and baggy uniform pants could hide her beauty or figure.
The longer he looked at a face like hers, the more appealing it became.
Xia Jinshu was used to being watched and didn't mind Song Yunshen's gaze.
But the way he kept staring at her left her a little disappointed.
In the end, he's just an ordinary boy, isn't he?
I wonder how Xiao Nuo fell for him.
He can't stop staring when he sees a pretty girl. His self-control is far too ordinary. How could a boy like that be worthy of my sister?
But... Song Yunshen doesn't seem to want Xiao Nuo to see him eating with me either.
Could the two of them really already be in that kind of relationship?
Otherwise, what would Song Yunshen have to hide from?
Couldn't he just explain it?
Oh, no, wait. I think I asked him not to tell anyone I was planning to become a tutor.
So if he can't say anything, Xiao Nuo really could get the wrong idea.
Is he afraid Xiao Nuo will get jealous?
Xia Jinshu blinked, unable to shake the feeling that something was strange about this.
It makes it seem like I'm having an affair with my own brother-in-law.
Pah, pah, pah!
Xia Jinshu hurriedly put a stop to that thought. Her expression turned a little odd, but she immediately composed herself.
Meanwhile, Song Yunshen was thinking too.
He had a reasonable excuse to hide from Xia Yunuo, but why would Xia Jinshu need to hide from her own sister?
Xia Yunuo's inner thoughts had mentioned tutoring before, so she clearly knew her sister was going to be a tutor.
Could it be that Xia Jinshu didn't tell her who she was tutoring?
Was she too embarrassed to say?
Song Yunshen rubbed his chin and thought it over carefully, already forming a few guesses.
"Why don't we wait a little longer?" Xia Jinshu suggested. "Once Xiao... once our classmates have all finished eating, we can go in."
"That'll take a while." Song Yunshen didn't want to waste time waiting around, so he simply suggested, "Let's just go out to eat. Our classmates won't see us that way."
"Huh?" Xia Jinshu was immediately troubled by his suggestion. "Where do you want to eat?"
"How about braised chicken and rice?" Song Yunshen suggested. "There's a place really close to school. My treat-you can give it a try."
Xia Jinshu fell silent, a little tempted. After all, she had already drooled over the braised chicken when she read Song Yunshen's diary yesterday.
But in the end, she shook her head and politely declined. "I... I'd better not. How could I let you pay?"
She really didn't want to owe someone a favor just to satisfy her appetite.
Song Yunshen didn't think much of it and went on, "I have a buy-one-get-one-free coupon. Actually, if I hadn't arranged to eat with you today, I would have gone there already. I was going to spend the money anyway."
That trick might have worked on Xia Yunuo, but Xia Jinshu wasn't buying it.
She gave a quiet huff inwardly, thinking he was actually trying the same trick on her that he had used on her sister.
"What coupon?" Xia Jinshu shook her head. "Don't lie to me."
"Why would I lie to you?" Song Yunshen pulled out his phone, opened Meituan, and gave her a look. "See? A genuine buy-one-get-one-free coupon. You can even add two side dishes."
He really does have one...
Xia Jinshu froze for a moment.
Could it be that what he wrote in his diary about asking his aunt to send him a coupon wasn't just something he wrote on a whim?
Does his aunt work at Meituan?
"Come on, let's go." Song Yunshen smiled, waved Xia Jinshu along, and walked out of the stairwell. "I'm starving."
Seeing that he had already set off, Xia Jinshu had no choice but to hurry after him. But halfway there, she still said softly, "How much is one serving of braised chicken? I'll pay you half."
"Fifteen yuan for a small portion." Song Yunshen glanced at her. "I told you it's my treat. Don't stand on ceremony."
Even half the price was what Xia Jinshu usually spent on three meals.
But Xia Jinshu still gritted her teeth. "No, I'm paying half."
"All right, all right. You can give it to me after we eat." Song Yunshen waved a hand, then his eyes shifted and he pulled out his phone to send his aunt a message.
Earlier, while Song Yunshen was still in the classroom bringing Xia Yunuo potato chips, Zhang Zhidong had already returned to the office.
Song Minggui also got up and called Jiang Wenpei over. He then led the two of them to the school's underground parking lot and drove to the braised chicken and rice shop outside the Tangning New Residence complex.
The braised chicken came out quickly, and the three of them ate quickly too.
They still had to hurry back to school that afternoon to work overtime, grading the final exam papers together.
Zhang Zhidong took the initiative to pay. When he returned to his seat, he said to Song Minggui, "If you find someone suitable for Xia Yunuo to tutor later, don't tell her about the agency fee. I'll pay it."
"Are you sure?" Song Minggui raised an eyebrow. "It's not that much in total. She can just use her tutoring wages to pay it later."
"Her family doesn't have it easy either." Zhang Zhidong shook his head. "At the start of this semester, she submitted an application for financial aid for students in need, but unfortunately it wasn't approved."
"I visited her home to see how things were. Her family's circumstances were right on the cutoff for the aid."
"But some other students at school came from even worse-off families. The available places were all filled before her turn came."
"Now that she's thought of supporting herself, I'll help her however I can."
"Teacher Zhang, you're so kind." Jiang Wenpei, beside them, was moved nearly to tears and couldn't help saying, "How much is the agency fee? Let me pay half too!"
"What's a young girl like you getting involved for?" Zhang Zhidong didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "It's only a few hundred yuan. You'd better save your money for lollipops."
"I want to do my part too. Xia Yunuo is one of my students with especially good English grades," Jiang Wenpei said with righteous conviction.
"All right, all right. You can contribute a hundred yuan too."
"Yay!"
Song Minggui shook his head helplessly. "We don't even know if there's anyone suitable yet."
"We can talk about that when the time comes." Jiang Wenpei grinned. "Teacher Song talks tough but has a soft heart. When the time comes, you'll definitely do everything you can to find someone suitable."
"You and your big mouth."
The three of them got up and left after finishing their meal, then got into Song Minggui's car by the roadside.
But just as Song Minggui started the car and prepared to leave, Jiang Wenpei suddenly leaned against the rear window and said, "Huh? Isn't that Song Yunshen? Who's the girl next to him?"