As far as Xia Jinshu could remember, she had never walked down the road with a boy her own age like this before.
On their way out of the school, most of the boys who knew her and happened to see them had looked surprised.
They were probably shocked to see her walking side by side with a boy.
But Xiao Nuo wasn't usually much of a gossip. Unless she went out of her way to ask around, news like this probably wouldn't reach her ears.
That thought put Xia Jinshu much more at ease. She followed Song Yunshen out of the school gates and headed toward the Tangning New Residence.
On his way out of school, Song Yunshen had stopped by the bicycle shed to collect his bike.
But his bike had no rear seat, so he had to push it with both hands and walk to their destination with Xia Jinshu.
Of course, Song Yunshen could guess that even if his bike had a rear seat, Xia Jinshu would probably have politely declined.
"Is the braised chicken and rice restaurant this way?" Xia Jinshu hadn't given it much thought at first, but as they drew closer to her home, she couldn't help growing curious.
"Yeah, it's just around the corner up ahead." Song Yunshen pointed toward the intersection. "It's really close to school, just two intersections away. I live in this residential complex."
"Huh?" Xia Jinshu blinked. "The Tangning New Residence?"
"You know it?" Song Yunshen raised an eyebrow.
"Mm..." Xia Jinshu nodded gently, but didn't mention that she lived there too.
She turned to look at Song Yunshen, her gaze drifting to his profile before she hurriedly looked away.
No, no, I can't keep looking.
It'll be embarrassing if he catches me.
This is all Xiao Nuo's fault.
She kept saying she didn't like Song Yunshen and that he was only average-looking.
Now the gap between what I expected and what I saw is so big that I think Song Yunshen is unbelievably handsome instead.
He's clearly about as handsome as some of the boys at school who've confessed to me...
No wonder Xiao Nuo is so smitten with him.
Xia Jinshu sighed inwardly and decided to observe Song Yunshen up close.
If they could come to an agreement about the tutoring later, she would have the entire summer vacation to scrutinize Song Yunshen's character.
If she discovered that Song Yunshen was bad at heart, then no matter how much her younger sister liked him, Xia Jinshu would find a way to stop her.
With these thoughts in a jumble in her head, Xia Jinshu wasn't paying attention for a moment and walked straight toward the crosswalk at the intersection.
The next second, she felt someone tug her wrist.
"Hey, you've gone too far." Song Yunshen had only given her sleeve a gentle tug through her school uniform jacket before immediately releasing her with a polite gesture. "Besides, the light's red. Don't space out while you're walking. It's dangerous."
Startled, Xia Jinshu came back to her senses and realized she had stepped onto the crosswalk. She hurriedly took two steps back.
"S-sorry."
"It's okay." Song Yunshen shook his head and turned the corner with his bike, heading toward the braised chicken and rice restaurant. "We're almost there."
By now, Xia Jinshu knew which restaurant Song Yunshen had been talking about.
When she got up at six in the morning to go to school, the restaurant wasn't open yet, but whenever she passed it on her way home after school ended at nine thirty each night, she could always smell the meat wafting out.
She hadn't expected to get a chance to eat there today.
"Let's go in." Song Yunshen parked his bike by the door and led Xia Jinshu inside.
By the roadside.
Jiang Wenpei leaned against the car window, watching what was happening over there without blinking, her eyes blazing with the excitement of a juicy piece of gossip.
"Did you see that? Did you see that?" Jiang Wenpei said excitedly. "Which girl is Song Yunshen on a date with?"
Disturbed by the commotion, Zhang Zhidong turned from the front passenger seat and saw Song Yunshen and a tall girl from behind.
Song Minggui was in the driver's seat, and Zhang Zhidong blocked most of his view. By the time he leaned forward to look, the two had already entered the restaurant.
"Xia Yunuo?" Song Minggui asked with a frown. "Teacher Zhang, shouldn't you do something about this? If a premature romance affects their grades, it'll be too late."
"I know what I'm doing." Zhang Zhidong's expression was calm. Then he added, "Besides, I don't think that girl was Xia Yunuo."
"Right." Jiang Wenpei nodded repeatedly from the back seat. "I didn't get a good look at her face, but Xia Yunuo isn't that tall. The top of her head only reaches Song Yunshen's shoulder at most, but that girl just now came nearly up to the tip of his nose."
"Then who else could it be?" Song Minggui looked impatient.
That little brat has even learned to chase flowers and pluck grass?
One girl in his class isn't enough, so he's gone and hooked up with another?
"Speaking of which." Something suddenly occurred to Jiang Wenpei, and she asked cautiously, "Could Song Yunshen be standing in two boats at once?"
Song Minggui: "..."
Zhang Zhidong: "..."
"Come on, let's get back to school." The corner of Song Minggui's eye twitched as he started the car.
"Don't!" Jiang Wenpei hurriedly leaned forward. "Don't rush, Teacher Song! Let's wait a little and see who that girl is first."
"What's there to see?" Song Minggui looked at a loss for words. "Are we supposed to spy on them?"
"We'll just wait in the car for a bit." Jiang Wenpei chuckled. "We're concerned about our student's mental health, too."
"What do you say, Teacher Zhang?" Song Minggui ignored her and turned to Zhang Zhidong.
"Let's wait a little." Zhang Zhidong adjusted his glasses. A crescent moon seemed to flicker in and out of sight on his dark forehead, shining with wisdom. "I can't shake the feeling that the girl looks familiar."
"All right." Unable to do anything about the two of them, Song Minggui turned off the engine, left the air conditioning running, and sighed. "Let me know when they come out."
"Yay!"
Song Yunshen still had no idea he was receiving the loving attention of three core-subject teachers.
He led Xia Jinshu into the restaurant and ordered two portions of braised chicken at the counter, letting her choose her own side dishes.
Afterward, the two found seats near the air conditioner.
"The tutoring arrangement was already laid out clearly in the letter." Song Yunshen took out his phone, pulled up the contract he had specifically asked Doubao to put together the night before, and handed it to Xia Jinshu. "But it's better to go over it again in person."
"Mm." Xia Jinshu nodded gently and took the phone, reading as she listened to Song Yunshen explain.
"It's actually quite simple. You'll be my tutor over summer vacation. The pay is one hundred yuan an hour, with one hour of lessons a day, which comes to three thousand yuan a month," Song Yunshen said. "Let's confirm the basic terms first. If you're okay with those, we can discuss the rest."
"I'm okay with them." Xia Jinshu nodded vigorously, as though afraid Song Yunshen might change his mind.
"As for the pay, I'll give you the full amount after you've taught for a full month," Song Yunshen said. "Summer vacation starts next Friday, July fourth. How about we start on Monday the seventh?"
"Can't we start on the fifth?" Xia Jinshu blurted out without thinking.
After all, starting a day earlier meant an extra day's pay. It was summer vacation already, so what did weekends matter?
Song Yunshen didn't mind, though he felt a little helpless. He'd thought he could at least get two days of rest.
Forget it. This is fine.
"Then we'll start on July fifth, and I'll pay you for the first time on August fifth," Song Yunshen said. "The next semester happens to start on September fifth, so that's two months in total."
"Mm." Xia Jinshu nodded with some anticipation. The thought of earning six thousand yuan over the summer vacation made her spirits leap.
Just as the two reached a preliminary agreement on the contract, a middle-aged woman with short hair walked into the restaurant. She went straight over to Song Yunshen and threw an arm around his neck.
"You came to eat at my restaurant and didn't even think to say hello?" The short-haired woman laughed as she rubbed Song Yunshen's head, then looked at Xia Jinshu. "Oh? Could she be your girlfriend?"