After printing out the contract at the convenience store by the residential complex entrance, Song Yunshen left with Xia Jinshu and brought her to the entrance of Tangning New Residence West District.
Following behind him, Xia Jinshu turned to look at the East District entrance diagonally across the road, then turned back.
So Song Yunshen lived in the West District.
She pursed her lips, recalling the layout map of Tangning New Residence she had seen at the property management office.
More than a decade ago, this complex had been a place called Tangning Village. After the area was cleared for redevelopment, the complex was built on the same site and renamed Tangning New Residence.
She wondered whether Song Yunshen's family were locals whose home had been demolished for redevelopment, or whether they had bought a place here afterward.
After all, Ningjiang District had been developing quite well in recent years. Tangning New Residence was close to Ningjiang Middle School, and its housing prices were much cheaper than those in downtown Linhang City, so quite a few people were willing to buy homes here.
The East District, where Xia Jinshu and her family lived, consisted mainly of fifty-square-meter one-bedroom apartments and eighty-square-meter two-bedroom apartments.
The West District, which Song Yunshen was now leading her into, consisted mostly of large, single-story apartments of 120 and 160 square meters.
"Actually, there's another entrance to the complex if you turn right from the braised chicken place where we ate," Song Yunshen said. "I live in Building 24, so it's a little closer through that entrance."
"But we still had to print the contract, so I brought you through this one."
"When you leave later, I'll walk you out through the other entrance too, so you can get familiar with the route."
"It's all right." Xia Jinshu shook her head and politely declined. "I can leave on my own later. The route isn't hard to remember."
"We can talk about it later, then." Song Yunshen smiled. "This way. We're almost there."
He had figured it out: although Xia Jinshu and Xia Yunuo had different personalities, their instinctive reluctance to trouble others really did make them look as if they had been carved from the same mold.
They really were sisters, all right.
Song Yunshen led Xia Jinshu into the elevator lobby of Building 24 and took the elevator up to the top floor, the eighteenth. At his door, he glanced at the camera on the lock, and the door opened automatically.
"You can leave your shoes outside." Song Yunshen took off his shoes, stepped onto the mat by the door, and went inside to put on his slippers. Then he took out a pair of guest slippers and offered them to Xia Jinshu.
"Okay." Xia Jinshu glanced at the creamy white matte floor tiles in Song Yunshen's home, then at the simple yet elegant decor. She immediately lowered her head and obediently changed into the slippers.
"Come in. I'll show you the study." Song Yunshen invited her inside, closed the front door, and turned right into the living room.
Xia Jinshu followed close behind him, her gaze flitting as if jolted by electricity. She glanced at the large solid-wood dining table, then at the luxurious sofa, then at the huge ninety-eight-inch television mounted on the wall, before quickly looking away.
It was as though looking for one second longer would make her accidentally dirty his furniture.
The student ranked first in her grade, who had stood on the flag-raising platform on Monday and shared her study experience with quiet confidence, now looked like a startled little rabbit. Both hands clutched the hem of her clothes as she struggled to calm herself.
It's so big...
That was the only thought in Xia Jinshu's mind.
It felt as though Song Yunshen's combined living and dining room alone was considerably larger than her family's entire home.
Listening to Song Yunshen's introduction, Xia Jinshu was too embarrassed to take a closer look and followed him all the way into the study.
"The door beside the TV leads to my study." Song Yunshen pushed the door open and went in. "Celia, Celia, open the study curtains."
"Huh?" Xia Jinshu paused, wondering who Celia was. Could he be asking her to open the curtains?
But the next second, the curtains opened automatically, revealing a wall-wide three-panel sliding glass door behind them.
"My whole home is fitted with smart technology. You can ask Celia to open or turn on the windows, curtains, air conditioning, and lights," Song Yunshen explained. "Celia, Celia, turn on the study lights and set the brightness to seventy percent."
As soon as he finished speaking, the study lights slowly came on, finally settling at a comfortable brightness.
"The color temperature can be adjusted too, but I'll show you that another time." Song Yunshen smiled, walked over to the glass door, and opened the three-panel slider. "The balcony is out here. It connects to the living room balcony."
"When you come to tutor me next week, the two of us will study here in the study."
"You can see if there's anything else you need. I can buy it before next weekend."
"N-no, there's no need. I'm only teaching you English. There's not that much to prepare." Xia Jinshu waved her hands repeatedly and cautiously surveyed the spacious study.
Leaving everything else aside, the study alone was noticeably larger than her family's bedroom. It was exceptionally spacious.
By the entrance to the study, a light-colored solid-wood bookcase covered an entire wall.
Against the wall directly opposite were two solid-wood desks, one of which had a computer on it.
There were two ergonomic chairs, one black and one white, both looking very high-end.
Against the wall to the left of the entrance stood a very large object, covered with black velvet.
Xia Jinshu blinked, then asked softly, "Is this... a piano?"
"Mm." Song Yunshen glanced at the piano in the study, his tone suddenly growing distant. "It's a piano."
"You can play the piano too?" Xia Jinshu was a little surprised, but then thought it was perfectly normal.
After all, it was quite common for someone from a family like Song Yunshen's to learn the piano as a child.
But Song Yunshen shook his head and said flatly, "I can't."
With that, he dropped the subject, pulled out two chairs, and invited Xia Jinshu to sit down.
"Let's take another look at the contract. If there aren't any problems, we can sign it."
"Okay."
While they were at the convenience store, Xia Jinshu had already sent the contract to Yan Zhenxia to look over.
Yan Zhenxia had found time to read it and thought there were no problems.
So Xia Jinshu had no intention of delaying things any longer than necessary. The sooner they signed the contract, the better.
"By the way, don't I need to meet your family?" Seeing that she was ready to sign, Song Yunshen couldn't help asking, "My dad left the whole decision up to me. What about your side?"
"I showed my mom the contract just now," Xia Jinshu said earnestly. "We can sign it now. There's no problem."
"All right, then." Relieved, Song Yunshen signed both copies of the contract. "There are two copies. Keep this one safe."
"Okay." Xia Jinshu finished signing as well. Once she had her copy of the contract, the little stone that had been hanging in her heart finally settled safely at the bottom.
Three thousand a month...
Come on!
Xia Jinshu, you can do this!
"Then I'll be counting on your guidance this summer vacation, Teacher Xia." Song Yunshen smiled and held out his hand.
"Mm, I should be the one saying that... I haven't done this before either, so please bear with me." Xia Jinshu hesitantly held out her hand. When Song Yunshen only gave her fingertips a gentle squeeze before letting go, her favorable impression of him grew a little stronger.
Still, Song Yunshen's fingertips were so warm.
Were boys' hands all like that?