Riding his bicycle against the night breeze, Song Yunshen returned home and immediately ducked into his bedroom.
He took Xia Jinsu’s reply letter from his backpack, then unlocked his drawer to take out the Future Diary and his own current diary, setting them aside. With solemn care, he placed Xia Jinsu’s reply right in the center of his desk, gently opened the envelope, and pulled out the faintly scented stationery.
Actually, the current Xia Jinsu’s handwriting and writing habits were still slightly different from those in the Future Diary. Compared to the more casual yet mature flair in the Future Diary, the handwriting in this reply was much neater and more deliberate. It was obvious that Xia Jinsu had been exceptionally careful when writing this letter.
But precisely because of this, the reply carried a slight sense of immaturity. Compared to the Xia Jinsu of seven or even eleven years later, the present her was still just a sophomore in high school.
As he began to read the reply, the graceful and gentle handwriting met Song Yunshen’s eyes.
"Hello, classmate.
"Thank you so much for your suggestion. Afterward, I had a detailed chat with my mother and got her preliminary approval.
"As for my grades, please don’t worry. Although Ningjiang Middle School only ranks in the top five in the city, being in the top ten of the school’s grade level should be respectable enough. English, in particular, is my strong suit.
"If you have a suitable recommendation, please make sure to pass it on to me. I will definitely give it my absolute all and treat this job with one hundred percent seriousness.
"Of course, my mother also mentioned that she wants to understand the specific situation in more detail. I hope you can understand.
"Thank you again for your willingness to lend a helping hand. I look forward to your reply.
"Class 4, Grade 11, Xia Jinsu."
Song Yunshen read the reply, an unsurprised expression settling on his face. Everything was essentially within his expectations. After all, Xia Jinsu was in desperate need of tutoring opportunities, and he just so happened to be able to provide one. With such a tailored approach, why worry about his future girlfriend not taking the bait?
But upon reading to the end, Song Yunshen couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, the corners of his lips curving upward slightly.
He was amused that she had actually signed her name.
In her first letter, because Xia Jinsu was just doing her routine drop-off at the English Club to practice grammar and assumed Teacher Jiang would reply as usual, she hadn’t signed it. But when writing this second letter, for whatever reason, Xia Jinsu hadn’t gone directly to Class 5, Grade 10 to find him. Instead, she had still left the letter on the English Club’s bookcase.
Song Yunshen reasonably suspected that it was because there were too many boys pursuing Xia Jinsu on a daily basis. If anyone saw her personally delivering a letter to a boy in Class 5, Grade 10, the news would probably spread like wildfire through the school’s rumor mill by the next day.
After all, information brokers like Zhong Long, who sat behind Song Yunshen, were not uncommon in the school, and they were all incredibly well-informed. If Zhong Long ever caught wind of this, it was basically a given that anyone in the entire school who cared about gossip would know.
On the other hand, Xia Jinsu probably didn’t want to expose her identity to an ordinary pen pal, either. Otherwise, if she gave some young boy unrealistic fantasies, it might just saddle her with yet another headache-inducing suitor.
Thinking of it this way, Song Yunshen found it perfectly understandable. But understanding aside, he still felt a little uncomfortable about it deep down. Now that he had finally received Xia Jinsu’s handwritten signature, Song Yunshen actually felt a spark of joy, as if he had successfully coaxed her.
She refused to sign her name before, but didn’t she do it now anyway? His girlfriend from seven years in the future was quite honest in her actions, after all.
Feeling quite satisfied, Song Yunshen put the reply away safely. After a moment of thought, he began to write his own response.
Once finished, he checked to see if the Future Diary had updated. Seeing that new entries had appeared on its pages, he immediately read them in earnest.
"July 5, 2025, Saturday.
"Today is my first day working at the milk tea shop.
"I asked my sister to cover for me, telling Mom that we went to the library to study. In reality, Nuo was the only one who went to the library.
"I also didn’t sign up for the school cram school I promised to attend, saving two hundred yuan. I can use that to buy them some clothes so they won’t always have to wear their school uniforms during summer vacation and can wear new clothes instead.
"When my salary is paid next month, I’ll use two thousand yuan to help Mom pay the rent. With the remaining money, the whole family can go out for a nice meal, and then I’ll buy some things for them.
"When we went out shopping during the Lunar New Year, Mom stared at a bag at a street stall for a long time. It only cost a few dozen yuan, but she couldn’t bear to buy it in the end. This time, I want to gift her one.
"Hmm... I wonder what else I should buy when I get my second paycheck in September? Figuring out how to spend money once you have it is also quite frustrating!
"I hope Mom won’t be angry when she finds out."
After reading this new diary entry, Song Yunshen fell silent for a long time.
His living conditions were too good; normally, it was hard for him to empathize with the suffering brought on by a lack of money. But right now, reading Xia Jinsu’s Future Diary entries one after another, his heart couldn’t help but clench. Especially the parts where she meticulously budgeted every penny—every time he read them, Song Yunshen felt as if a small hand were gripping his heart, giving it a gentle squeeze every now and then, leaving him feeling suffocated and miserable.
After going up to the rooftop to catch some of the night breeze for a while, Song Yunshen returned to his bedroom. He sat at his desk for a good moment. Only after sorting out his emotions did he finally pick up his own diary and begin writing today’s entry.
"June 23, 2025, Monday.
"I treated Xia Yunuo to lunch today.
"She probably rarely orders meat dishes normally. Today, after I treated her to a steamed egg with meat patty, I noticed her staring eagerly at the braised pork meatballs in the pot, so I took the liberty of ordering them for her.
"She kept saying she had enough to eat, but didn’t she end up polishing off everything, including the two braised pork meatballs, until the plate was completely clean?
"Haha, Xia Yunuo looks quite cute when she’s being stubborn.
"I originally wanted to use this opportunity to keep treating her to meals in the future, but unfortunately, she refused. It’s understandable, I suppose. I can only find other opportunities to help her later.
"Tonight, I went to the English Club and got the reply letter. The other party also agreed to the tutoring arrangement. The next step is to ask about her intentions and see if she is actually willing to be my tutor.
"Speaking of which, is one hundred yuan an hour a bit too low?
"I remember during the Lunar New Year, Uncle mentioned that high school tutoring fees are around one hundred and fifty to two hundred yuan an hour nowadays. Dad only gave me a budget of over three thousand yuan. I originally thought that at one hundred an hour, with one hour of class a day, it would come out to exactly three thousand yuan a month.
"If it’s two hundred an hour, then we can only have classes every other day.
"But it doesn’t really matter, does it? It’s not like I actually want to study English properly anyway. Getting her to be my teacher will definitely be easier to slack off with than a proper, professional tutor. When the time comes, I’ll just goof off, and the hour will pass by quickly.
"Yeah, I’ll ask her in my reply tomorrow. I’ll goof off, she can coast, and we’ll all have a bright future."
"Sister, what are you looking at?"
Xia Yunuo’s voice suddenly rang in her ear. In a flurry of panic, Xia Jinsu snapped the diary shut. Then, maintaining her composure, she replied, "My old diary."
"Oh." Xia Yunuo didn’t ask further and went back to burying her head in her studies.
Xia Jinsu glanced at her younger sister. After making sure she hadn’t noticed anything, she read Song Yunshen’s diary entry for tonight one more time.
"Goof off..." she thought. "Since I’m going to be your tutor, how can I just do things half-heartedly? Otherwise, wouldn’t that be doing a disservice to the tutoring salary Uncle Song is providing? I’m taking this tutoring job to work, not to earn sympathy or snag a free meal."
If that were the case, she might as well just go work at the milk tea shop.
Xia Jinsu’s gaze turned earnest and solemn. A plan was already forming in her mind.