Monday afternoon at two o’clock, Su Xiahe arrived at Jiangwan Mansion right on time.
“Miss Su, you’re here.”
Aunt Zhou opened the door and led her inside.
“Dr. Shen isn’t home today. Have a seat for a moment, and I’ll go call the young miss.”
Su Xiahe nodded and sat down on the sofa. “Thank you for your trouble, Aunt Zhou.”
Five minutes later, a lady wearing a red dress appeared at the turn of the staircase, with long voluminous waves and heavy makeup.
She was a very beautiful lady.
Indeed, the Shen family had great genes—both siblings were stunningly good-looking.
Su Xiahe immediately stood up and walked over to greet her. “Ms. Shen, hello.”
Shen Tan gave a slight nod, then gracefully walked toward Su Xiahe. “Teacher Su, hello.”
Her voice was gentle, elegant, and refined.
Shen Tan said, “No need to be so formal. Please, have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
Su Xiahe sat down again, a bit reserved, and glanced at the two gift boxes on the coffee table. “Ms. Shen, these are some small gifts I brought for the child.”
Shen Tan looked at them. “Teacher Su is too kind.”
Su Xiahe shook her head. “Not at all, I just picked up a few things casually.”
Shen Tan said, “From now on, just call me Sister Tan.”
“Ah Jin said you’re very capable, and you get top grades in all subjects at school.”
Su Xiahe felt a little embarrassed by the praise. “Dr. Shen is flattering me.”
Wait—how did he know she got top grades in everything?
Had she told Shen Jin that?
Shen Tan smiled. “Dr. Shen?”
Su Xiahe: “Hmm?”
“Nothing.” A subtle smile curled at the corner of Shen Tan’s lips.
This girl was still calling him Dr. Shen.
It seemed Ah Jin hadn’t won her over yet.
She got down to business. “My son Dongdong is very mischievous and doesn’t like studying. In terms of teaching, Teacher Su, you can do as you see fit—teach whatever subject you like. As long as you can make him fall in love with learning, that’s enough. I don’t have high demands regarding grades.”
Su Xiahe nodded. “…Okay.”
As expected of a wealthy family—there was probably a mining inheritance in the future, which was why grades didn’t matter to her.
Shen Tan said, “Ah Jin should have told you about your hourly rate, right? One hundred yuan per hour. You come five days a week, two hours each session. Does that work for you?”
Su Xiahe nodded. “That’s fine.”
“Good,” Shen Tan called out. “Aunt Zhou, go bring Dongdong down.”
“Yes.”
A few minutes later, Xu Dongdong came downstairs reluctantly, holding a game console in his hand.
He looked unhappy. “Mom, I told you, I don’t want a tutor.”
Shen Tan went to coax the child. “Dongdong, who said we’re getting you a tutor? This is the sister your uncle specially found to come play with you.”
Xu Dongdong’s eyes lit up as he stared at Su Xiahe. “Really?”
Su Xiahe walked over and crouched down beside the little boy. “Really. I came all the way here just to play with you.”
The boy looked at her with childlike innocence. “Then what can you play?”
Su Xiahe looked at the game console in his hand, and an idea struck her. “You’re pretty bad at gaming, aren’t you? You only scored this much?”
“You know this game?” Xu Dongdong stared at Su Xiahe.
Su Xiahe said, “I’ve played it before. Even at my worst, I scored more than this.”
Xu Dongdong was proud and stubborn. “I don’t believe you.”
“Then lend me the console, and I’ll play a round.”
“Okay.” Xu Dongdong generously handed over the game console.
Shen Tan sat there, carefully observing Su Xiahe as she played the game beside her.
So this was the girl Ah Jin had his eye on.
She was pretty good-looking, and her personality seemed nice too.
Too bad—she’d been caught by Ah Jin’s attention.
It had to be said, Su Xiahe really had a way with kids.
It hadn’t been long, and she’d already got Xu Dongdong completely under control.
She made him finish his homework properly, and once he was done, she’d teach him gaming tips.
And so, Xu Dongdong was now focused on his homework.
“Ding-dong.”
A WeChat message came in. Su Xiahe took a moment to check it.
Meng Wanxing: [A-He, don’t come back to the dorm tonight.]
Su Xiahe: [?]
Meng Wanxing: [The dorm caught fire!]
Su Xiahe immediately shot up from her chair. “Fire?”
Xu Dongdong was startled. “Teacher Su, what’s wrong? Where’s the fire?”
Su Xiahe took a moment to calm down. “No, it’s the dorm where I live that caught fire.”
Meng Wanxing: [The entire electrical system got burned out. There’s a risk of electric leakage at any moment. The whole building is cordoned off now, and the dorm is uninhabitable.]
Su Xiahe: [How did the fire start?]
Meng Wanxing: [It seems someone in Room 608 was cooking something, but she didn’t watch the pot and went off to play games instead. It ended up catching fire.]
Su Xiahe: [No casualties, right?]
Meng Wanxing: [No. Oh, by the way, before the dorm was sealed off, I went back and grabbed a few changes of clothes for you. I also brought out your precious pipa.]
Su Xiahe: [Thank you. So where are you staying tonight?]
Meng Wanxing: 【I just posted on Moments, and my mom saw it and told me to come home and stay. A-He, if you don’t have a place to stay, you can come to my house.】
Su Xiahe: 【No need, I’ll just stay at a hotel.】
Meng Wanxing: 【The school administration just came by and said the dormitory probably won’t be fixed for at least ten days to half a month. Are you really going to stay at a hotel for that long? Just come stay at my place.】
Su Xiahe still refused: 【Really, it’s fine.】
She didn’t want to trouble Meng Wanxing.
Xu Dongdong tugged at her sleeve: “Teacher Su, can’t you stay in your dormitory?”
Su Xiahe nodded awkwardly: “Mm.”
Xu Dongdong looked delighted: “Then you can stay at our house! That way you can keep teaching me to play games.”
“No, no,” Su Xiahe refused immediately, “That would be too much of an imposition on your family.”
“It won’t be! I’ll go tell Mom right now.” Xu Dongdong took off running down the stairs.
Su Xiahe hurried after him: “Dongdong, wait!”
That kid Xu Dongdong ran incredibly fast and was already on the first floor in no time.
Su Xiahe watched his retreating figure, puzzled: Isn’t he sick?
“Hey, Uncle, you’re back?”
Su Xiahe followed him downstairs and saw Shen Jin, who had just walked through the front door.
“Mm,” Shen Jin responded gently, affectionately ruffling Xu Dongdong’s hair, “What’s the rush?”
Xu Dongdong said, “Uncle, Teacher Su’s dormitory caught fire and she can’t stay there anymore. Can she live at our house from now on? I want to be with Teacher Su every day.”
Oh? The dormitory caught fire and she can’t stay there?
It seemed fate was helping him after all.
Shen Jin looked toward Su Xiahe at the turn of the stairs.
Su Xiahe gave a small wave of greeting.
“A-He, we have plenty of rooms in our house. If you don’t mind, you’re welcome to stay here.”
“No, no,” Su Xiahe quickly declined, “I can’t stay here and impose on your family.”
Shen Tan also came in from the balcony and glanced at Shen Jin’s face. Naturally, she understood everything at a glance.
She looked at Su Xiahe: “Teacher Su, look how much Dongdong likes you. Just settle in here peacefully. We have plenty of empty rooms—there’s no imposition about it.”
Su Xiahe still declined politely: “I truly appreciate your kindness, but I… I still have a place to stay.”
Shen Jin was silent for a moment, then spoke: “Alright, since you insist on not staying, we won’t force you.”
Su Xiahe nodded: “Thank you.”
She checked the time—it was already past five.
It was about time for dinner. She needed to leave quickly so she wouldn’t delay their meal.
“I’ll be going now then. I’ll come back tomorrow at seven in the evening.”
She had classes tomorrow afternoon.
Shen Jin turned and walked toward the door: “I’ll walk you out.”
“No need, no need. I can see myself out,” Su Xiahe hurried to the door. “Sister Tan, Dr. Shen, I’m off now.”
Shen Tan wore an elegant smile as she watched Su Xiahe leave.