Ke Ruobing turned toward the voice and saw Bai Yan standing behind her in black, a cigarette still burning between his fingers.
“Big Brother Yan, what are you doing here?” Ke Ruobing asked, surprised. She remembered that he had gone back to his room to catch up on sleep.
Bai Yan took a drag. The smoke drifted slowly through the air. “Just making my presence felt. What about you?”
Ke Ruobing looked into his deep-set eyes, hesitating.
Bai Yan noticed her uncertainty. He flicked the ash from his cigarette and took another drag. “You and Qingqing are good friends. If someone bullies you right in front of me, Qingqing won’t let me off the hook.”
At that, Ke Ruobing lowered her eyes. After a moment of silence, she slowly began telling him everything that had happened yesterday.
She left out the part where she had almost been tricked. Nearly falling for something like that was just too stupid.
“Want me to go up with you? I happen to be here to see someone.” Bai Yan looked at Ke Ruobing. He already had a fairly good idea what was going on, though he wasn’t completely sure.
Ke Ruobing nodded. “All right.”
Inside the elevator, the smell of smoke grew stronger, and Ke Ruobing’s brow furrowed despite herself.
“What floor?” Bai Yan asked, glancing at her knitted brows. Without a second thought, he stamped out the still-smoking cigarette butt underfoot.
“Six.”
Hearing that, Bai Yan felt even more certain about his guess.
He pressed the button for the sixth floor, and the elevator began to rise slowly.
The cramped space filled with an awkward sort of tension.
“If something like this happens again, you can bring Qingqing along. She may seem lazy most of the time, but she’s just as good with her hands as anyone else,” Bai Yan said suddenly.
Ke Ruobing paused, then understood what he meant and nodded. “All right.”
“You weren’t there yesterday. She kept complaining that she was bored. Said it would’ve been nice if you were there so you could play games together.” Bai Yan was making conversation for its own sake.
“Then I’ll go back tonight and play with her for a while,” Ke Ruobing replied seriously after thinking it over.
Bai Yan was taken aback. He smiled. “Actually, I could use someone too.”
【Ding. The sixth floor has arrived…】
“Huh? What did you just say? The elevator was too noisy. I didn’t hear you.” Ke Ruobing’s wide eyes were full of question marks.
“Nothing.” Bai Yan shook his head lightly and stepped out of the elevator.
He turned right without hesitation and stopped in front of a door marked “602.”
Ke Ruobing looked up at the number, a trace of confusion rising in her mind.
Why did Big Brother Yan know this place so well? It was as if he’d been here many times.
Bai Yan stood to one side without saying a word, only gesturing with his eyes for Ke Ruobing to knock.
She stopped wondering about it, took a deep breath, and raised her hand to knock.
Knock, knock, knock…
A flurry of movement sounded from inside, followed by a clatter. The door slowly opened, and a young boy poked his head out.
He looked no more than eleven or twelve. His short black hair was a little messy, and his bright eyes fixed curiously on Ke Ruobing.
“Who are you looking for?” His voice was clear and youthful, though edged with a hint of wariness.
“Um…I’m here to tutor someone.”
Only then did Ke Ruobing remember that she hadn’t asked the old man’s name.
At her answer, the boy’s expression instantly turned cold. Without a second thought, he started to shut the door.
But Bai Yan stopped it with his hand.
Feeling the resistance, the boy poked his head out again—and only then noticed Bai Yan beside Ke Ruobing.
His face immediately brightened into a smile. “Big Brother Bai Yan, what brings you here?”
Bai Yan smiled faintly. “I came to make sure you’re studying.”
The boy’s expression soured. His lips puckered involuntarily, his tone turning petulant and plaintive. “Big Brother Bai Yan, give me a break. I just want to relax over the holidays. I really don’t want to read or study.”
Even so, he didn’t shut the door like he had at first. Instead, he turned and went back inside.
Bai Yan didn’t hesitate; he led Ke Ruobing into the apartment.
The boy was sitting on a solid-wood sofa in the living room, watching television. A fan beside him was blowing straight at him with a steady whir.
Bai Yan walked closer and saw that the TV was showing the morning news, with the anchor reporting on recent events in Yecheng.
“You’d rather watch this than read?” Bai Yan couldn’t help finding it amusing.
The boy looked aggrieved. “You know I don’t like reading, Big Brother Bai Yan. The news is way better than those piles and piles of words.”
Ke Ruobing stood nearby, staring blankly at the whole scene, her mind struggling to catch up. “Is this where you came to make your presence felt?”
“Yeah. When you told me about it downstairs, I more or less guessed. The boy’s father—the old man you mentioned—is the dean of our School of Pharmacy. I guess seeing you reminded him of his own little menace, and when he heard you were from Jianghai University, he thought you were worth nurturing.” Bai Yan explained quietly to the bewildered Ke Ruobing.
“The dean? Then why doesn’t he teach him himself? Why does he need a tutor?” Ke Ruobing’s mind was still a little muddled. Judging by the boy’s reaction, she probably wasn’t the first tutor who’d come by.
“This kid’s got a real aversion to studying. He won’t read, no matter what anyone says. The dean’s always dragging students like us over to supervise him, but he just won’t read. The dean can’t do much about it. He can’t hit him, and when he scolds him, the kid acts like he can’t hear.”
“Oh, I see,” Ke Ruobing said, finally understanding.
“Yesterday, a few of the old man’s favorite students came back to visit him and insisted on having a few drinks with me. When the old man saw how things were going, he immediately made an excuse and slipped away, leaving me to get dragged through several rounds of drinking by a few senior students. Anyway, I can’t sleep now, so I thought I’d come make my presence felt.”
When Ke Ruobing didn’t ask anything else, Bai Yan casually explained why he had shown up.
Ke Ruobing looked at him earnestly. “Next time, you should make an excuse and slip away too.”
Seeing the earnest look in her eyes, Bai Yan couldn’t help lowering his head with a smile.
Ke Ruobing pressed her lips together, unsure what she’d said wrong.
“Dongdong, go pour your sister a glass of water,” Bai Yan said, giving the boy a light kick.
The boy got up reluctantly to fetch some water.
“Have a seat. Make yourself at home.” Bai Yan stretched out lazily on the sofa, looking quite at ease.
Ke Ruobing sat obediently beside him.
Soon, the boy brought over two glasses of water. He handed one to Bai Yan and pushed the other toward Ke Ruobing. “Here, yours.”
“This is Ke Ruobing, your tutor from now on. Remember to greet her properly,” Bai Yan said with a broad smile.
The boy was about to refuse, but then he caught Bai Yan’s sharp glare and reluctantly greeted her. “Sister Ruobing.”
“Hello. What’s your name?” Ke Ruobing replied politely.
The boy returned to the solid-wood sofa and answered without looking up. “Dongdong.”
Just then, something on the television caught all three of their attention.
They fell quiet at the same time, looking curiously at the screen…