TYAM Chapter 88

Jiang Wang wrapped a bath towel around himself and went to open the door, leaving a trail of wet footprints on the maple-colored floor.

As soon as he pulled the door open, Da Chuan was startled. “Oh, I was wondering why no one answered, you’re showering?”

“Sorry, man, I was busy late last night and totally forgot,” Jiang Wang casually rubbed his hair with a towel, pretending to be an attentive host. “Come in?”

“No, no, it’s fine! I’ll drop by another day,” Da Chuan quickly raised the sample books he was carrying. “I just came to deliver these. I heard you’re planning a back-to-school event, and the publisher just released some great new prep books for high school entrance exams… Oh, by the way, I heard Teacher Ji is your roommate?”

Boss Jiang really knows how to save money, cutting down on living costs like this. He’s worth learning from!

“Teacher Ji, huh…” Jiang Wang was still halfway through drying his hair, water droplets sliding down his shoulder blades. “He’s in the shower.”

“You’re both… in the shower?”

“Just finished cleaning the house, all sweaty.” Jiang Wang took the books. “Did you need something from him?”

“I just wanted to show him these new study guides, maybe get a recommendation.” Dachuan quickly bowed and backed away. “Well, you two take your time. I’ll drop by later. Let’s chat soon…”

Jiang Wang shut the door, loosened his towel with one hand, and wandered back toward the bathroom, swinging his “elephant” along the way.

Inside, Ji Linqiu was lounging lazily in the bathtub, arms resting on a small table, reading a fairy tale book by Peng Xingwang. 

Hearing footsteps, he lifted his eyelids slightly. “Taking your bird for a stroll?”

“Birds need fresh air,” the man stepped in, splashing water everywhere. “How’s it looking? Nice and plump, prime for cooking?”

Ji Linqiu tossed a bar of soap at his face. Jiang Wang caught it effortlessly, and both of them burst into laughter.

The spring breeze was slow and gentle.

One person lay on the left side, leisurely reading fairy tales, while the other played with rubber ducks, occasionally cracking jokes.

Only when the water cooled did they finally step out.

As they got dressed, Jiang Wang leaned in and playfully bit Ji Linqiu’s earlobe.

The latter flinched slightly but didn’t dodge, turning to look at him.

“This is the first time anyone’s read me Cinderella,” Jiang Wang murmured. “For a moment there, I felt like a little princess.”

Ji Linqiu paused, folded his long towel, twisted it into a shape, and placed it on Jiang Wang’s head like a crown.

“Now you look even more like one.”

Just then, the doorbell rang again.

“Boss—! Boss, are you home?”

Jiang Wang let out a long sigh, pulled on a pair of loose shorts, and went to open the door.

His assistant, who happened to live in the same neighborhood, was knocking enthusiastically. As soon as she looked up, she blurted, “Boss— wait, did you just take a bath?”

“Yeah.”

“Where’s Teacher Ji?”

“He’s also bathing.”

The assistant hesitated for a second, then smiled knowingly. “Are you two bathing together?”

“We’re brothers,” Jiang Wang yawned. “What’s up?”

The assistant kept staring at the towel crown on his head. “Uh, good news— one of our training class students won a gold medal in the math competition!”

Jiang Wang clapped his hands. “Nice! Where is the kid?”

The provincial math competition had taken place back in December, but because of the grading and selection process coinciding with the New Year, the results had only just been officially announced.

Duan Zhao, before quitting his job, had been a top teacher at a prestigious school. Even before going independent, he was in high demand among parents, and once he left the school system, his reputation skyrocketed. His students had to pass a screening test just to get into his training courses. He wasn’t just looking to make a quick buck. Naturally, success was inevitable.

Now, with this gold medal, it was like injecting a shot of adrenaline into their institution.

A gold medal!

Damn, that’s a shining new signboard — 24K gold right there!

“And that’s not all,” the assistant continued. “Among the students trained by Teacher Ji, three have made it to the semifinals of the National English Competition. Their parents are asking if they can schedule extra classes because their kids’ speaking skills aren’t great!”

By the time Ji Linqiu emerged from the bedroom, he was already dressed in a white shirt with a long tie.

“I’m available tonight and tomorrow afternoon for extra classes.”

The assistant glanced between the now fully clothed Ji Linqiu and her boss. Suddenly, her face turned a little red.

“Uh, I—I won’t disturb you two any longer. See you both at the office for the meeting.”

Jiang Wang looked puzzled. “We’re both fully dressed. Why are you blushing?”

The assistant waved her hands frantically. “No, no, nothing, it’s just warm in here! Gotta go!”

Before her boss could ask anything else, she turned and bolted, sending a message to the group chat as she left.

[Purehearted Boss & Charming Teacher (8)]

[Frontline War Reporter]: I!!! I just went to the boss’s house for work!! And do you guys know what I saw?!?!

[Finance Girl’s Tears Are Just Brain Fluid]: Another cohabitation update?! Did our dumb boss finally get a clue today??

[Frontline War Reporter]: Oh my God!! Second Boss came out of the boss’ master bedroom!!! And!! He had just finished getting dressed!!! They’re tight and well-fitting!!

[Frontline War Reporter]: Boss had a towel crown on his head! He couldn’t even fold a paper crane without our help last time, how the hell did he manage that?!

[Working Overtime Until I Ascend]: What!!!

[No Bug Reports Allowed]: Holy shit?! We’ve fast-forwarded to post-action already??

[I Am Writing a Bug]: Damn! Did you see any hickeys?!

[Three Years of Overtime, Five More Until a House]: My god, my heart can’t take this. Second Boss must be absolutely stunning… Oh, speaking of, I forgot to mention this before. While I was writing the last event proposal, guess what?

[Three Years of Overtime, Five More Until a House]: Teacher Ji was tutoring Boss in English.

[Three Years of Overtime, Five More Until a House]: They booked a private one-on-one capsule room, sitting shoulder to shoulder, tucked away where no one could see them… And all they did was discuss grammar.

[No Bug Reports Allowed]: What the fuck!

[Frontline War Reporter]: No wonder Boss’s English has improved so fast!

[I Am Writing a Bug]: How the hell did Boss keep his composure?! Who could survive having Teacher Ji whisper grammar tips right into their ear?!

---

When Jiang Wang returned to the company, he noticed that some gazes were particularly eager.

It seemed that everyone had already heard about the gold medal.

Boss Jiang was quite pleased and nodded at them before turning to enter his office.

The award-winning student and their parents were already present.

“First of all, congratulations to all of you. Spring has just arrived, and we’re already in the season of harvest. With this award, guaranteed admission is practically set in stone,” Jiang Wang gestured for them to sit. “As per our previous agreement, a second-place award gets an 80% tuition refund. A first-place award not only gets a 100% refund but also comes with a cash bonus of 8,888 yuan.”

He took the folder handed over by the secretary and said warmly, “There’s also a 60,000-yuan contract here for you to consider.”

The parents were still immersed in joy and took a moment to react. “A contract?”

“Yes, classified into A, B, and C levels, depending on your and your child’s preferences,” Jiang Wang cleared his throat slightly and looked at them. “Our company would like to hire your child as our brand ambassador.”

The student was dumbfounded.

“An ambassador… for a tutoring center?”

They had only ever heard of endorsements for shampoo, chocolate, or chips. A tutoring center could have one too?

“A C-level contract will only take up one afternoon of your time. Just some light makeup, a change of clothes, and a photo shoot.”

“For an A-level contract, we will invite your child to our lecture hall to share their learning experiences and exam techniques, but only after they have secured guaranteed admission to a prestigious university and have no academic burdens.”

The contract negotiation went smoothly.

For an average family, enrichment courses were already a significant financial burden. Once a child had secured guaranteed admission, there was no need to worry about the college entrance exam anymore, making it easy to share study experiences.

Meanwhile, Duan Zhao was busy calming down the students who hadn’t won an award, but his phone was ringing off the hook.

Having personally coached a gold medalist in an Olympiad competition, he suddenly found himself in high demand. Parents eager for their children’s success rushed to sign up for his exclusive one-on-one premium classes. Slots filled up so quickly that many simply camped at the front desk, refusing to leave until they got a spot.

At the same time, Ji Linqiu had barely exchanged a few words with his colleagues before being swarmed by another group of parents.

“Teacher Ji!! Please take a look at my child!!”

“Teacher Ji, do you think they have a chance in the semifinals and finals?”

“Teacher, is it still possible to enter the competition now? My kid is in their second year of high school and usually scores around 110…”

By the time Jiang Wang finished signing the endorsement contracts and stepped out of his office, he looked around.

“Where… where are the two teachers?”

The assistant whispered, “They’ve already been carried off by the parents.”

Jiang Wang quickly pondered how to rescue his friend and his partner for lunch.

“Why is the front desk so crowded?”

“They’re all here to register,” the assistant said nervously. “They’re asking if you can make room… maybe open more classes.”

Before the words were even fully spoken, several parents turned their heads sharply at the commotion.

“Is this your boss?”

“Is he the one in charge?”

Upon hearing that, they rushed toward Jiang Wang.

Jiang Wang: …!! Wait a second!!!

In another office, Ji Linqiu’s throat was nearly hoarse from speaking. He glanced at the time—Xing Wang would be finishing school soon—but a crowd of parents still blocked his desk.

“Uh,” he gestured for the parent who was about to ask another question to hold on for a moment. Then, turning to his colleagues, he asked, “Does anyone have time to pick up Xingwang for me?”

A couple of teachers raised their hands to volunteer, but before they could move, Fu Er had already dashed in front of Ji Linqiu.

“I’ll go!! I can pick them up from now on, too! It’s at Experimental Elementary School, right?!”

Ji Linqiu had grown familiar with Fu Er over the past few months, but her enthusiasm still caught him off guard.

“Yes, I’ll send the details to your phone?”

“Yup,” Fu Er beamed, looking as if she was heading straight for a gold mine. “I’m on my way right now!”