Su Zhiyao didn’t notice Shen Nianjing’s surprised expression at all. She put away her tablet and started chattering, “My brother has been amazing since he was little. He’s always been top of his class. Just like my parents, all they care about is studying.”
“So in his eyes, someone like me who doesn’t like studying is completely hopeless!”
Looking at the little girl’s puffy cheeks, Shen Nianjing tugged at the corner of his mouth and said, “Maybe your brother doesn’t think that way.”
“No, that’s because you don’t know him.”
Shen Nianjing: “……” Oh, okay.
“One time when he came back during break, I asked him to explain some practice problems to me. He just pulled out my textbook from his backpack and made me do the exercises at the end of the chapter.”
“After I finished, I thought he would finally explain them to me.”
“But then he just asked ‘Do you understand now?'”
“I said ‘Yes.'”
“And he said ‘Good, then do your homework.'”
Su Zhiyao crunched angrily into her cucumber, as if taking out her frustration on it. “If he didn’t want to explain, he could have just said so!”
“Instead he brushed me off like that!”
Shen Nianjing: “……” This really wasn’t your brother’s fault.
“Actually, those chapter exercises…” His expression turned awkward as he gripped the practice problems in his hand, unsure whether to bring them up. “They’re basic practice to help you build solid foundation before you get into more advanced problems.”
When he finished speaking, Su Zhiyao shot him a sharp look that made him jump. “Shen-gege, you sound just like my brother.”
Shen Nianjing: “…Really?”
Shen Nianjing: “That just proves how important these practice problems are.”
He smiled and pulled out the unit exercises he had prepared earlier. His finger pointed to a page as he flipped it open. “Here, do these.”
Su Zhiyao: “……” You’re all monsters.
Surprisingly, the little girl breezed through the problems today. Even she was shocked.
“See, I knew it was my brother who couldn’t teach! Shen-gege is the best. You can explain problems clearly AND chat with me.”
As Shen Nianjing packed his bag, he nodded with a smile, “Then remember to do your homework tonight to review what you learned today.”
“Mhmm! Shen-gege, let’s add each other on WeChat!”
Su Zhiyao eagerly took out her tablet to scan Shen Nianjing’s WeChat code. He noticed her profile picture was a hand-drawn bear similar to Su Zhiyan’s, except it had a pink bow on its ear.
“Did you draw these profile pictures?” he pointed at the screen and asked. “They’re really cute.”
Every time he saw Su Zhiyan’s messages, he couldn’t associate him with such an adorably chubby creature. But if the bear was drawn by his sister, it would make sense why Su Zhiyan would use it as his profile picture.
“No,” Su Zhiyao shook her head. “My brother drew them.”
Shen Nianjing froze. “What?”
“Your brother can draw?” He had never once seen Su Zhiyan show interest in anything outside of math.
And he was actually pretty good at it.
“Yeah, when he was little, our parents had him try lots of hobbies, like drawing, piano, guitar, street dance, so many things!”
“But he didn’t like any of them, so he gradually stopped doing them.”
Shen Nianjing put down his half-packed bag. “Why did he do them if he didn’t like them?”
“Because my parents said you need to try many things in life to know what you like. My brother’s answer was that he didn’t like anything.” Su Zhiyao shrugged, then suddenly widened her eyes as if discovering a treasure. She leaned across the desk and asked, “Shen-gege, are you very curious about my brother?”
Shen Nianjing was speechless. He dropped his bag and waved his hands frantically. “No!”
Su Zhiyao stared at him, then suddenly broke into a knowing smile. “Really?”
“Y-yes, really.” Shen Nianjing gave an awkward laugh and scratched his head. He grabbed his bag and headed for the door. “I’m leaving now. Do your homework properly.”
“Okay, see you tomorrow, Shen-gege!”
Shen Nianjing fled like his life depended on it, terrified that if he stayed a second longer, Su Zhiyan’s little sister would pry even more out of him.
These two siblings were both way too perceptive. Definitely blood-related.
On the subway, Shen Nianjing leaned against a corner and quietly questioned his life choices.
Right, he had to come to Su Zhiyan’s house again tomorrow.
How did it just happen to be Su Zhiyan’s house!
During his gap year, he had tutored three children. This time, Su Zhiyao was recommended by a parent he had worked with before.
The world was really small.
For the first time, he felt like he might actually be living in “The Truman Show.”
Maybe he should quit this tutoring job… The thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
“Ding dong.”
His phone suddenly chimed.
Shen Nianjing froze, then checked his messages like a startled bird.
It was the hand-drawn bear profile picture, the one with the bow.
[One Little Yao[mfn]Very literal translation. “一只” (yī zhī) is a colloquial measure word often used for small, cute things (like “a little” or “a [adorable] one”), and “瑶” (Yáo) is the character from her name, which means Jade.[/mfn]: Shen-gege, when you come tomorrow afternoon, could you help me get a strawberry cake from the bakery near campus? Mom will transfer the payment along with your tutoring fee.]
[One Little Yao: *sends picture*]
[One Little Yao: Thank you, Shen-gege!]
The picture showed a strawberry cake with distinct layers of strawberry mousse and cream, soft pink and delicate, looking rich and fluffy.
Shen Nianjing’s mind wandered. Come to think of it, Su Zhiyan seems to like strawberry cake too.
When he was working part-time at the bakery, Su Zhiyan had come in twice to buy strawberry mousse.
[Nian You Jing[mfn]A play on his name, literally means ‘year has scenery/full of views.’ It often implies that the year is progressing with good prospects or interesting developments.[/mfn]: Okay.]
He replied and exited the chat, then quickly went back and typed again.
[Nian You Jing: Why not ask your brother to get it for you? Doesn’t he come home during break?]
[One Little Yao: He rarely comes home except during winter and summer breaks. In his words, “We’re in the same city anyway, what difference does it make where I live.”]
Living at home must be different though, Shen Nianjing thought as he tilted his head back against the wall.
But maybe it’s better this way. At least during his tutoring sessions, he wouldn’t run into Su Zhiyan… in his own home.
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