Chapter 75

Chapter 75

After living in the county town for almost a month, the online chatter surrounding Shen Yue finally began to die down.

He confirmed that nobody here gave a hoot about the high-society scandals happening far away in Haicheng, and he eventually gave up on his clandestine precautions.

He wasn't one to sit still. Although the money he had earned before was enough to set him up for life, after adapting to the slow-paced life here, he decided to find a job.

Thanks to his four years of studying abroad, Shen Yue landed an interview for an English tutoring position.

"Come in," said the employer at the appointed time. Shen Yue arrived at the provided address, and the other person seemed very busy, not even sparing him a glance after opening the door. "You have one hour to prove you're qualified for this job. If not, I'll cover your fare."

Quite considerate. Shen Yue asked, "How should I prove I'm qualified?"

"As long as you can make it through the hour," the employer replied, frowning as if recalling a migraine-inducing problem. "To be honest, before you, my younger brother has already scared off no fewer than ten tutors."

So it was a problem student.

Shen Yue had a rough idea of what to expect. Back in school, he hadn’t been the by-the-book type, and most of his crew were hardly diligent either. He knew exactly how to deal with this kind of person.

Smiling, he mentally prepared some prank ideas. The employer led him into the room and left. As soon as Shen Yue entered, he saw the student sitting at the desk, biting his pen with a troubled expression.

Hearing the noise, the student turned around. His eyes lit up at the sight of Shen Yue, but then dimmed almost immediately as if remembering something. He stood up obediently and greeted, "Hello, teacher."

"…?"

This scene was nothing like what he had imagined. Shen Yue had expected a show of defiance, but the student was so well-mannered that he didn’t know how to approach this "problem student."

Since the child didn’t seem rebellious at all, Shen Yue hesitated for a moment. "The one just now was…"

"My brother," the boy answered politely.

"…Your brother said you scared off over ten English tutors?"

That was hard to believe.

The boy nodded anxiously, as if afraid Shen Yue would bolt too. "They all thought I was a lost cause and refused to teach me."

"…"

So not a problem student after all.

Shen Yue couldn’t understand—how stupid could someone possibly be? A well-mannered student was far rarer than a troublemaker. How could he have driven away so many tutors?

Feeling a surge of sympathy, Shen Yue walked over and noticed the dictionary on the desk. "Memorizing vocabulary?"

The boy nodded. "Our teacher said English vocabulary is very important. I’ve been memorizing for a long time."

Since it was his first time here, Shen Yue decided to boost the student’s confidence. "What does 'abandon' mean?"

"Move the stool!" The boy’s face lit up with excitement. He hastily stood up and moved his stool in front of Shen Yue. "Teacher, please sit!"

"…"

Shen Yue had a feeling this wasn't going well.

After about ten minutes of conversation, Shen Yue finally understood how the previous tutors had been driven away.

Even though he considered himself patient, Shen Yue was starting to feel a headache coming on. Several times, he wondered if the boy was deliberately playing dumb to mess with him, but the child’s expression was so genuine, without a trace of acting.

He even apologized with utmost sincerity, his large eyes welling up as if he were about to cry. "I’m sorry… Teacher, am I too stupid? Are you going to leave too?"

Honestly, Shen Yue really wanted to run.

But seeing the boy’s anxious yet hopeful eyes, Shen Yue was reminded of his own experience when he first went to study in the UK.

—It was the first time he had been so far from home, alone in a foreign land. The cultural differences and sense of isolation overwhelmed him. He wanted to make friends, but his classmates were either too eccentric—covered in tattoos and piercings for validation, or experimenting with drugs for thrills—so Shen Yue gave up on much socializing. Not wanting to worry his family and friends, he put on a brave face in every letter, bottling up his struggles until he nearly fell into depression.

Shen Yue couldn’t bring himself to reject such a look—the sincere heart of a child who genuinely wanted to learn. It wasn’t his fault if he lacked talent or comprehension; he just wanted to study.

Sighing, Shen Yue finally couldn’t bring himself to refuse. "It’s okay. We’ll take it slow."

The boy’s eyes widened in disbelief. It took him a moment to process what was said before a delighted smile spread across his face.

An hour later, when the employer returned to the room, he was surprised to learn that Shen Yue had decided to stay. It was only then that he finally took a proper look at Shen Yue.

His tired eyes showed a flicker of surprise upon seeing Shen Yue’s face. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Shen Yue said. "But I want twice the rate."

The man had originally offered 100 yuan per hour, which wouldn’t even get you a tutor’s attention in Haicheng, but here it was considered decent pay.

The man clearly hadn’t expected him to hike the rate on the spot. After a moment’s hesitation, Shen Yue added, "I can guarantee he’ll improve. If his score doesn’t go up in the next exam, I won’t take a single penny."

He had checked earlier—the boy had scored only 8 points on his last English exam. There was no room for decline, which meant there was plenty of room for improvement. Teaching someone like this was actually the easiest.

The man eventually agreed.

"Just call me Qian Shao," he said politely, extending a hand to Shen Yue before glancing at his hopeless younger brother. "My brother is Qian Feng. Please take good care of him in the future."

Shen Yue smiled. One brother was "Little Money," the other "Plenty Money." Quite interesting names.

He also extended his hand, giving a polite, brief shake. "My name is Shen—"

He caught himself mid-sentence, changing the name he was about to blurt out. "Shen Dui."

"…" Qian Shao looked at him, his gaze filled with doubt and scrutiny, but he didn’t comment further.

He only asked, "When can you start tutoring him?"

"Right now is fine," Shen Yue replied. "Or whenever you think is suitable."

"Then let’s start now," Qian Shao said, checking the time before turning to Qian Feng. "I have some things to attend to. Be good and listen to Teacher Shen at home. If you’re hungry, order takeout, but don’t just order for yourself. And lay off the junk food."

Qian Feng nodded obediently. "Go ahead, Brother. I’ll be good at home and do whatever Teacher Shen says."

Qian Shao still had his doubts, but his phone rang again. After a hurried glance, he left without another word.

Qian Feng pulled out his English textbook. "Teacher Shen, what should we learn first?"

Shen Yue set the textbook aside, not rushing into teaching. Instead, he first sized up Qian Feng's level.

After spending the afternoon, he finally figured out Qian Feng’s basic approach to learning English. Based on this, he drafted a preliminary study plan without putting too much pressure on Qian Feng. Instead, he chatted with him about school.

Qian Feng acted like they'd known each other forever. Once he started talking, he didn't stop—from the boy in his class he had conflicts with, to which fried skewer stall outside school was the best, to the time he was chased by a dog as a child, only to be saved by his brother. From his chatter, it was clear that Qian Shao was usually very busy and rarely spent time at home. Qian Feng was bursting to talk, and he didn't even stop to drink.

Shen Yue listened quietly, chiming in occasionally, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Qian Feng looked at him and suddenly thought of something. "Teacher Shen, you have a great smile, just like Shi Lin in our class."

Shen Yue paused for a beat: "Who is Shi Lin?"

Qian Feng thought for a moment: "Our class's Chinese subject representative. I like her."

Shen Yue gave an understanding smile: "Then you shouldn't say that to me; you should say it to her."

Qian Feng scratched his head, a bit embarrassed, and didn't pursue the topic further.

And so Shen Yue stayed on, as Qian Feng's English tutor.

He came five days a week. Considering Qian Feng's school schedule, Saturdays and Sundays involved a heavier workload, while he had Mondays and Tuesdays off, which barely qualified as a two-day weekend.

After half a month as Qian Feng's tutor, Shen Yue gradually grew familiar with the two brothers.

Qian Shao wasn't often home, and when he did return, it was always in a hurry. Occasionally, when he had free time, Shen Yue and Qian Feng could escape the miserable fate of takeout—he would personally cook a table full of delicious, fragrant dishes, and while eating, he'd ask about Qian Feng's recent studies. He was too busy; sometimes Shen Yue wouldn't see him for several days in a row. This was the only time they could exchange a few words about Qian Feng's progress.

As for the learning progress, although Shen Yue had made that bold promise to help Qian Feng improve, Qian Shao wasn't about to use that as an excuse to cut his pay. Of course, he usually had little opportunity to check on Qian Feng's studies, so the results would have to speak for themselves.

On the day Qian Feng's latest monthly exam results came out, Qian Shao finally got a day off and came home early to prepare a meal.

"Brother!" As soon as he walked in, Qian Feng spotted Qian Shao right away. Seeing Shen Yue was also there, he hurried over, all smiles, not even bothering to put down his backpack before sitting at the table ready to eat.

Qian Shao frowned and swatted his hand away as he reached for the chopsticks: "Wash your hands before you eat. They're dirty."

Qian Feng wasn't upset by the scolding; instead, he grinned and dug around in his backpack for the test, triumphantly pulling out a crumpled paper: "Our monthly exam scores came out today."

Qian Shao frowned: "We'll talk after eating. Go wash your hands first, or you'll spoil your appetite."

"Who says?" Qian Feng had originally wanted to keep it a surprise, but hearing this, he knew he was being underestimated. Young people are proud; before, he didn't have the results to stand up to his brother, but now that he had some proof, he was going to stand up for himself.

Shen Yue was also curious about his score. Having taught Qian Feng himself, he felt he had a decent understanding of his ability. Qian Feng wasn't actually dumb; he just tended to overcomplicate things when learning English. There had been progress over the month, but unless Qian Feng's stubbornness was corrected, passing English would be very difficult.

Did he hit fifty? Though still not great, it would be a big improvement over the previous eight-point paper.

As Shen Yue speculated, he saw Qian Feng triumphantly slap the test paper down in front of Qian Shao and declare: "See? Twenty-nine! Not only double digits, but just one point away from thirty. Tell me, do I deserve to eat first now?!"

Author's note: Regardless, it's still best to wash your hands before eating...

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