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It was already past midnight when I got off work.
Jiang Huali left the bar and walked home.
The original owner and her grandmother lived in an urban village, which happened to be not far from the bar.
The house is an old rented house, not big, but it was enough for the original owner and his grandmother to live in.
Jiang Huali turned into a small alley, avoiding the puddles on the ground, and slowly walked along the somewhat uneven road.
It was very quiet around.
Therefore, the footsteps sounded particularly abrupt.
Just as a hand was about to touch Jiang Huali's shoulder, she reached out and bent it back.
"ah!"
The owner of the hand let out a scream, and at the same time, the sound of his hand dislocating was heard.
Jiang Huali raised an eyebrow at the shifty-eyed man in front of her.
"What are you doing?"
"It hurts...it hurts, let me go!"
The man grimaced and yelled, his face contorted with pain.
How can this little girl be so strong?
He had been watching this girl for a while and knew that she would work at a nearby bar until very late at night before going home.
The girl was pretty and had a youthful, student-like air about her, which was exactly his type, so he decided to make his move on her tonight.
He tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the bait instead; who knew he'd end up with his wrist broken?
Jiang Huali is no pushover. With the experience she gained in the previous mission world, dealing with someone who failed to stalk her in the middle of the night is more than enough for her.
She pulled a pair of scissors from her school uniform pocket; they were ordinary stationery scissors.
When walking at night, the original owner always carried a pair of scissors in his pocket.
"I was just passing by! I didn't mean to do anything! Let me go!"
When the man saw the scissors pointed at his hand, he panicked and quickly called out to Jiang Huali.
Jiang Huali disgustedly released the man's hand. The man staggered and fell to the ground. Ignoring the pain in his wrist, he quickly got up and ran away.
"You run really fast."
Jiang Huali muttered to herself.
She put the scissors back in her pocket, but then noticed someone standing not far away.
Um?
Jiang Huali looked at He Yuqing, who had appeared in the alley, with some surprise and asked, "What are you doing here?"
He Yuqing looked away and glanced to the side.
When he and Lu Zhou came out of the bar, they happened to see Jiang Huali walking ahead of them.
A middle-aged man was walking not far behind her.
The man was filming something with his phone, and without thinking much about it, he followed him.
Then I witnessed what just happened.
He subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Jiang Huali's nimble movements.
He had a slight smell of alcohol on him, which Lu Zhou had picked up in the private room.
Even though he hadn't drunk a drop of alcohol, he suddenly felt his face getting hot.
"You've been following behind me the whole time?"
Seeing that he didn't speak, Jiang Huali asked again.
"……Um."
He Yuqing turned his head back and nodded slightly.
He wanted to say something more, but then fell silent.
What can you say... say that he saw someone following her and was worried, so he followed to check on them?
Jiang Huali understood immediately. "We're almost home. You should go back now."
"be safe."
There was a hint of a smile in her eyes.
"You too, be careful."
He Yuqing replied subconsciously.
When He Yuqing returned to the vicinity of the bar, everyone else who had been with him that night had already gone home, leaving only Lu Zhou standing under the streetlights waiting for him.
Lu Zhou glanced at his hand. "Brother, didn't you say you were going to the convenience store to buy water?"
Where's the water?
He Yuqing lowered his eyes: "...I've finished drinking."
Are you that thirsty?
Lu Zhou wondered if he had been partying too much at the bar, ordering only alcohol and not taking He Yuqing into consideration.
"Don't drink next time."
"Huh? The drinks we ordered all have a very low alcohol content." Lu Zhou scratched his head.
"Drinking alcohol by minors is harmful."
After He Yuqing finished speaking, he answered a phone call, and a car pulled up in front of them shortly afterward.
He got into the car, while Lu Zhou stood there thinking about the conversation, feeling a strange feeling he couldn't quite put his finger on.
A few cold words floated out of the car window:
"Aren't you coming up?"
Lu Zhou suddenly realized what was happening, opened the car door, and shouted, "Get in! Get in!"
He sneaked out, so he didn't dare call a driver to pick him up.
...
Jiang Huali returned to her front door and took out her key to open it.
She moved very quietly, changed her shoes, washed her hands, and prepared to go back to her room.
Suddenly, the sound of a door opening came from ahead. The original owner's grandmother heard her return, opened the door, and slowly walked out.
"Is that Xiaoli back?"
"Grandma," Jiang Huali put down her schoolbag, "Did I wake you up?"
"No, I was worried about you and haven't gone to sleep yet." Grandma walked to the kitchen doorway. "I left some porridge for you, shall I heat it up for you?"
"I can do it myself, Grandma, you should go back to sleep."
Jiang Huali escorted her grandmother back to her room. "I'll take you to the hospital for a check-up this weekend. Didn't you say you were feeling a little dizzy the other day?"
"It's an old ailment, nothing serious, no need to spend money on a checkup."
“A long-term illness can lead to serious health problems. We have money, so let’s get it checked out. Otherwise, I won’t feel at ease.”
After her grandmother fell asleep, Jiang Huali heated up some porridge in the kitchen, drank it, and then went to bed after a quick wash.
The consequence of working until the wee hours of the morning is that you're incredibly tired the next day.
During the break, Jiang Huali was called to the office by her homeroom teacher.
"Hua Li, this is the registration information for this year's impoverished students. Take it back, fill it out, and give it to me."
Class teacher Wang Jing handed Jiang Huali a document and said softly.
As the homeroom teacher, Wang Jing had a basic understanding of this student's family situation. She knew he was a promising student and a good student in general.
"I heard you're working part-time outside of school? If you encounter any difficulties, remember to tell your teacher."
"Okay, thank you, teacher."
Jiang Huali nodded.
As they were talking, another person walked into the office, and a familiar voice came from behind Jiang Huali.
"Teacher Feng, this is today's morning test paper."
"Hey, you can just put it on my desk."
Jiang Huali subconsciously turned around and saw He Yuqing holding a stack of test papers in his hand.
After the homeroom teacher finished explaining the precautions, she asked Jiang Huali to return to the classroom.
Jiang Huali walked out of the office, and someone called her from behind.
"Jiang, classmate."
Jiang Huali turned her head, and He Yuqing walked to her side.
"Is there something you need?" Jiang Huali asked.
“I have a relative who lives near the school, and their junior high student needs math tutoring,” He Yuqing said gently. “I heard that you got the highest math score in the city when you took the high school entrance exam. I wonder if you’ve ever thought about tutoring?”
"Huh?" Jiang Huali tilted her head. "But we have classes during the week, so won't the time be inconvenient?"
“Weekend tutoring is fine,” He Yuqing said.
The first-year students at No. 1 High School have weekends off, so there's no conflict.
When Jiang Huali heard He Yuqing mention the tutoring fee, her eyes lit up slightly, and she readily agreed.
"Of course, no problem!"
"Wait a moment."
He Yuqing went back to the classroom and came out with a small note in his hand.
"Here's my contact information." He handed over the slip of paper. "Add me when you get home, and we can discuss the specifics."
Jiang Huali took the note and held it between her two fingers.
"He, you're such a kind person!" Jiang Huali exclaimed sincerely. "We've only known each other for a day, and you're already so helpful."
"..."
He Yuqing's Adam's apple bobbed, and he looked away, saying, "You're welcome."
Although she didn't know why He Yuqing was so enthusiastic, Jiang Huali readily agreed.
There was no way around it; she always had a biased view of him, subconsciously believing that he wouldn't harm her.
Besides… Jiang Huali thought about the reward He Yuqing had just mentioned and suddenly felt that her sleep was saved.
I'm going to quit my job at the bar in a couple of days!
However, Jiang Huali did not quit her job at the bar after two days because she had to take her grandmother to the hospital for a check-up on the weekend and did not have time to tutor the junior high school students.
Every extra day I can earn money is a day I'll take.
That night, after she got home, she discussed the tutoring arrangements with He Yuqing on WeChat. The tutor was He Yuqing's niece, who had just started junior high school and whose math grades were not very good.
However, the child is quite mischievous and rebellious, so the mother hopes to find a teacher of similar age to teach her.
Early Saturday morning, Jiang Huali took her grandmother to the hospital for a check-up.
She had made an appointment in advance, and the examination went smoothly. The doctor prescribed some medicine for her grandmother and gave Jiang Huali some instructions.
After seeing the doctor, Jiang Huali and her grandmother walked to the first floor of the hospital and saw two unexpected people.
It was He Yuqing and Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou's ankle appeared to be injured, wrapped in thick gauze, and he was sitting on a chair in the lobby on the first floor.
He Yuqing stood to the side, looking down at his phone.
His fingers swiped across the phone screen, and Jiang Huali wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt that He Yuqing's expression carried a hint of disappointment.
When He Yuqing looked up, he saw Jiang Huali not far away.
She wore a simple short-sleeved shirt, her hair was tied back in a bun, with strands falling naturally from her ears, lightly brushing against the red mole at the corner of her eye when she looked down.
He stood up and walked towards where she was.
"What a coincidence."
He Yuqing walked up to Jiang Huali and greeted her.
"It's quite a coincidence, what are you all doing here..."
Jiang Huali shifted her gaze to Lu Zhou behind He Yuqing, thinking that the coincidence was probably due to the "attraction" between the male and female protagonists in the original novel.
"He injured his foot while playing ball and came to the hospital to get it checked out."
"That……"
Jiang Huali was about to suggest that she leave first when the person opposite her suddenly spoke up:
Hello, Grandma.
Grandma Jiang Huali smiled and looked at the tall young man in front of her. "You must be Huali's classmate. Hello, hello."
After greeting his elders, He Yuqing looked at Jiang Huali and asked, "Regarding the tutoring we talked about last time, do you have time to try out a lesson tomorrow?"
"Would tomorrow afternoon be okay?"
Jiang Huali thought for a moment. She had to work at the milk tea shop in the morning, and she could ask the shop manager for a day off in the afternoon.
"Okay, we'll contact each other by phone later."
"good."
It wasn't until Jiang Huali left the hospital and got into a taxi that she realized He Yuqing meant he was going to take her there personally tomorrow.
On Sunday morning, Jiang Huali went to the milk tea shop as usual and didn't finish until after noon.
The person who was supposed to take over the shift had already arrived, and Jiang Huali went to the side to pack her things.
Jiang Huali's phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it out and saw that it was He Yuqing calling.
"Hello?"
She answered the call without hesitation.
"I'm near the school. Are you at the bubble tea shop right now?"
"Yes, I was just about to look for you."
"No need, wait there for a moment, I'll come find you."
Jiang Huali waited in the milk tea shop for about five minutes, and then He Yuqing, dressed casually, appeared in her sight.
"Let's go." He Yuqing approached Jiang Huali, holding a black double umbrella.
Jiang Huali glanced at the blazing sun outside and reached into her bag to take out an umbrella.
He Yuqing seemed to notice her movement and said:
"Just use my umbrella."
Finally, he added:
"The umbrella is big, so you won't get sunburned."
Jiang Huali paused in her action of taking the umbrella, thinking to herself—
She didn't ask that, did she?
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