Chapter 30, "Call her sister-in-law".
A cushion suddenly came flying and hit Zhou Yiyang squarely on the head. Jin Ming, who was standing next to him, was also affected and his shoulder slumped back.
Zhou Yiyang grabbed a corner of the cushion and grinned mischievously: "Brother Yu, are you getting angry out of embarrassment?"
Jin Ming finally realized what Zhou Yiyang was talking about, his eyes widening as he swayed back and forth between Tang Ci and Sheng Yu: "No way? You guys really did it?!"
Tang Ci hadn't understood their conversation since then, and asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"
At this moment, Sheng Yu walked over, covered Tang Ci's ears, and said to the two people at the door, "Get lost."
Seeing Tang Ci's bewildered look, Zhou Yiyang knew that nothing had happened between them. He chuckled and nudged Jin Ming, who was about to ask more questions, with his elbow: "We were the ones who were too nosy. It's none of our business how you two behave."
Jin Ming stopped wasting words and got straight to the point: "My junior high classmates are having a get-together tonight, are you coming?"
Sheng Yu let go of her hand, looked down at Tang Ci who looked completely bewildered, and asked, "What time will you finish your tutoring today?"
Tang Ci took out her phone and checked the plan: "Around 5:30."
"Send me the address." Sheng Yu said to Jin Ming, then ruthlessly pulled the door shut and slammed it shut for them.
The hotel room door was well soundproofed; a faint buzzing sound of voices could be heard outside, which disappeared along with indistinct footsteps.
Tang Ci looked up and tugged at the hem of his T-shirt: "Are you angry with them?"
Seeing her blank and confused expression, Sheng Yu's furrowed brows relaxed. Instead of answering her question, he warned, "Don't pay any attention to what they say from now on. They're all scoundrels."
Tang Ci nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite: "Then why do you still play with them?"
She spoke softly, with a hint of reproach, yet her expression was full of worry.
Sheng Yu looked down at her for a few seconds, then raised the corners of his mouth and whispered in her ear, "Maybe it's because I'm a hooligan too."
Tang Ci rubbed her earlobe and said in a serious tone, "Don't talk about yourself like that. Why would a hooligan ask for extra lessons?"
"..." Sheng Yu chuckled softly and ruffled her hair vigorously: "It's all thanks to Teacher Tang's excellent teaching."
/
Tang Ci was a responsible person. After agreeing to tutor Sheng Yu during the holidays, she made a list of tutoring plans for each weekend during the holidays based on Sheng Yu's grades.
After seeing her schedule, Sheng Yu raised an eyebrow and said with a half-smile, "Make up for it every week?"
Thinking he was unhappy because of the high frequency of tutoring, Tang Ci pursed her lips and gently advised, "That's the current plan, but if you've mastered all the knowledge points on the schedule, we can end the tutoring early."
Sheng Yu said "Oh," put the notebook on the desk, pulled out a chair and sat down: "Let's begin."
Tang Ci nodded and agreed, but hesitated when she moved the chair.
The desk provided by the hotel had a wide top, but the space underneath was cramped. After Sheng Yu sat down, there was very little space left for her, and she would inevitably have to sit next to Sheng Yu's thigh.
Tang Ci hesitated for two seconds, then, under Sheng Yu's urging gaze, he laboriously carried the heavy chair to the opposite side of the desk before finally sitting down with satisfaction.
Sheng Yu lifted her eyelids and glanced at the empty space under the table, her pen twirling in her hand.
As Sheng Yu said, the hotel was indeed quieter than the library, with bright lighting and a comfortable temperature, making it a good place to study in peace.
Tang Ci was in a good mood and, with great enthusiasm, opened the workbook and began explaining the problems.
Sheng Yu rested her chin on her hand, her thick, dark eyelashes drooping slightly, listening attentively and occasionally responding to her questions.
As she spoke, Tang Ci's relaxed brows gradually furrowed. After Sheng Yu gave the wrong formula for the eighth time, she slowly realized that her tutoring career was about to suffer a huge setback.
"What happened?" Tang Ci put down her pen, clutching her workbook in despair. "These points were covered before, how could I get so many wrong?"
Sheng Yu showed no shame and said casually, "The holiday was too long, I forgot."
Tang Ci sighed deeply and said softly, "It's only been a week."
Sheng Yu laughed: "That's very long."
“This won’t work.” Tang Ci hesitated for a few seconds, then tentatively suggested, “How about adding one more day a week for tutoring?”
"Not very good."
Sheng Yu rested his elbow on the table, seemingly pondering for a second before taking out his phone. He tapped the screen a few times before looking back at her: "You have to pay for your work. I can only agree if you take the money."
Tang Ci then realized that her phone had vibrated in her pocket. She took it out and saw that Sheng Yu had transferred 20,000 yuan to her.
She was startled and, clutching her phone, stammered, "Why did you transfer so much money to me?"
Sheng Yu tapped the table with his fingertip and said matter-of-factly, "At the market price of three thousand a day, with two reimbursements per week, it's a total of twenty thousand."
Tang Ci paused for a moment: "But this is the price for a famous teacher." She subconsciously refused and clicked the screen to get a refund.
Sheng Yu pressed down on her arm: "Shouldn't I have the right to set the price?"
Tang Ci hesitated for a moment: "But isn't it a problem that you're giving me so much money all at once? Won't your family... blame you?"
Sheng Yu's eyes narrowed slightly, and his tone became indifferent: "Sheng Hong won't care about this little bit of money."
Tang Ci took a deep breath, still feeling a bit pressured, and said in a calm voice, "I will tutor you properly."
Sheng Yuping's straight lips finally curved into a smile: "Then I'll have to trouble you."
The tutoring session was 15 minutes late, just before lunchtime, so Sheng Yu ordered food to be brought to her room.
After finishing her meal, Tang Ci's clothes dried and were returned by the waiter. She changed in the restroom, then went to her desk to pack her textbooks, preparing to go home.
Sheng Yu casually pulled a jacket out of the closet and put it on: "Want to come to a bar with me?"
Tang Ci slowed down her packing: "I think I'll pass."
Sheng Yu put on her coat, left her collar open, walked to the desk, picked up her pencil case, and said, "Go over there and intimidate them for me."
Tang Ci pointed incredulously at herself: "Me?"
Sheng Yu tossed her pencil case aside, his dark pupils blinking slightly as he looked at her: "Let them know I have someone looking after me, so they won't always ask me to go out and play."
Tang Ci felt something was off about his words. After pondering for a while, she asked in a low voice, "Does it mean I'll be your housekeeper?"
Sheng Yu chuckled and stuffed the pencil case into her hand: "You can use it as something else if you want."
As he withdrew his hand, his fingertips intentionally or unintentionally brushed against the lines of her palm, sending a shiver down Tang Ci's spine. She quickly put her pencil case back into her backpack, zipped it up again, and didn't respond to his words.
As Tang Ci rode the elevator downstairs, a million possible relationships between her and Sheng Yu flashed through her mind.
She had considered the relationships with fellow patients, classmates, deskmates, and even the joking housekeeper she was now with—deeper than just friends.
She just knew she couldn't think about it.
How could she take Sheng Yu's joke seriously?
After exiting the elevator, Sheng Yu went to the front desk to renew her room fee, while Tang Ci went to the door to wait for the doorman to bring the car over.
The winter sky darkened early, and the hotel lobby was in a drafty spot. Even with a scarf, Tang Ci couldn't avoid shivering from the wind. When she saw a familiar car driving up, she quickly went over.
Before they even got close to the car, the window suddenly rolled down, and the doorman who had previously ignored Tang Ci was there to help park. He leaned out of the window and said to Tang Ci expressionlessly, "Excuse me, could you move aside?"
Tang Ci sensed the disdain in his tone and assumed she had stood in the wrong place to board the bus. She obediently went down two steps and waited in the night breeze.
The doorman drove the car all the way to the gate before stopping. As the revolving door turned, Sheng Yu lowered her eyes, sorted out her wallet, and walked to the car.
The car door opened, and the doorman got out and stood respectfully by the car, holding the door open for Sheng Yu.
Sheng Yu didn't rush to get on the train. Seeing the empty carriage, her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. When her gaze swept over the person standing dumbfounded at the bottom of the steps, her frown deepened, and she called out in a deep voice, "Tang Ci—"
Hearing the sound, Tang Ci looked up and saw Sheng Yu by the door. She ran up the steps, walked around the front of the car, and went to his side.
Sheng Yu looked at her nose, which was red from the cold, and said in a rather unfriendly tone, "Who told you to wait down there?"
Tang Ci glanced at the doorman who had his head down and said softly, "I was afraid of blocking the car, so I went down to wait."
As she spoke, white mist rose from her lips, obscuring her narrow face.
"Next time, find a warm place to wait," Sheng Yu said, exasperated. She casually pulled the hood of her coat over her head, walked around the front of the car, and opened the passenger door for her. "Get in quickly."
Tang Ci said "Oh," and walked around the front of the car again. When she entered the car, Sheng Yu remained silent, resting his hands on the roof of the car. He closed the car door after she was seated.
Sheng Yu went back to the driver's seat and drove off, without giving the doorman a single glance.
The doorman only slowly straightened up after the car drove onto the street.
/
Sheng Yu parked the car in the parking lot outside the bar. Zhou Yiyang called just then, and when he learned that they had just arrived, he said he would come out to pick them up.
After passing through the bar's modern corridor, they arrived at the bar's entrance. Opening the soundproof door, deafening music and various colored lights poured out.
In this environment, all senses are diminished. When Tang Ci went in, she lost her footing, stepped on her overly long shoelace, and almost tripped.
The music drowned out all the noise, and Sheng Yu didn't hear her cries. Tang Ci rubbed her face, thinking that it was good that no one had seen her.
She crouched down and quickly tied her shoelaces, then stood behind Zhou Yiyang just before Sheng Yu turned around to look for her.
As soon as the door to the private room opened, a boy called out to Sheng Yu, "Brother Yu, look who's here today!"
Sheng Yu lifted his eyelids, saw the girl sitting on the sofa, and raised the corners of his mouth as a greeting.
The girl seemed used to his indifferent attitude, her cheeks slightly flushed as she remained silent.
The boy who started the conversation persisted: "Ren Xue came to see you as soon as she returned to the country, and you, her old classmate, didn't even make a gesture?"
Today is a junior high school reunion. Everyone in the class knew that Ren Xue liked Sheng Yu back then, and with the boys' encouragement, quite a few people tried to match them up.
Seeing that things were not going well, Zhou Yiyang clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Hey—you guys stop for a moment. Sheng Yu brought people with him today. You guys need to be more discerning."
Upon hearing this, the people in the private room noticed the girl standing next to Sheng Yu. She had a fair complexion, was slender, and had a scholarly air about her. She was even carrying a backpack to the bar.
The boy was stunned, his voice dropping several octaves: "Brother Yu actually took the initiative to bring a girl out to play, what should we call her?"
Tang Ci moved her lips and whispered, "Butler."
No one heard her words. Zhou Yiyang caught Sheng Yu's flirtatious gaze and blurted out, "Call her sister-in-law."
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