Chapter 24
The tutoring continued, but the location was fixed at Ling Yao's secluded apartment, which became a secret space belonging only to the two of them.
Here, Ling Yao would reveal a side of himself that outsiders would never see. He would quickly raise an eyebrow in recognition when Su Rui solved a difficult problem; when he repeatedly struggled to understand a certain point, he would tsk his tongue, snatch the pen, and scribbled down the key steps in a sloppy yet precise manner; and when Su Rui muttered, "I'm hungry," he would even expressionlessly call for a delicious midnight snack and then plead, "I craved something."
Su Rui indulged in this unspoken "goodness." He interpreted Ling Yao's awkwardness and sharp tongue as a unique concern, and his heart beat fast for it. He studied hard and improved his grades, largely in exchange for Ling Yao's subtle satisfaction.
However, once he left the apartment and returned to school, Ling Yao instantly turned back into the Ling Yao who was the center of attention and out of reach.
During the break, Ah Zhe put his arm around Ling Yao's shoulders and winked, "Brother Yao, you've been missing as soon as class is over lately. What's been going on? Are you really acting as a free tutor for that little tail?"
Ling Yao scoffed at this and pushed Azhe away, his face etched with his usual nonchalant mockery: "Is it possible? Does he deserve it?" He flicked at the nonexistent dust and said frivolously, "I'm just looking for an excuse to get him to come clean the study. And keep an eye on him, don't let him get so stupid as to fail the exam and embarrass me."
There was a burst of tacit laughter all around.
"Brother Yao is awesome! This nanny is worth it!" "Exactly. I gave him a favor, and he even got to attend T University's class?" "Next time, why don't you ask him to help me clean the court too?"
Ling Yao didn't respond, but just smiled lazily, tacitly accepting the teasing.
Su Rui, who had just returned from the office after handing in his homework, heard every word of these words. He felt like he was nailed to the shadows of the corridor, his hands and feet cold.
It turns out… in the eyes of others, “tutoring” was just an excuse to “clean the study.” It turned out that the time alone he cherished was just a way for Ling Yao to prevent him from “embarrassing him.”
A huge sense of embarrassment and shame instantly overwhelmed him. His face turned pale and he could hardly hold the notebook in his hand.
At this moment, Ling Yao's eyes seemed to accidentally sweep over, and seeing his distraught look, his brows knitted slightly. But he said nothing, and quickly turned back, walking away with Ah Zhe and the others, laughing and joking.
Su Rui was restless all day. After school, he hesitated whether to go to the apartment.
In the end, he still went. He told himself: Ling Yao was just talking, he always had to save face in front of his friends. His kindness to me was genuine, his patience in explaining the questions, and his "on the side" midnight snacks, all of it was real...
He walked to the door of the apartment, but it was ajar. He gently pushed it open and saw Ling Yao with his back to the door, rummaging through the refrigerator.
"Standing at the door like a door god?" Ling Yao didn't even turn his head, his voice sounding as impatient as usual, "Come in and close the door. The air conditioning is out."
Su Rui walked in silently and closed the door.
Ling Yao turned around, holding two cans of iced coffee in his hands. He tossed one to Su Rui and pointed casually at the study table. "That set of past exam questions has a pretty good summary of the big questions at the end. Try doing it."
Su Rui took the can of cold coffee and looked at the set of exam questions on the desk, which had obviously been carefully read and the important pages were marked with sticky notes.
——He remembered that when Azhe and the others were making a fuss, Ling Yao was holding an exercise book in his hand. So he was reading this?
At that moment, the harsh words heard in the corridor suddenly became blurred.
See, that's just how he is. He says one thing to people and another behind their backs.
Su Rui chose to believe the latter.
He sat down, opened the exam book, and began to work on the questions. Whenever he got stuck, Ling Yao would still make a disdainful "tsk" sound, but he would still come over and tap his pen on the table to give him some guidance.
The atmosphere seems to be the same as before.
But it seems different.
The grievance and embarrassment in Su Rui's heart were slowly replaced by a more complex emotion - a kind of humility that she knew was drinking poison to quench her thirst, but still accepted it with relish.
In the evening, Ling Yao asked the driver to take Su Rui first as usual. When he got off the car, Ling Yao suddenly called him over, took out a box of exquisitely packaged sleep aid pills from his schoolbag, stuffed it into his hand, and said in a stern tone:
"Grandma, you have trouble sleeping. Sister Yang forced this on me. It's so sweet, it's disgusting. Take it."
Su Rui held the box of sugar pills that were obviously bought specially for the elderly to sleep, and looked at Ling Yao's awkward look through the car window, as if to say, "Take it away and don't bother me."
The last bit of resentment also disappeared.
"Thank you..." he whispered, his eyes a little warm.
The windows rolled up and the car drove away.
Su Rui stood where she was, clenching the sugar pill tightly.
Look, he's been good to me. That's enough.
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