Chapter 13
"Yao Yao has no weaknesses except for her talent. She has won gold medals for teenagers in piano, dance, calligraphy, painting, and writing."
"Yes, Yao Yao works very hard in everything she does, and her grades have always been excellent. Being forced to attend the Magic Fishing Academy was a last resort. Teacher Xia, we heard from Yao Yao that you are a good teacher, unlike those teachers who just coast along. We beg you to help Yao Yao."
Li Yao's parents are business people, unpretentious and straightforward. Precisely because they are business people, their social status cannot be compared with Cheng Mo, Ye Feng and others, so their family needs an outstanding academic upstart to cross social classes.
Chi Xia glanced at Li Yao. The girl looked at her like that; she was indeed a model student. "You're too kind, Yao Yao's parents. I cherish this job and will do my best. Li Yao, could you show me your room?"
Li Yao stood up. "Teacher, come with me."
Chi Xia glanced at Xun Jiang, who smiled and waved his hand, "Go ahead, I'm having tea with Yao Yao's parents."
Li Yao's father got up to pour tea for Xun Jiang and offer him some snacks, saying, "Teacher Xun, please have some tea..."
Li Yao's house is very large, a five-story detached villa with front and back yards. If divided among a family of five, each person could have a floor. Li Yao led Chi Xia into the living room in the front yard and introduced Chi Xia to her grandparents who lived on the first floor, the guest rooms on the second floor, her parents on the third floor, and the storage room and study on the fourth floor. Li Yao then led Chi Xia to the fifth floor.
"Teacher, don't you find it ridiculous how my parents describe me? They say I'm good at everything, but unfortunately, I have no talent."
"It's a pity it exists, but it's laughable that it doesn't."
Li Yao looked at Chi Xia intently, "Teacher, is it true that a six-year-old child can awaken their talent?"
"It's true, I saw it with my own eyes."
"How did it awaken its talent?"
It's clear that Li Yao is very curious about this question, which is understandable, as she has already made every effort beyond her natural talent.
Chi Xia didn't rush to answer, "Have we arrived at your room?"
Li Yao stepped onto the last step of the stairs. "This way, teacher."
Unlike the girly pink, Li Yao's fifth floor has a simple and elegant overall style. The main building is in black, white and gray tones. Unlike her grandparents' wooden structure or her parents' Western style, her floor is filled with green plants and has a floor-to-ceiling window for her plants to get light.
"You like plants?"
Chi Xia squatted down curiously to look at the large-leaved plants, finding it hard to imagine that a single leaf could have so many colors and variations.
Li Yao also squatted down, "Yes, plants are more interesting than people."
When did you start liking it?
Li Yao thought about it carefully, "Once, I was eating at my dad's friend's restaurant when I saw a very beautiful orchid, and I've been obsessed with it ever since."
"Did you raise all of these yourself?"
"Yes, once when I went to a competition, my aunt had killed a few of the plants when I came back, and since then I've been taking care of them myself."
Looking at the thriving plants, Chi Xia stood up and said, "Let's go to your room and take a look."
The moment Li Yao opened her bedroom door, Chi Xia felt as if she had stepped into a plant kingdom. Everything inside—the bed, wardrobe, tables, chairs, and so on—was designed to provide better living space for her plants. A plant bedroom that made the most of everything was a rare sight.
Chi Xia looked at them one by one, big ones, narrow ones, drooping ones, hanging ones. These plants were growing better than the ones outside, and not just a little bit. It was as if they had been nourished by some kind of special growth hormone. One leaf grew like a big umbrella, providing shade for the desk in front of the window.
"Aren't these plants the same varieties as those outside?"
"Some are the same."
"So the ones inside are fertilized, but the ones outside aren't?"
"On the contrary, teachers, the outside is often fertilized, but the inside is never fertilized."
"Besides your room, do your parents' and grandparents' rooms have plants? And do they grow like the ones in your bedroom?"
“I moved a few pots into their room, but they didn’t grow very well, just like the ones outside.”
Chi Xia's eyes lit up as she looked at Li Yao through the surrounding greenery, finding the girl even more radiant. "Li Yao, is it possible that your talent lies in arranging plants?"
Li Yao wasn't very surprised. Hearing Chi Xia say this, she even smiled faintly as usual, "It's not just the teacher who said this. We've tested many times, and it's not true."
Chi Xia looked at the girl who was shining brightly among the green plants and said, "Someone once told me that talent requires deliberate practice. The more you use it, the more comfortable you become. Try it yourself. Some people don't feel anything in the early stages of their talent."
Li Yao didn't have high hopes, perhaps because she had accumulated too much disappointment.
Chi Xia and Li Yao went downstairs and chatted with Li Yao's parents and grandparents in the front hall. The family had a very good atmosphere and got along very well. Li Yao's father was henpecked, Li Yao's mother was a polite and intelligent woman, and Li Yao's grandparents were very open-minded.
As for Li Yao, she was very different at home and in her college class. In that chaotic class, she didn't try to stand out or be an outlier in order to fit in, nor did she show any ambition. But she didn't miss any of the professional knowledge she was supposed to learn, and her study was full of practice books.
Before leaving, Chi Xia said to Li Yao, "Don't worry, just do your best. You do your part, and I'll figure out the rest."
Li Yao was very excited after hearing this. She even grabbed Chi Xia's hand and asked, "Teacher, you're not lying to me? A 40% talent percentage really won't be my weakness?"
Chi Xia squeezed her palm, her eyes shining brightly in the darkness, "I promise."
On the way back, Chi Xia kept thinking about the connection between Li Yao and those plants. She had seen that kind of symbiotic relationship before, except it wasn't with plants. That person had a symbiotic relationship with the owl he kept. He could see the world from the owl's perspective.
Unfortunately, that person was killed by Chi Xia.
Generally speaking, it's easier to kill people at night, but that person was an exception. Chi Xia staked out for three nights before figuring out his talent and nature. That guy was nocturnal and never slept at night. He had amazing night vision. Trying to kill him at night would only make things difficult for him.
"Teacher Xia, how was your day?" Xun Jiang's words interrupted Chi Xia's thoughts.
Chi Xia glanced at him, "Not bad, thank you for your help today, Dr. Xun."
Xun Jiang smiled and looked at her in the car mirror. "Not at all, it's my honor. The tea and snacks at Li Yao's house are even better than the special meals. By the way, Li Yao's father gave you a red envelope and asked me to put it in my suit pocket. Take it yourself."
Chi Xia took the suit, first flipping it over to find a box, then realizing it might belong to Dr. Xun, she quickly put it back, saying, "I'm sorry."
"This is for you too."
"Oh." Chi Xia took it out and opened it. "A bracelet? Li Yao's family gave it to me?"
"No, it's a gift from me."
Chi Xia: "..."
The worst thing is when the air suddenly goes quiet. Chi Xia lowered the car window, and the scent of the car's fragrance was blown away by the night breeze.
Dr. Xun tightened his grip on the steering wheel slightly. "Don't you like it?"
“Oh yes, I don’t like wearing jewelry. I’ll put it back for you, you can give it to someone else.” Chi Xia said as she closed the box and put it back. Then she reached for the other side and found a red envelope. Inside was a black card from a high-end shopping mall.
Seeing that she didn't seem very surprised, Xun Jiang asked, "You don't like it either?"
Chi Xia gave an awkward smile, "I still think cash is cuter."
Xun Jiang laughed, and Chi Xia laughed too; their laughter made the air feel much fresher.
Dr. Xun: "The Magic Fishing Academy is very different; other schools don't allow teachers to accept gifts."
Chi Xia: "Well, I should be content. The Magic Fishing Academy encourages this kind of behavior that tries to generate income for teachers. It seems that this home visit gift was secured by our director. I'll send him a gift later."
Dr. Xun glanced at Chi Xia's expressionless face, which was calm and natural, revealing a pure and straightforward nature. Such a person was easy to get along with. "Teacher Xia, I took a liking to you the moment I saw you. If you think I'm alright, how about we start dating?"
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