14 Chapter Thirteen
She was like a seasoned lover, effortlessly charming and smoothing over people.
After making their agreement, the children finally calmed down and began to bury themselves in their papers, writing furiously.
The room was completely silent. Li Yingqiao stared at the math test paper, but her pen unconsciously drew circles on the draft paper. Her thoughts drifted away again—thirty years old, her distant thirty years old, she should be a rich woman with a fortune.
Hehe. Li Yingqiao was getting happier and happier the more she thought about it, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.
Yu Jinyang looked up from the test paper and knew what she was laughing about with just a glance. He cruelly pulled her back to the stark reality and looked at her math test paper, where she was struggling to make progress and said, "Let's talk about getting into Tanzhong first. You're at least 60 or 70 points short of Tanzhong's cutoff score last year."
"Sixty points is nothing," she said, mimicking Gao Dian's usual catchphrase.
Gao Dian immediately straightened his back and proudly declared, "Yes, our Xiao Fang has no problem!"
Xiao Fang was the pseudonym used by Li Yingqiao in the report about catching human traffickers. She had almost forgotten about it, but now her memory came flooding back, along with that jingle. She angrily threw a book at Gao Dian.
That's really bringing up the very thing you shouldn't be talking about.
Zheng Miaojia suddenly remembered and asked bluntly, "Qiaoqiao, where do you live now? Why didn't you tell us after you moved? If it weren't for Teacher Liang Mei, were you not planning to contact us at all?"
“No,” Li Yingqiao said, her spirits drooping again. “My mother won’t let me tell you.”
"You're not allowed to talk about it now?" Miao Jia asked curiously.
Li Yingqiao nodded helplessly, "I'll ask my mom after the exam."
Zheng Miaojia quickly said, "It's alright, Auntie is probably worried about your safety. After all, you are a hero of our Little Painting Town, and heroes always need a sense of mystery."
"Why."
The three of them sighed heavily in unison, each with their own thoughts, except for Yu Jinyang, who remained silent as his pen continued to scribble across the paper.
With a "bang," Li Yingqiao delivered another "love strike" to the back of his head, saying, "Why aren't you in sync with us?"
Yu Jinyang: "..."
This time it wasn't heavy at all; he didn't even use a fifth of the force he used before. But Yu Jinyang was clearly starting to act tough. With Liang Mei's hundred yuan backing him up, now if Li Yingqiao even touched him, he would mercilessly deduct a hundred yuan from her, just to correct this habit of hers.
Li Yingqiao was still clinging to their unspoken understanding: "Sigh."
Yu Jinyang gripped his pen and gave her a cold glance: "Nine thousand nine."
Li Yingqiao looked around and chuckled, "Teacher Liang isn't here again; she just went downstairs."
Yu Jinyang turned to look at the other two witnesses—
Sensing the young master's sharp gaze, which seemed determined to expose the criminal underworld, they asked the two men if they were willing to testify in court. Neither of them wanted to provoke the other, and they both quickly lowered their heads.
Gao Dian: "These few?"
Zheng Miaojia: "...B, right?"
Gao Dian waved his hand in front of her, "Are you really blind? This is a fill-in-the-blank question!"
"..."
Li Yingqiao burst into laughter, leaning back in her chair as if her bones had been removed. She then turned to look at Yu Jinyang, who was practically fuming, and raised three fingers, swearing an oath that day would bring thunder and lightning: "Okay, okay, don't be angry, Meow Meow. I promise, I'll never touch the back of your head again. I'll take good care of you from now on, really. How about I light three incense sticks on the back of your head before I start doing my exams?"
She was like a seasoned lover who could easily win people over with sweet talk. She would say anything to beg for forgiveness, only to forget it all in the blink of an eye. She was a repeat offender who never learned her lesson.
If Li Yingqiao were to fulfill all the vows he made to him, even Jay Chou wouldn't have been able to write "Sunny Day".
Yu Jinyang turned back expressionlessly, not wanting to say a single unnecessary word to her: "Let's break up, Li Yingqiao."
Li Yingqiao has always been someone who responds better to gentle persuasion than force. Even after all this coaxing, Yu Jinyang was still acting all high and mighty. She snatched her own test paper away, moved two arm's lengths to the side, and said in a serious tone, "Yu Miaomiao, you said it yourself."
Liang Mei was going downstairs to buy them dinner when she suddenly stopped—two men in black, wearing sunglasses and suits, stood guard at the entrance of the building, looking like two guardian deities, even their postures were exactly the same.
Not far away, a luxury car worth a fortune was parked, its gleaming light shining coldly in the dark night. She initially thought it was the rich second-generation boyfriend of the girl upstairs, but upon closer inspection, she realized that the luxury car looked familiar; it was the Maybach she had seen in front of the state-run hotel.
“Teacher Liang, Mr. Yu would like to have a talk with you,” one of the door gods said.
Liang Mei felt that Yu Renjie had a strange characteristic. Whenever he wasn't alone, especially when he was with his wife and children, he seemed dull and silly, like a giant husky that had come to life, completely unlike a boss worth hundreds of millions. But every time he appeared alone, that elite air of someone who had spent years navigating the world of fame and fortune would reappear.
She felt this deeply in Xiaohua City, and now, as his business empire continues to expand, it has become increasingly flamboyant and obvious.
Regardless of whether they were wearing suits or patched-up clothes, Liang Mei always maintained a businesslike attitude towards the students' parents: "Mr. Yu, what is it?"
Yu Renjie got out of the car and stood in front of Liang Mei. He got straight to the point, neither warm nor distant, saying, "I'm sorry to bother you now, Teacher Liang. I've come to pick up A Yang. Starting today, he won't be coming to your tutoring center for the time being."
Liang Mei has been teaching for several years and has met all sorts of students' parents. Parents like Yu Renjie are actually quite rare. As a wealthy boss, he doesn't have an intimidating condescension or arrogance; as a parent, he doesn't fawn over teachers either.
Liang Mei couldn't really say anything to persuade him to stay, because Yu Renjie had already given her plenty of face, saying that his son was there for tutoring. In fact, the couple probably knew that Yu Jinyang spent most of his time tutoring other students. Moreover, judging from his tone, the word "temporarily" was just a polite excuse; he probably didn't want Yu Jinyang to waste his time there.
Liang Mei understood perfectly, and she frankly admitted that she was selfish in this matter. She overlooked Yu Jinyang's efforts and time investment; he could have studied more efficiently on his own at home during that time.
“…Okay.” Liang Mei’s expression softened slightly, and she nodded somewhat awkwardly for the first time. “Why don’t you come up with me now? They’re probably still writing their papers right now.”
“Teacher Liang,” Yu Renjie explained, “you may have misunderstood. Tang Xiang and I have no complaints about you. We were initially very happy that A-Yang could have tutoring with you. You may not know, but he hasn’t had many friends these past two years. A-Yang has always been good-natured, and he never tells us when he’s bullied at school. Even if my business is doing well, I can’t get involved in school matters. You should understand that no matter how much money you have in Fengtan, it’s not as valuable as having a red stamp. Besides, A-Yang is very bothered by me, his father, interfering in his affairs at school. So, thanks to your tutoring class, he has been able to reunite with his friends from Xiaohua City, and Tang Xiang and I are actually very happy.”
Liang Mei was taken aback and asked, "Then why?"
Yu Renjie looked up and glanced around, his gaze sweeping precisely across the window of Liang Mei's room upstairs, where the light was on. A warm yellow light inexplicably warmed him, like the color of sugar in a cold night, a glass jar that belonged exclusively to his son and his friends.
He said seriously, “Since he was little, A-Yang has rarely caused us any trouble, so I let him make many decisions on his own. But this is something A-Yang didn’t handle well. In order to continue coming to your tutoring center, he recently received two threatening letters about my business at school without telling me or Tang Xiang. We only just found out. His mother was so scared today that she almost had to go to the hospital. Since he doesn’t care about our feelings at all, we can’t continue to spoil him like this.”
Yu Jinyang and his father left with unusual decisiveness, so decisively that Liang Mei noticed something was amiss. It wasn't until she caught a glimpse of Gao Dian and Zheng Miaojia exchanging knowing glances that Liang Mei instantly understood: the little ones had been arguing.
She asked Li Yingqiao, "Should we go after him and say a few more words?"
Li Yingqiao didn't even look up, staring at the test paper without saying a word, and shook her head very firmly.
Liang Mei was too lazy to persuade them. At this age, they treated even the smallest things like a big deal, which was always a headache and a nuisance. She sat down, ready to supervise the other three as they wrote their papers, but she was still a little shaken. She pressed her hands firmly against the top of her head, as if afraid that her soul would fly out of her body.
That said, Yu Jinyang is far too audacious. If something happens to him, how will she explain it to his parents? He seems to be the most sensible one, yet he does the most outrageous things.
However, after walking for less than five minutes, it was as if their backbone had been ripped out. Except for the one who was still sulking, who openly went to the balcony and brought over a praying mantis he had caught a couple of days ago to play with, the other two collapsed limply, their attention wandering as they wrote their papers—one biting his pen, the other picking at his nails.
Liang Mei slammed her hand on the table, sending the praying mantis flying and then crashing down. Without blinking, she sternly scolded, "What are you doing? Aren't you going to study anymore?"
Three heads simultaneously rose up, then simultaneously spread their hands and said, "...No way."
Liang Mei snatched Gao Dian's exam paper, "Which one?"
Gao Dian poked the exam paper with the tip of his pen.
Liang Mei glanced at the densely packed formulas on the test paper and nudged his temple. "Still so self-righteous! Look it up yourself!"
Gao Dian silently pulled the math test paper back: "...Teacher, you clearly don't know it either."
Liang Mei: "I teach Chinese. Do you want me to show you my teaching certificate?"
Gao Dian buried his head in the test paper and muttered, "Our PE teacher can do Chinese too."
Liang Mei cracked her knuckles and squinted slightly as she said, "...I do know a little bit of martial arts."
"Ah, I've got an idea!" Gao Dian immediately buried his head in his writing and began to write furiously.
Liang Mei turned to look at the next person. Zheng Miaojia was still intently biting her nails. "Zheng Miaojia, are you done with your manicure? Have you finished analyzing the key points of the book 'How the Steel Was Tempered'? Come on, don't turn the pages. Tell me the full name of the author of this book now."
Zheng Miaojia exclaimed, "Ah! Didn't you say that just remembering 'Ostrovsky' would be enough?"
"Yes, I'm just picking a fight! I'm asking for the full name!" Liang Mei was furious when she turned around and saw the guy playing with the praying mantis staring at her with a puzzled look. "Are praying mantises fun? Do you know what the full name is?"
"The Chinese Great Sword Mantis!" Li Yingqiao answered quickly and proudly.
"..."
Liang Mei rolled the test paper into a tube, just as she was about to smash it with a stick, when someone asked her the full name of the praying mantis!
Li Yingqiao shrank back and quickly said, "Nikolai Alekseevich Ostrovsky!"
The next second, the other two children immediately started clapping like seals.
Liang Mei was somewhat taken aback; this progress was indeed rapid. However, she sneered, "Very good, but the test point isn't here. Don't waste your time writing the full name. If you write it correctly, you won't get extra points; if you write it wrong, you'll lose points."
"I know," Li Yingqiao said lazily, leaning back in her chair. "You've said it two hundred times already."
Liang Mei: "Yu Jinyang told you it was 150 times, don't put it on my head."
Zheng Miaojia put down her pen, looked at Liang Mei, and asked, "Will Yu Jinyang come again? If he doesn't, who will go over our math papers?"
“The one who came back from Shenzhen,” Liang Mei gave Gao Dian a look, “come on, give us your opinion.”
“I definitely can’t do it,” Gao Dian said anxiously, scratching his head. “I can do some of the questions, but I can’t explain them.”
Zheng Miaojia hurriedly said, "I can testify that several times when he was explaining problems to me, I didn't get angry, but he got angry on his own and inexplicably punched himself hard. I was so scared that I didn't dare to ask him any questions."
Yu Jinyang wasn't impatient and knew how to teach according to aptitude. Li Yingqiao was interested in geometry, so he transformed many problems into geometric formulas or theorems for her to understand again. As long as he broke down the same problem once, and Li Yingqiao had a quick grasp of it, she usually wouldn't make a mistake the second time.
Zheng Miaojia and Gao Dian were no exception; their perplexing problems became clear instantly after his explanation. Yu Jinyang also left each of them a collection of their own compiled mistakes, all tailored to their strengths and weaknesses, with each person having spent time finding mock exams and past exam questions for middle school math.
The printed pages filled three thick notebooks.
It was clear that Yu Jinyang genuinely wanted them to go up into the pool with him, and Liang Mei couldn't help but think of what Yu Renjie had just said—that A-Yang hadn't made many friends in the past two years.
Liang Mei, with her legs crossed, asked Gao Dian, "Is there anyone in your class better at math than Yu Jinyang? Let's see if I can persuade him to come."
Gao Dian thought for a moment and answered truthfully, "There is indeed another math genius in our class. In math, besides Miao Miao, he's second to none. But he doesn't know how to explain or teach; he even omits all the steps in solving problems. We can't even understand his answers when we copy them. Although Miao Miao isn't the best math student in our class, he's definitely the best teacher. He knows how to explain things in a way that we can understand, where to draw auxiliary lines in the most concise and clear way, and he can break down even the most tricky problems into the simplest formulas for you in a methodical way. It's not easy to find a patient and brilliant student like Miao Miao, Teacher Liang, without a close childhood friendship to maintain the connection."
Liang Mei sighed: "Stop talking, your idol is digging a hole and getting ready to crawl in."
Li Yingqiao, who had just squatted down to catch the darting praying mantis, was caught in a dilemma: "..."
[Author's Note]
Miao Jia and Gao Dian are not a couple; they have their own partners. Our little painting city still needs to bring in talent.
Two hundred red envelopes! Happy reading!! [Upright-eared rabbit head][Upright-eared rabbit head][Upright-eared rabbit head]
See you the day after tomorrow!
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