571. The Last Lesson
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Next week, Pan Maoxin has his final exams.
So this weekend is Lin Nan’s very last tutoring session.
After using figurines to get Xiong Da to talk last time, this guy has gradually become more lively. Who knows if he finally snapped out of it or just decided to pour all his feelings into those toys? In this past week, he shelled out almost 10,000 yuan for seven or eight new figurines to decorate his desk and has been giving his two-dimensional wife daily baths.
His daytime class status and nighttime insomnia seem to have improved quite a bit; at least those dark circles under his eyes are finally fading.
Seeing his state improving, Chen Yao naturally returned to their rental apartment for some quality sleep. His back and waist hurt so much after days of covering for Lin Nan that he could barely walk.
“You’re leaving now? How about lunch first?”
On the weekend, when Chen Yao woke up, it was already high noon. He blinked awake and saw Lin Nan, all dressed and ready to brush her teeth for class.
“I won’t have time for lunch. I’ll grab some snacks on the way,” Lin Nan said, leaning in front of the mirror and plucking an overly-long eyebrow with tweezers.
Chen Yao had grown accustomed to Lin Nan’s increasingly feminine habits. He lay sideways on the bed, watching his girlfriend in the bathroom, and asked, “So, how many points do you think Pan Maoxin will score on his finals?”
“English will definitely be fine; I just don’t know about Math and Chinese,” Lin Nan replied, looking a bit worried. After all, he was her first student, and if he scored decently, it would make her teaching résumé look good.
Considering that the once bottom-ranked student had gone from failing to the top five in English in a single semester, it sure looked like she had a knack for this.
With just two weeks left before college summer break, Lin Nan needed to secure a decent summer job. If she waited too long, all the good positions would be snatched up by other college students.
What a hassle to think about.
Lin Nan sighed, set the tweezers down on the sink, and suddenly remembered Tu Junhui: “Do you think Tu Tu and the vice class leader might end up together?”
During their trip, Tu Junhui and Lin Kexin seemed to be hitting it off, but afterward, they seemed to lose contact.
“I actually think it’s a bit possible. Haven’t you seen him start his weight loss journey recently?”
“Really? I just thought he got even darker.” Lin Nan picked up a towel to dry her face before adding, “That chubby guy couldn’t possibly lose weight. He talks about dieting all the time, but when has he ever actually exercised?”
“For the past few days in the dorm, I’ve noticed he doesn’t even eat dinner.”
Remembering the time in freshman year when Tu Junhui lost weight in a hurry because he had a crush, she realized this time he clearly wasn’t doing it for himself.
Lin Nan’s eyes lit up with gossip: “Have you seen him talking on the phone or texting excitedly?”
“Yeah, every night for about half an hour. But I have no idea if he’s talking to Lin Kexin.”
Tsk tsk. It used to be just this chubby guy left in the dorm filled with bachelors, and now he’s overtaking everyone! Xiong Da, on the other hand, seems to have been dumped, turning him into a lonely dog.
Lin Nan even began to suspect that Tu Junhui was responsible for Xiong Da’s heartbreak, considering how he always complained about being betrayed by their singlehood.
After finishing her morning routine and skipping breakfast, Lin Nan hurriedly left the rental apartment.
She bought a meat floss bread from the convenience store downstairs and hopped on the bus, arriving at Pan Maoxin’s place around two in the afternoon.
Pan Maoxin greeted her at the door with a grin so smug it could rival any cat that got the cream. As Lin Nan walked in, she felt a twinge of reluctance since today was their last lesson together.
Making money like this was going to be tougher from now on.
Previously, when she was in a bad mood, she could threaten and even smack Pan Maoxin around a bit, but that was about to change.
“Teacher Lin, here’s your cola!”
Having spent nearly a whole semester together, Pan Maoxin knew Lin Nan had a preference for cola.
“After today, you’ll be facing finals, so you better at least ace your English exam,” Lin Nan said, sipping on her cola while casting a glance at Pan Maoxin, who seemed unusually obedient today.
Normally, seeing Lin Nan would put Pan Maoxin in a grumpy mood, like someone owed him money. But today, he seemed different.
She glanced at the wall clock and saw it was already two o’clock, so she headed toward Pan Maoxin’s bedroom: “Did you bring your Chinese book? I’m going to teach you some Chinese to avoid any extreme gaps in your subjects.”
“Got it! Got it!” Pan Maoxin followed her around like a goofy puppy, beaming, “I even borrowed someone else’s math book.”
“What’s the point of borrowing math? You can memorize the formulas, but you won’t know how to use them.”
High school math isn’t that hard; just memorize the formulas and do some practice papers. But the problem was that Pan Maoxin hadn’t even touched the brand-new books.
She opened the door to Pan Maoxin’s bedroom, but as soon as she looked up, she froze.
“What in the world is this?” Lin Nan gaped at the dozen red roses artfully arranged like some romantic cliché in the room, “Are you planning to give these to your girlfriend?”
A cluster of vibrant red roses surrounded by white and yellow flowers dominated half of the desk, catching anyone’s eye.
Confused by the situation, she turned back to Pan Maoxin and scolded, “You’re still in high school! What are you doing dating? Your grades are already so-so!”
“So what? I’m sixteen, you know!” Pan Maoxin defended himself, puffing out his chest. “My dad is even about to marry a second wife to be my stepmother. Am I not allowed to have a girlfriend at sixteen?”
If you had good grades, no one would even bat an eye if you skipped class to date.
Lin Nan walked into the room, casually tossed the oversized bouquet onto the bed to clear space, and shot Pan Maoxin an annoyed glare: “Whatever; after today, we won’t see each other again. I can’t be bothered with this.”
But the moment Lin Nan said that, Pan Maoxin seemed to deflate, his attitude completely crumpling.
He sat down at his computer, hesitating to pull out the borrowed Chinese book from the drawer, and finally couldn’t help but ask, “You really won’t come back next semester?”
“Get someone better.” Lin Nan took the book from him and flipped through it, noticing that the blank pages were filled with notes. Clearly, it was the textbook of a good student. Seeing the difference between his book and those of others made her even more annoyed. “Look at someone else’s book compared to yours. Teaching you for another semester might just drive me nuts!”
“Should I give you a raise?” Pan Maoxin asked tentatively.
“Ha! Do I look like someone who can be bought?” Lin Nan replied fiercely, completely unashamed in front of Pan Maoxin. After all, she hadn’t shown any greedy behavior in front of her students.
“How about five hundred then?”
Lin Nan calmly shook her head. Compared to working at a training institute, tutoring definitely takes the back seat, even if she might earn less as a tutor and be more busy.
But that’s a proper internship job that’ll greatly help after graduation…
After flipping through the Chinese textbook a bit, she noticed Pan Maoxin had lost his voice. Lin Nan peeked at him and whispered, “How about a little more?”
