618. The Arrival of the Class Teacher
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If Lin Nan hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would find it hard to believe that her class teacher could actually blush.
She scrutinized the class teacher, who had just arrived and was now awkwardly sitting at the dining table, and she was quite certain there was a hint of red on his face.
Remembering back, the class teacher had once boasted loudly in front of dozens of students, spinning tales and bragging without a hint of embarrassment—this was merely from Lin Nan’s cohort, not to mention the countless students from the previous years. He must have told his tall tales to hundreds by now.
Even when he became a street vendor, Lin Nan had observed his sales tactics. He could turn the mundane, low-quality clothes from the market into something that sounded like a luxury brand, without the slightest shame.
But today, having followed her mother to her grandfather’s house, the class teacher clearly understood the situation, and when faced with Lin Nan, he inexplicably turned red.
Her grandfather had gone off to play Mahjong, and her mother was upstairs tidying Lin Nan’s room, leaving only Lin Nan, Chen Yao, and the class teacher exchanging confused glances in the living room.
After a while, Lin Nan sighed dramatically, “You didn’t say anything like that back then.”
She had even considered playing matchmaker between the class teacher and her mother, but the class teacher had firmly rejected the idea. Yet, it seemed they were getting close all on their own thanks to a meal.
The class teacher scratched his head awkwardly, looking like a young man on his first blind date, completely at a loss.
“If you keep scratching your head, you’ll be bald before long.”
Before, Lin Nan had found the class teacher quite likable, but today, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat irked.
With that head even more bald than Xiong Da’s, a belly that rivaled Tu Junhui’s, and a face that wasn’t winning any beauty contests, if it weren’t for his clean white shirt and a cultured vibe giving him the appearance of a retired bureaucrat, she’d have no idea how to look at him.
Chen Yao brought over a glass of plain water and set it down in front of the class teacher, barely passing it off as hospitality.
“Lin Nan, your grandfather’s quite serious. When you’re not familiar, try to avoid being all goofy and smiling, or he might think you’re not dependable,” Chen Yao began imparting wisdom on how to deal with Lin Nan’s grandfather. “Be a bit more industrious, help out with some work. If you have extra cash, buy him a bottle of white wine, but he’s been feeling under the weather lately, so best not let him drink.”
Chen Yao was the son-in-law, and the class teacher was also a son-in-law; he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
Meanwhile, Lin Nan was cuddling her Cola Cat, with a Lemon Bird perched on her shoulder, all three sets of eyes still scrutinizing the class teacher.
“So, how far along are you and my mom?”
The class teacher felt his scalp prickle under the weight of those three intense gazes, especially the look from the bird on Lin Nan’s shoulder that seemed to think he was an idiot, making him uneasy.
“Not far at all. Just helping her with her stall, prepping ingredients at noon, sometimes having a meal together.”
So, basically just work buddies.
Her mother’s business was all about food, and since most ingredients needed to be fresh, it looked like she worked at the night market until the early hours. In truth, prepping the ingredients took several additional hours behind the scenes.
All in all, the street food business was hard-earned money.
Lin Nan nodded and asked, “Do your family members approve?”
“Yeah, my son would love to set me up on blind dates every day, and my parents think it’s about time I found someone. They’ve met your mom and think she’s quite good.”
At that moment, the Lemon suddenly leaned in close to Lin Nan’s ear and whispered, “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
This parrot, likely influenced by the magic image Lin Nan used to teach it since childhood, was much smarter than regular parrots and had a bit of a jealous streak towards Chen Yao; probably a side effect of the magic.
The class teacher heard it but didn’t think much of it; after all, a parrot, though clever, didn’t count as a voice of reason.
However, Lin Nan nodded in agreement. “I think so too.”
Chen Yao shot a strange glance at his girlfriend. “Didn’t you once want to play matchmaker for them? What changed?”
“That was half-joking, but I figured by the time they really got together, the class teacher’s career would be stable, right?” Lin Nan looked at the class teacher with an expression full of disappointment, like one would give to a child failing an exam. “By forty, if you don’t have a ton of cash, you should at least have a stable career, right?”
Currently, the class teacher’s situation was far from a stable career.
Lin Nan had done her homework; although he boasted of making nearly ten thousand a month, five thousand would be a fantastic month for him. He’d only ever seen peaks of around seven thousand and lows that dipped to two thousand.
Yeah, after three years of classes with this guy, it should have been obvious that his claims of a ten-thousand-dollar monthly income were nothing but hot air.
Realistically speaking, for a middle-aged man at forty, earning four or five thousand a month in a small county was decent, but the problem was, the class teacher’s income was so unpredictable, he could easily lose his job any day, not to mention he had a mortgage hanging over his head.
Sure, online many claimed to be earning over ten thousand a month, but even in the big cities, only about thirty percent managed that.
Lin Nan had once supported the class teacher’s decisive leap into entrepreneurship, but now she couldn’t help but think… was the class teacher a bit off his rocker?
Noticing the impatient look on Lin Nan’s face, the class teacher turned his head away sheepishly.
Even though Lin Nan’s mother had no house, car, or savings, she had made around four to five thousand a month in a managerial position at a factory—stable, at least, and she knew everyone in the factory management.
“Where’s Xiuying? Why hasn’t she come back yet?” The class teacher seemed restless, glancing towards the door, but all he saw was a tricycle passing by outside.
“Maybe her Mahjong game with grandpa isn’t over yet,” Lin Nan sighed softly. “He’s been in a funk lately.”
It had been days since their great-grandmother’s funeral, and she had tried to lift her grandfather’s spirits, but to no avail. For the past few days, he had sat at the Mahjong table from morning until deep into the night, even eating the meals she brought in a lunchbox.
Mentioning her grandfather made Lin Nan’s mood dim again, and Chen Yao gently took her hand in a gesture of comfort.
Lin Nan pondered for a moment and asked, “Did you bring any wine?”
“Of course! Moutai! Three hundred a bottle!” The class teacher looked a bit flustered in front of his two students.
“Just pull it out for my grandpa to see. Don’t let him drink it.”
The class teacher nodded understandingly. “Got it. He’s got gout, right? No beer or seafood for him.”
Barely a couple of sentences in, there was the sound of polished shoes stepping on the floor at the entrance, and the few people inside instantly fell silent, turning to look.
