375. Pan Maoxin’s Misfortunate Life
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Pan Maoxin felt like his recent life was spiraling into a tragic mess.
Last semester, his father somehow managed to find a college girl with a loli face to tutor him. Not just any girl, but one who could unleash a well of violence that nearly rendered him incapable of self-care. Luckily, under all that pressure and for some reason he couldn’t fathom, he suddenly had an epiphany. At least his grades began to climb.
Even though he never really liked studying, there was an unexpected thrill watching his friends’ jaws drop when the monthly exam results were announced.
Then came winter break. After a few months of fun, he thought he had escaped the clutches of that college girl, but surprise, surprise, here comes another one!
At least the last one had the decency to let him keep some dignity. When she hit him, it hurt, but miraculously, no bruises appeared, and he could still boast about his ‘tough boy’ status at school. But this new tutor…
He clutched the bandaged side of his face, nearly sobbing.
What on earth was he supposed to say when he got to class on Monday? If he told his buddies he got beaten up by a girl, all that would linger through his high school years would be their endless mockery!
The doorbell rang.
Pan Maoxin glanced at the clock on the wall. Yep, two o’clock—just perfect.
Reluctantly, he trudged to the door, only to find his new tutor, the ever-smiling Lin Nan, waiting outside.
“Such a good boy today!” Lin Nan remarked, taking in Pan Maoxin’s unfortunate bandages and barely stifling her laughter.
After their recent scuffle with Chen Yao, Lin Nan had felt a tinge of guilt. This time though, all she could think of was how entertaining it was to witness Pan’s misery.
She kicked off her cute sandals and casually slipped into some comfy slippers. “Did you review yesterday’s lesson?”
“Review?” Pan Maoxin gaped. “You never said we had to!”
“Let’s see how well you remember yesterday’s words. Pop quiz! If you fail…”
“Wait! I’ll go check my notes!” Pan Maoxin’s face turned pale; another punch and he was certain he’d lose a tooth.
Lin Nan grinned from ear to ear. “Too late for that!”
In a blink, she closed the door behind her, striding confidently toward the second bedroom while leaving Pan Maoxin in despair.
Pan Maoxin hurried after her, his mind racing to recall all those words from yesterday’s session.
Fortunately, Lin Laoshi’s melodic reading resonated in his brain, making it easy to remember even without much effort.
He breathed a sigh of relief, sliding into a chair at the desk next to Lin Nan.
“Let’s get started.” Lin Nan leaned back in her chair, her legs crossed slightly, grabbing the English textbook. She glanced at the clock, then jumped right into questioning.
Pan Maoxin frantically scribbled with pen and paper, the echoes of Lin Nan’s sweet voice ringing in his ears. It felt like he was copying rather than actually writing from memory.
When did I ever have a good memory?
He hesitated, puzzled as to why he could never retain what his teachers taught, yet somehow, he couldn’t forget a single lesson from Li Na or Lin Nan.
Could it be because he was secretly a masochist? Only remembering things after getting hit?
Ten minutes in, Lin Nan leaned over to inspect his words, exclaiming, “Not bad! Looks like you didn’t make a single mistake!”
“Don’t say ‘looks like!’” Pan Maoxin shivered; one wrong word could land him another round of hits!
Lin Nan took the paper and, after examining his vocabulary, realized that her magic was working; hours had passed, yet Pan hadn’t forgotten a thing.
Unfortunately, this “magic” induced headaches after a few dozen minutes. Home tutoring was fine, but two hours was pushing it. She shuddered to think of how it would drive her crazy if she ever became a real teacher.
“Not bad.” Lin Nan cheerfully pulled a lollipop from her pocket and handed it to him. “Here’s your reward!”
“Do you think I’m a child?” Pan Maoxin grumbled, reluctantly accepting the candy and stuffing it into his pocket. “I’m only two years younger than you, you know!”
Strangely enough, while he protested, he couldn’t help feeling a bit touched.
Compared to the more mature Li Na, he found Lin Nan surprisingly approachable—if only she hadn’t punched him yesterday!
“High school freshman! You’re still a kid!” Lin Nan looked up at the taller Pan Maoxin with a smug grin. “Two years older is still older. Plus, I’m your teacher!”
Popping her own lollipop into her mouth, she pulled out the textbook for the second semester of first-year English. “If you don’t want it, just give it back.”
“Oh, by the way, the next time I come over, it’ll be around May Day. Get ready with your little notebook of English words for the college entrance exam. They should be in stores.”
She noticed Pan Maoxin’s impatient expression and felt slightly irked.
This kid seemed to be either going through a rebellious phase or just bursting with self-awareness, strutting around with an air of defiance.
He probably just needs another punch.
But hey, as long as he was sitting there and participating, Lin Nan didn’t mind. It was much more bearable than yesterday when he completely ignored her and was planning to mess with her.
“We’ll have class outside around May Day.” Lin Nan initially planned to use her magic for teaching, but suddenly felt like dragging out the lesson a bit more.
“Outside?”
“It’ll be lively! We should find a milk tea or coffee shop, and you’ll treat me!”
“Wow, you’re so stingy.”
“Thanks! I’m quite the saver.”
She worried that being alone with Pan Maoxin might lead him to develop a crush on her due to her magic. Though hitting him might solve the issue, going overboard was still a no-go.
Once class officially started, Lin Nan began reading the words softly, and Pan Maoxin obediently echoed her. He watched as she occasionally pulled out her phone to look up the pronunciations, and honestly, it didn’t seem like she was a very competent tutor.
Other tutors would usually be passionate or thorough, while Lin Nan would just Google the pronunciation of words right there.
It felt like he could’ve bought an English reading pen instead!
Just like yesterday, they followed the same class format. The first hour was dedicated to reciting words and the second to writing an English essay. Two hours flew by unnoticed.
For some inexplicable reason, Pan Maoxin noticed that Lin Nan always looked like she was in agony, rubbing her temples after each session.
He suspected she might be on her period.
“Okay, you’ll have to wait until May Day to see me again.” Lin Nan perked up, pulling out another lollipop from her pocket, “You did well today. Here’s another reward!”
“I’m an adult. Stop treating me like a kid! I’m only two years younger than you!” Pan Maoxin huffed, turning his head away in annoyance.
Lin Nan didn’t mind at all. She flung the candy onto the table and turned to leave, suddenly realizing that Pan Maoxin was following her.
“No need to see me off!”
“I’m going downstairs to buy some snacks.”
