572. Good for Nothing
==============================
“Alright, class is over for today.”
At these words, Pan Maoxin’s heart skipped a beat. He turned to look at Lin Nan, who was sitting not far away, and his expression darkened.
Lin Nan, clueless as ever, stretched her arms high and yawned, trying to wake her body from sitting for two hours.
Her curvy figure was particularly striking as she stretched. If it were Chen Yao, he would already be shamelessly taking advantage of the view, but Pan Maoxin was too preoccupied to notice. He lowered his head and sighed softly, “Are you really not coming back next semester?”
“Nope! Not even for extra money!” Lin Nan closed her textbook and quickly added, “Don’t start throwing numbers at me. It’s non-negotiable!”
It’s not like she wanted to get tempted later.
She couldn’t be a tutor here forever. Being a tutor was just a gig—definitely not stable, and let’s be honest, it’s like a part-time job with no benefits at all.
If someday she really got her teaching certificate and became a teacher at a training institution, maybe she could even start her own classes and call it entrepreneurship!
Hearing Lin Nan say that, Pan Maoxin became even more gloomy. “Am I that annoying?”
“Not really,” Lin Nan gave a perfunctory reply and stood up, ready to leave the bedroom.
“Wait! Let’s grab dinner together tonight?”
She hesitated, turning back, her brow furrowing. “Why dinner?”
“Well, you’ve taught me for a whole semester and even helped my English grades!” Pan Maoxin looked away sheepishly.
“Your other subjects should be doing better too if your English improved.” Lin Nan shook her head in exasperation, “Isn’t it nice when your grades get praised by teachers and classmates? If you can do well in English, why not put in a little effort in your Chinese and math?”
Even if you’re not going to work hard, at least don’t make your textbooks look like they were just bought, right? This guy only has good grades in English while everything else remains stagnant.
“The school teachers aren’t as good as you! I just can’t be bothered to listen to their lectures, especially since you didn’t teach me anything else,” Pan Maoxin turned the accusation onto Lin Nan.
Of course not! Those teachers couldn’t even use magic!
This accusation left Lin Nan feeling quite pleased, and in a good mood, she agreed to dinner. “So where are we eating? Fancy restaurant? Michelin-star?”
“I don’t have that much pocket money!”
“Then I’m leaving.” Lin Nan picked up her bag and headed for the door.
“I’ll cook for you!”
Lin Nan was taken aback, turning around to see Pan Maoxin’s slightly flushed face, head down and avoiding eye contact.
Something seemed off about her student today, but she brushed it off and asked, “You can cook?”
“Usually, my dad’s not home, and I barely see my mom once a year. Fed up with takeout, I like to cook for myself,” Pan Maoxin mumbled, staring at the ground.
Who would’ve thought he could actually cook? Lin Nan always thought of him as a useless little punk.
“Alright, I can help you! Is there food in the fridge? If not, we can still make it to the market.”
“Yeah! Let’s go to the market!” Pan Maoxin perked up, bouncing over to grab his phone and digging out a pair of socks from under the bed.
Once he was all set, Lin Nan left her bag behind, took her phone, shielded herself with an umbrella, and they headed to the nearby supermarket.
Lin Nan didn’t really want to get too close to Pan Maoxin since he was just a part-time student. She worried that if they grew too friendly, separating later would be painful.
Even though she often called him a kid, the reality was he was only two years younger than her.
Lost in her thoughts, she suddenly realized the umbrella had slipped out of her hands. Turning to her side, she found Pan Maoxin holding it for her.
Not too bad of a kid.
“You should act this good all the time! Why save it for the last day?”
“……” Pan Maoxin said nothing, just maintaining his hold on the umbrella.
As they walked out of the community gate, Lin Nan felt Pan Maoxin was increasingly acting strange today.
Could it be the negative effects of the magic used in class? Maybe it made students start liking her?
But if that was the case, it would have shown up long ago.
“Hey! Maoxin, is that your girlfriend?” A student about Pan Maoxin’s age greeted him outside a fruit store. “She’s quite pretty!”
Pan Maoxin shot him a glare but didn’t explain any further, leading Lin Nan past the fruit shop.
His expression clearly showed he was annoyed by being mistaken for her boyfriend.
Now Lin Nan felt reassured.
If he really liked her, he wouldn’t react like that.
Since there was still time, Lin Nan casually called Chen Yao, letting him know she’d be back around eight.
The supermarket wasn’t far from the neighborhood—just a street away, about a thousand meters.
Pan Maoxin held the umbrella, skillfully ensuring Lin Nan stayed shaded, glancing around but ultimately focusing his gaze back on her.
Though Lin Nan was two years older, walking side by side, she barely reached his shoulder.
Plus, with her baby fat, Pan Maoxin had a weird urge to think this was more of a little sister situation.
“What are you planning to cook tonight?” Lin Nan asked, fiddling with her phone while looking up at him, who, at the very least, was 1.8 meters tall.
This guy was way too tall! Speaking to him was a pain—she had to look up the whole time, and if that went on, she’d end up with a sore neck.
“Braised pork ribs?”
“Sounds good.”
“Sweet and sour pork?”
“Alright too!”
“Stir-fried water spinach?”
“Let’s skip that.”
Based on their back-and-forth, Pan Maoxin realized his teacher was a true meat lover with a probably strong palate.
Now he had a good idea of what to make for dinner, a smile crept onto his face.
Time to make Lin Laoshi see him in a new light!
Always treating him like a little kid, thinking he’s a useless thug.
But after today, maybe they wouldn’t see each other again…
His smile faded instantly, a heavy sigh escaped him, feeling inexplicably blocked up inside, as if a long-time friend were about to leave, and he was filled with reluctance.
Entering the supermarket’s fresh produce section, Pan Maoxin skillfully picked various meats, clearly at ease.
Honestly, Lin Nan was surprised.
She had thought that even if Pan Maoxin could cook, it was probably just stir-frying some meat or whipping up an egg fried rice—many claimed they could cook just by making instant noodles.
Seeing him operate with some finesse left Lin Nan without much to say; she just watched him select ingredients, increasingly suspecting that Pan Maoxin’s real passion lay in cooking, which is probably why he wasn’t interested in studying.
Not everyone is cut out for academia. If you can properly guide a student’s hobbies, they might achieve something significant.
“Do you really enjoy cooking?”
“Not really. If takeout around here wasn’t so expensive and bad, who would want to cook for themselves?”
Well, it’s clear… he is indeed good for nothing.
