Chapter 119

Thursday, August 29, Sunny

Today was the last home tutoring lesson for Xiao Qi.

Xiao Qi went to the library in the morning to prepare for class as usual, with a strange feeling that was somehow reluctant yet relaxing.

Maybe this was how her teachers felt when she graduated.

For the last lesson, there was not much to prepare since the previous class was an exam and she already had a good understanding of everyone's grades.

Xiao Qi felt she did quite well, all her students improved, especially Liang Jiajia who made great progress from a weak foundation.

Guan Jingzhi's English was good to begin with, and after a summer without getting rusty plus reading all the extracurricular books Xiao Qi recommended and discussing English programs together, her language sense seemed even better.

For the last lesson, Xiao Qi just found some fun and interesting English materials to maintain the enthusiasm for learning English.

Then she picked up a book on marathon running and read for a while.

The full marathon distance is about 42.195 kilometers, which takes a normal person 2-5 hours to complete.

It tests endurance and perseverance more than anything. There are even some professional athletes whose knees get worn out from running marathons so much that it becomes an occupational hazard.

Xiao Qi estimated that with her daily 30,000 steps, about 15 kilometers, it was already quite far. Her knees did not have problems recently, but it could be dangerous if she was not careful.

She wanted to borrow the book but then realized with school starting soon she would not come to the library anymore, so she gave up and left after flipping through it.

Surprisingly, that little boy she often saw was not there today. Xiao Qi thought if she ran into him, she could say goodbye.

Xiao Qi left the library earlier today and went to a bookstore. She wanted to buy some gifts for her students.

In the end she chose the bilingual Chinese-English edition of "The Little Prince" for everyone. Xiao Qi really liked this book. Then she signed her name and wrote best wishes on the first page of each copy.

After lunch, she went to Liang Jiajia’s home. She told Jiajia's mom she would not be home for dinner because Jiajia said they would eat out tonight.

As expected, no one was focused in the last lesson. Even Guan Jingzhi came over to chat.

Eventually Jiajia insisted they sing songs, and they sang an English song together.

Xiao Qi’s English recently improved tremendously. On top of finishing New Concept English level 4, listening to various audio materials, doing College English Test papers, plus two home tutoring lessons every week forcing her to study hard, it felt like something just clicked. Her English was unblocked and she made a breakthrough. Singing English songs was no problem at all now, and chatting with Guan Jingzhi in English was very smooth too.

She gained a lot of confidence compared to when she first started tutoring. The Xiao Qi on camera now versus back then when she had an English sense buff but was still awkward and mechanical were like two different people. Now she was cheerful and natural in conversation.

Everyone made good progress this summer.

They recorded a video singing together without realizing night had fallen.

Jiajia’s mom also came home early to have dinner with the children.

They went back to that Chinese restaurant again owned by a friend of Jiajia’s mom. She took a group of young girls and got a nice private room with a little bridge and flowing water, quite beautiful.

Even though it was Xiao Qi’s second time here, she was still amazed that such a nice place existed in Lvshan City. Next time when she treated Zhou Teacher they could come here, a place Zhou Teacher would probably like with her refined taste.

Xiao Qi wore hip hop sweatpants today with a pink elephant patterned t-shirt, looking not much older than the young girls.

Jiajia's mom wore an elegant black dress, very capable and professional.

Come to think of it, she seemed around the same age as Zhou Teacher, but Jiajia’s mom gave off a more fiery and vigorous aura while Zhou Teacher seemed more of an artistic temperament.

After dinner, surprisingly, Xiao Qi received another big red envelope from Jiajia's mom who insisted she take it despite Xiao Qi's polite refusals.

It contained 2,000 RMB, quite a lot that left Xiao Qi very embarrassed.

Not only did she get the red envelope, the girls had prepared a gift together too - a silver beaded bracelet with a blue heart in the middle, very lively and beautiful.

Xiao Qi noticed the delicate English branding on it, Tiffany&Co. She seemed to recognize the name, so even though it was a silver bracelet she guessed it must be branded and thus not cheap.

The girls were all from well-off families. Xiao Qi was very touched.

Comparing the gifts she chose for them, hers seemed not as thoughtful.

From young til now, she had never received such an elaborate gift plus red envelope before. Wearing the bracelet on her wrist felt strange, she kept lifting her arm to admire it.

The silver beads and blue heart looked really delicate and pretty against her fair skin.

Xiao Qi thought back on her own proactive efforts and contributions exceedingly surpassing her 3 years of high school. Even though she and her dorm mate Xia Zhen had a decent relationship, she did not put in so much effort to understand her roommate.

She took initiative with Jiajia and showed care in getting to know each of them individually, finding the most suitable study method for each person while progressing rapidly herself. So she gained precious gifts that she did not have in the past.

They promised to keep in contact. When they bid farewell waving goodbye, Xiao Qi’s nose felt sour and her eyes turned red. Turning around to leave, tears actually rolled down her face.

Ever since she broke down crying over failing the college entrance exam, Xiao Qi thought she would not shed tears so easily again, yet now she had tears falling once more. She quickly wiped them and looked back to see Jiajia’s mom and the girls still standing by the roadside. Xiao Qi waved again.

“Host gains sincere appreciation from others and passes on her positive energy, rewarding host with Endurance +1. Host shall have the perseverance of a little donkey."

Xiao Qi was in the middle of shedding tears when she heard this voice out of the blue and nearly tripped and fell in shock.

What the heck was a little donkey? And perseverance??

While the people standing over there saw that the teacher seemed too emotional and lost her balance.

Jiajia’s mom said: “Your teacher Xiao Qi is great. If you like her, she can continue tutoring you all next term when she’s back.”

The buffs of being out of reach and swimming talent that Xiao Qi had since last Tuesday the 27th had just ended today, so she was currently just an adorable young girl.

She gained a lot more confidence compared to the past, not just from the confident aura buff but her temperament itself changed tremendously. Learning brings enrichment and empowerment.

The summer tutoring concluded successfully signifying an end to Xiao Qi’s first job ever.

She still had one last Japanese class tomorrow before ending her Japanese studies for now and preparing to head back to register in Alliance City.

When Xiao Qi returned to her aunt’s apartment after the gym, she surprisingly discovered a brand new shiny black suitcase that her aunt specially went to buy for her tonight.

Watching Brother Lin Min pack his luggage she felt a bit silly and muddled, but when she started packing her own luggage she felt time was flying by so fast.

Her dad just called to say he was coming down tomorrow to sell bamboo baskets and would help bring her luggage up.

Xiao Qi did not have much clothing while packing, just some new pieces she bought recently that did not amount to a lot of weight. But there were a lot of books - she only now realized unknowingly she had purchased quite a few books over this time.

Moreover she had read through them all, not entirely brand new books. An entire big box of them, giving her a great sense of accomplishment.

When Su Simei brought fruit over and saw her niece Xiao Qi packing things, she suddenly felt the room becoming empty.

“Auntie don’t worry. Alliance City is very closeby. Whenever I have time I’ll come back, and you can also come visit me at Alliance City if you have days off. The swimming lessons you took are done but there are also fitness coaches you can still train with. I already contacted them for you.” Xiao Qi sat next to her aunt at the edge of the bed, looking in the mirror at the aunt and niece who did not actually resemble each other very much.

Her aunt’s face was round while she took after her own mother more, with more refined features without her aunt’s rough air.

Yet they still looked harmonious together.

“Alright, you rest early. Auntie will come find you to hang out if I get days off. I haven’t been to Alliance City yet.” Su Simei candidly said.

She did not stay for long and went back upstairs after.

Xiao Qi lifted the door curtain and saw her aunt's back as she walked down the long corridor, still quite broad, and also a little lonely.