Chapter 26

When Xiao Chen came back, he sensed something was off.

Walking into the dining room, he saw to his surprise that Qiao Rui was actually studying, and what was even more unexpected was that his homeroom teacher was there teaching him questions.

Yu Na sat sideways, with a test paper between her and Qiao Rui, and a notebook on the side.

She patiently and carefully explained the key points to him in a soft voice.

The knowledge points were still the most basic kind.

There wasn't the slightest impatience.

And Qiao Rui also had his head lowered, listening intently.

They would go over one question at a time, slowly, but for him this was very effective.

Because Qiao Rui's English grades were terrible - he basically had no foundation at all.

Xiao Chen had been busy all day and dragged his exhausted body back home. Seeing this quiet, warm scene made his heart involuntarily move a little, as if wrapped in a ball of soft, white cotton.

Hearing the sound, Yu Na and Qiao Rui looked back at the same time and met Xiao Chen's unbelieving gaze.

"Brother, didn't you have things to do? How come you're back so early?"

After confirming this wasn't a scene he was hallucinating from fatigue, Xiao Chen asked back: "I can't come back early after finishing my things?"

He walked to the dining table and glanced at Qiao Rui's test paper, which was filled with dense knowledge points.

Yu Na said: "He might not be able to go to class on Monday, so I'm going over the test paper for him. The midterms are coming up soon."

Xiao Chen's gaze fell on her, his tone less sharp as he softened: "How's he doing on the test?"

Yu Na: "......"

Couldn't he tell from the test paper?

But she preserved a shred of dignity for her student and politely said: "It's alright, he's working hard."

Xiao Chen nodded and patted Qiao Rui on the head. "Listen carefully."

Immersed in the English sea, Qiao Rui was impatient with Xiao Chen for the first time: "I know, I know, stop bothering me."

Xiao Chen: "......?"

He ignored him and walked to the fridge, asking again: "Have you two eaten?"

Eyes still glued down: "Yeah, we ate."

He was filling out a cloze test on his own, with a dictionary on the side.

Yu Na tapped her pen absently and asked: "You haven't eaten dinner?"

"No." She reminded: "We just had pizza earlier, there's still some left in the kitchen."

Xiao Chen was taken aback. He hadn't even glanced in that direction.

He went into the kitchen. Indeed quite a bit of pizza was left. Xiao Chen took a slice and ate a bite, then took his phone out of his pocket.

He had transferred money to Yu Na in the afternoon, but it hadn't been accepted and she hadn't replied either.

Xiao Chen sent her a WeChat message: 【Accept the money】There was a glass door between the kitchen and dining room.

The message had just been sent when he immediately heard the dining room chime with a prompt, followed by Yu Na picking up her phone to check the message.

She looked back at the kitchen side in puzzlement.

Xiao Chen also stared at her meaningfully.

He saw Yu Na not press to receive it, but instead lower her head to type on her phone.

Soon, Xiao Chen's phone lit up——Yu Na: 【It's fine, not much money anyway】Xiao Chen:"......"

She just wouldn't take it.

Xiao Chen ate two more slices of pizza in the kitchen, involuntarily glancing at the dining room in between.

Head lowered, Yu Na held a ballpoint pen in her hand and went over every question meticulously, explaining all the key points.

The softness in her brows and relaxed expression, occasionally even laughing and chatting with Qiao Rui, showed that she actually quite enjoyed her current life.

The Yu Na from before, although she had money, didn't seem very happy.

Different from now.

A person's eyes don't lie.

Xiao Chen's grip on his phone suddenly tightened. He didn't know why, but when she was doing what she liked, she was...quite attractive.

So his gaze lingered on her for several seconds.

Then he took out a new cup, poured a glass of water, and brought it to the dining room, placing it in front of Yu Na.

Seeing this, Qiao Rui and Yu Na looked up together.

Yu Na said softly: "Thank you."

Qiao Rui: "Where's my water?!"

Xiao Chen slanted him a look, completely merciless: "Get it yourself if you want some."

Qiao Rui dissatisfiedly grumbled under his breath: "......so biased."

And here he thought his cousin was so unique. Turns out he's just like everyone else when it comes to pretty girls.

Xiao Chen ignored him and went to wash his hands then headed to the living room after.

His was a large apartment, with the living room adjacent to the dining room. With just a turn of his head he could see Qiao Rui's studying.

Perhaps it was the teacher present, or his monitoring from nearby, but Qiao Rui was extremely diligent in his studies. Though it was tedious at first, he soon got into it.

Xiao Chen didn't turn on the TV or make any other sounds. He just quietly sat on the sofa browsing his phone.

He could clearly hear Qiao Rui's questions and Yu Na's explanations.

Though Yu Na was a new teacher, when it came to working through problems there wasn't the slightest ambiguity. She had her own methods.

If it were the past, he wouldn't have imagined her taking this path at all.

And doing rather well at that. ......After going through the test paper, Yu Na tidied up her things.

Then said: "Review what I taught you."

"So teacher, I don't have to do homework for my other subjects right?" Qiao Rui's eyes lit up.

"If you really can't handle it or don't want to move at all, you can put it aside first. I'll let your other teachers know."

"Great!"

But Xiao Chen's voice suddenly came coldly from behind, mercilessly exposing him: "You don't look that uncomfortable to me."

Qiao Rui:???

Xiao Chen walked over and fiercely slapped Qiao Rui's shoulder without an ounce of sympathy. "Don't worry, I'm free these next couple days. I'll tutor you for your other subjects."

Qiao Rui: "......"

A smile floated onto Yu Na's face before quickly fading.

"Best if you can still write. After all there's the midterms right after Sports Day, and they might have a parent-teacher meeting after the grades come out." She finished packing up her things and stood. "I'll get going first."

Seeing her head towards the foyer, Xiao Chen hurriedly called out: "Wait, I'll drive you back."

After changing his shoes, Qiao Rui hopped over to the sofa on one leg and sprawled out casually. His expression was ambiguous as he fearlessly said: "Bro, it's fine if you come back late. I won't rush you."

"......"

......Leaning back in the passenger seat, Yu Na watched the night view streak rapidly backwards outside the window.

The weather had been great recently. Changwan's nightlife was vibrant on this Friday night, and the entire bustling city had shed its gloomy exterior and was suffused with the festive cheer of an impending vacation.

Stopped at a red light, Xiao Chen rested one hand on the steering wheel and glanced over to see Yu Na's gaze fixed straight out the window.

He wondered what she was thinking about.

She also made no move to initiate conversation.

It wasn't until they reached the entrance to her complex that she finally sat up straight. "Here's fine."

"Why?"

It was pitch black inside the car, while the neon lights outside glittered in the darkness of night. Yu Na's eyes seemed exceptionally bright as she said: "A lot of cars park randomly inside. I'm afraid you won't be able to back out."

Xiao Chen scoffed contemptuously: "Tsk, you look down on who now?"

As if her words provoked him, Xiao Chen ignored Yu Na's attempts to stop him and easily parked right below Building 9.

This sort of random parking in complexes could be pretty serious.

But for a veteran "driver" like him, it was no problem.

Yu Na picked up her bag but made no hurry to get out of the car. Instead, she asked with concern: "Aren't you really tired?"

In the past, he would've just shaken his head with a perfunctory expression and said he was fine, no problem.

Yet for some reason, this time he blurted out honestly: "Yeah, been busy all day."

Yu Na had no experience comforting people. Awkwardly she said dryly: "Then you should head back and rest well."

"Mm." He turned to look at her, eyes deep and tone solemn, voice low and hoarse. "I have something to tell you."

The complex was very quiet, without even the sound of children playing.

So quiet that it seemed time itself had stopped; so quiet that even breathing sounded loud in this moment.