Being a Tutor to a Rich, Psychopathic Young Lady - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The fragrance of roses was intoxicating.

Xiao Dengqu read the card several times. She curled her fingers and touched her hot, flushed cheek. Her pupils lit up slightly.

Beneath the teacher’s cold facade was a passionate heart. The few words on the card made her feel incredibly warm.

“My only true love.”

Teacher… how could she suddenly fall in love with me? And I’m her only one? So Xiao Dengqu is the teacher’s one and only.

Isn’t the teacher being a little too forward?

Xiao Dengqu turned to look at the figure in the room, then at the “till death do us part” on the card. She went back to the living room, sat on the sofa, put the card back in the flowers, and then slowly took it out again to look at it…

Xiao Dengqu just wanted to be together while they were alive. Shi Mingyue truly lived up to her name as a teacher; she was more ambitious and farsighted than her. She even thought about being together even after death. How… how direct.

She was touched a little bit.

Xiao Dengqu read it again carefully, and her mood became a little happier. Her cheeks were so hot that she couldn’t touch them.

“Teacher… you’re so bad. You made me so shy.”

Shi Mingyue was folding the clothes that Xiao Dengqu had messed up earlier that morning. She didn’t hear Xiao Dengqu speak and looked into the living room. Xiao Dengqu was sitting on the sofa, her hands resting on the cushion. She would occasionally lower her head to smell the roses. When she looked up, her cheeks were flushed with pink, and her fingers were touching the flowers with more care.

She was so well-behaved, a rare sight.

No, it wasn’t just well-behaved. Shi Mingyue looked closer and saw a hint of shyness. It made Shi Mingyue think of a phrase.

More beautiful than a flower.

“?”

How strange.

Shi Mingyue continued to fold the clothes carefully, but she couldn’t help but sneak a peek at her. Shi Mingyue asked her, “Did you receive the flowers?”

Xiao Dengqu looked up. Their eyes met. Xiao Dengqu’s eyes shimmered with a soft, mysterious light. Her voice was soft, “Yes, the little robot brought them.”

Her gaze stayed on Shi Mingyue. At the same time, the sunlight fell on her, as if it had dried up the gloominess that she sometimes exuded.

Shi Mingyue didn’t expect a bouquet of flowers to have such a big effect. Xiao Dengqu was surprisingly easy to appease. Shi Mingyue’s eyes were filled with a smile. She put the clothes into the suitcase and pushed it into the closet.

“Do you like them?” Shi Mingyue asked.

Xiao Dengqu looked up at her, her eyes bright and even a little nervous. Shi Mingyue caught this change and found it very interesting. She said, “If you like them, just say you like them. If you don’t, just say you don’t.”

Xiao Dengqu looked at her in surprise. Shi Mingyue was confused by her expression and wondered why she was reacting this way.

Her heart was pounding. Xiao Dengqu was well-versed in the world, and her house was filled with rare roses. Maybe she was just simply happy and hadn’t reached the point of liking them yet.

Thinking this, Shi Mingyue felt a little disappointed, but… she could accept it.

A bouquet of flowers wouldn’t bring any special effects. It was enough that Xiao Dengqu was happy. She had given Xiao Dengqu a serious gift.

“Did you really give them to me?” Xiao Dengqu scooted over to her. “Teacher, you’re so romantic.”

Shi Mingyue was silent for a moment before nodding. “Yeah.”

Xiao Dengqu then asked, “Have you ever given flowers to anyone else? What about my cousin, Cheng Jin?”

Xiao Dengqu’s question was very personal. Shi Mingyue was silent for a moment again and said softly, “This is my first time giving flowers.”

Xiao Dengqu’s lips curved up. She was clearly happy. This was her first time receiving flowers. She said “mm-hm” several times and then, “But, I can’t agree to you right away.”

The internet said that agreeing right away was too cheap. You had to hesitate and have a process so that the other person would cherish you.

“Don’t overthink it. I don’t have any other intentions,” Shi Mingyue said. She simply wanted to give her flowers and wasn’t asking for anything in return. Maybe other people gave her flowers to get something from her. Shi Mingyue said, “I’m giving them to you unconditionally. I just want you to be happy.”

Xiao Dengqu said, “You should have some conditions! Don’t give up on yourself. It’s not like I’m not agreeing to you.”

Shi Mingyue: “…Oh.”

She then said, “I don’t need much right now, so you don’t have to be in a hurry to agree.”

Xiao Dengqu: “You do need something!”

Her voice was very loud, which startled Shi Mingyue.

This strange child… Shi Mingyue sighed softly.

Anyway, most of the time when Xiao Dengqu said something she didn’t understand, it wasn’t a good thing. Shi Mingyue was too lazy to think about it and just let Xiao Dengqu think what she wanted.

Xiao Dengqu continued, “You must need something.”

Shi Mingyue: “…Fine. I need something.”

She immediately made a request. “Can you go wash your bikini?”

“Okay. I love it…” Xiao Dengqu mumbled softly before going to the bathroom. She added, “I really, really love the flowers you gave me.”

Shi Mingyue could hear a hint of a suggestion in her tone, which meant that Xiao Dengqu hoped that Shi Mingyue would continue to give her flowers in the future. Shi Mingyue had thought about giving her things as a reward before, but she was short on money, and she thought her gifts were too cheap to be presentable. Now that they were more familiar with each other, she understood Xiao Dengqu very well. She knew that Xiao Dengqu was simple and pure, and she would be happy no matter what she was given. Of course, if it was a gift rather than a reward, she would be even happier. For example, now.

“I’m glad you like them.” It was Shi Mingyue’s first time giving flowers to someone, and she was afraid that she wouldn’t like them. Now, she was made very happy by her excitement.

“Since the teacher gave them to me, I love them the most,” Xiao Dengqu said in a sweet tone.

Shi Mingyue could hear her excitement. “Then should I order some food?”

Shi Mingyue looked at her phone and asked if she wanted to eat something cold. Xiao Dengqu nodded and went into the bathroom.

“Wash your own clothes,” Shi Mingyue said.

Xiao Dengqu squatted in the bathroom and put her bikini in the basin. The teacher was so nice; she only needed her to wash her clothes. She wouldn’t mind washing clothes for the rest of her life.

Xiao Dengqu was already thinking about washing clothes for the rest of her life when Shi Mingyue came into the bathroom. She frowned. As expected, Xiao Dengqu had put both of their bikinis in the same basin.

Shi Mingyue closed her eyes and said with a headache, “Okay, I’ll do it. You don’t have to.”

Xiao Dengqu pouted. “Then…”

“It counts. You can go out now.”

Both of their underwear and even Shi Mingyue’s white shirt were mixed together. Shi Mingyue said helplessly, “Miss, you can go out now… help me get the food.”

Xiao Dengqu’s eyes lit up slightly, and she jogged to wait for the food.

After all, Miss was a precious person who hadn’t experienced the hardships of the world. Her hobbies were a little niche; she actually loved washing clothes and was unusually enthusiastic about washing her underwear.

Shi Mingyue took the shirt that was tangled with the bikini out. She washed the shirt first, then washed both of their bikinis separately, and then hung them out to dry. Just then, Xiao Dengqu was getting the food at the door.

Shi Mingyue could hear Xiao Dengqu’s conversation with the little robot. Xiao Dengqu said politely, “Thank you. Come again next time.” The little robot wasn’t that smart and just turned around and left.

Shi Mingyue washed and dried her hands. She was thirsty and went to the counter to get a glass of water. Just as she was about to drink, Xiao Dengqu put the food down and suddenly kissed her on the cheek.

Shi Mingyue froze, and her hand shook. The glass in her hand wet her collar. She was slow for two seconds and then turned her head to continue drinking as if nothing had happened. She was pretty much used to these unexpected affectionate actions from Xiao Dengqu now.

And, from the initial scolding to now, as long as Xiao Dengqu didn’t cross the line, Shi Mingyue could turn a blind eye.

Shi Mingyue had a little over a week left for her tutoring job, so she was particularly lenient with Xiao Dengqu’s behavior.

Xiao Dengqu took out a tissue to wipe her neck.

“No need. It’ll dry in a bit,” Shi Mingyue said, stopping her. Xiao Dengqu shook her head, moved her hand away from her chest, and continued to wipe her. She wiped down to her collarbone, then leaned in to kiss it. She said, “Okay, I agree.”

“Huh?” Shi Mingyue didn’t understand what she meant, but Xiao Dengqu often said strange things, so she chose to ignore her.

Xiao Dengqu was the one who wanted to kiss her, so how could she have the nerve to say “I agree”?

The feeling of their lips touching was soft. Shi Mingyue turned her head. The area that had just been wiped dry was now even more moist. Her tongue brushed against it, and a ticklish sensation swept over her body.

As she kissed her, Xiao Dengqu’s body kept moving closer. Shi Mingyue’s back was pressed against the counter. The veins on the back of her hands were throbbing. She turned her head uncomfortably, but that only made her collarbone more prominent and easier to kiss.

Xiao Dengqu’s tongue brushed against her, creating a ticklish sensation. Shi Mingyue’s chin was brushed by her hair. It was as if a pulse had formed on her collarbone, and it was beating more violently than her heart.

“Xiao… mm.”

Xiao Dengqu looked up at her. Shi Mingyue didn’t dare to look her in the eye. She looked away. What was wrong with her… This was so strange.

Shi Mingyue’s hand went up and accidentally hit the glass of water. The water spilled out and wet her fingers. Shi Mingyue’s fingers shook twice. The glass rolled down and hit the sink with a sound.

“Stop it,” Shi Mingyue said.

Xiao Dengqu’s little teeth ground against it and she let go. Shi Mingyue took a deep breath and put her hand on her shoulder to push her away. Xiao Dengqu held her fingers and bit them gently. She looked at Shi Mingyue with clear eyes. Shi Mingyue couldn’t bear it and looked away.

“Stop,” she warned Xiao Dengqu again.

Xiao Dengqu, however, thought her voice was especially cute.

She licked her fingertip. Shi Mingyue’s fingerprints and her lip lines were pressed against each other, becoming the most intimate lovers, lingering and intertwined.

Shi Mingyue didn’t want her to mess with her fingers and tried to pull them away.

“Stop messing around!”

Even though she raised her voice to warn her this time, Xiao Dengqu didn’t take it seriously as usual, nor did she apologize in her usual docile way. Xiao Dengqu wrapped her arms around her waist, pressing close to her as if she were acting spoiled, and then went to kiss her lips.

After finally getting her fingers free, Shi Mingyue quickly turned her back and turned on the faucet. She kept washing her fingers.

Xiao Dengqu said from behind her, “Okay, we can try it.”

“…” Shi Mingyue rubbed her hands hard.

She said “oh.”

“But—”

Xiao Dengqu drew out the word.

“But, can you go eat?” Shi Mingyue interrupted her.

Xiao Dengqu pursed her lips. Okay, she would say it later.

“I’ll listen to the teacher first. Later, teacher, you have to listen to me.”

“Fine,” Shi Mingyue agreed.

Shi Mingyue turned around, got another glass of water, and didn’t eat a single bite of the coconut pudding she had ordered.

It was noon by the sea, and the UV rays were at an all-time high.

Shi Mingyue hadn’t slept well the night before. She felt sleepy after eating. She watched a sports channel for a while, went to rinse her mouth, and then lay down on the bed to take a nap. She smelled the fragrance of flowers. Xiao Dengqu had brought the flowers over and put them on the bedside table. Xiao Dengqu wasn’t very sleepy and lay on the bed playing on her phone. She looked serious every now and then, not knowing what she was searching for.

Shi Mingyue looked down at her chest, turned to her side, and fell asleep. When Xiao Dengqu thought, the whole earth had to shake. It was better for her to pretend she didn’t know anything.

Xiao Dengqu didn’t play with her doll like she did yesterday. After looking at her phone, she was strangely quiet. She kept touching the petals of the flowers on the bedside table, putting her fingers into the petals. The pads of her fingers were stained with a lot of pollen, and she stared at the flowers seriously.

Finally, she stopped playing. Shi Mingyue felt her staring at her back, which gave her a sense of indescribable danger. Shi Mingyue closed her eyes tightly, and Xiao Dengqu put her arms around her waist again.

?

“Teacher.”

Shi Mingyue pretended she didn’t hear her. Xiao Dengqu called her two more times. Just when Shi Mingyue thought she wouldn’t let her go and wouldn’t stop, Xiao Dengqu said as if she were talking to herself, “It’s not good to work during the day. I’ll practice a little more and come back at night.”

She napped for an hour and a half. When Shi Mingyue woke up, Xiao Dengqu was already awake. She must have played with the flowers again. She was propping herself up with her arms and staring at her, a smile on her lips, which made Shi Mingyue feel flustered and embarrassed.

The two of them didn’t like to go out when the sun was too hot. Shi Mingyue went to wash her face to wake up and continued to tutor Xiao Dengqu.

During this time, the housekeeper sent her a message, saying he was going to buy them plane tickets and asked them to confirm the time they were coming back. Shi Mingyue’s lips curved in satisfaction. The housekeeper finally did something. She had thought the housekeeper would insist on them going to see the old lady at the hospital first.

Shi Mingyue didn’t know when Xiao Dengqu was going back, so she planned to message him back at night and continued to tutor Xiao Dengqu.

As she was tutoring, she found that Xiao Dengqu had gone back to her initial state. Of course, she wasn’t daydreaming and looking at the clouds, but staring at Shi Mingyue, looking at her eyes, nose, and lips.

She was afraid she would be hot in the afternoon, so Shi Mingyue specifically ordered shaved ice. Xiao Dengqu picked up a toothpick and put a snowball into Shi Mingyue’s mouth. Shi Mingyue was about to say no, but the bayberry snowball was pressed against her lips.

Her thin lips were almost frozen. Shi Mingyue reluctantly opened her mouth and ate the snowball.

After three in the afternoon, the sun wasn’t as bright. Shi Mingyue was so tormented by Xiao Dengqu that she fled to the balcony. It wasn’t that hot anymore, and there were more tourists outside. Shi Mingyue was going to take Xiao Dengqu out to play.

Shi Mingyue opened the door, and Cheng Jin was standing there. Shi Mingyue was stunned. She thought Cheng Jin had already left.

Cheng Jin was about to ring the doorbell. She withdrew her finger and looked at her. She said softly, “You’ve been very beautiful these past few days, and today is no exception.”

Shi Mingyue had changed into a white dress in the afternoon. Her thin waist was perfectly outlined, making her look cold and gentle, gracefully moving. This was a stark contrast to her past poor image. At this moment, she was both beautiful and unattainable, a bright moon that one’s fingers could not reach.

But Shi Mingyue was a sensitive person. No matter how beautiful she looked, she knew that these things were given to her by Xiao Dengqu. She said thank you, but her polite smile became more distant.

Cheng Jin seemed to want to give her a sense of security and would tell her how excellent she was. For Shi Mingyue, the more Cheng Jin said, the more she remembered the people in luxurious clothes at the birthday banquet and the look in Cheng Jin’s mother’s eyes today. They couldn’t get closer; they could only get farther apart. She couldn’t fit in. There was a class and birth gap that destined the two of them to be on opposite ends of the world.

An important reason for Shi Mingyue’s cold personality was that she didn’t like distance. She had lived with the scars from being beaten since she was a child, always hiding herself in the crowd. She didn’t like living under the scrutiny and judgment of others.

She thought that she and Cheng Jin were truly not a good match. Cheng Jin was a favored daughter of heaven. She was proud and beautiful, the most dazzling center of the swan lake. Shi Mingyue wasn’t even a reflection in the lake. With such a gap, how could they love each other? Shi Mingyue couldn’t even try to experience such a luxurious heartbeat.

Shi Mingyue was about to say something to make Cheng Jin give up, but she found that Cheng Jin was looking at her collarbone. Shi Mingyue lowered her head and couldn’t see her own collarbone. “What’s wrong?”

She hadn’t thought that anything would be left there, until Cheng Jin said, “There’s a… a tooth mark. It looks like something bit you.”

Shi Mingyue froze. She took out her phone and looked at her collarbone. Sure enough, there was a clear tooth mark on it.

If she said it was a bug bite, no one would believe it. Cheng Jin wasn’t an idiot.

Shi Mingyue couldn’t figure out how it got there. It wasn’t that deep at the counter. Could a tooth mark stay for so long? She glanced at the bathroom, silently took a few steps back, and closed the door. She said to Cheng Jin alone, “…Uh, I don’t know. Maybe I was scratched.”

If she said she was bullied, this spot was too sensitive. Cheng Jin stared at it for a while and said, “What scratched you? It’s so obvious.”

Shi Mingyue wasn’t a good liar and couldn’t come up with a reason. She said, “We were just bickering while I was teaching. It’s not important.”

No matter how Cheng Jin looked at it, it was an eyesore.

Sensing Shi Mingyue’s silence, Cheng Jin found a topic and asked Shi Mingyue, “I heard… Xiao Dengqu got a cat. Did she bring it here?”

It was only then that Shi Mingyue remembered. The housekeeper had specifically asked her if she had pets before she came. After being at Xiao Dengqu’s house for so long, she had never seen a cat.

She replied, “She does, but it seems like it doesn’t live with her.”

Cheng Jin was curious. “What kind of cat?” She always felt that Xiao Dengqu didn’t seem like the type to own a cat. She seemed more like she would abuse a cat. She also didn’t think Shi Mingyue was scratched by a cat… it was more like she was bitten by Xiao Dengqu.

“I’m not sure. I’ll ask her when I have time.” Shi Mingyue was quite dedicated at the Xiao family’s house. Most of the time, she was tutoring Xiao Dengqu. When she was tired, she would just go for a walk in the flower room.

Shi Mingyue asked, “By the way, did Xiao Dengqu never go out when she was at the Xiao family’s house before?”

Cheng Jin was holding a candy in her hand. She was unwrapping it and didn’t hear the question. She asked in confusion, “Can she take good care of a cat?”

Shi Mingyue could hear Cheng Jin’s concern. She said, “Since she got a cat, she should be able to take good care of it. She’s very patient, and her temper isn’t bad.”

And Xiao Dengqu was a people-pleaser, not a violent person.

Cheng Jin handed her the candy. Shi Mingyue didn’t take it. She didn’t want to eat it for now. Cheng Jin held the candy, feeling a pang of sadness. This was Shi Mingyue’s favorite candy. The first time she gave it to her at school, Shi Mingyue smiled and said it tasted very good. It was then, looking at the smile on Shi Mingyue’s lips, that she was sure she liked her. Shi Mingyue had created too much distance. Even while talking, she was cold and kept people a thousand miles away.

Shi Mingyue said, “Don’t worry. She’s grown up. She can take good care of a little cat.”

“Mingyue…” Cheng Jin called her name, and the words that followed got stuck. “Let’s have dinner together. My treat. You and Xiao Dengqu.”

Shi Mingyue didn’t agree right away and was about to go ask Xiao Dengqu. Xiao Dengqu came out gracefully from inside, and unexpectedly, she agreed.

The three of them went to the restaurant. Cheng Jin was paying, but there was no conversation at the table. The three of them were also silent when they went out to play. When the two of them were alone, Shi Mingyue’s eyes were on Xiao Dengqu.

When they returned to the hotel at night, Cheng Jin asked them when they were going back. Shi Mingyue said she didn’t know and hadn’t decided yet.

Cheng Jin wasn’t sure either, because she wasn’t sure if Shi Mingyue didn’t want to tell her.

After they parted ways at the hotel, Xiao Dengqu went back to the room and took a shower first. After that, Shi Mingyue went in. She replied to two messages, turned on some music, and took a shower.

Xiao Dengqu listened to the sound of the running water, her lips curving up.

The reason Shi Mingyue didn’t say she would play with her before was because she liked her and wanted to be in a relationship with her, not just to play around.

Xiao Dengqu pursed her lips. She wasn’t as smug as before. She had never been in a relationship.

But she had seen “relationships” since elementary school. Many of her classmates had their first crushes in elementary school. They were very bold and held hands back then. In middle school, they would kiss. In high school, they were very excessive, touching each other and doing borderline things in every corner of the classroom.

Xiao Dengqu was good-looking. She looked a little spacey and was mostly quiet when she didn’t speak. And she was a fool. Many boys had pursued Xiao Dengqu. Xiao Dengqu was also very curious about them. For example, when someone said they loved her, she would ask why there was no love letter. This didn’t follow the rules of the game. Those people weren’t sincere and had to be punished.

Others told her she was overthinking it and that no one was interested in her except for themselves. Those people said bluntly that they wanted to sleep with her and that she was a crazy person and should lie down and have a good time with them. Later, the boys would pursue other people and cheat. Xiao Dengqu would get so angry that she would break their legs. And as long as she knew they were dating someone else and then moving on, she would find trouble because not following the rules of the game meant paying a price.

The game hadn’t even started, and they had already cheated. How annoying.

The teacher was different. She gave her flowers directly and told her she didn’t have to do anything, just be happy. Today, when Cheng Jin came to see her, she tried to tempt her with candy, but she didn’t cheat. She also took the opportunity to confess her love for her a second time, saying that she had raised her well.

Xiao Dengqu took a deep breath.

The teacher must have liked her for a long time.

The roses on the bedside table had been in the air conditioning all day and were now soft. The petals had also become dry. With a light rub, the flowers would fall apart. But it was okay; she still loved this bouquet of flowers. And it was also okay that she was very skilled at this now.

Shi Mingyue washed her hair after showering. She came out of the bathroom, her head tilted to the side, wringing the water out of the ends of her hair. The lights were dim. Xiao Dengqu was lying on the bed. She pulled the towel off, exposing herself completely. She had taken off all her clothes and said, “Teacher… I’ve already agreed to you, so… we can do it now.”