Being a Tutor to a Rich, Psychopathic Young Lady - Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Shi Mingyue gave her a general overview of the learning plan. She worked hard these two days to finish the unit curriculum, making it easier for the next tutor to take over.

The housekeeper flipped through the lesson plan she had given her. It was very detailed, even including how to deal with Xiao Dengqu’s lack of focus and her tendency to daydream. Based on Xiao Dengqu’s memory characteristics, she even noted that she should memorize biology in the morning and review physics in the evening.

“I see,” the housekeeper nodded.

Shi Mingyue got up early, her gaze drifting to the room next door before turning back.

She turned on her computer to work on her graduation project, which had been put on hold for a week.

When the time was right, she called Shi Fanxing. High school starts early. Shi Mingyue reminded her that she had to go back to school on the 21st.

Shi Mingyue told her to quit her job and go back to school after she was done with these two days. Getting paid was all that mattered.

Shi Fanxing got up for her morning shift. She yawned sleepily and said she knew, but she was worried that no one would hire her to work part-time next time. Shi Mingyue reasoned with her that she could find a job at a bubble tea shop after high school. For the first year, she could get a loan for her tuition.

“Private universities are very expensive. That Yuanyuan from our village, her tuition is 18,000,” Shi Fanxing said. “She said that even if you graduate from a private university, you’ll just find a regular office job that pays 5,000 a month, which is even less than my factory job.”

Shi Mingyue said, “Then study hard, study as hard as you can. The more you learn, the less tuition you’ll have to pay. At the very least, you can save 10,000 yuan.”

Shi Fanxing was silent for a moment. She wanted to say, “Sister, you’re too mean to me. The young lady says you’re mean, but you won’t even be a little mean to her.”

Shi Mingyue’s tone was heavy. “If you don’t study and go to work instead, you’ll lose even more in the future.”

“I am studying,” Shi Fanxing retorted. “I watch the videos you send me every day, and I’ve downloaded the app and I’m doing problems every day.”

“Mm, you’ve worked hard,” Shi Mingyue’s tone softened. “Don’t always think about money. Going to university is definitely better. A factory job might make more money in a year, but there will always be layoffs. If you study hard, whatever job you get later will be easier. With a degree, you won’t be eliminated. It’s the same amount of money, but wouldn’t it be better to earn it more easily? In the future, if you want to be a teacher, you can take exams to get into a government job. Your path won’t be completely blocked. Xingxing, we don’t have a backup plan. We only… have to dig with a shovel, one bit at a time. Also… are you going to stay in the factory for the rest of your life and not see the bigger world?”

Shi Mingyue paused for a few seconds. “We’re not the ones who blocked our own paths. We’ve already worked so hard. Be good to yourself in the future.”

“Sister, I know.” Shi Fanxing knew in her heart that she hadn’t suffered much.

When she was very young, she was sent to her grandma’s house. Her aunt was sharp-tongued, but she had a good heart. Her grandma was stingy, but she never lacked food or clothes. Shi Fanxing always felt that she was so wronged and complained that her mom didn’t care about her. She also had to listen to them compare her to her older sister, saying that her sister had suffered a lot. It always annoyed her.

Once, after a fight with her aunt, she secretly ran back and saw her sister, in ragged clothes, washing clothes for their mom, who had been beaten to the point of incontinence. She also saw the bruises on her sister’s face. Her sister’s hands were covered in frostbite. In the winter, her sister couldn’t use hot water to wash clothes because she was afraid that the man would come back and scald them with fire.

Later, Shi Fanxing was brought back. At that time, Shi Chongbin had run away. Her mom and aunt sold breakfast together and fried skewers at the night market. She could eat skewers from one end of the street to the other. During summer and winter breaks, she would help her mom and get a few hundred yuan in allowance. She could buy new clothes and shoes, drink bubble tea with her friends, eat fried chicken, and even get her nails done when she was at her wealthiest.

Zou Huiqin would give Shi Mingyue money for tuition and living expenses, but Shi Mingyue refused all of it. Shi Mingyue always said she had money.

In her first year of university, all of Shi Mingyue’s money was from scholarships. Later, she got national scholarships and school scholarships, applied for financial aid, and worked part-time. She didn’t need any of Zou Huiqin’s money at all. Zou Huiqin was sometimes proud, but she never said it out loud because this pride had nothing to do with them. She would only occasionally tell Shi Fanxing that her sister used to not even eat one skewer of the fried skewers she made because she was afraid of earning one less cent. Zou Huiqin also said she was sorry to her sister.

Later, when Zou Huiqin fell ill, Shi Fanxing thought Shi Mingyue wouldn’t help. Her sister was so independent and wanted to escape so much, she probably wouldn’t turn back.

But her sister was only cold on the outside. She had always been trying her best.

Shi Fanxing really wanted to say, “Sister, why don’t you stop taking care of Mom?” But her sister was soft-hearted. She said, “If I don’t take care of Mom, do you want to work in a factory for the rest of your life?”

Shi Mingyue didn’t tell Shi Fanxing that she was going home because she was afraid Shi Fanxing would let it slip. She had already bought her ticket in advance and was going straight back, not staying for long.

After finishing her lessons with Xiao Dengqu in the morning, Shi Mingyue decided to talk to Xiao Chengyue. Xiao Chengyue was finishing up his work. Shi Mingyue stated her intention and stood by the desk, waiting for him to finish.

Because of the trauma she had from her childhood, Shi Mingyue was very afraid of the “father” identity. She didn’t dare to look Xiao Chengyue in the eye.

The temperature in the room was high, but the cold air blew directly onto her back.

After half an hour, Xiao Chengyue’s fingers left the keyboard. “We can talk now,” he said.

Shi Mingyue told him that Xiao Dengqu was very lonely, always staying in the villa. She should go out more and socialize. If Xiao Chengyue wasn’t too busy with work, he should come back more often to see her, respond to her expectations, and ask her if she was being bullied.

Xiao Chengyue interrupted her and asked, “Are you lecturing me, or are you blaming me?”

“That’s not what I mean,” Shi Mingyue explained. “After spending this past month with her, I’ve realized that many of her problems have a reason. She tries to please others because no one plays with her. Her grades aren’t good because she’s not using the right methods. She’s not a stupid kid…”

“She just needs to study hard,” Xiao Chengyue’s voice was very cold.

“But if her state of mind isn’t good, she won’t have the motivation to study,” Shi Mingyue said. “It’s a good thing that you manage her strictly, but it’s not right to have people monitoring her all the time. It’s also not right to watch her sleep. A lot of the time, this will backfire.”

Xiao Chengyue retorted, “Then, Teacher Shi, how did you study?” Xiao Chengyue, as a father, had his unique stubbornness and authority. “Everyone’s method is different. Yours doesn’t apply to her, and hers naturally doesn’t apply to you.”

“I just…” Shi Mingyue wanted to escape. She just studied recklessly, as hard as she could.

“Teacher Shi, you don’t understand Xiao Dengqu very well. Her grades aren’t great, but she’s not dumb. She’s quite smart,” Xiao Chengyue said. “I know you’re coming to me to say these things because you want what’s best for her. As a father, her dad, I’ve already been good enough to her.”

“Then do you know about the time she was bitten by a dog when she was a child?” Shi Mingyue said.

Xiao Chengyue was silent for a moment and then smiled, his expression sarcastic. “Didn’t she lock someone in an iron cage?”

Shi Mingyue felt a sense of powerlessness. She said, “If you had cared about her, she might have told you when she was bitten by the dog, and she wouldn’t have locked Fu Wanxing in the cage. When a child doesn’t speak up, it’s because there’s no adult behind her.”

“Maybe she locked Fu Wanxing in the cage because she knew I would come out and solve the problem, so she acted recklessly,” Xiao Chengyue said. “You don’t need to worry about these things. She will have her future and live the most privileged life. I accept your good intentions. You don’t need to think that Xiao Dengqu is rich but unhappy, because a life without money won’t be happy either. People in this world are all unhappy. Compared to you, she doesn’t have to worry about a lot of things.”

Xiao Chengyue also said, “Currently, there are no problems with her education.”

“You don’t need to consider her life. You can’t even guarantee your own life. In fact, you should be more worried about yourself. You are a good kid. Xiao Dengqu was born into the Xiao family. She will have a privileged life whether she is a good kid or not. The worries you have will only bother her for a day or two, and she will be cured very soon.”

Shi Mingyue’s conversation with Xiao Chengyue was a little over her head. Xiao Chengyue asked her, “What effect do you hope to achieve by coming to me to talk about these things?”

Indeed, maybe Xiao Dengqu would be sad for a day or two, and then she would get a new tutor and have a new curiosity.

Shi Mingyue knew best. The reason she was cold was because she was afraid of not being able to let go. If she rejected everything, her feelings wouldn’t grow.

She had a people-pleasing personality?

Xiao Chengyue laughed.

…

What effect did she hope to achieve?

To get along well with her dad?

Only after she left did Shi Mingyue realize what she wanted to express. She wanted Xiao Dengqu to get some attention and for Xiao Chengyue to be a little kinder to her. But Shi Mingyue herself didn’t get along well with her dad, so how could she tell someone else’s dad to be a little kinder to their kid? What kind of persuasion did she have?

After closing the study door, the cold and hot air from her body clashed, and she instantly started to sweat. She was being a busybody, like a funny clown in front of an adult.

Xiao Chengyue also said.

“Just do your job as a tutor. You can’t teach her anything else.”

Xiao Chengyue had the arrogance and coldness of a father, but he could indeed give Xiao Dengqu the best life, and what could she do?

…

After the afternoon break, Shi Mingyue started Xiao Dengqu’s afternoon lesson. After only an hour, there was a knock on the door. Shi Mingyue took a sip of tea and went to open the door. It was Yangyang. Yangyang said that Mr. Xiao wanted Xiao Dengqu to go paint.

Shi Mingyue immediately thought: “Is a new teacher here?”

Xiao Dengqu wasn’t very surprised. She finished her homework and said, “Okay.”

There was no new teacher in the art room. Xiao Dengqu told Yangyang to bring a chair over and then called out to her, “Teacher, help me tie my apron.”

Shi Mingyue tied a bow for her. Xiao Dengqu held a clean brush and thought about the structure. She tilted her head and said to Shi Mingyue, “Stay with me.”

Shi Mingyue said, “I don’t know how to paint.”

“You just have to sit there.”

Yangyang quietly explained to Shi Mingyue that Xiao Dengqu used to paint and had special lessons, but they were canceled because Shi Mingyue came.

Shi Mingyue knew that Xiao Dengqu could paint, but she had never seen her do it before. The art room was very large, and there were many canvases covered with cloth.

She squeezed the paint onto the palette. There was a white canvas on the easel. Xiao Dengqu mixed the colors and painted.

Xiao Dengqu would complain from time to time that as soon as her dad came back, he would make her paint and practice the piano. There would definitely be no holidays on Saturdays and Sundays, and she would have to go learn to ride horses.

“Piano?” Shi Mingyue asked.

Yangyang said, “The young lady has already received her certificate. She’ll be learning the harp in a couple of days.”

“Oh.”

“These things are meaningless. It’s only interesting to learn cultural subjects with the teacher,” Xiao Dengqu said.

Shi Mingyue only knew how to teach cultural subjects.

Xiao Dengqu painted for two hours. During that time, she was bored, and Yangyang brought a book to Shi Mingyue.

After she finished painting, another maid went to clean up the paintings. Xiao Dengqu took off her apron. Yangyang said the bathwater was ready for her to go take a bath.

Xiao Dengqu pulled on her clothes, frowning and complaining: “I hate this smell the most!”

Shi Mingyue looked at the canvas.

The painting was fully revealed. It was her.

Without realizing it, she had become the main subject in the painting.

Even though the painting wasn’t finished and hadn’t dried, she looked prettier in the painting than she did in the mirror.

After Xiao Dengqu finished her bath, she was called upstairs again. The two of them had very little time together after Xiao Chengyue returned. Shi Mingyue had gotten used to Xiao Dengqu’s constant presence, so she was a little unaccustomed to the quiet.

Xiao Dengqu came and knocked on her door. Shi Mingyue hesitated for a moment and then went to open the door.

Xiao Dengqu was holding the Doraemon plushie and looking at her sleepily.

Then she came in and sat on her bed, groggily swinging her legs. Shi Mingyue went to wash her face. The facial cleanser was orange-scented. Xiao Dengqu said, “Teacher, teacher, we’re going to be together forever.”

Shi Mingyue came back with a wet towel, bent down, and wiped her face clean. She said, “Then you have to study hard.”

“Mm?”

Shi Mingyue said, “It’s already very difficult for me to save myself. I can’t save anyone else.”

Xiao Dengqu said things that Shi Mingyue didn’t understand, and Shi Mingyue also said things that Xiao Dengqu didn’t understand. After Xiao Dengqu’s face was wiped, she hummed, “Teacher, I was sleeping on my stomach. My arm is numb.”

Shi Mingyue massaged her wrist.

“My dad was staring at me just now. It was so hard to pretend to be asleep.”

Xiao Dengqu had good sleep quality and had been painting for so long today that it was easy for her to actually fall asleep while pretending. When Shi Mingyue massaged her arm, she found many nail marks on it.

Shi Mingyue put her fingers on the marks and rubbed them. She asked, “What do you expect from your dad?”

“Expectations?” Xiao Dengqu was confused. She hadn’t thought about what she expected. After all, wasn’t her dad’s power above hers?

If she had to have expectations, it would be for her dad to listen to everything she said, give her a lot of money to spend, for him to figure out a way for her and the teacher to get married because she wanted the teacher to stay, and for the old woman and Fu Wanxing to die together because she hated them. And for Dad to never say to her, “Dengqu, it would be better if you were a good girl.”

But Dad wouldn’t do that. Dad wasn’t an idiot.

“I can’t have expectations,” Xiao Dengqu shook her head.

Shi Mingyue’s heart ached. Xiao Dengqu was just like her. She knew clearly that having expectations would lead to heartbreak. “Your dad should be able to be reasoned with.”

“Make him listen to me,” Xiao Dengqu said. “He often doesn’t listen to what I say.” For example, about wanting to marry the teacher.

Shi Mingyue thought: “He should listen to her heart more, and they should communicate well.”

“Teacher, I don’t think my dad loves me,” Xiao Dengqu said.

“Why do you say that?”

Xiao Dengqu said, “I’m a necessary part of my dad’s life. If others have it, he has to have it too. The only difference is, he’s very smart, and I’m not. I’m stupid. So a very challenging thing appeared in his life. He’s so smart, but he has a stupid daughter. What should he do?”

“And then what?”

Xiao Dengqu was excited to share with Shi Mingyue, but she couldn’t tell Shi Mingyue, “Don’t you think it’s a very fun thing for a very outstanding dad to have a very bad, stupid daughter?”

Every time Dad ordered her to study hard, she would say, “Dad, what if I can’t do it? Why am I so stupid? Why?”

Watching Dad fall into a state of distress and start to question if there was a problem with his genes was truly fun.

Xiao Dengqu talked, and Shi Mingyue wrote.

Xiao Dengqu propped her chin on her hand, occasionally looking up to see what Shi Mingyue was writing in her notebook. This was also very interesting. The teacher would embellish her words. As Xiao Dengqu watched, she would sigh in her heart.

“Ah, am I that pitiful?”

Shi Mingyue looked up. Xiao Dengqu’s eyes were filled with tears. She sniffled and said pitifully, “Teacher, don’t write it like that. I don’t want to understand a certain truth.”

“What truth?” Shi Mingyue took a tissue to wipe her eyes, coaxing her to stop crying.

Xiao Dengqu said, “That I’ll never be loved by my dad. It seems like no one in this world loves me. What should I do? It seems like I only have the teacher.”

Shi Mingyue’s heart trembled.

Xiao Dengqu put her hand on the back of Shi Mingyue’s hand. “It’s so good to have met the teacher. My cousin hates me. Grandma Fu Wanxing bullies me. Dad doesn’t like me. But when the teacher stands in front of me, my heart feels warm.”

“I like the teacher.”

She was innocent and moving.

The bright moonlight wasn’t as straightforward and pure as she was.

The most correct thing Xiao Chengyue did was probably not to let Xiao Dengqu go out and be bullied and not to let her be corrupted by the filth outside.

Xiao Dengqu asked, “Teacher, do I smell good?”

Shi Mingyue came back to her senses. She thought Xiao Dengqu was worried about the smell of paint on her. She took a deep sniff and said, “Did you change your body wash? It seems to be the scent of green mandarin orange. It smells good.”

Xiao Dengqu skillfully sat on her lap. Shi Mingyue wanted to get up but was pushed back down. Xiao Dengqu asked, “Are you scared of my dad?”

“It’s not about being scared or not. It’s just not right,” Shi Mingyue said.

Xiao Dengqu: “Teacher, kiss me.”

Shi Mingyue looked at her in confusion. After a while, she tilted her head and said, “My leg is numb.”

Xiao Dengqu thought she would make her get up. Shi Mingyue only reminded her but didn’t push her away. Xiao Dengqu was a little flattered and kept looking at her in surprise.

Outside the window, the moon was covered in a hazy white veil. Shi Mingyue’s gentle beauty was like the rabbit jade she used to wear on her chest when she was a child. Every night, Xiao Dengqu would look at it for a while. Later, the nanny took it to look at and never returned it to her.

In the future, no matter who asks for her teacher, she wouldn’t give her away. No matter who says they want to play with her and asks to borrow her teacher, it’s not allowed.

Xiao Dengqu held Shi Mingyue’s face, her fingers threading through her hair. The teacher also smelled good. The curve of her eyes was slightly shallow, a very faint mark, like a piece of gauze scooped out of the water. It was soft and translucent. She wanted to kiss it.

Shi Mingyue’s gaze drifted to the window. Her black hair was sticking to her temples, and her ears were red. Xiao Dengqu lowered her head and kissed her ear. Her lips touched her gently and quickly, not tormenting Shi Mingyue.

Xiao Dengqu snuck under the covers, resting her head on Shi Mingyue’s leg. She was truly thankful for her cousin, Cheng Jin. The meaning of God creating her cousin, Cheng Jin, was probably to send the teacher to her.

“What are you thinking about?” Shi Mingyue saw the smile on her lips.

Xiao Dengqu said, “I’m thinking about kissing the teacher tomorrow.”

Xiao Dengqu, who had excellent sleep quality, quickly fell asleep. She didn’t know why, but a smile stayed on the corners of her lips. Shi Mingyue got up to leave, but the hem of her shirt was pulled. Xiao Dengqu’s hand was holding on very tightly. Shi Mingyue carefully pulled her clothes out and found that Xiao Dengqu’s palm was sweaty. Shi Mingyue took a tissue and wiped her palm clean.

…

The unit curriculum was finished. Shi Mingyue got up in the morning and packed three envelopes. One was for Xiao Dengqu’s expectations, one was to expose the housekeeper’s lust and her wrong sexual education, and one…

She dragged her suitcase downstairs.

A maid saw the suitcase at her feet and told her that Mr. Xiao had taken Xiao Dengqu out and was probably going to buy her a watch.

When Mr. Xiao had just returned, Xiao Dengqu had said that his watch was very beautiful.

An hour passed, and Xiao Dengqu still hadn’t returned.

The maids were a little surprised to see her like this.

Yueyue asked, “Teacher Shi, are you leaving today?”

Shi Mingyue was a little sad to be asked. Maybe she did have a little bit of feelings. Not for the villa, but for her student in the villa.

“The young lady might be back a little later.”

Shi Mingyue was actually struggling with whether to say goodbye to Xiao Dengqu in person, but she had an impulse that it would be best if she could say goodbye to Xiao Dengqu properly.

When Shi Mingyue arrived, she only had a bag on her back. She had bought a suitcase on her last trip. She handed the envelopes to Yueyue and instructed her that one must be given to Xiao Dengqu.

Shi Mingyue dragged her suitcase and walked out. The wind gently carried the rich scent of osmanthus. When she got to the villa gate, she nodded toward the inside. “Thank you for taking care of me during this time.”

The sound was neither loud nor soft, and she didn’t know if the people in the villa could hear her.

Even though it was already autumn, the sun outside was still bright and intense. Memories kept flooding back. A month ago, Shi Mingyue had arrived here feeling uneasy. At that time, it was also drizzling.

Shi Mingyue remembered that she hadn’t taken her umbrella.

But it was okay. The umbrella needed to be replaced anyway. The ribs were broken.

It took her 18 minutes to walk out of the villa area, and she waited for another 3 minutes before the ride-share driver arrived.

The driver said, “Are you going to the East Station?”

“Yes.”

The driver asked, “Are you going home or going on a trip?”

Shi Mingyue was very cautious. She said, “I have plans with a friend. We’re going on a trip for a few days.”

“You’re not in a hurry to catch the train, are you?”

“It’s fine as long as I get there by 11.”

The driver laughed. “Tsk, this is the first time I’ve gotten a ride request from here. This place is expensive. The house must be worth at least a few hundred million yuan. Which big boss is it? The one surnamed Liu or Wang?”

Shi Mingyue said, “I’m not too sure.”

She didn’t talk much and looked out the window.

The driver said, “Tsk, it’s probably that car that just passed by. The Bentley.”

Shi Mingyue paused.

She looked out of a different window, but the car had already left. Shi Mingyue couldn’t see it clearly and just gave a faint “mm.”

It probably wasn’t Xiao Dengqu.

Xiao Dengqu’s car was more high-profile, pink and tender. She would put a lot of cartoon drawings on it and occasionally paint on it with a brush.

Noticing that Shi Mingyue didn’t say much, the driver didn’t ask any more questions.

Shi Mingyue took out her earphones and put them on. She would check the route on her phone every few minutes.

Xiao Chengyue’s car arrived at the villa. He took the elevator from the garage to the first floor. Yueyue handed him the envelope. It was bulging.

The housekeeper asked, “Where’s the young lady?”

“She’s at an interview,” Xiao Chengyue said, opening the envelope and looking at the contents.

The housekeeper said, “She agreed?”

“She went happily after he bought her two watches,” the special assistant said. “They’re 2 million yuan. She was so happy.”

The housekeeper’s expression was grave. “This might not be a good thing.”

Special assistant: “Huh?”

Xiao Chengyue also looked up.

The housekeeper said, “She’ll think you deliberately sent her to the interview and then fired Shi Mingyue.”

Xiao Chengyue’s expression also instantly became serious. “Shi Mingyue left?”

Housekeeper: “You didn’t make her leave?”

At that moment, the sound of a car was heard outside. The car stopped, and Xiao Dengqu got out of the car, a Hello Kitty bag slung across her chest.

Xiao Dengqu got out of the car and said happily, “Teacher! I’m back. I have a super nice watch.”

Xiao Dengqu held two paper bags. She started calling for Shi Mingyue as soon as she got out of the car. She looked up and didn’t see the window open on the second floor. She called out to the living room again.

She didn’t hear Shi Mingyue’s response. She asked in confusion, “Where’s my teacher?”

Instantly, everyone’s breath hitched.

“It’s over.”