Being a Tutor to a Rich, Psychopathic Young Lady - Chapter 8
Chapter 8
The touch on Shi Mingyue’s body had not yet dissipated. She looked at Xiao Dengqu in shock, then gave Cheng Jin a look.
Cheng Jin understood perfectly and seriously said to Xiao Dengqu, “You don’t like dogs, so why do you want a dog keychain?”
Shi Mingyue’s mind instantly exploded.
The little dog keychain was indeed a gift from Cheng Jin. She had only lied because she didn’t want Xiao Dengqu to ask more questions. At the time… Xiao Dengqu had seemed to believe it.
“Oh…” Xiao Dengqu pouted her lips, seeming a little unhappy. “Okay, it’s fine if I don’t get the dog. I’m already very happy that my cousin is treating me to a meal.”
Cheng Jin hummed in response. Her relationship with Xiao Dengqu wasn’t that good either, so she casually asked, “How is your studying going?”
“Very well.” Xiao Dengqu leaned closer to Shi Mingyue. “The teacher is very good at teaching. My grades are improving very quickly.” She raised an eyebrow, even looking a little proud. She just didn’t know if she was proud of her relationship with Shi Mingyue or her 52-point score.
Cheng Jin praised her. “Mingyue’s grades have always been number one in her major.”
Xiao Dengqu nodded. “The teacher is very smart. I especially like the teacher.” She looked at Shi Mingyue again and asked her, “Teacher, do you like me?”
Shi Mingyue was still engrossed in the matter of the little dog keychain and couldn’t respond to her. Xiao Dengqu’s smile was full of expectation, and her bright eyes kept blinking at her. Shi Mingyue could only give a faint “Mmm” in response.
Xiao Dengqu said, “Cousin is so good to me for introducing me to such a good teacher.”
She said it so genuinely that it made Cheng Jin feel a little embarrassed. She had introduced Shi Mingyue to her simply because Shi Mingyue wouldn’t accept her money. She happened to hear her parents complaining about Xiao Dengqu, so she introduced Shi Mingyue to her, thinking it was worth a try.
In Cheng Jin’s eyes, Xiao Dengqu used to be a bad kid with a strange personality. Now, Xiao Dengqu was calling her “cousin” so intimately that it made Cheng Jin feel as if she had been speaking ill of her behind her back.
Cheng Jin took out her phone and started typing on the screen.
Cheng Jin: [Mingyue, the dog keychain is only for you.]
Remembering the look Shi Mingyue had given her earlier, hinting at her to refuse, a smile appeared on her lips.
Shi Mingyue’s gaze fiercely turned to look out the car window.
The scorching summer sun made the roadside photinia leaves look unnaturally oily. A light breeze that occasionally passed by was just a futile tease, unable to penetrate the thick and oppressive atmosphere filling the enclosed space.
The air conditioning in the car was on full blast, but the physical coolness couldn’t dispel the heat in her heart. Instead, it raised small bumps on Shi Mingyue’s arms.
A subtle tension filled the air. All three of them sensed it, but because their thoughts were different, they couldn’t say anything, so they just let the oppressive feeling spread throughout the small space.
Cheng Jin had gotten a group coupon for a new restaurant. Shi Mingyue was about to sit across from Cheng Jin, but Cheng Jin smiled and invited her, “You can sit here with me.”
Shi Mingyue thought for a moment, then moved to the corner on Cheng Jin’s side to sit down, while Xiao Dengqu sat across from them.
Cheng Jin carefully scalded Shi Mingyue’s cup. Xiao Dengqu’s gaze wandered, curious about everything around her.
Cheng Jin said softly to Shi Mingyue, “This is your favorite barley tea. It’s a little hot. I’ll pour you a little first.”
“I do love this tea. Thank you, Cousin.” Xiao Dengqu handed her cup over. Cheng Jin had no choice but to scald her cup as well. Xiao Dengqu then mumbled, “There are so many people here.”
Cheng Jin didn’t reply. She gestured for her to scan the code to order and add some side dishes. Xiao Dengqu picked up her phone and started operating it, while Shi Mingyue, who didn’t like to order, just quietly sipped her tea. At this moment, her phone vibrated.
Xiao Dengqu: [Teacher, what are you eating?]
Shi Mingyue glanced at it but didn’t reply. While Xiao Dengqu was focused on ordering, she secretly placed her phone face down on the table.
When the food was served, Cheng Jin thoughtfully asked a waiter for an apron and handed it to Shi Mingyue. Xiao Dengqu was wearing a black vest and didn’t need an apron. Her eyes held a faint smile as she watched the two people across from her with interest.
Shi Mingyue was always cautious and polite when eating out and didn’t eat much. Cheng Jin would always persuade her, “Eat more.”
Xiao Dengqu echoed her, “I’ll eat more, too.”
Cheng Jin was silent for a moment, then used the serving chopsticks to get some food for Shi Mingyue. Shi Mingyue felt the gaze from across the table and lowered her head without a word. Xiao Dengqu held out her bowl. “Cousin, I want some, too.”
Cheng Jin handed her a spoon directly. “Use this to scoop it yourself.”
“Oh.”
Cheng Jin noticed Xiao Dengqu’s strange possessiveness. After that, Cheng Jin started talking to Shi Mingyue about her graduation project. They were from the same department but different majors. Cheng Jin got to know Shi Mingyue from taking some of her classes.
This was where Xiao Dengqu’s weakness came in. Shi Mingyue was studying aerospace engineering, and they were talking about various theories of aerodynamics, such as the Navier-Stokes equations, inertial force, pressure, viscous force, and external forces acting on fluids—a set of highly nonlinear partial differential equations.
The genius could only remain silent, her big eyes wide open the entire time, because a genius couldn’t understand university-level courses.
While Cheng Jin was talking, she kept adding food to Shi Mingyue’s bowl, chatting and laughing. Xiao Dengqu couldn’t follow the conversation at all. She looked at them curiously, then awkwardly searched on her phone. By the end of the meal, Xiao Dengqu had eaten the most.
It was seven o’clock when they finished eating. It wasn’t dark yet. Cheng Jin had originally planned to take Shi Mingyue to see a movie, but now she was stuck with Xiao Dengqu as a huge tail.
Cheng Jin said, “Xiao Qu, you should go back early. Your teacher and I are going to the library.”
Xiao Dengqu said, “I want to go, too.”
Cheng Jin said, “You need to make a reservation to get a seat, and you can’t talk inside.”
Xiao Dengqu stared at Cheng Jin. Cheng Jin smiled gently at her, encouraging her to study hard.
Shi Mingyue knew that Cheng Jin was saying this on purpose because Shi Mingyue hadn’t reserved a spot at the library recently either. She didn’t expose her. Xiao Dengqu’s car dropped the two of them off at the library. The two of them walked toward the building together. Xiao Dengqu sat in the car, watching their backs. Cheng Jin whispered to Shi Mingyue, “Let’s go see a movie later.”
Shi Mingyue hadn’t planned to go, but when she thought about what had happened in her dorm, she nodded firmly. Cheng Jin laughed. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve made a huge decision.”
Shi Mingyue forced a smile. “Let’s go.”
When they came out of the building, the pink Porsche was nowhere to be seen. Shi Mingyue finally breathed a sigh of relief. Cheng Jin smiled and said, “That’s a good thing. She’ll probably go back and study hard now.”
Hopefully.
It would take forty minutes to walk to the town square. Cheng Jin called a cab, and they arrived in ten minutes. Cheng Jin bought the tickets. Shi Mingyue was thinking of buying some snacks for herself. When she saw the couple’s combo, her heart skipped a beat—55 yuan.
Cheng Jin said, “You just ate. Can you still eat this much?”
Shi Mingyue still got two bottles of Coke. When they entered the theater, Shi Mingyue’s phone vibrated. She looked down.
Xiao Dengqu: “Teacher, where are you?”
“Teacher, are you thirsty?”
Shi Mingyue’s gaze landed on that key word, and she frowned.
“Let’s watch the movie. It’s a comedy. You must be under a lot of pressure lately. You should relax.” Cheng Jin looked at her gently.
Shi Mingyue tightly gripped the Coke in her hand. The coldness lowered the temperature in her palm. Shi Mingyue put her phone on silent on her lap.
The comedy movie was good, and the rating was quite high. Even though Shi Mingyue’s sense of humor was a little high-brow, she couldn’t help but smile occasionally.
Cheng Jin’s gaze swept over her a few times. When the audience burst out laughing, she said to her, “It’s pretty good, isn’t it?”
Shi Mingyue nodded with a smile.
After the movie, Cheng Jin also called a cab to take Shi Mingyue back to her dorm. After thanking her, Shi Mingyue returned to her dorm, only to be enveloped by that strange atmosphere again. She didn’t dare to touch her desk.
She took a shower to calm herself down. When she came out, she received a message from the female steward: [Is Xiao Qu still with you? She hasn’t come back yet.]
Shi Mingyue’s heart jumped.
She replied: “Did you call her?”
Female steward: “It’s off.”
Shi Mingyue immediately said: “I’ll go look for her. See if her driver is still at the school.”
Shi Mingyue glanced at the phone messages. The conversation ended with Xiao Dengqu’s “are you thirsty.” She didn’t even change out of her pajamas. She grabbed her phone, got on a shared electric scooter, and rushed to the library.
The library was at the north gate. She rode for more than ten minutes. The lights of the library were still on. She stood on the steps, her eyes searching.
At this moment, she heard a voice by her ear. “Teacher.”
A person was sitting all alone on a stone bench under a dim street lamp. The sunlight of the day was gone, leaving only her in the endless night, making her look particularly small and lonely.
This version of Xiao Dengqu made Shi Mingyue feel helpless and frustrated. She quickly walked over, about to scold her, but then she saw her pale neck and the large red patches on her legs. She was a pampered young lady after all. A few mosquito bites were enough to look horrifying.
Her tone softened. “Why are you here…?”
Xiao Dengqu pursed her lips and tapped the table with her finger. “I thought you were working hard, so I went to buy milk tea. But I messaged you, and you didn’t reply, and then my phone ran out of battery.”
Xiao Dengqu then said, “I know you’re supposed to put your phone on silent in the library, so you didn’t reply to me. I was just waiting for you to come out.”
Shi Mingyue’s face burned with shame. She hadn’t gone into the library; she had gone to see a movie. She said, “Where’s your car?”
“I don’t know where the driver parked the car,” Xiao Dengqu said. “I ran over to bring the milk tea and couldn’t find him anymore.”
Shi Mingyue sighed and sat on the stone bench, but a few seconds later, she immediately stood up. The stone bench was scorching hot. She glanced at Xiao Dengqu again and reached out to touch the milk tea. It was all warm now.
“…Why didn’t you go inside to wait?”
“Huh?” Xiao Dengqu asked in confusion. “But Cousin Cheng Jin said that since I’m not a university student, I couldn’t get in without a reservation.”
Shi Mingyue asked tentatively, “Have you been waiting for a long time?”
“Not too long, about the same as you. When you went in, I sat here. It’s so hot. I could barely sit still. You guys are amazing to be able to sit for so long.”
She scratched her neck again with her finger. “It’s so itchy, teacher.”
Shi Mingyue froze, feeling guilty and pained. She said, “Don’t scratch.”
She rummaged through her pocket and found a pack of wet wipes. She stood up, ready to wipe Xiao Dengqu.
Xiao Dengqu seemed to think she was leaving and also stood up. She said, “Actually, I know that Cousin Cheng Jin thinks I’m an idiot.”
Shi Mingyue froze for a moment, just about to explain that she didn’t.
Xiao Dengqu said bluntly, “She thinks I’m very stupid. My grades are terrible, and I’m a moron.”
“She deliberately talked about things I wouldn’t understand during dinner,” Xiao Dengqu turned her head to look at her, her brows slightly furrowed. Her eyes were filled with disappointment, confusion, and a hint of anger that was hard to detect. It was as if she understood something. She gave a forced smile and said:
“The three of us were eating together. We could have talked about so many topics, but she just kept talking about things like dynamics. I even searched on Baidu on my phone, but I couldn’t find out what they were. Does she think I don’t understand? She’s still isolating me like she used to.”
The word “isolating” hit a nerve with Shi Mingyue. She had been isolated too many times. Cheng Jin isolating her? That’s not possible, is it?
Looking at Xiao Dengqu again, Xiao Dengqu’s eyes were as clear as water. Shi Mingyue said, “Actually, I…”
“I’m very grateful that she introduced a teacher to me. Dad was also very happy and gave her a double salary. I specifically waited for you two upstairs in the morning and prepared candy and juice. It turns out that Cousin just wanted to earn my dad’s money. Right? It’s easier to earn money from an idiot.”
Shi Mingyue stood there, her mouth silent, her heart filled with guilt. In a moment of panic, Xiao Dengqu grabbed her wrist. Shi Mingyue instinctively tried to pull away. Xiao Dengqu let out a light hum, her tone full of extreme grievance.
“Teacher, Cousin has disliked me since I was a child. Please don’t hate me, too.”