Yearning For Warmth, Day and Night - Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Learning

Wei Hui’s efficiency was remarkably high. The very next day, Eleven met her teacher, a kind middle-aged man in his fifties, dressed in a simple down jacket and casual pants. His skin was dark, and his teeth were white when he smiled, which he did often. Upon meeting, he introduced himself: “My surname is Yuan. You can call me Teacher Yuan.”

Eleven took his extended hand and obediently called out, “Teacher Yuan.”

Yuan Shu was very fond of her attitude. After returning from studying abroad, he had been a private tutor, with countless students under him, many of whom were difficult and disobedient. Rarely had he met someone as well-behaved and sensible as Eleven, who called him ‘teacher’ upon meeting. Looking at her, Yuan Shu saw a bit of Wei Hui’s shadow.

Wei Hui hadn’t graduated from college when she returned to take over Wei Tian. At that time, she came to him, saying she wanted to continue her studies and offered him a large sum of money. Having spent a long time in the upper circles, he knew a bit about Wei Hui. Plus, being somewhat connected to her father, he offered to help without taking money. Unexpectedly, Wei Hui disagreed, saying that public and private matters should be separate, and since she was learning, she had to pay for it.

And now.

This child had no kin or connection to her, yet Wei Hui was willing to spend such a large sum of money to have her tutored. Their relationship was truly hard to fathom. However, he was not one to pry into others’ personal lives. Getting paid for a job and not asking too many questions—that was his principle. So Yuan Shu smiled at Eleven: “What’s your name?”

Eleven thought for a moment: “My name is Eleven.”

Yuan Shu nodded: “Then let’s begin. First, I’ll give you a basic test.”

Eleven hadn’t held a pen in years, and most of what she knew was long forgotten. When she sat down for the first test, even Yuan Shu frowned. However, he didn’t say anything, merely chuckled, “It seems a bit difficult. I’ll adjust the curriculum later.”

He finished speaking and patted Eleven’s shoulder: “It’s alright, take your time. Learning is something you can’t rush.”

His amiable attitude, which had initially made Eleven feel a little ashamed, gradually put her at ease under his gentle gaze, and she began to ask questions step by step. After the first day of lessons, she actually understood little, but felt very fulfilled. When Wei Hui returned from work, she saw Eleven with a beaming smile: “Third Miss, the teacher said I did quite well today.”

Wei Hui looked at her deeply, then nodded: “Good, continue tomorrow.”

Eleven put her hands behind her back, her gaze falling on Wei Hui’s slender neck. There was a faint reddish mark. Yesterday, after daring to use all her courage to bite Wei Hui, she had waited for her reaction. But Wei Hui didn’t push her away, didn’t resist, nor did she scold her. She just patted her shoulder and told her to go back and rest.

She didn’t quite understand what Wei Hui meant. Was she agreeing to her closeness?

She should, she should be agreeing. If she disagreed, she would have pushed her away then. Eleven lowered her head, hiding her small thoughts. After dinner, Wei Hui went to the study. Eleven brought her milk upstairs and saw her engrossed in documents. Those obscure and profound numbers, professional terms, were still like a heavenly book to her. But as long as the Third Miss needed her, she would learn, and she would learn diligently. Eleven lowered her eyes: “Third Miss, have some milk.”

Wei Hui looked up at her upon hearing the sound, holding her pen, and said, “Leave it there. You go back and rest first.”

Eleven bit her lip, then obediently left. Wei Hui stared at the closed door after she left. After a long while, she withdrew her gaze.

The etiquette class was much simpler than the academic class because Eleven had grown up observing wealthy people and understood their rules well. Now, it was just a change of identity, from a servant to a mistress. So, she knew what to pay attention to even without the teacher telling her. Soon, the etiquette teacher found Wei Hui, and after discussing it, the curriculum was adjusted again: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday were academic classes, and Saturday was etiquette. Eleven, of course, had no objections. She was like a little sponge. When she first encountered knowledge, she was still懵懵懂懂, but after a few days, she quickly absorbed it. The teacher also provided targeted education, so she grew very quickly.

Yuan Shu was also surprised by her learning ability. She was very intelligent and quick-witted, much easier to teach than many of his previous students. He even joked with Wei Hui, saying that if such a good sapling had been nurtured well from the start, she might have become another elite.

Wei Hui just stared at Eleven’s class schedule and didn’t respond.

A week later, the groundbreaking ceremony for the unfinished building took place. Eleven was worried that Wei Hui would want her to come along, but Wei Hui ordered her to stay home and study. This past week, all she did was study. Although the assignments given by the teacher weren’t many, she wanted to grow faster, so she would secretly study at night. Yuan Shu praised her for her quick comprehension, but it was actually because she reviewed at night.

She didn’t go to the groundbreaking ceremony. Instead, guests came to the house. Du Yue Ming, hearing that Wei Hui had found a private tutor for her, exclaimed in disbelief and insisted on coming to see. After arriving, she was almost scared to death. Yuan Shu used to teach her too and had tortured her half to death. Du Yue Ming, who had come excitedly, left crestfallen, leaving Eleven with a message: “Study hard and make daily progress.”

Eleven secretly chuckled at her reaction. After returning home, Du Yue Ming sent Eleven a private message, asking her what was going on. She was already an adult, why was she still studying? Wasn’t she Wei Hui’s little lover? Why was she being raised like a daughter? Eleven bit her lip, looking at the message.

It wasn’t that Wei Hui was raising her as a daughter.

It was that she wanted her to raise a daughter.

However, she couldn’t explain these things to Du Yue Ming. She simply told her that she had asked Wei Hui to arrange it because she didn’t understand many things before and was afraid that she wouldn’t know anything if she had to go to work later, so she asked Wei Hui to find a teacher for her.

Du Yue Ming’s brain was already not very bright, so with this bluff, she actually believed it. As the New Year approached, she sent Eleven a gift. Eleven opened it and saw: “Essential for Gaokao (college entrance exam) sprint! Five sets of mock papers! A set of the Four Books and Five Classics!”

Eleven: …

Du Yue Ming’s thought process was indeed unusual.

As the end of the year approached, Wei Hui became even busier. Since the groundbreaking of the unfinished building, she had been personally involved in everything. However, they still dined together in the mornings and evenings. No matter how busy Wei Hui was, she would take care of her health, returning home before nine and going to bed by ten, a strict routine. However, communication between them had significantly decreased. Although it was never much to begin with, Wei Hui used to be home for longer periods, spending both days of the weekend at home. Now, if she could come back half an hour early, Eleven considered it good.

While Wei Hui was busy, Eleven was no less so. Yuan Shu’s teaching method was relaxed at first, then became intense, step by step. Otherwise, Du Yue Ming wouldn’t have called him a perverted teacher and said she couldn’t stand it and would break down. Eleven, however, thought it was great. This way, she wouldn’t have time to overthink.

On the twenty-ninth of the lunar year, Su Ziyan paid a visit to the Wei residence. Eleven hadn’t seen him for a long time. After accompanying Wei Hui to the hospital last time, Wei Hui never took her out again, so she hadn’t seen Su Ziyan. Upon seeing him abruptly, he stared at her for a long while before calling out in confusion, “Eleven?”

It had only been two months, but Eleven had changed quite a bit. Su Ziyan couldn’t help but observe her more closely. She had grown a little taller. Logically, at her age, she shouldn’t have grown anymore, but she had been malnourished before, completely unable to keep up, and coupled with excessive mental stress, her body had always been in a state of tension, unable to get full rest, so she remained thin and weak. But after coming to the Wei family, she had actually shot up, growing quite a bit taller and becoming much fuller. Although she still couldn’t be described as fat, she was completely devoid of the frail appearance she had when she first arrived at the Wei family. Now, she was gradually becoming more like an adult.

Eleven was also very happy to see Su Ziyan. She smiled brightly: “Dr. Su.”

Su Ziyan shook his head: “Girls change a lot as they grow up.”

Eleven was a little embarrassed: “Please sit.”

Su Ziyan sat on the sofa: “Where is she?”

Eleven looked up at the upstairs: “The Third Miss is in her room. I’ll go call her.”

Su Ziyan nodded: “It’s almost New Year’s and she’s still holed up at home. She doesn’t even go out for a stroll.”

Eleven lowered her head and smiled. Wei Hui had been quite busy lately. Although she was resting today, she hadn’t left her room. Eleven had hovered by the door several times, wanting to knock and ask, but she guessed Wei Hui was sleeping, so she didn’t disturb her. Now that Su Ziyan had arrived, she could finally knock.

“Third Miss?” Eleven called out at the door: “Third Miss?”

There was no response from the room. Eleven figured she was still resting. Just as she was hesitating whether to enter, a voice came from inside: “Come in.”

She grasped the doorknob, pushed it down, opened the door, and walked in.

Wei Hui seemed to have just woken up, sitting on the edge of the bed. Her pajamas were slightly disheveled, and her long hair fell over her chest, the ends swaying, adding an innocent softness. Eleven, seeing her like this, her voice softened: “Third Miss, Dr. Su is here. Do you want to go down?”

She said, walking closer to Wei Hui.

“Ziyan is here?” Wei Hui put her hand on the bedside table, preparing to stand up, but felt her legs were weak. She looked up at Eleven and said, “You go out first. I’ll change my clothes and be right there.”

Eleven scratched her head: “Your clothes…”

She said, helping Wei Hui straighten her clothes. Her fingers inadvertently touched Wei Hui’s skin, and her expression changed slightly.

Wei Hui gathered her clothes: “Go out first, I’ll be right out.”

Eleven’s throat felt as if it was stuffed with cotton. She opened her lips: “Okay, then I’ll go down and accompany Dr. Su first.”

Wei Hui nodded slightly. After Eleven left, she slowly moved her legs. It wasn’t a hallucination; her legs truly felt weak. In fact, she had been woken by the pain. Before Eleven knocked, she had already been sitting on the edge of the bed for half an hour. To prevent Eleven from noticing anything amiss, she had deliberately ruffled her pajamas before Eleven came in. Fortunately, although the child was clever, she didn’t notice anything unusual.

Eleven’s hand gripped the doorknob, her back leaning against the door. Her eyes were red-rimmed. Wei Hui had just tried to stand up but had fallen back onto the bed. Eleven had seen her posture clearly. She pretended to help Wei Hui straighten her clothes and inadvertently touched her skin; it was icy cold, with a hint of chill. It was clear that she hadn’t just woken up but had been sitting there for a long time.

But she didn’t want Eleven to know.

Eleven stood at the door for a long time, listening to the faint sounds from inside the room behind her. Her hand clutched the doorknob tightly, so tightly that her fingertips ached, her eyes burned, and she wanted to cry.

At this moment, she suddenly wished that it wasn’t the Third Miss who was sick, but her. How wonderful that would be.