lovenovelstory 009, isn't that terrible?
009, isn't that terrible?
"Auntie, I saw Jiang Di in the stairwell of the bookstore today. She spent the night in a place like that and didn't dare go home. I asked her what happened, and she said her father beat her, and her mother beats her when she gets home. I just want to ask, is that true?"
Wang Zhe silenced the aunt with just a few words.
What's with this talk of not airing dirty laundry in public? Well, it's all been aired now, hasn't it? And in front of Wang Zhe, this "other people's child," there's simply no way to hide it anymore.
Then he added, "But Jiang Di didn't say why her father hit her. Auntie, do you know why?"
The aunt suddenly realized something. She noticed her daughter's furtive gaze and whispered, "Your dad again…?"
What they did was not explained clearly, nor is it necessary to explain it in detail.
Jiang Di understood her mother's question and nodded.
"That damned bastard..." Half of the aunt's anger was immediately diverted.
It was expected that her daughter's grades would be poor, but her husband's addiction to gambling on sports and his increasing determination to win back his losses caught her off guard and triggered her emotions even more.
Wang Zhe added, "I won't ask any more questions, but I have to say that, as far as I know, none of the top ten students in our class get beaten up at home all the time."
Because of his extensive experience, he understood exactly how these parents thought. Their children were the people they could control most in their lives, so they habitually suppressed them. Over time, everyone else's words became credible, except for their own child's, which was always considered wrong.
But the auntie still stubbornly insisted, "You don't understand, those are your good students, obedient children. My son, on the other hand, stays out all night!"
Wang Zhe smiled and said, "But that's because her father hit her first, and I guess the reason he gave yesterday wasn't very reasonable, right?"
The aunt fell silent again.
Wang Zhe sighed, speaking from a parent's perspective: "Of course I understand. Jiang Di is about to enter her senior year of high school, and her grades are still so poor. It's really not good enough."
The aunt immediately chimed in, "That's right, forget about a bachelor's degree, she can't even get into a good vocational college!"
Wang Zhe then proposed a solution: "How about this, I'll tutor Jiang Di this summer. I also have all the study materials and notes I accumulated throughout high school, I'll give them all to her."
The aunt was taken aback: "You...child, what are you after?"
Wang Zhe laughed and said, "I'm not after anything, just doing a good deed. Anyway, those study materials and notes are just scrap paper to be sold. My grades aren't that great, I can't get into a top university, I'm just a little above the first-tier university cutoff at best."
"Scoring above the first-tier university admission line is already amazing!" The aunt couldn't help but laugh. "Oh dear, you're making me so embarrassed!"
The reason she said "sorry" is because she implicitly agreed to take advantage of the situation, meaning she didn't intend to pay. Of course, this is understandable, considering her husband lost so much money gambling on soccer.
Moreover, Wang Zhe never intended to make money through tutoring.
Wang Zhe initially approached Jiang Di with the intention of making up for the regrets of his previous life. In his previous life, after marrying Song Zhiyi and posting several "dog food" (a Chinese slang term for public displays of affection) on social media, he hadn't been confessed to or approached by a girl for a long time, let alone a beautiful woman like Jiang Di.
As a result, before anything actually happened between him and Jiang Di, and before he could enjoy his carefree life after the divorce, he was involved in a car accident.
After being reborn, I must make him enjoy himself again.
Now that he understands Jiang Di's predicament, he has some ideas.
Knowing that the person in this life also has feelings for me, especially after doing a lot of things and boosting my favorability, would it work if I used bait like "If you study hard and get into a university in Shanghai or Hong Kong, you can spend your university years with me"?
It feels like playing a simulation game, which has a unique kind of fun.
The aunt was silent for a while, then nodded: "Okay, then let her learn from you. Keep a close eye on her, and if she dares not to study properly, you can whip her with my belt!"
Wang Zhe: "..."
He glanced back and saw that Jiang Di's eyes were shining with excitement.
Only when he turned around did the girl quickly lower her head, muttering softly to cover up her embarrassment: "I already told you hitting is useless, why bother hitting..."
Wang Zhe secretly sighed, "Isn't this terrible?"
I was initially thinking that Jiang Di could learn a thing or two, but Auntie, if you say that, it might backfire. This girl might even deliberately go against him!
"Alright, alright, you two exchange contact information. Xiaodi, don't go anywhere else this holiday. No matter which friend asks you to go out, you can't go; you have to go to Wang Zhe's house for tutoring!"
With the aunt's consent, Wang Zhe exchanged phone numbers with the mother and daughter.
The reason they only saved the phone number and didn't use WeChat or anything like that was because Wang Zhe and Jiang Di both used old-fashioned feature phones.
Jiang Di's family was not well-off, while Wang Zhe's parents wouldn't buy him a new smartphone, so they gave him the old one his father had.
The saying "raise sons frugally and daughters lavishly" is currently popular.
At this moment, Jiang Di suddenly said, "Mom, we don't need to go to his house today, summer vacation has only just begun..."
The aunt interrupted her with exasperation, "You're about to be a senior in high school! Senior year! You think this summer is for playing? No, it's for you to study! Good heavens, your grades are so bad, you're almost at the bottom of your class, and you'd better hurry up and study!"
Jiang Di pouted, "But..."
"Whether you go today or not, it's up to you," the aunt said, threatening her with her eyes.
Jiang Di hesitated, lowered her head, and said, "Okay, I'll go then."
However, Wang Zhe, who was closer to the girl, could clearly see that although Jiang Di looked aggrieved with her head down, the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned.
This girl is clearly chuckling to herself!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
A dozen minutes later, Jiang Di followed Wang Zhe into his home.
Wang Zhe found her a pair of disposable slippers.
When his parents travel or go on business trips, they always take the slippers from the hotel without opening them, and bring them home to use for guests.
As Jiang Di changed into her slippers, she stared at Wang Zhe's profile, recalling the scene where he had stood in front of her to help her deal with her mother, and she sensed something was wrong.
How could I possibly not like him after that?
It's so bad.
"Go study in my bedroom. My study materials are on my desk, but we need to eat lunch first. I didn't expect your mom to not take you to lunch..." Wang Zhe said, then noticed the girl's gaze seemed fixed on his face, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Jiang Di cupped her face in her hands and shook her head vigorously: "It's okay, I'm fine."
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.