Su Nian gambled right. After all, he had been the “perfect child” his entire life. Without exaggeration, in this city, for most parents, he was the best child they could imagine.
Therefore, he asked Tao Ge for permission to skip evening self-study and scheduled a meeting with Ms. Yun.
Yun Yuan waited at the reserved restaurant. Even putting aside the tutoring matter, she would be happy to have dinner with this student Su if given the chance.
When Su Nian entered the private room guided by the waiter, the last traces of irritation from having to decline some work vanished.
Watching Su Nian gently send away the young waitress who was reluctant to leave the door, he came to sit before her.
“Hello, Aunt Yun. I’m Su Nian.”
“Hello, Student Su.”
However, Yun Yuan quickly calmed down. She didn’t show any embarrassment and regained control of the situation. After all, she had been forged through years of business battles.
“It’s like this, Aunt Yun. I want to apply to be Yun’s tutor.”
“So why?”
Yun Yuan grew cautious at this point. This young man’s actions were simply too hard to read.
“Do you know about the Feynman Technique? Specifically, I personally want to shift from a student mindset to a teacher mindset. I want to improve myself further, so I’m eager to become a tutor.”
“But…”
Before Yun Yuan could finish her question, Su Nian continued.
“But as you can see, I’m still just a high school student myself, so achieving that is obviously difficult. However, Lao He mentioned to me before that you were planning to find a tutor for Yun. He even wanted to recommend me to you, but I decided not to trouble Lao He and instead handle things independently. So I secretly sought you out. Sorry about that.”
Su Nian quickly added. Based on the fragmented information he had gathered before coming—like the restaurant they booked, the fact that Aunt Yun had to check her schedule to find time to meet him—he roughly deduced her personality.
You can’t let a strong woman like her seize the initiative in the conversation. You have to be perfectly airtight.
Yun Yuan looked at the boy’s fluent speech and confident face and couldn’t help hesitating a little.
“Why didn’t you go find Ran’er first? My first requirement for a tutor is that it must be entirely up to Ran’er.”
Su Nian’s confident aura faded. He scratched his head sheepishly. “Well, Aunt Yun, because I don’t know Senior Yun at all. So I thought I’d get your approval first, then find her. Otherwise, going directly to her would feel… a bit awkward.”
“What if people misunderstand?”
Su Nian mumbled another sentence softly.
Yun Yuan smiled slightly. Although she already thought this young man was exceptionally outstanding—both in terms of his past reputation and his current speech and actions—he was still just a pure-hearted boy of this age.
So, the top student doesn’t know how to interact with girls, huh?
“Little Su, I’ve always heard of your excellence. But Ran’er has less than half a year before the college entrance exam. Can you, as her junior, take on that responsibility?”
Yun Yuan teased.
“Sorry, Aunt Yun, but I achieved the same score as Senior Yun on last year’s college entrance exam when I was a freshman. Oh, and by the way, I also won provincial first prizes in math, physics, and chemistry competitions.”
Seeing the once slightly shy boy reveal a proud and confident smile again, Yun Yuan found it amusing.
The expression Su Nian made didn’t invite overthinking; it only made him seem really cute.
Yun Yuan couldn’t help thinking the same compliment that had followed this young man for years.
If only he were my child.
Yun Yuan actually trusted Su Nian’s abilities. Her previous question was just to tease this handsome boy. But then she suddenly remembered her daughter’s situation.
“Sorry, Little Su. My Ran’er isn’t good at interacting with boys either. But Auntie still hopes to become friends with you.”
“It’s fine, Auntie. Of course, we need to ask for the party’s opinion first. I will definitely earn Senior Yun’s agreement.”
Hearing the boy’s firm tone, Yun Yuan was moved by his divine-like eyes. She couldn’t help imagining in her heart—maybe he could be Ran’er’s antidote?
“Alright, Little Su. If Ran’er agrees, I’ll fully support it.”
“Please trust me, Auntie! I have never let anyone down!”
“But Auntie, you’ll need to give Senior Yun a heads-up first. Otherwise, it would be weird to just go find her directly.”
Su Nian added in a slightly weaker voice.
“Pfft, Little Su, you’re so much fun.”
Yun Yuan burst into loud laughter, as if she hadn’t been this happy in a long time, as if she wanted to sweep away the pile of irritation in one go.
After a delightful meal where both host and guest enjoyed themselves, Yun Yuan drove Su Nian to the entrance of his small apartment.
“Good luck, Little Nian.”
“Goodbye, Aunt Yun.”
The taillights of the car faded away along with Su Nian’s smile. He let out a breath.
“Plan successful.”
…
“So why did you go to so much trouble?”
Xiali was munching on snacks while scrolling through videos. Despite being so anthropomorphic, she suddenly used her hind leg to scratch the back of her head. Maybe she was essentially a gecko.
In response to Xiali’s question, a series of regular deep breaths came first, then Su Nian replied.
“Purpose. Information.”
“What purpose? The one about not taking responsibility? What if she falls for you in the end?”
After another short pause, Su Nian’s voice came through, slightly raspy. Unlike his usual ethereal tone, it added a trace of seduction.
“It’s not about not wanting to take responsibility. It’s precisely because I want to take responsibility that I don’t want to do what you suggested.”
Su Nian lifted the assembled dumbbell and completed another weighted squat before speaking calmly.
“I easily gain others’ affections, so I also easily disappoint them. Pursuing her would be irresponsible toward her.”
Xiali glanced at Su Nian at this moment. He was drenched in sweat, his bangs sticking to his eyes, the curves of his body faintly visible through his quick-dry shirt.
Xiali seemed to understand a little, so she didn’t argue.
“And you dumb cat, you have no idea how many guesses I verified and how much I gained from this dinner.”
“Huh?”
Xiali bared her teeth, letting out a dissatisfied growl.
“I verified all my guesses from the phone call. Her androphobia must have something to do with her father, and I got quite a bit of extra information. For example, her mother loves her very much, and it’s not a strict mother’s love. All of this is very useful.”
Xiali hissed but didn’t rush up to give him a cat punch this time. She had now chosen to respect Su Nian’s principles, so she patiently waited for him to finish each set before replying.
When they first found Yun Buran, she had worried that this human would prioritize the boring things in his broken notebook first.
But Su Nian didn’t neglect either side. To improve efficiency, he had Xiali block all distractions. In just one afternoon, he turned his original study plan’s densely packed checkmarks into reality.
“You can be this fast?”
“I just need to first be responsible for today’s me. I’ve always had various efficient methods. It’s just that they’re tiring.”
This was the first time Xiali saw exhaustion in this always-composed guy.
“So you’re going to do this from now on?”
“I’m not stupid. Of course, I’ll rearrange the workload.”
“For example, the exercise plan can be changed from three days on, one day off to two days on, one day off. The amount of academic work in class can be reduced first, maintaining basic competition studies.”
“I’m never rigid.”
Xiali didn’t know what “rigid” meant, but deep down she felt that this man, even if he weren’t the destined savior, would still be incredibly amazing.
Her thoughts snapped back because she was tapped on the head. Su Nian was now holding a glass of “milk” that he didn’t let her drink. The spring ball in his cup made her paw itch.
“So now comes the breakdown. Establish small goals for each stage to better control the direction of my plan. Tomorrow, I’ll engage with her for the first time.”
“What’s her ability? Which demon? And more detailed information about her androphobia.”
Xiali enjoyed his touch. Su Nian’s hands were long and had clearly defined bones. When he exerted force, the veins on the back of his hands were distinctly visible, making them quite appetizing.
“Don’t worry. If she dares to use any ability on you, I’ll show you why the Book of Prophecy chose me!”
Su Nian was also in a great mood. He felt he should have gotten a cat sooner. Wait—he felt like this little kitten had grown a bit bigger?
But he could still easily lift her with one hand. Su Nian picked her up, ready to sleep. He couldn’t let a little kitten get addicted to the internet.
Suspended in the air, Xiali kicked wildly. Although she was glad Su Nian allowed her to sleep on the bed, this guy made her promise not to pee or poop randomly. Did he really think she was a cat?