In silence, they returned to the villa. The young girl's reaction was somewhat different from what Qi Yan imagined; there was no sign of being pleasantly surprised. However, Qi Yan didn't mind. He had already made a decision, and there was no need to care about others' reactions – of course, he hoped she wouldn't be unhappy.
Tonight, the housekeeper was creative and made a serving of mango pomelo sago. Large chunks of mango exuded sweetness, and each juicy pomelo pearl added a delightful texture.
This mango pomelo sago was sweet but not cloying, and Cassie even thought about having another serving.
The clock pointed to eleven, and she held the bowl, knocking on Qi Yan's door.
The door opened suddenly. At that moment, the light from the corridor flooded in, illuminating his room. He only had a small desk lamp on, and the fluctuating light fell on his light gray home attire, as if starlight from the sky had descended to the mortal realm.
Qi Yan pushed his wheelchair, slowly moving toward her. He was always quick to adapt to the darkness, Cassie thought. Every time she saw him, he bathed in the night.
Qi Yan turned on the light.
Under the warm orange glow, his temperament softened.
His gaze fell on the bowl in her hands, and he furrowed his brows slightly. "What is this?"
"Auntie made dessert, mango pomelo sago," Cassie blinked, "I haven't touched it with a spoon. Would you like to try it?"
She wasn't afraid of him.
But why would he want to compete with a little girl for dessert?
Qi Yan calmly said, "No need."
Great. Then she could enjoy double happiness.
She brought her math homework with her and placed the dessert aside. Qi Yan picked it up and briefly flipped through it. In fact, there was obvious progress in the later pages, and the little girl was very dedicated. Although she had only started recently, she had done many exercises with a targeted approach. Perhaps he hadn't mentioned it, but over time, she could improve on her own.
What she lacked were basic knowledge and experience.
Qi Yan didn't have experience in tutoring, but after making a decision, he deliberately studied. In fact, tutoring was like solving problems; once you grasped the key points, everything would fall into place.
He didn't think it was a difficult task.
Qi Yan's character could be seen from his teaching. Meticulous and precise, without any unnecessary complications. He was excellent, easily grasping the main points of the problems and judging her understanding, providing the most suitable explanation within her acceptable range.
The tutoring lasted for over an hour. After completing the last question, Qi Yan glanced at his watch and said calmly, "It's time to rest."
The little girl looked up at the sound, gazing at him with anticipation, softly saying, "Oh."
Her clear, deer-like eyes collided with his.
Perhaps his attitude was a bit too indifferent. Qi Yan's tone softened, "Get some rest."
When she came over, she had just taken a shower, and at that time, her hair ends were still dripping with water. The refreshing scent of shampoo was pleasant. She was wearing a one-piece pajama with a hood, and there were two round bunny ears hanging behind her, swaying with her movements.
As she stood up, her hand accidentally bumped into Qi Yan.
Qi Yan lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on that hand.
Just like her, it was small, white, and soft, with nails trimmed into crescent shapes, giving off a soft sheen.
She raised her face, revealing a smile, "Good night."
Like powdered sugar, the sweetness melted on the tip of her tongue.
Qi Yan replied, "Good night."
His heartbeat quickened inappropriately, he thought.
But he just watched her, seeing the silhouette of the little girl disappear into the distance. She forgot to take the dessert on the table, and the ice had melted into the mango juice, emitting a sweet fragrance.
Originally, he intended to bring the dessert to eat, but he got so engrossed in solving problems that he didn't even touch the spoon.
A slight curve appeared at the corner of Qi Yan's mouth.
He picked up the porcelain spoon and scooped a spoonful.
The sweetness of mango and pomelo collided on his tongue, and he thought of the faint sweetness on the little girl.
She loved sweets so much; no wonder the scent of her skin was sweet too.
However, he could taste the mango pomelo sago.
...
The exams were scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday.
The school, with a bit of conscience, gave them a day off on Monday, but they had to return for evening self-study on Monday night.
Jiang Yutong's tone was very relaxed, showing no sign of tension from the mid-term exams. "How about coming out on Monday?"
Cassie wasn't inclined to go out much. Besides necessary activities, she spent most of her time sitting quietly at her desk, obedient and quiet.
Naturally, she didn't want to go out.
But she didn't want to disappoint Annies, so she nodded.
Annie also pulled Max, "Come along?"
The two seemed to get along well, often exchanging jokes. Max had a good reputation with the girls; he was gentle and patient, and the girls were happy to talk to him – in Annie's words, he was a "good man."
Max agreed.
Annie leaned in, saying mysteriously, "Darling, have you noticed that Andrew hasn't been here these past few days?"
He often skipped classes and usually kept a low profile. But this time, he hadn't come to the classroom for several days in a row, and even his schoolbag was gone. It didn't seem like skipping class; it looked more like he had transferred to another school.
Cassie shook her head.
She never cared about irrelevant people, and she didn't expand her social circle. Most of the time, she only spent time with Annie.
Of course, if enthusiastic classmates chatted with her, she would also talk to them.
"Their family has some issues," Annie said with a malicious smile, "I've disliked him and his family for a long time. We used to have business cooperation, and I had dinner with his dad once. Father and son are cut from the same cloth, both with such disgusting attitudes!"
She realized that she shouldn't talk about these messy things and corrupt the girl's ears, so she quickly changed her tone. "But it's their own fault. They cooperated with us openly, and secretly collaborated with another group. In the end, they ended up in trouble on both sides, and the shareholders withdrew their investment."
No wonder Andrew hasn't shown up – he used to rely on his family's dominance at school. Now that he has lost his confidence, where does he have the courage to come back?
Thinking of this, Annie couldn't help but become curious about Cassie's background.