by Dragon King
Zhao Hongyu looked at them and said, “The first-floor living room is too cold. If you’re not sleeping in Zi’s bedroom, sleep in my studio in the attic upstairs. The room is a bit small, but it’s still pretty warm.”
“That sounds good.” Hao Ren nodded.
“But Ren still has to take showers in your washroom,” Zhao Hongyu turned around, looked at Zhao Yanzi, and said.
Zhao Yanzi bit her lip in a grievance. “Fine,” she murmured.
She felt like her territory was being divided up and given to Hao Ren. Even her parents were leaning towards him. This made Zhao Yanzi feel conflicted. Before she made up her mind to “marry” Hao Ren, any sort of contact without her consent was worth fighting for.
This was her little pride, even though she sometimes thought Hao Ren wasn’t that bad.
Zhao Hongyu smiled sweetly to soften up the atmosphere. “You guys go up now since you have finished eating. Hao Ren is sleeping here tonight anyway, so we’re not worried about the time either. Take a shower first, get comfortable, and help Zi with her school work.”
Seeing that Zhao Hongyu was about to stand up, Hao Ren hurried and stood up first as he grabbed some dishes and chopsticks. “Auntie, let me help you clean up.”
“Haha, it’s fine! Let me do it! You go upstairs and take a shower first,” Zhao Hongyu said gently.
Hao Ren insisted for a bit but failed to persuade Zhao Hongyu. He could only thank her for treating him to dinner.
After Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi went upstairs, Zhao Hongyu, who was cleaning the table, asked Zhao Guang, “What do you think after this period of observation?”
Zhao Guang nodded. “He has a good character, a calm personality, and he’s also nice to Zi. Besides, there seemed to be a sign of him breaking through the second level of the Spirit Concentration Scroll. Just like what Elder Lu said, he is a smart and non-ostentatious kid,” he said
“Then that means you officially approve of him. In fact, after interacting with him several times, I like him a lot as well,” Zhao Hongyu stopped what she was doing and looked at Zhao Guang, “Also…what are you planning to do with West Ocean?” she asked.
“Counter soldiers with generals and cover water with soil(TL: a Chinese idiom which means there’s always a solution to a problem). There’s no use thinking about this now. We can only make Ren improve his strength as soon as possible,” Zhao Guang’s face turned solemn as he said calmly.
On the second floor, Hao Ren held the materials for their tutoring session and entered Zhao Yanzi’s bedroom as he smelled a light aroma.
Despite the heavy rain outside, it didn’t impact the silence of this small world. Hao Ren put down the materials and asked Zhao Yanzi, “Where’s the washroom?”
“Humph!” Zhao Yanzi turned her head and didn’t answer him.
“I haven’t told your parents about you skipping school yesterday,” Hao Ren looked at her and said indifferently.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yanzi’s ears perked up right away, and her facial expression revealed her anxiousness, “You… How dare you!”
“There isn’t anything I can’t say. It was a fact that you skipped school,” Hao Ren said again indifferently.
“That… that was to watch your competition!” Zhao Yanzi glared at Hao Ren and raised her voice.
“That’s weird. I don’t remember inviting you. You sneaked out yourself, and you’re blaming it on me?” Hao Ren asked.
Zhao Yanzi was speechless. Indeed, skipping school to watch Hao Ren’s competition was just a small part; the real reason was that she wanted to see how lively it would be at a university’s Athletic Competition.
“Did you see that I got first place yesterday?” Hao Ren asked her again.
“What is there to brag about? Obtaining first place in that kind of trashy competition!” Zhao Yanzi blushed and almost wanted to beat Hao Ren up.
Seeing that she got so anxious, Hao Ren laughed and whispered, “Then why did you come and watch?”
Zhao Yanzi’s chest was moving up and down from anger. “This uncle has been going way too far and is getting more and more annoying!” she thought.
It was true that she wanted to see Hao Ren’s results of the race, but it really made her angry that she went to watch him but also got mocked by him.
She was in angry and didn’t realize that she had done the exact thing to Hao Ren several times before.
“If you don’t want me to tell your parents about you skipping school, improve your midterm class ranking of each subject by ten.”
“You’re threatening me!” Zhao Yanzi showed her teeth and was so eager to bite Hao Ren’s ears off.
Hao Ren stuck out a finger and wiggled it. “I’m not threatening you. It’s a condition,” he said.
“I won’t accept it!” Zhao Yanzi grabbed the pillow beside her and threw it at Hao Ren.
Hao Ren avoided it and smiled again. “No rush. I will tell your parents that you skipped class if there isn’t any progress on your midterm grades.”
“Ahhhhhh…” Zhao Yanzi was very close to going crazy. She had never encountered such an experience when growing up. Especially since her parents, who used to spoil her, seemed to have taken Hao Ren’s side now.
“Okay, okay,” Hao Ren comforted her when he felt like she was about to explode, “I’ll go shower first. Where is the washroom?”
“Over there. Don’t you have eyes?” Zhao Yanzi pointed at a white cabinet.
Hao Ren walked over, opened the white cabinet door, and found a well-equipped washroom hidden in there. “What the heck!” he thought. If no one told him about it, how could he find it?
He walked inside and turned on the shower head. Indeed, he wanted to shower because his body was sticky from being soaked in the rain. However, it was his first time showering in a girl’s home.
After he took a hot shower and put on a bathrobe, he saw a set of brand new set of black pajamas folded tidily by the door of the washroom, and Zhao Yanzi was nowhere to be found. After he put it on and walked out of the room, he heard Zhao Yanzi’s voice in the next room.
Zhao Hongyu probably heard Hao Ren’s footsteps and called, “Come in, Ren!”
Hao Ren pushed on the door carefully and entered Zhao Yanzi’s parents’ bedroom.
It was a bedroom that was way bigger than Zhao Yanzi’s, but the design of the bedroom was also very delicate. The presentation of the bedroom gave people an elegant and comfortable feeling.
Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu were both wearing comfortable pajamas. They laid on the three-meters-wide bed and faced the fifty-four-inches plasma TV, which was playing an entertainment show. Zhao Yanzi was laying in between her parents and wore a set of pink pajamas. It seemed like she had showered in the bathroom that was connected to this bedroom.
Seeing Hao Ren walk in, Zhao Yanzi, who was giggling just now, suddenly stopped.
When Hao Ren saw that the family of three was having a good time, he felt like he shouldn’t have entered.
Zhao Hongyu stood up, “Done showering? Leave your clothes in the washroom. I’ll wash them for you, and they should be dry by tomorrow.”
“No, it’s fine!” Hao Ren rushed to stop her.
“Don’t worry. We’re a family. You don’t need to be shy!” Zhao Hongyu neglected Hao Ren’s intent, stepped out of the door, and went to Zhao Yanzi’s room to get his clothes.
“Do you want to watch TV?” Zhao Guang asked Hao Ren.
“Uh, no thanks,” Hao Ren stood at the doorway and said blankly.
“You’re still too tense, Ren,” Zhao Guang said to Hao Ren. Then, he patted Zhao Yanzi’s shoulder and said, “Go study and don’t let your mom down.”
Zhao Yanzi stood up from the bed unwillingly, jumped on the rug, and put on a pair of pink cartoon slippers.
Zhao Guang looked at their contrasting figures: tall and short; black and pink as they walked out of the bedroom. His gaze seemed distant as he sighed meaningfully.
44 It’s Not Jealousy! It’s Inspe
ction!
After returning to Zhao Yanzi’s room, Hao Ren realized it was almost eight o’clock and decided to send a text message to Zhao Jiayi. He notified his roommates that he was not going back, just in case they got worried. The four of them had a very close bond. Thus, Hao Ren didn’t want them to worry, especially during this sensitive period after Huang Xujie’s incident.
“Who are you texting?” Zhao Yanzi came and looked when she saw Hao Ren busy texting someone.
Hao Ren turned his body away and avoided her gaze. However, this made her even more curious, and she had to see.
Di… message sent. Hao Ren put his cell phone back in his pocket.
He turned back and looked at Zhao Yanzi. “Alright, sit down and let’s start your lesson,” he said.
Zhao Yanzi sat down angrily. Suddenly, she raised her head and looked at Hao Ren from the side, “You were texting that Class President, right?”
“Since when were you allowed to question me?” Hao Ren reached his finger out and dabbed her nose. The pink pajamas made Zhao Yanzi look as cute as a rabbit, and the pink undertone of her fair skin was just like those of the porcelain dolls they sold at the store. Hao Ren had the urge to tease her a little.
Hao Ren felt funny especially when he noticed the jealousy in her voice.
Pa! She hit Hao Ren’s arm hard and had an extreme reaction toward Hao Ren’s touch.
“What? Are you jealous?” Hao Ren asked as he used his left hand to rub his right arm, which had turned red.
“Do you think I can’t kick you out?” Zhao Yanzi pointed at the outside and said viciously.
At this moment, it was still raining cats and dogs. Even though it was quiet in the house, the sound of the rain outside was still audible, and it sounded like a huge storm.
Hao Ren didn’t want to worsen the atmosphere. He sighed, “No, I sent a text message to my roommate and told him that I’m not going back tonight so they won’t worry about me.”
“Give me your cell phone!” Zhao Yanzi reached out her pink and soft hand.
Hao Ren sighed again and didn’t think he should argue with a little girl. Thus, he took out his cell phone and handed it to her.
Zhao Yanzi turned on the phone and actually started checking the text messages on his phone. Her serious expression seemed like that of a suspicious girlfriend, inspecting her boyfriend’s phone.
When she saw that the text message was sent to a guy named Zhao Jiayi, she snorted lightly and returned the cell phone to Hao Ren.
“Not worried anymore?” Hao Ren put his cell phone back in his pocket and asked her intentionally.
“What is there to worry about!” Zhao Yanzi defended herself.
After all, Hao Ren still couldn’t understand the little girl’s mindset. He flipped open the study material. “Let’s start with English. Today, we are going to emphasize the knowledge point on the infinitive ‘to do something’,” he said.
Zhao Yanzi bit her lips, ignored the thought of arguing with Hao Ren, and opened her notebook.
This time, Hao Ren explained very carefully and attentively. He tried to slow down his explanations and started with the most straightforward concepts to the most difficult ones. After tutoring a few times, he knew what level Zhao Yanzi was at and how he should explain the key points accordingly.
Zhao Yanzi seemed to be putting in more effort than before. She propped her chin up with her left hand as she memorized and processed the concepts at the same time.
The pink pajamas emitted a light aroma. Her eyebrows were slightly raised. The appearance of Zhao Yanzi in deep thought was actually a little charming.
“This little girl is still pretty lovely when she’s quiet,” While explaining, Hao Ren thought to himself.
Zhao Yanzi listened and started to blank out gradually. Her gaze moved to Hao Ren’s face. Looking at the somewhat familiar and unfamiliar facial features, staring at the brightness in his eyes, and listening to various English sentences coming out of his mouth, Zhao Yanzi felt slightly dazed.
The soft and wet hair stood up messily on top of Hao Ren’s head and reflected the light. Compared to Hao Ren’s normal dry hair, the wet hair seemed to have added some handsomeness to his appearance.
“Hey, why didn’t you write anything down?” Hao Ren waved his hand in front of Zhao Yanzi’s unfocused eyes as he asked.
Zhao Yanzi, recovering from blanking out, flushed slightly and asked. “Ah, where were we?”
Hao Ren signed helplessly, “We’re at the combination of subject grammar. Utilize “it” to be the subject of the sentence. For example, ‘it - is - my - duty - to - take - care - of - you’.”
“Oh, oh,” Zhao Yanzi wrote the sentence down but didn’t really understand, so she asked again, “What does this sentence mean?”
“How come you don’t know this simple sentence?” Hao Ren pointed at his notebook and said, “Duty is responsibility, and this sentence means taking care of you is my responsibility.”
He was angry and a bit depressed. He prepared detailed information and explained so clearly, but Zhao Yanzi didn’t even care and blanked out.
Seeing Hao Ren was getting slightly impatient, Zhao Yanzi got irritated as well. “I was at school all day and have to listen to you tutor at night. I’m already tired to death! Why can’t I snooze for a bit?”
Hao Ren wasn’t feeling that great either and got angry when he saw her finding excuses for herself. “What kind of attitude is this? I am helping you out by teaching you…”
Knock! Knock! Knock! Three knocking sounds came from the door.
The door opened soon after. Zhao Hongyu, who walked in with a plate of snacks in her hands, asked, “What are you guys fighting about?”
Half of Hao Ren’s anger suddenly disappeared when he saw Zhao Hongyu. Zhao Yanzi’s expression also turned tame.
“Uh… nothing. We were discussing a knowledge point, and Zi and I had different opinions,” Hao Ren said.
“Oh? Let me see,” Zhao Hongyu didn’t seem to buy his excuse. She walked over, picked up Zhao Yanzi’s notes, and read with fluent English, “It - is - my - duty - to - take - care - of - you, which means it is my responsibility to look after you. What’s wrong with this sentence?”
Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi were both embarrassed and didn’t know how to answer. Hao Ren felt weird as well. “Why did I get so angry when Zhao Yanzi randomly talked back?
“Hmm, it’s a great sentence,” Zhao Hongyu put Zhao Yanzi’s notes down and moved the plate of snacks towards them. “It’s been a while since we had dinner. Eat some snacks,” she said.
“Thank you, auntie,” Hao Ren grabbed a slice of cake.
“Thanks, mom.” Zhao Yanzi pouted her mouth as she carefully grabbed a piece of desserts from the plate.
“Alright, I’m not going to disturb you anymore. Study hard,” Zhao Hongyu took the plate and walked out of the room with a smile.
Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi looked at each other and felt a bit awkward. Strangely, the burning flames of anger couldn’t seem to be ignited again.
Hao Ren coughed twice and broke the silence. He followed the spirit Zhao Hongyu conveyed at dinner time and said, “We’ll stop here for English. You don’t have questions about other subjects, right? It seems like you’re tired as well. Let’s call it a day.”
Hua! Zhao Yanzi pulled out her drawer and grabbed a few thick exercise books.
A smile of revenge emerged on her face as she spoke with a clear voice, “I suddenly feel energetic again!”
45 Transforming into a Fashionable Woman
“I don’t know how to do this one. And this, and this…” Opening the practice book, Zhao Yanzi circled with the ball-point pen.
“Urm, let me take a look…” Hao Ren forced himself to look through the problems.
“This is only Math. And I still have Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geology…” One by one, like in a magic show, Zhao Yanzi pulled out many practice books from that little drawer.
Hao Ren was dizzy with
exhaustion, and he could only solve a few of the problems. Meanwhile, Zhao Yanzi slouched in the chair with her arms crossed over her chest, looking at Hao Ren with a gloating smile.
“Damn! How come the science courses in middle school have gotten so difficult…” Hao Ren cursed silently. However, since he couldn’t humiliate himself in front of Zhao Yanzi, he had to rack his brain on the problems.
While he was working on the Eighth-Grade math problems, he thought about advanced mathematics; while he was working on the physics problems, he thought about college-level physics theories… The big gap between his current knowledge of the subjects and that of a middle schooler made it impossible for him only to solve the problems using middle school concepts.
“Uncle, can you solve them or not?” While he was struggling with mounting frustration, Zhao Yanzi asked him in high spirit. Hao Ren had tormented her in English, and now she felt good about the retaliation.
Putting his hands to his burning temples, Hao Ren felt he was going to explode. However, it was too shameful to admit that he, a student at a top university, couldn’t solve middle school problems.
“Hand me all your textbooks, and I’ll refresh my memory on the middle school concepts,” Hao Ren put down the pen and said to her.
Zhao Yanzi misunderstood him and said, “But I need them for tomorrow’s classes.”
“It’s fine. I only need them for tonight,” Hao Ren looked confident.
“Wait!” Standing up, Zhao Yanzi walked to the bed and picked up her backpack. She dug out five to six thick textbooks before handing them to Hao Ren.
“Sleep early tonight,” Hao Ren said to her as he walked to the door with the textbooks in his hands.
Zhao Yanzi looked at him, stunned. She was surprised that Hao Ren was still so nice to her and didn’t get angry as she had expected.
Before she could regain her composure, Hao Ren had left her room and walked up to the attic where Zhao Hongyu’s studio was.