TAO | Chapter 15

Li Suilin’s home was a three-story villa, covering over 500 square meters on a single floor. The first floor consisted of a living room and a lounge, the second floor was for resting, and the third floor had been divided into a conference room and a study.

The conference room was massive, connected to a terrace of over ten square meters. Li Suilin's father often used it to meet with people or hold video conferences with subordinates.

There was a whole wall of floor-to-ceiling windows here, letting in plenty of light. Outside, the green water surrounded the place, offering a picturesque garden view.

Li Suilin's father had gone to C City for an Internet conference in the past few days, which gave Jiang Zhan and the others a space to study in peace.

Han Ziyang was sprawled on the chair with his legs crossed, chewing on a strawberry and holding a couple of cherries in one hand.

Compared to the wild and free Han Ziyang, Jiang Rui and Zhao Zifeng appeared much more civilized. Each pulled out a pen and exercise book from their bags, clearly ready to study.

Wei Xiaochi sat obediently in the corner, unable to resist stealing a glance at the other corner, where another alpha sat. He hadn’t spoken a word, but his presence was unmistakable.

The sunset was about to set, and large beams of rosy light streamed through the window, casting a red glow on him.

Jiang Zhan’s eyes were lowered, his nose bridge high, lips thin and pursed, his features sharp and proud.

Since Jiang Zhan had entered, he had only briefly made eye contact with Wei Xiaochi at the beginning. After that, they hadn’t exchanged a word, remaining as distant as strangers, his posture high and aloof.

Seeing this, Wei Xiaochi felt a little uncomfortable.

But then he thought of the 200 yuan Li Suilin had given him earlier, and that discomfort vanished in an instant.

Soon, Wei Xiaochi began to feel like the money was easy to earn today. During the time Li Suilin was recovering from his injury, it was clear he had already considered how to tutor the four struggling students.

Once everyone had arrived, Li Suilin handed Wei Xiaochi a brown paper bag.

“Xiaochi, pass these out for me,” Li Suilin said as he sat back in an iron-backed chair, a smile on his lips. “Thanks.”

Even when ordering others around, Li Suilin’s demeanor was so pleasant that no one could feel any resentment, especially since he had injured his ankle and couldn’t move around much.

“Okay.” Wei Xiaochi opened the bag and found a stack of test papers inside.

Li Suilin spoke again. “You don’t need to give them all out, just the science papers.”

Wei Xiaochi quickly pulled out the science papers, exactly four copies. He placed them in front of the others. Li Suilin’s low voice came from behind.

“These are all basic questions. I’ll start by gauging your level.”

At that moment, Wei Xiaochi suddenly realized that his role as a tutor might just be to fill time.

Li Suilin was more experienced, more meticulous, and had thought everything through.

The anxiety of potential failure pushed Wei Xiaochi into action. He started running around, attending to each of them.

A moment later, Han Ziyang nudged him. “Hey, Xiaochi, how do you do this problem?”

Then Zhao Zifeng, the muscular guy, sheepishly asked, “Can you check if this is right?”

Seeing how enthusiastic they were, Jiang Rui also spoke up, “Hey, take a look at mine too.”

The last alpha remained aloof, silent as his face gradually grew darker.

Wei Xiaochi moved between the four of them, giving instructions, until an angry shout broke out, “Are you all done? Can I do my work in peace?”

Jiang Zhan had a dark expression, and his pheromones followed his mood, affecting the atmosphere. The betas didn’t notice, but the other alphas grew quiet in unspoken agreement.

Li Suilin pushed open the door and immediately sensed the strange atmosphere, his eyebrows lifting ever so slightly.

He broke the silence. “If you don’t know how to do it, just leave it blank.”

He walked in, placing a cake on the table, and then gently slid a plate toward Wei Xiaochi. “You don’t have to watch them. Eat some cake first.”

Han Ziyang quickly stood up and shouted, “Hey, I want some too! Why didn’t you get any for us?”

Li Suilin gave him a cold glance. “Finish your work first.”

Han Ziyang immediately quieted down, pouting and grumbling, then hunched over to continue working.

Li Suilin pointed at the table, signaling Wei Xiaochi to eat the cake.

Wei Xiaochi felt like he wasn’t doing anything here. He had received 200 yuan for doing basically nothing, and now there was cake to eat too.

Even with his thick skin, he couldn’t help but feel a little awkward at that moment. Trying to be polite, he pushed the cake back.

“Class monitor, you go ahead and eat first.”

Wei Xiaochi followed the example of Kong Rong giving pears, even though he was offering the cake from Li Suilin’s house.

Li Suilin smiled warmly at him, almost like a father. “There’s more in the fridge. You can have some.”

After some polite pushing, Wei Xiaochi finally took the cake. Just as he was about to take a bite, a loud bang sounded, and someone slapped the table.

Wei Xiaochi looked over, only to see Jiang Zhan slamming his test paper onto the desk, his eyes narrowed in irritation. “I’m done.”

Han Ziyang, still halfway through, was stunned. “Wow, Brother Zhan, you’re amazing.”

He leaned over to look at Jiang Zhan’s paper and found a huge section left blank. He paused for a second, then reached out his hand to mimic Jiang Zhan and plan to submit his paper the same way.

When he looked up, his cousin was watching him with a smile. Han Ziyang’s forehead chilled, and he reluctantly picked up his pen to continue working.

Li Suilin glanced at Jiang Zhan’s swaggering display and turned to Wei Xiaochi. “Xiaochi, check his paper for me.”

Jiang Zhan raised his eyebrows slightly, then quickly reverted to his usual defiant attitude.

Finally, something to do. Wei Xiaochi took the paper, but when he saw the large blank areas, he felt a little awkward.

As Li Suilin had said, these were all basic questions, and for someone like Wei Xiaochi, who had been battling through mountains of practice problems, some of them didn’t even require thinking—he just remembered which answer was correct.

Wei Xiaochi spread the paper out on the table, finishing the checks in just seven minutes.

It helped that Jiang Zhan hadn’t answered many questions, leaving half of the paper blank.

Li Suilin snatched the paper from Wei Xiaochi’s hands, pressing his finger to his temple and making a sound of disapproval, as if he was pondering something. His eyes carried a faint smile, full of teasing.

Jiang Zhan, visibly frustrated, snapped, “What’s that sound? If you have something to say, just say it.”

Li Suilin ignored him and turned to Wei Xiaochi. “This is what I get from my star student. You really have your work cut out for you.”

Seeing how bad Jiang Zhan’s mood was, Wei Xiaochi didn’t dare to offer the usual pleasantries, like saying it wasn’t a problem.

To say it wasn’t difficult would be a lie. Wei Xiaochi didn’t know whether Jiang Zhan was doing it on purpose, but he had gotten many simple questions wrong.

Han Ziyang wasn’t much better. Many of the questions he got right were ones Wei Xiaochi had helped him with.

When Wei Xiaochi was checking the papers, he had marked which questions were done by skill and which ones had relied on external help. Li Suilin could tell with just one glance.

After getting a clear picture of the four students’ capabilities in science, Li Suilin asked Wei Xiaochi to get a set of math papers for them. He then began working with Wei Xiaochi to create a study plan.

“Xiaochi, do you have time on the weekends?” Li Suilin rubbed his forehead. “The situation is worse than I thought. The exams are coming up soon, and we need to quickly improve their grades.”

Wei Xiaochi felt conflicted.

While Li Suilin’s pay was generous, this job wasn’t stable. After the mock exams, Jiang Zhan and the others wouldn’t need tutoring anymore.

Wei Xiaochi felt it wasn’t worth giving up his milk tea shop job just to tutor them. But the pay Li Suilin was offering was too tempting.

Wei Xiaochi licked his lips and asked the most important question. “Will it still be 100 per hour for tutoring on the weekends?”

Li Suilin seemed surprised, almost a little disappointed. “Are we that close that I can’t even give you a discount?”

“Well,” Wei Xiaochi hesitated, his eyes darting around. “I think we should keep things clear. But I can treat you to a lemon drink, to thank you for introducing me to this job.”

After all, teaching these four wasn’t easy, especially with two king-level troublemakers among them.

Plus, he was risking being “fired” from the milk tea shop, so the balance of effort and reward was something he had to consider.

So, no discounts. No one could get a better deal from Wei Xiaochi.

Li Suilin chuckled and agreed. “Alright, still 100 per hour.”

“Saturday and Sunday, two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. Any longer and they won’t be able to concentrate.”

Li Suilin opened a bottle of water and took a sip before continuing. “We’ll do 10 AM to 12 PM in the morning, and 2 PM to 4 PM in the afternoon. Is that okay for you?”

The schedule was spread out too much, which meant Wei Xiaochi wouldn’t have time to go distribute flyers at the milk tea shop.

But the 400 yuan a day was very tempting. He gritted his teeth and nodded. “I’m fine with that.”

He’d need to take time off from the milk tea shop, so Wei Xiaochi planned to call the manager later.

Every week, Tea-Color Tea Art hired temporary workers dressed in mascot costumes to hand out flyers, usually university students, since they were cheaper.

Zhou Yun had added many university students who were willing to take on part-time jobs, and she would ask every Friday who was available.

Wei Xiaochi was an unexpected choice. At first, Zhou Yun had been hesitant because of his age, worried he might lack responsibility.

But to her surprise, Wei Xiaochi turned out to be the longest-working and most reliable one. He could even help out with other tasks during busy times, always showing initiative.

Zhou Yun liked him a lot, so as long as Wei Xiaochi didn’t take the initiative to ask for time off, she’d have him work every week.

Jiang Zhan raised his eyelids and glared at Wei Xiaochi, who was sitting closely with Li Suilin, whispering in each other’s ears, looking gloomy.

Yesterday, he had been so desperate for him, but today, he was already cozying up to someone else and treating him to lemon drinks.

Ha, was he starting the same old tricks again?

Can’t these types of girls try something new? How many people do they have to use the same tricks on?

Sensing Jiang Zhan’s gaze, Li Suilin looked over with a smile in his eyes, as if asking what was wrong.

Just as they were discussing the tutoring plan, Li Suilin suddenly went silent. Wei Xiaochi looked up, puzzled, and followed his gaze, only to find the school bully sulking.

Then, Jiang Zhan shot him a glare.

Not sure what Jiang Zhan and Li Suilin were fighting about, but Wei Xiaochi felt like he had gotten caught in the middle.

Luckily, Jiang Zhan didn’t direct his anger at Wei Xiaochi. He shot him one last look before turning back to his paper, stabbing the pen into it like it was his enemy, looking even more fierce.

Wei Xiaochi leaned closer and quietly asked Li Suilin, “What’s wrong with him?”

Li Suilin shrugged and smiled without speaking.

Wei Xiaochi sighed. It was like the devil fighting, and the little ghost had to suffer.

Author’s Note:

Wei Xiaochi: Just asking, where am I being “green tea”?