Therefore, when Ye Qian’s gang came to visit, Sister Li treated them as guests of honor.
When I entered the living room, I saw the 3 sisters sitting on the sofa. They were so gentle and pretty. It was a feast for the eyes!
Sister Li told me excitedly, “Miss, you should have told me we have guests! Your classmates and friends have been here for quite a while already.”
I glanced at my guests and smiled. What is going on?
Ye Qian stood up to shake my hand. “Nanxing, you’re finally home! I have no idea the studies for Chinese high school students are so difficult. It has been so long since we saw each other, look at you, you have lost so much weight.” She studied me carefully and her eyes were filled with incomparable heartache.
Sister Li was instantly moved by her concern for me.
I gently pushed her hand away and smiled. “Why have you all come to visit me today? How can I help you?” I handed my school bag to Sister Li and took a sip of the milk that the maid served me. I saw the disdain clearly in Nanyang’s eyes. When I was at the Nan Family, I would never receive a treatment like this. She must be thinking that I was purposely putting on airs.
Ye Qian turned to Gu Yan and Nanyang with a smile before saying, “We haven’t seen each other since the annual party. But Gu Yan and I have been spending a lot of time with your big sister, Nanyang. I’ve missed you so much. Your beauty and refinement have created a lasting impression in me. Since we’re free today, I begged Nanyang to bring us to come see you.” Then she turned to Gu Yan.
Gu Yan had been sizing me up since I walked in. Now she smiled and said in a gentle voice. “I hear that Jing Tian is your teacher?”
I smiled. “Yes.”
Gu Yan nodded. “He’s going to be a lecturer at M University in the fall so he took you guys on as practice. He was the top scorer in his university entrance exam.” Gu Yan twisted her fingers together as she spoke. This was probably the excuse she had been feeding herself to make her feel better.
It seemed like she had not given up on Jing Tian. Jing Tian probably was too much of a gentleman to crush her heart. It was why Gu Yan was still hanging on.
Nanyang said with a smile, “Yes, Big Sister Yan might not know this but Master Qi has been very strict with Nanxing and Jing Ni. If they fail a question, Master Qi will hit them. Nanxing’s hands are often swollen!” As she said this, she covered her mouth and giggled.
Gu Yan seemed to enjoy hearing this.
“Once we went to Master Qi’s house to visit them. Because Nanxing made too much mistakes in her paper, Master Qi punished her to do 100 frog jumps. You should have been there, Nanxing looked so ugly that day!” She started laughing to herself.
I looked at her and smiled. The reason for Nanyang’s birth was to insult me after all.
Gu Yan let out a long sigh of relief. She said earnestly, “Nanxing, you mustn’t blame Jing Tian. He only wants the best for you. You have to be understanding to him.” It sounded like she was persuading an unruly student on behalf of Jing Tian. She sounded like my teacher’s wife.
I replied with a smile. “In fact, Teacher treats me very well. No matter how busy he is, he will check my papers. Whenever I have a question to ask him, he would answer them patiently, he would never get angry no matter how slow I am. My teacher is the best teacher in the world. So I have to work hard or else I would have disappointed him.”
My words pierced into Gu Yan’s heart like bullets. She almost fainted. Thankfully Ye Qian was there to catch her.
Nanyang’s face dropped and she berated, “Nanxing, how can you trouble Master Qi like that? He has so many things to deal with, he doesn’t have time for your petty problems. You shouldn’t even trouble him with your homework. How inconsiderate can you be?!”
I looked at her blankly. “Even Miss Gu knows that teacher will be guest lecturing at M University in fall. He’s only using Jing Ni and I as practice students. Teacher has Mother Kong to look after him so there’s no need for us to be so worried about him. So why is big sister so concerned? I understand it now, your heart aches for Teacher, right?”
Nanyang’s face shifted drastically. Gu Yan’s eyes fired at Nanyang. If gaze could kill, Nanyang would be dead already.
“Nanxing, how can you say that? You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” Nanyang hissed at me.
I looked puzzled. “Big Sister, what have I done? Regardless, I apologize to you.”
Nanyang’s face turned red with anger.