"Ah?" Shen Mianmian doubted her own ears, wondering if she was hallucinating. Was he offering her the book again and going to teach her? No, no, she must have misunderstood. He Nan was so busy, how could he have time to tutor her?
"Hmm?" He Nan raised an eyebrow and glanced at her.
Shen Mianmian blinked and ventured to ask, "The stuff in the English book?"
"Threw it away." He Nan said, expressionless.
Had he already thrown it away or was he telling her to throw it?
Uncertain of what He Nan truly meant, she did not feel it appropriate to ask further.
He was always succinct in his speech, surely he wouldn’t like others to be long-winded.
Seeing her little face wrinkled in a frown and her eyebrows knitted in difficulty, He Nan thought she hadn’t understood what he meant.
"Mark what you don’t understand, and you can ask me."
Was he really going to teach her?
Shen Mianmian felt her brain couldn’t keep up, there had been too many confusing events today.
"I have a level six in English," said He Nan in a calm voice. "It’s no problem to teach a middle schooler."
This was typical of him, not overly modest about what he knew.
Shen Mianmian hurriedly explained, "Big Brother He, I’m not questioning your English proficiency, it’s just that you’re so busy, and I..."
Her English teacher hadn’t even reached level six, how could she dare to question his ability?
"Not busy lately." He Nan cut off her words before they could even leave her throat. Fresh chapters posted on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝙣𝙚𝙩
With the conversation having reached this point, to continue refusing would seem ungrateful, so Shen Mianmian didn’t dare say more.
She just wouldn’t go to him for help.
A person as important as He Nan wouldn’t dwell on such trivial matters.
Usually, a forty-minute walk, by car took only a few minutes, and Shen Mianmian could already see Lu Siyuan’s village ahead, so she quickly spoke up.
"Big Brother He, you can drop me off at the village entrance just ahead."
"Are you close with him?" The ’him’ he referred to didn’t need clarification.
Shen Mianmian marveled that Big Brother He had such a good memory; just one mention and he remembered Lu Siyuan’s village.
Not wanting to discuss business matters, she simply made up an excuse, "He’s my deskmate. His grades are good, top three in our class, and I wanted to discuss some study matters with him."
"Don’t come back too late, it’s not safe."
He Nan instructed her and parked the car at the roadside, then signaled to Shen Mianmian to take the malted milk and English book with her.
After getting out of the car, Shen Mianmian stood by the roadside with the malted milk in her arms. Watching He Nan drive away, she then turned and jogged into Lu Siyuan’s village. She hadn’t been to Lu Siyuan’s house before, but he had mentioned his home was at the end of the village with a big jujube tree at the entrance.
Guided by what Lu Siyuan had described, she quickly found the Lu Family’s home. The gate to the Lu Family’s courtyard was open, Grandpa Lu was weaving baskets in the yard, and thick smoke was billowing out of the chimney, which most likely meant Siyuan was cooking.
Just as she reached the gate, Grandpa Lu noticed her and asked kindly, "Young girl, who are you looking for?"
"Hello, Grandpa," Shen Mianmian said with a smile as she walked into the courtyard, "I am Lu Siyuan’s classmate."
"Siyuan’s classmate, eh!" Grandpa Lu quickly got up, leaning on the walking stick beside him, and pointed to a stool nearby, "Come on in and sit down, Siyuan is in the kitchen cooking."
While speaking, he moved some of the half-finished woven items scattered around in the yard to clear a path for Shen Mianmian.