Yu Na: [What?] Xiao Chen: [If you're free tonight, come over to my place for dinner. I'll order some takeout for you guys.] Xiao Chen: [I'm coming home late today. Qiao Rui's legs hurt from walking, he almost fell down when getting takeout at noon.] After all, Qiao Rui got hurt trying to protect her, so she readily agreed.
She replied with an "OK".
Xiao Chen sent her a phone number, saying it was the code to get into the community.
He said this person was the driver who would come pick her up.
After school in the afternoon, Yu Na finished up her work. Soon after, an unfamiliar number called.
She compared it to Xiao Chen's number to confirm it was his driver.
The driver said he was already in the parking lot.
Yu Na swiftly returned to the classroom to help tidy up Qiao Rui's schoolbag.
She didn't realize until she started cleaning up, but Qiao Rui's textbooks were as pristine as boiled eggs without shells.
Yu Na sighed, but she wasn't surprised.
Qiao Rui didn't seem like the studious type.
After organizing his bag, she grabbed her things and hurried downstairs.
The school gate was bustling, but the parking lot was quiet.
Yu Na immediately spotted the waiting man in a suit, not very old.
Similar to her previous drivers.
Seeing Yu Na, the driver respectfully addressed her, "Miss Yu Na."
"......"
It had been a very long time since anyone called her that.
She wasn't quite used to it for a moment.
The driver opened the back door for Yu Na.
This driver was a bit different from her family's drivers.
Her family's drivers were silent, like robots carrying out their duties, seeming soulless.
Not just the drivers, even the servants and bodyguards at home were the same.
No personal emotions at all.
That was also why Yu Na found it tiring to interact with them.
However, Xiao Chen's driver was very chatty. Not too old, they had some common topics.
At one point, he talked about his girlfriend, from when they met and fell in love, to school uniforms and wedding dresses. He looked quite happy and sweet.
Yu Na thought of her own driver, and asked him, "Do you have to be on standby 24 hours a day?"
"No need," the driver said with a smile, "On special days like my wedding anniversary, Boss Xiao even gives me time off."
"Really?"
Yu Na found it hard to believe. Her family's drivers had to be on call 24/7.
No matter what they were doing, if there was an emergency they had to come over immediately.
Of course, they were also paid very well, so there were no complaints.
The driver nodded, "Boss Xiao is great. When I got married, he specially set aside time to attend, and even—" he grinned foolishly, "—gave a big red envelope."
"Is he that nice to everyone?"
"Of course. For every employee under him, on any festive occasion, he gives red envelopes, and the amounts are very large. For some positions where the staff can't leave their posts, the extra income is very high. So his employees are very obedient, hardworking, and have low turnover rates."
When the driver talked about Xiao Chen, he was full of praise.
He said Xiao Chen was very warm, and would help his employees whenever he could.
Previously, a junior employee said his mother was ill and he couldn't afford the medical fees. He wanted to ask for an advance on his salary.
When Xiao Chen found out, he immediately paid for the medical fees without question.
That employee was deeply moved, he even kowtowed to thank Xiao Chen, who helped him back up.
The driver also said, "Boss Xiao had me wait in the parking lot for you because there are many students around this time, he was worried they might gossip about you."
Yu Na hadn't considered this point.
But on second thought, it probably would lead to some gossip.
A young female teacher getting into an expensive luxury car.
Although there was no harm, some gossip could spread baseless rumors all over school from an innocuous situation.
He had even considered this minor detail.
......The car entered the residential area.
After parking downstairs, the driver turned and asked, "Miss Yu Na, shall I accompany you upstairs?"
"No need, thanks."
Yu Na took her things, thanked him, and got out of the car.
With the memory from that night, she found Xiao Chen's home.
Qiao Rui hopped over on one leg to open the door. Seeing Yu Na, he froze, "Teacher Yu?"
"Yup."
His face lit up, "What brings you here?"
Yu Na teased, "A home visit."
"......" Qiao Rui, "Uh, no one's home, you should go."
"Kidding." Yu Na waved his schoolbag, "Came to send your homework."
Qiao Rui, "I'd rather a home visit."
Yu Na, "Then I've come to treat you to a meal."
Qiao Rui immediately changed his expression, "You're most welcome! Please come in!"
Yu Na rolled her eyes at him.
Moving was difficult for Qiao Rui, but he brought out those men's slippers for her, "Your personal slippers."
"......"
Yu Na's face reddened a little.
But Qiao Rui shamelessly added, "I need to remind my brother to buy a pair of women's slippers tonight."
She picked up a book and smacked his head, "I'm your teacher."
Qiao Rui didn't seem injured, just had some trouble walking.
Yu Na helped him over to the sofa and took out his textbooks and test papers from his bag.
"And this—" Yu Na said, taking out a notebook from the bag, "I copied all your assignments for each subject into here, word for word."
"......" Qiao Rui gave an imperceptible laugh, "Then I really should...thank you."
"You're welcome."
Yu Na stood up and asked Qiao Rui, "Does it still hurt?"
"My hand hurts."
Yu Na: "......"
"Looks like I can't write the assignments." Qiao Rui stretched his leg onto the sofa, "Teacher, I'm hungry."
"You should at least write some homework before eating." Yu Na sat down and took out her phone. She saw Xiao Chen had transferred her money 10 minutes ago.
Yu Na didn't accept it.
This meal was supposed to be her treat in the first place.
She didn't reply to Xiao Chen's message.
Instead, she turned to Qiao Rui and said, "Write some homework first, then I'll treat you to pizza."
"For real?"
"Mm-hmm."
Yu Na passed the English test paper to him, "Write this first. Once done, we'll eat. After the meal I'll go over the test paper with you."
Qiao Rui thought to himself: Is eating this meal absolutely necessary?
But Yu Na was still his teacher after all. Although she seemed easy to take advantage of, basic respect was still required.
If nothing else, they were both single and seemed quite compatible. Plus they privately met up often. What if they ended up together in the future? If she complained about him to Xiao Chen, he'd be screwed.
Yu Na helped Qiao Rui over to the dining table. She placed the English test sheet in front of him, "Start writing."
He had an aggrieved and frustrated expression. He looked at the English words like they were distant relatives—seemingly familiar, but actually unrecognizable.
Yu Na sat opposite him, initially just playing on her phone. But after glancing up and seeing Qiao Rui's constipated expression, she shook her head helplessly.
Leaving him to write on his own, as if anything would get done.
"Never mind, I'll help you write after we eat."
Yu Na ordered pizza. After eating their fill, there was still one slice left.
She said, "You can reheat it in the oven tomorrow to eat it."
Qiao Rui reluctantly picked up his pen and test paper, "No need to wait till tomorrow, my brother will just eat it if he's hungry."
Yu Na: "......"
What Qiao Rui said was true. Not even half an hour into their study session, Xiao Chen came back.