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Shen Siyan eyed her, concerned. “Did you get hurt?”
“A little.”
“Let me see.”
“No, no.” Xu Zhilu looked alarmed. “I’m fine. It was just my hair that got hit.”
Shen Siyan raised an eyebrow. “Do you think I didn’t hear that bang just now?”
Xu Zhilu remained silent, gazing at him blankly.
Shen Siyan sighed. “Let me check?”
“No.” Xu Zhilu insisted, “It’s really nothing.”
Shen Siyan wasn’t entirely convinced.
Xu Zhilu said earnestly, “How could I be that fragile?”
Reluctantly, Shen Siyan let her have her way.
The driver took them directly back to the community. After saying goodbye to the teacher, the two of them got out of the car and went home.
Shen Siyan continued to look at her with concern. “No swelling?”
“No.”
Xu Zhilu frowned. “Why are you so chatty?”
Shen Siyan was taken aback and looked away. “Okay, okay. I’ll stop talking.”
He added, “You go on ahead; I have something else to do.”
Xu Zhilu stopped and asked, “Oh, don’t you have tutoring this afternoon?”
Shen Siyan hesitated. “What time does it start?”
Xu Zhilu glanced at her watch. “Three o’clock. Why?”
Shen Siyan nodded. “Okay, I’ll be back by then.”
“……oh.”
Xu Zhilu didn’t ask any further questions. “Then go ahead.”
_
At 2:50 p.m., Xu Zhilu arrived at Shen Siyan’s door on time.
When she pressed the doorbell, it was Shen’s mother who answered.
“Zhilu, you’re here.”
Xu Zhilu nodded and called out, “Auntie, is Shen Siyan back?”
Shen’s mother shook her head. “No. Are you here for extra lessons?”
Xu Zhilu nodded.
Mother Shen clicked her tongue. “I’ll give him a call.”
“No, no.” Xu Zhilu hurriedly interjected, “There’s no rush. He might be back soon.”
“True.”
Mother Shen pulled her over to sit beside her and said softly, “Are you busy lately? We can chat while we wait.”
Xu Zhilu smiled and nodded. “Sure.”
Mother Shen proudly said, “How about some skincare?” She continued, “Someone will come over later, and we’ll do facials together.”
“Ah?”
Mother Shen explained, “We had an appointment, but they had something urgent come up, so I invited them to my house.”
She picked up a mirror from the table, patted her face, and sighed. “Do you think there are more wrinkles on Auntie’s face?”
Xu Zhilu shook her head. “No.”
She spoke honestly. Shen’s mother had good skin; she looked much younger than her actual age. No one would guess she had a nearly adult son.
Mother Shen laughed and pinched her cheek. “You’re still good at flattering.”
She touched the corner of her eye and said, “But there are crow’s feet. I need to take good care of my skin today. If your uncle Shen hadn’t said injections are not good, I would have considered getting one.”
Xu Zhilu was at a loss for words.
_
The two had just started chatting when the skincare team arrived.
There were three of them.
Xu Zhilu looked on blankly. Instead of letting her go, Shen’s mother arranged for her to receive treatment.
“Give her a thorough skincare treatment. The poor girl is under a lot of stress and has dark circles under her eyes.”
“No problem.”
Xu Zhilu had no chance to refuse.
A few minutes later, she found herself lying on the sofa with a facial mask on.
When Shen Siyan walked in, he was startled by the sight.
Shen Siyan looked at the unfamiliar faces in the room, then at the two people lying on the sofa, and was silent for a long time.
“Mom?”
“What?”
Shen Siyan glanced at the scene and asked, “Is that Xu Zhilu?”
“……oh.”
Shen Siyan nodded, still puzzled. “What’s going on?”
Mother Shen, with a facial mask on her face, didn’t want to speak, so she took out her phone, typed a message, and handed it to him.
Shen Siyan looked at the phone and read Shen’s mother’s note:
— Don’t talk to us; it will affect the quality of my mask! If I get wrinkles at the corners of my mouth, I’ll take it out on you.
Shen Siyan: “…”
He pursed his lips, returned the phone, and said, “Xu Zhilu, I’m going back to my room. Come in when you’re done.”
“Yeah.”
Shen Siyan rubbed his temples and retreated to his room, still reflecting on the scene he had just witnessed. The two women looked like models with all sorts of masks on their faces, making the sight rather amusing.
After applying the facial masks, Xu Zhilu also received a steamed face treatment and a skincare massage.
Two hours later, she finished and spoke briefly to Shen’s mother before heading upstairs.
Hearing her voice, Shen Siyan turned and looked at her.
“Finished?”
Xu Zhilu nodded. “Yeah.”
She added, “I did it because you didn’t come back on time.”
Shen Siyan looked up. “I didn’t mention anything about you.”
Xu Zhilu replied, “Isn’t that because I was worried you might?”
She muttered, “I’m someone who values punctuality.”
Shen Siyan: “…”
He was silent for a moment. “I was late.”
“Oh.”
Xu Zhilu didn’t argue further and said calmly, “If you’re going to be late, just let me know. How was I supposed to know if you were coming back or not?”
Shen Siyan understood. “I know. I’ll be more mindful next time.”
He had been so rushed to return that he forgot to send her a message.
Xu Zhilu opened her textbook. “Did you do the exercises? Did you read the book?”
“Yeah.”
Shen Siyan handed her his test paper. “Take a look.”
Xu Zhilu examined the paper, then looked at him with suspicion.
“How is it?”
Xu Zhilu shook her head, thought for a moment, and said, “You’re definitely a very quick learner. Everything is correct.”
Shen Siyan: “…”
He looked surprised. “Really?”
Xu Zhilu nodded. “If I teach you for another month, you might surpass me.”
Shen Siyan chuckled. “I’m not that impressive.”
“You are.”
Xu Zhilu’s comment wasn’t just flattery. She had realized that Shen Siyan could grasp certain concepts quickly without much teaching. If she didn’t know he had been a poor student before, she might have suspected he was pretending. Or perhaps he had secretly learned everything on his own.
She noticed he could understand and remember things faster and more thoroughly than she did.
Xu Zhilu tilted her head, staring at him.
Meeting her gaze, Shen Siyan raised his eyebrows. “Why are you still looking at me?”
Xu Zhilu averted her gaze. “Nothing.”
She added, “I was just complimenting your intelligence.”
Shen Siyan smiled with a hint of teasing. “Thank you.”
“…” Xu Zhilu was speechless. “Have you completed the homework from Friday?”
“No.”
Xu Zhilu was taken aback, unsure whether to laugh or cry. “Then you should do it.”
Shen Siyan raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t we going to discuss the topic anymore?”
“You’re right. What more is there to discuss?”
Xu Zhilu propped her head on her hand and said, “Finish the questions first, and then we’ll see if there’s anything else to discuss.”
“Okay.”
The two of them quietly focused on their tasks in the room, and from a distance, they appeared particularly harmonious.
As soon as Shen Guangyuan came upstairs, he noticed his wife’s covert behavior.
He raised an eyebrow, about to speak, when Shen Man turned to look at him.
The couple exchanged silent glances.
Shen Guangyuan asked, “What are you doing here?”
He continued, “What is Shen Siyan doing…” but before he could finish, Shen Man covered his mouth.
“Be quiet!”
Hearing the commotion outside, Shen Siyan’s eyes twitched, and he glanced at Xu Zhilu.
He was silent for a few seconds before saying, “Forgive me, my mother might have some peculiar habits.”
Xu Zhilu: “…”
***
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