Song Xinya hadn't seen what Qin Yuyan looked like yet, but she had heard countless people say that her sister-in-law was a little demon who was hated by everyone and made flowers wither at her sight.
She prepared herself mentally in advance, imagining the other party's image:
An afro, smoky makeup, a nose ring, and large tattoos all over her body.
A delinquent girl?
The main door opened, and a young girl in a white dress stood in the middle of the doorway.
Her palm-sized face was as white as jade, her small nose slightly upturned, her lips naturally cherry pink, and her pupils as clear and pure as if soaked in morning dew. Her skin was a clean, cool white, and her figure was thin and slender, like a little fairy emitting a white glow.
She looked pure, beautiful, and innocent.
The girl asked, "I'm Qin Yuyan. Who are you looking for?"
Song Xinya's eyes lit up.
It was completely different from what she had imagined; her sister-in-law dressed very normally.
She didn't look like a little demon king, but rather a little angel.
Zhao Yinian had an attentive smile on her face and replied, "Miss Qin, I am Zhao Yinian, the general manager of the education and training company under the Qin Group."
Qin Yuyan's gaze swept over her face and looked at Song Xinya beside her, her clear eyes unable to hide her amazement and daze.
Wow, are the appearance requirements for tutors this high nowadays?
This woman in the red shirt was prettier than female celebrities.
She looked at Song Xinya and asked, "Who are you?"
Zhao Yinian answered first, "She is my subordinate, an A-level lecturer, Song Xinya. I am her leader, a gold medal lecturer."
Qin Yuyan looked at Zhao Yinian, "So that means you are more capable."
Zhao Yinian replied, "I am a few years older than Song Xinya, have more teaching experience than her, and have taught more students than her."
Qin Yuyan said, "Understood, you mean you are better than Song Xinya."
"Alright, since you are so confident, then you can interview to be my tutor first."
Zhao Yinian was suddenly stunned, showing a hesitant look on her face.
She didn't bring Song Xinya here today out of the kindness of her heart to introduce her to a big client. Her real purpose was:
On the one hand, to push Song Xinya to the front as cannon fodder. After Song Xinya was tortured, she would appear later, already knowing the little demon king's methods of torturing people, and thus avoid being tortured herself.
On the other hand, she wanted Song Xinya to watch her win and suppress Song Xinya.
Zhao Yinian said, "As a company leader, I have always liked giving newcomers opportunities. Let Song Xinya interview first."
A mocking smile curled at the corners of Song Xinya's lips.
She wasn't stupid. How could someone who disliked her suddenly treat her well? From the beginning, she had seen through Zhao Yinian's purpose.
Song Xinya said, "President Zhao has more teaching experience than me and has taught more students than me. How can an employee go before a leader? President Zhao goes first. I believe President Zhao will definitely win victory in the first battle."
Zhao Yinian insisted, "No, no, no, Teacher Song goes first."
Song Xinya replied, "No way, Teacher Zhao is a gold medal lecturer. Could it be that you are afraid?"
Zhao Yinian said, "What's there to be afraid of? I'm not afraid."
Qin Yuyan declared, "Since you're not afraid, it's you. Interview for me first."
Zhao Yinian's face darkened.
Song Xinya smiled radiantly.
Song Xinya sat on the sofa to wait, and Zhao Yinian followed Qin Yuyan to the door of a room.
Qin Yuyan said, "This is my study. If you want to be my tutor, you must have the courage to walk into my study."
She nodded her sharp chin toward the door. "Teacher Zhao, open the door and go in."
Zhao Yinian's heart trembled. Knowing that the little demon king had countless tricks to prank people, she cautiously pushed the door open a crack.
She looked inside through the crack in the door and didn't find anything scary.
So her anxious heart settled down, and she pushed the door wide open with both hands.
Zhao Yinian thought to herself, a child is just a child, only knowing how to bluff.
She walked into the study, heard a hissing sound in her ears, and suddenly felt a chill on the back of her neck. Reaching out to touch it, a slippery, icy cold sensation came over her.
Zhao Yinian turned her head and met a pair of emerald green eyes. A terrified scream pierced the roof: "Ah! A snake!"
A snake was coiled around her neck!
Zhao Yinian trembled madly, jumped violently, writhed darkly, and roared distortedly...
She stumbled and crawled, running out of the study.
Song Xinya was waiting in the living room. She looked up and saw Zhao Yinian screaming while running wildly towards the door, her legs running so fast they became a blur, her black hair flying wildly, and her white clothes fluttering, just like Sadako.
Song Xinya looked at her watch: three minutes.
This time was really short.
It could rival a man with impotence and premature ejaculation.
Qin Yuyan walked out of the study leisurely with her hands behind her back, looking at Song Xinya. "Your turn."
She sized up Song Xinya. She was so pretty, her skin so white and tender, beautiful and charming, like an exquisite and delicate collectible doll. It would be strange if she wasn't frightened pale by the snakes in a moment.
Song Xinya walked into the room and sat down by the table.
Qin Yuyan asked, "Does Teacher Song usually like small animals?"
Song Xinya replied, "I like them, three meals a day, can't do without them for any meal."
Qin Yuyan found it humorous and burst into a laugh.
"Teacher Song, I'm not talking about the kind of small animals you eat, but the kind you keep as pets. Do you like them?"
Song Xinya answered, "I like them."
Qin Yuyan's eyes flashed with a bright, mischievous light. "Teacher Song, I keep a litter of very cute little pets. Do you want to see them?"
Song Xinya said, "I do."
Qin Yuyan's face was full of a triumphant smile. She brought over a box covered with a black cloth and placed it right under Song Xinya's nose.
"Teacher Song, I'm going to show you my little pets. Three, two, one, look!"
She suddenly lifted the black cloth. Inside the transparent box were eight snakes, each stretching its head and staring at Song Xinya with curiosity.
Qin Yuyan waited to see Song Xinya scream in terror.
Song Xinya glanced calmly at the eight snakes in the box and took out her phone. "Let me take a picture and post it on my Moments first."
Qin Yuyan was completely dumbfounded.
"You, you, you... why aren't you afraid?"
Song Xinya snapped a picture and calmly put her phone back in her pocket. "You aren't afraid, so why should I be?"
Qin Yuyan was stunned for a moment by the question.
Song Xinya must be pretending; in reality, she must be scared to death.
Qin Yuyan opened the lid of the box, took out a snake, and placed it in Song Xinya's hand.
Now Song Xinya would be scared to death, right?
Song Xinya held the snake's body with both hands, wrapped it around Qin Yuyan's neck, tied a knot, and made a scarf for Qin Yuyan.
"It's hot in the summer. Wearing this icy scarf can cool you down, it's just right."
Qin Yuyan asked, "Are you really not afraid?"
Song Xinya said calmly, "The eight you keep are all corn snakes. They have no fangs or venom glands. What's there to be afraid of?"
Qin Yuyan exclaimed, "You actually recognized that they are corn snakes!"
A person who is afraid of snakes wouldn't study them, let alone recognize their species at a glance. They would only open their mouths wide and scream, "Ahhhh, snake, snake, snake, a snake!"
Okay, Song Xinya was genuinely not afraid of snakes.
Qin Yuyan hung her head in frustration.
Song Xinya: "So, did I pass your test?"
Qin Yuyan put the snake from her neck into the box: "No fun, no fun at all."
Song Xinya: "Is it only fun if you scare people?"
Qin Yuyan blinked her big, watery eyes: "Yeah."
Song Xinya understood why everyone called her a little demon king.
With this mischievous personality, it was a good thing she was born into the Qin family. If she had been born into an ordinary family, she would have been beaten to death by now.
Song Xinya took out a set of math and Chinese test papers from her bag and asked, "Are your math grades bad, or are your Chinese grades bad?"
Qin Yuyan: "Math."
Song Xinya: "Then do this math paper first so I can gauge your level and make a targeted study plan for you."
Qin Yuyan: "No, I don't want to."
Song Xinya had seen plenty of bratty children and didn't feel impatient. As a professional tutor, she had studied adolescent psychology. She knew that the more you pushed a child of this age, the more rebellious they would become and the more they would go against you.
Instead of forcing Qin Yuyan to do math, she changed her approach and said, "Let's start with Chinese then."
Qin Yuyan didn't refuse.
Song Xinya: "Recite a poem for me."
She should at least know how to recite a poem, right? Even seven-year-olds could do it, let alone a seventeen-year-old.
Qin Yuyan: "Chirp chirp goes the loom, Mulan buys a phone in her room, an Oppo 21, taking pictures is so much fun."
Song Xinya clapped her hands: "Beautifully recited."
Qin Yuyan: "..."
She suspected the other party was mocking her.
Song Xinya: "What other poems can you recite?"
Qin Yuyan: "Hoeing the field in the midday sun, Li Bai ate tofu for fun, ate twenty pounds right off the bat, and got two hundred pounds fat."
Song Xinya patted Qin Yuyan's head and said, "Babe, your future is so bright it's blinding me."
Qin Yuyan: "..."
Confirmed, the other party was definitely mocking her.
Qin Yuyan twirled a strand of hair around her finger and said slowly, "You working-class people don't understand. Someone like me, born with a silver spoon in my mouth, doesn't need to struggle at all. Even if I learn nothing and score zero in every subject, I will still live a life of luxury and be above others for the rest of my life."
"You struggle to drive luxury cars, live in villas, and have a good life. I was born with all of these, so why should I study and suffer? Wouldn't it be better to just enjoy myself every day?"
Song Xinya: "From a material perspective, what you said makes sense. So, you don't lack anything? You don't want anything?"
Qin Yuyan opened her mouth to say something, but lowered her head and stayed silent.
Song Xinya knew right then that Qin Yuyan had something she wanted, and that this thing was out of reach and hard to get.
So, Song Xinya now had a strategy to conquer this little demon king:
Find out what the little demon king wanted, and use it as motivation to urge her to study.
This little demon king was hiding something in her heart and wouldn't say it easily.
But Song Xinya wasn't in a hurry. After all, they had only known each other for a day.
Relationships aren't built overnight; they require a gradual process.
Qin Yuyan was probably thinking about the thing she wanted but couldn't have. She no longer looked as arrogant and domineering as before. With her head down and her eyelashes drooping, she looked pitifully childish.
Like an unwanted puppy.
Song Xinya chatted with her, catering to her interests to close the distance: "Next time we meet, I'll give you eight hognose snakes and three lizards. Do you want them?"
Qin Yuyan: "I don't keep lizards. They eat cockroaches, and I hate cockroaches the most."
Song Xinya: "Alright then, no lizards. I'll give you eight hognose snakes."
Qin Yuyan: "Thankies."
Song Xinya pushed the math paper in front of her: "Give it a try. Do as much as you can, and leave the ones you don't know blank."
This time, Qin Yuyan said, "Okay."
She picked up her pen and started working on the paper, her porcelain-white face scrunched up. She looked both serious and extremely distressed.
Afraid of making her nervous, Song Xinya didn't stare at her the whole time. She stood up and walked around the study, looking at her surroundings.
Her gaze paused on the bookshelf, where a row of sparkling trophies was displayed.
International Mathematical Olympiad Gold Medal, English Competition Grand Prize, National College Debate Competition Best Debater, College Basketball League Champion... and so on.
The recipient was: Qin Yuhe.
Truly a well-rounded development in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor.
Looking through these dazzling trophies, Song Xinya could see the high-spirited Qin Yuhe from his student days.
A proud son of heaven like him must have been liked by many women.
Those trophies sat on the bookshelf, gathering dust.
Song Xinya took a towel and carefully wiped away the dust, cleaning every trophy and medal until they were spotless.
Seeing her actions, Qin Yuyan said, "Don't even think about my brother. My brother is married and has a wife. You have no chance to marry him."
Song Xinya said lightly, "Is that so."
Qin Yuyan: "Yeah, my brother said he and his wife have a really great relationship."
Song Xinya was a little surprised: "He really said that?"
Qin Yuyan: "Really, I feel like my brother likes my sister-in-law a lot."
The corners of Song Xinya's lips curled up as she asked, "Why do you think so?"
Qin Yuyan: "My brother is extremely picky. He went on blind dates with all the wealthy heiresses in high society and didn't like a single one. He stayed single all this time, but as soon as he met my sister-in-law, they got married immediately. If that's not love, what is? My brother definitely fell in love with my sister-in-law at first sight."
Song Xinya's eyes were filled with a smile.
Curious about his past, she asked, "Did your brother ever like any other women before?"
Qin Yuyan: "I've never heard him mention any."
"Maybe he did, maybe he didn't," Qin Yuyan looked up at Song Xinya. "Why are you asking this? Do you want to know?"
Song Xinya: "I do."
Qin Yuyan: "Then I'll help you ask around some other day."
Song Xinya: "Alright."
Qin Yuyan lowered her head to continue working on the problems. Soon, she put down her pen: "I'm done."
Song Xinya checked the paper and understood why she had finished so quickly.
Out of eight single-choice questions, three multiple-choice questions, three fill-in-the-blank questions, and six essay questions, Qin Yuyan had only done the single and multiple-choice ones, and half of them were just guesses. She scored 8 points.
Song Xinya: "Do you not know how to do them, or are you too lazy to do them?"
Qin Yuyan: "Teacher Song, I must answer you honestly. I really don't know how to do them."
Song Xinya now had a clear understanding of Qin Yuyan's math skills, which basically amounted to knowing absolutely nothing.
"It's okay, kid. This just means you have a huge room for improvement."
Because there was no room left to regress.
Song Xinya sat down and explained the problems to Qin Yuyan one by one, breaking them down into the tiniest pieces, falling just short of chewing the information up and spoon-feeding it to her.
By the time she finished explaining the entire test paper and returned home, it was already nine o'clock at night.
She walked into the living room and saw Qin Yuhe sitting on the sofa. He wore a crisp white shirt and black suit trousers, his long legs crossed as he read an English book in his hands.
He did not seem entirely absorbed in his reading, occasionally glancing toward the door as if he was waiting for someone.
As Song Xinya stepped into the living room, her eyes met Qin Yuhe's.
She remembered her promise from this morning—that she would come home early.
"Mr. Qin, I am sorry. I came back late."
"It is fine," Qin Yuhe did not blame her. Instead, he asked, "Have you had dinner?"
"I have," Song Xinya replied.
Qin Yuhe closed his book and stood up. Under the crystal chandelier, his tall, lean, and powerful physique exuded an imposing presence, radiating a highly tense and magnetic sensuality. "Shall we go upstairs and rest?"
"Alright," Song Xinya said.
By the time Song Xinya finished her shower and slipped into bed, Qin Yuhe had already washed up in the guest bathroom early on. He was leaning against the headboard, reading.
He was still reading "Wuthering Heights", with a coin tucked between the pages as a bookmark.
Song Xinya felt curious. Why didn't he use a proper bookmark instead of insisting on a coin?
Did this coin hold some special meaning for him?
Song Xinya lifted the blanket and lay down, her soft, warm body drawing close to him. Flushed pink from the hot steam, her fair face leaned toward his book. As she spoke, her warm breath brushed against the thumb he used to hold the pages.
"Is the book any good?"
Qin Yuhe could not immediately say whether it was good or not. What attracted him most about this novel was the fierce, destructive, and deeply entangled love between the male and female leads.
He looked down at her. Her long, thick eyelashes drooped like butterfly wings, her cheeks were as tender as soft tofu, her lips were rosy, and her skin was porcelain white.
It reminded him of a cream cake displayed in a glass cabinet—fluffy white frosting topped with bright red, luscious fruit—effortlessly tempting one's appetite and leaving one craving a bite.
"Do you want to read it?"
Song Xinya's gaze swept over the one-yuan coin wedged in the book's crease. The peony flower pattern faced up, hiding the national emblem and the minted year underneath.
"I just want to go to sleep quickly."
To Qin Yuhe's ears, those words carried an extra layer of intimate ambiguity.
Was she hinting that they should finish the deed early so they could sleep?
After all, they had already made an arrangement this morning that they were going to do it tonight...
