Chapter 45: Song Jianian's Aunt-in-Law

After three rounds of drinks and five courses of food, having maintained a proper sense of propriety since Chen Yuan was his own student, Wang Shoucheng did not let Chen Yuan drink excessively.

Next came the task of clearing the bowls and chopsticks.

"Teacher Wang, let me help you," Song Jianian stood up and said.

She had no idea how to handle such chores, but she knew she ought to offer a hand.

"No, no need. Just help me keep an eye on the child for a little while."

"Got it."

In the living room, Chen Yuan quickly bonded with Wang Yutong, making the little child giggle with delight.

Clink, clank... tintinnabulation...

Song Jianian picked up the toy piano nearby and pressed a few keys, producing a pleasant melody.

Chen Yuan looked at her in surprise, "You know how to play this?"

"When I was in the third year of middle school, I won second prize in the city competition."

"Not bad, not bad."

Chen Yuan thought about it for a moment. Actually, there was nothing particularly surprising about this.

Playing the piano was just standard operating procedure for children from wealthy families.

"Older sister, you're amazing! I don't know how to play."

"You're still little, you'll learn when you grow up."

Song Jianian pressed the keys a few times again, producing a very familiar melody.

"Can you tell what this is?"

"Piece of cake, obviously."

Song Jianian’s fingers, delicate as tender white reeds, gently pressed down upon the keys.

Holding Wang Yutong in his arms, Chen Yuan softly hummed along, "Sing along with Uncle: Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are..."

Wang Yutong sang along with Chen Yuan, though she was completely off-key, perfectly demonstrating a beat-skipping enthusiasm.

Missing two beats, then chasing after three.

Wang Shoucheng walked back from the kitchen, carrying a freshly brewed pot of tea.

"You young man are full of hidden talents, your singing is quite nice too."

"Just casually humming a couple of lines to humor the kid."

"It really is quite good. Your teacher's wife used to study music, and that's what she told me in the kitchen just now."

"My artistic talent is getting harder and harder to conceal."

"The campus Top Ten Singers competition is coming up soon. Have you signed up?"

"No, I won't go up there and make a fool of myself."

Chen Yuan had a bad premonition.

"I also think you sing really well," Song Jianian whispered.

"Et tu, Brute? You're stabbing me in the back."

"It really is nice, though."

"Don't bully the young lady. Go sign up when you get back, and try to win some honor for our department."

He should never have come.

For the next half-hour or so, Wang Shoucheng chatted with the two of them extensively, imparting a wealth of experience.

Subjects like passing the CET-4 and CET-6 exams, joining the Party, preparing for postgraduate entrance examinations, and joining research groups were all touched upon, as he wanted them to start preparing right away.

Chen Yuan felt that calling old Wang a "grind-dog" wasn't entirely inappropriate.

Between the lines, it was clear that he genuinely wanted the best for his students—hoping they would achieve higher degrees and better careers, and not wanting them to repeat the mistakes he had made in his youth.

It was just that sometimes, his methods were a bit misguided.

After drinking tea with Wang Shoucheng for a while, the two of them left at around six in the evening.

The sky was gradually turning dusky, twilight flowing along the folds of the buildings like someone had overturned a jar of orange-yellow ink across the horizon.

Chen Yuan pinched Song Jianian's cheek.

"What are you doing?" Song Jianian asked, looking blankly at Chen Yuan.

"Why did you say I can sing?"

"You really can sing! Your pitch is so accurate, even I'm not as good as you... slurp..." Song Jianian swallowed her saliva.

Good news: My singing level is professional.

Bad news: I can only sing nursery rhymes.

"You're praising me to death. I knew there was something wrong with the way I sang just now."

"It doesn't matter this time, just perform well the next time."

Chen Yuan felt there was something slightly strange about those words, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

"Let go, my saliva is about to come out."

Chen Yuan released his grip. "Bus or taxi?"

"The bus, I suppose. Tomorrow is Monday, and I want to start my money-saving plan and get a taste of it in advance."

"That works too."

Sauntering leisurely, the two of them walked toward the bus stop.

The setting sun elongated their figures, Song Jianian's long hair blown about by the breeze. By the roadside stood a coffee shop, the light and shadow cast by her long hair dancing across the standing signboard reading [Couple's Limited Edition - Rose Raw Coconut Latte].

...

After dropping the two of them off at Wang Shoucheng's house, Uncle Zhang drove directly to the airport.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, a woman wearing black cropped trousers, high heels, and carrying a Louis Vuitton handbag and a suitcase walked out of the terminal arrival hall.

"Second Madam."

The woman's name was Zhao Lin, who was also Song Jianian's maternal aunt.

Uncle Zhang took the suitcase and placed it in the trunk, then opened the rear door, welcomed Zhao Lin inside, and drove toward the downtown area.

"How has Niannian been lately? Starting university, has she had any trouble adjusting?"

"When the semester first started, she wasn't very good at getting along with her classmates, and it certainly took her a while to adjust. But she's been fine lately, and hasn't mentioned dropping out to me again." Uncle Zhang said with a smile.

"That's good."

Zhao Lin's expression relaxed visibly to the naked eye.

"You too, I've told you to come here and be a general manager, but you insisted on playing the driver for her."

"With my educational background, if you asked me to manage a hotel, I wouldn't have any confidence," Uncle Zhang said with a smile:

"When Miss was two years old, I was already driving her around everywhere. In the blink of an eye, she's eighteen now. If anyone else went to pick her up, I'd always worry."

"I can see it now; she's been completely spoiled by you all these years. Studying here, you must have given her plenty of money to spend behind the scenes, right?"

Uncle Zhang smiled awkwardly.

"Miss still hasn't fully adapted to living on her own yet, but she said that starting next week, she's going to start saving money."

"It's a good thing that she can realize this. Even though an allowance of ten thousand is a bit harsh, she absolutely must not develop a habit of extravagance and waste."

"From what Miss implied, she only plans to spend five hundred next week."

"What? Five hundred a week?"

Zhao Lin's voice pitched upward. "Is she going to drink the northwest wind? She's such a big girl, why does she always act on sudden impulses?"

"Miss made friends with someone at school recently, and their relationship is quite good. She said that the other person's monthly living allowance is two thousand, and she wants to try it out too."

"A boy?"

"Mhm, a boy."

"Look at this..." Zhao Lin's expression was a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"When she was in school, she was always so quiet and kept to herself. I kept telling her to interact with the opposite sex and make more friends, but she refused to listen no matter what. Now look at her—she's in college, and while I don't have time to lecture her anymore, she's gone and found a male friend all on her own."

Driving the car, Uncle Zhang smiled.

"Maybe she's just reaching that age, the rebellious stage of puberty perhaps."

"She really is a bit of a late bloomer," Zhao Lin said:

"How has her sleep been recently? No more insomnia?"

Uncle Zhang thought about it. "It seems that ever since the National Day holiday, she hasn't mentioned it again."

"Could it be because she met that male classmate?"

"That's entirely possible."

"Take me to the school; I'll go check on her."

Uncle Zhang glanced at his watch. "She probably isn't at school. That male classmate's teacher invited him to dinner, and he took our Miss along with him."