My brother is finally back.
Although Han Yebin performed impeccably during his substitute teaching period, it was obvious that everyone still missed his brother, the real teacher, more. As soon as he walked into the classroom, the class was in an uproar.
"Teacher Ling! You're finally back!"
"Teacher, we missed you so much!"
My brother responded to everyone's enthusiasm with his usual gentle smile, and the class was full of chatter and excitement.
"Aren't you usually afraid of Teacher Ling?" Seeing the students all smiling and happy, I felt incredible, "Why are you so enthusiastic now?"
"I'm afraid, but it's also true that Mr. Ling's personal charm is unmatched!" My deskmate Ye Kexin smiled and put her arm around my shoulder, her eyes full of pink bubbles, "Xiaotong, you don't know how many people envy you for having such a handsome and gentle brother. Ah! Why don't I have this blessing!"
Can doing 10 maddening math problems every day and enduring someone's smiling but treacherous oppression at any time be called a "blessing"?
Seeing Ye Kexin's face full of longing and expectation, I silently decided to keep this sentence to myself.
"Of course, some people are most afraid of seeing Teacher Ling coming back." Ye Kexin changed the subject and looked behind me intentionally or unintentionally. I turned my head and saw that among the cheers, only Tong Weiwei looked a little ugly, and even subconsciously buried her head in the book.
"Indeed..." I nodded thoughtfully.
The bell rang and the class officially began.
My brother stood on the podium. The bright sunlight coming in from the window shone on him, making him look even more handsome. His eyes behind the transparent lenses were also particularly bright, but it seemed that something sharp flashed across his eyes.
"Tong Weiwei." My brother suddenly called out her name.
"Please write down the blackboard notes for on the blackboard." He flipped through the lesson plan book in front of him. "Yes, it's page 89."
Tong Weiwei was very nervous when she first stood up, but when she heard that it was just a simple task like copying the blackboard, she was obviously relieved, walked up to the podium with a relaxed and confident look, and started copying the blackboard. Her brother asked everyone to take out the test papers from the previous exam and began to explain the wrong questions.
Time passed minute by minute. When her brother was explaining the fourth question, Tong Weiwei put down the chalk in front of the blackboard, turned around and said to her brother.
"Teacher Ling, I have copied it."
"Oh, thank you for your hard work." The brother raised his eyes and said lightly. When Tong Weiwei just walked back to her seat and was about to sit down, the brother suddenly raised his voice.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, I made a mistake." The elder brother pushed his gold-rimmed glasses, and the light reflected by the lenses made it difficult to see the eyes behind them. "The handout you need should be on page 93, not page 89." The elder brother looked at Tong Weiwei, who was completely stunned, and showed a warm smile. "I'm sorry, Tong Weiwei, could you please rewrite it?"
Tong Weiwei looked at the blackboard filled with writing, and then at the large handout on page 93, her face looked a little ugly. But under her brother's patient gaze, she bit her lip and finally managed to utter a sentence slowly.
"I see."
However, when Tong Weiwei passed by me, I could feel her glaring at me.
My brother continued to explain the topic, and along with his clear voice was the sound of chalk writing on the podium, which sounded impatient and impatient.
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
After her brother had finished explaining half of the wrong questions on the test, Tong Weiwei's harsh voice finally came.
"Teacher Ling, I have finished copying."
Tong Weiwei frowned and stared at her brother, her eyes somewhat dissatisfied and provocative, but her brother didn't care. He habitually adjusted his glasses, glanced at the blackboard, and then lowered his head to look at the test paper.
"Your handwriting is too sloppy. How are you going to let others read it later?" My brother said casually.
“Rewrite.”
I believe I heard Tong Weiwei's almost out-of-control voice. Although her face flushed red, she finally picked up the blackboard eraser resignedly for the sake of her reputation. She glanced at her brother who turned back to continue explaining the test questions, then angrily erased the handouts and angrily began to re-copy the blackboard notes.
The people in the class looked at each other, and many glanced at me vaguely, but I just looked at my brother with disbelief who had a calm face.
——Is my brother standing up for me? So he deliberately tried to intimidate Tong Weiwei?
The doubts were soon confirmed. When Tong Weiwei once again announced in a stiff tone that she had finished copying the blackboard, her brother didn't even bother to raise his head this time. He just said something lightly.
"Well, I guess the blackboard won't be used in this class, so just erase them all."
Now even a fool could see that her brother was obviously looking for trouble on purpose. With Tong Weiwei's temper, it was a miracle that she could hold on until now, so, as expected, she exploded.
"Ling Hanfeng, you've gone too far!"
She was obviously so angry that she called her brother by his name and refused to call him "teacher".
"Ling Hanfeng, aren't you just trying to get revenge on me for Ling Jiantong cheating on the exam? If you're upset with me, just say it directly, instead of beating around the bush! You're so despicable!"
"There are so many despicable things in this world."
Faced with the aggressive accusations, my brother was neither angry nor annoyed. He just slowly folded the test paper in his hand. His voice was as casual and calm as his movements.
"When you falsely accused Ling Jiantong of cheating, that was also despicable."
Tong Weiwei shuddered slightly, and then she retorted fiercely: "I, I didn't frame her! She just cheated!"
"Ling Jiantong is my sister. I know very well what she will do and what she won't do."
"You, you are biased! Partial! It's unfair!" Tong Weiwei was so angry that she said, "As a teacher, don't you feel ashamed to do this?"
But my brother just shrugged and smiled faintly.
"As a brother, I believe it is natural and even right to favor my sister. As a teacher, if there is a conflict between students in my class and students from other classes, I will also side with the students in my class." The brother narrowed his eyes slightly, and his low voice inexplicably carried a bit of domineering and unruly, "Because there is a kind of emotion that is unreasonable and allows people to unconditionally protect the people they want to protect."
Tong Weiwei stared at her brother, opened her mouth for a long time, but didn't say a word. The class was also silent, everyone looked at her brother who looked calm and composed like a fool, until -
"Teacher Ling said it well!"
Xu Wenfeng was the first to slap the table and shout excitedly. This caused a huge stir, and everyone who reacted joined in the response. For a while, the whole classroom was filled with praise for his brother.
"That's what a real man should do. Just do what you want to do, regardless of morality or ethics!"
"Ah! Teacher Ling, you are our idol!"
It was obviously my brother who was being willful, but he received overwhelming support from everyone. I was speechless. But when I met that person's eyes and saw the subtle concern and love in his gentle smile, my heart was warm and comfortable.
——I suddenly understood why everyone likes my brother so much.
After that, there was no more trouble, and the day passed without any disturbance. Because it was my turn to be on duty, I stayed in school for a while longer. When I got home in the evening , my brother had already prepared dinner and was sitting at the table, looking through something while waiting for me.
"Brother, I'm back." I put down my schoolbag and rushed to the dining table with excitement on my face. However, when I saw what my brother was looking at, the smile on my face froze immediately.
——That was the test paper of my last quiz. There was a bright red number "60" written in the upper right corner, which well implemented the principle of "Long live passing, one more point is a waste."
"Well, wash your hands and have dinner." My brother seemed not to notice my uneasiness and casually put the test paper aside.
When I sat down and just picked up my chopsticks, he suddenly asked, "She didn't bother you again, did she?"
I was stunned for a moment, but soon understood who my brother was referring to as "she".
"No." I shrugged, but I couldn't hide the smile on my face. "You are so blatantly biased towards me, how dare she find fault with me?"
My brother looked at me for a while and said slowly, "This is all I can do."
"Hmm?" My mouth was full of food, and I looked up at my brother inquiringly.
"You still have to fulfill that bet to truly prove your innocence."
"Cough, cough, cough..." I was not careful and the food stuck in my throat choked me and made me cough repeatedly. When I finally calmed down, my face was already red.
"I didn't cheat in the first place. The mock exam..." Maybe because I coughed too hard before, my voice sounded a little weak, "I, I won't lose."
"Oh?" My brother raised his eyebrows. "You seem very confident." He glanced at the test paper on the table. The bright red 60 points looked particularly dazzling. "Do you think that with such a score, you have a good chance of success?"
I immediately wilted.
"Then, what should we do?" I stammered, "Do we need to take make-up classes or do intensive training?"
My brother smiled and said, “That’s right.”
The mock exam is next Monday, so if I need to make up for it, I only have this weekend.
“You want to give me extra lessons?” My voice trembled a little. Although I really wanted to do well in the exam, my brother’s tutoring methods… Ever since I went through the two-week devilish cramming training before the high school entrance exam, I couldn’t help but tremble all over when I heard my brother say he wanted extra lessons.
My brother tapped the table lightly with his hand and shook his head, seeming a little regretful: "I still have a project report to write, and time is tight. I can't spare the time this weekend."
It took a lot of effort for me not to sound too happy. “Oh, what a shame.”
"But don't worry..." My brother adjusted his glasses and smiled at me, "I have already found a good teacher for you."
"Who?" I tensed up reflexively.
The elder brother started to eat as if nothing had happened: "He is a good teacher. It is enough to deal with you... oh no, it is enough to teach you."
I suddenly had a bad feeling in my heart.
Then, the hunch came true.
On Sunday morning, I took the address my brother gave me, asked for directions countless times, walked around countless times, and finally stood . I was quite relieved. After repeatedly confirming that the house number and the address written on the paper were correct, I pressed the doorbell, and soon I heard footsteps inside. I quickly put on the expression of a good student who was visiting a door and was willing to learn.
"Hello, I am……"
My sincere greeting was stuck in my throat as if it was suddenly cut off the moment the door opened. After staring at the person who opened the door for a long while, I decisively made what I thought was a wise decision.
"Sorry, I found the wrong door. Goodbye!"
I reflexively wanted to slam the door and run away, but the other person was quick-witted and held the door with one hand and grabbed my collar with the other. Driven by inertia, I lost my balance and stumbled back a few steps, and was pulled directly into the door.
"It seems that I didn't teach you the rules well when I was substituting for you."
With a bang, the door was closed, and the last window of hope in my heart was ruthlessly closed.
"Don't you even need to say hello when you see the teacher?"
Han Yebin turned his head, raised one eyebrow slightly, and looked at me with a half-smile in his bright starry eyes with a hint of evil.
"Student Ling Jiantong?"
I no longer knew how to complain about God who always made things difficult for me, but the constant turmoil these days had given me a strong psychological endurance. So, after the initial shock, I quickly calmed down and smiled warmly.
"Teacher Han, I'll trouble you with the tutoring." I said respectfully, "Uh...but I'm a little thirsty. Can I have some water before the tutoring starts?"
Han Yebin was polite and his smile was even brighter than mine: "Okay, sit in the living room first, I'll get you some water."
As soon as Han Yebin left my sight, I quickly took out my cell phone and frantically dialed my brother's number.
The phone rang once and then was connected.
"Xiao Tong." The brother still spoke in a calm and relaxed tone, "What's wrong?"
"Brother!" I was completely mad, wishing I could get into the phone and grab my brother's sleeve and cry, "Why is it Han Yebin? Why is he the one giving me extra lessons? You clearly know that he doesn't like me!"
"Really?" The elder brother's tone was somewhat surprised. "Did he bully you?"
"Uh..." Although not yet, but, but a smiling face with a dagger hidden behind it is very scary!
"I thought he had a good relationship with you." My brother suddenly said.
I nearly choked on my saliva and coughed for a long time before I finally found my voice.
"How is that possible? Which eye of yours saw that we have a good relationship?"
My brother's voice sounded innocent: "Because he took the initiative to ask to tutor you."
Ah? Active request?
I was stunned, and suddenly my mind emerged that day when Han Yebin suggested using the mock exam scores to decide who was the cheater, and the cunning light that flashed in his eyes.
Is this a trap he set up? Is he waiting for me to fall into it?
My brother didn't know what I was thinking at the moment, and explained: "Compared to us teachers, Han Yebin is a student, and his problem-solving ideas and learning methods are more suitable for you as a student, so he is indeed the best candidate."
But I just felt that a disaster was about to happen: "Brother, you heard that I..."
A hand suddenly dropped from the sky and easily snatched the phone from my hand.
"I think that the tutoring has already started when you sit here." I looked up in astonishment. Han Yebin was holding a water cup in one hand and the phone he had just taken away in the other. "And calling during tutoring time is a very bad behavior and a great disrespect to the teacher."
His brother's voice came from the phone again. Han Yebin put the phone to his ear confidently and said concisely: "She doesn't have time to talk to you now. Goodbye!"
He hung up the phone quickly and turned off my phone.
"To prevent you from being distracted, I'll keep your phone for the time being." Han Yebin held up his phone, whose screen had gone completely black, and smiled at me. "You don't mind, do you?"
Do I dare to express my opinion?
I stared at him with grievance, my mouth shut tightly. Han Yebin put the cup of water on the table, then pulled a chair over and sat opposite me.
"You seem afraid of me?" He stared at me with interest, like a bad kid teasing a poor little animal.
The muscles on my face twitched twice, and I finally resisted the urge to run away.
"Teacher Han, you are not a beast, why should I be afraid of you?" I think my smile is very sincere. "I respect you very much, really, more than I respect the 90-year-old grandfather who lives next door to me."
Han Yebin's eyelids twitched noticeably.
"Very good, you are quite eloquent." He nodded, staring at me without blinking, "Don't worry, I won't confuse public and private affairs and take revenge on personal grudges."
Before I could finish my words, I felt a flash before my eyes and Han Yebin suddenly leaned over and came in front of me. He was so close to me that I could almost see my frightened expression reflected in his obsidian eyes.
"I will only be more serious, more dedicated, and work harder..." He smiled mysteriously, "urging you to study."
"Then please give me your guidance." I heard myself answering stiffly, while a voice in my heart was shouting at the top of its lungs -
Help!
Although I chanted "Amitabha, God bless you" in my heart, I couldn't stop the tutoring from officially starting. When Han Yebin handed me a piece of paper filled with various formulas, I gasped.
"What is this?" I heard my voice trembling because I had probably guessed it in my heart.
"I compiled the formulas that you must memorize." Han Yebin tapped the table with his pen in a good mood. "I've seen your test paper. Not memorizing the formulas well is your biggest loss point. These are all the formulas that will be tested in this mock exam. There are not many, only more than 30."
But carrying even thirteen of them would kill me!
Han Yebin ignored my sad look and continued to drop a bombshell: "I'll give you half an hour to memorize everything, and then I'll check. If I find that you haven't memorized any formulas..." He suddenly narrowed his eyes and showed a happy smile.
“There will be punishment.”
I immediately shrank back, my whole body on alert: "If you dare to punish me, I will definitely file a complaint!"
Han Yebin smiled and said, "Corporal punishment? You think too badly of me, don't you? Am I such a bad person?"
Practice has proved that Han Yebin is a worse person than imagined!
"This formula was also written wrong."
Han Yebin took a red pen and put a big cross on my answer sheet where I had written down the formula: "There are only 33 formulas in total, and you got the tenth one wrong. Are you taking it seriously?"
I lowered my head, looking so ashamed that I wished I could find a hole to crawl into.
Han Yebin sighed pretentiously, as if he was very disappointed with his friend, but his voice was filled with an undisguised gloating.
"Old rules, come here and accept your punishment."
I buried my head even lower, and had the tendency to curl up into a ball, but Han Yebin reached out and pulled me, staggering in front of him.
When Han Yebin saw my face, he tried to hold it back but still burst out laughing. I glared at him fiercely, and my cheeks swelled up in anger. Because I knew what he was laughing at - my face had been painted all over by Han Yebin, and I would definitely make everyone laugh when I walked out!
"Uh, what should we draw this time?" Han Yebin turned the pen in his hand and blinked, "Well, that one."
If I recited a formula incorrectly, I would be scribbled on my face. Although I resisted stubbornly at the beginning, I was powerless. This was the tenth time and I had accepted my fate. I could only sigh and close my eyes, letting Han Yebin "ravage" my poor face with the signature pen.
Han Yebin's hand speed was very fast, but his movements were very gentle. The tip of the pen slid back and forth on my face, which made me want to laugh a little. After a while, he finally put away the pen, nodded with satisfaction, and then took out his mobile phone and pointed it at my face.
"Come on, smile."
I'm laughing at you big head ghost!
I was so sad and angry that I just wanted to cry, but after Han Yebin took the photo with his mobile phone, he handed it to me like he was showing off a treasure - the girl in the photo had a sad face, and not only did she have two thick dark circles under her eyes and a few exaggerated cat whiskers, but there were also several small turtles drawn on her forehead.
"Nice expression, you have the potential to be a comedian."
roll!
I rolled my eyes in annoyance and ignored him. Han Yebin didn't care and tapped the table lightly with his pen.
"You'll have ten minutes to consolidate your knowledge. I'll continue with the test later."
I took the paper without saying a word, frowned and started to memorize the formula.
"I hope you won't make any stupid mistakes this time." Han Yebin turned the pen a few times and tilted his head to look at me. "Oh, by the way, my psychological quality is very poor."
What does your poor mental quality have to do with me? I glared at him unhappily.
"So you'd better not make any stupid mistakes again." Han Yebin raised his phone with a smile, "If I'm stimulated by your error-filled formulas, I can't guarantee that I won't press the wrong button and send these photos to the group."
This devil!
Perhaps only when people are pushed into desperate situations will their potential erupt like a volcano. It only took me five minutes to memorize those formulas, and the subsequent dictation checks were naturally stress-free, and I got full marks - this was a miracle for me.
"As long as you work hard, you can still do it."
Han Yebin nodded with satisfaction, but I didn't have time to say anything - because I was in the bathroom, struggling to wipe my face with a wet towel.
"If you keep lingering in the bathroom, I'll use an indelible marker next time." He drawled in the living room.
It's only been two minutes! Is he the reincarnation of the great devil?
"I'll be right out!" Although I was complaining in my heart, I didn't dare to talk back. I wiped it twice hurriedly and hurried to the living room.
Han Yebin's living room is very large. Opposite the French windows, there is a row of well-made mahogany display cabinets, on which various handicrafts are placed. In the middle grid, there is a color photo, inlaid in an exquisite photo frame with gilded edges, which is very eye-catching. I glanced at it and couldn't help but be attracted.
“Is this a picture of your family?”
The photo is obviously a bit old, and the edges have begun to turn slightly yellow, but the three people sitting on the grass in the photo are all smiling happily, especially the little boy sitting in his father's arms - that is obviously Han Yebin when he was young, with eyes so black and bright as if filled with stars, and a row of not-too-tidy teeth showing when he smiles. He is a completely innocent little boy, and he looks much cuter no matter how you look at him.
"Yeah." Han Yebin responded perfunctorily and patted the seat next to him impatiently.
"Why don't you come over quickly? Do you still want to take tutoring?"
Surprised by his sudden tone becoming cold and hard, I felt strange, but seeing that he looked unhappy, I could only quickly slip over and sit down.
Tutoring continues.
In Han Yebin's words, now that the basic "formulas" have been memorized, it's time to start "getting serious" and doing the questions. I was ready to start the sea of ​​questions, but unexpectedly Han Yebin took out another piece of paper and handed it to me.
"'Eight types of questions and six ideas'?" I read the title above. "What is this?"
"I summarized the patterns of questions in previous mock exams," said Han Yebin. "Exams are not only a battle between students and test questions, but also a contest between students and test setters. As long as you are familiar with these patterns, you don't have to be afraid of 80% of the questions in the test paper."
"Really?" My eyes lit up.
"Each rule is followed by an example question. You must do each one carefully. After you finish all the examples, I will ask you to do another test paper. If your error rate exceeds 20%..." Han Yebin suddenly laughed, "Just wait for your punishment."
I subconsciously touched my face and said stiffly, "Do you still want to draw a turtle on your face?"
Han Yebin gave me a disdainful look and said, "Of course not. It's always the same old thing. I am annoyed even if you are not."
So who was happily drawing a turtle on someone's face just now?
"So, let's play a little game this time."
I looked at him with a smile on his face with caution: "Little game?"
Han Yebin nodded, suddenly stood up and walked to the window, pointing at a small white high-rise building opposite.
"Did you know? Fatty Liu lives in the building opposite."
Fatty Liu? I was slightly stunned. Could he be talking about the most terrifying and strict dean of discipline since the founding of Tianyin Academy?
"So what?" I really couldn't figure out why Han Yebin suddenly mentioned the dean of discipline.
"He is the protagonist of the punishment game." Han Yebin turned around and smiled with his eyes curved. "If you don't meet my requirements, I will personally take you to Fatty Liu's house. You have to knock on his door and then say to him - 'Dear Teacher Liu, there are three words that have been deeply buried in my heart, making me toss and turn and unable to sleep at night. After a fierce psychological struggle, I finally decided not to wrong myself, but to stand bravely in front of you and say those three words, which are..." Han Yebin deliberately dragged out the tail sound and was slow to say the next word.
"Three words?" I twitched my lips, "Could it be 'I love you'?"
Han Yebin shook his finger, opened his lips slightly, and said word by word, "Wrong, it's - 'You are a pig'."
I imagined Fatty Liu’s reaction after I said “You are a pig” to him, and then... I decided to work hard.
——In order to live to see the sun tomorrow, you must fight! You must rise up! You must fight!
Something seems wrong...
I was just here to take math lessons, why did I end up fighting for survival?
My brother once said that I was like a spring - the harder I pressed, the higher I bounced. I used to protest against this statement, but now I think he is probably right.
"Hmm..." Han Yebin looked at the test paper in front of him, and his red pen occasionally drew on the paper. I sat aside, watching his movements nervously.
Finally, he threw away the pen in his hand, turned to look at me, and stared at me expressionlessly.
I didn't dare to breathe and just stared at him without blinking.
Han Yebin suddenly raised the corner of his mouth and smiled slightly: "You barely passed."
"Haha!" I cheered.
It turns out that pressure brings motivation. I thought I would end up in tragedy, but unexpectedly I passed it smoothly.
My tense nerves relaxed, and at the same time I felt relieved, I actually felt a sense of weakness. My stomach also growled at the right time, telling its owner that my stomach was empty.
"It's already this late." Han Yebin glanced at the clock on the wall - it was already afternoon, and we were so busy that we even forgot to have lunch.
"Let's go eat now." Han Yebin waved his hand cheerfully, looking like a hospitable host. "There's food in the kitchen, you can pick whatever you want to eat."
"Haha, then I won't be polite!" He was not active in eating and had problems with his thinking. I was like a hardworking little bee and immediately ran to the kitchen happily.
five minutes later.
"When you say you can pick and choose whatever you want to eat, do you mean food?"
I stood in the kitchen, shaking a bag in my hand - on it were three eye-catching big words "instant noodles".
"Yes." Han Yebin nodded, looking serious.
I despaired and slapped the boxes behind me with my other hand - these boxes were neatly stacked and took up nearly half of the kitchen area, and they were all filled with instant noodles.
"Are instant noodles the only thing you have at home besides instant noodles?"
"It's instant noodles of various flavors and brands." Han Yebin corrected me.
"ah……"
"Don't look down on instant noodles. I eat them three times a day." Han Yebin walked around me and began to search in the box. "I strongly recommend the seafood buckwheat flavor. Uh... what flavor do you like?"
Perhaps because he didn't hear a response for a long time, Han Yebin turned around in confusion and met my complicated expression.
"You just said that you eat this for three meals a day?" I asked.
Han Yebin looked at me strangely and nodded.
"Is there no one to cook for you at home?"
I don't know if it was my illusion, but I felt that at that moment, Han Yebin's eyes suddenly turned cold. But he quickly turned his head away, so I couldn't see if there was a gloomy cold light flashing in his eyes.
After a while.
"They are very busy at work, and we only see each other a few times a year." Han Yebin's voice sounded normal, and his tone was casual and almost indifferent. "I don't have the time or energy to cook, so I usually just make do with instant noodles. Anyway, I'm not picky about food."
This isn’t a question of being picky about food, right?
I suddenly thought of myself. My parents are abroad all year round because of work, and I can only see them a few times a year, but fortunately I still have my brother. Although he is very busy at work, he still tries his best to take care of my diet and daily life, and his attentiveness is no less than that of my parents. Whenever I go home and see my brother waiting for me at the table with a cooked meal, I feel happy and happy in my heart. That kind of warm and reassuring feeling... Has Han Yebin ever experienced it?
For some unknown reason, I grabbed Han Yebin's arm as he was holding instant noodles and looking for hot water.
"I'll cook today," I said.
Although Han Yebin muttered, "I don't want to die from food poisoning," he still obediently bought the ingredients according to the menu I listed and piled a large table full of them.
"Can you do it?" He looked doubtful.
"Leave it to me!" I patted my chest confidently, "What do you want to eat? Just order!"
Han Yebin thought for a moment and asked, "Can you make sweet and sour spare ribs?"
I made an "OK" gesture and took the seasoning bottle from the cabinet: "I prefer sweet food, do you mind if I put more sugar in it later?"
Han Yebin looked at me expressionlessly: "What you have is soy sauce."
I put down the seasoning bottle with a wry smile and pulled out a boning knife from the knife rack next to me.
"I'll prepare the ribs first."
Most of the ribs I bought from the supermarket were already chopped, but a few needed further processing. I picked out a rib that was obviously much larger than its compatriots and put it on the chopping board, then raised the chopping knife.
With a loud bang, the chopped half of the ribs flew out. Han Yebin turned sideways in time and watched the half of the ribs fly steadily into the chopstick holder behind him.
Han Yebin looked at the lonely spare ribs, then looked at me who was dumbfounded, and sighed softly.
"It seems I'd better buy some accident insurance."
Of course, Han Yebin did not buy insurance, but accordingly, he asked to participate in cooking.
"I can't stand by and watch you destroy my kitchen," he said.
I was very dissatisfied with this and felt that my self-esteem was severely hurt: "I haven't even started yet, how do you know I can't do it?"
Han Yebin looked disdainful and said, "You are a clumsy person, and it's enough that you cause trouble to others in the game. Do you want to find someone to take the blame in real life?"
I was stunned for a moment: "Game? How do you know I'm not good at playing games?"
Han Yebin blinked, then suddenly turned around and searched among the bottles and jars on the table: "I'll help you find some sugar."
"Hey, I'm asking you a question!" I tried to get to the bottom of it and started to imagine, "Did your brother tell you?"
Han Yebin said "hmm" nonchalantly, and his attitude was very perfunctory. I wanted to ask him what he knew, but I heard a stomach growl - the sound came from Han Yebin.
"Miss!" Han Yebin looked at me helplessly, with a very resentful expression, "If you don't cook, I'll starve to death."
So I started to get busy actively.
Although I was full of fighting spirit, the final result was... very dismal.
"Are you sure this is sweet and sour pork ribs, not pork ribs stewed in black vinegar?" After opening the lid of the pot, Han Yebin was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a long time, and it took him a long time to utter this sentence.
“The steps and ingredients should be correct.” I felt a little guilty, “I remember my brother did it this way…” But why is the finished product so different from what he made?
"Remember?" Han Yebin was stunned. "Did you just watch your brother do it but never practice it yourself?"
"I can't say I haven't practiced it at all..." I scratched my head embarrassedly, "I practiced it very actively in the 'eating' part."
Han Yebin rubbed his temples with a headache: "Let's make scrambled eggs with tomatoes." He said, "I heard that's super easy."
Fried tomato and eggs is indeed a very simple dish. Han Yebin watched for a while and then went to cook rice. I lived up to his expectations and quickly served the dish to the table.
Han Yebin stared at the steaming tomato scrambled eggs on the plate for a long time before muttering to himself.
"I always thought that there was no wood ear in the dish of fried tomato and eggs."
"Of course not." I nodded.
"What is this?" He pointed at a black object with his chopsticks.
"It's tomatoes." I said with certainty.
Han Yebin was stunned: "Black?"
"I accidentally burned it."
Han Yebin was speechless for a moment, then poked another soft thing with his chopsticks.
"What about this black thing?" he asked. "It doesn't look like a tomato at all."
“It’s eggs,” I explained patiently, adding considerately, “scrambled eggs.”
Han Yebin waved his hand and said in a tragic tone: "Let's eat."
I couldn't wait any longer and happily took the bowl to get the rice. But as soon as I opened the rice cooker, a burnt smell hit me in the face and even Han Yebin could smell it.
"What's going on?" he asked in surprise.
I glanced at the black, hard rice in the pot and looked at him expressionlessly.
"Didn't you drain the water?"
Han Yebin was shocked: "Do you need to add water?" His expression was very innocent, "It's not like I'm making porridge, why do I need to add water?"
I covered my face and squeezed out a word from between my fingers for a long time.
"Or, let's just eat instant noodles."
Finally we took a compromise - boil the bread in hot water and eat it with scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
Although the process was tortuous and the results were mediocre, under the catalytic effect of the invincible seasoning "hunger", Han Yebin and I both ate very satisfyingly.
"My cooking skills are pretty good, right?" I shamelessly asked for credit while eating.
Han Yebin glanced at me and mercilessly pointed out my little thoughts: "No matter how much you try to please me, I won't let you off during the tutoring later."
I continued eating dejectedly.
When I was halfway through the meal, I suddenly heard that person chuckle. I raised my head reflexively and met Han Yebin's eyes looking at me. But he quickly lowered his head, with a smile on his face, and picked up an egg with chopsticks while talking to himself.
“It’s been a long time since I sat down to eat with someone.”
I'm a little flattered.
Han Yebin put the egg in his mouth and chewed it twice.
"I haven't eaten such terrible eggs in a long time."
I retorted unconvincedly: "It's better than your pathetic rice that's cooked into a mess!"
I didn't think I said anything funny, but unexpectedly Han Yebin suddenly laughed. The black hair hanging in front of his forehead trembled slightly with his movements. Even though his eyes were narrowed into slits due to laughing, you could still see the bright light flowing from them.
This is the first time I see him smile like this.
Hearty, carefree, sincere, without a trace of affectation.
"What's wrong? Are you fascinated by me?"
It was not until I heard Han Yebin's teasing voice that I realized I had been staring at him in fascination.
"Hmph, stop feeling so good about yourself!" I turned my head away, only to feel my cheeks getting hot and my head feeling a little dizzy.
"Instead of flirting here, you should think about how to get your Miss An back."
As soon as I finished speaking, I regretted it.
Oh my god, why am I bringing this up!
As expected, Han Yebin's laughter suddenly stopped, and the originally happy atmosphere instantly froze and became extremely awkward. I almost had the urge to slap myself in the face, so I could only bury my head and look like I was trying hard to eat.
I don’t know how long it took, but I finally heard Han Yebin’s voice.
"Actually, An Mujin and I..." He hesitated to speak, and when he saw me looking at him inquiringly, he simply shrugged.
"Never mind. It's alright."
Although I was very curious about what he didn't finish saying, since discussing An Muqin's affairs was a taboo, I could only put away my gossiping heart.
After the meal, I had to continue with my tutoring, but compared to before, I was able to handle it well.
When it was almost seven o'clock, my brother called Han Yebin and told him that he would pick me up soon and asked me to wait for him at the gate of the community. But because I had forgotten where the gate of the community was, Han Yebin had to go downstairs to see me off in person.
The setting sun has slowly sunk to the west, the clouds in the sky have begun to lose their last luster, the street lights in the distance are lighting up one by one, and the evening breeze is blowing, bringing gusts of coolness.
"Tomorrow is Monday." Han Yebin and I were slowly walking towards the gate of the community when he suddenly said this.
"Yeah." I nodded. Monday is the day for the mock exam.
"Are you confident?" he asked.
I didn't say anything. Although today's results were impressive, I still felt a little uncertain - what if I didn't perform well on the spot?
"Don't worry, you can do it." Han Yebin raised his eyebrows. "Although you are the worst person I have ever taught, stupid and slow, and always make mistakes that make people frustrated, but it should not be a problem to beat Tong Weiwei."
I was so upset: "Are you insulting me or encouraging me?"
The gate of the community was just in front. A car had already parked there. The person sitting in the car waved at me from a distance. It was my brother.
"I'm leaving." I waved to Han Yebin, then took two steps at a time and ran towards my brother.
"Ling Jiantong!" The man's voice suddenly came from behind.
I turned around in confusion.
The street light behind Han Yebin suddenly lit up. In the backlight, I couldn't see his expression clearly, but I could only remember the smile that bloomed on his face at that moment.
"Good luck on the exam," he whispered.
I suddenly had a feeling that he seemed to have completely forgiven me for disrupting his relationship with An Mujin. A smile wiped away the grudges, the past was over, and a new page was turning.
So I also curled up the corners of my mouth and showed a sincere smile.
"I will."