Volume 4: Counterattack: Bright Star Road Chapter 241 Yuan Xudong pretending to be a tutor
"May I have your name?"
"Kong Xiu Ya."
"Where do you live?"
"Garibong-dong, Guro-gu."
Looking at Kong Xiu Ya who lowered her head, I didn't expect that the bad girl would live in Garibong-dong, Guro District, which is relatively remote and is the poorest area in the whole of Seoul, without a doubt.
Most people living there, especially young people, are embarrassed to admit that they live there, just like many young people will go to Gangnam District, take a few photos and post them on social networking sites, claiming that they live in Gangnam District.
Although the district covers an area of 30 hectares and is separated from other districts by only one road, it is completely hidden in the prosperity of Seoul. In 1988, Seoul hosted the Olympic Games. In order to beautify the city, the government relocated some of the poorest residents in Seoul to Guro District. Most of the residents in the district are coolies or casual workers, and many are unemployed vagrants who make a living by picking up scraps, especially the elderly.
Garibong-dong is the largest and poorest neighborhood in Guro-gu, with tens of thousands of immigrants or foreigners whose ancestors were immigrants, mostly Chinese, and an equal number of Korean natives. They all have one thing in common, that is, they are poor. They have no outstanding education or skills, and can only do relatively cheap manual labor. They struggle to survive in the bustling metropolis and live a life that they can foresee at a glance. They place all their hopes for the future on their children, hoping that their children will study hard, get into a good university, and then work for a big company or the government, climbing up step by step, and eventually becoming successful, leaving the poor and backward Guro-gu and moving to a prosperous area where the upper class gathers, preferably the most prosperous Gangnam-gu, to be neighbors with those powerful people.
Seoul was bustling under the night sky. An old bus was driving along the street. Yuan Xudong and Kong Xiuya were sitting side by side in the simple carriage. Yuan Xudong was sitting near the aisle, while Kong Xiuya was sitting inside, near the window. At this moment, she was pouting and said with an unhappy look on her face:
"Hey, Mr. Prosecutor, could you please not be so stingy? You can take a taxi to send those two pretty ladies home, but you take the bus to send me home. Isn't this too much of a discriminatory treatment?"
"What else? Do you want to take the police car?"
After glaring at Kong Xiuya, Yuan Xudong leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and said:
"Taxis in Seoul are so expensive. You live far away, and a taxi costs tens of thousands of won, while a bus only costs 2,000 won. The price difference is 10 to 20 times. Why should I waste money?"
"Humph, stingy!"
With a delicate snort, seeing that Yuan Xudong closed his eyes and ignored her, Kong Xiuya waved her fist at him a few times with gritted teeth, then turned her head to look out the window, supporting her body with her right hand on the bottom edge of the window, and touching the window glass with her left hand, she stared at the bright lights and nightlife on the street in a daze, no one knew what she was thinking about, or if she was thinking about nothing and was just staring blankly, thinking about a way out.
Time passed, and some old buses stopped and started. After crossing a six-lane highway, the bustling streets and tall buildings outside the window suddenly faded out of sight, replaced by old streets and dilapidated low buildings. We arrived at Guro District. A six-lane highway stood between prosperity and poverty. Both sides of the highway were like two completely different worlds, with prosperity and poverty clearly distinguished. It was hard to imagine that in the economically prosperous city of Seoul, there were such poor and backward places.
"Ding Dong, we've arrived at Qingchunyuan Community in Jialifengdong, Gulao District. Passengers who want to get off, please get ready!"
Looking at the familiar streets outside the car window, Kong Xiuya came back to her senses, and a smile unconsciously bloomed on her face. Even her eyes became smarter. She pushed Yuan Xudong, who was resting his eyes, and reminded him:
"Hey, wake up, it's time to get off the bus!"
"Are we there yet?"
Yuan Xudong opened his eyes and looked out the window. Seeing that he looked like he had just woken up, Kong Xiuya couldn't help but roll her eyes and complained a few words in a low voice. Yuan Xudong didn't care. After the bus stopped, he followed Kong Xiuya out of the bus and started walking towards her home.
Not long after, they arrived at Kong Xiu-ya's home, an old residential building with no elevator. The large rusty iron door at the stairwell entrance was open, allowing anyone to come in and out at will. The walls on both sides of the stairs were covered with colorful advertisements, and there were even some blatant special service advertisements. No one knew whether the information on them was true or false.
After taking a casual look, Yuan Xudong started walking upstairs. Before he could take a few steps, Kong Xiuya, who was behind him, grabbed his clothes and said in a shameful voice with her head down:
"My family lives downstairs."
"What?"
Yuan Xudong didn't hear clearly, and Kong Xiu Ya didn't continue to explain. She turned around and walked downstairs. It turned out that after entering the residential building, Yuan Xudong habitually walked upstairs. After all, it was the first floor. He just didn't expect that he could continue to walk downstairs. Kong Xiu Ya's home was on the basement floor of this residential building.
Following Kong Xiuya into the house, it was a basement of about 60 square meters, dark and damp, with no windows, only an exposed vent leading to the outside, separated by an iron fence, and a constantly flashing milky white fluorescent stick light hanging from the ceiling. The room was full of cardboard boxes, mineral water bottles and other recyclable garbage that could be sold to the scrap recycling station for money. She found a bench and wiped it for Yuan Xudong to sit down. Kong Xiuya walked around the waste cardboard boxes and snakeskin bags full of beverage bottles, walked to a bedroom, and gently knocked on the door and said:
"Grandma, I'm back. Are you asleep?"
"My little darling is back. Grandma will open the door for you!"
There was a sound of footsteps, and the shabby door creaked open. An old lady with a vicissitudes of life came out of the bedroom. She wore a pair of reading glasses around her neck and was wearing shabby gray clothes. She walked to Kong Xiuya excitedly and wanted to reach out and touch her face, but she noticed the calluses and stains on her hands and wanted to retract her hand. Kong Xiuya quickly grabbed her right hand, put it on her face, touched it, and said coquettishly:
"Grandma, have you eaten yet?"
"I have eaten, I have eaten, have you eaten yet?"
"Well, I ate in the school cafeteria and had two big pieces of delicious and cheap fried pork chops!"
"That's good. You're growing up, so you can't starve yourself!"
Noticing the bright red dress Kong Xiuya was wearing and the heavy makeup on her face, Kong Xiuya's grandmother asked in confusion:
“Xiu Ya, why are you…?”
Without waiting for grandma to finish, Kong Xiuya explained directly:
"Grandma, this is what happened. Our school held a cultural competition today, and I wore this dress to perform on stage. Oh, and by the way, I won first place in the competition, and the school awarded me 200,000 won!"
After that, Kong Xiuya took out the 200,000 won that Yuan Xudong gave her from her shoulder bag, stuffed it into her grandmother's hand and said with a smile:
"Here, take it. Don't you have to go ?"
"Xiu Ya, grandma is sorry for you!"
Looking at the 200,000 won in her hand, Kong Xiuya's grandmother wiped her tears, stuffed 100,000 won into Kong Xiuya's hand, and said in a choked voice:
"Xiu Ya, I'll just take 100,000 won. You can use it to buy yourself two sets of clothes and some food. It also costs money to go out and play with your classmates. If your parents were still alive, you wouldn't have to suffer with an old woman like me. It's your grandma who has dragged you down. I'm sorry!"
"Grandma, what are you talking about?"
Putting the 100,000 won in her hand back into her grandmother's hand, Kong Xiu Ya hugged her grandmother's arm and shook her gently, saying:
"Grandma, you raised me from childhood. If you weren't here, wouldn't I be an orphan? Use this 100,000 won to check your body and buy medicine. You must live a long life. When I make money in the future, I will be filial to you. Don't worry, didn't I tell you? I am now working part-time in a convenience store and can earn money to support myself!"
"Xiu Ya, my little darling, grandma is really ashamed to see you. You are so young..."
After listening to the general situation, Yuan Xudong walked out from behind the piles of waste paper boxes and plastic bottles, looked at the white-haired grandmother Kong Xiuya and greeted her with a smile:
"Hello, grandma, I am..."
Afraid that Yuan Xudong would tell the truth and scare his grandmother, Kong Xiuya interrupted him before he could finish:
"Grandma, he is a teacher from our school. He is here for a home visit and wants to talk to you!"
"teacher?"
After saying that, seeing her grandmother looking at Yuan Xudong who suddenly appeared, Kong Xiuya stood behind her and looked at Yuan Xudong with a pleading look on her face, clasped her hands together, and bowed repeatedly. Seeing how pitiful she was, Yuan Xudong smiled and cooperated with her:
"Yes, I'm Xiu Ya's homeroom teacher. I'm here for a home visit. Sorry to bother you!"
"Don't disturb, don't disturb!"
It was the first time a teacher came to visit the family. Kong Xiuya's grandmother was a little excited, but also a little at a loss.
"Teacher, I don't have anything to treat you at home. I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay, it's okay, I'm sorry for disturbing you!"
"Xiu Ya, quickly pour the teacher a cup of hot water!"
"oh!"
Instructing her granddaughter to pour a cup of hot water for Yuan Xudong, Kong Xiuya's grandmother took a stool, wiped it and let Yuan Xudong sit down. She sat opposite and looked at the gentle Yuan Xudong in a suit and tie and smiled:
"That's great, teacher. Is our Xiu Ya doing well in school?"
"fine!"
Looking at the old man with eyes full of expectation, Yuan Xudong smiled and said:
"Xiu Ya is very well-behaved and sensible, and she studies very hard. She is a rare good child!"
"That's good, that's good!"
Hearing Yuan Xudong, the head teacher, personally praising her granddaughter, Kong Xiuya's grandmother was filled with joy. Then she sighed and said with some sadness:
"Xiu Ya, her parents died early, and I am the only old woman left to raise her. I am old now and in poor health. I have to go to the hospital every month for a physical check-up and buy medicine. In order to support me, an old woman, she went out to work at a young age. I have never seen her spend money to buy food and clothes for herself. She spent all her money on my medical expenses. Sometimes I really want to die, but I am worried that Xiu Ya will be left alone. What should she do?"
Yuan Xudong listened quietly. Seeing Kong Xiuya coming over with two cups of hot water, he took one cup and handed it to the grandmother opposite him, then took the remaining cup and held it in his hand. Kong Xiuya glanced at Yuan Xudong and her grandmother and walked into the only bedroom. Kong Xiuya's grandmother invited Yuan Xudong to drink tea, and then continued to talk, with some pride for her granddaughter in her voice:
"I heard from Xiu Ya that she found a new job, doing part-time work in a convenience store. The boss likes her very much and treats her very well. The salary is also good. I finally feel a little relieved!"
"Yeah?"
Looking at the old man with a face full of joy, Yuan Xudong felt inexplicably moved. It is true that poverty makes people look down upon others. The greatest sin of a person is that when you need money, you have no money, so you can only sell everything you can sell. This includes ordinary workers. Isn't it selling your time, or life, for a living and for money? Thinking of this in his heart, Yuan Xudong smiled and said:
"Xiu Ya is very filial. Grandma is so lucky to have such a good granddaughter!"
"Oh, how can I be so lucky?"
Waving her hands, Kong Xiuya's grandmother smiled bitterly and said:
"I hope that our Xiu Ya can get into a good university, but I am afraid that I won't be able to pay the tuition and living expenses. If I hinder Xiu Ya's future, I, an old woman, will be too ashamed to go down to see her parents. I heard that university tuition is expensive. Teacher, how much did you spend when you went to college?"
"Me?"
Yuan Xudong thought for a moment and replied:
"Different universities and different majors cost different amounts of money. I study law at Seoul National University. Excluding living expenses, the tuition and materials cost about 200 million won. But you don't have to worry about Xiu Ya's tuition. You can apply for a loan to go to college, and you can pay it back slowly after you graduate and start working!"
"Two hundred million won, is tuition so expensive?"
"Law is a relatively expensive profession, but there are other cheaper professions. You can actually study while doing odd jobs. You don't have to take out a loan of 200 million yuan!"
"Is that so? Then our Xiu Ya..."
Yuan Xudong was chatting with Kong Xiuya's grandmother. The topic always revolved around Kong Xiuya's future, such as which university to go to, what majors girls should choose, whether she could become a teacher like Yuan Xudong, etc. Yuan Xudong responded with a smile, but his heart was also in ups and downs. His intuition told him that it was hard to say whether Kong Xiuya's academic performance could be admitted to a local university, let alone a famous university in Seoul. If she graduated from high school, it would be difficult to find a decent job in the future, not to say impossible, but it would definitely be very difficult, and she would have to work harder than college students in Seoul.
Time passed, and just when Yuan Xudong was about to get up and leave, Kong Xiuya walked out of the bedroom. She had changed her bright red dress into a black and white female high school uniform. The short pleated skirt barely covered her thighs, and under the skirt, a pair of flawless long legs were tightly together, fitting perfectly. She was wearing a pair of starched canvas shoes without socks, and there were several scratches on her feet and ankles. Looking up, she saw a slender waist that could be held in one hand, slightly perky breasts, fair and delicate collarbones and neck. The heavy makeup on her face had been removed, revealing a moist and shiny face with a little bit of baby fat, which made people want to pinch it gently.
Her thick black hair was simply tied behind her head, her long bangs covered her eyebrows, her big watery eyes were bright and attractive, her nose was high, her thin lips were pink and tender, and her mouth corners were slightly upturned, giving her a playful and cute feeling. She was charming before removing her makeup, and pure and lovely after removing her makeup, which made Yuan Xudong's eyes light up and he had an urge to go to jail. Fortunately, Yuan Xudong had strong control and just glanced at her before retracting his gaze and saying goodbye:
"Grandma, Xiu Ya, it's getting late. I'm going to go home first. You should also go to bed early. Good night!"
"Okay, teacher, take care. Xiu Ya, please see me off!"
"No need, I can walk by myself, please stay, bye!"
"Okay, drive slowly on the road, bye!"
"Thank you, Teacher Yuan. Bye!"
…
After leaving the basement where Kong Xiu-ya and her grandmother lived, Yuan Xudong began to walk towards the nearby bus stop. Passing by a supermarket, he thought of Kong Xiu-ya's bare feet, the abrasions on her feet and ankles, and the flickering fluorescent lights in the basement. After hesitating for a moment, Yuan Xudong walked into the supermarket and bought two cartons of milk, a few pairs of cotton socks, a box of Band-Aids, several large bags of snacks, a fluorescent light tube, an envelope and corresponding paper and pen.
After paying the bill, Yuan Xudong leaned over the counter and wrote a few words to encourage Kong Xiu Ya. Then he stuffed the bills with a face value of more than 10,000 yuan and the letter paper in his wallet into the envelope, put the envelope in his arms, and Yuan Xudong started to return to Kong Xiu Ya's home with these things.
After a while, he walked back to the basement door of Kong Xiuya's house, knocked gently and said:
"Grandma, Xiu Ya, are you asleep?"
"Teacher Yuan, why are you back?"
A burst of brisk footsteps sounded, Kong Xiuya opened the door of the basement, and saw Yuan Xudong standing outside the door carrying milk and supermarket shopping bags. She couldn't help but said in a daze:
"Teacher Yuan, you..."
Before she could finish, her grandmother's voice rang out from behind her:
"Teacher Yuan, did you drop anything?"
"No, I saw that the fluorescent light in the room seemed to be broken and kept flickering. I bought a new one and came to replace it for you!"
"Teacher Yuan, thank you so much!"
"It's okay, it's what I should do!"
Yuan Xudong walked into the house carrying things and asked Kong Xiu Ya to turn off the fluorescent light and turn on the mobile phone lighting. He took off his leather shoes, stood on a bench and replaced the broken fluorescent tube, then asked Kong Xiu Ya to turn on the switch and try it. The dim basement suddenly became much brighter.
After putting on his leather shoes, while Kong Xiuya and her grandmother's eyes were attracted by the new fluorescent light, Yuan Xudong took out the envelope from his arms and put it into the shopping bag. Then he handed the milk and the shopping bag to Kong Xiuya's grandmother and said with a smile:
"Grandma, these things are for Xiu Ya, and this box of milk is for you. I'm leaving now. You and Xiu Ya should have a rest early. I'll come to visit you next time. Bye!"
"Teacher Yuan, how can this be possible? You..."
Without waiting for Kong Xiuya's grandmother to refuse, Yuan Xudong said hello to Kong Xiuya and left, starting to walk towards the nearby bus stop. After he left, Kong Xiuya's grandmother handed the shopping bag in her hand to Kong Xiuya and said with a smile:
"This is what Teacher Yuan bought for you. Open it and take a look. Our Xiu Ya is so nice. The teacher likes you very much. She even replaced the light bulbs in our house. She is such a considerate and kind person!"
"Who wants him to mind his own business?"
Mumbling something with her mouth curled up, Kong Xiu Ya took the shopping bag and opened it:
"Let me see what the cheapskate bought. It must be something very cheap. It's from the nearby Friendship Supermarket. I've been there!"
"Oh, you can't say that, teacher, you know?"
Seeing that her granddaughter was disrespectful to Yuan Xudong, Kong Xiuya's grandmother blamed her:
"In the past, teachers were like one's own fathers, the people one respected the most in one's life. Teacher Yuan is a very kind person at first glance. You have to respect him, do you understand?"
"I know, Grandma!"
Kong Xiu Ya rolled her eyes and thought that her teacher never cared about her. He just let her fend for herself. He only cared about the good students who had the hope of getting into famous universities in Seoul. Bad girls like herself were the abandoned ones. She could sit in the corner of the classroom and do whatever she wanted as long as she didn't disrupt the order. It didn't matter whether she had such a teacher or not.
With her mind wandering, Kong Xiu Ya opened the shopping bag and flipped through the various snacks. Looking at the socks and band-aids at the bottom, she couldn't help but look slightly stunned. She took the pink socks and band-aids in her hands, and said with a slightly raised corner of her mouth:
"How old-fashioned! Who wears long socks nowadays?"
