Su Mu had not anticipated such a situation at all. She had thought that Wen Han called to tell her not to co for tuition lately simply because Shaoyuan’s grandmother had co back from abroad, and the family needed to have a proper reunion. She didn’t expect it to be completely different from what she had imagined.
Thinking of Wen Shaoyuan, Su Mu couldn’t help but ask,
"And what about Wen Han? Has he been at ho all this ti?"
"He seed to be at ho for the past couple of days, but you know how busy he can get with the military. I heard from my dad that he went back to the army yesterday, so now it’s just Shaoyuan and his grandma at ho."
After hanging up with Jiang Bei, Su Mu felt uneasy. She couldn’t stop thinking about that child who always made her feel heartache, even though she was an outsider and shouldn’t be so involved. But after all, Wen Shaoyuan was her student.
She couldn’t seem to detach herself from the situation.
At the very least, she needed to make sure that Wen Shaoyuan was truly safe and sound.
At 4:20 p.m., Su Mu t Wen Shaoyuan’s usual driver at the entrance of the kindergarten. After chatting for a bit, she learned that Wen Han had indeed returned to the military the day before, confirming the sa situation Jiang Bei had ntioned.
After the kindergarten opened, Su Mu walked towards Wen Shaoyuan’s class. She stood at the window and glanced inside. The child, who usually laughed and chatted with his peers, was now sitting alone at his desk, hugging his backpack with a crestfallen look that made his loneliness unignorable.
Su Mu approached the door, and the teacher greeted her with a gentle smile:
"Miss Su is here? We haven’t seen you for several days."
"There have been so things at ho recently, and I haven’t made it over. Is Shaoyuan doing okay?"
The teacher nodded:
"He’s doing well, as sensible as ever, but he seems a bit troubled these past two days, sowhat downhearted. He wouldn’t tell when I asked. Maybe it’s his little secret? Parents should really check on him if they have the ti."
Su Mu nodded:
"Okay, I’ll pass the ssage to Shaoyuan’s family."
"Thank you very much."
After the teacher spoke, she turned to call Wen Shaoyuan out. Su Mu watched him the whole ti, so she could clearly sense that he didn’t really want to leave his seat.
If possible, he probably wanted to stay there forever, but he knew it wasn’t feasible, so he reluctantly got up from his seat, dragging his feet with a heaviness uncharacteristic for his age, inching towards the door.
Because his head was lowered, he didn’t see Su Mu imdiately, not until she called out:
"Shaoyuan."
Wen Shaoyuan lifted his head as if he had heard an illusion. When his gaze fell on Su Mu, it suddenly lit up like fireworks in the night sky. He ran over with his backpack, as if fearing that Su Mu might disappear if he was just a step too late.
After waving goodbye to the teacher, Su Mu took his hand and walked away, while Wen Shaoyuan kept looking up at her, never shifting his gaze.
In the courtyard, Su Mu crouched down to et Wen Shaoyuan’s eyes and reached out to neaten his slightly disheveled collar, smiling faintly:
"Why aren’t you speaking?"
"I didn’t expect Sister Su to co pick up today."
Su Mu smiled at him, "That ans you missed , right?"
Wen Shaoyuan nodded vigorously:
"Missed you so much, it’s been 5 days since I last saw Sister Su."
"Then starting today, Sister Su will start picking you up from school again, alright?"
Wen Shaoyuan’s eyes sparkled, but after a few seconds, sothing seed to have dawned on him, and his brightness slowly dimd. He shook his head and said:
"I won’t need it for now; there’s soone at my ho."
"I heard from your Aunt Xiaobei that it’s your grandmother who’s co, right?"
"Mhm."
Su Mu didn’t ask him about his grandmother but simply smiled and said, "Even if your grandmother is here, Sister Su can still tutor you. Or is it that, with grandmother around, you don’t need Sister Su anymore? That would make very sad."
Wen Shaoyuan probably hadn’t expected Su Mu to react like this. He blinked before slowly saying:
"Sister Su, would you be sad if you didn’t co?"
"Of course, I like Shaoyuan very much, and..." Su Mu leaned closer, "I’ll tell you a little secret, I’ve been a bit short on money lately. If I can’t tutor you, I won’t be able to live. Would you have the heart to see beco holess?"
Wen Shaoyuan shook his head:
"I don’t want that, but Dad said..."
"Then shall I give your dad a call, okay?"
Wen Shaoyuan hesitated for a mont and then nodded: "Okay."
Su Mu had been trying to reach Wen Han’s phone for quite so ti without an answer, which sowhat surprised her. Seeing Wen Shaoyuan’s gaze becoming increasingly disappointed, she wanted to try again but was stopped by Wen Shaoyuan, who said:
"Dad will answer if he sees it, he must be busy with sothing right now."
"How about I go ho with you today, and when Dad returns my call, I can talk to him then?"
Although Wen Shaoyuan really wanted to, he still shook his head:
"Let’s not, Sister Su. Even though I really hope you could co ho with , Dad said that wouldn’t be very good for you. I trust there must be a reason for what Dad said, and I don’t want to do anything that’s bad for you. Anyway, there’s no rush for today, right?"
Since he put it that way, Su Mu couldn’t insist on anything further. After all, without having communicated with Wen Han, resuming classes on her own might cause him trouble.
"Alright, then I’ll go to your ho after I’ve spoken with your dad." Su Mu wrote her phone number in Wen Shaoyuan’s textbook: "This is my number. If you need anything, you can call or just chat if you like."
Wen Shaoyuan smiled and nodded:
"Thank you, Sister Su."
After parting ways with Wen Shaoyuan, Su Mu didn’t go straight ho. She glanced at the ti and took the bus directly to Fu Corporation Building. Standing outside the building, she sent a WeChat ssage to Fu Shinian:
"Have you finished work?"
Fu Shinian had postponed a full day’s work yesterday, and today he had been genuinely busy. Just that afternoon, he had attended two etings and had another international video conference, and with ten minutes to go before the next eting, he hadn’t stopped for a mont but was still earnestly reviewing various docunts that had been delivered to him that day.
When his phone rang, he hadn’t paid much attention at first, but a casual glance revealed Su Mu’s na, prompting him to put down the docunts and pick up his phone. He saw her brief query.
Usually, he wouldn’t respond to her texts. If a response was needed, he would call directly, but this ti he uncharacteristically replied:
"No."
Su Mu replied quickly: "Then I’ll wait for you in the coffee shop downstairs. Rember to call when you finish work, or else I won’t be able to get ho."
Upon seeing this ssage, Fu Shinian was briefly taken aback. He then pressed the intercom button, and a few seconds later, Song Yi ca in, looking utterly exhausted:
"Mr. Fu."
"Inform everyone that the remaining etings will be pushed to tomorrow morning."
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