Feigned Pity

Gu Jing Yuan was given a fright.
Only then did he spot Tao Yi Xi nestled behind the coffee table.
Her small figure was seated on the carpet; leaning against the heavy leather sofa, she looked even more petite.

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“Are you trying to give people a scare in the middle of the night?!”

Although Tao Yi Xi had a smile on her face, her eyes revealed a hint of resentment, “it’s all because Ge-ge didn’t come home earlier.”

“What the hell does it have to do with you whether I come home or not.”

Tao Yi Xi clenched her teeth. 

Did he think that she wanted to? If she didn’t have to wait for him, why did she need to endure for the whole night? 

No matter how many times she rolled her eyes in her heart, her expression remained appropriately pleasing, “the teacher wanted me to pass your homework to you.”

Gu Jing Yuan immediately rejected, “don’t want it.” 

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Ekvb bkp bydep kd bkp rsnjlvp, bl vwadle yde zlqv.
Mss zygu vs lhld nyal ycswv bla.
Ls sdl nswze qsanl bkx vs es obyv bl eke dsv oydv vs es.
Gde dso, bl eke dsv oydv vs es bkp bsxlosaj.

Tkp zsyvbkdt vsoyaep pvweukdt oyp ps pvasdt vbyv Mys Zk Dk nswze qllz kv qasx oblal pbl pyv.

Tsolhla, kv oyp bla fsc vs rypp vbl bsxlosaj vs bkx.
Eblvbla bl nbspl vs es kv yqvlaoyaep, oyp dsdl sq bla cwpkdlpp.
Mys Zk Dk fwpv dllele vs nsxrzlvl bla vypj lqqknkldvzu.

Fllkdt vbyv bl oyp ycswv vs zlyhl, Mys Zk Dk kxxlekyvlzu pvsse wr, oydvkdt vs pvsr bkx.
Jwv yqvla pkvvkdt kd vbl pyxl rspkvksd qsa ps zsdt, bla nyzhlp bye zsdt tsdl dwxc.

Fbl nyzzle swv vs bkx, “oykv.”

Qw Kkdt Zwyd oyp dsv sdl vbyv oswze oykv qsa bla.
Tl valyvle bla yp yka yde nyaakle sd bkp oyu, pbsokdt ds pktdp sq pvsrrkdt sa lhld blyakdt bla.

Mys Zk Dk takvvle bla vllvb yde tyhl nbypl.
Mbl vkdtzkdt pldpyvksd akekdt wr bla vbktbp nywple bla vs eayo kd y nsze calyvb.
Ywpvlakdt yzz sq bla pvaldtvb, pbl bypvldle bla pvlrp.

Mbyv oyp obld bla zltp pweeldzu psqvldle, nywpkdt bla vs zspl bla cyzydnl yde pvyttla y qlo pvlrp qsaoyae.

She unintentionally lunged forward.
And as the distance suddenly shortened between her and that wide, solid back, she panicked.

Oh God, she dared not think of the consequences if she were to bump into him.
What kind of bloodbath would await her? 

He seemed to have eyes behind his back, with a side step, he moved out of her path.
Tao Yi Xi fell knee first onto the hard ground.
An agonizing pain surged over her.
She stiffened in pain, but her heart was at ease.

She just needed some time to slowly ease the pain. 

Gu Jing Yuan crossed his hands over his chest as he sauntered over to her, mocking condescendingly, “do you enjoy pouncing onto guys?” 

Tao Yi Xi’s head was still lowered, her hands bracing against the ground.

His eyes were drawn to her hands; they were slender and delicate, like fragile ceramics, easily broken without the slightest of strength.

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She whispered, “I’m sorry, it wasn’t on purpose.”

He retracted his gaze, “humph.” 

Naturally, he didn’t believe it.

“I just wanted to pass you the homework.” It’s just that the frequent occurrences of unexpected situations made her unable to prove her innocence.

“I said I don’t want it.
Do you not understand human language?” 

She raised her head and looked up at him.
Her slender neck stretched upwards and a layer of mist covered her limpid eyes reflecting the light.

Gu Jing Yuan’s expression tightened, “hey, are you crying?”

“Ge-ge, sorry, I really didn’t mean it.
I was too anxious thinking about the teacher scolding me if I didn’t manage to pass the assignment to you.” 

Tao Yi Xi directly sat on the ground, covering her face with her hands, her whole body shook as she sobbed.

That’s it?

Good students sure were annoying.
It’s only getting scolded by the teacher. 

He did not care, but his feet seemed to be glued on the spot.

Her scrawny figure looked like she was lost at sea, lonely and pitiful.

“Forget it, I shall not bother Ge-ge anymore.
It’s no big deal getting reprimanded for Ge-ge.
Ge-ge, you can go, I’m okay,” as she rambled, she started weeping again.

“…” She called this being ‘okay’?

Gu Jing Yuan was speechless and could not walk away. 

What was there to cry about? How unreasonable!

Bending down, he snatched the trash papers from her hand.

“So irritating,” he left after that. 

Until she could no longer hear him, Tao Yi Xi then slowly flicked away the tears that overflowed from the corner of her eyes.

“Sss…” The pain made her cry out loud.

**

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The next morning she was once again left waiting by herself and her kneecaps were still aching.
Tao Yi Xi glanced in the direction of his room.
She did not know how many more days she would spend like this. 

When Xia Yan saw that her daughter had not left, she immediately knew what was up.

“Jing Yuan still hasn’t gotten up yet?” 

“En… Mom, can I leave first? The teacher was displeased that I was late yesterday,” Tao Yi Xi felt aggrieved.

Yet, Xia Yan did not waver, “just wait a while more.
I’ll get Nanny Yang to go get him.” 

By the time Gu Jing Yuan came down, another hour had passed.
By now, two lessons would have already ended.

Tao Yi Xi resigned to her fate as she continued memorizing the vocabulary in her textbook as she mindfully headed to the front seat of the car.

Gu Jing Yuan was slouching in the back, playing with his phone.
When he inadvertently raised his head, he could see her back profile from his angle.

‘Harumph, she really is a nerd.’ He secretly mocked her, as he idly observed her. 

As the morning rays shone through the window, sprinkling her whole body with a faint brilliance.
He had to admit, she was somewhat pretty.
No wonder Qi Yue was so enraptured that he kept chattering on and on about her in front of him, so annoying.

He dashed off as soon as he alighted from the car, wanting to get rid of her as soon as possible.

Glancing at the time, Tao Yi Xi also picked up her speed despite her suffering.

Unfortunately, today’s third lesson was conducted by the strictest, most old-fashioned English teacher. 

Gu Jing Yuan stood at the door with his empty schoolbag.
His tall figure stood lazily as he yawned as if he was not fully awake yet.
Greeted by this scene, the English teacher felt her anger rush to her head.

“Look at yourself! Where is there a student that would arrive at class at this hour?!”

Gu Jing Yuan stubbornly stood there without even batting an eyelid.

Knowing his unyielding attitude, the teacher cast her sight onto Tao Yi Xi who was just a step behind.

“Forget about him, what’s about you? If I remember correctly, you’re that new transfer student.
Don’t you know how hard it is to get admitted into our school? How many people wanted but could not get in? You’re given the opportunity but yet you don’t know how to cherish it! If you drag our class down, I’ll definitely report this to the school.”

Tao Yi Xi squeezed her schoolbag strap tightly.
She had never been so severely reprimanded by a teacher before.

She was good-looking, had an excellent learner’s attitude, and even better grades to show.
She had always been the teachers’ darling and they all could not wait to sing her praises, let alone scold her.

Yet here, the past was the past.
Here, she was just a student that transferred over from an unknown school from another city.
A person that managed to join because of connections.

“Teacher, I’m sorry.
I’ll take better note of this next time.”

“There’s still going to be a next time?!”

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“…”

She had no experience.
And this was what she feared most; a teacher that would pick on every word she uttered.
This time she really threw herself onto the muzzle of a gun1.

Under the eye of the class, Tao Yi Xi’s white and beautiful face was stained with an embarrassed blush and her eyes reddened.

“Teacher, I’m sorry.”

Gu Jing Yuan’s gaze fell onto her. 

How can this girl tear up over everything…

He slowly curled his lips, his tone was lazy, “Miss, are you still planning to conduct the lesson? Why so much crap?” 

The English teacher was utterly discomfited, “Gu Jing Yuan! Do you know what it means to ‘honor the teacher and respect his teachings’? Do you think that just because you reek of money, you’re amazing?!”

“I don’t think I am.
But why don’t you direct this question to Director Gu instead? See if he thinks that he’s amazing.”

“You!” The English teacher was left speechless.

Engrossed in watching the play, Qi Yue smacked the table in excitement.
His Brother Yuan was so awesome!

Hearing the commotion, the English teacher seemed to have found another target to change the subject, “Qi Yue, what do you think you’re doing?!”

“Uh… a mosquito flew onto my desk.”

“You better keep your nose clean!” 

Then, the English teacher turned her head back towards the pair and chided, “you two shall stand for the remainder of the class.”

Tao Yi Xi walked in first.
As Gu Jing Yuan followed behind her, he realized that her walking posture seemed a little off.

Qi Yue poked his head out from behind, “Brother Yuan is a hero saving a damsel in distress, so cool!” 

Gu Jing Yuan rolled his eyes, “who wants to save her.
I just don’t want to continue listening to her nonsense.” 

This girl was feeble and prone to crying.
Girls were so troublesome.

The English teacher’s sharp gaze swept over, “still whispering in class! Qi Yue, you also stand up!”

Lacking embarrassment, Qi Yue stood up with a cheeky smile on his face.

Tao Yi Xi flipped open her book and proceeded to carefully pay attention to the English teacher’s class without any complaints.

One could see that her attitude towards learning was very sincere.
It was just a pity that the English teacher was obstinate in her efforts.

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“Tao Yi Xi right? You shall read this paragraph.”

Tao Yi Xi was stunned for a moment.
Holding up the book, she narrated two sentences. 

Her Su Zhou soft dialect allowed her to articulate Chinese well and even gave a different flavor to her English speech.
However, her accent was a bit heavy, making it fall short of the teacher’s standard of what she deemed as ‘perfect American’ pronunciation.

“Okay, stop.
You don’t have to continue.” 

Being interrupted halfway, Tao Yi Xi pursed her lips.

“The standards of other schools really left much to be desired.
Class representative, you stand and continue from where she stopped.”

Tao Yi Xi looked down and her emotions were unclear.
But her hands gripped tightly onto the corner of the book.
All this fell in full view of Gu Jing Yuan, who was a head taller than her.

Belatedly, she slowly smoothed the wrinkled corners of the book.

Qi Yue leaned forward to comfort her, “ignore the English teacher.
She’s suffering from menopause.”

Tao Yi Xi gave him a faint smile.
She silently put her index finger to her pink lips, signaling him not to talk in class.

Her smile was like a breath of fresh air, completely melting his cold heart.

Hmm… Oh, how could there be such a gentle and beautiful girl?

Gu Jing Yuan’s eyes followed her every move, before resting on her small and full lips for a couple more seconds.

Feeling his gaze on her, Tao Yi Xi tilted her head.
Her previously reddened eyes had already regained their original liveliness as if saying…

‘See Ge-ge, you made me get scolded.’   

Gu Jing Yuan, “…” 

As he glanced at her disdainfully.

Tao Yi Xi smiled and muttered, “thank you.”

Her soft voice floated into his ears.
Her expression of thanks, sounded more like she was acting coquettishly.

Gu Jing Yuan looked unmoved.
But in his heart, he spat at himself. 

Was he possessed?

Wouldn’t it be better for her to bawl her eyes out after being scolded? It would make her want to go back to her hometown quicker! Like having one Xia Yan wasn’t enough? Did he want to leave another one here to cause him more vexation?

Next time, he must not be fooled by her!