Morning Longing for Warmth – Chapter 41

by Little Panda

Learning

If only she were the sick one, how much better that would be.

Wei Hui was highly efficient in handling matters. The very next day, Shiyi met her teacher – a friendly middle-aged man around fifty, wearing a modest down jacket and casual pants. His skin was rather dark, but when he smiled, his teeth were white. He smiled often and introduced himself right away: “My surname is Yuan, you can call me Teacher Yuan.”

Shiyi took his extended hand and obediently said: “Teacher Yuan.”

Yuan Shu took a great liking to her attitude. After returning from his studies abroad, he had been working as a private tutor with countless students under his guidance. He had dealt with all sorts of difficult students, many who wouldn’t listen, but rarely had he seen someone as well-behaved and sensible as Shiyi, who immediately addressed him as teacher. Looking at her, Yuan Shu somewhat saw Wei Hui’s shadow in her.

Wei Hui hadn’t finished university, but after returning to the country, she took over Wei Tian. She came to find him then, saying she wanted to continue studying, and offered him a large sum of money. Having spent time in upper-class circles, he somewhat understood Wei Hui, and given his connection to her father, he offered to help without payment. Unexpectedly, Wei Hui disagreed, insisting that business and personal matters should be kept separate, and since she was learning, she should pay for it.

And now?

This child had no relation to her, yet she was willing to spend such a large sum on her education. Their relationship was truly puzzling, but he wasn’t one to pry into others’ private matters. His principle was simple: get paid, do the work, don’t ask questions. So Yuan Shu smiled at Shiyi and asked: “What’s your name?”

Shiyi thought for a moment: “My name is Shiyi.”

Yuan Shu nodded: “Let’s begin then, first with a basic assessment.”

His kind attitude helped Shiyi overcome her initial embarrassment. Under his gentle gaze, she gradually relaxed and began asking questions. After the first day’s lessons, though she didn’t understand much, she felt fulfilled. When Wei Hui returned from work, she saw Shiyi’s beaming face: “Third Miss, the teacher said I did well today.”

Wei Hui looked at her deeply and nodded: “Good, continue tomorrow.”

Shiyi stood with her hands behind her back, her gaze falling on Wei Hui’s slender neck where faint red marks were visible. Yesterday, she had gathered all her courage to bite Wei Hui and waited for her reaction. But Wei Hui hadn’t pushed her away, hadn’t resisted, hadn’t scolded her – she’d just patted her shoulder and told her to go rest.

She wasn’t sure what Wei Hui meant – was it permission to get closer?

It probably was agreement, right? If she hadn’t agreed, she would have pushed her away then. Shiyi lowered her head, hiding her private thoughts. After dinner, Wei Hui went to the study, and Shiyi brought her milk. Watching her buried in documents, those obscure numbers and professional terms were still like reading texts from the heavens [meaning: completely incomprehensible] to her, but as long as Third Miss needed it, she would learn, would study hard. Shiyi lowered her eyes: “Third Miss, please drink some milk.”

Wei Hui heard her voice and looked up, holding her pen, she said: “Leave it there, you go rest first.”

Shiyi bit her lip and obediently left. After she left, Wei Hui stared at the closed door for a long while before looking away.

Etiquette classes were much easier than academic classes because Shiyi had grown up watching rich people and understood their rules well. Now only her status had changed, from servant to master. So she knew what to pay attention to without the teacher telling her. Soon the etiquette teacher spoke with Wei Hui, and they adjusted the schedule – Monday through Friday were academic classes, Saturday was for etiquette. Shiyi had no objections. She was like a little sponge [meaning: absorbing knowledge quickly], confused at first contact with knowledge, but after a few days, she absorbed quickly. With the teacher’s targeted instruction, she grew rapidly.

Yuan Shu was also surprised by her learning ability – she was intelligent and quick to understand, more manageable than many students he’d taught before. He even joked with Wei Hui that with such good potential [meaning: promising student], if properly cultivated from the beginning, she might have been another elite.

Wei Hui just stared at Shiyi’s schedule without responding.

A week later, when the abandoned building project began construction, there was a groundbreaking ceremony. Shiyi had worried that Wei Hui would want her to come along, but Wei Hui ordered her to stay home and study. During this week, all she did was study. Though the teacher didn’t assign much homework, she wanted to improve faster, so she would secretly study at night. Yuan Shu praised her strong comprehension, but it was actually because she reviewed at night.

She didn’t attend the groundbreaking ceremony, but instead, a guest came to the house. Du Yueming heard that Wei Hui had found her a private tutor and called it unbelievable, insisting on coming to see. When she arrived, she was nearly scared to death – Yuan Shu had been her teacher before and had tortured her half to death [meaning: made her suffer with difficult lessons]. Du Yueming came excited but left dejected, leaving Shiyi with the message “study hard, improve every day” [common Chinese educational slogan].

Shiyi smiled quietly at her behavior. After returning home, Du Yueming sent her a private message asking what was going on. Why study when she was already an adult? Wasn’t she Wei Hui’s lover? Why was she being raised like a daughter? Shiyi bit her lip looking at the message.

It wasn’t that Wei Hui was raising her as a daughter.

But rather wanted her to raise a daughter.

However, she couldn’t explain these things to Du Yueming, so she simply told her it was her own request for Wei Hui to arrange it, because she didn’t understand many things before and feared she wouldn’t know anything when she started working, so she asked Wei Hui to find her a teacher.

Du Yueming wasn’t very bright to begin with, and she completely fell for this explanation. As the New Year approached, she sent gifts: “Gaokao Sprint Essential! Five Sets of Practice Tests! Complete Set of Four Books and Five Classics!”

Shiyi: ……

Du Yueming’s thought process was truly different from normal people.

As the year-end approached, Wei Hui became even busier. After the abandoned building project started, she personally handled everything. However, they still ate meals together morning and evening. No matter how busy, Wei Hui took care of her health, coming home before nine and going to bed at ten – an unshakeable routine. Though their communication decreased, which wasn’t much to begin with, but previously Wei Hui spent more time at home, staying two full days every weekend. Now, if she could come home half an hour early, Shiyi felt that was already very good.

She was busy, and Shiyi was no less occupied. Yuan Shu’s teaching method was to start relaxed but gradually become more intensive, following step by step. No wonder Du Yueming called him a crazy teacher and said she couldn’t take it anymore, but Shiyi thought it was good – this way, she had no time for random thoughts.

On the twenty-ninth day of the lunar month, Su Ziyan came to the Wei household. Shiyi hadn’t seen him for a long time. After accompanying Wei Hui to the hospital last time, Wei Hui never took her out again, so she hadn’t seen Su Ziyan. When he first saw her, he stared for a while before calling out uncertainly: “Shiyi?”

In just two short months, Shiyi had changed quite a bit. Su Ziyan couldn’t help but look her over twice. She had grown taller – at her age, she shouldn’t still be growing, but due to her previous malnutrition, she couldn’t keep up. Plus, the excessive mental stress had kept her body in a tense state, unable to fully rest, so she had always been thin and weak. But after coming to the Wei household, she had shot up, grown taller, and filled out more. Though she still couldn’t be called plump, the frail appearance she had when first arriving at the Wei household was completely gone. Now she gradually looked more like an adult.

Shiyi was also happy to see Su Ziyan, she smiled: “Doctor Su.”

Su Ziyan shook his head: “A young woman really changes in the blink of an eye.”

Shiyi felt a bit embarrassed: “Please sit.”

Su Ziyan sat on the sofa: “Where is she?”

Shiyi looked up at the second floor: “Third Miss is in her room, I’ll go call her.”

Su Ziyan nodded: “It’s almost New Year’s and she’s still cooped up at home, not even going out for a walk.”

Shiyi lowered her head and smiled. Wei Hui had been quite busy lately. Although it was her day off today, she hadn’t left her room. Shiyi had wandered by the door several times wanting to knock and ask, but figured Wei Hui might be sleeping, so she didn’t disturb her. Now that Su Ziyan was here, she could finally knock.

“Third Miss?” Shiyi stood at the door and called: “Third Miss?”

There was no response from the room. Shiyi thought she must still be resting. Just as she was hesitating whether to enter, a voice came from inside: “Come in.”

She gripped the doorknob, pressed it down, and walked in.

Wei Hui looked as if she had just woken up, sitting on the edge of the bed, her sleepwear slightly disheveled, long hair falling over her chest, the ends swaying, adding an unexpected softness. Seeing her like this, Shiyi’s voice grew quieter: “Third Miss, Doctor Su is here, would you like to go down?”

She spoke as she walked to Wei Hui’s side.

“Ziyan is here?” Wei Hui held onto the bedside table preparing to stand up, but felt her legs were weak. She looked up at Shiyi: “You go out first, I’ll change clothes and come down.”

Shiyi scratched her head: “Your clothes…”

As she spoke, she helped straighten Wei Hui’s clothes, her fingers accidentally touching Wei Hui’s skin, and her expression changed slightly.

Wei Hui gathered her clothes: “Go out first, I’ll be right there.”

Shiyi’s throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton. She opened her lips: “Alright, then I’ll go down and keep Doctor Su company.”

Wei Hui nodded slightly. Only after Shiyi left did she slowly move her legs. It wasn’t her imagination – her legs really were weak. Actually, she had been awakened by pain, and had been sitting on the bed’s edge for half an hour before Shiyi knocked. To prevent Shiyi from noticing anything unusual, she had deliberately messed up her sleepwear before she came in. Fortunately, though that child was clever, she hadn’t noticed anything strange.

Shiyi gripped the doorknob, leaning her back against the door, her eyes rimming red. She had seen clearly how Wei Hui had tried to stand but fell back onto the bed. When she pretended to fix Wei Hui’s clothes and accidentally touched her skin, it was ice-cold with a chill. Obviously, she hadn’t just woken up but had been sitting there for a long time.

But she didn’t want her to know.

Shiyi stood at the door for a long time, listening to the faint sounds from inside, gripping the doorknob so tightly that her fingertips hurt until her nose stung, until her eyes swelled, until she wanted to cry.

At this moment, she suddenly wished that it wasn’t Third Miss who was sick, but her – how much better that would be.

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