NOVEL NEXT Chapter 25: Tutor
Zhi Luan moved at his usual pace, not too fast or too slow, but was enough to maintain a certain distance away from the lady. He guessed the lady was up to something with her hand inside her bag.
They got to the front of the restaurant and to Zhi Luan's surprise, the lady opened the doors to enter and waited for Zhi Luan to pass by before she could fully enter. But more so to her surprise, Zhi Luan stopped at the door of the restaurant.
The lady shot him a glare,
"You're still not following me? Or maybe this doesn't count as stalking?"
"I work here,"
Zhi Luan replied, trying to effectively clear the misunderstanding.
"Oh really, that makes so much sense now. What a rather precise coincidence… almost as if planned by a higher power."
Zhi Luan didn't need to be told that the lady was being sarcastic. He rolled his eyes and stepped past her and went into the restaurant. The lady followed him as she called out,
"Hey!"
But her voice drew John's attention who quickly came over.
"Hey, where the hell have you been? The old man is close to popping a vein."
John then noticed the lady trailing behind Zhi Luan and smiled at her,
"Miss Qincheng, it's been a while."
"Yes, it has…"
She then pointed at Zhi Luan,
"Do you know him?"
"Of course, he's our new staff. I'm sure the boss has told you he got a new chef… that's him."
At this moment, it was Zhi Luan's turn to stare disdainfully at the lady. But his expression soon changed when he heard the lady call out,
"Zhi Luan… you're Zhi Luan?"
Puzzled, Zhi Luan asked,
"How do you know my name?"
However, the lady didn't answer and simply rubbed her forehead.
"This cannot be happening…"
She then turned to John, speaking scarily but with a smile on her face,
"Will you be kind to call your boss for me?"
John couldn't figure out what was going on, but when he told old man Shen of Zhi Luan and Yan Qincheng's arrival he rushed out of the kitchen.
"You…"
Old man Shen let loose the moment he saw Zhi Luan.
"Why are you just returning?"
"You said I should go clear my head and come back whenever I've done that."
"How long does it take to clear that empty head of yours?"
"You weren't specific and now you're blaming it on me?"
Yan Qincheng could bear their argument no longer and cut in.
"Look, I'm glad you both are getting along but you can smack each other's faces another time…"
She then turned to old man Shen.
"Maybe you're missing some important introductions here…"
"Right. Qincheng, this is the new chef I told you about, Zhi Luan. And you punk, this is Yan Qincheng, the one who helped us get all that was needed for your enrolment. She'll be your tutor from now on."
"Yeah, it's a little too late for introductions at this point… we already met down the street."
Yan Qincheng massaged her forehead.
Whereas Zhi Luan had a diabolical smile,
"It appears you'll teach me after all. What a rather precise coincidence… almost as if planned out by a higher power."
He said, using Yan Qincheng's exact words against her, before turning to old man Shen.
"When do I begin… now or later?"
"It's up to her to decide,"
Yan Qincheng thought for a moment and answered.
"Tomorrow… we start lessons tomorrow…"
Zhi Luan smiled at her. Words weren't needed to convey his thoughts, and he went straight into the kitchen to handle customer orders.
Yan Qincheng plopped on a chair.
"Is everything alright?"
Old man Shen asked.
"It's no big deal. It's just that our meeting earlier didn't go so well."
"Don't worry about that. I'm sure it was his fault with his condescending way of talking."
"Yeah, that's exactly it! He talks like the world should stop moving and listen to him…"
"It's called confidence. You'd learn it if you weren't so awkward all the time."
"Whose side are you on?"
Old man Shen laughed, and shortly afterward, Yan Qincheng's order was served. The two discussed before she went home.
~Next Day~
Knowing that someone was going to teach him, Zhi Luan felt a lot better. Since Yan Qincheng was his tutor, he had to adjust to her schedule instead. He would work all morning until Yan Qincheng stopped by, then it was tutoring time.
Yan Qincheng dropped by the restaurant as planned. They needed someplace quiet for tutoring and old man Shen opted they used his office. So, after Yan Qincheng had her meal, the tutoring began.
Yan Qincheng flipped through the pages of the materials,
"Today, we'll be handling Arithmetic Reasoning. I'm not so good at advanced arithmetic, but I can give you a basic idea of what it's all about…"
Zhi Luan paid rapt attention to everything Yan Qincheng said.
"For every arithmetic problem, there are patterns to their solution. Only that these patterns are slightly different… but they're easier to understand when you figure out the patterns to the solutions…"
Yan Qincheng explained in full, as she stated the basic things Zhi Luan had to know about Arithmetic Reasoning. As she explained, Zhi Luan got more confused but was enlightened more than he was before. The numbers and symbols still made no sense, but by applying the rules Yan Qincheng stated, it all came together piece by piece.
The tutoring lasted till 6 pm. Zhi Luan was tidying up after the lesson when Yan Qincheng suddenly spoke to him,
"Uh… I just wanted to say that our first meeting was a bit… hostile…"
"It went the best way it could, given we were strangers at the time," replied Zhi Luan.
Yan Qincheng wanted to say something else but decided not to and they both went downstairs. Old man Shen came out to meet them,
"So, how was it?"
"It's too soon to say because this is just our first lesson. We'll find out his weaknesses as we continue."
"Oh, you're just trying to be nice. Just tell me if he's a birdbrain, because I think he is."