Chapter 54: Intuition
The quiet gradually turned into silence.
Ruan Yu twisted the strand of hair by her temple, pondering how to broach the subject when Teng Yi's phone rang first.
It was a video call from Shen Bing.
Ruan Yu thought he might avoid answering in front of her, but Teng Yi openly picked up right where he was.
"Hey, Bro!" Shen Bing's voice came through the speaker.
Ever since Teng Yi had referred to Shen Bing as "Ms. Shen Bing" in front of Ruan Yu last time, she had known that their mother-son dynamic must be quite relaxed. But she hadn’t expected Shen Bing to greet her son in such a hip-hop style.
She really seemed like a young girl.
So adorable.
Teng Yi rubbed his forehead helplessly and reminded her, "I'm outside."
"OK! Can you talk?" Shen Bing's tone instantly turned serious.
"If you speak properly, then yes."
"OK! Teng Hao’s homeroom teacher messaged me saying he made it into the top twenty in this exam. Is that true?" Shen Bing asked.
Teng Yi confirmed.
"Seems that girl really has some skills," Shen Bing continued, unaware that Ruan Yu was sitting right across from Teng Yi. "Looks like you were right to insist on keeping her. She really can do what others can’t, just like you said."
Ruan Yu lifted her gaze to look at Teng Yi.
Teng Yi hadn’t expected Shen Bing to suddenly bring this up. His expression flickered with surprise before quickly returning to normal.
"Is that all you called to say?"
"Yeah, your brother actually pulled through for once. I’m happy. You should thank that girl properly for me."
"Got it."
"And invite her out for a meal sometime."
"Got it."
"Can you use a different word?" Shen Bing’s tone carried a hint of playful complaint.
Teng Yi glanced at his watch. "It’s getting late. You should rest. I’ll hang up now."
"OK! That’s all then. I won’t bother you anymore. Take care of yourself—and your brother."
"Mm."
The call ended.
Teng Yi put away his phone and looked up to find Ruan Yu still watching him. Unlike her earlier evasiveness, her gaze was now steady and resolute.
"What?" Teng Yi smiled.
"Why did you insist on keeping me? Why did you think I could do what others couldn’t?"
"Intuition."
He answered—though only the latter question. But the answer to the latter was also the answer to the former.
"Why did you have that intuition?" she pressed.
"Only kids love asking 'why' a hundred thousand times."
She stubbornly stared at him for a while. When he still didn’t answer, she leaned back in her chair, disappointed. The brief spark of interest she had shown earlier deflated like a tiny puncture, leaving her listless again.
"The rooftop," Teng Yi suddenly said.
"Huh?"
"That’s where I first had that intuition about you."
A tongue twister. He had watched her recite it once, twice, three times—no matter how many stumbles, no matter how dull the content, she never once thought of giving up. She stubbornly, persistently wrestled with herself.
That was when he knew: she was the kind of person who held herself to strict standards, who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals once she set her mind to them.
With someone like her guiding Teng Hao, what was so hard about making the top twenty?
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