Chapter 59: Earrings
The next day.
Ruan Yu found an extra sum deposited into her bank account—Shen Bing had paid her this month's tutoring salary in advance. However, the amount seemed odd; it appeared she had been given five hundred yuan extra.
Five hundred yuan meant nothing to Shen Bing, but to Ruan Yu, it was no small sum.
She immediately called, but Shen Bing didn’t answer. Only then did she remember—Shen Bing was abroad, and there was a time difference between them.
What should she do?
Keeping the extra five hundred weighed on her conscience.
After some thought, Ruan Yu sent Shen Bing a text explaining the overpayment and assuring her she would withdraw the money to return it to Teng Hao. Not long after sending the message, Shen Bing called back.
Shen Bing explained that the five hundred was a bonus—a token of gratitude for the significant progress Teng Hao had made under her guidance.
“This is just part of my job,” Ruan Yu insisted, still feeling uneasy.
“Keep it,” Shen Bing said decisively. “Also, from now on, your salary will be paid in advance each month. Please continue looking after Teng Hao.”
Ruan Yu thanked her but didn’t ask why Shen Bing had suddenly made this decision. She knew Teng Yi must have intervened behind the scenes.
After hanging up, she went to the finance office to settle the remaining tuition fees. Once paid, there was still some money left in her account—enough to cover her living expenses for a long time.
At noon, she treated her roommates to dumplings at a small eatery near campus. After the meal, Chen Manbai suggested going shopping, and for once, Ruan Yu didn’t refuse.
The four of them went to the commercial district. While Jian Xiangxiang and the others bought clothes and dresses, Ruan Yu merely browsed. Though the weight on her shoulders had lightened considerably, she still had to be frugal—every penny counted.
When they reached an accessories store, as Chen Manbai picked out earrings, Ruan Yu’s eyes landed on a pair of small, sparkling earrings with a fish design.
They reminded her of how Teng Yi called her “Little Fish.”
“Do you like them?” Chen Manbai leaned over.
“Mm.”
“Then try them on.” Chen Manbai removed the plastic backing and slid the earrings into Ruan Yu’s pierced ears.
Ruan Yu had gotten her ears pierced after the college entrance exams. Worried the holes would close, she had kept tea stems in them, but they fell out during a shower, and she hadn’t bothered since.
Inserting the earrings stung a little, but thankfully, the piercings were still open.
“So pretty!”
“Gorgeous!”
Jian Xiangxiang and Xia Qiaofeng crowded around, all admiring Ruan Yu’s reflection in the mirror. Ruan Yu studied herself too—though the earrings were subtle, they inexplicably made her whole appearance brighter.
“Ruan Ruan, please start dressing up more often. Don’t waste that face of yours,” Jian Xiangxiang teased, gently tugging her earlobe. “What’s there to hesitate about? They’re not expensive—just buy them!”
Ruan Yu nodded.
She couldn’t bear to take them off and went straight to the counter wearing them.
Perhaps it was the effect of the fish earrings, but Ruan Yu felt radiant all afternoon, catching glimpses of herself in every reflective surface she passed.
She even kept them on for her evening tutoring session.
The moment Teng Hao saw her, he blurted out, “Top Scholar, you look… different today.”
Ruan Yu secretly preened—she hadn’t expected Teng Hao to be so observant.
“How so?” she asked.
Teng Hao cupped his chin, scrutinizing her for a long moment before finally pointing at her forehead and smirking. “You’ve got a huge pimple right there!”
Ruan Yu: “……”What can you expect from such a straight-as-an-arrow guy.
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