Chapter 365: 365
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"That's great." Xuan Shuhan replied in a cheery tone.
"Mn. Need help?" Xuan Lingwen asked as she sat next to the counter. She had just finished her homework so she had nothing to do.
"It's alright sweetie. Why don't you... play by yourself for now? I'll call you when it's ready." She wanted to tell her to go play but there wasn't a lot of toys in their closet-sized apartment and letting her wander outside in this neighborhood was dangerous.
"Okay. I'll go write." Xuan Lingwen got up and took out a notebook and a pencil from her backpack and toddled over to the coffee table in front of the kitchen. Flipping open her notebook, she took ahold of her pencil and began writing down the new words she remembered from the book she read at the preschool.
Once dinner was ready, Xuan Lingwen put it away to eat and chat with her mother. After the dishes were cleared, she brought the notebook out again and asked her mother for further tutoring.
... These kinds of days passed into weeks, which passed into months and then years and soon Xuan Lingwen was finishing her middle school education with not a single friend. Though she placed first in every test, she was ostracized by her peers for being a workaholic and generally unapproachable. She was single-mindedly focused on learning, to the point that she could have skipped a grade or two if she wanted to. However, her mother straightforwardly told her she wanted her to enjoy her youth properly. Though she couldn't give up her workaholic attitude towards her own education, she decided not to skip grades in order to be with peers in the same age group. At the same time, because of this, other children her age called her an arrogant snob. Probably because their parents constantly compare their own child with her in terms of grades so they harbored some resentment.
"Big brother Li." Xuan Lingwen greeted her neighbor on her way back to the familiar apartment. This bog brother had recently moved back to the city, in the apartment under her and her mother's. He seemed to have a good head on his shoulder, in Xuan Lingwen's opinion, but he seemed to have encountered some problems in the city. What she could gather from the adults talking, was that his wife cheated on him with one of his coworkers and left him. Which resulted in him leaving the city in shame and returning to this backwater neighborhood where one could hear fistfights and cursing in the streets in the middle of the night.
Anyways, he helped her with that problem and found out that it was quite a constant occurrence for her. He was worried, bless the man, but promised the young girl not to tell her mother, since the older woman already had enough to worry about on her plate.
"Mother would get suspicious. Besides, you need to find a new job don't you?" Though Xuan Lingwen appreciated his help, she didn't understand him constantly reaching out to her. After all, they're only neighbors so he's not obligated to help her in any way and he should have heard from the other townspeople by now about her mother and her. Wasn't he afraid to get ostracized, on top of losing his wife and job, if he associated with them?
"Well, I'm thinking of taking a bit of break to readjust before I find another job." Big brother Li scratched his head.
"Is that so..." Xuan Lingwen's eyes narrowed as her brain spun in thought. She looked at the door to her apartment and back at the young man standing before her. Though he was technically a divorcee right now, he wasn't actually that old, only in his late-twenties. And not only did he have a good head on his shoulders, he also has good character and sufficient experience in business.
'Perfect.' Xuan Lingwen thought as she involuntarily licked her lips. "Mother won't be coming back for a while, can I come over to your place?"
Mr. Li jolted in shock. Though the two of htem were on familiar terms, she had never went inside his apartment before, much less voluntarily bring it up. "Why? What do you want to do? I'm saying this now, I'm not interested in women younger than me." He held his hands up before his body defensively.
Xuan Lingwen rolled her eyes at him. "Well, I'm not interested in old men either. Since you're going to be taking a break, I had an idea I wanted your help with. If you don't think it'll work after hearing it, you can just act like it never happened and that a neighborhood kid hung out at your place because she was scared to stay in her apartment alone."
"Er... ehem. I see. Of course. Sorry, I thought too much. Come on in." He coughed into his fist and led her to his apartment door. Through their interactions these past weeks, Mr. Li had discovered the sarcastic side to her that no one else seemed to know about. In front of her teachers, she was the quiet and studious student. In front of her peers, she was the unsociable top student. In front of her mother, she was the good kid, albeit a little less smiley than other children her age which warranted some concern from the aforementioned woman but there wasn't much she could do.
After settling at the spacious sofa in front of the coffee table, Xuan Lingwen took something out of her backpack. Unlike her own apartment, Big brother Li's was much bigger and closer to what the average apartment should look like. Figures though, since her apartment was technically just a remodeled attic room. However, she didn't bother to look around and went straight to the point.
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"That's great." Xuan Shuhan replied in a cheery tone.
"Mn. Need help?" Xuan Lingwen asked as she sat next to the counter. She had just finished her homework so she had nothing to do.
"It's alright sweetie. Why don't you... play by yourself for now? I'll call you when it's ready." She wanted to tell her to go play but there wasn't a lot of toys in their closet-sized apartment and letting her wander outside in this neighborhood was dangerous.
"Okay. I'll go write." Xuan Lingwen got up and took out a notebook and a pencil from her backpack and toddled over to the coffee table in front of the kitchen. Flipping open her notebook, she took ahold of her pencil and began writing down the new words she remembered from the book she read at the preschool.
Once dinner was ready, Xuan Lingwen put it away to eat and chat with her mother. After the dishes were cleared, she brought the notebook out again and asked her mother for further tutoring.
... These kinds of days passed into weeks, which passed into months and then years and soon Xuan Lingwen was finishing her middle school education with not a single friend. Though she placed first in every test, she was ostracized by her peers for being a workaholic and generally unapproachable. She was single-mindedly focused on learning, to the point that she could have skipped a grade or two if she wanted to. However, her mother straightforwardly told her she wanted her to enjoy her youth properly. Though she couldn't give up her workaholic attitude towards her own education, she decided not to skip grades in order to be with peers in the same age group. At the same time, because of this, other children her age called her an arrogant snob. Probably because their parents constantly compare their own child with her in terms of grades so they harbored some resentment.
"Big brother Li." Xuan Lingwen greeted her neighbor on her way back to the familiar apartment. This bog brother had recently moved back to the city, in the apartment under her and her mother's. He seemed to have a good head on his shoulder, in Xuan Lingwen's opinion, but he seemed to have encountered some problems in the city. What she could gather from the adults talking, was that his wife cheated on him with one of his coworkers and left him. Which resulted in him leaving the city in shame and returning to this backwater neighborhood where one could hear fistfights and cursing in the streets in the middle of the night.
Anyways, he helped her with that problem and found out that it was quite a constant occurrence for her. He was worried, bless the man, but promised the young girl not to tell her mother, since the older woman already had enough to worry about on her plate.
"Mother would get suspicious. Besides, you need to find a new job don't you?" Though Xuan Lingwen appreciated his help, she didn't understand him constantly reaching out to her. After all, they're only neighbors so he's not obligated to help her in any way and he should have heard from the other townspeople by now about her mother and her. Wasn't he afraid to get ostracized, on top of losing his wife and job, if he associated with them?
"Well, I'm thinking of taking a bit of break to readjust before I find another job." Big brother Li scratched his head.
"Is that so..." Xuan Lingwen's eyes narrowed as her brain spun in thought. She looked at the door to her apartment and back at the young man standing before her. Though he was technically a divorcee right now, he wasn't actually that old, only in his late-twenties. And not only did he have a good head on his shoulders, he also has good character and sufficient experience in business.
'Perfect.' Xuan Lingwen thought as she involuntarily licked her lips. "Mother won't be coming back for a while, can I come over to your place?"
Mr. Li jolted in shock. Though the two of htem were on familiar terms, she had never went inside his apartment before, much less voluntarily bring it up. "Why? What do you want to do? I'm saying this now, I'm not interested in women younger than me." He held his hands up before his body defensively.
Xuan Lingwen rolled her eyes at him. "Well, I'm not interested in old men either. Since you're going to be taking a break, I had an idea I wanted your help with. If you don't think it'll work after hearing it, you can just act like it never happened and that a neighborhood kid hung out at your place because she was scared to stay in her apartment alone."
"Er... ehem. I see. Of course. Sorry, I thought too much. Come on in." He coughed into his fist and led her to his apartment door. Through their interactions these past weeks, Mr. Li had discovered the sarcastic side to her that no one else seemed to know about. In front of her teachers, she was the quiet and studious student. In front of her peers, she was the unsociable top student. In front of her mother, she was the good kid, albeit a little less smiley than other children her age which warranted some concern from the aforementioned woman but there wasn't much she could do.
After settling at the spacious sofa in front of the coffee table, Xuan Lingwen took something out of her backpack. Unlike her own apartment, Big brother Li's was much bigger and closer to what the average apartment should look like. Figures though, since her apartment was technically just a remodeled attic room. However, she didn't bother to look around and went straight to the point.
"That's great." Xuan Shuhan replied in a cheery tone."Mn. Need help?" Xuan Lingwen asked as she sat next to the counter. She had just finished her homework so she had nothing to do."It's alright sweetie. Why don't you... play by yourself for now? I'll call you when it's ready." She wanted to tell her to go play but there wasn't a lot of toys in their closet-sized apartment and letting her wander outside in this neighborhood was dangerous."Okay. I'll go write." Xuan Lingwen got up and took out a notebook and a pencil from her backpack and toddled over to the coffee table in front of the kitchen. Flipping open her notebook, she took ahold of her pencil and began writing down the new words she remembered from the book she read at the preschool.Once dinner was ready, Xuan Lingwen put it away to eat and chat with her mother. After the dishes were cleared, she brought the notebook out again and asked her mother for further tutoring.... These kinds of days passed into weeks, which passed into months and then years and soon Xuan Lingwen was finishing her middle school education with not a single friend. Though she placed first in every test, she was ostracized by her peers for being a workaholic and generally unapproachable. She was single-mindedly focused on learning, to the point that she could have skipped a grade or two if she wanted to. However, her mother straightforwardly told her she wanted her to enjoy her youth properly. Though she couldn't give up her workaholic attitude towards her own education, she decided not to skip grades in order to be with peers in the same age group. At the same time, because of this, other children her age called her an arrogant snob. Probably because their parents constantly compare their own child with her in terms of grades so they harbored some resentment."Big brother Li." Xuan Lingwen greeted her neighbor on her way back to the familiar apartment. This bog brother had recently moved back to the city, in the apartment under her and her mother's. He seemed to have a good head on his shoulder, in Xuan Lingwen's opinion, but he seemed to have encountered some problems in the city. What she could gather from the adults talking, was that his wife cheated on him with one of his coworkers and left him. Which resulted in him leaving the city in shame and returning to this backwater neighborhood where one could hear fistfights and cursing in the streets in the middle of the night.Anyways, he helped her with that problem and found out that it was quite a constant occurrence for her. He was worried, bless the man, but promised the young girl not to tell her mother, since the older woman already had enough to worry about on her plate."Mother would get suspicious. Besides, you need to find a new job don't you?" Though Xuan Lingwen appreciated his help, she didn't understand him constantly reaching out to her. After all, they're only neighbors so he's not obligated to help her in any way and he should have heard from the other townspeople by now about her mother and her. Wasn't he afraid to get ostracized, on top of losing his wife and job, if he associated with them?"Well, I'm thinking of taking a bit of break to readjust before I find another job." Big brother Li scratched his head."Is that so..." Xuan Lingwen's eyes narrowed as her brain spun in thought. She looked at the door to her apartment and back at the young man standing before her. Though he was technically a divorcee right now, he wasn't actually that old, only in his late-twenties. And not only did he have a good head on his shoulders, he also has good character and sufficient experience in business.'Perfect.' Xuan Lingwen thought as she involuntarily licked her lips. "Mother won't be coming back for a while, can I come over to your place?"Mr. Li jolted in shock. Though the two of htem were on familiar terms, she had never went inside his apartment before, much less voluntarily bring it up. "Why? What do you want to do? I'm saying this now, I'm not interested in women younger than me." He held his hands up before his body defensively.Xuan Lingwen rolled her eyes at him. "Well, I'm not interested in old men either. Since you're going to be taking a break, I had an idea I wanted your help with. If you don't think it'll work after hearing it, you can just act like it never happened and that a neighborhood kid hung out at your place because she was scared to stay in her apartment alone.""Er... ehem. I see. Of course. Sorry, I thought too much. Come on in." He coughed into his fist and led her to his apartment door. Through their interactions these past weeks, Mr. Li had discovered the sarcastic side to her that no one else seemed to know about. In front of her teachers, she was the quiet and studious student. In front of her peers, she was the unsociable top student. In front of her mother, she was the good kid, albeit a little less smiley than other children her age which warranted some concern from the aforementioned woman but there wasn't much she could do.After settling at the spacious sofa in front of the coffee table, Xuan Lingwen took something out of her backpack. Unlike her own apartment, Big brother Li's was much bigger and closer to what the average apartment should look like. Figures though, since her apartment was technically just a remodeled attic room. However, she didn't bother to look around and went straight to the point.
