Ji Fanyin wondered about it for a moment before tossing the question to the back of her mind.
Before Li Xiaoxing’s eyes, she took out her phone, set a two hours timer, and got into work mode. “I’ll get straight to the point. What you’re doing now won’t work.”
Li Xiaoxing: “…”
Ji Fanyin pointed to the questionnaire in her phone and began to sharply criticize him, “The frequency of your meetings are around eight to twelve times a year, and there are times you don’t even meet once a month? With such a frequency of meeting and that taciturn personality of yours, do you honestly expect her to fall for you?”
Li Xiaoxing: “… Ji Fanyin, watch your words.”
“Strictly speaking, you’re my student during these two hours.” Ji Fanyin shut him down without any mercy. “This question: If she doesn’t contact you, how long will you wait before taking the initiative to contact her? You answered six to twelve months. Mr Li, pardon my frankness, but that’s enough time for a woman to give birth to a child.”
Li Xiaoxing continued his silent “…” expression. It was only when the waiter arrived to serve their food that the stiflingly awkward atmosphere finally alleviated a little.
Ji Fanyin continued scrolling through the questionnaire while shaking her head in disappointment. It was almost as if she was a tutor dealing with a student who was scoring in the thirties for all of his subjects but was still dreaming of getting into Tsinghua.
After the waiter left, Ji Fanyin picked up her chopsticks and started digging in, not showing any reservation at all. “However, I do have a piece of good news for you. There’s no doubt that you have a high standing in Ji Xinxin’s heart―all I have to do here is to push you up to the highest spot.”
“Who do you think is the most important person in her heart right now?” asked Li Xiaoxing.
Ji Fanyin was surprised but also amused to hear this question coming from his lips. “Does that even need to be said?”
“Bai Zhou isn’t qualified.” Li Xiaoxing scraped Bai Zhou off the list.
Ji Fanyin sighed softly and answered his question, “It’s herself. The most important person to Ji Xinxin is herself. Be it Bai Zhou or you, you are just… how should I put this… stepping stones? Medals? Stamps in a collection?”
Li Xiaoxing put down his chopsticks, seemingly having lost his appetite.
Ji Fanyin took this chance to gracefully swipe away the small plate of tuna sashimi in front of him. “At the very least, you’re a valuable limited edition stamp. It’s a good starting point. You just have to work hard from now onward.”
“You know her surprisingly well. Have you been studying her?”
“I’ve no interest in her,” replied Ji Fanyin. “I’m just familiar with her means.”
Perhaps it was because the ‘Kings of the Seas’ in the world all relied on the same few tricks? Somehow, looking at Ji Xinxin made Ji Fanyin feel like she was looking at a junior descending from the same lineage.
Ah, but I’m different from Ji Xinxin. At least I still uphold my principles despite being a ‘King of the Seas’.
It wasn’t exactly a harmonious meal, but it was at least a satisfying one for Ji Fanyin, so she shared quite a bit of her knowledge.
It was just that teaching someone as inflexible as Li Xiaoxing wasn’t easy. She needed to start from reshaping his fundamental viewpoint, so she had to assign him some homework to spur changes.
“Drop her a call when you return home later on. Do it the way I taught you,” instructed Ji Fanyin. “It’s nothing complicated; just those three lines. I trust that Mr Li should be able to remember them.”
Li Xiaoxing neither expressed his agreement or rejection toward the homework. Instead, he tidied up his clothes on his wheelchair before raising his head to look at her. “Why do you take such a different attitude during working hours with me as compared to the others? I heard that you’re good at acting out Xinxin.”
Ji Fanyin remarked in surprise, “But you only paid me for the lessons, Mr Li. You’ll have to pay an additional sum in advance if you wish to have the stand-in service too.”
-----
Tsinghua and Peking University are the most prestigious universities in China, similar to how Japanese studnets might aim for Tokyo University and American students the Ivy League.
Ji Fanyin wondered about it for a moment before tossing the question to the back of her mind.
Before Li Xiaoxing’s eyes, she took out her phone, set a two hours timer, and got into work mode. “I’ll get straight to the point. What you’re doing now won’t work.”
Li Xiaoxing: “…”
Ji Fanyin pointed to the questionnaire in her phone and began to sharply criticize him, “The frequency of your meetings are around eight to twelve times a year, and there are times you don’t even meet once a month? With such a frequency of meeting and that taciturn personality of yours, do you honestly expect her to fall for you?”
Li Xiaoxing: “… Ji Fanyin, watch your words.”
“Strictly speaking, you’re my student during these two hours.” Ji Fanyin shut him down without any mercy. “This question: If she doesn’t contact you, how long will you wait before taking the initiative to contact her? You answered six to twelve months. Mr Li, pardon my frankness, but that’s enough time for a woman to give birth to a child.”
Li Xiaoxing continued his silent “…” expression. It was only when the waiter arrived to serve their food that the stiflingly awkward atmosphere finally alleviated a little.
Ji Fanyin continued scrolling through the questionnaire while shaking her head in disappointment. It was almost as if she was a tutor dealing with a student who was scoring in the thirties for all of his subjects but was still dreaming of getting into Tsinghua.
After the waiter left, Ji Fanyin picked up her chopsticks and started digging in, not showing any reservation at all. “However, I do have a piece of good news for you. There’s no doubt that you have a high standing in Ji Xinxin’s heart―all I have to do here is to push you up to the highest spot.”
“Who do you think is the most important person in her heart right now?” asked Li Xiaoxing.
Ji Fanyin was surprised but also amused to hear this question coming from his lips. “Does that even need to be said?”
“Bai Zhou isn’t qualified.” Li Xiaoxing scraped Bai Zhou off the list.
Ji Fanyin sighed softly and answered his question, “It’s herself. The most important person to Ji Xinxin is herself. Be it Bai Zhou or you, you are just… how should I put this… stepping stones? Medals? Stamps in a collection?”
Li Xiaoxing put down his chopsticks, seemingly having lost his appetite.
Ji Fanyin took this chance to gracefully swipe away the small plate of tuna sashimi in front of him. “At the very least, you’re a valuable limited edition stamp. It’s a good starting point. You just have to work hard from now onward.”
“You know her surprisingly well. Have you been studying her?”
“I’ve no interest in her,” replied Ji Fanyin. “I’m just familiar with her means.”
Perhaps it was because the ‘Kings of the Seas’ in the world all relied on the same few tricks? Somehow, looking at Ji Xinxin made Ji Fanyin feel like she was looking at a junior descending from the same lineage.
Ah, but I’m different from Ji Xinxin. At least I still uphold my principles despite being a ‘King of the Seas’.
It wasn’t exactly a harmonious meal, but it was at least a satisfying one for Ji Fanyin, so she shared quite a bit of her knowledge.
It was just that teaching someone as inflexible as Li Xiaoxing wasn’t easy. She needed to start from reshaping his fundamental viewpoint, so she had to assign him some homework to spur changes.
“Drop her a call when you return home later on. Do it the way I taught you,” instructed Ji Fanyin. “It’s nothing complicated; just those three lines. I trust that Mr Li should be able to remember them.”
Li Xiaoxing neither expressed his agreement or rejection toward the homework. Instead, he tidied up his clothes on his wheelchair before raising his head to look at her. “Why do you take such a different attitude during working hours with me as compared to the others? I heard that you’re good at acting out Xinxin.”
Ji Fanyin remarked in surprise, “But you only paid me for the lessons, Mr Li. You’ll have to pay an additional sum in advance if you wish to have the stand-in service too.”
-----
Tsinghua and Peking University are the most prestigious universities in China, similar to how Japanese studnets might aim for Tokyo University and American students the Ivy League.
