My Gorgeous Neighbor Is Cooking Every Day - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Jiang Yingyue chuckled, seeing she wasn’t fully awake: “Didn’t we agree to study today?”

Study? Xia Xingye’s mind went blank for a moment before she remembered last night’s agreement. She quickly jumped up, saying, “I’m going to wash up right now! You sit down for a bit!”

She ran into the bathroom, then poked her head out and asked, “Have you had breakfast? Should I go down and buy you some first?”

Jiang Yingyue stopped Xia Xingye, who was about to rush out the door: “I’ve eaten. I’ll wait for you. No need to rush.”

How could Xia Xingye not rush? She finished washing up and sat down at the desk.

Jiang Yingyue asked her, “Not eating breakfast?”

Xia Xingye picked at her fingers and said, “It’s too late. I’ll eat it with lunch.”

“You go eat first,” Jiang Yingyue started gathering the materials they hadn’t finished looking at last night. “I’ll look over your materials first so I can teach you better.”

Hearing this, Xia Xingye immediately went to buy breakfast. She ate on the way back, stuffing the last bite of xiaolongbao (soup dumpling) into her mouth when she arrived home. She pushed the door open, threw the trash into the bin, and turned to Jiang Yingyue, saying, “I’m done eating.”

She was holding two cups of soy milk in her other hand. She sat down, opened one cup for herself, and placed the other in front of Jiang Yingyue. Jiang Yingyue didn’t stand on ceremony. After taking a sip, she began to organize the knowledge points from the materials.

After sorting through them, she realized Xia Xingye’s weak areas were more than just a few isolated spots. She had already sensed last night that Xia Xingye wasn’t connecting the knowledge points.

After hearing the analysis, Xia Xingye was silent for a long time, then asked blankly, “I’m not connecting the knowledge points?”

Jiang Yingyue nodded: “Don’t you feel like the knowledge you’ve learned is very fragmented?”

Xia Xingye thought about it. It did seem to be the case. She had tried hard to learn all the points but had never thought about the connections between them. With Jiang Yingyue’s guidance, she suddenly realized: “So that’s why!”

No wonder she always felt that what the teacher taught was different from what Jiang Yingyue taught; Jiang Yingyue’s explanation was easier for her to grasp.

For the make-up exam the following week, Xia Xingye stayed indoors, only leaving to buy food. Jiang Yingyue kindly stayed in Xia Xingye’s room to tutor her.

After three days, Xia Xingye had mostly mastered the material. The remaining time was spent repeatedly doing practice questions to solidify her knowledge.

…

That day, Xia Xingye had just finished a practice test. She stretched and turned to look at Jiang Yingyue.

Jiang Yingyue was looking at the test papers Xia Xingye had just completed, circling the problem areas to prepare for explanation.

Xia Xingye rested her cheek on one hand, watching Jiang Yingyue.

It was a warm afternoon. Golden sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains and fell perfectly on Jiang Yingyue’s hair. Her dark hair glowed with gold, beautiful enough to remind one of autumn maple leaves.

“Finished writing?” Hearing Jiang Yingyue’s voice, Xia Xingye snapped out of her trance and saw Jiang Yingyue looking at her.

She replied, “One test is done. There’s still one more.”

These tests were past exam papers she had requested from the teacher and specifically printed out to test her current level.

“You finish writing first. I’ll explain them all to you together when you’re done.”

Xia Xingye nodded and went back to focusing on the questions.

The warm sunlight made her drowsy. Xia Xingye’s head kept bobbing, and her body gradually leaned to the side. She startled awake several times, took a deep breath to try and concentrate, but the sleepiness refused to leave.

Suddenly, she nodded sharply. The sensation of falling instantly woke her up. Her lips seemed to brush against something.

Xia Xingye was so shocked that all traces of sleepiness vanished.

She looked at Jiang Yingyue, then at the desk in front of her. Jiang Yingyue’s hand was resting on the desk, and there was a faint red mark on the back of her hand.

Xia Xingye licked her lips. She was wearing lipstick today. The faint red on the back of Jiang Yingyue’s hand was her lipstick print.

She looked at Jiang Yingyue nervously, but the latter only asked with concern, “Are you very tired?”

“A little…” Xia Xingye stammered. “How about… we take a break?”

Xia Xingye wanted a break, and Jiang Yingyue naturally didn’t object. She took the test papers from Xia Xingye and looked down at them.

Xia Xingye distractedly peeked at Jiang Yingyue. Seeing that she was focused on the test papers and not paying attention to her, Xia Xingye reached up to touch her lips. She felt like she had accidentally kissed the back of Jiang Yingyue’s hand. It felt strange, but she didn’t dislike it.

A long time passed. Jiang Yingyue remained calm, acting as if nothing had happened.

Xia Xingye decided to let it go. It was just a light brush; it wasn’t on purpose. If Jiang Yingyue herself didn’t care, why should she?

Xia Xingye composed herself and continued to review the incorrect answers with Jiang Yingyue.

After studying all day, Xia Xingye was too tired to even lift her arm. Lying in bed that night, she felt a strange tingling sensation on her lips. She licked her lips and dismissed it. It must be an illusion, I’m just overthinking things.

…

After the tutoring ended, Jiang Yingyue stopped coming over to help. Xia Xingye felt a bit bored, having gotten used to being around Jiang Yingyue, and couldn’t resist going to find her.

Jiang Yingyue was writing and drawing in a notebook. Xia Xingye didn’t disturb her and only asked to play with Little Jiang.

When Little Jiang was handed to Xia Xingye, it seemed a little shy, its leaves curling slightly. The movement was small, but Xia Xingye noticed it.

She took Little Jiang to the side so their conversation wouldn’t distract Jiang Yingyue.

Xia Xingye sat cross-legged on a chair, placing Little Jiang on the table, and asked with a smile, “Do you want a new name?”