CH 79

After exchanging contact information with Ji Ning, Zhou Rin messaged him that night, asking about his tutoring.

He offered a very high hourly salary and briefly introduced Zhou Cun’s situation. He portrayed him as an average mathematician with a lot of room for improvement. Since Ji Ning really had no reason to refuse, he quickly agreed to tutor him. They decided that as long as there were no exceptional circumstances, the tutoring would be fixed for every Sunday morning. e1YWZh

Of course, Zhou Rin had nothing planned on Sunday mornings, so he could stay at home. He’d asked Ji Ning to be Zhou Cun’s tutor in order to meet with Ji Ning, if he wasn’t at home, it would be meaningless.

For their first session, Zhou Rin picked Ji Ning up from university with the excuse of showing him to the right house. Once the car entered the villa, a look of surprise crossed Ji Ning’s face, as if he hadn’t expected Zhou Rin’s family to be so affluent.

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“Hello teacher Ji.”

Zhou Cun stood in the doorway to greet Ji Ning as he entered. Ji Ning returned his greeting, changed his shoes and went into the living room, asking, “Then, where would you like to take classes, inside student Zhou Cun’s room? DKq5w

“Just in the living room.” The boy laughed, “My room is a bit messy, I’d be embarrassed to let teacher see it.”

“That sounds good.”

Ji Ning nodded and they sat down on the sofa together to start the tutoring session.

He’d already spoken with Zhou Rin about where the teenager was in the curriculum and had made some preparations in advance. The two quickly settled into a particular area and Ji Ning started explaining some problems.

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Zhou Rin sat to the side of them, his slender legs folded together as he listened quietly without saying a word.

It was his idea for them to have their tutoring sessions in the living room, because he was worried about leaving the two of them alone in a closed room. In the living room, he could watch what was happening. He also didn’t want Ji Nin entering Zhou Cun’s room because he would see the various mathematical olympiad trophies and competition certificates that lined the teenager’s bookcase.

Before long, half the session had passed and it was time for a break. The teenager claimed he needed the bathroom and left the living room.

Zhou Rin looked over at Ji Ning, who was arranging his session plan and tried to look like an older brother worried about his younger sibling’s schoolwork, asking him, “Mr Ji, what were your thoughts on teaching my brother just now?” iGrj7V

“Student Zhu Cun is very intelligent in all aspects. Whatever areas we look at, he can understand the problems.”

Ji Ning smiled, then frowned slightly and said with a little uncertainty, “So I haven’t really figured out what level he’s at yet. He’s asked me a few questions, some are very basic while some are far more advanced. Rather then him being unable to understand, it seems like he’s intentionally…”

Zhou Rin didn’t have a response. In order to appear like he needed Ji Ning’s tutoring, Zhou Cun had collected some questions from his classmates. After all, he’d never had any issues with simple schoolwork.

With Zhou Cun’s mathematical skills, he couldn’t distinguish the difference in levels between the questions his classmates gave him. As they all seemed simple to him, he just asked them all. Qb3L Y

“His basic knowledge is okay.” After thinking quickly, Zhou Rin spoke carefully, “It’s just that he often makes simple mistakes. Maybe it’s because he’s not careful enough.”

“Okay, I see.”

Ji Ning nodded. Once Zhou Cun returned, they continued with the second half of the class. When the tutoring session concluded, Zhou Rin offered to drive Ji Ning back again. Ji Ning immediately waved his hand and said, “No need to bother Mr Zhou, I can take a bus back myself.”

“It’s not a big deal, it happens to be on my way, I have something else to do over there.” MWZvYt

At Zhou Rin’s insistence, Ji Ning got inside his car again. On their way back, Zhou Rin said casually, “Does teacher Ji like mystery novels?”

“Ah, yes, I…” Ji Ning responded in a daze, “How did you know?”

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“I remembered your profile picture. Weren’t those string of initials the message left by the perfumer before his death in ‘The Perfume Riddle”

The handsome Alpha curled his lips into a smile and glanced at the person beside him, “I’m a fan of Kaiden’s novels.” a9Yt2

“Really? Me too, he’s my favourite mystery novelist.” Ji Ning looked excited, “He’s not very popular in China so no one’s heard of him yet. You’re the first person I’ve met who likes him.”

“Same for me.” Said Zhou Rin, “Can we talk about him more later?”

“That would be great, I’d love to talk to someone about his novels. Has Mr Zhou heard of Samantha Green as well, she’s a friend of Kaiden’s and also a mystery novelist…”

The two chatted happily all the way back to the University, where Zhou Rin drove into the school and parked his car beneath Ji Ning’s dormitory. Ji Ning got out of the car and waved through the window at Zhou Rin, saying, “Thank you Mr Zhou. I’ll go first, be careful on the road.” vLcGQd

“Okay, see you next week.”

Zhou Rin sat in the driver’s seat and watched Ji Ning enter the dormitory before starting the car and returning home.

His errand was obviously made up so he could have a chance to speak with Ji Ning alone, and it wasn’t a coincidence that he knew Ji Ning was a fan of mystery novels. In his previous life, he’d known Ji Ning’s preferences like the back of his hand in order to have more topics in common with him. The Omega was the reason he’d fallen in love with mystery novels in the first place.

As time passed, Zhou Rin and Ji Ning became closer with each other. In addition to meeting each other during the tutoring sessions, the two met up several times for activities relating to mystery novels and they watched a few horror movies together. Their relationship was getting better and better. Ir3oEW

“Is it going well?”

Noticing that Zhou Rin was looking at his phone with a smile on his lips, the teenager teased him.

“It’s alright.”

Zhou Rin closed the chat between him and Ji Ning, glancing at the boy who carried a book in his hand. He paused for a second, before asking, “Are you reading ‘The Perfume Riddle’?” pa7fuA

“Yes, I heard you and teacher Ji mention this book when chatting and was interested, so I bought a copy.” The teenager nodded, “It’s really exciting.”

“Po sbe’gf lcafgfrafv, sbe rtbeiv gfjv la.”

Itbe Elc rjlv, ibkfglcu tlr tfjv jr atf tjcv tbivlcu tlr qtbcf alutafcfv rilutais.

Lf xcfk atja tlr ygbatfg kjr jirb lcafgfrafv lc wsrafgs cbnfir. Pc atf qjra, tf’v bmmjrlbcjiis tfjgv atfw mtjaalcu jybea vloofgfca qibar. Dea cbk atf affcjufg tjv rtbkc atf rjwf afcvfcms jujlc, la gfwlcvfv tlw nlnlvis bo atf qjra, jcv tf mbeivc’a tfiq yea offi eqrfa. z2UiA

He turned abruptly to look at the teenager and asked, “What do you think about Ji Ning?”

Zhou Cun thought about it for a bit before speaking, “He’s very good. He’s good looking, has a gentle temper and is smart and patient. I can’t pick out any flaws in him.” He smiled slightly, “He’s a good match for you.”

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

“Do you really think so?” Zhou Rin asked.

“Yes, it would be great if you could be together.” The boy nodded, “Mom and dad would definitely be happy too.” JVzGWR

“Then I’ll be with him.”

Zhou Rin and Zhou Cun looked at each other for a few seconds, before he spoke again with a low voice.

“Definitely.”

The teenager blinked, then smiled softly, “Okay, I’ll congratulate you then.” HkUKNJ

Time passed and another Sunday came. As usual, Zhou Rin sent Ji Ning a message the night before. In addition to Zhou Cun’s tutoring session, he’d also planned to invite Ji Ning to watch a movie with him and hopefully stay for dinner.

However, Ji Ning’s reply was brief.

「I’m sorry, I can’t make it this Sunday, there’s something urgent. I’ll make up the class with Zhou Cun later.」

Zhou Rin replied quickly,「It’s okay, look after yourself properly. What’s the matter, is it important? Do you need any help?」 4VFm7n

「It’s fine, I can handle it myself. Thank you, I’ll see you later.」

After their brief conversation, Zhou Rin looked down at their chat and frowned slightly.

He could sense the urgency and anxiety in Ji Ning’s typing and worried that he was really in trouble.

The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. He tried calling Ji Ning, but there was no answer. The situation could be more serious than he thought. Zhou Rin quickly pushed his remaining tasks for the day to later dates and drove out of the company. Entering Ji Ning’s university, he parked outside the Omega’s dormitory. 2G8K7d

He walked to the entrance of the dormitory building and was about to register his identity when he bumped into Ji Ning’s roommate. He’d met this roommate several times when he was dropping Ji Ning off and the student recognised his face.

“Mr Zhou?” The roommate looked surprised to see him, “Are you here for Ji Ning?”

“Yes.” Zhou Rin nodded, “He said there was an emergency but I don’t know anything else so I just wanted to check on him.”

“He went home.” The roommate said, with a worried expression on his face, “I think something happened at home…when he left, he looked upset so I asked him what was going on but he didn’t tell me, just said he wanted to go home.” hO16b9

Zhou Rin’s heart sank when he heard those words. In his last life, Ji Ning’s family had run a business, but the company unexpectedly went bankrupt and they fell heavily in debt. As a result, his parents became ill from stress. Could these events be repeating?

He tried to phone Ji Ning again, but there was still no answer, so he went to the office building of the department and checked the address of Ji Ning’s house from the counsellor’s roster, before hurrying over to the city where Ji Ning lived.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

However, when he arrived at the address, Zhou Rin found that the house had already been sold and Ji Ning and his family no longer lived there. Night had fallen and Ji Ning still couldn’t be contacted. In desperation, Zhou Rin checked into a hotel. After he’d entered the hotel room, he finally received a message from Ji Ning.

「Sorry, I’ve been really busy today and didn’t realise I’d missed so many of your calls. Is there an emergency?」 qmK6el

「Is it convenient to answer the phone?」Zhou Rin replied immediately.

「Convenient.」

Zhou Rin phoned Ji Ning once again. After two rings, the phone call was answered and Ji Ning’s voice came from the other end, “Zhou Rin?”

As they’d become closer, Ji Ning had stopped calling him so politely. Hearing how hoarse his voice was, Zhou Rin softened his tone to ask, “How are you?” f G04t

“I…it’s fine.” Ji Ning said, “Thanks for caring about me. Were you in a hurry to find me when you called?”

“I was scared something had happened to you.” Zhou Rin said, “I’m very sorry, I went to your University to look for you and spoke with your roommate. He said you’d gone back home, so I searched up your address without your permission and now I’m near your house. I hope you’re not too angry.”

“You’re outside my house?”

Ji Ning sounded surprised but there wasn’t any anger in his voice, “How did you find it?” Ct43so

“I heard that something had happened at home.” Zhou Rin said, “I’m really worried about you Ji Ning, I wanted to see you. Please could you tell me where you are?”

“Thanks for caring about me so much…”

Ji Ning thanked him, unable to hide the distress in his voice, “Let’s meet. I don’t want you to travel here in vain, but it’s not convenient for me to leave, so I’ll have to trouble you to come to me. It’s a little far away from my house.”

“It’s okay, I drove here.” Zhou Rin’s tone became more and more soothing as he said calmly, “Let’s meet up, don’t be sad I’m coming.” 5mURSF

“Okay…uhnn”

Ji Ning suddenly choked up a little. Hearing his muffled sob, Zhou Rin’s heart ached and he wished he was already at his side to accompany him. After receiving the Omega’s address, he quickly drove to find Ji Ning.

It was a very old community with narrow alleys, so there wasn’t enough space for the car to get in. Zhou Rin parked the car on the street and hurried inside. He soon found a dilapidated three story building which matched the house number given to him by Ji Ning, and sent a message to the Omega.

「I’m downstairs.」 WlBhrk

「Okay, I’ll be down in a second.」

Zhou Rin soon heard the sound of someone coming down the stairs in slippers. The lights were all broken, so Ji Ning had turned the torch on his phone to light up the stairs. He hurried down the last few steps and smiled when he saw Zhou Rin.

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“I didn’t think you’d come here.”

Standing beneath the dim street light, Zhou Rin could see that although Ji Ning was smiling, his expression looked a little forced. His face was pale and his eyes were slightly red rimmed and swollen, as if he hadn’t had a good rest for a while. cO4ES6

“You live here now?”

Zhou Rin glanced up at the broken windows of the small building, trying to keep his voice casual.

Seeing Ji Ning’s haggard appearance, Zhou Rin felt distressed for him and wished he could stroke his hair or give him a hug. But he didn’t want to scare him off, so he dropped the hand he was about to raise and clenched his fingers slightly.

“There’s some things happening at home, so I’m short of money and had to move here temporarily.” Ji Ning pursed his lips and avoided his gaze, “I’ll move back out when I have more money.” DtiUdO

“What the hell happened?” Zhou Rin already knew, but there was no reasonable way to explain why he did, so he had to let Ji Ning explain first.

“…My family owned a business. My father wanted to expand the size but was deceived by his partner and made him the guarantor. The partner ran away with the money and the debt was all counted on my dad’s head…”

Perhaps it was because he finally had someone to talk to, but Ji Ning’s voice trembled as he spoke. He raised his hand to wipe his eyes as he continued in a low voice.

“My family owes a lot of money and my parents are very sick, but I don’t have the money to have them hospitalised for treatment…Zhou Rin, I know it’s not polite to ask this, but, can I…can I borrow some money? This house is in bad condition, they can’t live here when they’re ill, I-” fT8mBd

His voice stopped abruptly, his red eyes widening as Zhou Rin held him tightly in his arms.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Zhou Rin wrapped one arm around his waist and raised the other to gently stroke his hair. The lights were dim and his lungs were filled with the faint scent of epiphyllum, but at that moment all he wanted to do was soothe the distressed Omega.

“I’ll help you. You don’t have to worry about anything.” PWKxfd

“Zhou…Zhou Rin…”

The Omega in his arms hugged him back, his entire body trembling as he clung to the Alpha. Gradually, he began to cry.

“I’m really scared. The debt collectors threatened my parents, saying if they didn’t pay back the money…”

“You and your family will be fine, I promise you.” AmoEcu

Zhou Rin carefully let Ji Ning go, raising his hand to wipe away the tears that formed in the corners of his eyes. His calm voice gently reassured Ji Ning’s heart as he said softly, “This will all pass. You have a good rest tonight and I will come and see you tomorrow.”

Ji Ning rubbed his red eyes and nodded. Zhou Rin said a few more words to him, then watched as he disappeared back inside the broken down building.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

As soon as Jing Ning had gone, Zhou Rin’s expression grew solemn and he took out his phone to make a call. With a cold voice, he said, “I need your help with something.”

For the next few days, Zhou Rin pushed aside a lot of company matters to stay at the hotel to help Ji Ning. Oo5kcb

He employed someone to look into the legal state of the Ji family’s company and contacted a senior nursing home that could look after Ji Ning’s parents while they recuperated. The business partner was caught and handed over to the police, and the debt collectors quickly  phoned Ji Ning to say very politely that the debt had been paid off.

How could Ji Ning and his family not know that it was Zhou Rin who did all these things for them, he was their family’s benefactor. Ji Ning’s parents wanted to kneel down in thanks to Zhou Rin, but the Alpha anxiously stopped them from doing so.

“I don’t even know how to thank you…”

Sitting in the passenger seat of Zhou Rin’s car, Ji Ning looked at the Alpha with a complicated expression, “I will definitely pay you back this money. Even if it takes a lifetime, I will reimburse you.” L6BAUw

Zhou Rin smiled, he didn’t care about the money, it was Ji Ning that he wanted for a lifetime.

“We’re friends.”

He said to the Omega, “No matter what happens, I’ll be there for you. I’m always here for you if you’re in trouble.”

Ji Ning nodded but didn’t speak, watching his profile silently. Eventually, his head dropped and he fell asleep. Zhou Rin didn’t disturb him. It was only when he’d driven back to Ji Ning’s University dormitory that he softly woke him up, “We’re here.” ctEjsv

“Wu…” Ji Ning rubbed his eyes, slightly disoriented for a few seconds, before he unfastened his seatbelt and said, “Thank you…”

Zhou Rin smiled softly, wishing he could stroke his cheek, and said, “You should go and sleep again.”

“Okay.”

Ji Ning woke up more and nodded obediently. Zhou Rin got out of the car and helped Ji Ning with his suitcases before standing beside the car and waiting for Ji Ning to go in as usual. nuPgj6

But this time, Ji Ning didn’t leave. Instead, he turned to Zhou Rin and said, “Get in the car.”

“It’s fine.” Zhou Rin said, “I’ll wait here a little longer.”

“Every time you watch me go,” Ji Ning avoided his gaze, “I want to watch you leave this time.”

Zhou Rin’s heart softened and the corners of his lips curled up, “Okay.” IBcFnX

He got back into the car, pulled on his seatbelt and started the engine. Ji Ning suddenly came over and knocked on the window.

“What’s the matter?” Zhou Rin rolled down the car window, “Did you forget something?”

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“No. I just wanted to say…pay attention to the road and send me a message when you get home.”

“Okay.” MGcb5R

“And…”

Ji Ning trailed off, a faint blush rising on his cheeks as he whispered.

“This isn’t because of the money and I will definitely pay you back, but I wanted to say…I might not want us to just be friends.”

Zhou Rin’s heart skipped a beat. Desperate to question the Omega further, he struggled to unfasten his seatbelt but Ji Ning raced away, dragging his suitcase into the dormitory building. h1qRoP

Zhou Rin sprung out of the car, abandoning the keys in the engine to chase him upstairs, when he suddenly received a string of texts from Ji Ning.

「Stay downstairs, I’m too embarrassed to look at you…」

「Can we meet again in a few days?」

「Don’t forget to text me when you get home.」 om3MBI

Zou Rin took a deep breath, trying to restrain his excitement, and phoned Ji Ning. The phone rang, but Ji Ning didn’t answer it. He sent him a message a few seconds later,「I’m also too embarrassed to speak to you…」

This was just deliberately torturing him…

Looking at the message on his phone, Zhou Rin helplessly shook his head, smiling. He texted him back,「Is it okay to talk like this?」

「…We can talk about it when you get home.」 8Jlao

Zhou Rin had to put away his phone so he could drive back. On the way, his heartbeat didn’t calm down at all and even as he entered the house, he could feel it hammering in his chest.

The teenager on the sofa saw immediately how happy he was, so he put down his phone and stood up to greet him with a smile.

“Brother, you’re back. You look very happy, is teacher Ji okay?”

“Yes, it’s all settled.” Zhou Rin’s eyes were filled with a gentle smile. QycmKO

“That’s good.” Zhou Cun said, “I’ve been worried the last couple of days, I’m glad it’s alright. Are you thirsty? I’ll get you a glass of water.”

“Thank you.”

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Zhou Rin nodded at him and sat down on the sofa. A quiet notification sound rang from the coffee table and the screen lit up. It was Zhou Cun’s phone. Zhou Rin’s eyes swept over to it unconsciously, but when he saw the lockscreen picture, he froze.

Zhou Cun’s lockscreen was a delicate watercolour painting. It had a block colour background, with a single delicate flower in the centre. vOX7Ye

He recognised the flower at a glance.

Of course, it was an epiphyllum.