Chapter 31: Threshold

I was long since used to Yan Dong’s stingy ways, so I didn’t react much—just nodded coldly as usual.

“Young Master, you’re the most generous person I’ve ever met.”

“That’s right. Let’s go. Do you need me to carry you downstairs?”

“No need, thank you.”

“Don’t be so polite. Weren’t you just saying on the Metro yesterday that you were pregnant with my child?”

“Sorry, Young Master, I accidentally mistook my Depression test results for a pregnancy test yesterday.”

I took half a step back, rolled my eyes in disgust, then turned and briskly opened the security door, leaving his Home behind.

The tutoring agency wasn’t far from Yan Dong’s Home.

It only took a 20-minute drive. It was a twenty-something-floor office building, and the Tutoring Agency was on the 14th floor.

As I carefully tidied the ribbon of my low ponytail in the mirrored elevator doors, Yan Dong was yawning and leaning against the control panel, scrolling on his phone.

After watching me fuss around several times, he finally couldn’t help but complain, still yawning, “Lin Yunxia, you’re applying for a Home Tutor, not a ceremonial hostess.”

“Young Master, appearance represents my attitude toward this job. After all, the hourly wage is 200. The Parent will definitely have high expectations for my professionalism.”

“It’s just a Home Tutor, no need to act like you’re entering the palace for the consort selection.”

“A Home Tutor is a job too.”

I reached out and smoothed the wrinkles on his hoodie, and after confirming his outfit was fine, nodded.

“Any work I take on deserves to be treated seriously. Young Master, you should pay attention to your appearance when you go out, too.”

“Alright, alright, you’re always right.”

Yan Dong replied lazily, yawning again.

“You try to manage everything. Anyone who knows you would think you’re a strict housekeeper, those who don’t might think you’re my little wife.”

“Young Master, if you keep tossing around the word ‘wife’ in public,” I glanced at the still careless Yan Dong and, at my wit’s end, pulled out my final trump card, “I’ll have to tell Uncle Yan on you.”

“Lin Yunxia, why are you so petty? Be careful or you’ll never get married.”

Too lazy to bicker with him, I sneered and stepped aside, taking out my phone to quietly reread the Home Tutor interview notes I’d just written in the car.

“Ding—”

When the elevator doors opened, the two of us walked one after the other to the glass door of “Yingcai Tutoring Center” in Room 1406.

I dialed the agency contact, and before long, a middle-aged man in a gray plaid suit came out with a formulaic smile.

“You must be Lin Yunxia?”

“Yes.”

I bowed slightly, putting on my usual polite professional smile.

“Hello, Professor Zheng. We spoke this morning.”

“Welcome, welcome. Lin, you’re even more refined than in your photo. And this is?”

Instinctively, I stepped to block the bold logo on Yan Dong’s hoodie, keeping my smile friendly.

“He’s my classmate, Yan Dong. He’s just here to help me understand the situation.”

“Oh, I see. Come in and wait, the Parent will be here in fifteen minutes.”

“Thank you, Professor Zheng.”

Yan Dong didn’t say a word the whole time, simply followed me in and found a seat in the cramped room.

This Meeting Room had only a table and a few chairs. An agency teacher, a thin man in his early forties, was already waiting.

He nodded politely when I entered.

“Lin Yunxia, have a seat and some water.”

He gestured at a chair across from him with his pen, and there was a white paper cup full of water on the table in front of me.

“My surname is Li. Just call me Professor Li.”

“Thank you, Professor Li.”

Yan Dong, looking bored, ignored everyone. He found a spot to sit and took out his phone to scroll.

“This is my classmate, Yan Dong. He’s always like this. I hope you don’t mind, Professor Li.”

“No problem, Lin Yunxia. Let’s talk about the Home Tutor contract. We’ll start with the basics…”

“If there’s anything unclear in the materials I sent this morning, Professor Li, feel free to ask.”

Wearing a black suit, he skimmed my material-filled A4 paper with little interest, tapping his pen on the table from time to time. After a while, he finally nodded and murmured,

“Lin, your qualifications are impressive. Full marks in Calculus your first semester, a 145 in Math on the college entrance exam, and Physics…”

Professor Li’s pen circled the “National Physics Competition Second Prize” on my résumé, the plastic pen tapping out a sticky da-da sound against the wooden table.

“You match what the employer wants in their child, but unfortunately, the employer cares more about appearance…”

I instinctively straightened my back, the jasmine fragrance in my hair drifting with my brisk movement.

“Professor, you don’t need to worry about that. I can wear formal attire to every class and always be at my best. Plus, I have half a year of tutoring experience. My teaching ability is definitely—”

“Do you usually wear miniskirts?”

He suddenly interrupted, looking up to meet my slightly stiff professional smile.

The air froze.

Only the whimpering sound of the central air conditioning remained.

I instinctively gripped the fabric on my knees, the rough texture of my dark slacks pricking my palm.

After a moment’s hesitation, I forced a friendly smile back onto my face.

“Professor Li, may I ask what this question has to do with my teaching ability?”

“The employer raised the hourly rate, so there’s got to be some ‘added value.’”

He sneered, flipping open the employer’s requirements and deliberately scraping his pen across the “dress code” section.

“Wearing a miniskirt as a Home Tutor makes the class more friendly. Add a camisole and it’ll really motivate the student.”

As he spoke, he tapped his pen on the table, as if knocking on my clueless wooden head.

“Don’t worry, we’re a legitimate agency. We don’t do anything illegal.”

He chuckled, his uncomfortable gaze sliding down to my tightly pressed-together legs.

“Lin, you should be glad you’re a girl. Boys wouldn’t make this kind of money.”

Under the table, my hands pressed hard on my trembling thighs, while I tried to keep up the last remnants of my professional smile.

“Professor Li, were those your own words just now, or the Parent’s?”

“What’s the difference? We’re all adults here. We all know what’s up. Besides, with your figure, you’d look great in a camisole and miniskirt. And judging by your résumé, you’ve done a lot of part-time work, so you must be a well-behaved girl with financial troubles, right? This is a rare opportunity. You really ought to treasure it.”

Professor Li glanced at Yan Dong, who’d been sitting there with a cold face the whole time. His words sounded less like he was worried about me refusing, and more like he was afraid the rich boy who came with me would make a scene.

“Of course, we’re a legitimate agency. Everything’s voluntary.”

When I suddenly stood up, the chair screeched harshly across the floor.

My fists clenched, but in the end, I could only loosen them weakly, my face left blank and disappointed.

“Professor Li, I’d like to use the restroom. Please excuse me.”

“Go ahead.”