Free Web NovelChapter 430: Chapter 430: Yanxi 38
Tan You thought about Xu Yanxi’s past and decided not to comment. She herself had come from a hard life, one even more difficult than Xu Yanxi’s.
’Thankfully, my life has improved so much now. If it weren’t for the Beauty System, how would I have ever had the chance to see all this? I wouldn’t have learned these skills either, would I?’
Jin Li’s and Zheng Xue’s wedding dates were only a week apart, but Jin Li’s was a much grander affair. In the short time Xu Yanxi had been at the venue, she had already spotted many prominent figures in the business world, as well as various popular streamers.
After all, Jin Li had been a streamer for so many years and knew plenty of her colleagues. Men and women holding selfie sticks were a common sight. Xu Yanxi was unfazed by this. After taking her seat, she quietly waited for the wedding to begin.
But as she looked at the Song and Jin parents at her table, Xu Yanxi felt a pang of guilt. The one who had nurtured Song Yuan and Jin Li was Tan You, not her. Sitting here now, Xu Yanxi couldn’t help but feel out of place.
Tan You saw through Xu Yanxi’s feelings and couldn’t help but shake her head. She had been observing her during this time and had discovered that Xu Yanxi was, to some extent, a person who shied away from responsibility.
When it came to mentoring students, for instance, she was more inclined to provide financial support. She would still prepare her lessons and teach her classes well, but beyond her normal duties, she had no desire to give the students any extra care.
Xu Yanxi hid this well, but Tan You still saw it. Of course, Tan You wouldn’t say anything about her reluctance to run small tutoring groups. ’Perhaps this is just the difference between us,’ Tan You thought. She couldn’t judge Xu Yanxi’s character as being poor just for that.
After all, Xu Yanxi did perform her actual teaching duties quite well.
Jin Li’s mother was overjoyed. She took Xu Yanxi’s arm and said, "Teacher Xu, please don’t feel awkward. The fact that Jin Li and Song Yuan have come so far is all thanks to your steadfast support."
"We aren’t very capable ourselves," Song Yuan’s mother added with a smile. "If you hadn’t so carefully nurtured them back then, they wouldn’t be where they are today. You helped so much when Song Yuan’s company was just starting up, too. You’ve done more than us parents have. Both our families are so grateful to you."
Song Yuan’s father was more tactful. "It’s all thanks to you that the two of them have grown into who they are today. Back then, we had trouble just supporting our family. You were the one who single-handedly lifted them up. Our whole family is grateful for your kindness."
Xu Yanxi was a little flustered by the praise. "It’s because you raised Song Yuan and Jin Li so well in the first place that we were able to meet. Besides, everyone worked hard later on. The further we went, the smaller my role became. You really don’t need to give all the credit to me."
"At the end of the day, I didn’t do those things expecting to be thanked."
Jin Li’s father sighed with emotion. "Teacher Xu, you’re truly selfless and have such a big heart. There aren’t many people like you anymore."
Xu Yanxi smiled. "Actually, there are still many responsible teachers out there. It’s just that I had few attachments in those years, so I could focus on doing all that. But now, I want to live my own life, so I’ll rarely be taking on new students in the future."
Jin Li’s mother couldn’t hide her sympathy. "That’s true. For years, you carried them forward all by yourself, with no one by your side to care for you. You spent most of your time on them. Now that your students have made something of themselves, you should have started living your own life long ago."
As they were speaking, Jin Li’s father quietly slipped away from the table. Xu Yanxi watched his retreating back and suddenly laughed. "He’s not going to start crying later, is he? After all, Jin Li is so sweet and likable."
Jin Li’s mother stiffened for a moment. "Actually, he already had a secret cry last night. But then he thought about how well our two families know each other and how close we live, and he managed to console himself."
Xu Yanxi chuckled. "That’s good. A wedding doesn’t always have to be so sentimental."
’The parents aren’t the ones who are going to be sentimental,’ Tan You’s voice said coolly. ’Someone else is.’
A chill ran down Xu Yanxi’s spine. "What do you mean?"
But Tan You clammed up, deliberately keeping her in suspense. ’I’m just incredibly glad that Xu Yanxi is awake now,’ she thought, ’leaving her to face the sappy scene that’s about to unfold. To be honest, the thought of watching the thank-you video Song Yuan and Jin Li so carefully prepared makes me cringe all over.’
’I’ve never really been in such a sentimental situation, and I’m not an outgoing person. So, since Xu Yanxi has reaped so many rewards from me, it’s only fair that she take on this sweet, sentimental burden in my place, right?’
The first half of the wedding went off without a hitch. As she watched the couple exchange vows, swap rings, then embrace and kiss, Xu Yanxi played her part to perfection—clapping and smiling on cue, delivering an impeccable emotional performance.
But just as Song Yuan took the microphone from the host’s hand, Xu Yanxi’s eyelid suddenly twitched. At the same time, a series of photos flashed onto the screen behind him.
The photos showed a much younger, more innocent Song Yuan and Jin Li. And there, strikingly, was her own face. But Xu Yanxi knew it wasn’t her—it was Tan You. In the picture, Tan You was just sitting there, her eyes filled with a gentle, accepting warmth as she looked at everyone.
Song Yuan took a breath, his eyes reddening before he even spoke. The once-rebellious young man looked especially emotional today. Xu Yanxi straightened her back. In a moment when she should have felt awkward, she instead felt as if her heart had been struck a heavy blow, and a tingling numbness spread through her limbs.
Song Yuan cleared his throat and finally began to speak. "Jin Li and I were classmates. We met back in high school."
Friendly whoops rose from the audience, but Song Yuan paid them no mind. He gripped the microphone and continued, "Before I met our teacher, my grades were terrible, and my family wasn’t well-off. To lighten their burden, I would sometimes sell all sorts of trinkets at school..."
"Until we met our teacher." Jin Li picked up where Song Yuan left off, glancing toward Xu Yanxi in the audience. "Teacher, you saw the predicament we impoverished students were in. You understood our desire to get ahead and the helplessness we felt, unable to access better educational resources."
"You tutored us for free and taught our parents marketable skills to improve our family’s finances. On weekends, you even took us out to earn our own spending money, which made our school life less of a struggle and allowed us to gradually get to know and engage with society."
Song Yuan wiped away his tears. "When we took the college entrance exams, you waited for us outside the examination center. When I walked out of the testing hall and saw you, I thought to myself, how lucky did I have to be in this lifetime to meet a teacher as selfless as you?"
"But even better things were yet to come." The newlyweds were like a comedy duo, with one taking over as soon as the other finished.
