Free Web NovelChapter 446: Chapter 446: Bringing a Meal
Sometimes, Li Fugui felt as if he wasn’t facing a student, but a peer his own age, or even someone more mature.
At this thought, Li Fugui couldn’t help but frown. It was easy to forget Tan You’s age when she looked so tall and sturdy—he himself had to look up at her. ’But she’s only sixteen by traditional counting. Since her birthday is late in the year, that means... she’s only fourteen?’
"You’re only fourteen. Are you sure you’ll be okay living alone?" Li Fugui started to worry again. Tan You really was too young.
Tan You said, "How can you say I’ll be living alone? I’ll be living closer to you and your wife. We can head back together after evening self-study. It’ll be perfectly safe."
"Great, so now you’re roping me into this." Li Fugui shook his head. "I’ll ask my wife to help ask around later. But wait. Your parents both live in town, yet you want to live by yourself instead of at home? That doesn’t seem right, does it?"
Tan You answered evasively, "I’m not that close with my parents. You could call me a ’left-behind child,’ and I’m used to living alone after all these years. I’d feel really uncomfortable if you made me live with them now. Besides, they’ve already agreed to let me live on my own."
Since her parents had agreed, Li Fugui didn’t say any more. Hearing the bell for the end of class, he waved his hand with feigned impatience. "Alright, get out of my sight. Hurry back."
Tan You walked out of the office, then peeked back around the doorframe. "I’m counting on you then, sir! I’m rooting for you!"
"Go on, get out of here!" Li Fugui waved his hand dismissively. "Hurry up and leave, you’re nothing but trouble!"
Despite his words, after Tan You left, Li Fugui quickly sent messages to the teachers he knew, mainly to ask if there were any vacant teacher dormitories.
As Tan You left the small office, she ran into Yin Xiu and the others. Yin Xiu was holding Tan You’s backpack. "I grabbed your bag for you. Shall we head back together?"
"Thanks, you saved me the trouble." Tan You took her backpack and slung it over one shoulder, looking carefree and unconventional.
"Did the homeroom teacher call you in to grind problems again?" Gu Qiuxia asked in a low voice, clearly curious. It was no secret among the students that Tan You was often called to the small office to do practice problems; only the teachers were unaware.
"I just met with my language teacher," Tan You said truthfully. "By the way, I’m planning to live off-campus after school starts. The dorms are too crowded, and it’s just inconvenient."
"We all figured," Cao Haiyan said in a low voice. "Your parents live in town, so it would be a little strange for you to stay at the school. I don’t want to live in the dorms either. It’s way too crowded."
"When I was in middle school, I always lived at home..."
Tan You thought for a moment. "There are small, private rooms for rent near the school, usually for one or two people. you can have your parents ask around. Personally, I think it’s much quieter than the school dorms."
"But living alone off-campus, with no dorm supervisor to do room checks, it’s easy to lose your self-control. You’ll have to weigh the pros and cons yourselves."
Yin Xiu didn’t need to think about it. "I’m definitely living off-campus. Besides, I don’t like the cafeteria food. It’s really mediocre."
Tan You understood what Yin Xiu meant. "The cafeteria is mass-produced food, after all. There are also places off-campus that provide meals. They’re usually run by residents who live near the school. If you get your meals from them, they sometimes offer rooms too, but the number is limited."
"The school itself isn’t that big, so the dorms definitely can’t house everyone. That’s how these off-campus housing options came to be."
The others all understood what Tan You meant. They had to book early, or any available single rooms might get snatched up. Yin Xiu blinked. "Why don’t we hold off on going back to the dorm and go make a phone call first?"
Gu Qiuxia and Cao Haiyan readily agreed. Tan You, unconcerned, followed them out of the school gate. As she was leaving, she saw Li Fugui standing outside the guardhouse. Seeing Tan You, he couldn’t help but ask, "Where are you all going?"
Tan You looked at the three girls beside her. "They’re going to make a phone call. I’m just keeping them company. My scratch paper is almost out anyway, so I’m going to buy a couple more notebooks."
"Alright, go on. Be careful." Li Fugui shrugged, watching as Tan You and the others crossed the road to a small convenience store.
The homeroom teacher of Class 1 asked curiously, "So that’s Tan You? She doesn’t look like anything special."
Li Fugui was secretly delighted. ’As if I’d tell you how exceptional she is!’ Outwardly, he maintained a reserved expression. "She’s nothing special, really. I just have a good feeling about her."
Li Fugui’s wife was also a teacher—she taught history. Seeing his performance now, and the way he looked so secretly pleased he could wag his tail, she couldn’t help but lower her eyes and smile.
She had a good first impression of Tan You. The girl was fair and neat, and she seemed very composed. ’How did her husband end up with such a love-hate feeling for this young lady?’
’If the girl lived near their dorm, it would certainly be easier to look after her.’ Musing on this, Teacher Lin also began to take stock of which nearby dorm rooms were vacant.
After accompanying the others while they made their calls, Tan You bought two scratchpads. Just as the four of them were about to head back to the dorm, someone stopped Tan You.
"Tan Yue?" Tan You was genuinely surprised. The little girl was standing in front of her, holding a large box of fruit and tilting her head with a smile.
"Sister, Dad made beef for dinner," Tan Yue said, her words very clear. "Dad’s over there!"
Tan You looked over, and sure enough, there was Tan Lin standing by the guardhouse. Even with two large food containers in his hands, it didn’t stop him from chatting animatedly with Li Fugui.
Tan You took the food containers, then took Tan Yue’s hand. "He’s so careless, letting you cross the road by yourself?"
Tan Yue swung her little pigtails. "I’m not nearsighted! I know how to cross the road. I was the one who led Dad here."
Cao Haiyan stared at Tan Yue’s round face. "Tan You, your sister is so cute."
Tan You glanced at Cao Haiyan’s round face. "You’re cute too."
Seeing Tan You and her roommates approach, Tan Lin walked over quickly. "Are you tired?"
"I’m fine. Why did you bring me food?" ’This is a real surprise,’ Tan You thought. ’An old penny-pincher like Tan Lin was willing to buy something expensive like beef?’ As far as she could remember, the only time she had ever eaten beef was when she went with Tan Deming to eat at other people’s homes; her own family had never once bought it.
Tan Lin chuckled. "Your grandpa bought it. I just stewed it at home and brought it over. I made it two ways, braised and marinated. I figured you have a lot of people in your dorm, so there wouldn’t be much left after everyone gets a share."
"Okay, thanks for the trouble. Didn’t you save any for yourself?" Tan You took the food containers. Besides one container of beef and potato stew, there was also a small bag of marinated beef and a large box of rice.
"We saved some. Your mom, your sister, and I have all eaten," Tan Lin said with a smile. "Now that the food’s here, you should head back. I’m going to talk with your teacher for a few more minutes."
"Alright. Be safe on your way back." In the end, Tan You still felt a little worried and added a word of caution.
