There’re Always Paranoid Thoughts to Monopolize Me - Chapter 35.1

In the evening, the young boy named Song Yi was sent home by Huo Jingyan.

Qin Ke walked back with Huo Jun. In the end, she didn’t find a suitable opportunity to bring up that matter with Huo Jingyan, leaving Qin Ke feeling quite depressed and mostly silent on the way back.

The art plaza wasn’t far from the small building where the Qin family lived, only about a 20-minute walk. The two walked in silence, with Qin Ke lost in her thoughts until she suddenly noticed the Qin family’s small building.

Qin Ke came to her senses and turned to look behind her.

“I’ve arrived,” Qin Ke pointed at the lit two-story building behind her. After hesitating, she added, “Inside…are Qin Yan’s family members. It’s not convenient to invite you upstairs.”

Hearing this, Huo Jun raised an eyebrow slightly.

“You were thinking of inviting me upstairs?”

“…”

These words, against the ink-like night sky, sounded ambiguous no matter how one heard them.

Qin Ke looked at him helplessly.

Huo Jun stopped teasing the girl. He just glanced at the somewhat old building before turning his gaze back, “How do her family members treat you?”

Qin Ke remained silent.

Huo Jun’s eyes suddenly filled with a cold intent. He stepped forward, his voice unconsciously lowering,

“… Are they bullying you?”

Qin Ke snapped back to reality, startled by the coldness in Huo Jun’s tone.

She instinctively reached out and grabbed the young man’s wrist.

It was still late summer, and the boy was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt. With no fabric covering his wrist, the direct contact of temperature seemed to scald Qin Ke.

Her cheeks heated up, and she quickly retreated.

“No.”

Qin Ke turned her eyes away, paused for a moment, then her voice returned to calmness, “Even if they were, I can handle it myself.”

Huo Jun didn’t speak.

The two were quiet for a few seconds, with only a few scattered insect chirps filling the silence. The summer night was peaceful and beautiful, with moonlight like water in the sky.

In this atmosphere, Qin Ke suddenly heard the boy ask.

“Are you short on money?”

“…”

Qin Ke was stunned.

She looked up in slight shock, meeting Huo Jun’s pitch-black eyes for a long while before remembering something. She shook her head, her expression uncomfortable and gloomy.

“I didn’t approach Teacher Huo because of… those things.”

“I know you didn’t — it would be better if you had.”

Huo Jun’s voice was a bit cold.

Qin Ke felt awkward.

Clearly, Huo Jun had brought this up not because of Huo Jingyan, but more likely because of the Qin family. After she misunderstood his meaning and mentioned Huo Jingyan again, the boy’s expression immediately cooled considerably.

But soon, Huo Jun turned his eyes away.

“Forget it. Pretend I didn’t ask.”

Qin Ke’s eyes wavered, “Mm, I’ll go in then….Be careful on your way back.”

Huo Jun didn’t speak.

He gave the girl in front of him a deep look, then turned and left.

The boy’s figure quickly disappeared into the night where there were no street lights.

The girl in front of the building stood there for a few seconds before turning to go inside.

Soon after, a few scolding voices could be heard from inside the building.

With the sound of a door closing, all voices faded away.

A light turned on in a second-floor room, and the shadow on the curtain showed the girl washing up, reading, and finally turning off the light to sleep.

Time passed, though it’s unclear how long.

Only after seeing that light go out did a tall figure of a young man step out from the tree shadows in the ink-dark night.

He looked up at that window, complex emotions flashing in his eyes. After standing there for a long while, he took out his phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

The young man in the night turned around, his voice lingering behind—

“Set it for tomorrow.”

……

Early the next morning, not long after Qin Ke woke up, she received a call from Gu Xinqing.

“Good news, Ke Ke! There’s progress on the tutoring job!”

“…!”

Qin Ke, still drowsy from sleep, instantly felt her mind go blank at these words.

She sat up abruptly in bed, hugging her blanket, her voice a bit hoarse from just waking up.

“Mm? You’ve already found one?”

Gu Xinqing: “Yes! Remember I told you about my classmate looking for a tutor? But their family didn’t want to hire a student. Well, that classmate knows another family who prefers tutors who are good students, so he recommended you—they’re very satisfied with your grades. The parents want to interview you today, and if there’s no problem, it can be confirmed! So if you have time, I’ll accompany you there this morning!”

Qin Ke glanced at the clock in her room.

“Okay, I’ll freshen up. Send me the time and place on my phone, and I’ll head over soon.”

“Mm, I’ll wait for you!”

“…”

At 9:30 AM, Qin Ke and Gu Xinqing took a taxi to Qin Ke’s “future employer’s” house.

Seeing the security guard make a phone call to inquire before coming out of the security room to let them in, Gu Xinqing, sitting in the taxi, was a bit dazed.

“…My classmate really didn’t tell me that the family he introduced was this wealthy…”

Qin Ke was also somewhat surprised.

Although she hadn’t spent much time in Qian City in her previous life, she knew that this villa area was probably where the wealthiest and most powerful people in Qian City lived.

Usually, such families wouldn’t lack professional private tutors…

Before they could think more, the taxi had already dropped them off in front of the villa indicated by the address.

After getting out of the car, looking at the four-story villa in front of them, Gu Xinqing hesitated before sincerely asking, “We’re not going to be kidnapped, are we, Ke Ke?”

“…”

The doubt that had just risen in Qin Ke’s mind was instantly washed away by this joke.

She turned back, caught between laughter and exasperation,

“That would probably be a pretty big loss for them—the price of this villa is probably more than what they’d get from selling ten pairs of you and me.”

“……”

Gu Xinqing immediately felt a sense of awe for the villa and its owners.

“What must the life of rich people be like…”

Qin Ke was startled.

She thought of her previous life. The Huo family was also a prestigious family in the capital, and her food, clothing, and daily necessities were always of the highest standard. However, most of the time, people living that kind of life don’t care about the value or price of most things.

In such a life, even a moment of happiness became the rarest thing in this world.

——

She didn’t envy it at all. Nor did she want to go back to it in the slightest.

Qin Ke brought her mind back to the present. She squeezed her fingertips tightly and turned to look at Gu Xinqing.

“Shall we go?”

“Mm.” Gu Xinqing nodded.

Just as they reached the gate of the villa, before they could even press the electronic doorbell, they heard a “beep” sound and the metal gate opened automatically.