When he heard He Lingyi say this, he was touched, but what he felt more was disappointment.

He was touched that his student was so considerate and able to put herself in his shoes, and that she was so easily satisfied.

The disappointment stemmed from wondering why Huang Hui didn’t have the same mindset, instead feeling the need to constantly compare herself to others.

’Is it really because one went to college and the other didn’t?’

When He Lingyi saw Jiang Sifan’s expression turn somber, she immediately felt guilty. "Teacher Jiang, was the milk tea too expensive? Maybe I shouldn’t get one."

"No, not at all," Jiang Sifan said with a smile. "I’m just very touched and pleased. You’ve improved so much, yet you didn’t use it as an excuse to order an expensive milk tea. Instead, you were perfectly happy with one from Mixue Ice Cream & Tea."

"Of course. It can’t be easy for you to make money from tutoring, Teacher Jiang. I have to put myself in your shoes, too," He Lingyi said with a smile.

Jiang Sifan looked up at her, taking in her innocent, radiant smile.

He was overcome with the sudden impulse to go and give her a hug.

Of course, that thought lasted for only 0.001 seconds.

Any longer and Jiang Sifan would have considered himself a degenerate.

He immediately pulled out his phone and ordered a milk tea for He Lingyi. Then he said, "Alright, the milk tea is on its way. We can’t waste any more time, we need to get back to studying."

"Ugh, back to math again." He Lingyi’s previously excited expression immediately wilted.

She didn’t like math, but her math teacher was Jiang Sifan. When she considered the two facts together, her attitude toward the subject became much more accepting.

As usual, Jiang Sifan pulled out a workbook and picked a few fundamental problems for He Lingyi to solve.

These problems were more difficult than the ones from their last two sessions.

Which made her struggle.

Finally, He Lingyi shook her head and looked at Jiang Sifan. "Teacher Jiang, there are three problems I still can’t solve."

"That’s fine, I’ll teach you. Don’t be discouraged. It’s normal to not know how to do some problems. Otherwise, what would you need a handsome, dashing teacher like me for?" Jiang Sifan teased, trying to lighten the mood and cheer her up.

That was all it took to get He Lingyi talking.

She immediately straightened up, puffing out her chest to show off her JK uniform. "Teacher, Teacher! Don’t you think this outfit is cute? Doesn’t it make me look really pretty?"

Jiang Sifan’s face flushed slightly as he nodded. "Yeah, it looks really good."

He Lingyi noticed his blush and teased, "Haha, Teacher, you’re blushing!"

Then she leaned in and asked in a low voice, "Is it because your girlfriend has never worn something like this? Or do you not have a girlfriend at all, and you were just lying to me last time?"

"Nonsense... Ahem, stop trying to trick me into telling you things." Jiang Sifan tapped the problems on the paper. "Now, get back to work."

"Aww, but I’m tired of studying," He Lingyi whined, grabbing Jiang Sifan’s arm with both hands. "Just let me rest for a little bit."

"Alright, alright." Jiang Sifan had very little experience with girls acting this coquettish.

He was no match for her charm offensive and folded almost immediately.

During the break, He Lingyi batted her eyelashes and asked curiously, "Teacher Jiang, show me a picture of your girlfriend. If you don’t, I’ll just assume you don’t have one."

"You win," Jiang Sifan sighed. He knew He Lingyi wouldn’t let it go until he showed her a photo of Huang Hui.

So, he had no choice but to scroll through the photo album on his phone.

But after scrolling for a while, he still couldn’t find any pictures of Huang Hui.

Jiang Sifan then realized that whenever they went out, Huang Hui would complain about his phone’s poor camera quality, so they always used her phone to take pictures.

He had to go to Huang Hui’s social media profile instead. He opened a photo and said, "Alright, here. Look."

He Lingyi eagerly looked over.

She even zoomed in on the photo, carefully scrutinizing the details.

Watching her, Jiang Sifan couldn’t help but wonder, ’Are all girls like this?’

After a moment, He Lingyi delivered her verdict.

"Your girlfriend’s pretty enough, but I think this photo is heavily filtered. She’s probably still good-looking in person, right?" He Lingyi asked probingly.

"Yeah, she’s very beautiful," Jiang Sifan nodded.

He Lingyi immediately fired off another question: "So, Teacher Jiang, who do you think is prettier? Your girlfriend or me?"

Jiang Sifan frowned and cut the conversation short. "Alright, that’s enough. Back to the lesson. No more talking about irrelevant things."

"Aww, come on, just tell me! Who’s prettier, me or your girlfriend?" He Lingyi persisted, not ready to give up.

Jiang Sifan had no choice but to start, "Of course my girl—"

But in the next second, He Lingyi pouted, put her hands on her hips, and shot Jiang Sifan a look of mock anger.

Jiang Sifan sighed. "You’re prettier. I think you’re the prettiest."

"Hmph, that’s more like it~~" Hearing his assessment, He Lingyi was finally satisfied and went back to her problems.

Even though she knew Sifan was just humoring her, she didn’t care.

She just wanted to hear the words she wanted to hear.

After the lesson, Jiang Sifan set a goal for He Lingyi.

"Score ten points higher than last time," Jiang Sifan said, giving her a pump-up gesture to encourage her.

He Lingyi immediately countered with a condition. "If I do score ten points higher, will you take me to the new Ice and Snow World in Jinling?"

"There’s a new Ice and Snow World in Jinling?" Jiang Sifan asked, curious.

"Yep! It just opened in October. I heard it’s the biggest indoor snow park in all of Jiangnan. You can play in the snow, go skiing... it’s supposed to be a blast!" He Lingyi said excitedly.

Jiang Sifan shook his head. "No way. Your mom would never let you go. Besides, it wouldn’t be proper for me to take you. Why don’t you just ask your mom to take you?"

"What’s wrong with it? What’s wrong with you taking me out? We can just go as friends, can’t we? Besides, I like hanging out with you," He Lingyi pouted. "Oh, come on, just say yes! Don’t worry, I’ll pay for the tickets. I have my New Year’s money."

"Let’s see you get the score first, then we’ll talk," Jiang Sifan said, trying to put her off.

「By the time he got back to the university, it was already 9:30 p.m.」

He passed the dining hall and decided to see if there were any late-night snacks left.

Unfortunately, most of the service windows had already sold out.

Jiang Sifan had no choice but to buy a soda from a vending machine and sit down for a short break.

Just then, a bowl of sweet mung bean soup was placed in front of him.

Jiang Sifan froze for a second, then looked up at the person who had brought it.

It was Wen Wan. She was blushing, looking at him shyly. "My counter only has sweet mung bean soup left," she said. "Would you... like some?"

Then it clicked.

Wen Wan worked a part-time job at the dining hall every night, selling late-night snacks from one of the counters.

"Thanks, Wen Wan. How much is it? I’ll send you the money," Jiang Sifan said, pulling out his phone.

But Wen Wan immediately stopped him. "No, no, it’s fine. You treated me to dinner last time, and I’ve been looking for a chance to treat you back. Please, let me buy you this soup tonight."

After saying her piece, she turned and hurried back behind her counter.

He watched her retreating figure. She didn’t dress as flashily as other girls, and she tended to go unnoticed in class.

Her name only came up when the guys in their class would occasionally get together to rank the girls on their looks.

But her simple white shirt and blue jeans were enough to perfectly accentuate her youthful figure.

Moreover, her determination to repay any kindness she received made Jiang Sifan feel that she was different from other girls.

At the very least, she was very different from... his own girlfriend, Huang Hui.