Chapter 526: Chapter 178: The ’80s Drama Queen Is Forced to Become a Top Student (13)

"We can afford one can a day. But no matter how good something is, you shouldn’t eat it constantly."

"Besides, since canned food is meant to be stored for a long time, they definitely have preservatives in them. You can’t eat that stuff often..."

Watching the little girl’s serious face as she laid out her reasoning so logically, Gong Zicheng put down the can, amused.

"So I guess I can’t help you move your merchandise, then?" He stood up and moved to her side.

Sheng Leyun smiled and shook her head. "These are best-sellers for visiting relatives or having guests over. Even without your patronage, I’ll sell out in no time."

"I heard you’re looking for a tutor to help you skip grades?" Gong Zicheng asked softly, his hands in his pockets.

Just then, someone came up to ask about the prices.

Sheng Leyun just nodded without saying more and started enthusiastically greeting the customer.

She was a sweet-talker, her discounts were reasonable, and she generously threw in two White Rabbit creamy candies with each purchase. In less than half an hour, everything was sold out.

Gong Zicheng couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows, looking her over in surprise.

’This little girl is really capable. And quite the hustler, too.’

He had only seen her yesterday, but after a bath, a change of clothes, and a few good meals, her pitiful look was gone. In its place were the first hints of a pretty, lively, and cunning girl. Her soft laugh was like scattered sunlight, gently piercing through the haze to drive away all the gloom from one’s heart.

"Brother Cheng, you’re not busy, are you? Let’s go eat at a restaurant. My treat!"

Sheng Leyun said cheerfully as she counted her money. The smug look of a little money-lover wasn’t annoying; instead, it just made her seem straightforward.

Gong Zicheng put a hand to his forehead and asked his two previous questions again.

"I’m not in school because I had a small disagreement with my family, but it’s pretty much resolved now. See? This is what I got from trading the nutritional supplements."

"And we are indeed looking for a tutor right now," Sheng Leyun explained patiently. "There’s a saying: ’A teacher can open the door, but you must enter by yourself.’ That means the way the teacher opens the door is very important."

"When there’s a way to get twice the result with half the effort, why would we do something stupid that gives us half the result for twice the effort?"

Gong Zicheng hummed in agreement and led her to a restaurant. "This time, I’ll treat you to some authentic roast duck."

Sheng Leyun hummed happily, her fox-like eyes curving with joy. There was even a little skip in her step. "And what about you, Brother? It’s Tuesday."

’Although the original owner’s mother was unreliable, her stepfather was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and her step-siblings were always looking for trouble and bullying her.’

’But for Sheng Leyun, who hadn’t been a child in a very long time, everything felt new and exciting.’

’At nine years old, she wasn’t that big, but not too small either. The world she looked up at was ultimately different from an adult’s. The people she interacted with were different, the way people treated her was different, and even the advantages she could use had changed.’

’Even though she’d only attended school for half a day, her mindset had already undergone a significant change.’

’Everyone has an inner child, and now that hers could come out and play freely, why should she suppress it?’

"I came to the city for the high school math olympiad. This afternoon is free time," Gong Zicheng said with a slight smile, his lips curving.

"If I remember correctly, you’re a middle schooler, Brother?"

Sheng Leyun was relying on her good memory to finish six years of elementary school coursework in two, but she didn’t dare take such a big leap with middle and high school.

"I am, but I’ve already gone through all the high school material once. I’m just here to fill a spot on the team," he said humbly.

The two went to a roast duck restaurant. They ordered one whole roast duck with a few servings of small pancakes, and had the duck carcass simmered into a soup.

Gong Zicheng also ordered a few side dishes from the restaurant next door, along with a plate of four hefty steamed buns, completely filling their not-so-large table.

’Isn’t this a bit too much food?’

Sheng Leyun looked at him with her big, watery eyes. "Brother Cheng, you don’t have to spend so much. We should just buy as much as we can eat."

Gong Zicheng glanced at her. "You’re overthinking it. I have a big appetite. You’re just tagging along."

And so, as Sheng Leyun savored her meal, she watched, dumbfounded, as he demolished every last dish on the table...

’Well, that makes sense. How else does a guy get that tall without enough fuel?’

There’s a saying that a growing boy will eat you out of house and home, which just goes to show how big teenage boys’ appetites usually are.

After eating, they didn’t wander around but took a bus straight home.

"A little girl like you, staying in a hotel by yourself?" Gong Zicheng insisted on walking her back.

The sun was still hanging in the sky, not having completely sunk below the horizon, but she was, after all, a pretty little girl in an unfamiliar place.

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