Chapter 44

Just at this moment, perhaps seeing someone come, the door of room 203 opened, and a middle-aged woman hurriedly walked over, opened the courtyard gate, and seeing Huang Tang, smiled and said, "It turns out it's Inspector Huang. Come in, come in, our young lady was just wondering why the teacher hasn't arrived yet!"

"Aunt Song, look, I've brought the person for you," Huang Tang had already opened the car door and got out, and at the same time, called out to Yang Kang.

Seeing the situation, Yang Kang had no choice but to get out of the car as well.

"Is this the Yang teacher you mentioned?" Aunt Song hurriedly greeted with a smile, "Come, come, come inside."

"Aunt Song, don't look at how young Teacher Yang is, he's a top student from the History Department of Jinling University," Huang Tang said as he walked inside.

Yang Kang stood at the courtyard gate for a full thirty seconds before following Huang Tang and Aunt Song inside.

"Come, both of you, sit down and have some tea," Aunt Song enthusiastically poured tea, and Yang Kang, looking at the familiar layout of the living room and the familiar furniture, felt a wave of dizziness.

"Yingying, Teacher Yang has arrived!" Aunt Song, hearing the sound of footsteps on the stairs, hurriedly called out.

Yang Kang tried to calm himself down, looked up, and saw a short-haired woman in a blue skirt bounding down the stairs made of original wood.

"Teacher Yang, this is Yingying!" Aunt Song hurriedly introduced them.

"Hello, my name is Yin Ying," Yin Ying was very lively and outgoing, and immediately greeted Yang Kang, then playfully winked at Huang Tang and said, "Hello, Inspector Huang."

"Ha... Miss Yin, hello," Huang Tang smiled and greeted her, then he looked at Yang Kang and said with a smile, "Miss Yin, I've brought him over. He's a bit directionally challenged and might get lost! Since you've met, I'll be on my way!"

"Thank you, Inspector Huang." Seeing Huang Tang about to leave, Aunt Song hurriedly saw him off.

Once Huang Tang left, Yin Ying smiled gracefully and said, "Teacher Yang, let's go to the study upstairs to talk."

"Okay!" Yang Kang responded somewhat woodenly and followed Yin Ying upstairs.

"Come, come, come, Teacher Yang, this is my study," Yin Ying led Yang Kang upstairs and said with a smile, "Sit wherever you like, don't be so stiff. Where have you ever seen a teacher so stiff that they can't even speak?"

Yang Kang's lips curled into a bitter smile, and he sat down on a carved old huangli wood chair from the late Qing and early Republic periods. Looking up at the familiar furnishings in the study, he knew this place... he was too familiar with it.

"Teacher Yang, I want you to explain the 'Zuo Zhuan' to me!" Yin Ying handed a thick book to Yang Kang and said, "I've read it, but most of it is only half-understood. Could you explain it to me?"

Yang Kang bit his tongue hard, the pain making him calm down. No matter how much it hurt, he was here to apply for a tutoring job, not to be sad. Or, even if he was sad, he couldn't show it.

"Should I start from the beginning, or focus on specific parts?" Yang Kang asked, "Although I understand it, I don't have any experience teaching. How about this, Miss Yin, you ask me about the parts you don't understand, and I'll answer?"

Yin Ying tilted her cute little head and thought carefully before saying, "I can't really say. It feels like I understand some parts but not others. Can you start from the beginning, and I'll interrupt you when I don't understand something?"

Yang Kang took the book and nodded, "Sure!"

It was only then that he noticed how beautiful this girl named Yin Ying was, with her fair and delicate skin, big eyes, oval face, and a head of black short hair, making her look even more refined and pure.

For the whole morning, Yang Kang held the 'Zuo Zhuan' and started from the first year of Duke Yin, explaining it word by word to Yin Ying.

Yin Ying was also very eager to learn, asking questions when she didn't understand, and treating him with great respect, which gradually helped Yang Kang put aside his initial sadness.

"Teacher Yang, let's stop here for today. Would you like to stay for lunch?" Yin Ying looked at the time, which was already past eleven in the morning, and immediately offered Yang Kang a cup of tea with a smile.

"No, I have something in the afternoon, so I won't stay for lunch," Yang Kang hurriedly declined her offer.

"Oh... really?" Yin Ying was clearly disappointed and said, "Alright, Teacher Yang, come over tomorrow morning!"

"Okay..." Yang Kang agreed somewhat reluctantly. Should he come back tomorrow? He really didn't want to tutor here.

"Miss, why are you here?" At that moment, Aunt Song's loud voice came from downstairs, and then Yang Kang heard her call, "Miss Yin, the young lady has arrived."

"My sister is here!" Yin Ying beamed and ran to the study door.

A familiar figure appeared before Yang Kang's eyes, and he froze again, feeling as if he had been stabbed in the chest, the pain making him involuntarily clutch his chest...

Why?

Why is it her?

"Sis, come—let me introduce you to the tutor I just hired, Teacher Yang Kang!" Yin Ying was already pulling the beautiful young woman in her early twenties towards Yang Kang.

"Yang Kang, your tutor?" Yin Qing's gaze fell on Yang Kang, and she also froze for a moment before walking to one side and sitting down in a chair.

"Sis, what's wrong?" Yin Ying noticed that Yin Qing's face looked a bit off, and the face of the Yang teacher she had just hired also looked very strange.

"Yang Kang, I once heard a joke. Do you want to hear it?" Yin Qing looked at Yang Kang's pale and handsome face, suddenly feeling an indescribable excitement. Could he have come to this?

The top student from Jinling University, from a wealthy family, and with his gentle and handsome appearance, could he have come to this?

"Please go on!" Yang Kang's voice was somewhat hoarse, but he finally said.

"During the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang set a precedent by caning ministers, and this practice was emulated by officials and their subordinates, continuing into the Qing Dynasty. When wealthy families' children were punished and had to be caned, they would often pay beggars to take the beating for them, thus creating the profession of 'substitute beating.'

Xu Qingjun, a descendant of the Zhongshan King of the late Ming Dynasty, became a beggar after the fall of the Ming and took up the profession of 'substitute beating.' Once, while substituting for someone, he was beaten more than twice the agreed number of times, and what made it even more unbearable for Xu Qingjun was that the beating took place in his family's former hall.

Mr. Yang, I used to think this was just a joke, but I never imagined that something similar could happen in real life.

Yang Kang, if you were just tutoring to earn a little pocket money from children, it would be one thing, but can you really sit in this place with a clear conscience?" Yin Qing, seeing Yang Kang's increasingly pale face, couldn't help but sneer. "After we bought this place, we didn't renovate it. This is your former study, isn't it?"

Yang Kang gripped the armrest of the chair tightly, stood up, and walked downstairs like a zombie.

"Mr. Yang, I heard you are well-versed in literature and history, especially in ancient texts, and you also have a taste for music. Do you know the next line after 'The rat has teeth, but man has no end'?" Yin Qing, seeing Yang Kang at the study door, immediately said coldly.

"Man has no end, why not die?" As soon as these words left Yang Kang's mouth, he felt a wave of dizziness, and a sweet, metallic taste in his throat. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Teacher Yang..." Yin Ying finally came to her senses and hurriedly walked over to support him.

But Yang Kang pushed her hand away and hurriedly walked downstairs.