25. A Timely Lifeline in the Snow? Sooner or Later, the Scoundrel Will Face His Downfall

“Of course, Ms. Huang, please have a seat and take your time,” Li An said, inviting Huang Juan to sit on his piano bench. He even subtly changed the way he addressed her.

The matter was this: the child of a friend of Huang Juan’s cousin had just finished their second year of high school this summer and was preparing for next year’s arts entrance exam. The family was very well-off. From the beginning, the child had studied music under Professor Yu from the Music Department at Rongcheng Normal University. They had always hired a practice coach for the child. The previous coach had been a senior college student, also a student of Professor Yu, and the family had been quite satisfied. However, that coach had recently graduated. Originally, the coach had planned to stay in Rongcheng for work, but for some unknown reason, suddenly returned home. Professor Yu then introduced three more coaches, but the child wasn’t satisfied with any of them. With no suitable coach available and the arts exam just half a year away, the family was getting anxious and started looking everywhere for help.

That’s how they reached out to Huang Juan. The family had initially insisted on a female coach, but due to the current situation, they relaxed their requirements. As long as the coach was highly qualified and had a clean appearance, gender didn’t matter. On the phone, Huang Juan’s cousin repeatedly reminded her not to mess this up and, if possible, to find a female coach. If not, a male coach would do, but she must be sure of the person’s character.

Huang Juan knew this friend of her cousin—she didn’t know much about her personality, but she certainly knew she was demanding. That’s why, at first, she wanted to decline; it was likely to be a thankless task. But remembering she’d borrowed a hundred thousand yuan from her cousin when changing houses last year, she felt obliged to help.

Running through her contacts in her mind, the first person she thought of was Lin Pengfei—an overseas graduate from a prestigious university. Introducing him would also reflect well on her. But then she shook her head; though Lin Pengfei had good character, he had a habit of speaking without thinking. After another round of consideration, she realized Li An was the most suitable candidate: professionally competent, clean-cut, and quick-witted. Judging by the recent class evaluations and Principal Qin Yong’s attitude toward Li An, Huang Juan had already decided to give him a high score before even coming to assess him. Now, offering him this opportunity was both a gesture of goodwill and a small investment for the future.

If not for her pride and lack of expertise, she would have wanted to be the child’s coach herself. After weighing her options, she made her decision.

Huang Juan briefly explained the situation to Li An but withheld many details, wanting to see his attitude first.

“I understand, an arts exam practice coach,” Li An replied.

Having grasped the general idea, Li An didn’t ask about the pay first. “What’s the child’s current level?” he inquired.

“It should be quite good. Your main job will be to accompany the child during practice and follow the progress set by the main teacher,” Huang Juan explained.

“I see. The lessons will be at the child’s home, correct?” Li An continued.

“Yes, and it’s best if you could go there tonight to meet the parents. The situation is urgent, so the sooner we settle this, the better.”

Tonight certainly wouldn’t work. Li An quickly weighed his options. It was clear that the family was in a hurry and likely searching for teachers everywhere—he couldn’t afford to let this opportunity slip away. If he weren’t so strapped for cash, he might even consider taking a night off from Blue Whale. But tomorrow, he’d already promised to have dinner with everyone.

“Tonight is inconvenient?”

Huang Juan hadn’t actually set an appointment, but the family had said the sooner, the better, and that he could come for a trial lesson at any time.

After considering, Li An tentatively suggested, “How about tomorrow evening? Or next Tuesday would work as well.”

“That’s fine. Wait for my call,” Huang Juan replied. As she stood up, she finally mentioned the pay since Li An hadn’t asked about it. “You don’t need to worry about the hourly rate. The last coach was paid 240 an hour.”

Li An’s mind buzzed—only one thought remained: this was a wealthy family.

“Thank you, Ms. Huang,” he said with a slight bow. He’d expected the usual market rate of eighty or a hundred, not this. For Huang Juan to offer him such an opportunity without any family ties was truly unexpected, especially given his current circumstances. It was like receiving timely help in a snowstorm.

Huang Juan was very pleased with Li An’s attitude and reminded him, “The child’s mother is a close friend of my cousin. Please pay extra attention.”

“Of course,” Li An nodded. “You can count on me.”

“Good. Also, don’t neglect your assessments at work; get ready for the skills evaluation at the end of the month. Principal Qin mentioned you and Xu Nana by name in the assessment group the other day.”

“Thank you for your support, Ms. Huang,” Li An said, thinking briefly of Xu Nana as he nodded his thanks.

Having conveyed everything, Huang Juan returned to her office and contacted her cousin. Shortly after, her cousin replied: the meeting would be at eight o’clock on Saturday evening and asked that the teacher present himself neatly. She then shared Li An’s contact information.

In the west office, several people were discussing a trending scandal about a certain male celebrity’s infidelity.

Xu Hongxin said, “Now that he’s been exposed, how many in that industry do you think are actually clean?”

Ma Tao was a little disappointed—this celebrity had always been his idol. He said, a bit unwillingly, “Maybe there’ll be a twist later.”

Xu Hongxin laughed, “If we don’t hear that he has an eighteen-year-old illegitimate child, that’s the best outcome. The evidence is overwhelming. How can he clear his name now? He’s crossed a legal line.”

Chen Xuan sighed, “I used to think he was quite handsome. I didn’t expect him to be like this.”

Xu Hongxin said, “That’s why you can’t pick a husband just because he’s handsome. No matter how devoted he is to his family, he can’t resist all those young girls throwing themselves at him.”

With some bitterness, Chen Xuan said, “A scoundrel will always get caught in the end.”

Suddenly, Li An’s phone rang. The office instantly fell silent. He picked up—it was an unfamiliar number. Quietly, he turned up the volume to maximum.

After a moment, he answered, “Hello?”

“Hey, bro, hi there. This is Xiao Wang from Deyou. We spoke on Beike this morning. When would you like to come by?”

Li An: ...This wasn’t the call he was expecting.

The guy’s booming, raspy voice made his ears ring—everyone in the office could hear. He checked his watch and replied, “Four-thirty.”

“Great, bro, great. I’m at the shop now. Just come to the west gate of the complex, and I’ll be waiting for you outside.”

He’d thought it would be the student’s parent. If it had been set for Tuesday, that would have been ideal. If it was for tomorrow evening, he’d planned to let everyone hear he had a last-minute engagement, which would give him a reason to postpone the group dinner. He wouldn’t have minded, if not for the timing.

“An, are you looking for a new place?” someone asked.

Before Li An could answer, his phone rang again—another unfamiliar number. Once again, the office fell silent.

“Hello?”

“Hello.” On the other end was the steady voice of a middle-aged woman, polite and formal.

“Is this Mr. Li An?”