Chapter 12: A Smooth Job
After calming down, Toan Phuong broke into a mischievous smile.
His parents had hired and fired countless tutors in the past—some had quit on their own out of sheer frustration, others had been let go by his mother.
But most gave up and left voluntarily.
Kieu Ly was a different case entirely.
She was persistent—and in a rather unorthodox way.
Still, he wasn't someone who would be easily subdued.
The tougher the opponent, the greater the satisfaction when he finally got rid of them.
Toan Phuong grinned to himself, already imagining the moment.
That same day, Kieu Ly cheerfully biked home.
Suddenly, the road ahead seemed to sparkle.
This was exactly how she felt whenever she gave her all and achieved something worthwhile.
When she got home, she collapsed onto her bed and fell asleep instantly.
Step one was complete: she had successfully changed the little devil's attitude toward studying.
More than that, she was genuinely optimistic about how well the job could go from here.
Despite being rebellious, the boy was exceptionally smart.
If he put his mind to it, he might even be able to win a national academic award.
Even in her sleep, a faint smile formed at the corners of Kieu Ly's lips.
Seeing this, Huong Tra smiled too.
She gently let down the mosquito net over Kieu Ly's bed, then headed to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and sat down to study.
In the days that followed, whenever Kieu Ly came over for a tutoring session, Toan Phuong sat down and studied seriously.
Kieu Ly had judged him correctly: he was a quick learner.
So quick, in fact, that she often got to go home early.
She also reviewed his notebooks—and they were all neatly written.
He even took careful notes during class now.
One day, after assigning him some exercises, Kieu Ly strolled around the room.
It was a spacious space with several bookshelves arranged neatly and logically.
Besides the one next to his desk holding textbooks, the other shelves were filled with a variety of titles—books on finance, art, self-help, and communication.
She stopped in front of a shelf filled with music books.
Curious, she picked one up and flipped it open.
The other types of books didn't surprise her—every college student or avid reader likely owned a few of those.
But music books were rare. That piqued her interest.
Suddenly, Toan Phuong appeared behind her.
He quickly snatched the book out of her hands and shoved it back on the shelf, visibly annoyed.
"I finished my exercises.
Being a tutor seems like a pretty cushy job, huh?"
Noticing his irritation, Kieu Ly decided not to push it.
He probably didn't like people touching his stuff.
Without saying anything, she returned to the desk to check his work.