Chapter 331 The Tutor
Steven sighed.
"Ms. Evans, with your abilities, you could have lived a much more comfortable life. I didn't expect you to be struggling so much now. You truly are a great teacher!" Steven praised her with a smile.
Lily frowned slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
Although Steven was complimenting her, she felt as if she was being insulted, as if someone was calling her a fool.
She didn't want to argue about it, so she slowly sat down on the sofa.
The warm room temperature and the soft sofa greatly soothed her emotions.
Nora came over with two steaming cups of coffee, smiling as she placed one in front of Lily.
"Please enjoy it," Nora said.
"Thank you!" Lily picked up the cup, and the rising steam made her feel a bit emotional.
Looking at the foam on top, she realized it was a cappuccino, which she didn't particularly like.
To maintain her figure, she usually drank espresso.
But now she had no choice and took a big sip.
'So sweet! It has at least two cubes of sugar!' Lily thought to herself.
For the first time, she didn't feel disgusted by the amount of sugar in the coffee; instead, she felt moved to tears.
Steven leisurely took a sip of his coffee and then asked, "What brings you here this time?"
Holding her coffee, Lily looked at Steven seriously and said, "We had an agreement before. I would help you retake West Mountain Base, and you would provide shelter and food for me and my students."
"Now that West Mountain Base is gone, and Cox Town has ready-made accommodations, I hope you can provide us with more food." She said this with a bit of helplessness. "You know, my students are quite helpless. It will take some time for them to find food or fish in the river."
Steven immediately retorted, "So, they didn't suffer enough at West Mountain Base?"
Lily's tone faltered, and she shook her head. "Let's not talk about that. Just give us the food so they can get through the next period. I'll figure out the rest later."
Steven nodded. "Of course."
He opened the Dimension Door right in front of Lily.
Then, A huge pile of food appeared on the floor, stacked over 3 feet high!
There were many things in the extradimensional space. Steven had stored a lot of items there without worrying about whether he would need them.
Food was among them, much of which he didn't particularly like.
He picked out some food and handed it to Lily. Pointing to the food, Steven said, "This should be enough for you and your dozen or so students for half a month. Take it back. This is what we agreed upon."
Lily looked at the pile of food on the ground, a joyful smile appearing on her face. "Thank you, Steven!"
"This is what you deserve." Steven took a sip of his coffee and smiled gentlemanly.
Lily let out a long sigh of relief.
In fact, she was particularly afraid that Steven would go back on his word when she came.
After all, now that West Mountain Base was gone, she had no bargaining power with Steven.
If Steven reneged, she would have no recourse.
So Steven's prompt fulfillment of the agreement made Lily feel good about him.
Steven took out a few travel bags and had Nora help Lily pack the food.
Lily sat on the sofa, wanting to stay a bit longer and drink some warm coffee.
But staying too long made her feel awkward, worried that Steven might think she was just there to enjoy the warmth.
So she squatted down and started packing the food into the bags.
Steven looked at Lily and suddenly asked, "It must be tough for a woman to take care of so many students, right?"
Lily suddenly stopped what she was doing.
Steven's words hit her right in the heart.
Since the apocalypse, she had been tirelessly protecting her students as a teacher.
Her students saw her as their pillar, but who cared about her struggles?
In reality, she was just a woman in her twenties, occasionally needing comfort from others.
Lily looked up and gave Steven a grateful smile. "Thank you! But I can't abandon my students. If I don't take care of them, they won't survive in this world."
Lily sighed softly. "I couldn't forgive myself if that happened."
Steven raised an eyebrow. He understood the underlying message in Lily's words.
She worked hard to protect these students, not out of deep affection, but because she was upholding her duty as a teacher.
People could die for their beliefs.
If someone went against their beliefs and couldn't bring themselves to fall, living might be more painful than dying.
A thought suddenly occurred to Steven. 'If I could help Lily reasonably get rid of these students, she might be very happy.'
Yes, the kind of happiness where she appeared to be in great pain on the surface but actually breathed a long sigh of relief inside, ready to start a new life.
'If I get the chance in the future, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get rid of her students,' Steven thought to himself.
The reason Steven disliked Lily's students was because of Cindy and Aubrey.
Back at Innovation Academy, those guys had used violence against Aubrey and Cindy.
So, Steven had decided they were a bunch of bad apples.
Keeping them around was a waste of food, and they might even become a liability someday.
It would be better to find an opportunity to eliminate them.
Steven looked at Lily, understanding that now was not the time to kill those people.
He couldn't let Lily hate him.
He really wanted Lily to be his.
So Steven said, "You're too indulgent with them. They're not that young anymore; most of them are adults, right? But they still rely on you like babies. Lily, what do you plan to do when this food runs out? Are you going to support all of them by yourself?"
Lily's head started to ache from Steven's words.
Her students were all quite pampered.
She had thought that after suffering at West Mountain Base, they would have learned to live independently.
But when she asked them to break the ice and fish in the Mississippi River, they managed to injure their own hands.
When she asked them to repair the igloos, they even managed to create big holes in the houses.
On top of that, they complained that the clothes and blankets left by the villagers had been used by dead people and were too dirty to wear.
It had been three months since the apocalypse began; who had the luxury to wash clothes and bedding?
Lily frowned, not knowing what to do.
She could only hope that they would mature someday, so her burden would be lighter.
Steven looked at her and suddenly said gently, "Lily, you're working too hard. Why don't you let me help you?"
Lily looked up in disbelief, her big round eyes staring at Steven, unable to believe her ears.
"What did you say?" She had to ask again to confirm.
Steven smiled slightly. "I said, I can provide food for you. Everyone knows by now that I have a lot of supplies. Food is abundant, and even with a dozen more people, it's no pressure at all."
Steven sighed. "Seeing you struggle so much, as a kind person, I can't just stand by and watch!"
Lily felt a surge of joy in her heart, but she quickly became cautious.
She knew Steven's character and style; he wouldn't help others for no reason.
"Let me ask first, are you helping us because you want us to do something for you?" Lily asked.
A mysterious smile appeared on Steven's lips. He said, "You're mistaken. I'm not helping you all; I'm helping you! And I need you to provide enough in return to exchange for the food."
Lily felt relieved; this was the Steven she knew.
"Tell me, what do you need me to exchange for?" Lily asked.
Steven laughed heartily, then playfully extended his index finger, pointing at Lily. "I want you!"
Lily was stunned for a moment, then quickly blushed, instinctively standing up and stepping back five or six steps.
"Don't go too far!" Lily was trembling with anger, pointing at Steven with a face full of shame and indignation.
Not far away, Nora heard the commotion and couldn't help but look over.
'Does Steven have feelings for Ms. Evans too?' Nora felt an even stronger sense of crisis.
Lily pointed at Steven, gritting her teeth and saying, "I will never sell my body!"
A mischievous smile appeared on Steven's lips.
Seeing Lily's flustered state greatly satisfied his twisted sense of humor.
He leaned back on the sofa, looking at Lily with a puzzled expression. "I was thinking of asking you to be my tutor, to teach me some Taekwondo, combat skills, and the like. How is that indecent?"
"What?" Lily was stunned again. 'A tutor?'
Steven slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing, "Oh, you thought I wanted to sleep with you! What are you thinking? You're a teacher!"
Steven looked exasperated, but inside he was very pleased.
Sure enough, Lily was left dumbfounded by Steven's teasing.
She thought she had misunderstood Steven's intentions and quickly apologized with a red face, "I'm sorry, I misunderstood you."
Steven's tone was a bit angry. "Do you think I'm that kind of person? Lily, you underestimate me!"
"This tutor job is up to you. If you want to do it, do it; if not, that's fine too. I'm not forcing you. You can leave now." Steven waved his hand, signaling her to leave.
Lily, on the other hand, panicked.
Such a good opportunity was in front of her; she didn't want to miss it.
Just teaching Steven how to fight in exchange for food was something she was very willing to do.
Lily said, "No, I want to do it!"
Steven looked at the flustered Lily and laughed inside.
This strong yet straightforward Lily, he was determined to have her!
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