CHAPTER 1

A young boy who looked to be around the age of 17 stood outside the small run-down-looking house. He could hear the sound of the waves washing up onto the sea shore since the village was just beside the sea. If he walked a bit further in, he would be able to see the calm water. But it wasn't the time to have fun. The whole reason he was standing outside the house, waiting patiently to be let in, was because he was being tutored by the old Mathematician who lived there. 

He looked around him and sighed. Little kids were running along the roads with toys in their hands. They looked happy. Three teenage girls who walked pass waved at him and winked. He waved back. A few old ladies wished him 'Good morning' in Chinese. He greeted them back. He stood outside for another 10 minutes until he finally gave up and proceeded to walk away. Just then, a black Bentley drove up to the front of the house and blocked his way.

He stood still to allow the Bentley to pass. It did not, however, and instead, the car door swung open and a young girl stepped out of it. She had loads of colourful bags hanging on her arms and she had a laptop propped under her left arm and her right hand held a pink iPhone. The boy was mesmerized. She had luscious chestnut brown locks that was waist-length and pale fair skin. Girls who lived in that small village didn't own skin as light and smooth as that of hers. She was probably from the city. 

She got out of the car and slammed the door shut. The sleek black Bentley then drove away. The girl let out a soft sigh and turned towards the house. The boy gulped and smoothed his hair unconsciously when she looked to his direction. She began to walk towards him. He sucked in a deep breath and got slightly flustered. "Are you waiting for my grandfather?" The girl asked once she got right in front of him. She was short and could only reach the height of his chest.

"Uhmm...and might that be Mr Lee?" The boy asked, running a slightly trembling hand through his messy dark brown hair. "Yep." The girl cheerily replied before giving him a toothy smile, "I don't think he's in right now. He usually goes out around this time. Shall we enter first?" The boy just nodded as the girl put her many bags onto the paved road and fumbled with a bunch of keys. When the door was unlocked, the boy helped her carry her bags as they walked inside the dusty old house.

It didn't look very majestic or big but it was cozy and bright enough. "Feel free to sit on the couch while waiting." The girl told the flustered boy as he sheepishly nodded and obeyed. Two minutes passed. The boy broke the silence, "A-Are you his g-granddaughter?" "Yes. I'm Lillian. And you?" The girl spun around to smile at him. "I-I'm Darrien. His student. Nice to meet you." Darrien stammered, embarrassed. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Darrien. Do you come over for tuition every day?" Lillian asked. "Once or twice a week." He managed to stutter.

"Oh, I see. How is he? I haven't seen him for MONTHS! He must be lonely living here all alone." Lillian blabbered. "Uh...he's fine. He's great. He's a great Mathematician." Darrien simply stated and the girl nodded in agreement. "He's a retired Math lecturer, if you may want to know. He used to teach in the city." Lillian explained. "I see. I haven't seen you around before. I've been coming here for a few months." He blurted out of curiosity. He mentally punched himself a second after.

"Oh, I live in the city!" Lillian giggled, "I come here to visit once in a while. It CAN get lonely here sometimes. Poor grandpa. Do you live around here, Darrien?" The sound of her calling him by his name made him jump up ever so slightly. "Oh, yeah. I live a few houses away from here. My house is just beside the sea." He mumbled. Lillian gasped and clasped her hands over her lips. "W-What?" The boy asked, dumbstruck. "The sea! I forgot...we're just next to the sea! I would love to see the sea!" She cried out.

"Uhmm...I could take you to see it, if you like." Darrien suggested stupidly without thinking. "Really? You mean it?!" Lillian cried out before flashing him another one of her adorable toothy smiles. She took a few steps closer to him and that made him even more flustered than he already was. A drop of sweat trickled down the side of his face. "Y-Yeah..if your grandfather allows. I could take you this evening or tonight." He stumbled. "Alright, this evening it is!" Lillian cheered and she hopped up and down a little bit, "I don't know how to thank you, Darrien!" 

"Uh...don't have to thank me. I'm a really...uhmm...bored person?" He sweatdropped and clutched his bag filled with Math books tightly. "Grandpa will be back very soon. I'll go unpack my things for the time being." Lillian smiled, placed her iPhone on the glass table in front of the couch Darrien was sitting on and walked into the guestroom with her load of bags. The poor boy was immediately engulfed in silence. He stared hard at the pink-covered iPhone with his black eyes. This was one of the very few times he had seen an iPhone. Almost no one in the village could even afford one. 

He got the sudden urge to touch the phone so badly. One touch wouldn't do any harm, would it? Slowly and carefully, he stretched his arm forward towards the iPhone. A few more drops of sweat trickled down his face and he bit his lip. Just as his index finger was about to make contact with the rubbery pink cover of the phone, the door of the house creaked open. His arm shot back to his side so fast, no one could even notice. In walked an elderly white-bearded man clad in a grey English sweater and black slacks. "Good morning, Darrien." The man greeted gently.

"Good morning, Sir." Darrien greeted back politely and stood up to bow before his tutor. "Sorry I'm late. Wait...how did you get in here in the first place? Broke in, eh?" The old man joked in his raspy old voice. "A-Ah, no. Y-Your granddaughter is here, Sir. She had the keys and let me in." The boy stammered as the old man raised an eyebrow in confusion. "My granddaughter..." He muttered softly and went silent for a little while before bursting out, "LILLIAN? SHE'S HERE?!" "Y-Yeah." Darrien replied, taken aback by his sudden outburst. Who knew a man as old as him could be this enthusiastic?

"Lilly! Come out!" The man called out gleefully, looking super excited. The girl walked out of the guestroom in a pretty pink sundress. Her bangs brushed against her eyebrows as she walked. "HI, GRANDPA!" She shrieked, equally as enthusiastic, once she spotted her grandfather. She ran up to hug her grandfather. She only came to his chest as well. "I've missed you, Lilly. It's been a long time. 8 months?" The old man said. "Yeah, I think so." Lillian replied, her voice muffled by her grandfather's thick English sweater. 

"Make yourself at home, Lilly. I'll have to tutor Darrien for now. Have you two introduced yourselves to each other?" He smiled. "Yeah!" Lillian nodded, "And he's bringing me out tonight!" She continued blabbering until she disappeared into her room. The old man turned back to the boy who was silent until now, "Are you trying to hook up with my granddaughter or something?" He asked in a threatening voice. "N-No, Sir. She said she wanted to see the sea, so I offered to show her to it this evening and-and..." The boy stammered, scared to bits.

"I'm just joking. There's nothing wrong with that." The old man chuckled in his raspy voice and brought out several thick Math textbooks, "Let's begin with our lesson."

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