Chapter 28

As soon as the bell rang, Gu Jing Yuan immediately threw everything into his bag, sat back down, and waited. 

She was always slow to pack up.     

In the end, she told him, “Ge-ge don’t need to wait for me. I wouldn’t be following you back in the future.” 

“En?”

“I’ve received a notification that there’s make up class this evening.”

“Oh.”

“Then see you later Ge-ge.” She lifted her schoolbag and left with light and brisk steps. She never once turned back.  

Watching her departing back, his chest suddenly felt empty. 

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Huh?

Brother Yuan… don’t look like he’s happy? 

The driver saw only Gu Jing Yuan getting into the car. He asked, “Young Master, do we need to wait for Miss Tao?”

“Let’s go somewhere first.”

**

When Tao Yi Xi found the classroom, there were already a few people scattered around inside.

Upon spotting her, Tang Wan’s eyes lit up, “Yi Xi, over here.”

Seeing her approaching figure, Tang Wan interlinked their arms, “I just knew you’ll get admitted! You’re ranked third, that’s amazing! Unlike me, I barely made the cut.”

Tao Yi Xi smiled, “It’s all the same as long as we manage to get in. Let’s work hard together.”

“En! By the way, there are a few questions I don’t really understand, can you teach me?”

“Sure.”

After a bit of explanation, Tang Wan suddenly realized, “So that’s how to do this!”

From her peripheral view, Tao Yi Xi noticed someone entering.

Chen Ze was carrying a schoolbag. Although the book in his hand was different, the cover was still as worn out as the previous one. There was a library tag on the spine of a book.

He sat alone in the corner, not conversing with his classmates, out of touch with all social interactions.

Tang Wan noticed him and sighed, “Chen Ze is like a big block of iceberg wherever he goes.”

“Hmm? Why so?” Tao Yi Xi asked curiously.

“He’s also like this in class. He would sit alone, choosing not to interact with others.” 

“With his personality like this, would he turn away people who approached him to ask questions?” 

“That, he wouldn’t. But very few people would return to ask him questions. I’ve approached him once before regarding a question. But the way he explained it, I wasn’t able to understand. His methods were too advanced and his workings jumped many steps. In the end, I couldn’t keep up.”

“I just so happened to have a question that I don’t quite understand. I’ll go ask him about it. See you.” 

“Eh?”

Tang Wan watched as Tao Yi Xi walked towards Chen Ze.

He did not get angry even though he was disturbed. He took Tao Yi Xi’s book and pondered for a few seconds before he started explaining.

She could not grasp the specific content as she watched his mouth open and closed without pausing. It was like he was talking to himself and was not bothered to know if the other party could keep up.

Having experienced it once before, it was very unforgettable.

They watched as Tao Yi Xi went from confusion with furrowed brows to her brow slowly relaxing again. Completely different from their embarrassment as they could not understand.

The communication between the first and second rank was too mighty.

After Chen Ze finished his explanation, he abruptly ended their conversation without a conclusion and went back to doing his own things.

Tao Yi Xi did not feel awkward because of his demeanor. In fact, it was better this way, without distraction, it allowed her time to process what he just told her and work towards getting the correct answer.

Casting a fleeting glance at his book, it was classed as advanced mathematics.

No wonder the method he used exceeded the standard their current caliber would understand.

After benefiting much from this, Tao Yi Xi was now reluctant to leave.

“Can I sit here?”

“Up to you.”

“Thanks.”

She put her schoolbag aside, gaining a temporary deskmate.

Another student sharing their table took a peek at his watch before looking at the sky outside the window.

He murmured to himself, “Class is about to end.”

He grabbed his phone and gave a call to his driver, “Are you currently free? It’s getting dark now, please come to school and pick me up.”

**

By the time class ended, the sky had already darkened.

The evening breeze in autumn was usually colder. She found herself pulling up the zipper.   

Watching as her classmates were fetched by their family’s chauffeur one by one, Tang Wan offered to send Tao Yi Xi home but was adamantly rejected. In the end, only she and Chen Ze were left. 

Chen Ze did not bid her goodbye before hiking up his schoolbag and walking off. His slender back slowly merged into the dark evening.

There was a bleak gloominess about him; he looked like a person with a story.

“Miss Tao.”

Tao Yi Xi retrieved her gaze and turned around, “Ah? Why are you here?”

“It was getting late, Young Master instructed me to pick you up.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure. After all, Young Master improved so drastically because of your help.” 

The chauffeur had been working for the Gu Family for many years. He watched as Gu Jing Yuan went from a well-behaved child to becoming a rebellious teenager after his family fell apart. There was no one who could handle him. That was until Miss Tao arrived.

“Miss Tao, please get into the car. Young Master is waiting for you at home. Oh yes, Young Master has prepared a surprise for you.”

“A surprise?”

By the time Tao Yi Xi reached home, it was already eight o’clock. Reaching her bedroom, she spotted two cardboard boxes stacked outside the door.

Was this the ‘surprise’ the chauffeur was referring to?   

She stepped forward and opened one of the boxes. Inside laid rows of neatly placed glass bottles.

The bottles were exquisite. Sophisticatedly labeled on the bottles were ‘Cold Brew Coffee Bean Varieties’. 

Inside the box, there was also a tiny booklet. It stated the shelf life, storage methods, and other possible ways to consume this cold brew. It could be paired with milk or sugar syrup, and the descriptions were accompanied by exquisite high-definition colored illustrations.

Meticulously designed, one could tell from a glance that it was not cheap.    

Kacha.

The door of the room beside her opened. Gu Jing Yuan had changed into comfortable home attire. He was leaning against the door frame, looking extremely laid-back.

“I’m back.”

“En.”

He raised his chin, “Oh yes, to compensation you.”

“It’s not really appropriate.”

“I’ve already given it, just take it. Don’t be quarrelsome.” His lips pursed, not happy to be rejected.

Tao Yi Xi stroked the smooth body of the glass bottle and thanked him.

“It’s still not anything good. Best to drink less of it.” His casually phrased words were laced with his concern.

She raised her eyes and looked directly into his relaxed ones, and gave him a smile. Her eyes lit up and the tiny mole under her left eye looked exceptionally dazzling.

He was completely unable to withdraw his gaze. 

The gloom that shrouded him for the whole day finally dispersed a little.    

A servant came upstairs. She retracted her smile, dragging along his state of mind.

“Young Master, Nanny Yang instructed me to ask when you wish to have dinner?” 

“Now.”

“Understood.”

“You haven’t eaten yet?” The time was not early anymore.

“En, I didn’t have an appetite just now.” As he shuffled past her on his way to the stairs, he did not forget to tell her, “come down for dinner.”

“I need to bring these down first. They need to be refrigerated.”

“Troublesome.”

Although he grumbled, his actions were faster than hers as he snatched the boxes before her. With a swipe, both boxes were already nestled in his arms.

“With your short arms and legs, you should just let others do it.”

Tao Yi Xi, ‘You’ve probably forgotten who took down the five guys previously.’

But she did not quibble with him. As she followed behind him, she could spot the slight bulge of his biceps straining beneath his clothes.

Feeling her gaze, the corners of Gu Jing Yuan’s lips lifted unconsciously.

It seemed that his nightly push-ups were not in vain.

**

When Nanny Yang brought forth the dishes, she glanced a couple of times at Tao Yi Xi, having a sense of unease.

Young Master never had his dinner so late before. She vaguely felt that something was amiss but could not get any concrete evidence. 

Since Nanny Yang did not vocalise her thought, Tao Yi Xi would just treat it as if nothing was up.

He was always quick to finish his meals. However, this time around he did not leave after he was done. Instead, he sat there with his chin resting on his palm watching as her mouth moved while chewing on her food. While she was eating, her cheeks were bulged, which looked fairly cute. 

Tao Yi Xi chewed faster while giving him a doubtful look.

“Ge-ge, are you not busy this evening?”

“Not busy.”

“…”

Even if he was not busy, could he leave? His staring was going to give her indigestion.

Gu Jing Yuan pondered for a moment before asking, “Is the competition tough?” 

“It is.”

“Oh.”

Tao Yi Xi, “…”

Why did he feel the need to find such a dull conversation topic?

Gu Jing Yuan also felt embarrassed. But they have yet to talk today. Previously, it was her that would be going on about study topics and whatnot.

Tao Yi Xi could not stand this kind of atmosphere and quickly finished her meal.

“I’m done eating, I’ll go back to my room first.”

“Wait, there are some questions I don’t know how to do.”

“You can take a snapshot of the questions. I’ll write down the solutions and send them back to you.”

She did not have any intention to tutor him privately.

“Fine, you can leave.”

“Then Ge-ge, you take your time.”

After she left, Nanny Yang approached to ask if he wanted an additional bowl of soup. One that nourished the body. 

“No need.”

After she left, he found no reason to remain. He returned to his room and took a few snapshots of random questions before sending them to her. Soon she replied.

Her handwriting was graceful, as beautiful as she was.

Attached with the solutions was her reply.

[If there’s anything that you don’t understand you can text me. When I see your message, I’ll reply.]

He held onto his phone and typed a few words. But looking at the message she sent, he silently pressed the delete button.

Forget it, let her busy with her own stuff.

When she focused on her revision, time seemed to fly by. By the time she finally reached an answer she was satisfied with, she released a yawn.

She picked up her phone and flipped through the chat record. He did not reply.

In fact, with his current standard, he should be able to answer the questions himself.

She could probably guess what he was up to, but she did not say anything.

She habitually went downstairs with her mug. But when she reached the kitchen, she remembered that he had taken all of her instant coffee.

From the fridge, she took out a bottle of cold brew. On the side, there was also milk and sugar syrup.

The white milk blended into the dark coffee, slowly turning it chocolate brown.

The taste was pure and strong. Vastly different from the taste of the dollar-per-sachet instant coffee she bought previously.

She checked the information and learnt that it took at least twelve hours to make cold brewed coffee.

He was really considerate. But unfortunately, he met such a heartless person like her.

**

Gradually, the only things said between the two of them were just daily perfunctory greetings. 

Whenever he looked at her, she would always have her head buried in her revisions and tackle questions he could not comprehend. They had nothing in common to talk about.

Who asked him to say such stupid things like it being enough to deal with Gu Mu Yang?

Peng! 

All his irritation was directed into the basketball in his hands. 

The referee whistled, “Three-pointers, beautiful!”

“YES! We won! Brother Yuan, you’re so handsome~” Qi Yue started fawning.

Gu Jing Yuan could not be bothered to spare him a glance. He expressionlessly stretched out his hand to block Qi Yue’s head from coming closer.

Shen Chen Chen brought water over for Gu Jing Yuan but it was snatched away by Qi Yue.

“Hey! I was giving that to Jing Yuan!”

“He wouldn’t accept drinks from girls. Can’t you see, I’m doing you a favor.”    

“Even so, I still wouldn’t give it to you.”

“Aiya! Don’t be so stingy. Sister Yi Xi always prepares two sets.”    

With his reminder, Shen Chen Chen suddenly realized that Tao Yi Xi was not around.

“Where’s Yi Xi?”

Qi Yue took a big gulp of water, “She went to attend a make up class for the mathematic competition.”

“Then the person I just saw was really her.”

Qi Yue curiously inquired, “What’s up?”

“On my way here, I walked passed the multimedia room. As there were people inside, I took a look and spotted a boy with a girl sitting beside him. The girl looks like Yi Xi.”

The hand that was wiping off his perspiration paused as Gu Jing Yuan asked, “Boy?”

“Yes.”

His gaze darkened, “Which floor is the multimedia classroom on?”

“Third floor.”

**

They managed to go through half of the papers yesterday. The last two big questions that were too difficult were left to be discussed during this lesson.    

The last question just happened to be exactly the same as the one she asked Chen Ze on the first day.

The teacher first went through the method proposed by the reference answer key. Then went on to discuss Chen Ze’s way of answering the question. While everyone was secretly admiring Chen Ze’s advanced way of solving, the teacher added, “Regarding this question, Student Yi Xi has provided a third alternative.”

“What? There’s a third way of doing this question?”

“What other way is there? Is it some other advanced syllabus method?” 

At a low volume, the students started discussing. They already spent much effort digesting Chen Ze’s method.

But they were all wrong.

The workings provided by Tao Yi Xi were closely connected to the existing syllabus that one would have knowledge of. It was quite similar to the reference answer key as well, but it was simpler and easier to understand.

Tang Wan nodded her head in approval. Yes, this was Tao Yi Xi’s style, she could break down the most difficult of topics into simpler and clearer procedures for people.

And naturally, this was the most accepted of the three methods.

At the back, even Chen Ze came out of his own world and studied the workings on the blackboard.

For the first time, he looked closely at this female classmate seated beside him.

“How did you come out with this method?”

Tao Yi Xi smiled faintly, “Last night, I encountered a similar problem, so I inferred from other similar methods.”

Last night, she had to turn over all possible problem and solutions before she found the one she wanted to reference.

After concluding the question, even the teacher sighed with emotion, “Student Yi Xi has a solid foundation and is well-versed in the syllabus. Everyone should learn from her.”

Chen Ze nodded, “You’re very good.”

Tao Yi Xi was quite happy to gain recognition from the big boss. But, she was self-aware of what she lacked. 

“I spent too long on the question.”

This was her Achilles heel.

It was rare for Chen Ze to meet someone who could keep pace with him. Hence, he was willing to interact a little more with her.

“There are some techniques when tackling questions in a competition. For example, this question…”

Stood not too far away was Gu Jing Yuan. He watched as the two people sat very closely together from the corridor window. 

He had good eyesight. He could clearly see Tao Yi Xi looking up at Chen Ze with shining eyes as if she received some precious treasure.

It was a look he had never seen before.

And, how could she smile so prettily at others?

The two of them were looking down at the test paper while talking.

He could imagine how nice her soft and waxy voice sounded. If she was a little softer, it would be able to numb others’ ears.

Does Chen Ze feel the same way as well?

Hateful.

Yesterday he spent so much effort trying to find a topic to converse with her but she barely said a few sentences. Yet, now facing other people, she had so much to say?

---

OMO… our Jing Yuan is just a jar of vinegar now~