Chapter 0019 Tutoring

The homeroom teacher initially disagreed.

She knew that she and Chen Yan were dating, but Chen Yan had a bad reputation, so she didn't dare to do anything and turned a blind eye.

From an adult's perspective, she felt the two wouldn't end up together. Even the Chinese textbook says, "Once a woman is caught up in love, she cannot escape!" Fearing Ruyi would fall for it, she talked to Ruyi several times. Ruyi only repeatedly assured her it wouldn't interfere with her studies, refusing to say anything more. And indeed, as she predicted, Ruyi has consistently ranked first in her class and among the top thirty in her grade since choosing her major—a definite C9 candidate.

But now it's the crucial time of senior year, and the homeroom teacher isn't tired enough of reviewing for himself, so why is he rushing to tutor Chen Yan? The homeroom teacher finds it unbelievable.

Not to mention that Chen Yan's knowledge system is riddled with holes, and trying to fill in the gaps might ultimately be a waste of time and effort, even if his foundation is solid, it would still be a deprivation of her precious time. In the end, if Chen Yan fails to help her improve, her own grades will also be dragged down, resulting in more harm than good.

Ruyi said, "Even for teachers who don't know, giving lectures is a process of deepening memory, which is not without its benefits for me."

The homeroom teacher sighed and said that she had seen some high school couples where the girl was well-behaved and had good grades, while the boy was playful. In their senior year, the girl would tutor the boy, but in the end, the boy would score higher than the girl in the college entrance exam and get into a better university. Then he would feel that the girl was not good enough for him and break up with her.

The homeroom teacher advised her to consider past examples and think carefully about whether tutoring Chen Yan was truly worthwhile.

Ruyi said, "I didn't think about whether it was worth it or not. I just felt that he could become better. It's just that his past life was too smooth and no one had any expectations of him."

Ruyi said she was going to ask the homeroom teacher to change her seat. Chen Yan was afraid that she would be put in a difficult position by the teacher, so he secretly followed her and overheard what she said.

He walked into the office, and in front of the homeroom teacher and other teachers, he held Ruyi's hand. In a completely different manner from the unruly image the teachers had of him, he sincerely promised: "If you arrange for me to sit with her, I promise I will not affect her and I will score over 400 points on the midterm exam."

400 points is nothing to other students at No. 1 Middle School, but it's a difficult score for Chen Yan. After all, he has consistently ranked at the bottom of the grade. Except for English, his total score in other subjects does not exceed 80. He can be considered a cancer in Class 11 in the eyes of his homeroom teacher. Every time the results of a major exam are released, she has to take several deep breaths in order to barely maintain her teacherly demeanor in the face of the tragic reality that Chen Yan has seriously dragged down the class average.

After careful consideration, the homeroom teacher nodded in agreement. If Chen Yan were to actually do it, her Class 11 would be able to improve by at least three places. Why not?

On the way back to the classroom, Ruyi quickened her pace, trying to shake off Chen Yan's hand, but he held it firmly.

She looked around, but the passersby were all indifferent and unsurprised.

Chen Yan leaned closer and chuckled, "Still acting awkward? Everyone knows we're a couple!"

In the past, he would always expand on similar topics, never missing an opportunity to tease Ruyi. But this time, he only said this one sentence before falling silent, an unusual silence.

Some people are moved to tears, some express long words of gratitude, some give gifts, while others remain taciturn.

Chen Yan belongs to the last type, because the impression left by repeatedly pondering and savoring in his heart has become even more profound over time.

*

Ruyi discovered a rare advantage in Chen Yan: once he made up his mind, he would execute it with a focus several times greater than that of an average person.

Moreover, he is very smart, not the kind of smartness that she has accumulated over many years of hard work, but a genuinely high IQ.

His exceptional comprehension and memory are evident in his ability to remember and understand many concepts after just one explanation, and his thinking is clearer than that of the average person when applying the same formulas to problem-solving.

If he had devoted even a fraction of his energy to studying back then, he wouldn't be at this level now.

Because of her students' excellent abilities, she experienced a sense of accomplishment as a teacher.

But he had a flaw. While he could restrain himself at school, he made no attempt to hide it at his home. Whenever she solved a difficult problem, he would demand a reward—kissing, touching, hugging, rubbing against her, and so on. The worst time, he lifted her onto the desk, and after doing *that*, the test paper was soaked in water and smeared beyond recognition…

After several attempts, Ruyi finally lost her patience, threw her pen on the table, adopted a teacher's stance, and with a stern face, accused Chen Yan: "Studying is for yourself, not for me! Can you please stop..." She couldn't bring herself to say it.

Chen Yan hugged her with a grin, feigning ignorance, "Don't want what?"

Her cheeks were fair and radiant, brimming with collagen. Her puffed-up cheeks and adorable childlike appearance made her incredibly endearing.

Chen Yan grabbed her mouth and pinched it shut, making it flat like a duck's. He said it was ugly, but his actions betrayed his true feelings as he kissed her, only to be angrily pushed away.

However, overall, Chen Yan's attempts to disrupt the tutoring session only succeeded two or three times out of ten. Most of the time, he was highly focused, and when discussing better problem-solving strategies with her, his quick thinking sometimes made even her, the "teacher," feel ashamed and embarrassed.

She was familiar with many sides of him: threatening, sarcastic, cold, and angry with his sarcastic remarks... but she had never seen him so focused on studying before tutoring him.

Even though Ruyi still thought he was a jerk, she had to admit that this jerk had a unique charm when he got serious...

"Why are you looking at me like that? Are you about to be completely smitten?"

"...No way! Read the question carefully. You substituted the wrong initial velocity. Don't make such a silly mistake!"

"Yes, Teacher Xu."

...

On the No. 1 Middle School forum, the post asking whether Chen Yan liked Ruyi has reached over 6,000 posts and is still going strong, but the topic has long since changed since then, as it is now an undeniable fact and further discussion is meaningless.

Floor 6437: [Breaking News! Latest front-page headline: Chen Yan scored 560 on the mock exam, ranking 469th in the grade!]

With a total of nearly 900 students in the senior year, he ranked 469th, which is considered below average. Some people were unimpressed and sent a disdainful emoji while picking their nose.

Post #6445: [But Chen Yan was still at the bottom of the grade at the end of his second year of high school, with a total score consistently in the 100s. And now, in just over half a year, he's jumped to 560, almost quadrupling his score! Even a rocket couldn't achieve such incredible speed!]

Post #6446: [GeoGod is awesome!!!]

...

Post #6451: [Isn't this all thanks to Ruyi? She went to great lengths to tutor him. This guy is so selfish!!!]

6452nd floor: [@LovesDumplings, what's wrong with you? They're a loving couple, helping each other out, what right do you have to criticize them? You don't happen to have a crush on Xu Ruyi, do you? The sourness is practically overflowing the screen.]

Li Jinghao, using the ID "LovesDumplings," typed "idiot," clicked send, and then exited the forum.

He fell in love with Ruyi at first sight during a sports meet two years ago, and later even bumped into her on the street. It turned out that her family also lived in the industrial area, and the braised food shop that his family used to frequent had been taken over by Ruyi's aunt and turned into a dumpling shop. Even though he clearly didn't like noodles, he went to patronize the business almost every spare moment, much to the annoyance of his family.

When He Caiyu learned that he was also from No. 1 Middle School, she was very enthusiastic towards him. It was also at his request that she told him a lot about Ruyi's likes, habits and childhood anecdotes.

During monthly holidays, as long as there isn't much homework, Ruyi would go to the shop to help out. On these occasions, he would put on his best clothes and go to the dumpling shop to create a chance encounter.

When Ruyi first saw him, her surprised expression was incredibly endearing to him. Because he had helped her before, Ruyi didn't refuse when he asked to add him on WeChat.

She asked him hesitantly if he had taken any photos of her without her consent.

He blushed instantly and explained that it was just a personal hobby; he not only took pictures of her but also of other people and scenery. He said he would delete them when he got home if she minded.

Ruyi said it was okay and accepted the friend request.

He vaguely knew that Ruyi didn't like Chen Yan, but she had no choice but to submit due to his coercion. He said many encouraging and comforting words to her, but Ruyi didn't reply much, mostly just polite thanks. However, he was satisfied and felt that the distance between them was gradually closing.

It wasn't until news of Ruyi tutoring Chen Yan spread throughout the grade that he messaged the person involved to confirm, and received a positive reply. He carefully advised against it, afraid of revealing even a trace of jealousy.

But Ruyi insisted, and he pretended to be generous and wished her good luck.

He knew he had no stance, but his emotions were beyond the control of reason, and jealousy gnawed at his heart like a demon.

He was unconvinced. Apart from his family background, what did Chen Yan have that he didn't? There were quite a few girls who secretly admired him, and his family background wasn't a disadvantage. He and Ruyi were a good match, with similar backgrounds and values, making their relationship more likely to last than Chen Yan's.

He took a deep breath, opened WeChat, and wrote her a long and eloquent love letter. The wording was subtle and elegant, yet his talent was undeniable.