Chapter 24
Jian Sheng pursed his lips: "Nonsense."
Chen Zhoujing was used to it and even enjoyed it: "Oh~"
"She's clearly good-looking, but she won't admit it." He shook his head, feigning disappointment. "Sigh."
“Narcissistic,” Jian Sheng blurted out abruptly.
Chen Zhou's face darkened in surprise: "No, I'm talking about my handwriting!"
Simple voice: "Oh."
She turned to look at his test paper, staring at it for a long time before saying, "It's good."
Chen Zhoujing was just rambling and was about to change the subject, but when she picked up on it, she was speechless for a moment, feeling hot all over and a tingling sensation in her chest.
"Wow." A smile crept across his lips, a hint of smugness in his expression. "Not bad, but still a little worse than you."
Jian Sheng blinked but didn't respond.
"I'll organize the test paper for you after you finish it. This set of test papers is similar to the one I gave you last time, but a little more difficult." Chen Zhoujing picked up the pen on the table and flipped through the test paper again.
He circled a few questions and said, "These circled ones will be more difficult; I'll explain them to you later."
"Thank you," Jian said earnestly.
"How should I thank you?" Chen Zhou suddenly became interested.
“I don’t have any money… um.” Jian Sheng thought for a moment, “I can help you clean.”
Chen Zhou clicked his tongue in surprise: "Why do you keep talking to me about money? This is about helping each other, it has nothing to do with money, we have no vested interests."
"Oh." Jian nodded.
As she was thinking, he said again, "You don't need to clean; that's what I should do."
“I will reward you for your hard work and good grades.” Chen Zhoujing held up three fingers again. “This time I’m not lying, this time it really is what Teacher Zhong said.”
He felt a little guilty; the ranking list from last time had made her feel guilty for a long time, and she finally managed to steer the conversation away from the topic.
Jian Sheng looked at him through her hair, which was partially obscuring his eyes. She shook her head, revealing a pair of beautiful eyes.
Chen Zhou swallowed hard; he could barely withstand that blatant gaze.
The next second, Jian said in a low voice, "Okay, then I'll try my best to do well on the exam."
"Hmm." Chen Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, turned the full draft paper to the next page, and picked up a pen to draw in the blank space. "You are now the 26th in the class, out of a total of 46. You have improved by 18 places since last time. In the midterm exam the week after next, if you can improve by another five or six places and get into the top 20, you will definitely be an elite!"
She hadn't even dared to imagine it herself, but he had already started planning it for her.
However, Jian Sheng unusually agreed: "You're right."
In reality, she didn't think so. Ye Hua was right. She improved by eighteen places, but that was just because she squeezed out the dozen or so people who didn't study and relied on luck. It was really difficult for those ahead of her, and she probably wouldn't improve much in a short time.
"Top 20 in the class during the midterm, top 10 in the class at the final exam, well, a bright future is in your hands!" Chen Zhoujing always seemed so confident, which inexplicably ignited a sense of confidence in her as well.
She looked at him as he wrote and drew, her eyes softening: "You're right."
"Of course." Chen Zhou nodded in surprise.
He sketched a few names on the paper, glanced at her casually, then looked down and wrote something on the paper.
"Hey, you know... you said your name has quite a few strokes." He muttered to himself as he wrote something on the blank space of the draft paper.
Jian Sheng snapped back to reality and saw the two characters "Jian Sheng" written on the blank space of the draft paper. Then, she heard a compliment: "Your name is quite nice. Jian Sheng, simple, simple, and Sheng? the Sheng of sound. It looks good together."
He unconsciously wrote several lines while talking to himself.
Jian Sheng's cheeks gradually flushed, and she reminded him, "This is your draft paper."
"Ah, what's wrong?" Chen Zhoujing seemed unaware, but after he finished writing the three, he suddenly sat up straight, his face turning red all the way to his neck. "I, no, I just think your name is pretty."
"Sorry, I don't want this one?"
Jian Sheng nodded.
Chen Zhoujing tore off this piece separately, folded it casually, and stuffed it into his pocket: "I'll throw it away later."
He grinned at her.
Jian Sheng said somewhat awkwardly, "It's okay if you don't throw it away."
"What?" He leaned closer to listen.
He simply said it was nothing and brushed it off.
The heated discussion in front of us subsided at this point.
"What are you two doing!" Xu Xiu punched Chen Zhoujing's arm.
The group looked over.
"Why are you two blushing?" Zheng Nian asked subconsciously from the front row.
Upon hearing her words, Jian Sheng's eyes widened, and she hurriedly waved her hands, saying, "No."
"Chen Zhoujing is bullying people again." Xu Xiaxia glared at him.
Chen Zhoujing was too embarrassed for the first time, and under everyone's gaze, he turned his head away, leaving them with his bright red ears.
Xu Yanghe suddenly said, "You two are just being a couple, why did you have to point it out!"
"You two continue your discussion, let them continue!" He slammed his hand on the table, speaking with righteous indignation.
Several people responded with an "oh," and then started to jeer.
Amidst the teasing from the crowd, Jian Sheng rubbed his head, clearly at a loss for what to do.
"What nonsense are you talking about, Xu Yanghe? Get lost," Chen Zhoujing said in a deep voice.
Xu Yanghe waved his hand: "I'm not going to talk about it anymore."
"Alright, alright, so what exactly do you want to do, Xu Xiu? You need to figure out what you want to do before we can help you." Lin You clapped his hands in the front row.
Their gazes were drawn back to the others.
"Let's choose the gifts first, and I'll send them to the group later." Xu Xiu stroked his chin.
He then said to Chen Zhoujing, "You'll have to help them out when the time comes."
"Understood." Chen Zhou's gaze remained fixed on Jian Sheng; Xu Yanghe's actions had just made him somewhat irritated.
After school in the evening, Jian Sheng didn't linger. She stood at the school gate, hesitating about how to help bring cigarettes to Jian Qingyao.
She looked at the students coming and going, feeling a little dizzy. She had been here for so long but had never been to any of the shops outside, and Jian Qingyao hadn't told her where to buy anything.
Damn it, I should have known better than to agree to his request.
She stamped her foot and stood under the sign for Chenfu Road, waiting for the traffic light to change.
Chen Zhoujing happened to be walking with a few people from the long road at the school gate. He squinted and saw Jian Sheng standing quietly at the intersection with a backpack on his back.
He hissed, his gaze constantly shifting to her.
"Hey, we'll meet at Jin Street over Longtang Bend Road. Do you think she'll agree?" Xu Xiu kept rambling on.
He Shang chimed in, "Of course! Aren't you two on good terms?"
"You were confident just now, but now you're not." He punched him lightly, then turned to ask Chen Zhoujing a question, only to catch a glimpse of him looking at something with a deep, unsettling gaze.
He Shang followed his gaze, but his vision suddenly went black as Chen Zhoujing's large hand blocked his view.
"What the hell are you doing?" He Shang exclaimed angrily.
Chen Zhoujing shoved him: "You guys have a good discussion, just send it to me when the time comes. I'll help you out. I'm leaving now, I have something to do."
After saying that, he ran away without waiting for what the others said.
I caught up with Jian Sheng again, after crossing an intersection.
He stopped, breathed a sigh of relief, and slowly followed behind her.
Chen Zhou was surprised to see her stop and look around, then stand in front of a shop, hesitating.
He took a few steps forward and stood next to her: "Ahem!"
Jian Sheng was startled, covered her ears, and moved to the side.
"Oh my god, I scared you! Are you alright?" Chen Zhou was stunned, her posture resembling a defensive stance instinctively adopted after suffering trauma.
He reached out to pull her up, but as soon as he raised his hand, he pulled it back and asked anxiously, "Are you alright?"
He asked again, and Jian Sheng finally calmed down. Her heart was pounding with fear. She said, "It's okay, it's okay."
"Excuse me, are you alright?" she asked in return.
Chen Zhou frowned, a hint of inquiry in his eyes mixed with an unfathomable worry: "I'm fine, what... what are you doing?"
Jian Sheng clutched the bag hanging down from the bottom of her backpack, unsure how to begin.
"Tell me, and I'll help you solve it," Chen Zhou exclaimed in surprise.
“I…” Jian sighed, “I need to buy cigarettes.”
"?" Chen Zhou suddenly remembered the man from that morning. "Your cousin asked you to buy cigarettes?"
Jian Sheng nodded: "I don't know where to buy it."
Chen Zhou's eyes darkened, and anger flared up inside him: "I'll go buy it. What does he want?"
Jian Sheng looked up and brushed aside the hair that was covering her face: "Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
Chen Zhoujing looked into her clear eyes and then looked away, saying, "I don't think he's doing well."
His voice was a little cold, and Jian Sheng lowered his eyes and said, "Well, why don't you tell me where it is, and I'll buy it myself?"
Chen Zhoujing said, "I'll do it. What do you need?"
Jian Sheng thought for a moment and said, "I want a black skirt."
Looking at Chen Zhoujing, she momentarily forgot about the group chat. Before she could remember, Chen Zhoujing had already walked towards the supermarket behind her.
When Chen Zhoujing returned, he saw Jian Sheng still clutching his schoolbag, pacing back and forth at the door, looking uneasy.
He suppressed his anger, went up to her, and softened his voice: "Shall I help you put your schoolbag away?"
Jian Sheng shook her head and prepared to take off her schoolbag, but Chen Zhoujing stopped her. He grabbed her arms with both hands and released her after only a few seconds before she could react. Then he went around behind her, unzipped her schoolbag, and put the two black Liqun bags he was holding into the bottom of her schoolbag.
Jian Sheng clenched her fists under her shirt, waiting for him to finish.
Then, she took out the money she had taken out before leaving school, turned around, and handed it to him with both hands: "Here you go."
Chen Zhou's pupils contracted slightly. He raised his hand to refuse, "No need, I'll let him draw."
"That won't do!" Jian Sheng's voice rose.
Chen Zhoujing's Adam's apple bobbed: "Really, it's not necessary."
"No need for it, please keep it, thank you." Jian Sheng didn't know why, but he hurriedly stuffed the money into his school uniform pocket.
Chen Zhou's heart pounded in surprise: "No need..."
“I don’t get along with him. He only asked me to buy it because his grandma doesn’t allow him to smoke and he’s afraid she’ll search him. I can’t let you do this.” Jian Sheng put the money down and stood in front of him, speaking very seriously.
Chen Zhou's heart tightened with alarm. He gripped the money in his pocket and slowly took it out: "But..."
"Don't you believe me?" Jian Sheng stared at him uneasily, her bright, pure eyes wide.
Chen Zhoujing nodded unconsciously: "I believe you."
“But two packs of Liqun cigarettes only cost eighty-four yuan, and you have two hundred here.” He stuffed another hundred yuan into her hand and casually added, “Do you have a cell phone? We can exchange contact information, and I’ll transfer the money to you via WeChat.”
Jian Sheng was taken aback: "Then... I don't have a phone, so you can have the rest."
Chen Zhou touched the back of his neck in surprise, "How can I give them all to you?"
"I'll go back and get the cash for you, and I'll bring it to you later," he said.
Jian Sheng shook her head: "You bought me breakfast this morning."
Chen Zhou sighed in surprise: "That was my treat."
He felt that if he didn't follow her way, the discussion would end inconclusively, so he compromised: "Okay, okay, give me the rest, you can go back now."
Jian Sheng finally breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, and then lowered his head again.
Chen Zhoujing couldn't help but smile, and followed her slowly back to Linglong Residential Area.
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