Chapter 19
Ji Shuyi was very skillful. He bought a large roll of transparent tape and repaired the torn corners, preserving the contents intact.
Not only that, Ji Shuyi also shared his thoughts with her, praising the book's content.
The two had clearly crossed a line, without exchanging any ambiguous words, yet Liang Yue felt her face burning. She kept rereading her chat history with Ji Shuyi.
The chat history was rather boring, mostly consisting of Ji Shuyi answering her questions and resolving her doubts. He always managed to pinpoint the crux of her problems.
There is very little casual conversation.
Occasionally, Liang Yue would ask him to bring something before he arrived, sometimes stationery, sometimes food. If it was junk food, he would pretend not to see it and replace it with what he considered to be healthy food. He would also frequently forward articles he saw on various public accounts or Weibo about the health hazards of milk tea.
It felt like it made up for a small part of the 'discipline' that Liang Yue lacked because his parents weren't home.
Ji Shuyi was spending more and more time at Liang Yue's house.
During summer tutoring.
Grandma said that since his mother spends all her time in the mahjong parlor and sometimes goes hungry, it would be better to let Ji Shuyi and her daughter come home together every day. After school, she could keep an eye on Liang Yue and prevent her from wandering around aimlessly. In the evening, she could also supervise her studies.
After receiving help some time ago, Grandma discovered that Ji Shuyi was indeed quite capable, able to keep Liang Yue in line with his studies, and his grades were making great strides forward.
Upon hearing this, Liang Yue's parents were extremely grateful for Ji Shuyi's help, and even asked their grandmother to give Ji Shuyi a red envelope during the Chinese New Year.
There was five thousand yuan in the red envelope.
Ji Shuyi said he wouldn't accept it, but his grandmother pretended to say that if he didn't accept it, they would feel uneasy. She said that the money was rightfully his, and that he had helped Liang Yue a lot. She said that when Liang Yue got into university, they would treat him the same way they would treat Liang Yue, and would give him a red envelope for his admission. His grandmother said that she treated him like her own grandson and hoped that he would be well.
After several attempts to refuse, Ji Shuyi finally accepted the money, intending to use it on Liang Yue in another way.
-
Since Liang Yue and Ji Shuyi went back together, Ji Shuyi would always wait for Liang Yue at the corner of the building.
The head of the grade noticed this and called him to the office for questioning. He said that it was because the two families lived close by and his mother had temporarily entrusted him to the Liang family, so they walked home together after school.
The head of the grade called to verify and confirmed that Ji Shuyi had not lied. In addition, Ji Shuyi was consistently ranked first in the grade, and Liang Yue's grades were steadily improving. Since there was no way to correct the mistake, they let it go.
Once, Ji Shuyi waited and waited by the stairs for Liang Yue to come down, but he didn't see Liang Yue come down. Half an hour later, he went up to Liang Yue's floor.
It was common knowledge that the two of them went home together; it was no secret.
The entire fourth class was kept behind because seven or eight students didn't go down on time for morning exercises. Of those who did go down, another seven or eight ran to hide in the toilet. The remaining students didn't do the exercises in unison, nor did they run in unison. They were playing around and making a scene.
Therefore, they were left behind.
Liang Yue was one of those who stayed upstairs and refused to come down.
There's no particular reason, just laziness.
Yu Wei didn't go down either. The two found an empty classroom to catch up on sleep, and they hadn't gone back when the preparatory bell rang.
I was caught red-handed by the homeroom teacher.
To correct this unhealthy trend, let's keep the whole class behind. They all like to stay in class, right? Then let them stay a little longer.
If you need to go to the toilet repeatedly, just stand there.
As for the others, since the class is a whole, they will be punished together. If they encounter this kind of thing again, they should inform the teacher in time or urge other lazy students to go down to run exercises. Otherwise, they will be punished together.
Ji Shuyi stood outside the window, while Liang Yue sat by the window facing the corridor. She had a long face and mouthed, "So annoying, you can go back first."
We've already waited half an hour, so what's a little more time?
Ji Shuyi didn't leave; he stood by the wall separating the back door from another class.
During this period, he ate at Liang Yue's house, and the food was much better than before. He became much more upright. Although he was still a little thin, he was only a little thin. His blood and energy were better, and he no longer looked thin and bony, unlike before when he looked like a bamboo pole.
His appearance became even more handsome, and he stood there straight and tall. Coupled with his own academic aura, there were always subtle glances and shy whispers.
Some bolder individuals directly handed over paper and pen to ask for his contact information.
"It's inconvenient," Ji Shuyi said without looking up, as the pen and paper were pushed back.
The girl said coquettishly, "I won't bother you often, give me your WeChat."
Ji Shuyi's tone remained indifferent, as if it were none of his business. "It's inconvenient."
The girl stomped her foot, feeling embarrassed, and ran away.
In that short time, someone offered Ji Shuyi milk tea, to which he replied that he never drinks it, but he wouldn't accept bottled water either. Another person, under the guise of seeking study tips, pretended to ask him difficult questions from a test paper. Ji Shuyi simply told her which page in the book contained the specific test points, refusing to respond to any other inquiries or questions that implied personal interest. He was concise and to the point, leaving no room for further probing.
Ji Shuyi figured Liang Yue wouldn't be out for a while, so he went downstairs to the convenience store and bought a bottle of jujube-flavored yogurt.
He stood against the wall for a while after going upstairs, until the classroom door was pushed open from the inside and Liang Yue walked out listlessly, carrying a stack of books.
As Ji Shuyi handed her the yogurt, he also took the books from her arms. "Are you taking all these books back with you?"
"Yeah, there are exams next week, and I'll have to move my books to the hallway again. I'll just carry back some books I don't need every day so it'll be easier then."
Liang Yue inserted the straw into the yogurt, lowered his head and took a sip, "I already told you, you don't need to wait for me."
“It’s okay,” Ji Shuyi said as they walked side by side on the sidewalk, the setting sun casting long shadows on them. “I’ve been studying English for a while now, it won’t take up any time.”
"As expected, a top student is a top student."
Make good use of spare moments to study.
Liang Yue was very talkative, chattering incessantly the whole way, mainly complaining about today's morning exercise.
"I didn't sleep well last night, so I thought I could catch up on sleep during the 40-minute break between classes today. I was trying to improve my study efficiency, but that damn homeroom teacher wouldn't listen to my explanation and insisted that I was just making excuses for my laziness," Liang Yue said bitterly. "Even if I really am lazy, can't he forgive me for the first time? It's so awful."
Ji Shuyi moved her to the inside of the road to avoid the speeding electric bikes. "Did you secretly read novels and comics again last night?"
"No, not at all," Liang Yu threw the empty yogurt bottle into the trash can, "I just have a little insomnia."
Ji Shuyi glanced at her sideways and asked, "How long have you been playing on your phone again?"
"..."
"Playing with electronic devices before bed can easily cause insomnia. I remember I often reminded you of that, right?"
"..."
"Give me your phone when we get home, I want to see how much time you've spent using it."
"...Wow, look! Those flowers are so pretty!" Liang Yue tugged at Ji Shuyi's backpack strap, pointing to a row of unidentified white flowers by the roadside. "Aren't they beautiful?"
Ji Shuyi looked in the direction she pointed. The flower was drooping and withered, its leaves covered with a thin layer of gray, lifeless.
"Don't change the subject."
Liang Yue scoffed, "So old-fashioned!"
Ji Shuyi remained unmoved.
When they got home, their grandparents were sitting in the yard shelling beans. "Why are you so late today?"
"Our homeroom teacher kept us behind for a talk."
"Nannan," Grandma went into the kitchen and ladled out the soup from the pot, "Come and add rice, give Shuyi more, boys need to eat more."
“Grandma,” Ji Shuyi said after washing his hands, “I’ll do it. Liang Yue is tired. Let her rest for a while.”
"Oh dear, just leave it there, Grandma will come."
"No, no, no," Ji Shuyi said quickly, taking the rice spoon from his grandmother's hand and taking out clean bowls and chopsticks from the cupboard. He then neatly filled four bowls with rice and placed them on the table.
Liang Yue sat in her designated spot, resting her chin on her hand as she watched Ji Shuyi bustling around, and said with exaggerated eyebrows, "Let me do it, let me do it." But she didn't actually move an inch.
Grandma brought the last dish to the table and tapped her lightly, saying, "Look at Shuyi, and then look at yourself."
“Oh dear,” Liang Yue mimicked his grandmother’s tone, “I just wanted to help, but I didn’t know where to start.”
Grandma pointed at her and nodded.
After dinner, Liang Yue lazily lay on the sofa for a while.
Ji Shuyi helped clean up the dishes and wiped the table before calling her upstairs to finish her homework.
"Stop rushing me," Liang Yue rolled over and buried her head in the sofa cushions. "Homework can't just run away, what's the rush?"
Ji Shuyi walked to the sofa. "That's perfect. Bring me your phone. I want to see how much time you used yesterday."
"..." Liang Yue suddenly stood up. "I'm suddenly feeling energetic, Ji. Let's go study."
"That's wonderful, Liang," Ji Shuyi said casually, going along with her lie.
-
The homework was finished before 9:30.
Ji Shuyi closed the book, packed his things into his bag, and prepared to leave.
Liang Yue lay on the table, and Ji Shuyi placed a flat pillow under her face. "Go wash up and go to bed early. I'm leaving."
The door remained open, and I could faintly hear the sound of a television coming up from downstairs.
"I'm going out too."
Ji Shuyi paused slightly, puzzled, and asked, "What are you doing out so late?"
"I'm so hungry, I'm going out to find some food."
A fried food stall opened not far from home. It's open 24 hours. Liang Yue and Yu Wei went there to eat on the opening day. It was pretty good, especially the mushrooms, which were fried crispy, fragrant and spicy.
Ji Shuyi was worried about her, so he went with her, intending to wait for her to pick up her things and watch her go back from the intersection before returning home himself.
The fried skewers shop is called 'Street-side Skewers Shop'.
It was late-night snack time, and the shop was packed with people.
Liang Yue ordered a menu: "Ten skewers of pork belly, ten skewers of beef, ten skewers of chicken cartilage, one skewer of chicken wings, one skewer of gluten..."
“That’s enough,” Ji Shuyi pressed the menu, reminding her, “It’s almost ten o’clock. Aren’t you afraid of being too full to sleep if you eat so much? It’s also bad for your digestion and metabolism.”
Moreover, fried skewers are high in oil and calories, and eating them before bed will increase the burden on your stomach and intestines.
Ji Shuyi suggested that they try a different restaurant, where they could eat something light and easy to digest, such as porridge, milk, or fruit.
But seeing Liang Yue's longing gaze, he swallowed his words.
Never mind, just once in a while.
For a while, when it was hot, Ji Shuyi deliberately limited Liang Yue's intake of cold drinks. Because the two spent a lot of time together every day, and because his grandmother sided with him on this matter, Liang Yue harbored resentment. Several times, Liang Yue deliberately wore a cold expression and remained silent. Or he would simply leave midway through, making up an excuse that he had arranged to go to the Xinhua Bookstore with Yu Wei and Shen Zhuo to read extracurricular books.
Even if the world were to end, none of these three would choose to hide in a Xinhua Bookstore, let alone now.
This 'cold war' eventually ended with Ji Shuyi bringing her two cold drinks every week.
After this incident, Ji Shuyi dared not interfere with Liang Yue any longer. Liang Yue was more responsive to gentle persuasion than force; he had to approach her indirectly, going along with her and making her feel that he was cooperating with her, not that she was listening to him. His tone also had to be soft for it to be effective.
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