Chapter 13: Obsessed with Learning
Amidst the rustling of pen tips against paper and the rustling of pages turning, time crawled forward at an unprecedented, almost stagnant pace. Two weeks, fourteen days, three hundred and thirty-six hours… Gu Ye felt as if he had been pressed into a giant washing machine called "learning," with Chu Yan as the ruthless control button.
Inseparable has become the most appropriate adjective.
During the day, the corners of the classroom became a permanent battleground. Gu Ye's desk was completely overwhelmed by review materials, papers, and notebooks filled with colorful handwriting. Chu Yan's desk, on the other hand, was uncluttered, like an outlier. It contained only the books and notebooks he needed at the moment, a pen, and a cell phone.
That phone is always placed on the table with the screen facing down.
Gu Ye's gaze would always drift uncontrollably towards the silent phone between solving problems. Sometimes, it would vibrate ever so slightly, and a faint circle of light would briefly illuminate the edge of the screen, like some kind of silent signal.
Whenever this happened, Chu Yan would naturally stretch out his hand, and his fingertips would quickly slide across the screen a few times. His face still had that gentle expression of listening attentively, as if he was just checking some unimportant information.
Gu Ye's pen would pause on the paper. The vibration, the quick response, was like a tiny thorn, pricking his tense nerves. Who was he contacting? Who was that strange number that kept sending messages during breaks and study time? Questions grew quietly like vines, entwining themselves among those complex formulas and words.
But he couldn't bring himself to ask. From what position? As the "little brother" of the bet? Or something else? He irritably threw his pen on the table, making a loud noise that drew a puzzled look from the students in the front row. Chu Yan glanced at him sideways, his eyes questioning. Gu Ye suddenly lowered his head, grabbed his pen, and fiercely stabbed at a permutation and combination problem, as if he had a deep grudge against that problem.
"Here, use the probability formula." Chu Yan's voice sounded at the right time, with a helpless chuckle, and his slender fingers tapped the chaotic formula on Gu Ye's draft paper, "Why rush? Eat one bite at a time."
Gu Ye made a vague "hmm" sound in his throat and forced his attention back to the question, but the shadow of the mobile phone lingered in his mind.
At night, it was physical training, and Chu Yan strictly controlled the intensity and rhythm. Sweat soaked Gu Ye's T-shirt, ran down his forehead, and dripped into his eyes, causing a stinging sensation. He gritted his teeth and completed set after set of planks, squat jumps, and weighted shuttle runs. Physical fatigue surged like a tide, but it strangely suppressed the irritability and inappropriate questions that had accumulated during the day. Extremely tired, his mind was left with only a blank, or the sound of Chu Yan's clear instructions.
"Keep your core tight and don't slump!"
"Speed, explosive power, do it again!"
"Breathe, adjust your breathing!"
Chu Yan's voice echoed in the empty space, stern yet carrying a strangely stabilizing force. Gu Ye panted heavily, propping himself up on his knees, sweat dripping down his chin onto the ground, forming a small dark mark.
He looked up at Chu Yan, who was standing on the sidelines. The man had his arms folded, his figure elongated under the lights of the training ground. His face was expressionless, his eyes fixed intently on him, as if assessing the workings of a precision instrument.
Occasionally, Gu Ye would catch a flash of appreciation in Chu Yan's eyes, so quick that he thought it was an illusion. More often, Chu Yan would simply calmly announce, "Take a minute's break."
And in that brief moment, as Gu Ye slumped on the mat, gasping for air, Chu Yan would pull out his phone again. The light from the screen illuminated his sharply defined profile as he tapped his fingertips on the screen, his expression unclear, a carefree and effortless expression, as if teasing some prey.
Gu Ye turned his face away, picked up the kettle beside him, and took a few gulps. The cold liquid slid down his throat, but it couldn't quench the inexplicable, sour anger in his heart.
The phone screen lit up again, and the note was "Shan", it was Gu Xu.
Chu Yan leaned against the balcony railing, the night wind ruffling his hair. He swiped the screen.
Gu Xu: [Mr. Chu, the weather is nice this weekend. The starry sky at our secret base last time was even more beautiful after sunset. Do you want to go again?]
Chu Yan tapped his fingertips: "I'm honored by Mr. Gu's invitation. But..." He paused for a few seconds before slowly typing the rest of the sentence: "There's an important placement test next week, as is Shenghua's tradition. I'll have to practice in seclusion these few days, working hard."
Gu Xu replied quickly: "Oh? It seems Shenghua has very high expectations for a 'top student' like Chu. I understand. Academics are the priority."
Chu Yan: [Mr. Gu is very understanding. Perhaps we can make up for this appointment after the exams?]
Gu Xu: [Of course. Looking forward to hearing from you.] This was followed by a smiley face emoticon.
Chu Yan locked the screen and shoved his phone back in his pocket. The exam? Just an excuse to get rid of Gu Ye. He needed time, he needed Gu Ye to achieve his goal in the exam, he needed to tame this little wolf cub a little tighter. As for Gu Ye? An interesting, yet dangerous distraction, not a priority for the time being.
The day before the exam, the bell for evening study had long since rung. The teaching building was deserted, save for a few pale energy-saving lightbulbs at the end of the corridor, casting a desolate silence on the empty hallway.
There was still a single lamp on in the classroom.
Gu Ye sat at his desk, a thick stack of review materials and a notebook of correct answers spread out before him. He lowered his head, his brow furrowed, his fingers pressing firmly against his temples. The tip of his pen unconsciously circled the stem of a comprehensive test, his ink spreading. The classroom was eerily quiet; he could clearly hear the rustling of leaves outside the window and his own heavy breathing.
Tomorrow...it's tomorrow.
Those formulas, theorems, vocabulary, grammar points… like countless buzzing bees, heaved through his mind. He felt as if he'd reviewed everything, yet it felt like he hadn't grasped anything. The top 80%… that number weighed on his chest like a heavy stone, suffocating him. What if he didn't pass the test? What if he was just a little bit off? Would that bastard Chu Yan just think he was useless and abandon him?
As soon as this thought came to his mind, a sharp panic suddenly seized him, which made him more uncomfortable than not being able to solve the problem. He threw his pen irritably, and it bounced on the table and rolled to the ground.
Just then, the back door of the classroom was gently pushed open.
Gu Ye's head shot up, his heart pounding in his chest. His tense shoulders relaxed slightly when he saw who was standing at the door, but then a wave of even greater embarrassment washed over him. It was Chu Yan. Why hadn't he left yet?
Chu Yan was holding two cans of Coke, still steaming from their cold air, with his usual gentle, harmless smile on his face, as if he hadn't noticed Gu Ye's embarrassment and anxiety. He walked in, his footsteps particularly clear in the empty classroom.
"Haven't you left yet?" Chu Yan's voice was natural, like a casual chat between friends. He walked over to Gu Ye's desk and gently placed one of the cans of Coke on the corner of his desk piled with books. "Want a drink to refresh yourself?"
The cool touch passed through the can to his fingertips. Gu Ye didn't move, just staring at the can of Coke. His throat was tight and he couldn't speak. He didn't want Chu Yan to see him like this.
Chu Yan didn't seem to mind his silence. He unzipped the ring of his can of Coke, a soft "slurp" sound that was particularly clear in the silence. He took a sip, then pulled out the chair in front of Gu Ye and sat down casually, legs crossed and his posture relaxed.
"Are you nervous?" Chu Yan's eyes swept across the messy draft paper in front of Gu Ye, and there was a hint of understanding in his tone, but no sarcasm.
Gu Ye suddenly raised his head, like a cat whose tail was stepped on, with a stubborn denial in his eyes: "Who is nervous? I am not!" But his voice sounded a little dry and hoarse because of the tense emotions.
Chu Yan watched him trying to hold himself together, and the smile in his eyes deepened. He didn't tease him like usual, nor did he say those nonsense like "relax" or "don't worry." He simply reached out and used the knuckle of his index finger to gently tap Gu Ye's lowered forehead, with a hint of playfulness and a very light force.
It was a very light sound, but it seemed to carry some strange magic.
Gu Ye froze. The cool, playful touch on his forehead was like a pebble dropped into his chaotic mind, strangely dispelling some of the buzzing noises.
"Gu Ye," Chu Yan's voice deepened, his usual teasing faded, and he spoke with a rare, almost calm seriousness. "How many exercises have you done in the past two weeks? How many late nights have you stayed up? How many scoldings have you received from me?"
Gu Ye looked at him in a daze.
Chu Yan's gaze fell on his desk piled with documents, on the notebook filled with questions and notes, and finally on Gu Ye's eyes, which were bloodshot due to staying up late and anxiety, but now looked a little confused.
"There is a path to the mountain of books, and diligence is the way." Chu Yan picked up the thick physics wrong answer book on Gu Ye's desk and flipped through it casually. It was densely packed with marks of Gu Ye's hard work during this period of time. "I see the path you have taken." He closed the book and put it in front of Gu Ye, tapping it with his fingertips.
"So, why are you panicking?" Chu Yan's tone returned to that nonchalant confidence, as if he was stating a simple fact. "Do you not believe in yourself, or do you not believe in me?"
He stood up, picked up his half-drunk can of Coke, looked down at the still dazed Gu Ye, and a familiar smile appeared on the corner of his mouth:
"Go back to bed early. Get enough rest. Tomorrow..." He paused, his gaze lingering on Gu Ye's face for a moment. Something seemed to pass through the depths of his eyes so quickly that it was hard to grasp, and finally turned into a light but strangely weighted sentence:
"When you get into the top 80% on the test, come back and fulfill that 'condition'."
After saying this, he no longer looked at Gu Ye's reaction, turned around and walked out of the classroom at a leisurely pace. The sound of his footsteps gradually faded away in the empty corridor, and finally disappeared at the stairs.
Silence returned to the classroom.
Gu Ye still sat there, like a frozen statue. The spot on his forehead where he'd been struck still felt a faint, strange, cool sensation. He slowly reached out and picked up the can of ice-cold Coke on the corner of the table, his fingertips feeling the dampness of the condensed water on the can's walls.
Chu Yan's last words and that look echoed and circled repeatedly in his confused mind.
"I've done what I need to do...why are you panicking?"
"When you get into the top 80%, come back and see me..."
The heavy rock weighing down my heart seemed to crack slightly at that gentle tap. An inexplicable feeling, a mixture of bitterness and a suppressed throbbing, surged up and blocked my chest.
He yanked the ring off the can. "Shhh!" The sound of gas gushing out was remarkably loud in the silence. He tilted his head back and took a deep, icy gulp. The bubbles exploded in his throat, carrying a sharp, stimulating sensation all the way to his stomach, giving him a shudder.
The chaotic thoughts were forcibly suppressed by this cold stimulation.
He put down the Coke can with a soft clang. Then, he reached out and silently and carefully gathered and folded the scattered review materials and papers in front of him, one by one, page by page.
His movements no longer carried the implication of anger and desperation as before, but instead revealed a calmness that was almost desperate.
He turned off the lights and locked the classroom door. The pale light in the corridor stretched his shadow out thinly. He carried his heavy schoolbag and walked down the stairs step by step.
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