Chapter 24 The second chapter is about to take away what they saw together...
From that day on, Yu Kui would tutor Xie Xingzhi from time to time.
Xie Xingzhi's grades gradually improved, and he visited Yu Kui more and more often.
"How did you get so close to that hoodlum from Class 13?" Sun Shuya looked at Yu Kui with suspicion. "You weren't fooled by him, were you?"
“No,” Yu Kui thought she was overthinking it, and told her about how she had helped Xie Xingzhi with his problems. “It was just like helping other classmates; I was helping him too.”
“You’re just being overly kind,” Sun Shuya said, not optimistic about Xie Xingzhi. “With his carefree attitude, even if you tutor him, he probably won’t get into a good university.”
“Don’t say that,” Yu Kui frowned and said, “He is quite hardworking.”
"What's the point of studying now?" Sun Shuya sneered. "What were you doing before? Now I'm taking up your time. Don't you know your limits?"
“It didn’t take up much time,” Yu Kui whispered, “and he’s genuinely willing to learn. If I can help him, that would be great.”
"What can I say to you?" Sun Shuya pinched Yu Kui's cheek and said irritably, "Helping him is fine, but your own studies are more important."
“I know.” Yu Kui brushed her hand away, took her homework, and began to check it.
After school that day, Xie Xingzhi came to Yu Kui with his test paper and asked, "Can you explain the more difficult questions at the end?"
"You're good." Yu Kui took the test paper and noticed that he had made almost no mistakes on the previous questions. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. "You didn't get any of the questions I explained to you wrong."
“What’s so difficult about that?” Xie Xingzhi shrugged. “You’ve told me so many times already. If I’m wrong again, am I even human?”
Yu Kui: "..."
Under the bright lights, Yu Kui gently explained the very difficult questions to him. Xie Xingzhi tilted his head, his gaze falling from the test paper to the girl's fair face. Her eyes were bright, her voice was clear and melodious, and she was incredibly serious.
"What are you looking at me for?" Yu Kui glared at him. "Look at the questions."
“Listen up,” Xie Xingzhi said, twirling the pen in his hand. “I understand this question. See if I got it right.”
He lowered his head and began writing on the test paper. Before long, he solved the questions, and his answers were exactly the same as Yu Kui's.
“Is that right?” he asked.
“By the way,” Yu Kui was quite pleased to see that he understood immediately, “we can move on to the next one.”
Xie Xingzhi finished half a test paper in less than half an hour. He looked at Yu Kui and asked casually, "Do you have time this weekend?"
"What's wrong?" Yu Kui stopped writing.
"You've been explaining problems to me for half a month, so I'll take you out to play."
“Forget about playing,” Yu Kui shook her head. “Time is tight right now, I need to go to the library.”
Xie Xingzhi was stunned, seemingly not expecting her to be so clueless. "Hey, you're going to refuse when I take you out to eat or buy things?"
“No,” Yu Kui said, refusing even invitations from classmates, let alone going out alone with him. “I need to study.”
Xie Xingzhi sighed softly, "What a bookworm."
Yu Kui: "..."
"What time are you going to the library?" he changed the subject. "I'm going too."
“We’ll go around nine o’clock,” Yu Kui said. “If we go too late, we won’t be able to get a seat.”
"Understood." Xie Xingzhi put away the test paper, looked at the darkening sky outside, and said, "Let's go, it's time to go back."
"Are there no questions you can't answer?" Yu Kui asked, somewhat surprised, as he had asked her many questions before.
"Ask about the rest of the weekend."
"Are you really going to the library?" Yu Kui asked, somewhat surprised.
"With grades this bad, where else can I go but the library?" Xie Xingzhi said with a grin, "I'll sit next to you."
Yu Kui: "..." If she hadn't mentioned the library, this person would definitely have gone out to play on the weekend.
The two went downstairs one after the other. When they reached the entrance of the teaching building, their pace slowed down as they enjoyed the tranquility of the twilight.
As the sun set, their shadows stretched long. Xie Xingzhi took a few steps forward, stepping on Yu Kui's shadow. Looking at her smooth ponytail, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
When Qin You returned to school to get his homework, he saw them coming. Although the two were not very close, his keen senses still caught something unusual. His gaze shifted from Yu Kui to Xie Xingzhi, and his eyes gradually darkened.
However, Yu Kui only glanced at him before walking past him.
Qin You opened his mouth, wanting to ask her how she ended up with Xie Xingzhi, that scoundrel, but Yu Kui didn't give him the chance.
An uncontrollable rage rose in Qin You's heart, but he had nowhere to vent it.
When they arrived at the bus stop, the bus hadn't come yet. Xie Xingzhi said, "Wait here for me."
"What's wrong?"
"Wait for me." Xie Xingzhi turned and walked towards the milk tea shop not far away. He returned shortly afterward with a cup of fruit tea. "Here you go. Thank you for explaining the problem to me today."
Yu Kui was surprised that he would buy her this, and looked a little stunned. "I... the questions I'm explaining aren't difficult, you don't need to be so polite."
“Hiring a tutor costs two hundred yuan per lesson,” Xie Xingzhi said. “This cup of fruit tea is only fifteen yuan. Do you think it’s worth it?”
Yu Kui: "..."
"The car is here," Xie Xingzhi said with a smile, "Hurry up and get in."
Yu Kui, still clutching the straw, was about to say something when Xie Xingzhi waved and said, "See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
Yu Kui looked down at the label on the cup and saw that it was her favorite grape flavor.
The library wasn't open yet on the weekend, so Yu Kui went to queue up in front of it.
She wasn't sure if Xie Xingzhi would come, but she still saved him a seat.
After writing half a test paper, Xie Xingzhi sat down next to her with his schoolbag.
Yu Kui glanced at him sideways. Xie Xingzhi took out his books and homework and said in a low voice, "I didn't expect the competition for seats here to be so fierce. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have a seat today."
“There are many people studying,” Yu Kui explained softly, “not only high school students, but also many people preparing for postgraduate entrance exams and professional certifications, so you have to come very early.”
Xie Xingzhi sighed helplessly, "How are we mediocre students supposed to survive with all this pressure?"
Yu Kui smiled and said, "Write down the questions you know first, and I'll explain the ones you don't know later."
"Okay." Xie Xingzhi took a thermos from his bag and pushed it to her side. "I brought this for you."
"What?"
"Hot milk can be kept warm for a long time."
Yu Kui had never received such a gift before and was about to refuse when Xie Xingzhi said, "This cup is new; I haven't drunk from it before."
Yu Kui: "..."
Even after he said that, Yu Kui didn't drink it; she just kept her head down and did her homework.
Around noon, many people went out to eat, and some seats finally became available.
"Let's go, I'll take you to eat hot pot." Xie Xingzhi stood up.
“I’m not going,” Yu Kui whispered, “there won’t be any seats left when I come back.”
Xie Xingzhi was truly speechless. "If there are no seats, you can go to a private study room."
“It costs money there,” Yu Kui disagreed, “and the environment isn’t as good as here.”
"So you're going to go hungry?" Xie Xingzhi frowned.
“No, I didn’t,” Yu Kui opened her backpack and took out a double-layered lunchbox. “I brought lunch.”
She took out the sandwiches and fruit she had prepared earlier, saying, "Let's eat this."
"You prepared mine?" Xie Xingzhi's expression changed slightly.
“Okay,” Yu Kui handed him the things, “You’ve never studied at the library before, so I prepared these for you. You’ll have to make your own arrangements from now on.”
Xie Xingzhi suddenly fell silent. Yu Kui blinked. "What's wrong? Don't you like sandwiches?"
“No,” Xie Xingzhi said, unwrapping the plastic wrap from the sandwich. “I didn’t expect you to be so considerate.”
“My mom made it,” Yu Kui said softly as she ate. “There’s a beverage machine upstairs. If you want something else, you can go down and buy it.”
“No need,” Xie Xingzhi said, “This is enough.”
Yu Kui smiled, slowly finished her lunch, and went to the restroom outside to wash her hands.
Xie Xingzhi watched her light and agile figure as her back turned, his eyes growing increasingly dark.
Qin You carried the book to the window and began writing the questions.
These past few days, his homeroom teacher has spoken with him several times about his declining grades, asking him what difficulties he is facing in his studies and suggesting that his subject teachers could help him resolve them.
Qin You had something on his mind and refused to talk about the problem. He just asked him to give him some time and said that he would catch up with his grades sooner or later.
The homeroom teacher didn't say anything, but gently asked him if he was in a relationship too early, and talked about the disadvantages of early relationships, telling him not to make a wrong decision because of impulse, and that studying was the most important thing.
Qin You denied it outright, but he was very agitated. He ate lunch early and came to the library.
He'll be taking the college entrance exam next year, and if things continue like this, the pressure on him will only increase.
After finishing two papers, Qin You's eyes were a little sore. He looked up, wanting to relax, but caught a glimpse of Yu Kui out of the corner of his eye. When he saw who was sitting next to her, Qin You's fingers slowly clenched.
"Did you understand this problem?" Yu Kui put away her pen. "If you don't understand, I'll explain it to you again."
"I'll do the questions first," Xie Xingzhi said. "If I don't understand, I'll ask you again."
“Okay.” Yu Kui looked away and continued reading the English newspaper.
A short while later, Xie Xingzhi gently nudged her hand, and Yu Kui turned her head to continue explaining the problem to him.
The two were very close, and Qin You couldn't hear their voices, but it felt like a thorn was stuck in his heart, making him extremely uncomfortable.
He stared intently at Yu Kui until she subconsciously looked up, but he still didn't look away, his eyes filled with questioning.
He questioned Yu Kui about why she was with Xie Xingzhi. Didn't she know that Xie Xingzhi was a notorious underachiever?
Yu Kui lowered her head, feigning composure, and ignored Qin You, but the corners of her mouth pursed up.
Xie Xingzhi noticed her unusual behavior, looked up and met Qin You's gaze, his eyes filled with deliberate provocation.
Qin You's expression changed drastically. He stood up and was about to walk over, but Xie Xingzhi lowered his head and continued talking to Yu Kui.
Seeing this, Qin You felt as if a lump of cotton was stuck in his throat. With a sudden burst of strength, he snapped the pencil he was using to draw the line.
After that, he became somewhat absent-minded, glancing at Yu Kui from time to time. Whenever she spoke to Xie Xingzhi, he felt a sense of unease, as if something of his own was being taken away, and his expression grew increasingly grim.
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