Chapter 26 You think you can fool me with your little tricks...
It was Yu's mother's birthday, so Yu Kui and Yu's father decorated the house and bought a lot of groceries to prepare a sumptuous lunch for her.
During the meal, Yu Kui took out the silk scarf and perfume she had given her, saying, "Happy birthday, Mom."
"Thank you, my darling!" Yu's mother stepped forward and hugged her daughter. "Give Mommy a kiss."
Yu Kui leaned in and kissed her cheek, a little embarrassed, "Mom wishes you happiness forever."
"Of course I'm happy to have you by my side." Yu's mother ruffled her daughter's hair and looked at Yu's father, "Where's the gift you prepared for me?"
Mr. Yu chuckled and took out the gold jewelry he had prepared beforehand. "Try wearing it after you finish eating?"
“Of course,” Yu’s mother said happily as she accepted the gift. “We’ll go out this afternoon to play, watch a movie, and sing karaoke.”
"Go, go, go!" How could Mr. Yu refuse? "As long as it's not illegal, you can do whatever you want."
Yu Kui: "..."
As time went by, the weather gradually got colder, and Yu Kui put on more and more clothes.
She got off the bus and walked slowly towards the school.
Sun Shuya ran up to her, panting, "Oh dear, I'm exhausted from trying to catch up with you."
Yu Kui turned around and said, "You can just call me by my name."
"You can hear me?" Sun Shuya looked at her suspiciously. "With such tight security, are you sure you can hear me calling you?"
Yu Kui touched her fluffy pink earmuffs, her eyes crinkling into a smile. "My mom bought them for me."
“I can tell,” Sun Shuya shrugged. “You’re the apple of everyone’s eye. I’m so envious.”
Yu Kui: "..."
The two walked slowly toward the teaching building. Sun Shuya asked Yu Kui if she had finished her math homework, as she wanted to copy it.
"You finished writing, but why didn't you finish your homework?" She frowned. "Didn't I tell you to send me the questions you don't understand and I'd explain them to you?"
“I went out with my cousin yesterday,” Sun Shuya said, touching the tip of her nose. “You were already asleep when I got back.”
“Okay,” Yu Kui’s schedule was normal, but she still said, “I won’t let you copy my homework anymore after today. You have to write it yourself.”
"Huh?" Sun Shuya's face immediately fell. "Do you have to be so cruel?"
"The college entrance exam is next year," Yu Kui said worriedly, "How can you take the exam like this?"
"Sigh..." Sun Shuya sighed deeply, "I only care about today's homework."
Yu Kui: "..."
When last week's exam results came out, Yu Kui's total score was still among the top. Her classmates were used to it and came over to ask her about the questions she got wrong after class.
Yu Kui explained carefully, without the slightest impatience.
Tao Jiang glanced at her, very dissatisfied with her failing math score. Lately, she had been video calling Qin You every night, throwing all the problems she couldn't solve at him. Logically, she should have improved, but her grades hadn't fluctuated much.
She pursed her lips, wondering if there was something wrong with Qin You's method of explaining the problem.
After school, she walked up to the seat in front of Yu Kui and asked, "Could you help me with a few questions?"
Tao Jiang had asked Yu Kui questions before, but Yu Kui refused, not wanting to have any further interaction with her.
Yu Kui shook her head, lowered her eyes, and continued packing her schoolbag. Tao Jiang gritted her teeth and said, "I know you have reservations about me, but I really can't find anyone else to help me with my studies. Could you...?"
“I saw it that day,” Yu Kui said. “Li Shuran offered to explain the problem to you, but you refused.”
Li Shuran is Tao Jiang's deskmate and ranks among the top three in the class. She can explain problems to Tao Jiang with ease.
Tao Jiang's expression changed slightly, and she tried to explain, "Li Shuran is a boy, and I don't like to have contact with him."
"What about Huang Li?" Yu Kui said, "She also wants to explain the problems to you, but you still don't want to."
After the senior year of high school, a trend emerged in the class where high-achieving students would help students who were struggling with their studies, helping each other and making progress together.
However, Tao Jiang refused many classmates who offered to help her, citing the fact that she had a "tutor".
"Do you think they're not qualified to explain the problems to you?" Yu Kui looked into her eyes.
“How could I think that way?” Tao Jiang looked away. “I’m not familiar with them. You know my personality. I haven’t really integrated into the group yet.”
"Then why did you sign up for the long-distance running competition? Why did you participate in the skit?" Aren't these all part of what she calls "the collective"?
“I…” Tao Jiang didn’t expect Yu Kui to speak so sharply. Her face darkened slightly, and she said in a low voice, “These are all efforts I’ve made to integrate into the class, but I’m really not familiar with the other classmates, otherwise I wouldn’t have come to find you.”
Yu Kui didn't speak, and Tao Jiang continued, "I know you resent me and feel that I didn't treat you as a true friend, but you're the only person I'm familiar with at school, and you're the person I trust the most... The college entrance exam is next semester, and my grades haven't improved at all. I really don't know where the problem lies. Could you..."
Her voice was low, her eyes were filled with sorrow, and her fragile appearance reminded Yu Kui of the first time she met her.
As delicate and fragile as glass.
Yu Kui once genuinely wanted to protect her and be her friend.
Back then, she dreamed of going to the same university as her and being best friends for life.
But now her tears didn't move Yu Kui; she even felt they were somewhat fake. "So, you only came to me for the sake of studying? If your grades improve, you can still ignore the harm you've done to me."
Tao Jiang opened her eyes wide, "I..."
"You came to me because there's something about me that you can use."
Yu Kui bluntly stated, "You've never considered me a true friend."
Tao Jiang clenched her fists, seemingly surprised that Yu Kui would be so perceptive. "That's not what I meant."
“But I’m not the same person I used to be.” Yu Kui’s voice was calm. “No matter how many times you look for me, my answer will not change.”
"We're not friends anymore."
After saying that, Yu Kui slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked past her.
"I consider you a friend!" Tao Jiang turned around, her eyes red, and said, "I've always considered you a friend, but I just couldn't give you the clear feedback that I do with other people, and that's not my fault."
Yu Kui paused in her steps.
“It’s because of my family of origin.” Tao Jiang said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, “I couldn’t choose my birth, I couldn’t change my upbringing, and I couldn’t change the personality I’ve developed. I had no choice. I’m sorry.”
Yu Kui turned around, and Tao Jiang's tears were already flowing. She looked at Yu Kui quietly, and her eyes, which had never shown much emotion before, showed a kind of "sorrow" at this moment.
Yu Kui stood there, stunned, unable to tell whether Tao Jiang was telling the truth or not.
Family of origin? Did Tao Jiang's unhappy family of origin contribute to her current situation?
Yu Kui really wanted to know what had happened to her, but she didn't ask. Instead, she pretended to be indifferent and said, "What your family background is like has nothing to do with me."
“But I want to get into a good university,” Tao Jiang said. “I want to change my destiny, but my grades haven’t improved, and I’m at my wit’s end.”
Seeing her helpless look, Yu Kui's eyes changed slightly. She subconsciously took two steps toward Tao Jiang, when a slightly puzzled voice suddenly came from behind her: "Why haven't you gone home yet?"
Yu Kui turned around, and Xie Xingzhi walked a few steps to her side, grabbed her backpack strap, and said, "Hurry up, I'll take you to the bus stop."
"Huh?" Just as Yu Kui was about to let him go, Xie Xingzhi dragged her out of the classroom. "It's already dark outside. What are you still doing in the classroom? If I hadn't come to check on you, would you have been late again?"
"No." Yu Kui looked at Tao Jiang while struggling, her gaze fixed on her and Xie Xingzhi, her expression strange and very incongruous.
Yu Kui frowned, and all the words she wanted to say turned into silence.
After leaving the classroom, Xie Xingzhi released Yu Kui and asked irritably, "Why didn't you go home?"
"I..." Thinking of Tao Jiang, Yu Kui stammered, "It has nothing to do with you."
"How can it be okay? You're my tutor."
Yu Kui: "..."
"Don't come home too late in the future," Xie Xingzhi patted her head, "It's not safe to come home late."
“It’s still early,” Yu Kui said, glancing at the time. “I got back much later before.”
“It’s winter now, and it gets dark so fast,” Xie Xingzhi said, grabbing her backpack strap again. “Your safety is more important.”
Yu Kui puffed out her cheeks, unsure how to argue. She could only follow him toward the school gate.
“I’ll come down to find you after school from now on,” Xie Xingzhi said, squinting at the now deserted bus stop. “Don’t let me find out you’re late.”
Yu Kui: "..." What? He actually dares to control her?
“I am your ‘teacher’!” she said, tilting her head back and correcting him sternly. “I am the one who is in charge of you, not the other way around.”
"It's precisely because you're my 'teacher' that I care about your safety." Xie Xingzhi tapped his upper palate and said irritably, "I don't care about anyone else."
"You..." Yu Kui couldn't argue with him, so she turned her head away and ignored him.
Xie Xingzhi looked at the top of her head and noticed that her ponytail was slightly crooked today, so he said, "Did you oversleep this morning?"
"No," Yu Kui shook her head.
"Why is your hair all messy?"
Yu Kui glared at him. "Isn't it your fault?"
"What did I do?" Xie Xingzhi asked, puzzled. Yu Kui gritted her teeth inwardly. "Don't you dare pat my head again." It's so annoying.
Xie Xingzhi felt a little guilty: "...Should I take a picture of it back for you?"
Yu Kui: "..." Her fist hardened.
After watching Yu Kui board the bus, Xie Xingzhi turned around to go home when his gaze suddenly met that of a girl coming out of the school gate.
Tao Jiang walked up to him unhurriedly, smiled and said, "Classmate, are you Yu Kui's friend?"
Xie Xingzhi raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.
Tao Jiang seemed oblivious to his coldness and continued, "My name is Tao Jiang, and I am also Yu Kui's friend."
"Friends?" Xie Xingzhi's lips curled into a smile. "Friends who are childhood sweethearts and always together?"
Tao Jiang's pupils contracted sharply. "What did you say?"
"Do you think I'm stupid?" Xie Xingzhi scoffed. "You think you can fool me with your little tricks?"
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