Lin Zhihua didn't immediately propose a solution but first analyzed the situation for her:
["Liu Yazhen is both vicious and cunning. Today she said those things because she completely grasped Li Shu's psychology. Behind the scenes, she'll definitely keep instilling in Li Shu the benefits of having her son learn from you. Li Shu loves her son dearly and will cling to any possibility, whether useful or not. If you want your Cheng family to avoid offending them completely, you can't refuse her son's request to move in."]
["Ah? So he'll really live with us? Won't that have negative effects?"]
Lin Zhihua tapped his finger on the desk once. Actually, this matter could be easily resolved—he could put some pressure on the Bai family or show favor to the Cheng family. Then even if they outright refused, the Bai family wouldn't dare make trouble.
But... Xue Jiao was unwilling. Clearly, she wanted to solve this herself if possible.
So Lin Zhihua replied:
["There definitely will be. The fact that Liu Yazhen dared to scheme means there would certainly be significant consequences. Moreover, it's obvious that Bai Hongyi isn't someone Li Shu can't control—she simply can't bear to discipline him. He's utterly lawless. You can't live with him."]
Xue Jiao was completely dumbfounded. So they couldn't refuse, but also couldn't live together?
Then Lin Zhihua sent another message. When Xue Jiao read it, she immediately smiled.
Oh right! How could she have forgotten this option!
——
Early the next morning, Xue Jiao came downstairs.
Li Sitong was ungracefully yawning while bringing breakfast from the kitchen.
"Hurry up and eat, we're running late today."
Cheng Shuo had just come out of his room and said, "Jiao Jiao and Mingze eat first, then hurry to school. I'm leaving late today."
"Okay," Cheng Mingze nodded.
Xue Jiao quickly finished breakfast, then looked at Li Sitong.
"Mom, don't refuse Auntie Li Shu."
"Ah?" Li Sitong froze.
Cheng Shuo, who was washing his hands, rushed out anxiously: "Jiao Jiao, don't worry about this. Your uncle and your mom will handle it."
He thought Xue Jiao was considering family relations and planning to compromise.
Even Cheng Mingze disagreed: "Right, leave this to Dad and Aunt Li."
"No," Xue Jiao shook her head. "I'm saying let him move in because my brother and I won't be home during winter break."
"What?"
Xue Jiao looked at Cheng Mingze and smiled: "Can you pass the first round of the math competition?"
Cheng Mingze paused for a moment, then immediately understood: "Right! Jiao Jiao and I are going to the winter camp!"
Li Sitong blinked, then said: "So I'll tell her you're going to winter camp? Then she can't do anything about it!"
But Xue Jiao shook her head—it wasn't that simple.
She relayed what Lin Zhihua had told her: "It's not that simple. If we tell her this, she'll keep trying to send her son over later. Unless we crush her hopes completely, this will happen again eventually."
"Then what should we do?" Li Sitong pressed.
Xue Jiao smiled lightly: "Let him move in after my brother and I leave. We won't cross paths with him. You keep a close eye on him and make sure he never wants to come again. Then Auntie Li Shu won't be able to force him on us!"
"I think this could work!" Li Sitong's eyes lit up.
Even Cheng Shuo nodded: "This is indeed a good plan. But can you guarantee you'll make it to winter camp?"
Cheng Mingze nodded: "I have no problem."
Xue Jiao swallowed her last bite of bread: "Neither do I."
——After resolving the matter Li Sitong had rashly agreed to, the final exams were drawing closer, and Xue Jiao's attention was entirely focused on both her own exams and tutoring Yi Tianyu.
"Not bad. Your math and science scores are already quite good. As long as the questions aren’t too obscure, you should be fine."
Yi Tianyu’s eyes lit up. "Freedom?!"
Xue Jiao, who had been reviewing his test paper, lifted her head and gave him a sidelong glance. "The exams haven’t even started yet. What freedom? Starting today, you’ll memorize Chinese passages and fixed English sentence structures!"
"Ah?" The moment English and Chinese were mentioned, Yi Tianyu’s head drooped.
With a cold expression, Xue Jiao handed him a small booklet. "Start memorizing these. All of them."
Then she opened her own book and began reviewing.
Even though she already knew the material inside out, Xue Jiao still carefully read every single word. The points she lost in Chinese dictation were all avoidable mistakes.
Yi Tianyu held the booklet, dumbfounded.
After a moment, he let out a groan and flipped it open.
The neatly written characters inside were exceptionally elegant. Yi Tianyu thought of the girl beside him painstakingly writing these down…
He lowered his head and began memorizing earnestly.
——
Having reviewed a set of science problems the night before, Yi Tianyu stared at the booklet, his focus starting to waver.
Slowly, his eyelids began to droop.
Then, his head started to sink as well, nearly colliding with the desk.
Thump—
Xue Jiao’s Chinese textbook tapped against his forehead. Yi Tianyu jerked his head up and looked at the girl glaring at him.
Scratching his head awkwardly, he grinned sheepishly. "Heh heh… I’ll keep memorizing!"
——
At noon, after a math class, it was time for lunch. Yi Tianyu turned to head straight for the cafeteria.
From behind, Xue Jiao’s voice called out, "Yi Tianyu!"
He turned back. "What?"
Xue Jiao said, " The reeds are tough as silk. "
Yi Tianyu instinctively replied, " The rock will never move. "
"Alright, go eat now."
"……"
——
After lunch, it was time for chemistry class.
A voice came from beside him: "Yi Tianyu!"
"Here!" he responded reflexively.
" The large strings loudly thrum like the pelting rain. "
" The small strings softly tinkle in a murmuring strain. "
As soon as he finished, the teacher walked into the classroom—
"Alright, class, let’s continue our review."
——
In the morning, Yi Tianyu had just arrived in the classroom.
" For the ideal which I hold dear to my heart. "
Instinctively, he opened his mouth: " I would not regret a thousand deaths to find. "
Xue Jiao’s Chinese textbook smacked him on the head. "Wrong! Come find me after morning self-study to recite the entire passage again!"
"Ah? This xi and fu stuff is just too hard to pronounce!"
Yi Tianyu’s face twisted in misery as he wailed, " Li Sao, Li Sao ! Why must you be so vexing!"
Xue Jiao remained expressionless. "Two times."
"……"
"I’ll memorize it, I’ll memorize it!!"
——
Finally, the day of the final exams arrived.
Xue Jiao leaned against the back cabinet, sipping the water Yi Tianyu had poured for her, looking completely at ease.
"How are you not nervous at all?" Yi Tianyu groaned, his face full of misery.
If he hadn’t put in any effort, it would be one thing. But now that he had worked so hard, he was terrified his results wouldn’t reflect it—all that effort would have been for nothing!
He had never worked this hard in his life. He had even hired four tutors, though he felt none of them taught as well as Xue Jiao or helped him as much as she did.
"Why should I be nervous?" Xue Jiao rolled her eyes at him. "Don’t you trust me?"
Yi Tianyu banged his head against the cabinet. "Ahhhh! It’s myself I don’t trust!""......"
After a moment, Xue Jiao patted his shoulder. "...Good luck."
Though it was just a simple pat on the shoulder, it seemed to inject him with some inexplicable strength.
Yi Tianyu straightened his back and strode confidently into his examination room—
Go for it, Yi Tianyu!!!
——
Finally, the dreaded final exams tormenting Yi Tianyu came to an end.
He rushed straight back to the classroom—
"Bookworm!!! Who was the genius who gave us those outlines?! Holy crap, the predictions were spot on!!!!!"
Xue Jiao had just finished moving her desk when she paused, then smiled. "Yeah, a real genius."
Without giving Yi Tianyu a chance to press further, she walked to the back cabinet to fetch her books.
"Wait! Let me do it, dummy!" Yi Tianyu shouted, dashing over to grab a stack of Xue Jiao's books and placing them on her desk.
After retrieving his own books, he started organizing them alongside her while continuing excitedly, "I think I messed up that line from 'Li Sao' again! I just can't seem to memorize that damn poem."
Xue Jiao absentmindedly reassured him, "It's fine, just one point."
"Ugh, I'll probably never forget Qu Yuan and his melodramatic 'Li Sao' now. He jumped into a river, and he almost drove me to do the same!"
Xue Jiao burst into laughter and shook her head.
"Heh heh heh." Yi Tianyu chuckled as he tidied up.
Once the teachers finished assigning all the homework, they were dismissed for vacation. They only needed to return in a few days to collect their grades.
"Hey, dummy! Since we're on break, are you coming to get your report card?"
Yi Tianyu's voice was unusually subdued. For some reason, the thought of not seeing Gu Xue Jiao for a while made him feel restless all over.
Collecting the report card was optional—those who came would get their grades directly, while those who didn’t could check them in the class group chat later. Hence, Yi Tianyu’s question.
Xue Jiao nodded. "Yeah, I'll come."
Yi Tianyu immediately brightened. "Great! I'll be there too!"
"Okay, see you later." With a smile, Xue Jiao slung her backpack over her shoulder, gathered her books, and left.
Yi Tianyu watched her retreating figure, only belatedly murmuring, "...See you later," long after she had gone.
——
Almost as soon as they went on break, Li Shu called to inquire.
Clearly, she truly saw the Cheng family as her last lifeline.
Xue Jiao and Cheng Mingze had already received their winter camp notifications, but there was still some time before they had to report. Since Cheng Mingze also had make-up classes, Li Sitong suggested they take a short trip before returning.
She asked Li Shu to wait a few more days before sending Bai Hongyi over.
Li Shu had no choice but to agree.
Then Cheng Shuo had an idea—why not have Li Sitong take Xue Jiao to the capital first to familiarize themselves with the place and enjoy a couple of days before coming back?
The capital... In her past life, Xue Jiao had only been a high school graduate and an orphan, spending all her free time working odd jobs. She had never been there before.
Even though her relationship with Li Sitong remained somewhat distant, she had to admit she had enjoyed the trip quite a bit.
She had even smiled more than usual.
On the return flight.
"Getting your report card tomorrow morning?" Li Sitong asked.
Xue Jiao nodded. "Yes, tomorrow morning."
"Bai Hongyi is coming tomorrow afternoon. After you collect your grades, you can head straight to the capital. Mingze is your brother, but since you’ve already been there to get familiar with the place, make sure to look out for him. Don’t just rely on him taking care of you the whole way."
Xue Jiao, wearing headphones, replied distractedly, "Okay, got it."
Li Sitong had nothing more to say.
——The next morning, Xue Jiao went to school to collect her grades. Cheng Mingze was still attending supplementary classes but had already taken leave to leave with Xue Jiao at noon.
Qizhong High School had originally planned for everyone to leave together the next day, but Xue Jiao and Cheng Mingze had to go ahead today, so they wouldn't be traveling with the others.
As Xue Jiao reached the entrance of Class 1, she glanced up and saw Yin Fang walking toward the bulletin board with the honor roll in hand, her face beaming with pride.
Students who had already arrived swarmed around it.
"Bookworm! You're here!" Yi Tianyu wasn't wearing his school uniform today, likely because he had just been exercising, sporting only a fleece-lined hoodie.
Xue Jiao, bundled up in a thick white down jacket, hid half her face behind the high collar and mumbled, "Yeah, just got here."
"Damn! The results are out! I don't dare look!" Yi Tianyu suddenly grew nervous.
Xue Jiao rolled her eyes at him, her hands tucked into gloves, and slowly walked over. Yi Tianyu hurried to follow.
Before they could get close, they heard a familiar voice exclaim—
"Gu Xue Jiao is first again! She beat Chu Sheng by two points!! Two points!"
Unlike last time when they were tied, this time it was a two-point lead.
Even if it was just two points, Gu Xue Jiao was still two points ahead, firmly securing the top spot.
No wonder Yin Fang was posting the honor roll with such a triumphant smile.
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