Chapter 16: That’s a Greek Letter, You Fool
Out of consideration for Zheng Hong, when the exam papers for the next few subjects arrived, Li Shu casually filled in the multiple-choice and true/false questions, finishing them hastily.
Qiu Ning, seeing her like this, also gave up on the idea of continuing to pass notes.
In the afternoon, Jiang Yi and his group took the exams, but at their level, it was just to make up numbers and drag down the average score.
After two days of exams, everyone was groaning.
“Damn, I’m just participating again.”
“What? Only twelve multiple-choice questions in math? Are you kidding me?”
“Again, questions made by the experimental class teacher. Does she want me dead?”
Qiu Ning listened to them discuss for a while, then walked back to her seat lightly. Unlike the others with their heads down, she looked radiant.
This time, the questions in all subjects were very difficult. Qiu Ning, however, was confident she would win.
Sure enough, she was talented.
No wonder she was the study committee member.
Li Shu gave her a mental thumbs-up.
The phone in her backpack kept vibrating. Li Shu took a moment to check the caller ID—it was Li Maoguo.
She ignored it and didn’t check the call history. Before this, he had already called three or four times.
Li Shu didn’t even need to guess: Zheng Hong had contacted Li Maoguo. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be calling relentlessly like a death sentence.
She thought for a moment but didn’t answer. She waited until the phone automatically hung up after long no response. Then she simply turned off her phone.
No need to think—she already knew what awaited her at home today.
Around the time school was letting out,
Shen Yan again received a barrage of messages.
Jiang Yi didn’t yet know that Shen Yan had removed him from the blacklist and was sending SMS messages.
“Brother Yan, the old man caught me back from the internet café, fine, but he also told my dad. Damn, my card was stopped. I can’t even buy spicy strips. I need dad to help.”
“Stupid questions, damn it, not even allowed to submit early.”
“Strange, why is there a β in the math question? What the hell is this? Never seen it before. B’s twin brother?”
That’s a Greek letter, you fool.
Shen Yan, having no patience, scrolled through the long messages and went straight to the last one.
“I realized this must be a hint from the teacher who made the exam. A sudden flash of inspiration, I picked all B’s.”
Half-lying on the sofa, Shen Yan was amused. His long, straight legs were wrapped in casual pants, lazily crossed and resting in the corner.
A necklace hung around his neck. It looked ordinary, not expensive, but he never took it off; it must have extraordinary meaning.
He raised an eyebrow and lazily replied.
“B, not too small?”
Click send.
Jiang Yi received the message and didn’t have time to be happy before this sentence confused him.
Not too small?
Why would it be “not too small”?
Wu Zexi, seeing him stop walking halfway, craned his neck to look, and snickered.
“Right, don’t you like 36…ahem…D the most?”
Jiang Yi: …
His Brother Yan talks so flirtatiously. Who would believe this guy has never been with a woman?
As Li Shu expected, when she returned to the villa today, she unexpectedly saw Li Maoguo home early with a dark face.
Li Maoguo thought about the more than ten calls he had made to Li Shu, none of which got through, and felt a surge of anger, as if his authority had been broken by her.
Seeing her come back, the first thing out of his mouth was:
“Not answering my calls? Li Shu, who taught you this?”
Li Shu’s fair, delicate face maintained her usual obedience.
She took her powered-off phone from her backpack, her tone still soft and gentle:
“Dad, it ran out of battery.”
Chapter 17: You’re Really Funny
Li Maoguo paused, and most of his urge to accuse and scold dissipated.
When Zheng Hong contacted him, he also mentioned today’s exam. It was normal that Li Shu hadn’t checked her phone.
Li Shu had always been obedient and never lied. Later, if she wanted to respond to him, she couldn’t because her phone was dead.
But he had always cared about face. Ever since the last incident caught him off guard, he had felt uncomfortable these past few days. Now, catching this opportunity, he wanted to vent a little.
Li Shu had always understood Li Maoguo very well.
She awkwardly twisted the straps of her backpack: “Sorry for making Dad worry.”
Li Maoguo’s temper disappeared instantly. Except for his face looking a bit grim, the aggressive momentum was gone.
“Forget it. Next time, remember to charge it. Don’t let me be unable to contact you.”
He got to the main point: “But about your living at school, don’t even think about it. I won’t allow it.”
His tone was serious: “Xiao Shu, you have to know, only at home can you get the best care.”
Li Shu was silent, her eyes dark.
Li Maoguo always used a few casual words of so-called “for your own good” to satisfy his male pride and need for control.
Zheng Hong had mentioned it to him several times, saying that Li Shu would travel less and could focus on her last year of high school. Li Maoguo refused outright.
Her daughter didn’t need top grades—she just had to obey.
“Everything’s already planned for you, the university contacted, you just need to register when the time comes. It’s in A City, close to home, no need to live at school.”
Li Shu looked straight at him, expressionless, her fingertips pale from gripping her bag.
Her voice was slightly hoarse: “So, you’re making the decision for me again?”
Li Maoguo didn’t notice Li Shu’s unusual tone. He smiled casually. He took good care of himself and didn’t look like he had a daughter in her last year of high school.
“Dad is paving the way for you.”
Li Shu felt a heavy pressure on her chest. For the first time, she laughed out loud, her tone completely flat: “You’re really funny.”
Li Maoguo sensed something wrong. Just as he was about to figure it out, Li Shu, without saying a word, turned and went upstairs.
He shouted loudly: “Li Shu! Are you showing me attitude?”
Li Shu seemed not to hear him. Step by step, she walked decisively toward her room door.
In the hallway, she saw Shuxiao in her usual delicate way, wearing soft home clothes and holding a cat.
Li Shu withdrew her gaze, didn’t call out, and lazily returned to her room.
Shuxiao raised her eyebrows but didn’t slow down her actions, gently stroking the ragdoll cat.
Downstairs, Li Maoguo’s angry voice rang clearly: “Li Shu, come down here!”
Shuxiao’s expression was calm. She descended the stairs unhurriedly, met Li Maoguo’s gaze but seemed not to notice him. Carefully, she refilled the cat’s food and took out some small dried fish.
Li Maoguo’s face darkened: “You care more about that animal than your own daughter.”
Shuxiao’s expression hardened: “Li Maoguo, is she only my daughter?”
She smiled faintly, half teasing: “You’re never home yourself, and you still want her to stay at home?”
Li Shu returned to her room, washed her face in the bathroom, looking at her soft, fair features in the mirror, and calmed herself.
Adjusting her emotions, she slowly returned to her desk and turned on her phone.
A call came in immediately.
Seeing the name on the screen, her expression softened, and a smile appeared on her lips.
“Grandma.”
The voice on the other end was kind: “Xiao Shu, are you adjusting okay these first few days of school?”
She paused: “Not really.”
Hearing this, Meng Xianghong immediately panicked: “What happened? Are you having problems with classmates, or did your parents again—”
Li Shu pressed her lips together. Meng Xianghong was the only person she truly cared about. Even her tone now carried a sweetness it hadn’t before. Her lips curved upward, and tears welled in her eyes. She fought to hold back her sobs.
“Nothing. Xiao Shu just missed Grandma.”
Chapter 18: Hey, Are You 1.4 Meters Tall?
Half an hour later, Aunt Xu came upstairs carrying a steaming bowl of beef noodles, full of aroma, along with a cup of warm milk.
Li Shu didn’t go downstairs again.
A full night of good sleep.
The next day, after waking up and finishing her morning routine, she went downstairs. From Aunt Xu, she learned that last night Li Maoguo had gone out and didn’t return all night.
Li Shu didn’t say anything. She had long passed the age of insisting that her parents accompany her.
“Xiao Shu, your dad agreed. Take a look at what you need to bring for boarding school, Aunt Xu will help you prepare.”
Li Shu froze for a moment.
Why did Li Maoguo suddenly relax?
This wasn’t something he would normally do.
Hesitating, she met Aunt Xu’s affectionate face. After receiving the reassuring response, her eyes brightened slightly.
She didn’t even bother with breakfast and hurried upstairs to pack: “No need to trouble yourself, the school store has everything.”
Outside the villa, Li Shu hailed a taxi.
Near the first two intersections close to school, the roads were congested, barely moving, and every now and then she could hear the honking from cars behind.
The driver spoke in a strong accent: “Oh yo, ke ding ci ce huo le.” (Definitely an accident happened.)
Li Shu rolled down the window, stuck her head out, and looked at the long line of cars.
She didn’t know how long the traffic jam would last.
“Ke yangzi duan shi jian nei dou du, xiao guniang, nong zhe jiu bu la.” (Looks like it’s blocked for a while, little girl, are you anxious?)
Li Shu glanced at the time. Morning self-study was about to start.
She realized a bit late that she would be late.
Since she was already late, she didn’t worry. She simply paid the fare and got out.
Although it was early, the weather was hot and stuffy. Li Shu bought a pancake by the roadside, dragging her luggage with one hand, slowly taking a shortcut through a small alley toward the school.
The small wheels rolled quietly on the ground. Li Shu was in a good mood, chewing slowly on the giant pancake loaded with all the extras.
The shopkeeper saw she was petite and purposely split it into two halves, putting each half in a separate bag.
The alley was cooler than the street, and Li Shu’s pace quickened considerably.
“You guys just casually copy some stuff. If you go serious, those Third High School people will definitely chicken out.”
Shen Yan leaned lazily against a utility pole, right foot slightly bent, holding a phone in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
He smiled casually, pressing the tip of his tongue against his back molars: “At most, you’ll just get a bit of blood. As long as no one dies, everything else is negotiable.”
The alley was dimly lit. Li Shu stood far away and couldn’t see Shen Yan’s face clearly, but hearing these words, her grip tightened.
She instinctively took a step back.
Li Shu was about to turn around, but moved too hastily. Her luggage hit a trash can with a ‘bang.’
Exposed.
Li Shu: …
Shen Yan heard the noise, lifted his eyelids, and looked over. Seeing the small figure frozen in place, he raised his eyebrows.
Shen Yan scolded lightly into the phone: “Won’t come, even if you call the ancestor, won’t come. I, model student, have to go to school.”
Li Shu: …
She even softened her breathing.
Shen Yan hung up, flicked his cigarette, unaware the alley was a shortcut to Funan. Drooping his eyelids, he lazily planned to head to the road.
Li Shu heard approaching footsteps, feeling a chill at her back.
She was lazy but not scared. Thinking “less trouble is better,” she quickly grabbed her suitcase and was about to run.
Shen Yan hadn’t paid much attention to her, but seeing her rush like a flood, he couldn’t help chasing after her, blocking her in a few steps.
He scanned Li Shu from head to toe.
Coincidentally, it was the fool who had bumped into the utility pole a few days ago.
Li Shu instinctively took a step back.
Shen Yan squinted, his eyes sharp yet smiling: “Hey, are you 1.4 meters tall?”
Chapter 19: Aren’t You Afraid I’ll Hit You?
Li Shu’s fair, delicate face instantly showed a hint of displeasure.
Shen Yan lazily withdrew his gaze, approaching but keeping a safe distance. His tone carried detachment, mixed with a few threads of casual nonchalance.
“Shorty, did I tell you to leave?”
Li Shu knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but who told Shen Yan not to lower his voice?
She wasn’t listening on purpose.
The girl looked utterly dejected. Her peach-blossom eyes drooped helplessly.
Judging by Shen Yan’s posture, was he about to settle accounts?
Li Shu had no way to avoid it and resigned herself.
Afraid the pancake would get cold and lose flavor, she buried her head and slowly ate a few more bites.
Shen Yan stubbed out his cigarette, tossed it casually into the nearby trash can, then let out a playful sound.
“If you hear something you shouldn’t, just leave. Aren’t you afraid I’ll hit you?”
It was Shen Yan’s first time facing this scene. The other person wore an embarrassingly ugly school uniform, looked miserable and dispirited, yet wasn’t scared—ducking and peeking around, fully like “hit me if you want, I’m ready.”
Shen Yan: …Unavoidably ridiculous, yet somehow amusing.
His light brown pupils held an almost invisible trace of amusement.
Shen Yan’s appearance was undeniably attractive.
A tall, straight figure, distinct facial features, a crisp, clean white shirt with the sleeves loosely rolled at the wrists.
Li Shu always felt he wouldn’t strike, at least not a girl.
She tilted her head: “You just said you were a model student.”
That was just Shen Yan casually brushing off Jiang Yi. He raised an eyebrow, about to say something, when Li Shu, soft and innocent, tilted her head and held out the uneaten half of her pancake.
Still warm.
Li Shu didn’t speak, but Shen Yan seemed to read one unspoken sentence in her eyes:
—I’m treating you to this pancake, stop being so petty.
Li Shu was indeed late. However, having informed Zheng Hong beforehand, she completed identity registration with the dorm supervisor grandma and received her key.
The assigned dorm was a four-person room, currently empty.
Before entering, Li Shu sized it up. The room was clean and tidy. Except for the double bed by the door, all other beds had their blankets neatly folded.
She ran back and forth to the school store several times, buying daily necessities.
By the time she finished, it took over an hour.
Having completed all this, she finally headed to the senior high teaching building.
It was class break; the classroom was noisy. Qiu Ning worked on problems, occasionally chiming in on the girls’ conversation.
“Jiang Yi’s gang didn’t show up again, and the old man didn’t even get mad?”
“You don’t know? The new student is filling out forms in the office.”
“Heard he’s pretty handsome, lucky us.”
Zheng Hong didn’t have time to worry about Jiang Yi’s gang; he proudly made the homeroom teacher of the experimental class furious.
Li Shu put down her bag, just entering from outside, her face flushed. She grabbed her Chinese textbook to fan herself.
“Not talking about this new student—don’t know who’s staying at school. Yesterday, the old man was in such a rush making us tidy the empty bed.”
Li Shu paused.
“No one knew, maybe even our class didn’t know. Just hope it’s not some flashy brat.”
Li Shu softly interjected: “It’s me.”
The three girls froze, instantly silent.
Qiu Ning realized and turned slightly: “Desk mate, we can eat together.”
The long-haired girl in front smiled, her eyes curving: “Tang Wan, I’m on the bed opposite you.”
The short-haired girl, dressed like a tomboy, patted her chest: “Just call me A Chu. From now on, for dirty or heavy work, come to me. No charge.”
Tang Wan glanced at her: “It’s already even, stop patting. Take better care of yourself.”
“Tang Wan, I’m going to kill you!”
Li Shu’s peach-blossom eyes glimmered with a hint of brightness.
Chapter 20: On Him, I Saw Wisdom
Shen Yan completed the school registration procedures, filling out several forms. Zheng Hong talked with him alone for half an hour, then personally took him to the school storage room to pick up his uniform.
Except for Li Shu, no one in Class Seven actually wore it, but it still had to be issued—just a formality.
The pride he carried made several homeroom teachers envious.
“Your grades coming to Class Seven, I was really worried those little rascals would affect you.”
Shen Yan had his hands in his pockets, lounging lazily.
“They won’t.”
Zheng Hong thought this kid was good in every way. But if the same kid were in front of those other students, he would have been scolded into standing improperly long ago.
“You don’t have to live in the dorm, but your grades can’t drop.”
Feeling hot, Shen Yan unbuttoned the top button of his shirt collar: “Okay.”
His long phoenix-like eyes held a playful smile: “Teacher, I’ll also apply to study at home for evening self-study.”
Zheng Hong: Feels like this kid is getting cocky.
But Shen Yan’s physics and chemistry scores were nearly perfect, and his liberal arts grades were far ahead. There really was no need to keep him for evening study.
It was also inconvenient to commute to school.
“Your situation is special. I have to report to the school. Wait for the result.”
At Fu Nan, students who didn’t attend evening self-study were mostly second-generation rich kids. Staying would affect other students, and the family had to notify the school in advance.
Li Shu was a typical example.
Zheng Hong was in high spirits, walking and introducing the campus to Shen Yan.
Shen Yan collected his uniform and textbooks, then was led by Zheng Hong back to the teaching building.
This class was history.
Looking across the classroom, very few students were paying attention.
The history teacher was young, but one lesson felt like a lullaby—dull and bland.
Without Jiang Yi, the troublemaker, leading disruptions, the class was surprisingly harmonious.
At the front, Tang Wan and Meng Yichu were secretly passing notes, their lips smiling the entire time.
Qiu Ning, once in class, was like dead—fully focused, never participating in their antics.
Meng Yichu noticed Li Shu lying on her desk, listless.
Soon, a densely written note was passed up from under the desk.
Li Shu blinked, took it, and glanced at it.
Meng: “Last time I passed the office, the Chinese teacher bought a rice cooker costing several thousand.”
Tang: “Isn’t that normal?”
Meng: (smiles)
Meng: “I manually toss you a hand grenade.”
Meng: “So why doesn’t the history teacher buy a good wig? Same as a teacher, is he not worthy?”
Li Shu paused slightly, subconsciously looking up at the history teacher in a tracksuit.
Her gaze moved upward.
Coincidentally, the history teacher faced the blackboard, writing with chalk. All Li Shu could see was the back of his head.
The cheap wig on the back of his head was obvious. Not only was the color several shades off from his real hair, it also exposed several bald spots.
In a sea of people, one could always become the brightest star.
Was this street-market merchandise, or a fashion she couldn’t understand?
Li Shu’s listless little face involuntarily curved into a small smile.
She looked down and continued reading.
Tang: “On him, I saw wisdom.”
Meng: “Crossed waist. Picture JPG.”
Tang: “Li Shu, join us. Listening to class is so boring; let’s gossip.”
Meng: “We can talk about the new student. Heard he’s so handsome it’s hard to close your legs. Grades are excellent.”
An unfamiliar emotion passed through Li Shu’s heart. Being pulled into a group like this, it was her first time feeling this way.
Li Shu smoothed the slightly wrinkled paper, picked up a black pen, and carefully wrote one sentence:
“You’re not afraid that… on him, hmm, you also see wisdom?”
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