Chapter 5 – Two Study Dummies Feeling Greatly Mocked…

Lin Chuge pulled Xu Luoluo into a corner to gossip in detail about You Xuan and Zhang Mingda. After the two of them cursed the scumbag man to their hearts’ content, they finally returned to the classroom. Helping Shen Xueyao by accident was quickly forgotten by Lin Chuge just as carelessly.

She endured another half day of lectures that sounded like a foreign language, and by the time school ended in the afternoon, she had deeply realized that she must quickly find tutoring.

At the same time, she also remembered the matter concerning Pei Zhou.

Lin Chuge walked out of school, worried.

Just after saying goodbye to Xu Luoluo and getting into the car, she received a call from her mother.

Chi Haiyin said on the phone that her grandparents wanted her to come over for dinner. It was Friday, and with Saturday and Sunday free, she usually went to visit her grandparents who lived in the suburbs. Receiving this invitation, she naturally accepted happily.

Before hanging up, Lin Chuge earnestly reminded her mother to help her find a tutor—she planned to start lessons the very next day.

After Chi Haiyin agreed, the call ended.

Uncle Wu drove Lin Chuge to her grandparents’ house.

Since it was a longer distance than going home, the trip took a bit more time, and by the time they arrived, it was almost six in the evening.

Twilight had fallen, and the evening glow was like fire.

Carrying her schoolbag, Lin Chuge got out of the car and, before entering, heard laughter coming from the villa.

It seemed her grandparents had guests.

Curious, she walked into the living room. A glance showed that besides her grandparents, there were also two elderly people of similar age sitting on the sofa. Smiling brightly, Lin Chuge greeted, “Grandpa, Grandma, I’m here!”

Grandma Lin, seeing her granddaughter, quickly stood up, helped take off her schoolbag, and pulled her over to the sofa to sit.

Grandpa Lin introduced, “Chuchu, these are Grandpa and Grandma Li, they live in the same neighborhood as us.”

Lin Chuge, clever and sweet-tongued, greeted immediately: “Hello, Grandpa Li, hello, Grandma Li!”

The Lis responded warmly with smiles.

Grandma Li looked at Lin Chuge’s school uniform, thought for a moment, and asked her husband: “Doesn’t Chuchu’s uniform look familiar?” Grandpa Li also studied it and then asked with a smile, “Chuchu, do you go to Yinghua?”

Lin Chuge nodded obediently: “Yes, I’m in my second year of high school.”

Grandpa Li exchanged a surprised look with Grandma Li. “What a coincidence!”

Lin Chuge: “?”

Grandma Li nodded: “Yes, what a coincidence. Our grandson also studies at Yinghua, also in his second year.”

Her grandparents immediately grew enthusiastic: “Really? What a coincidence! Maybe our Chuchu and your grandson even know each other.” Grandma Lin turned to her granddaughter, “Chuchu, you’re in Class 3, right?”

Lin Chuge nodded again: “Yes, Class 3.”

“Eh?” Grandma Li looked uncertainly at Grandpa Li, “Isn’t our grandson in a different class?”

Grandpa Li adjusted his glasses. “Yes, Zhouzhou is in Class 6.”

Lin Chuge: “!”

Class 6! Nickname Zhouzhou!

In that instant, Lin Chuge’s brain spun rapidly, almost immediately recalling a certain someone from Class 6, with a single-character name “Zhou.” She shivered as she heard her grandmother ask, “What’s your Zhouzhou’s full name?”

Lin Chuge’s ears perked nervously.

Grandma Li chuckled, “His name is Pei Zhou. Chuchu, do you know him?”

Lin Chuge: “…”

Know him? More than just that.

Suppressing the shock from learning her grandparents knew Pei Zhou’s grandparents, Lin Chuge forced herself to keep a smile: “We’re not in the same class, so we’re not very familiar. Sorry.”

“This child, what’s there to apologize for?”

Grandma Lin affectionately patted her granddaughter’s head. “Later we’ll introduce you two properly.”

Lin Chuge: “…”

She dared not make a sound.

Grandma Li added cheerfully: “Yes, you should get to know each other.”

Just then, Grandpa Li’s phone rang. He stepped outside to take the call, and soon came back.

“Zhouzhou is coming over to visit.”

Grandpa Li was delighted. “Speak of the devil, and he arrives.”

All four elders looked happy.

Only Lin Chuge, caught in the middle, sipped her juice in stunned silence.

Grandma Lin said warmly: “Is Zhouzhou coming? Perfect timing, Auntie is cooking—I’ll have her add two more dishes so we can all eat together. Chuchu, why don’t you go outside to greet him for Grandpa and Grandma Li?”

It wouldn’t be right to let the older folks go.

Lin Chuge obediently agreed, left the living room, and walked to the porch. Looking up, she saw Pei Zhou walking toward her.

The awkwardness from earlier at school rushed back, suffocating her for a moment.

But then she thought, this was clearly a chance to get close to Pei Zhou. Steeling herself, she reminded herself—she couldn’t just watch a boy who was kind at heart go astray.

She had to do her best to save him!

Lin Chuge secretly clenched her fists.

When Pei Zhou reached the porch, she smiled and greeted him: “Pei… Zhou, Zhou-classmate…”

The boy with cropped hair and one hand in his pocket smirked lazily: “Who’s Pei Zhouzhou?”

Lin Chuge: “…” Damn this unreliable tongue!

Seeing her face flush red, Pei Zhou collected himself and asked, “Are my grandparents here?”

Blushing, she nodded: “Mm, they’re in the living room, chatting with my grandparents.”

“Go on in first,” she said, motioning for him to enter as she turned to walk inside. He followed behind her.

She led him back to the living room.

After greeting the elders, Pei Zhou sat on the sofa, and Grandma Lin kept offering him fruit.

Grandma Li held his hand happily: “Zhouzhou, what a coincidence—you and Chuchu are at the same school, same year. Take the chance to get to know each other. That way, if anything happens at school, you can look out for each other.”

Pei Zhou smiled: “But we’re not in the same class. I probably can’t help much.”

Grandma Li paused, and Pei Zhou suddenly added: “Then maybe I’ll transfer to Class 3 next week.”

Lin Chuge: “!”

She looked at him quickly, blurting out: “Isn’t Class 6 good enough?”

Pei Zhou glanced at her, his smile ambiguous. “No, it’s not.”

Lin Chuge: “…”

“Zhouzhou, what’s wrong?” Grandma Li thought he was serious and grew anxious. “Why do you think your class is bad? Are your classmates bullying you?”

Lin Chuge thought, this guy not bullying others is already rare—who would dare bully him?

At that moment, she seriously wondered what kind of fake image Pei Zhou had in his grandparents’ eyes.

He answered sincerely: “No one bullies me. But in that class, it feels like it’s holding back my studies.”

The words were spoken so calmly it was almost convincing.

Lin Chuge stared at him with awe. Someone whose grades were even worse than hers, complaining about being held back from studying?

Yet Grandma Li believed him at once.

“That won’t do—falling behind in school is no good.”

“We’ll discuss this carefully with your grandfather later. Don’t worry, Zhouzhou.”

Pei Zhou stayed composed: “Okay, no rush.”

Lin Chuge thought bitterly, I must’ve misunderstood him—how is deceiving old folks supposed to be kindness?

Afraid he’d keep misleading them, she quickly pulled out a workbook from her schoolbag. “Pei Zhou, I have a math problem I can’t solve, could you help me take a look?”

With orange slices still in his mouth, Pei Zhou gave her a half-smile.

Ignoring him, she pushed the workbook over and pointed to the page. “This one.”

Grandma Li beamed: “Chuchu really is a good girl who loves studying. Just like our Zhouzhou.”

Lin Chuge: “…”

Pei Zhou: “…”

Both study dummies felt greatly mocked.

“Should we go to the study room?” Pei Zhou asked, looking almost gentle, as if seeking her opinion.

Before Lin Chuge could refuse, Grandma Lin said: “Go on, I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.”

And so, Lin Chuge had no choice but to go with Pei Zhou to the study room downstairs.

The sudden one-on-one made her feel extremely uneasy.

Pei Zhou lounged on the small sofa, face expressionless, eyes narrowed. “What’s the meaning of this?”

Standing at a distance, she didn’t dare approach. “What do you mean?”

He asked lazily, “You don’t know my grades?”

Lin Chuge: “…” I do.

“You do, don’t you?” He supplied the answer for her, then pressed, “So, what’s the meaning of this?”

She stammered: “…Everyone has strengths and weaknesses!”

Pei Zhou: “?”

She tried her best to motivate him: “As long as we work hard, we’ll definitely get good grades!”

Complete nonsense.

He fell silent, then asked: “What’s your score in Chinese?”

“Huh?”

The sudden change of topic left her dazed, but she answered honestly, “I usually get… passing.”

Pei Zhou snorted, ruffled his hair, and tapped the table. “Come here.”

She stayed put cautiously. “What for?”

Finally losing patience, he rolled his eyes. “To do the problem!”

Lin Chuge: “…Oh.”

To her surprise, the difficult math problem she had pointed to—Pei Zhou actually solved it correctly. Looking at the messy but complete work on the scratch paper, she clapped sincerely. “Amazing!”

He clicked his tongue dismissively, tossing the pen aside. “That’s nothing.”

She asked softly, “If you’re this good, why did you only score 7 in math last time?”

He smirked. “Curious?”

She almost nodded but, seeing his gaze, realized she’d better not ask.

“You don’t have to force yourself. I just think it’s a pity,” she admitted honestly.

He stared at her and asked, “Why a pity?”

Her cheeks flushed under his gaze.

How could she explain? She couldn’t very well tell him it was because he liked her so much, and she didn’t want him misunderstood forever.

Pei Zhou’s reputation at school wasn’t exactly good.

She didn’t answer right away.

But in her hesitant silence, Pei Zhou thought he had confirmed what he’d suspected earlier during the day.

Just then, she blurted, “Pei Du is your cousin. He’s so outstanding…”

Before she finished, Pei Zhou’s expression darkened, and she froze.

His eyes turned cold and violent.

“I’m not close to that Pei,” he said flatly. “Classmate, you’ve got the wrong person.”

Everyone knew Pei Du was exceptional. He knew too—but hated hearing people bring it up in front of him.

Standing, he made to leave.

Although she didn’t understand fully, Lin Chuge realized she must’ve said the wrong thing. Was it mentioning Pei Du? Did he think she was comparing them?

“Pei Zhou!”

She called after him as he reached the door. “That’s not what I meant.”

Hand on the knob, he turned his head. “So?”

“I know you’re great,” she whispered, walking closer. “I just meant—you’re excellent too.”

“Really.”

“No matter what others think, I think you’re great.”

Her soft, sweet voice carried a sincerity that couldn’t be faked.

The anger in him suddenly had nowhere to go.

The study room went quiet for a few seconds.

Then, Pei Zhou’s face turned even darker than before. Without looking back, he strode out.

“…Crazy girl!