“Are you alright?”

Faced with Xia Fu’s concerned question, Fang Jingcheng drooped his eyelids, letting out a sigh with an expression of utter helplessness.

“I’m fine, just the same old stuff—study hard, don’t cause trouble… Once they heard I got into a fight, they wouldn’t stop nagging. But as long as I explained it clearly, it was no big deal. Didn’t the secretary back me up on this?”

The school’s strict attitude during competitions was normal; no need to stress Xia Fu out about it.

Fang Jingcheng deliberately avoided mentioning his brother, brushing off the family drama with a smile. He pulled out a card from his pocket and waved it in front of Xia Fu like he was showing off a treasure, changing the topic smoothly:

“My grandma felt sorry about my injury, so my allowance actually went up instead of down. It’s getting late; why don’t we get a seafood hotpot tonight, or we could just go out somewhere nice?”

It seemed that the Bao Zhiwei incident hadn’t affected their arrangement. With the crisis averted, Xia Fu couldn’t help but return his bright smile.

“Alright. The cafeteria just opened, so the seafood hotpot line shouldn’t be long. Let’s hurry over.”

After a week of rest, with imported medicated patches and the “Little Fang Chauffeur” service, Xia Fu was back on her feet. Yet Fang Jingcheng had clearly developed a habit—he still carried her backpack when they walked side-by-side.

At four in the afternoon, just as the affiliated kindergarten was letting out, Xia Fu ran into Jiang Rong at the gate.

Two little girls flanked their mother, walking along with their paper-crafted flowers held high, chirping like little sparrows, showing off what they’d made in class. As she looked down at her adorable daughters, even Jiang Rong’s usually frosty expression softened with a smile.

But the tender moment didn’t last long.

“Look, a big brother with silver hair!”

At her daughter’s exclamation, Jiang Rong’s expression soured.

“Don’t look at him; he’s a bad student.”

She pulled her daughters close like a mother hen protecting her chicks, turning her body to block their view and gently pushing them along, urging them to leave quickly.

Then Jiang Rong shot a sharp look at the two passing students. When her eyes met Xia Fu’s, they held a distinct look of disdain.

Though she’d mentally prepared herself, Xia Fu’s body still stiffened as she dropped her gaze to the ground.

Bao Zhiwei was the real creep for secretly photographing girls, yet, because she’d asked Jiang Rong, “If someone took secret photos of your kids, would it just be a hobby?” she’d become branded as a “dangerous person around children” and was now treated with caution by Jiang Rong.

No matter what, Xia Fu felt the kids were innocent.

Even though Jiang Rong’s reaction was over the top, just seeing the young, naive faces reminded her of her words, making Xia Fu feel too ashamed to lift her head.

“Mommy, why are they bad?”

Hearing the little girl’s voice, Xia Fu instinctively shrank her shoulders, wishing she could just disappear or turn into a shadow hidden between the tiles.

But the next second, she felt a large, warm hand settle on her shoulder, guiding her into an embrace smelling faintly of cologne.

Xia Fu’s face pressed against his soft shirt, her cheek warmed by his chest, where she could hear his heart beating steadily. Above her, his casual chuckle sent a gentle rumble through his chest, and Xia Fu’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Fang Jingcheng had pulled her close, shielding her entirely with his height, mirroring Jiang Rong’s earlier actions.

Jiang Rong wanted to protect her daughters from Xia Fu?

Well, he’d keep Xia Fu from getting hurt by Jiang Rong. Besides, Jiang Rong had already crossed the line before—she was a teacher with a track record of unfair behavior.

“It’s because big brother stood up to the bullies.”

Fang Jingcheng had no such moral qualms; he spoke with sarcastic indifference, not even sparing face for Jiang Rong.

As a result, the little girls’ voices rose again in a mix of curiosity.

“Is what big brother said true? The teacher said it’s wrong to bully people, that if there’s a bad person, you should fight back and tell the teacher. Mommy, why did you say they’re bad?”

Now it was Jiang Rong who looked flustered, busy explaining herself.

Watching her scramble, Fang Jingcheng’s smile took on a mischievous edge.

Unlike students, teachers like her were harder to handle. Even though Jiang Rong was technically guilty only of failing to act, her punishment would be nothing more than a year-end bonus cut. Losing her steady teaching job wasn’t in the cards, but as long as she kept that biased attitude, she’d be facing Fang Jingcheng, the “bad student.”

Once Jiang Rong had left, Fang Jingcheng released Xia Fu’s shoulder gently.

“Wow, what a mess. She didn’t give you any trouble in class today, did she?”

Xia Fu shook her head lightly.

“No, she just ignored me like just now. She probably finds me annoying, but she hasn’t done anything directly, so it’s fine.”

From Jiang Rong’s actions, she could already guess the worst—that their grudge was officially cemented. Even if she did nothing, Jiang Rong would find her an eyesore, and Fang Jingcheng sticking up for her would likely become just another excuse for Jiang Rong to stir up trouble.

Xia Fu didn’t blame Fang Jingcheng for his bold move; she was just surprised at the feeling of leaning against his chest.

He was warm, yet soft…

It left her momentarily unsure how to view him, so she looked down instead.

“Thank you for looking out for me. If there are any issues later, I can report it to the secretary.”

“Why would she hate you?”

To him, her avoiding gaze looked like she was still upset. He couldn’t help but raise his voice to explain, “I think you’re the kind of student who’s easy to like—hardworking, with great grades. Jiang Rong’s just an exception. She may not like you, but other teachers surely do.”

Yet he, too, worried about her facing Jiang Rong daily, despite the secretary’s oversight.

Unless Xia Fu could switch classes and escape Jiang Rong’s reach like he had.

A thought crossed his mind, and Fang Jingcheng’s eyes narrowed slightly. Lifting her heavy backpack, he asked:

“Oh, by the way, did you start looking at that paper I sent yesterday? The one on portfolio risk modeling with the GARCH-Copula model.”

At the mention of something she was good at, Xia Fu’s face immediately lit up.

“Oh, that one? Yeah, I finished it this afternoon—it was really good! Although I didn’t understand some parts at first, I found a paper from her group’s Ph.D. students with a detailed explanation, and it made sense as I went along.”

Doctoral theses usually had to meet a certain length, and detailed explanations of formulas helped with that, sometimes making these papers easier to understand than textbooks.

It was the same method Xia Fu had used to help Fang Jingcheng with his paper, quickly learning from it.

But even after studying all day and sacrificing her break, she still hadn’t achieved perfection.

“Python has a package for binary Copula functions, which is helpful, but when combining models for multidimensional analysis, you have to write custom code. I’m still working on it, and the fit isn’t perfect yet… Could you give me a little more time?”

She tugged on his sleeve, pleading cautiously while watching his expression.

Even though he knew she was talented, her efficiency still shocked him every time.

“No, no, no—that’s more than enough,” Fang Jingcheng exclaimed, waving his hand with a look of admiration. “You’re incredible. I can’t help you with this anymore, so I’m planning to bring in some extra help.”

Since the company had scolded him for taking too many resources, Secretary Zhang had politely refused any further access to company materials.

So if Fang Siyu didn’t want him abusing family resources, he’d try a more legitimate route, starting with school.

“Here, give me your hand.”

Fang Jingcheng took her campus card and placed it in her palm.

“Most students can’t apply for a project-based mentorship until sophomore year, but the Honors Class encourages integrated bachelor’s-master’s-Ph.D. studies, so they arrange one-on-one tutoring early on.”

“Zhou Hongxia is my mentor in the Honors Class, and she’s well-known in econometrics. Your last paper earned a high score from her; I’m sure she’ll take a liking to you. She’s on duty tonight, so after dinner, let’s go meet her.”