Chapter 50

“I heard you hired a tutor?” Ji Hui asked.

Ji Wenchen’s eyes were fixed on the documents, and he hadn’t answered yet. “Wenchen hired a tutor?” Ji Kunxiong sounded surprised. “Is hiring a tutor to study the things in the textbooks?”

“Yes,” Ji Wenchen replied to his grandfather.

“You’ve actually taken a liking to studying?”

“You’ve really changed and started focusing on learning?”

Ji Kunxiong and Ji Hui spoke almost at the same time.

“Yes,” Ji Wenchen replied.

Ji Hui: “Do you really need to study? I was even planning to send you abroad for some ‘gold-plating’…”

Ji Wenchen: “I’m not going abroad.”

“Not going abroad?” Ji Hui’s tone was nonchalant. “Whatever school you want to attend, as long as the requirements aren’t too high, isn’t it just a matter of spending some money?”

A hint of mockery flashed in Ji Wenchen’s eyes. “Can spending money get me into the top 100 in the grade for the monthly exams?”

Ji Hui didn’t quite understand. “What? Monthly exams? What does it matter how well you score? As long as you can get into the good university you want, isn’t that enough?”

Ji Wenchen lightly tugged at the corner of his lips.

“Enough, Ah Hui, stop talking.” Ji Kunxiong shot a cold glare at his son. Last time, and now this time, he felt that his grandson might genuinely be serious about studying.

He knew his grandson well enough—once he decided to do something, he was determined to see it through. Sometimes, he could be just as stubborn as his father.

His grandson putting effort into studying was certainly not a bad thing, but… “Can you handle it? Wenchen, don’t overwork yourself and ruin your health,” Ji Kunxiong said with some concern.

Ji Wenchen sat up straight. “I’m fine.”

Ji Kunxiong frowned and finally couldn’t hold back, speaking in a gentle tone: “Don’t push yourself too hard during this period. Study until seven or eight in the evening, then take a rest.”

“Once this phase passes and you get a handle on the company’s matters, your responsibilities will lighten. By then, with four or five months left until the National College Entrance Exam, you can study until eleven or twelve at night if needed.”

“I’ll be mindful,” Ji Wenchen said as he organized the materials and put them into a document folder. “Grandfather, I’ll head back now.”

Knowing that his grandson probably hadn’t taken much of his advice to heart, Ji Kunxiong sighed. “Go on, then.” He still didn’t understand why his grandson had suddenly become so fixated on studying.

Ji Hui watched his son get up and walk toward the door, a wave of frustration surging within him. “You brat…”

“Dad, I’m heading back.”

“Uh, fine, alright,” Ji Hui stammered, momentarily stunned and silenced by his son’s simple response.

…

For final-year students, there was no such thing as holidays during school time. The traditional Chinese holiday of the Winter Solstice didn’t warrant a school break, and the Western-imported Christmas holiday was even less likely to be observed.

Qin Xiaoxiao didn’t celebrate Christmas, but on Christmas Eve, she received apples from her cousin, Yang Min, Dong Yunfang, Bi Chun, and a few others.

This week, the fruit Qin Xiaoxiao had brought to school didn’t include apples—she only had a few mandarins left, and there were only two remaining. With nothing suitable to give in return, she simply decided to gift each of them a piece of chocolate instead…

The recipients of the chocolate, including Feng Maoxing and a few others, were all quite pleased, especially Bi Chun.

During the second evening self-study session, Qin Xiaoxiao was working on a Chinese test paper.

She had read through most of an extracurricular reading passage when she was interrupted.

The faint sound of a chair sliding across the floor, the rustling of a trench coat as someone sat down… and then, “Merry Christmas, soon-to-be girlfriend.”

The familiar clear, magnetic voice carried a trace of laziness and weariness.

Qin Xiaoxiao paused her pen, her eyelashes fluttering slightly.

She calmly said in a soft voice, “I’ve told you not to call me that.”

Ji Wenchen’s lips curved slightly, his long eyes narrowing as he looked at her. “Alright, soon-to-be—”

“Ji Wenchen.” Qin Xiaoxiao lowered her voice, sounding slightly helpless.

Ji Wenchen obediently swallowed the words he was about to say and placed the items he had brought onto her desk.

A square gift box with a strong Christmas theme.

Qin Xiaoxiao immediately knew what was inside just by looking at it. She just hadn’t expected Ji Wenchen to give this kind of thing as well.

“You’re not mad that I’m giving this today, are you?” Ji Wenchen rested his left elbow on the desk, leaning his upper body slightly toward her.

Qin Xiaoxiao pushed the gift box back toward him. “…” The way he phrased it… Even if he didn’t give her anything, she wouldn’t be angry.

Ji Wenchen narrowed his eyes slightly. “You’re not allowed to refuse.”

After leaving the hospital, he had specifically gone to the city center mall to buy it. By the time Christmas Eve had passed, most stores weren’t selling Christmas apples anymore. The box he picked was one of the few remaining, chosen for being not overly flashy or childish.

“…Can I open it right now?”

“Of course, you can do whatever you want,” Ji Wenchen replied.

“…” Qin Xiaoxiao wasn’t particularly keen on the box.

She opened it, revealing a bright red, perfectly ripe apple along with some scattered, delicately crafted candies.

“Thank you.” Qin Xiaoxiao retrieved a piece of chocolate from the desk compartment, originally intended for herself, and placed it on Ji Wenchen’s desk. “A return gift.”

Chocolate?

Ji Wenchen frowned slightly. “Who gave this to you?”

It wasn’t unreasonable for him to overthink it—this particular brand of chocolate was always tied to romance in advertisements, and these past couple of days were prime for fostering relationships.

“My family bought it.”

A while ago, her cousin had visited their home and brought a lot of snacks. Qin Xiaoxiao had taken some to school.

“Oh.” His brows relaxed as usual, and he accepted the chocolate from his soon-to-be girlfriend.

Qin Xiaoxiao placed the gift he had given her into the desk cubby and continued working on her Chinese test paper.

After finishing an extracurricular reading passage, her deskmate, who had been silent for a few minutes, spoke again: “We haven’t seen each other for so many days. Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

“…No.”

During this period, Qin Xiaoxiao occasionally received messages from Ji Wenchen. At first, they came through WeChat, but later, perhaps realizing she rarely turned on her phone or used the internet, he switched to text messages.

The first few messages always ended with a request for her to turn on her phone every evening. After that, the messages were more like brief schedule updates, each one short and concise.

Sometimes, Qin Xiaoxiao would give a simple reply. Other times, when she didn’t know what to say, she would just respond with “Got it” or “Mm.”

Now that he was right beside her, she truly didn’t know what to say.

“But I have something to say to you,” he said.

“…Go ahead.”

Ji Wenchen propped his chin on his hand, watching her with interest—her tied-up ponytail, the stray strands of hair at her temples, and the delicate curve of her nose…

This guy… Didn’t he just say he had something to say? Why wasn’t he speaking now?

Qin Xiaoxiao turned her face slightly, and for a moment, she met his deep amber eyes, like a tranquil, mysterious pool. Her heartbeat betrayed her and quickened slightly. “What is it?”

A low, soft chuckle escaped Ji Wenchen’s throat.

Qin Xiaoxiao avoided his gaze, feeling that her words made it seem like she was eager to hear him speak. Without thinking, she added, “If there’s something going on at home, why did you still come to the classroom?”

“To see my soon-to-be…” Ji Wenchen deliberately paused for two seconds, with a smile still lingering at the corners of his lips. “To see you, and also to take part in tomorrow’s and the day after’s monthly exams. After all, I still want to…” He deliberately drew out the last syllable, leaving it hanging in the air.

Qin Xiaoxiao almost immediately understood the unsaid words following Ji Wenchen’s “I still want.” Maintaining her calm demeanor, she turned back to her work and continued answering questions.

By the time she had finished the test paper, excluding the essay section, there were six minutes left before the end of the self-study session.

Qin Xiaoxiao pulled out her biology textbook to read.

Two minutes remained before the end of the session.

For the fourth time, Ji Wenchen glanced at Qin Xiaoxiao. While twirling his pen, he casually asked, “Want to go for a walk with me after class?”

“Where to?” Qin Xiaoxiao’s response didn’t mean she wanted to go, just that she was curious about where he planned to walk.

Ji Wenchen, however, took it as a sign that his suggestion had potential. He even stopped twirling his pen. “The grove on the west side of the school.”

“…No,” Qin Xiaoxiao shook her head.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to go. I’d rather use this time to read a few more pages of my book.”

“…” Her deskmate was truly indifferent.

After so many days without seeing each other, she was still this indifferent.

Ji Wenchen gritted his teeth, tugging at the corner of his lips without a trace of a smile. “Is the book more interesting than me?”

Qin Xiaoxiao’s fingers, which were holding the corner of the page, paused slightly. “Yes.”

“…Heh.” Ji Wenchen slightly tilted his chin down, staring at the book in front of her with a hint of menace.

“The diagram of the process of mammalian sperm formation?” Ji Wenchen’s voice was lazy and slightly teasing. “So… you think this diagram is more interesting than me?”

“…” Qin Xiaoxiao quickly flipped to the next page.

The prominent title “Fertilization Process” on the new page didn’t seem much better than the previous one.

“So, you…”

“Focus on your own book.” A hint of embarrassment and annoyance slipped through Qin Xiaoxiao’s expression. “The exam is tomorrow.”

“Alright. I’ll study, after all, I need to work hard to get into—”

“Don’t say it.”

“Okay.” After a brief pause, there was a faint, slightly playful chuckle tinged with amusement.

…

During the exam period, time seemed to pass especially quickly.

After finishing the last subject, English, Qin Xiaoxiao walked out of the first-floor staircase and happened to catch sight of a familiar figure heading toward the school gate about ten meters away.

So, he really did leave right after finishing the exam…

“Xiaoxiao!” Yang Min hurried down the stairs. “Let’s go eat together!”

“Mmm.”

“After a whole afternoon of exams, I’m starving.” Yang Min hooked her arm through Qin Xiaoxiao’s. “How about we go have fried rice?”

Qin Xiaoxiao replied, “It’s too greasy, I don’t feel like eating that.”

“Huh?” Yang Min was surprised. “When did you ever eat fried rice? How come I didn’t know about it?” She suddenly thought of that record post on the school forum—could it be true? Did the school bully really buy fried rice for Xiaoxiao?

Qin Xiaoxiao let out an “uh” and said, “One time, I went to the cafeteria myself and tried it.”

She actually hadn’t. The only time she’d ever eaten fried rice was… the one her deskmate had brought to the classroom.

“You ran so fast? I had to put in so much effort both times to rush over and grab it!”

“Uh… maybe I was just lucky.”

Since the first- and second-year students were still in class and there was no need to rush, Qin Xiaoxiao and Yang Min walked to the cafeteria at a normal pace.

Xiaoxiao didn’t want to eat fried rice, and Yang Min didn’t feel like lining up at the new stall by herself. After looking around, Yang Min pointed to the shortest line. “Let’s line up over there.”

Qin Xiaoxiao glanced at the last person in that line—it was Yan Yangcan. She hesitated slightly. “Alright.”

On Christmas Eve, Yan Yangcan had also given Qin Xiaoxiao an apple, along with a folded greeting card. She had politely declined.

How to put it—Qin Xiaoxiao felt that lining up behind him now was a little awkward.

But she also thought it would be making a fuss over nothing to ask Yang Min to switch to another line because of this.

So Qin Xiaoxiao softly told Yang Min to stand in front of her.

Ahead of them, Yan Yangcan slightly turned his face, then paused. He glanced at the shoes of the person behind him but didn’t turn around.

…

As New Year’s Day approached, there were make-up classes scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

The students had assumed that the teachers would wait until after the New Year’s holiday to announce the results of the December monthly exams.

“The results of this monthly exam are out,” Guo Hairuo said, walking into the classroom with a document folder during the second-to-last class before Sunday’s holiday break.

“Miss Guo, don’t say it!” “Please don’t announce it!” “Let us have a happy holiday…”

“Quiet!” Guo Hairuo tapped the podium. “If you keep making noise, I’ll read out every name, score, and rank from start to finish.”

This threat was quite effective—most of the students immediately quieted down, their enthusiasm deflating in an instant.

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