Chapter 9: Who else but the class monitor in their class!

“Is your dad home?”

“Mm,” Yao Wenjing tightened his grip on the key. “Before he leaves, he always checks to make sure the door is locked.”

“It’s fine,” Lin Zhi nudged Yao Wenjing gently with the back of his hand that was holding the bag. “Let’s go inside.”

By noon, the light in the room was much brighter than in the hallway, illuminating the small and cramped living room.

The old sofa was stained with lumps of dirt, the yellowed coffee table scattered with a pile of playing cards, the tiny ashtray full of cigarette butts and ashes, and fruit peels and sunflower seed shells were scattered everywhere on the table and the floor. The trash can overflowed, attracting flies.

“Xiao Zhi, why don’t you wait outside for me?” Yao Wenjing turned around to block Lin Zhi’s way, his head slightly lowered in embarrassment. “I’ll put down my stuff and then we can go buy the books.”

Lin Zhi could clearly see the furrowed brows on Yao Wenjing’s face, and from the bedroom on the other side of the wall came the muffled sound of snoring.

“Okay,” Lin Zhi found a relatively clean spot on the floor to set down his bag. “Don’t close the door. Call me if you need anything.”

Yao Wenjing nodded silently.

The handrail at the corner of the stairs had been worn smooth over time, and Lin Zhi absentmindedly rubbed it with his palm as he opened his phone’s browser to search.

He didn’t know much about the law, so he could only search for key terms based on what he knew.

“Guardian…”

“Minor…”

“Domestic violence…”

—

Damn it, why hadn’t he asked “Zhi,” who studied law, about these things before?

Yao Wenjing came out not long after, softly closing the door. “Let’s go.”

The hallway was dim, and Lin Zhi couldn’t make out his expression, but from his voice, it was clear that Yao Wenjing was feeling a bit down.

Lin Zhi, being awkward, didn’t know how to comfort Yao Wenjing. He could only try to shift the conversation in a lighthearted way after they left the old neighborhood: “Xiao Jing, what kind of tutoring do you think I’m suited for? I’ve seen my classmates mostly use ^[1]Wang Houxiong (王后雄) is a well-known name in China, particularly for his educational materials. He is a prominent author who has written widely used textbooks and resources for students, … Continue readingWang Houxiong’s materials, but I’ve heard it’s a bit difficult.”

“Mm,” Yao Wenjing replied briefly. “There’s one I used before that seems pretty suitable for you. When we get to the bookstore, I’ll show it to you.”

“Okay,” Lin Zhi glanced at his watch. “It’s lunchtime, let’s eat first. We’ll go to the bookstore after… By the way, do you still get carsick?”

“Not really,” Yao Wenjing looked down at the ground. “I’ve gotten used to it.”

“Good,” Lin Zhi nodded. “It’s so hot today. Let’s go have cold noodles.”

“Anything works,” Yao Wenjing almost never opposed what Lin Zhi said.

Lin Zhi paused in his steps. “Xiao Jing, don’t be like that.”

“Hmm?”

“You know I’m not very good at comforting people,” Lin Zhi said with concern. “If you want to say something, you can talk to me. Whatever you want to do, I’ll help you.”

Yao Wenjing was silent for a moment before looking up at Lin Zhi. “I feel so ashamed, with my family like this.”

“It’s not you who’s embarrassing,” Lin Zhi replied. “You don’t need to feel embarrassed because of what your dad does.”

“I can’t do it,” Yao Wenjing lowered his head again. “Especially in front of you. We’re friends, and I really don’t want you to see the mess at my home…”

“You just said we’re friends,” Lin Zhi interrupted. “I already knew what your dad was like and what your home situation is. I’m friends with you, not to marry you. I’m just looking at who you are, not your dad, your mom, or your family.”

“…” Yao Wenjing mumbled, “But I still don’t want you to see it.”

“But I’ve already seen it,” Lin Zhi shrugged. “Not only have I seen it, I’ve also been thinking about how I can help you.”

“Huh?” Yao Wenjing’s eyes widened as he quickly shook his head. “No, no, Xiao Zhi, I’ve already thought about what to do in the future. It was bad enough letting you know, and now I’m bothering you to help me… I’ll feel even more guilty.”

“What’s there to feel guilty about?” Lin Zhi laughed. He didn’t feel like explaining further to Yao Wenjing, so he nonchalantly said, “Anyway, I’ve already thought about it. But don’t expect too much, I might not be able to help you with anything. You should just handle it the way you plan to.”

Yao Wenjing’s indecisive nature showed its advantage at times like this. As long as Lin Zhi spoke firmly, Yao Wenjing would nod and agree. “Then don’t let my problems interfere with your studies.”

“Fine, fine, fine,” Lin Zhi responded dismissively. “It won’t. Can we go eat cold noodles now?”

Yao Wenjing’s earlier upset mood had already dissipated, and his tone sounded more normal. “Sure.”

The next afternoon, Lin Zhi took a few books and took a taxi to the J City Library. After living two lifetimes, this was his first time stepping into this place. Lin Zhi spent quite some time on the first floor in front of the library layout map.

The J City Library had eight floors. The first floor was for public exchange, the second to sixth floors were for books, the seventh floor was for offices, and the eighth floor was the study area.

Lin Zhi took the elevator up to the eighth floor. The air conditioning was on inside, and there were quite a few people in the library—reading, doing homework, or working—because of the hot summer day. The tables and chairs on the eighth floor were almost all occupied.

After a while, Lin Zhi finally found an empty two-person table. One side still had a few closed books on it, likely left there by the book owner who had gone to the restroom.

Lin Zhi hung his bag on the chair with no books, took out the tutoring materials he and Yao Wenjing bought the previous day, and placed them on the table. The cover of the book opposite him looked somewhat familiar, so Lin Zhi looked at it a bit more closely and then recognized the name “Wang Houxiong.”

What a coincidence, the person sitting opposite him was also a soon-to-be senior in high school.

After taking the seat, Lin Zhi took the elevator down to the fourth floor, turned into the southeast corner, where the bookshelves had books that all looked similar—no flashy covers or strange titles.

“XXXX Law”

“XX Law and XX”

“Anti-XXX Law”

—

Lin Zhi felt his head spin. He didn’t like reading these dense, text-heavy books in the first place, and especially not ones that were so academic.

He really didn’t know how “Zhi,” who was studying law, managed to get such high scores on the final exams.

While thinking about how “Zhi” would study law books for a whole day when they reviewed from afar, Lin Zhi picked two books related to “domestic violence” based on their titles. He held them in his hands as he returned to the eighth floor, planning to read them when he didn’t feel like doing practice questions.

However, on the way back to his seat, Lin Zhi froze in surprise. From quite a distance away, he recognized the person sitting opposite him by their back.

The straight shoulders and back, the perfectly seated posture, the clean and neat clothes, and the fresh-looking hair… It could only be their class monitor!

What a coincidence. Lin Zhi tightened his grip on the books in his hand. How could he run into someone like this with such a low probability?

But when he thought about it, it actually made sense. He had experienced reincarnation, it wasn’t that surprising to run into Lu Liu in the library after the holiday.

Lin Zhi could only comfort himself this way. He had already put his books on the table—was he supposed to change seats right under Lu Liu’s nose?

Besides, whether there were any other available seats was secondary. Just a few days ago, he had gotten a ride home from Lu Liu’s family car, even stepping on Lu Liu’s landmine, and yet Lu Liu didn’t even delete his contact information. It would be too excessive to turn around and act like he didn’t want to see Lu Liu.