Even though they were talking about studying, Jiang Heng inexplicably sensed some other meaning behind Shen Huaizhi’s words. Especially when Shen Huaizhi emphasized the word “study” heavily. After hesitating for a few seconds, Jiang Heng spoke up. “It’s not that I’m afraid you’ll get tired… And teaching me takes a lot of effort. I can ask someone else, like Chen Xingchi.”
Listening to him, Shen Huaizhi glanced faintly at Chen Xingchi, who was eating potato chips over there. “Chen Xingchi was at the bottom of the class in the last monthly exam,” Shen Huaizhi stated matter-of-factly, as if stating a fact. “He got all the language comprehension questions wrong, and only answered half of the English multiple-choice questions correctly.”
Innocent victim Chen Xingchi, subjected to unjust treatment and public execution: ???
Jiang Heng, with grades even worse than Chen Xingchi’s, hesitated. Shen Huaizhi paused for a moment before continuing, “Are you sure you want to ask him?”
Jiang Heng opened his mouth, thinking there were other people he could ask, but most importantly, he was genuinely worried that Shen Huaizhi was already busy enough and didn’t want to burden him further. Plus, he tended to overthink things when facing Shen Huaizhi.
However, Shen Huaizhi clearly wasn’t going to give him a chance to continue speaking, as he continued to stare into Jiang Heng’s eyes, following his gaze wherever it went. “Jiang Heng,” Shen Huaizhi smirked slightly. “If you really feel that having me tutor you is too much trouble,” he said, lifting his eyelids slightly and catching Jiang Heng’s elusive gaze once again.
Alpha’s eyes were deep and beautiful. Jiang Heng’s brain stalled for a moment when Shen Huaizhi looked at him like that. No matter how many times he saw Shen Huaizhi’s face, he would always be captivated by his beauty. Shen Huaizhi casually made a seemingly ordinary suggestion, “I can take compensation.” He said it quite seriously.
Jiang Heng hesitated for a moment and subconsciously asked, “How would you take it?” This proposal seemed plausible. At least it wouldn’t make him feel like he was wasting Shen Huaizhi’s precious time. Shen Huaizhi lowered his eyelids as if contemplating. After a few seconds, he glanced at Jiang Heng’s test paper, picked up a pen, and circled a question next to the one Jiang Heng had asked Chen Xingchi about. He said seriously, “For example, if you make a mistake on a basic question, I get a kiss.”
For a moment, Jiang Heng was stunned by this proposal. Who was getting the better deal here? Who was compensating whom? After a moment of silence, Jiang Heng said, “Captain, are you serious? Then… If I intentionally get a few questions wrong, do I not have to study at all?”
Seeing a hint of amusement on his face, Shen Huaizhi chuckled and tousled his hair, “Of course not, I’m not serious. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to focus on helping you study properly.” He paused for a second and then laughed, “In fact, I hope you make mistakes.”
“Don’t worry too much, Jiang Heng.” He picked up the pen again and wrote down formulas and solution steps next to Jiang Heng’s question. “I’m your boyfriend, so feel free to boss me around.”
Shen Huaizhi’s handwriting was beautiful, a world apart from Jiang Heng’s scribbles. Jiang Heng felt that if he refused again, it would be too sentimental. “Okay, then.” After considering for a while, he hesitated slightly, “Shall we set a time?” During the day, there were only breaks between classes, but sometimes Shen Huaizhi was busy during those times.
In the evenings, Shen Huaizhi was sometimes even busier. Lately, they had much less time alone together, let alone time to study together. However, Jiang Heng’s worries seemed unnecessary. Envy and hatred.
“No need for that. I don’t have the guts.” “Jiang Heng, how much do you think you’ll score on the final exam? I need to calculate if I’ll drop further in the rankings.” Jiang Heng raised his eyelids, “I don’t know. It’s unclear.” He wasn’t just brushing off the question. Even though he had studied diligently, whether he could absorb the material was another matter entirely.
He felt pretty confident about himself. But the fact remained that even with such an outstanding boyfriend, his lack of intelligence made things quite difficult.
Studying was not easy, and Jiang Heng sighed heavily. “You’re so serious, you’ll definitely improve a lot,” the person speaking praised and admired sincerely from the heart. Jiang Heng indeed had perseverance, and everyone had witnessed him go from sleeping in class to holding onto books all day long. Even the teachers had started paying attention to Jiang Heng’s studies lately. After a while of gathering and complaining, the group dispersed.
After everyone had left, Jiang Heng threw the English dictionary aside and slumped onto the desk. He wanted to play basketball, skip class, take a nap, or even play games, his energy must have been replenished long ago.
After only a minute of lying down, Jiang Heng suddenly perked up again. Endure for another year and a half, and when he got to college, he could do whatever he wanted.
College, Jiang Heng had never considered such a thing before. Lost in thought, he snapped back to reality when Shen Huaizhi walked into the classroom carrying two large thermos flasks. “Captain, did you bring your own lunch?”
“Damn, I’m envious, I want to be the Omega of the captain too.”
“Go say it to Jiang Heng’s face and see if he’ll beat an Omega.”
“I can smell the fragrance even through the flasks.”
“There’s no need for that, right?”
It wasn’t until Shen Huaizhi placed the thermos flasks on the desk that Jiang Heng came back to his senses. His expression froze for a moment, and he hesitated for a while before asking, “Captain, where did this come from?”
Shen Huaizhi looked somewhat helpless. Although he usually attracted attention when he went out, he didn’t pay much attention to it. But today, he felt a bit strange being watched all the way because of the two thermos flasks.
“My mom made soup and walnut congee for you,” Shen Huaizhi nodded. “She said you’ve been working hard studying.” Because Shen Huaizhi had told Ruan Shu about tutoring Jiang Heng and had decided not to attend those social gatherings until the end of the semester, Ruan Shu was quite surprised how suddenly his son started obeying his father’s orders, but he didn’t ask actively.
It wasn’t until last night, when Shen Huaizhi and Jiang Heng were doing video problems together, that Ruan Shu happened to glance into the study and saw it. Jiang Heng was silent for a moment.
“Please thank Auntie for me.” Since he could remember, he had never brought a packed lunch to school because Xie An was busy and didn’t have time to prepare these things for him. Lunch during school days was always sorted at school.
Sometimes he would also envy those classmates who brought their own lunch to class, while those classmates, in turn, would envy him for being able to eat freely without being restrained.
Shen Huaizhi hooked his lips and smiled, “Okay, she told me not to push you too hard.” This wasn’t something Shen Huaizhi made up; Ruan Shu did indeed say that. Shen Huaizhi was somewhat bemused at the time.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Heng’s expression momentarily froze. “What do you mean by ‘push’?” He pondered for a moment. “If there’s any pushing, it’s probably me pushing you, right?”
After all, Shen Huaizhi tutored him every day, and Jiang Heng could clearly perceive that Shen Huaizhi’s sleep quality had improved quite a bit recently. At least when he sent messages late at night, Shen Huaizhi wouldn’t even hear them.
Taking advantage of the absence of classes, Shen Huaizhi opened the thermos flask, and as soon as he lifted the lid, the aroma filled the entire classroom. Jiang Heng’s nostrils twitched, and his previously not-so-hungry stomach was instantly stimulated with appetite.
He lowered his head to look at the thermos flask full of soup, then raised his eyelids to glance at Shen Huaizhi. During this time, Shen Huaizhi had been very diligent, sending blessings for his success and others asking if Jiang Heng could help them.
Jiang Heng mercilessly rejected them. The person who was rejected didn’t mind either. For this group of people, how much they scored in exams was trivial. The main thing was, unless absolutely necessary, they wouldn’t resort to cheating.
Grades, well, one’s own were the most real. Now, if they copied, come the college entrance examination, wouldn’t their true abilities still be revealed? Compared to the ease of the previous monthly exams, Jiang Heng repeatedly checked his papers several times during the final exams.
By the end of an exam, even though it was the cold winter, Jiang Heng was sweating profusely. On the second day of exams, Jiang Heng’s mindset improved significantly. On the third day, there were only two exams in the morning, and everyone’s mood was noticeably more relaxed than the previous two days.
In the exam room, some were even discussing where they would go to celebrate the Chinese New Year. “Jiang Heng, are you spending the Chinese New Year here?” a male student asked.
Jiang Heng, who was struggling with English vocabulary, paused for a moment at the question. “Am I staying here for the Chinese New Year?” Several people nearby immediately chuckled ambiguously.
“Going to Shen Huaizhi’s house, aren’t you?”
“Haven’t you both met each other’s parents?”
“No, who told you that?” Jiang Heng raised an eyebrow. “The other day, Captain’s mom didn’t send you soup every day? We all heard that you two are getting married.”
Jiang Heng: “…”.
The rumor was quite far-fetched, although they did indeed have an engagement. “If you get married, remember to give us wedding candy.”
“So, you’re not spending the New Year here? You said you’d play basketball together when the break starts!” Jiang Heng looked at it for a while and felt that it was a high imitation.
Jiang Heng hesitated for a moment and still sent a screenshot to Shen Huaizhi.
[Waterworks King: Captain, is this you?]
Today, Shen Huaizhi’s family had someone’s birthday, otherwise he would be preparing to send Jiang Heng back to the distant city. He was probably quite busy, and Jiang Heng waited for quite a while, until he had already returned to his home in the distant city, before receiving Shen Huaizhi’s reply.
[Shen Huaizhi: Yes]
[Shen Huaizhi: Just now chatting with them.]
Jiang Heng pushed the suitcase in. Because he was only going to stay for a few days, he didn’t bring much, and with no one at home and Xie An returning tomorrow, the place seemed a bit deserted for the time being. It didn’t have much warmth.
The temperature in the distant city wasn’t much different from the nearby city; it was very cold. Jiang Heng took a while to find the remote control for the air conditioner. As soon as he turned on the air conditioner, Shen Huaizhi’s call came through. “Are you home?” Shen Huaizhi’s voice came through along the electrical currents. He seemed to be standing outside, and his voice sounded a bit hollow.
Jiang Heng replied, “Just arrived. Aren’t you supposed to entertain guests?”
“Sneaking out for a breather,” Shen Huaizhi chuckled softly, his voice also somewhat unable to conceal the fatigue. Dealing with so many people, even for Shen Huaizhi, was probably exhausting. Jiang Heng felt a little sorry for him inexplicably.
“Then sneak out a little longer?” Jiang Heng pondered for a moment. “Or pretend to have a stomach ache? Or pretend to be drunk? If not, when you go back in a while, I’ll give you a call.”
The more he thought about it, the more feasible he felt his methods were. Shen Huaizhi was silent for a while and then asked, “Hmm, if I tell them it’s my boyfriend calling?”
“If I don’t answer, I might be coldly dumped,” Jiang Heng subconsciously retorted. “Why does it sound like you’re tarnishing my image in their hearts? Then how am I going to face your family’s relatives in the future?” He said it, then realized what was wrong with his words. Why did he suddenly mention facing their family’s relatives? All because of some forum post rumors.
There was a sound of movement from Shen Huaizhi’s side, accompanied by the rustling of clothing. After a while, Shen Huaizhi spoke, “No, they’ll love the house and everything in it.” He chuckled, “They won’t tarnish your image. I told my mom that I’ll give you a call to confirm that you’re home. Don’t worry, they all know why I’m out here.”
Author’s note: Nonsense.
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading ❤️”
