Chapter 23 Explaining Problems to Him She Always Knew What to Say…

Chapter 23: Explaining Questions to Him, She Always Said Nice Things...

After lunch, Yu Kui returned to the classroom to work on her homework. She now spent most of her breaks completing assignments, and once finished, she worked on practice tests she had bought herself, making the most of her time to avoid letting her mind wander.

On her way home, the Chinese trumpet creepers along the road had bloomed, their red flowers draping over the walls like crimson clouds.

To her surprise, Yu Kui recalled Shu Ting’s poem "To the Oak Tree." Feeling a bit hopeless, she quickened her pace and left.

Over the weekend, she went to the library and noticed Qin You in a corner, his head bowed as he paged through a book. He had arrived even earlier than she had.

His monthly exam results weren’t ideal—he had dropped out of the top fifty in his grade, as Sun Shuya had told her.

Before, Qin You might have thought it didn’t matter if his grades slipped, believing that given time, he could catch up eventually. But the reality was that the material he’d missed wasn’t something he could reclaim just because he wanted to.

Yu Kui chose a seat far away from him. When Qin You seemed to sense her presence and looked up, he only saw her slim figure from behind.

His hand, holding the pen, froze for a second. When he came back to his senses, he found it hard to concentrate on his studies.

Tao Jiang texted him, asking him to go see a movie. She said there was a gripping mystery film recently released, and after the movie, she wanted to have hot pot.

Qin You looked at the balance in his mobile wallet. To go out with her, he had spent most of his allowance on her, and now he was strapped for cash.

He had previously asked for an increase in his allowance with his mother. Although she gave him a few hundred yuan more each month, it still didn’t cover his expenses with Tao Jiang.

Unwilling to add to his mother’s burden, Qin You turned down Tao Jiang’s invite.

"What’s been going on with you lately?" Tao Jiang was displeased. "Don’t you like me anymore?"

Qin You: "No."

"Then why?" Tao Jiang couldn’t understand. "Is it because I haven’t agreed to your confession yet?"

Qin You looked down: "No, my grades have been slipping, and I need to focus on studying."

Tao Jiang didn’t respond for a long time before finally messaging: "Do you think I’m holding you back?"

Qin You didn’t like her jumping to conclusions, so he told her about the homeroom teacher calling his mother. "We’re about to enter our senior year soon. I want to spend more time on my studies."

Tao Jiang: "I get it. Suit yourself."

After saying that, she unfriended Qin You, convinced he would panic.

When Qin You saw that he was no longer Tao Jiang’s friend, he did panic. He didn’t even finish his test papers before packing his bag and hurrying out of the library.

People turned to look at the commotion, puzzled by the noise he made, but Qin You paid no mind. He was eager to see Tao Jiang.

Watching his disappearing figure, Yu Kui’s first reaction was worry. Was he in such a hurry because something had happened at home?

On her way home that evening, she ran into Qin’s mother shopping at a convenience store. She seemed composed and unhurried, making Yu Kui think her assumption was wrong.

She held back her curiosity, not allowing herself to care any further about Qin You.

During summer break, Yu Kui turned seventeen. Her parents took her out for a few days and gave her gifts she’d wanted.

By the time they returned home, the new school term was about to begin.

Yu’s mother ran into Qin’s mother while grocery shopping. Qin’s mother sighed helplessly, saying Qin You’s grades were worse than last year—he had slipped past the top hundred in his grade. The teacher had spoken to her several times, suspecting Qin You was involved in a teen romance.

Yu’s mother didn’t know what to say, only advising her to keep a closer eye on Qin You, especially since this was a critical time for his studies, which would determine whether he could get into a good university.

Qin’s mother looked pained and wanted to ask Yu Kui to help monitor if Qin You was indeed dating early.

But before she could bring it up, Yu’s mother smiled and said, "With senior year coming up, Yu Kui will be busier than ever. We parents can’t help much with her studies, so the least we can do is try not to trouble her."

Qin’s mother felt a pang of bitterness seeing Yu’s mother’s smiling face and couldn’t help resenting her son even more.

If he hadn’t gone too far, she and Yu’s mother wouldn’t be so distant now.

Senior year was intense. Yu Kui was almost swamped with exercises and test papers every day, but her grades steadily improved. She even ranked first in her grade several times.

This drew more and more attention to her. Besides her classmates, students from other classes came to ask her for help with questions or to borrow her notes.

Yu Kui never refused. To her, being able to help others was a good thing.

Over time, she got to know more people at school. On weekends, she often received invitations to meals, but she never accepted.

One day after school, as she finished her homework and prepared to go home, a lanky figure walked in and sat down in front of her. Yu Kui looked up, a hint of surprise in her eyes when she saw who it was. "What are you doing here?"

"Can’t I come?" Xie Xingzhi held a workbook and spread it open in front of her. "Help me out, top student."

Yu Kui: "..."

She looked at the slight smile on the boy’s lips, never expecting he would come to her for help with a Chinese literature question.

"Your essay has been circulating in our class," Xie Xingzhi said, somewhat exasperated. "Don’t tell me you didn’t know. Our Chinese teacher is in the same office."

Yu Kui: "..."

She focused on the classical text analysis he pointed to and calmly explained it. Her foundation in Chinese was solid, and she had read widely, so she handled the question with ease.

Xie Xingzhi rested his chin in his hand, watching her quietly. He sighed, "No wonder you’re so good at studying."

Yu Kui glared at him. "Did you understand?"

"Pretty much." Xie Xingzhi wrote down two answers and showed them to her. "Are these right?"

Yu Kui noticed his handwriting was quite good, and he had indeed absorbed what she explained. She felt a bit relieved. "They’re both correct."

"Of course," Xie Xingzhi said. "You explained it so seriously—it’d be embarrassing if I still got it wrong."

Hearing this, Yu Kui thought he was actually quite smart but hadn’t put effort into studying before. She felt it was a pity.

"Any other questions you don’t understand?"

Xie Xingzhi pointed to a multiple-choice question that required analyzing the meaning of each option in classical Chinese. It was all material they had learned, but the content was somewhat extensive.

After Yu Kui finished explaining, she took her Chinese textbook out of her bag and handed it to him. "Take this and copy the notes. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can come ask me tomorrow."

Xie Xingzhi was taken aback. Looking at her fair face, he said deliberately, "You’re being so nice to me?"

"Your foundation is too weak," Yu Kui said seriously. "The college entrance exam is next year. The sooner you catch up, the better."

Xie Xingzhi chuckled softly and reached out to take her book. "I thought top students like you looked down on helping people like us."

"Nonsense," Yu Kui disagreed. "You’ve never asked us before. How can you jump to conclusions?"

"You’re right," Xie Xingzhi said. "It varies from person to person."

"Our classmates are all very nice," Yu Kui said. "Don't be shy."

"Alright, alright." Xie Xingzhi stood up, looking at her neatly packed bag. "Going home?"

"Yeah." Yu Kui also stood and walked out with him. It was early autumn, and the weather wasn't cold yet. The setting sun shone brilliantly across the campus.

Yu Kui stood in the corridor, looking down, and found the scene really beautiful. She took out her phone and took a picture.

Next year, she wouldn’t get to see the same sunset from the same spot at the same time.

At this moment, it felt really special.

She finally realized that after graduating from high school, she would leave this familiar campus.

Xie Xingzhi stood beside her, and the two of them quietly enjoyed the tranquility, neither saying a word.

It wasn’t until footsteps echoed nearby that Yu Kui, as if waking from a dream, headed downstairs.

Xie Xingzhi said goodbye to her at the staircase. "I’ll come find you tomorrow."

"Okay." Yu Kui waved and walked out of the campus under the setting sun.

The next day, Xie Xingzhi returned her Chinese textbook and asked how her English scores were. Yu Kui pursed her lips—English was her weakest subject, but if it was about helping him, she could manage just fine.

"Come find me after school."

Xie Xingzhi grinned. "Sure."

After school, as classmates left one by one, Yu Kui remained seated, working on her homework. It wasn’t until Xie Xingzhi came in that she set down her pen. "What parts don’t you understand? List them all, and I’ll explain them in order."

"English is a bit better than Chinese," Xie Xingzhi said with a laugh. "Except for listening, everything else is pretty weak."

Yu Kui: "..."

She looked over the problems Xie Xingzhi listed and realized his English foundation wasn’t bad—it was just his grammar that needed work, much like her own experience in the past.

After going through the test paper with him, Yu Kui advised him to brush up on grammar and do more practice problems, combining both to help it stick.

She could only solve part of his difficulties; the rest was up to him to keep at it. Whether he could improve would rely on his own determination.

Outside, the sky grew dark. Xie Xingzhi gathered his things. "Let’s go, I’ll walk you to the bus stop."

As they walked across the vast campus, Yu Kui looked at his handsome face and couldn’t help but ask, "Didn't you not care about studying before? Why now..."

Xie Xingzhi met her gaze and replied calmly, "It depends on the timing. Before, I wasn’t in a hurry, but with the college entrance exam next year, even if I don’t like it, I have to push through. Otherwise, what’s the point of just a high school diploma? Who would I cry to later?"

Yu Kui hadn’t expected him to be so clear-headed about the importance of studying, despite his seemingly carefree attitude. She felt compelled to help him more. "It’s good that you think that way."

She smiled. "Starting now is much better than cramming at the last minute. You’re smart and learn quickly—your grades will definitely improve."

She always knew how to say the right things, whether in front of Qin You and Tao Jiang or Xie Xingzhi. As long as she considered someone a friend, she never looked down on them.

"You have more confidence in me than my own parents," Xie Xingzhi laughed, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You really amaze me."

Yu Kui didn’t say anything more. She bid Xie Xingzhi goodbye and boarded the bus.

Xie Xingzhi stood where he was, watching her serene face through the bus window. Without thinking, he took out his phone and snapped a photo.