Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Initially, Pei Haochuan harbored no ill will towards Shen Ju.

However, witnessing Guan Mulin repeatedly extend kindness to Shen Ju only to be rebuffed, he often felt a sense of injustice for Guan Mulin, believing Shen Ju to be ungrateful.

Human hearts are inherently biased.

"Little Uncle, are you really going to tutor Shen Ju?"

If the goal was to teach Shen Ju a lesson, surely this wasn't the way?

Pei Haochuan was utterly perplexed.

Pei Yan: "If you want tutoring, I can teach you too."

Pei Haochuan: "......"

Never mind, pretend he hadn't asked.

"If I wanted tutoring, Mu Lin would teach me," Pei Haochuan mumbled under his breath.

Pei Yan suppressed a sigh, thinking he might have been mistaken. What significant role could Pei Haochuan possibly play? Even as a subordinate, he'd likely be relegated to mere errands.

............

As the banquet drew to a close, Shen Ju changed his clothes, composed himself, and emerged, feeling no discernible change within himself.

He didn't see Pei Yan again; he heard the latter had left early on urgent business.

As for the brawl in the corridor earlier, Han Chengfeng and the others hadn't anticipated such an escalation. After witnessing the "pond incident," they quickly and discreetly made their escape.

The Guan family couldn't say much either, especially since Guan Mulin was also involved in the fight.

Moreover, compared to a minor scuffle, there were more pressing concerns.

Guan Jianshan observed his young grandson, recently reunited with the family. Initially, he had seemed somewhat "timid," resembling his daughter-in-law—an unmistakable biological connection. He appeared a little intimidated by Guan Jianshan; beyond uttering "Grandpa" whenever they spoke, his voice would trail off after a few sentences, appearing quite reserved.

Distant, not close.

At his age, Guan Jianshan wasn't inclined to force anything. After the initial turmoil of the child mix-up had subsided and everything had settled, he simply returned to He Yuan.

With age comes a broader perspective.

Yet, Guan Jianshan never imagined that at his advanced age, he would encounter such an "eye-opening" situation.

While he didn't fully grasp some of the technical jargon, one thing Guan Jianshan understood was this:

What his young grandson presented on the surface might not be the truth. For him, it wasn't "seeing is believing, hearing is doubtful," but rather "hearing is believing, seeing is doubtful."

It was indeed quite peculiar and distinctive.

Guan Jianshan summoned Shen Ju to his side.

Qin Suxi glanced at Guan Lifeng: What is Dad doing? Didn't we agree not to stir up trouble?

Guan Lifeng's expression was profound: Perhaps he intends to test the waters.

Guan Mulin and Guan Muyao exchanged glances, both waiting to see how their grandfather would proceed with his probing.

Shen Ju was also a little nervous.

He hadn't spent much time with Qin Suxi and the others, let alone Guan Jianshan, who had long since returned to He Yuan.

He was genuinely feeling quite apprehensive.

Recalling the "persona" he had to maintain, and remembering his previous slip-up with the system, he thought to himself that this time he absolutely had to "perform well."

Decision made!

No matter what Grandpa Guan said, he was going to "make a scene"!

If he was reprimanded for fighting or dragging someone into trouble, he'd claim it wasn't intentional!

And even if it was intentional, what of it? It's not that big a deal.

Yes, he would be utterly unreasonable—

Guan Jianshan seemed to ponder for a moment before finally speaking: "Are your grades really that bad?"

*Thud*—

A bullseye.

Shen Ju instantly deflated, hanging his head dejectedly, his rebellious spirit bowed under the weight of academic pressure.

"I... I'm not doing well..."

Did he really need to find a tutor?

No matter how much the "Little Funeral Tiger" wanted to be fierce, he just couldn't muster it.

Grades were the chokehold of fate, instantly seizing him.

Shen Ju hung his head, his lips still twitching: "I have been studying hard..."

This was true.

Shen Ju was never one to dislike studying.

His original grades were actually quite decent, upper-middle tier, and with a bit of luck, he could occasionally even reach the upper tier.

But that was at Yude High School.

Yude High is a public school, while Qichen International High School is a private institution—an "elite academy" built with money. It had to be admitted that whether it was teaching staff or educational facilities, everything was of a higher caliber, attracting many parents and students eager to secure a spot. With the best selecting the best, the overall academic performance of the students was naturally much higher.

So Shen Ju's originally passable grades seemed seriously lacking after transferring to Qichen International High.

He didn't consider himself particularly clever, and with the sudden change of schools, plus not quite adapting to Qichen International High's teaching style, his first exam after transferring was naturally a disaster. —Falling straight to the bottom of the class, even someone as thick-skinned as Shen Ju couldn't bear it.

Guan Jianshan hadn't expected his words to crush the boy so completely.

Just as he was about to say something—

【Host, Guan Mulin is not only first in his class but also first in his grade.】

There it was again.

The Guan family listened intently.

Bringing up Guan Mulin's excellent grades at a time like this—wasn't that clearly meant to "strike at the heart"?

—One was the biological son, raised outside the family due to a twist of fate, while the other was the "cuckoo in the nest" who had usurped his place. Not only had he enjoyed over a decade of wealth and privilege in his stead, but even in terms of personal qualities—such as academic performance—he was far superior, excelling in many obvious ways.

Under such circumstances, pointing out this fact—how could it possibly feel comfortable?

Even Guan Mulin couldn't help but subconsciously frown upon hearing it.

Who knew what Shen Ju would think?

Even if some of the things Shen Ju did or said were at the behest of this system called "996," with enough comparisons and repeated exposure, it was hard to guarantee that genuine resentment wouldn't eventually fester.

Take grades, for instance.

After Guan Jianshan brought it up, it was clear to anyone with eyes that Shen Ju felt deeply "ashamed" about his academic performance. To bring up Guan Mulin at such a moment—

【Ah, I know.】

Shen Ju's voice came a second later, filled with obvious admiration: 【His grades are so good, he's so smart.】

His tone was full of admiration, devoid of any jealousy, not even a hint of bitterness.

—Beyond admiration, there was only praise.

He genuinely believed Guan Mulin was academically outstanding.

No anger from shame, no resentment born of envy.

Guan Jianshan's expression softened slightly. Just as he was about to reach out and pat Shen Ju's head, he heard the system speak again—

【...I didn't tell you to praise the protagonist, Host!】

【Your grandfather brought up your grades—this is when you should make snide remarks, recall the fact that Guan Mulin's grades are better than yours, feel jealous, and then find a way to direct the blame towards Guan Mulin, understand?】

The Guan family: "............" Tsk.

【Oh, right, got it.】

Shen Ju fell silent for a moment, then looked at Guan Mulin.

Guan Mulin blinked.

What was Shen Ju going to do?

—Then they saw Shen Ju take a deep breath, as if unwilling to be the only one criticized, and continued: "But Grandpa, even if my grades aren't good, I haven't caused any trouble..."

This was leading into the incident where Guan Mulin had gotten into a fight in the corridor.

Guan Mulin already knew why Shen Ju would say this, so he was prepared and wasn't particularly bothered.

Then Shen Ju went on: "—I didn't get the chance to cause trouble. Those few classmates I'm not very familiar with called us fatherless and motherless, saying really nasty things—then they got beaten up. I wasn't involved; I even tried to break it up. Guan Mulin—he went to help Pei Haochuan, got hit several times himself, and still didn't get any justice. He truly deserved to suffer injustice."

The words "deserved to" were emphasized, as if that were the main point.

But only Guan Mulin could tell that the ones being called fatherless and motherless were him; Han Chengfeng and the others had directed all their nasty comments at him. He was right there and knew exactly what went down. It wasn't at all as ambiguous as Shen Ju made it sound—not only did Shen Ju actually include himself in the situation, but he even acted like Guan Mulin had been wronged.

Guan Mulin's emotions stirred; he never expected Shen Ju to say this.

After "dropping his report," Shen Ju waited for the Guan family's reaction.

Especially Guan Mulin's—

He had called him "deserving," so surely he would be angry, right?

Shen Ju couldn't help but clench his fingers, waiting for what would come next…

"Mm, right."

Guan Mulin nodded: "In the end, it didn't even settle who won or lost. I didn't get justice for myself—I deserved to suffer injustice."

Huh?

The other members of the Guan family also nodded along in agreement.

Huh??

Guan Jianshan: "What were the names of those children involved again?"

Wait??

"It's not appropriate for you older kids to step in, but as an elder, I can have a chat with their parents."

Guan Jianshan snorted lightly: "This old bones might still have some pull."

Eh?

Shen Ju really wanted to scratch his head.

How had it come to this in just a few sentences? Why was this issue landing back on those classmates with poor moral character?

Well, whatever.

Those classmates deserved to learn their lesson a little more.

Shen Ju silently mourned for them for a moment while fiercely nodding in his heart.

Then he heard Guan Jianshan say: "As for the grades—no rush. You should enjoy your break properly. Let your parents give you some pocket money and take this holiday to relax a bit."

Shen Ju opened his mouth. How did it circle back to pocket money again?

996 also wanted to open its mouth—

Where did pocket money come from all of a sudden?

But…

【Ah, right! Pocket money!】

【This is an unavoidable topic!】

【Host, this concerns your interests—】