Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Shen Ju shook his head again, then turned and tilted it slightly to look at Pei Yan.

He looked so innocent.

It softened Pei Yan’s heart.

He really wanted to pinch those soft cheeks, to feel his fingers sink in.

But in the end, he took a deep, silent breath and reluctantly let go.

As he turned, he saw Jian Yi staring at him, a deep frown on his face.

Pei Yan nodded at Jian Yi, even curving his lips into a smile.

Then he withdrew his gaze and lightly tapped Shen Ju’s slightly flushed cheek. "Making this felt artwork must take a lot of time, right?"

Shen Ju frowned, still a little miffed.

"Brother Pei, how could you say that about yourself?"

Pei Yan glanced at Shen Ju and Jian Yi’s stall. It seemed they had just taken an order—Jian Yi was hunched over the small stall, poking at the felt. One order was manageable, but if they got too many, they probably wouldn’t be able to finish them on the spot. So, there was a registration form nearby to record phone numbers and addresses, likely for mailing out finished pieces later. They were quite well-prepared.

"I suggest you just sell the items you’ve already made. After all, December is almost here, and you’ll both be very busy."

"...Brother Pei, are you trying to change the subject?"

"December is Qichen’s exam week. Why else do you think Qichen scheduled ‘Anti-Stress Day’ before December?"

"...Brother Pei!"

"Oh, and I remember there’s a parent-teacher conference at the end of the month—"

"Pei Yan!"

Shen Ju, emboldened by his anger, shouted Pei Yan’s name, practically seething.

"Don’t you—"

The next second, his voice hitched as Pei Yan pinched his nose.

Why was he suddenly being so mean?!

"Didn’t I tell you?"

Pei Yan looked at Shen Ju, leaning in slightly and speaking softly. "I’m not a good person."

"That’s not true," Shen Ju mumbled in protest.

He didn’t believe it at all.

*Sigh*.

Pei Yan almost sighed.

He released Shen Ju’s nose and gently tapped his forehead again. "Anyway, remember what I just said. Don’t waste your time on this."

"...Okay."

Meanwhile, Jian Yi couldn’t help but frown.

He looked down at the felt painting he was working on, then over at Shen Ju.

Currently, besides the small items they had made earlier and the felt painting Shen Ju had prepared specifically for Pei Yan, he was the only one who had taken an order. If they followed Pei Yan’s advice not to waste time on this, they would probably stop after Shen Ju took one more order. After all, making a felt painting took a considerable amount of time and was quite detailed work. So, it would be best if he and Shen Ju each completed one order on site.

But from Pei Yan’s tone...

It sounded like he meant they should just stop altogether?

If Jian Yi hadn’t miscalculated, Shen Ju was currently free and perfectly capable of taking another order, just like him.

Jian Yi felt like he was onto something.

But...

Oh well. If Shen Jiujiu did a little less work, then so be it.

***

Days were short in winter, and the Ant Market closed at 3 p.m.

Qichen’s tradition had continued to this day, and now the "market" was no longer limited to selling second-hand items—all sorts of services had blossomed, diverse and varied.

There were dessert stalls, phone film applicators, felt makers, snack sellers scrambling to keep up, musicians, street dancers, calligraphy performers, on-site skincare services, and even ear cleaning and pimple popping...

Nothing was beyond imagination, only beyond what students could pull off.

It was indeed lively.

But it was also the last indulgence before December’s exam week.

After all, it was all about tension and release, release and tension.

However, after the Ant Market ended, there was an awards ceremony.

Unexpectedly, the winner was Pei Haochuan.

Because he had donated the most to charity.

But Pei Haochuan wasn’t happy at all.

Why?

Because applying phone films had nearly crippled his hands!

The money from selling second-hand items was one thing, but somehow word had spread that the young master of the Pei family was personally applying phone films. Well, everyone showed up—some with phones, others with tablets, and some even brought laptops. After all, who didn’t have three or four electronic devices? Even when Pei Haochuan got so frustrated he started raising prices, it still couldn’t stop the flood of people coming for phone films.

By the end, his hands were practically cramping.

How could he be happy about that?!

His face was grim when accepting the award.

Down in the audience, Han Chengfeng sneakily made faces at Shen Ju, grinning from ear to ear.

But soon, Han Chengfeng couldn’t laugh anymore.

Because Qichen’s December exam week had arrived.

The exam week before the holiday was all about testing students' mental fortitude and resilience.

With the "winter break" looming ahead and having relaxed both body and mind through the "Anti-Stress Day" Ant Market, it was time to really buckle down mentally.

There were constant small tests, with bigger exams right behind them.

The last major exam was at the end of the month, along with a parent-teacher conference where the results and rankings of that final major exam would be announced.

It was indeed stressful.

Not just for Shen Ju, but even Jian Yi, a top student, felt somewhat overwhelmed and spaced out, thinking that Qichen wasn't just about money and resources—it also had a slight edge in getting into people's heads.

But somehow, word got out, mainly in the elite and experimental classes, that the academic legends from previous years were actually tutoring Pei Haochuan and others.

There were many academic legends at Qichen, but the most famous was undoubtedly Pei Yan.

After all, not everyone's study notes could be auctioned for 100,000 yuan. Most importantly, the final bidder actually ended up getting into a prestigious university, becoming a comeback story!

According to that person, he had always struggled with school—not unwilling to learn, but just unable to grasp it. He didn't know what wasn't clicking in his brain, but after reading Pei Yan's study notes, it was like a lightbulb moment! It all made sense! He finally understood how to study! In the end, he managed to shoot his grades and ranking from the bottom to the top in just half a semester!

It was said that every time this person saw Pei Yan, he wanted to give him a deep bow.

So even now, Pei Yan's legend lived on at Qichen...

Other academic legends might score first place a couple times, or even two or three times, but occasionally someone would surpass them—exceptions always happened.

But with Pei Yan, someone had tallied it up: unless Pei Yan didn't take the exam, the number one spot had never changed.

No wonder even now, some people wanted to offer even higher prices to buy Pei Yan's study notes from that person.

Unfortunately, the owner refused to sell or share them, which frustrated everyone, making him someone people secretly complained about every year—after all, he did pay 100,000 for them. He had the money and the foresight, so what could you do? Whether to share them was his personal choice, so people only dared to complain privately, just to get it off their chest.

But now!

How could Pei Yan be personally tutoring someone?!

Pei Haochuan was one thing—even with the small age gap, he was Pei Yan's nephew. Tutoring him was just helping out family. But what about those two Guan kids?

Guan Mulin was already a good student, so that was understandable.

But what about Guan Shen Ju?

There was nothing special about Guan Shen Ju—just that he's kinda pretty and cute, that's all! How did he earn Pei Yan's special attention?

For a while, those who knew couldn't help but get jealous.

Plenty of people were green with envy.

After all, one-on-one tutoring was far more useful than study notes, right?

Some even approached Shen Ju directly, asking in a roundabout way how he managed to connect with the Pei god, saying they wanted in on it too...

Shen Ju thought about it and honestly said, "Probably because Brother Pei lives nearby, so it's convenient."

Pei Yan had indeed mentioned that.

But that couldn't be the only reason, though it was too complicated to explain, and Shen Ju couldn't be bothered.

He wasn't the type to answer every question obediently.

Others, unwilling to give up, asked Pei Haochuan, only to be shot down right away. Pei Haochuan said they could have the address and phone number if they dared to ask Pei Yan themselves.

No one was that tactless, so they eventually walked away embarrassed.

Guan Mulin was also asked.

But Guan Mulin wasn't being tutored—he was just accompanying them. He simply shrugged and said he was just a "package deal," so asking him was useless since he just studied on his own regardless.

Usually, after being dismissed after a question or two by the three of them, people stopped pushing further, not wanting to appear too obvious about their motives or desperate—they still had some self-respect.

But some even tried backhanded ways to approach Jian Yi.

After all, it was clear that Jian Yi and Shen Ju had a good relationship, and he often appeared in their small group. But compared to the others, he seemed easier to "manage."

Or so they thought.

Once Jian Yi opened his mouth, it was clear he only seemed "easier to manage" on the surface.

But some still took their chances—

He had transferred to Qichen, and the expenses at Qichen were much higher than at Yude.

After all, Qichen had great teachers, but it was also really pricey.

Jian Yi filled his water bottle while adding up his recent spending.

It wasn't really stressful.

If he used the money the Guan family had given him, it would be enough to get him through his final year of high school without worry, even through college.

But he couldn't just blow through it carelessly.

Before he was capable—given his circumstances, no matter how hard he worked or how talented he was, his physical challenges meant he had to work harder than others.

So Jian Yi had to play it by ear.

He needed to think ahead and cover all his bases.

As he was pondering, footsteps came up behind him.

Seeing the hot water was almost full, Jian Yi picked up his cup to let the person behind him step up.

But his shoulder was bumped, and hot water sloshed out of the thermos, burning the back of his hand.

Jian Yi's hand jerked, and he frowned immediately.

But he kept a grip on it.

"Tough managing with one hand, huh."

Wei Tianxi stepped in front of Jian Yi and spoke up. He glanced at Jian Yi's other arm hanging limply in front and continued, "With your condition, switching from Yude to Qichen must be harder, right? Shen Ju used to live with your family, and you two always seemed so close. Why don't you ask Shen Ju to give you a hand?"

"Help me?"

Jian Yi looked at Wei Tianxi, then gripped the thermos with one hand and snapped the lid shut. As if he didn't understand, he said calmly, "Help me with what?"

Wei Tianxi glanced around, leaned closer to Jian Yi, and whispered, "The only thing you have over Shen Ju now is your academic performance, right?"

"But it won't be long before Shen Ju's grades surpass yours."

"Aren't you worried at all?"