Glancing back at Hu Yuying, Long Aotian couldn't help but feel a strange urge to laugh. Following behind him, she looked like a little tail attached to him.
After returning to the classroom,
Hu Yuying began rummaging through her backpack.
Soon, she pulled out a few worn-out notebooks.
The contents of these notebooks were meticulously recorded by her.
They were all the key points taught by the teachers.
Hu Yuying's excellent academic performance was largely thanks to these notebooks.
Now, she placed all of them on Long Aotian's desk.
"This one contains the key points from the first year of high school, and this one is from the second year..." Hu Yuying sorted the notebooks to make it easier for Long Aotian to review.
Looking at the stack of notebooks, Long Aotian couldn't help but break into a sweat. "Isn't this a bit too much?"
"Not at all. These are all important points," Hu Yuying replied calmly, as if it were nothing. If it weren't for the fact that she was often bullied, she could have written even more.
"Alright, I'll take a look," Long Aotian said. Having dropped out of high school and spent years navigating the complexities of society, coupled with the rapid development of technology, he hadn't written with a pen in years.
Seeing the neat handwriting in the notebooks, he couldn't resist picking up a pen and scribbling a bit.
After seeing Long Aotian's notes, Hu Yuying roughly understood his academic level.
"Brother Long, how about I tutor you?"
This was the only skill Hu Yuying could confidently offer, and the only way she could help Long Aotian.
Long Aotian had taken her under his wing, and in return, she could tutor him—at least it proved she wasn't completely useless.
"Won't it interfere with your studies?" Long Aotian asked, clearing his throat.
He knew exactly how poor his foundation was.
In the original story, Long Aotian, the antagonist, didn't excel academically either. His father had used connections and money to send him to a third-rate vocational college.
Because the plot required the antagonist, this vocational college was conveniently located across from the university Hu Yuying attended.
Most importantly, the original novel didn't include Hu Yuying tutoring the antagonist.
With the intense workload of the final year of high school, would tutoring Long Aotian affect Hu Yuying's performance and cause her to miss her dream university?
If she missed it, would she still become a rising star in the business world? That was the question.
Hu Yuying looked at Long Aotian, her eyes inadvertently reddening.
"What's wrong?" Seeing her eyes well up, Long Aotian immediately felt uncomfortable.
"Nothing," Hu Yuying mumbled softly.
She was just deeply moved.
Someone who had long been ignored and bullied would react this way.
The slightest bit of kindness from others would touch her heart for a long time.
No one had ever cared whether helping them would inconvenience her.
They only ever bossed her around...
But this older brother, whom she had just met today, not only helped her but also took her under his wing, treated her to lunch, and now was concerned about whether tutoring him would interfere with her studies.
The kindness of a stranger could unexpectedly break down one's defenses.
"If it's nothing, why are your eyes red? Don't tell me you're about to cry because you're moved by me. Be careful, or I'll hit you!"
"You'd hit me even though I'm moved by you?" Hu Yuying asked softly.
Long Aotian saw Hu Yuying's teary eyes fixed on him and awkwardly looked away, though his tone softened considerably. "Don't think being moved by me means I won't hit you."
Most people would get upset upon hearing this, but Hu Yuying was different. She had truly been bullied too much. She glanced at Long Aotian timidly and whispered with little confidence, "Brother Long, can you not hit me?"
Seeing her timid demeanor, Long Aotian couldn't help but laugh in exasperation. "You're so spineless. Don't tell anyone you're my follower when we're out."
In the final year of high school, there weren't many new lessons to teach.
The afternoon was mostly spent practicing problems.
Hu Yuying reviewed Long Aotian's test paper, and the more she looked, the more shocked she became. It was almost unbelievable how he managed to avoid every correct answer with such precision.
"How did I do?" Long Aotian asked with a frown. He had put a lot of effort into this test, and it was the first time in years he had picked up a pen to write. He couldn't help but feel a little anticipation.
"9."
"What? Over 90 points?" Long Aotian was stunned. "Damn, I didn't know I was such a genius!"
It was hard to say he wasn't excited.
If he had known he was a genius, he would have tightened his belt and finished high school back then.
If he had finished high school and gone to college, would his life have turned out differently?
Seeing Long Aotian so excited, Hu Yuying awkwardly said, "Brother Long, it's not over 90 points. It's 9 points."
"No way. Look again. With so many fill-in-the-blank questions, even if I stepped on the paper, I could guess at least 20 points. How could I only get 9?"
Long Aotian would rather believe Hu Yuying had made a mistake than accept that his carefully written test paper had only earned him 9 points.
"Brother Long, I've checked carefully. You really got 9 points, and 2 of those were bonus points for neat handwriting."
"So you're saying I only scored 7 points?" Long Aotian found it hard to accept.
If he had just scribbled randomly, it would be one thing, but he had put genuine effort into this!
Seeing Long Aotian deeply doubting himself, Hu Yuying softly said, "Brother Long, look at this problem. It should be solved like this."
Hu Yuying began working through the problem on scratch paper, and soon a complete formula was derived.
She broke down each step of the solution clearly.
Long Aotian glanced at it and not only understood but also grasped the method.
"What about this one? I spent a lot of time solving this."
"But you misread the question. This problem is asking for this, but you calculated that instead. Brother Long, read the question carefully again."
Hu Yuying focused on the problem, her tone and the confidence in her eyes making her seem like a completely different person.
This aura was entirely unlike her usual self.
Long Aotian couldn't help but glance at her a few more times.
Not hearing a response from Long Aotian, Hu Yuying, who was explaining the problem, looked up.
Their eyes met, and Hu Yuying instinctively touched her face. "Is there something on my face?"
"No, it's just that you look really beautiful when you smile."
"You should smile more."
Hu Yuying bit her lip lightly, and the tips of her ears quickly turned red.
"It's... it's nothing," she said, nervously turning slightly away. Her hands fidgeted, as if only through these constant small movements could she hide the shyness in her heart...