The school was even larger than Lin Zhuo had imagined. After walking around for half an hour, he did not want to walk anymore.
Aside from the fatigue, an invisible sense of inferiority weighed down upon his spine, making his mood heavy.
At the very beginning, when An Wan proposed that he study, Lin Zhuo agreed simply thinking he would just coast through the days. After all, nothing here could be taken back with him.
Yet when he walked a full circle around the campus, he clearly realized that while physical objects could not be taken back, the knowledge learned in his mind was something he could surely take with him, right?
He asked, “System, when I return to the real world, you will not erase my memory, will you?”
[Of course not. However, if the Host makes this request, the system can also accomplish it.]
Hearing the system’s reply, Lin Zhuo set his mind at ease.
An Wan had said she would hire a private tutor to coach him before enrollment. He would definitely work hard during this period and strive to learn whatever he could. That way, even if he returned to the real world, he could still slowly establish a foothold based on what he learned in this world.
“Wife, are you tired?” Seeing that Lin Zhuo’s spirits were low, Fu Baizhou leaned in and asked softly.
Fu Baizhou’s warm breath brushed against the side of Lin Zhuo’s ear, a distance that was a bit too intimate.
An Wan walked alongside the two of them. If she had not witnessed with her own eyes the scene of Fu Baizhou holding Lin Zhuo as they slept, she would have assumed they were simply good friends.
As for the title of wife, perhaps he really only called him that because his brain was scrambled from the fall.
She only glanced at them once before withdrawing her gaze.
Lin Zhuo had thin skin; if she stared at them too intently, she would surely cause him to notice something unusual.
“Do not lean so close to me.” Lin Zhuo pushed Fu Baizhou’s head away. Fu Baizhou counter-strung his arm over Lin Zhuo’s shoulder, and due to his height advantage, he immediately created an uneven, lopsided look.
Lin Zhuo had never liked anyone putting an arm around his shoulder. He was not very tall to begin with, and always felt that someone pressing down on him would make him even shorter.
“Do not lean on me,” he said with a darkened face.
Fu Baizhou obediently removed his arm and walked right beside him.
When the group returned to the car, An Wan asked Lin Zhuo, “Are you satisfied with the school?”
“It is huge and very nice,” Lin Zhuo gave a fair and honest reply.
They had walked for half an hour and only covered a portion of the school, so it was indeed massive.
The indoor decor and facilities looked full of life, making it truly wonderful.
Lin Zhuo did not know how to describe his feelings at the moment. He was happy, yet also terrified.
Knowing full well that all of this might be a mere facade, he still wanted to study, if only out of a simple yearning.
An Wan asked again, “Do you like it?”
Lin Zhuo nodded slightly. “I like it.”
Their conversation disregarded the presence of Fu Baizhou beside them, who took the initiative to interrupt, “Aunt, would it be alright if I learned to drive?”
An Wan was not close to Fu Baizhou; caring for him and spending money on him was entirely for Lin Zhuo’s sake. Hearing these words, she was somewhat surprised. “Why?”
Fu Baizhou’s gaze fell upon Lin Zhuo as he said with genuine sincerity, “Wife does not have a driver’s license, but Aunt plans to buy a car for him, so I want to be his driver.”
So that was it.
An Wan had no reason to refuse. “Alright. When we get back, I will have my assistant sign you up.”
Learning to drive did not cost much money. Since Lin Zhuo was busy with his studies right now, having Fu Baizhou learn to drive and act as a chauffeur was not a bad idea.
Although she intended to hire a driver for Lin Zhuo, where could she find someone as convenient to use as the person right by his side? Furthermore, Fu Baizhou was extremely dependent on Lin Zhuo, and since he was getting a free ride living with him, serving as a driver to pay off his keep made complete sense.
In the days that followed, Lin Zhuo studied Chinese, mathematics, and English, while Fu Baizhou took care of Lin Zhuo’s three daily meals and went to driving school.
Fu Baizhou’s learning capacity was extraordinary; he obtained his driver’s license in the shortest time possible. Worried that he might be bored alone, Lin Zhuo enrolled him in a few other classes to help pass the time.
Lin Zhuo had previously attended a vocational secondary school, so his foundational knowledge was quite weak. These three major subjects basically had to be studied starting from junior high school concepts.
Chinese and mathematics were at least in Chinese and barely legible, but when it came to English, the moment he saw vocabulary words, he would fall asleep, always feeling like there was a sleepy bug hiding inside the books.
Every day when he opened his English textbook, the word abandon filled his brain.
Learning while forgetting, for a long time whenever he saw the English teacher, he wanted to vomit.
This was not because he disliked the teacher, but rather because he had developed a deep aversion to English.
How he eventually managed to sort it out remained a bit hazy in his mind, but it undoubtedly had everything to do with Fu Baizhou.
From March to May, and from May to August.
Time passed quickly, yet it also felt agonizingly slow.
After months of intensive cramming, among Lin Zhuo’s three major subjects, English remained the worst. Out of a total score of one hundred and fifty, he could only score one-third of it, while the other two subjects barely reached a passing level.
Lin Zhuo felt he had zero talent for studying. Even after practicing for many years, top-tier gold-medal instructors who were exceptional in their respective fields and provided one-on-one tutoring failed to elevate his academic standing.
Still, making progress was not a bad thing. It was slow, but he was learning things, which would be very useful to him.
Besides, after entering school, he could continue studying. That way, after returning to the real world, he might even be able to directly take the graduate school entrance exams.
September marked the arrival of autumn, but the scorching heat showed no reduction whatsoever, making people sweat even more profusely than in midsummer.
During the start of the school term, the school entrance was surging with crowds in a magnificent display.
The enrollment procedures were handled by An Wan, so Lin Zhuo simply needed to show up and start studying.
On Monday morning, Fu Baizhou drove the vehicle An Wan had prepared for Lin Zhuo and dropped him off at the school gates.
It was not Lin Zhuo’s first time at the school, but it was his first time attending as a student, and especially entering through the side door, he felt somewhat guilty.
Lin Zhuo clenched his fingers. Fu Baizhou parked the car to the side and took hold of his hand; his fingertips were slightly cool. “Wife, are you nervous?”
It had rained the previous night, leaving wet patches across the dark asphalt road.
Lin Zhuo lowered his gaze and said, “A little bit.”
He withdrew his hand from Fu Baizhou’s grip, opened the car door, and stepped out.
Standing by the car window, Lin Zhuo told Fu Baizhou, “If I need to come back at noon, I will call you in advance.”
Fu Baizhou smiled. “Alright, wife.”
At this hour, few people were entering or exiting through the school gates. He walked over to the guardhouse, unconsciously lowered his head, then raised it back up and stepped into the school.
The classrooms were a bit far from the gate. Noticing several shared bicycles parked along the street, he took out his phone to scan one and rode over to the teaching building.
The further he went inside, the more people there were.
Some walked in groups of twos and threes, while others walked alone.
When Lin Zhuo arrived at the classroom, there were not many people yet. He casually found a seat and sat down.
People trickled into the classroom gradually. Because he arrived relatively early, he had chosen a seat closer to the front.
Some boys and girls had already become friends through interacting during the military training period, chatting and laughing merrily, while Lin Zhuo looked somewhat out of place among them.
He had heard from An Wan that military training took place before the semester started, though she had kept him out of it fearing he might faint.
Being lazy, Lin Zhuo figured military training was not important anyway, so he skipped it.
The school’s atmosphere was much more relaxed than he had imagined, but because he had arrived in an unfamiliar environment, his personality remained rather introverted and reserved.
As noon approached, after confirming the afternoon class schedule, he sent a message to Fu Baizhou telling him to eat by himself at noon and not wait for him.
He needed to make friends as quickly as possible. Lin Zhuo silently cheered himself on in his heart.