The green desk lamp on the study table emitted a soft glow. A gentle breeze slipped through the window gap, slightly stirring the sheer curtains. The air carried a faint scent of milk.
Zhou Jingchen patiently explained each problem step by step, breaking every question down to the simplest terms, striving to make Wen Xi fully understand.
Wen Xi hadn’t even been sitting at the desk for twenty minutes before she began fidgeting.
Her small body twisted and turned, her big eyes darting from the window to the trinkets at the corner of the desk.
She picked up a fork and lazily speared a piece of fruit, shoving it into her mouth. Her cheeks puffed up, looking like a little hamster that had stolen a pine nut, eating with utter satisfaction.
“Focus,” Zhou Jingchen’s voice sounded softly.
Wen Xi pouted but smiled mischievously. She lifted a piece of snow-white pear and held it near his lips.
Zhou Jingchen instinctively opened his mouth slightly—but the girl, twisting her wrist, pulled the pear back into her own mouth, chewing happily while shaking her head.
Zhou Jingchen sighed helplessly.“Did you understand this problem?”
Wen Xi mumbled an ambiguous nod, then precisely aimed her fork at a pink-and-white crisp peach.
Zhou Jingchen extended his hand; his knobby fingers lightly tapped the exercise book.“Then tell me—what is X?”
Wen Xi raised the peach toward her mouth, but her eyes suddenly twinkled mischievously. She leaned her fork toward him, tilting her head. Her big, bright eyes stared at him without blinking, and she nudged the fruit toward the corner of his mouth—a clear invitation to eat.
The boy opened his mouth, stunned. Just as his lips were about to touch the peach, she cunningly turned her wrist, and the crisp fruit ended up in her own mouth, much to her satisfaction.
Seeing him frozen in place, mouth agape, flustered and embarrassed, Wen Xi burst into laughter.
She clapped on the table, laughing until she leaned back, her small white teeth peeking out like little fangs.
Zhou Jingchen rubbed his forehead, tapping the exercise book again with a tone tinged with helplessness.“Are you even going to study properly?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Wen Xi quickly sat up straight, nodding like a little chick pecking at rice.
“What’s X? I’ve taught you this problem at least five times already.”
“X? Hmm…” Wen Xi pretended to ponder, her long fingers propping her chin. After a long pause, she confidently declared,“It’s 9!”
Zhou Jingchen drew a deep breath and pressed his temple with his hand, his voice heavier:“Take another good look.”
“Isn’t it 9?” Wen Xi pouted, muttering softly, while her fork again reached restlessly toward the fruit plate.
Zhou Jingchen lowered his gaze to the scrap of paper next to the exercise book, filled with neat calculations…
At the end was written clearly: X = 5.
He was silent for a moment, then closed the exercise book.“Let’s stop here for today.”
Wen Xi was chewing on a piece of apple, the sweet and sour juice bursting in her mouth. She squinted her eyes.“Okay, I’m already tired anyway.”
She picked up the last piece of apple from the fruit plate, holding it out to him with a sincere smile:“I won’t tease you—this one’s for you.”
Zhou Jingchen, still tidying books and pens, shook his head without looking up.“I’m not eating. You eat it yourself.”
“Are you sure?” Wen Xi waved her fork teasingly.“My mom cut these especially for us. If you don’t eat even one, she’ll be so sad.”
Zhou Jingchen finally lifted his eyes. His deep gaze fixed on her for two seconds before he reluctantly parted his lips.
He slightly lowered his head; his lips were almost touching the apple…
But the girl was faster. With a clever twist of her wrist, she quickly stuffed the last piece into her own mouth.
Zhou Jingchen froze completely. His brows furrowed as he watched her clutch her stomach, laughing with tears nearly streaming from her eyes.
“Zhou Jingchen, you’re so dumb!” she laughed, teasing him further, lightly kicking his leg twice with her toes.“Everyone says one and two, never three. How do you fall for it every single time?”
Her smile curved her eyes like a crescent moon full of starlight.
She never tired of playing little tricks like this.
Zhou Jingchen remembered when they were around six or seven years old, once at Haiping Park. He, Wen Xi, Fang Haoyu, and another boy were playing soccer on the grass.
Zhou Jingchen couldn’t kick with his legs; his crutch was his “foot.” Despite frequently falling, he loved the sport deeply, stubborn in spirit, unwilling to give up.
He was so absorbed in playing that he didn’t notice his loose pants slipping down.
Wen Xi, with a lollipop in her mouth, ran around wildly like a little crazy girl.
Seeing his pants about to fall, she mischievously ran behind him and… pulled his pants down.
Zhou Jingchen’s thin legs were fully exposed. The other kids laughed uproariously.
Wen Xi had done this not only to him, but also to Fang Haoyu and Jiang Xiaoya.
Jiang Xiaoya, a neighborhood playmate and a girl who cried easily, ran home to complain to adults.
Wen Xi got a severe spanking from Xiang Qin and never dared to pull down someone’s pants casually again.
Her silvery laughter echoed through the room. Zhou Jingchen quietly said,“I’m going to sleep now.”
She frowned and crossed her arms.“Where are you going to sleep?”
Seeing her about to throw a fit, he reluctantly said,“Here.”
Their tutoring sessions continued daily. Zhou Jingchen adopted a more playful teaching method, knowing Wen Xi genuinely wanted to learn but disliked dull problems and texts.
He turned numbers into the fruits Wen Xi liked, and math concepts into easy-to-understand analogies, making it easier for her to grasp.
Sometimes, she would nod off, head drooping, chin bobbing toward the desk.
Zhou Jingchen always managed to steady her chin just in time, preventing her from hitting the desk.
During the end-of-month exam, Wen Xi advanced five places from last in class, breaking her streak as the “bottom-ranked girl.”
She handed her results to Wen Zhiting for signature.
Wen Zhiting nodded in satisfaction, first praising her and giving her a candy, then added:“You’re still far from the top score—keep it up.”
Back in her room, Wen Xi kissed the test paper and jumped three meters high with joy.“Zhou Jingchen, Dad just praised me! It’s the first time he praised my grades!”
She leaped onto Zhou Jingchen, wrapping her legs around his waist. He tilted slightly under her weight but held onto his crutch in time.
His hands froze awkwardly, hovering just three centimeters from her waist, lightly supporting her.
The boy was tall and sturdy; Wen Xi felt like a little accessory clinging to him.
“Zhou Jingchen, can I surpass Fang Haoyu’s grades? Huh? I want to surpass him. Help me, so he won’t ever make fun of me again.”
Holding her report card around his neck, she spoke while the sweet milky scent enveloped them both.
He patted her gently.“Get down first. I can barely stand.”
Thinking she might be hurting his legs, Wen Xi jumped down and looked up at him, her fair little face hopeful.“Can I really surpass Fang Haoyu?”
“Yes. He’s tenth from last. If you advance five more spots, you’ll beat him.”
The girl bounced happily, her ponytail flying in the air.“I will surpass Fang Haoyu! He always laughed at me for being last.”
The boost in her grades gave Wen Xi a strong sense of accomplishment. She became more willing to study and forced herself to concentrate during tutoring.
Once, leaning on the desk exhaustedly, she said:“Zhou Jingchen, no matter how hard I try, I’m still so far behind you. With your grades, you can get into the best high school, while even if I try my hardest, I might barely make the second-best. What if we can’t go to the same school?”
Zhou Jingchen spoke gently:“As long as you work hard, you can get into the second-best high school.”
At the end-of-May exam, Wen Xi indeed surpassed Fang Haoyu’s grades. Her rapid progress once made the teachers suspect she had copied from Zhou Jingchen.
Once, the homeroom teacher ran into Wen Zhiting and commented on Wen Xi’s performance.
“Director Wen, Wen Xi has improved remarkably recently. Every weekly and monthly test astonishes the teachers.”
“She’s been working hard. After school, Jingchen tutors her every day. Both kids don’t sleep until past midnight.”
“That explains it. The girl is naturally smart, she just wasn’t focused before. Keep this pace, she’ll have no problem getting into the second-best high school.”
That night, Wen Zhiting was delighted and deliberately stopped by a roast chicken shop in Chengbei, buying a large roast chicken for the two kids.