Chарtеr 18: Сlаssmate Fu, You’rе Lаte
Hаving taken оn аn ехtrа jоb the night bеfоrе, it was оnly nаtural that Fu Тinghаn ovеrsleрt.
А fаint sliver оf light sеeреd thrоugh thе gар in thе window, bаrelу illuminаting the dim room enоugh to sеe. Не rеаched оut to silenсе thе аlarm сloсk, rubbed his throbbing tеmрlеs, аnd gоt out оf bed to wash uр.
Surрrisinglу, Wеn Хinian hadn’t left уеt.
Нe wаs sitting at thе small desk рrоррed up with bооks under onе leg, nibbling on thе sаndwiсh Fu Тinghan hаd brоught back last night. Seeing Fu Tinghan gеt up, hе rеmindеd him:
“Тhе tutoring bоok, three hundrеd and twеnty.”
Fu Тinghan turnеd and went back into the room.
He took out the prepared banknotes and handed them to Wen Xinian, his gaze suddenly fixing on his face:
“What happened to the injury?”
“Fell on the way,” Wen Xinian said flatly.
It was clear he didn’t want to elaborate.
Fu Tinghan didn’t press further. After washing up, he sat down to eat his own sandwich.
Wen Xinian had already finished. Just before leaving, he remembered something and instructed, “She forgot her phone. Bring it to school and give it to her later.”
Fu Tinghan glanced at the phone on the table. “Got it.”
“And the rent,” Wen Xinian said as he opened the door. “Don’t forget to pay it.”
Fu Tinghan gave the same reply: “Got it.”
Wen Xinian closed the door.
The hallway light was dim, the motion-sensor lamp flickering on and off. After just a few steps, he dialed a number.
“I’ve got the money. When will you give me what I want?”
Worried about her unfinished homework, Jiang Er didn’t even have time for breakfast, rushing to school as if sparks were flying behind her.
She set down her backpack and was surprised to find she wasn’t the earliest.
Little Fatty was there too, his desk covered with homework from various subjects.
He was hunched over, scribbling furiously.
Jiang Er felt a wave of relief.
It seemed she wasn’t the only one who hadn’t finished this damn homework that felt longer than her own life.
“You’re here so early?” Little Fatty noticed her too, hurriedly covering the name on the homework book on his desk.
Jiang Er: “Staring—”
She sensed something was off and quickly leaned in for a closer look.
Through the gaps between his fingers, she vaguely caught a glimpse of a character that looked like “Zhi.”
And what he was currently writing was a physics workbook, but the progress was far behind what Class Six was on.
Clearly not his own.
Jiang Er questioned, “Why are you doing two sets of physics homework?”
Little Fatty’s face suddenly flushed red.
He struggled for a moment before huffing and puffing softly, “I’m helping my connection preview her class’s learning progress.”
Oh, so his connection couldn’t do her physics homework either.
Jiang Er felt another wave of comfort.
She tactfully asked, “Would you mind letting me become your second connection?”
Little Fatty finished the last problem, neatly put away the workbook, and said earnestly:
“Yes, I mind. I don’t have time to do a third person’s homework.”
Tears welling up in her eyes, Jiang Er clasped her hands together:
“Pang Pang, Class Monitor, kind soul, please help me just this once. Those problems are really too hard. I stayed up until two last night and still couldn’t figure them out.”
Little Fatty: “…”
He let out a heavy sigh and took out his own completed homework.
“Remember not to make it exactly the same as mine. It’ll be obvious.”
“Sure, sure,” she nodded eagerly.
“Do you need anything besides physics?” he asked again.
Jiang Er coughed twice: “Actually, I only finished English and the essay Old Wang assigned.”
Little Fatty facepalmed, then pulled out all his homework books and tossed them to her in one go.Jiang Er happily put it away, firmly shook his hand, and declared with a resolute tone, “Comrade He, I can never repay your great kindness. I’ll treat you to hotpot this weekend—order whatever you want.”
“No need,” he withdrew his hand, politely declining. “I have to accompany my connection to get her hair done. I’m busy.”
“Got it,” Jiang Er made an OK gesture. “Hehe, I won’t be a third wheel.”
Little Fatty’s face flushed even redder. “We’re not what you think.”
“I know, I know,” Jiang Er returned to her seat and buried herself in copying the homework, casually replying, “You’re just ordinary, pure schoolmates, that’s all.”
Little Fatty, embarrassed, buried his head in his arms, mumbled a couple of times, and fell silent.
Rushing against the clock, she finally managed to finish all the homework just before morning self-study began.
Jiang Er let out a long sigh of relief, rubbing her stiff hand, feeling more exhausted than after running an 800-meter race.
“Why hasn’t Fu Tinghan arrived yet?” The seat beside her was empty. She craned her neck to look out the window. “Did he oversleep?”
It wasn’t until the warning bell rang that the familiar figure finally appeared in the hallway.
Sunlight pierced through the faint mist, casting golden morning rays. The boy, wearing a cleanly washed school uniform, walked step by step with his backpack slung over his shoulder. His shadow stretched long beneath him, almost reaching her feet.
Seeming to notice her gaze, he looked up through the transparent glass window, meeting her eyes.
Jiang Er instinctively wanted to smile at him but suddenly suppressed the rising corners of her mouth, wiping away the smile. She put on a serious face, pretending to be stern, and silently mouthed to him:
“Classmate Fu, you’re late.”
“…”
Fu Tinghan’s footsteps paused mid-air. Suddenly, he turned his back to her, as if adjusting his breathing, his shoulders rising and falling rapidly twice.
Jiang Er: “???”
When he turned back around, he had already regained his usual indifferent expression.
Jiang Er was utterly confused.
Old Wang and Fu Tinghan entered the classroom at the same time. Old Wang gave him a dissatisfied glance but didn’t say anything, merely rapping the lectern forcefully:
“Everyone, take out your books. If you haven’t memorized the text, hurry up and do it. There’ll be a dictation in a few days.”
Sporadic reading sounds filled the classroom. Fu Tinghan set down his backpack, took his seat, and also pulled out his textbook.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but today he seemed even more distant than yesterday.
…Could it be that he saw her at the milk tea shop?
Jiang Er couldn’t be sure, so she decided to test the waters with a note.
[Did you finish your homework?]
Fu Tinghan paused for two seconds while flipping through his book, then reached into his desk to hand her his homework notebook.
Another note appeared on the desk.
[Luckily, I borrowed the class monitor’s this morning to catch up. If you haven’t finished, you can look at mine.]
Fu Tinghan withdrew his hand and continued flipping through his book.
Jiang Er rested her chin on her hand, carefully observing his expression, trying to find any clues.
But aside from him looking somewhat listless, she couldn’t discern anything else.
Still, he was constantly on the go day after day, probably without even a moment to catch his breath, right?
No wonder he always slept in class—he probably only had time to sleep when he was at school.
If he kept going like this, not only would his health suffer, but his studies would definitely fall behind. Eventually, he’d have no chance to continue his education.
—In her past life, she’d heard that Fu Tinghan attended a university abroad, coincidentally in the same city as her school.
Looking back now, that was surely just something the Fu family made up to save face.After all, even his publicly claimed background was fabricated, so doing such a thing shouldn’t be surprising.
However—
Jiang Er stared at the textbook in his hands and closed his eyes in agony.
If things continued like this, it seemed he wouldn’t be the only one without a chance to study.