Before Xu Qingyan could say anything, Lin Zhinuo looked at Teacher Jiang’s serious, earnest expression and immediately understood what was going on.
She lowered her voice and asked softly, “Dad sent you here?”
Teacher Jiang only had Lin Jingshan’s contact information. Last night, Lin Jingshan had said he was going on a two-day business trip to another province and would try to return before the holiday so he could take the two of them out to have some fun for a couple of days.
Ever since Xu Qingyan moved into their home, it was as if Lin Jingshan’s hands and feet had been freed. He seemed determined to throw himself into his work and make a big push.
And now he had even asked Xu Qingyan to stand in for him as her parent and deal with the teacher.
Xu Qingyan turned his head to look at her. Seeing the complicated expression on her face, he quietly reassured her,
“It’s fine.”
Lin Zhinuo didn’t know what Xu Qingyan had said to Teacher Jiang before coming here. All she saw was Teacher Jiang’s frown gradually relax as she waved Lin Zhinuo off.
“You don’t need to write the self-criticism anymore, but you still have to hand in the study plan. Go back and attend class properly.”
Lin Zhinuo was a little dumbfounded and didn’t react for a moment.
That was it?
She had been called all the way here just to be told that she didn’t have to write the self-criticism anymore?
Xu Qingyan gently nudged her.
“Go back to class first.”
The boy’s voice was soft and light, yet somehow seemed to possess a magical quality.
“Oh.”
Lin Zhinuo obediently responded and walked out of the office, turning her head back three times with every few steps.
Inside the office, Xu Qingyan’s eyes remained indifferent. His voice was cool, polite, and composed.
“Sorry to trouble you, Teacher. I’ll talk to her properly when I get back. If there’s nothing else, I’ll return to class first.”
The boy standing before her was tall and slender, his speech calm and measured. There wasn’t the slightest trace of the restlessness or arrogance usually found in teenage boys.
Teacher Jiang looked at him and nodded in satisfaction.
“It’s normal for teenagers to develop feelings for someone at this age, but they can’t let it affect their studies. Go back and talk to your parents properly. Your studies should come first.”
“I understand, Teacher.”
Xu Qingyan answered and turned around neatly before walking out.
Just after he left, Teacher Chen entered the office carrying a thermos cup and couldn’t help asking,
“Hey, Teacher Jiang, what was that boy here for?”
“His younger sister is in my class. He came over to discuss the situation. Why?”
Teacher Chen unscrewed the lid of her cup and took a sip of water, her tone full of admiration.
“That boy is no ordinary student. He’s the first-ranked student in the entire second grade for this month’s exams!”
“Yesterday, Old Zhang told me that this boy went to him asking for some physics and mathematics competition problems to practice. Old Zhang couldn’t bear to dampen the boy’s enthusiasm, so he casually got several sets from the teachers in the competition class and gave them to him.”
“Guess what happened?”
Teacher Chen took another sip of water.
“Those problem sets were extremely difficult. Even the students in the competition class were scratching their heads over them. But this boy got every single one right, and it was as if there wasn’t any difficulty at all.”
“He’s made Old Qin from the competition class desperate to get his hands on him. He’s been asking Old Zhang for him every single day.”
After leaving the office, Xu Qingyan deliberately slowed his pace.
The corridor on the first-year floor was noisy, filled with students coming and going. His eyes drifted toward the classrooms on the other side of the staircase and lingered there for a moment before he finally looked away and headed toward the North Teaching Building.
As soon as he stepped onto the second-year floor, Meng Siqi approached him with her schoolbag on her back.
“Xu Qingyan, where did you go? Teacher Qin is waiting for us to report to the competition class.”
“Where’s your schoolbag? Have you packed everything?”
Unlike Xu Qingyan’s indifference, Meng Siqi’s eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation.
She had transferred to Yucheng No. 1 High School halfway through the school year, and her goal had been to squeeze into the competition class filled with top students.
Xu Qingyan returned to the classroom to get his schoolbag.
The competition class was in the large classroom at the very end of the third-year floor.
The classroom was quiet and spacious, far away from the noise and bustle.
Just as the two of them arrived at the door, the bell rang for class. Teacher Qin happened to be carrying a stack of exam papers and ushered them inside.
After briefly introducing themselves at the front of the classroom, the two followed Teacher Qin’s gesture and walked toward the empty seats in the last row.
Teacher Qin handed the stack of papers to the first student.
“You two arrived at just the right time. You caught this week’s weekly test, so go ahead and take it with everyone else.”
Meng Siqi was visibly excited. She trotted over, her high ponytail swaying from side to side.
“Do you want to sit on the outside or the inside?” Meng Siqi asked quietly.
Xu Qingyan showed little reaction.
“Either is fine.”
Meng Siqi naturally took the seat by the wall. As she watched the test papers being passed forward, her eyes gleamed faintly with excitement.
Zhou Zijia, who was sitting against the wall in the row ahead, couldn’t help turning around. His gaze landed on Xu Qingyan, and his lips moved as if he wanted to say something.
But the test papers had already been passed to him.
Lu Chengyang only turned around for a brief moment while passing the papers. He took a long, deep look at Xu Qingyan sitting behind him, his expression complicated.
Meanwhile, Lin Zhinuo had returned to the classroom. A thick stack of papers for all the different subjects had already been placed on her desk.
Meng Siyu rested her chin in both hands, looking utterly miserable.
“I was looking forward to sleeping at home until noon every day during the long National Day holiday. Instead, there’s so much homework that it’s making me question my entire existence.”
Lin Zhinuo absentmindedly stacked the papers and stuffed them into her schoolbag, but her mind was filled with regret.
Why had she obediently left the office just now?
Would Old Jiang give Xu Qingyan a hard time? Someone as quiet and reserved as him how was he supposed to deal with Old Jiang?
The more she thought about it, the more worried she became. She tightened her grip on her pen and was just about to stand up when the class bell rang.
Seeing that Lin Zhinuo was distracted, Meng Siyu reached out and tugged at her arm.
“What happened? Did Old Jiang lecture you again?”
“No. My brother is still in the office.”
Lin Zhinuo frowned.
Meng Siyu was startled.
“Old Jiang is seriously too much! Because of this tiny little matter, she lectured you and now she’s going to lecture your brother too?”
Lin Zhinuo gave her a speechless sideways glance. Her gaze landed on the densely packed notebooks beside Meng Siyu.
“Want me to tell Old Jiang that you’ve been secretly writing novels during class? Then she can lecture you too and get revenge on your sister for you.”
“Hmph! That’s not getting revenge for me. That’s encouraging the entire Meng family to kill me!”
Meng Siyu quickly stuffed her beloved novel notebook deeper into the compartment under her desk.
“Your brother is an academic genius. Old Jiang won’t have the heart to be harsh with a good student.”
Meng Siyu analyzed the situation for her.
“At most, she’ll tell your brother to keep a closer eye on you.”
“I hope so.”
Lin Zhinuo thought for a moment before lowering her voice.
“Actually, my brother isn’t my biological brother.”
“Huh?”
Meng Siyu’s thoughts had always been rather unconventional.
“Was he born to your stepmother?”
When Lin Zhinuo glared at her, Meng Siyu immediately slapped herself lightly on the mouth.
“Bah! I’ve been reading too many novels. My mouth got ahead of my brain.”
“So what exactly is going on?”
Meng Siyu leaned closer. She had genuinely thought Xu Qingyan was Lin Zhinuo’s biological brother.
Lin Zhinuo had no intention of hiding it from Meng Siyu, so she briefly explained how Xu Qingyan had come to Yucheng with her.
Meng Siyu nodded.
“Oh, so he’s the older brother from your grandmother’s neighbor’s family.”
The two were still chatting when Teacher Jiang walked up to the podium. She let her meaningful gaze linger on Lin Zhinuo for a moment before speaking.
“I’ll take up a little of your self-study time to announce something. Starting tomorrow, we will officially begin the National Day holiday…”
Meng Siyu quietly leaned toward Lin Zhinuo, covering her mouth and whispering in an extremely low voice,
“The way Old Jiang just looked at you… Why do I feel like she was looking at her own daughter?”
Lin Zhinuo had been a little distracted just now and hadn’t paid attention to Teacher Jiang’s expression.
Only after Teacher Jiang left did she casually respond,
“That’s not the type my dad likes.”