It has not even been a full week, yet they are already unable to hold back?
Shen Qianyan blinked his eyes helplessly.
Was it over?
He did not ask what had happened? He did not mock him by saying a commoner like him had no right to enter Axelenia Academy? Why had the usual procedures he was so familiar with not occurred?
Shen Qianyan’s gaze was too intense. Song Xingqiu looked up at him and asked, “Is there anything else?”
Shen Qianyan snapped out of his daze and quickly waved his hands. “No, no.”
Song Xingqiu went back to reading his book. He had reached a difficult part and was flipping the pages very slowly.
Shen Qianyan moved two steps forward, trembling. As expected, Song Xingqiu did not look at him, seemingly completely indifferent to his movements or presence. Was he letting him leave? Shen Qianyan could not believe it.
Song Xingqiu did not seem as terrifying as he had imagined. In fact, he seemed almost friendly.
Having suffered countless cold shoulders in the academy, Shen Qianyan, who was just an ordinary middle school student a year ago, hesitated for a moment. Finally, he could not help but take a tentative step closer to Song Xingqiu.
After hesitating for a long while, Shen Qianyan spoke cautiously, “Are you looking at tenth-grade physics?”
Earlier, after Song Xingqiu went out, he had caught a glimpse of the book and realized it was a textbook analysis for tenth-grade physics. At that time, his mind was occupied by the people and events outside, so he had no time to worry about such an out-of-place book. He had assumed Song Xingqiu had grabbed the wrong one. He had not expected that he actually intended to read it!
Song Xingqiu looked at him and answered frankly, “Yes. Why?”
Shen Qianyan was choked up by Song Xingqiu’s matter-of-fact question. He weighed his words before speaking. “But I remember you skipped a grade to enter the fourth year.”
Song Xingqiu’s public profile had gone viral on the school forum. Naturally, Shen Qianyan had seen it too.
Song Xingqiu’s gaze grew much colder. He was bringing up exactly what Song Xingqiu did not want to discuss. Although he was unhappy, Song Xingqiu was not a childish person like Song Wenyue; he would not get angry over a bit of teasing or provocation.
He rarely offered an explanation, but he said a few words to Shen Qianyan: “I went to school in the Federation before this. I am not familiar with the textbooks here.”
Shen Qianyan understood. He tried to speak again. “Then, is there a difference between the physics textbooks in the Federation and the Empire?”
Song Xingqiu: “…”
If he could accurately point out all the differences, would he still need to sit here for remedial study? Was this person looking for trouble?
Sensing Song Xingqiu’s unfriendly gaze, Shen Qianyan finally understood the situation. He hurried to apologize. “I am sorry, I did not mean it. I thought that since you skipped a grade to enter the fourth year, your grades must be exceptionally good to…”
Shen Qianyan’s voice gradually grew smaller.
In the past, when Song Wenyue scolded him for having no emotional intelligence, not knowing how to speak, not knowing how to behave, and being an idiot, Shen Qianyan would argue back that Song Wenyue was the real idiot without emotional intelligence. He felt he was actually quite good at reading the room and had high emotional intelligence; he was just unwilling to cooperate with those hateful noble sons and daughters. Looking at it today, Song Wenyue’s scolding was not entirely unjustified.
Song Xingqiu had already turned his head and was no longer paying attention to Shen Qianyan.
He had read the novel many times and held a general sense of sympathy for Shen Qianyan. Although he believed Shen Qianyan’s methods were not smart enough and his thoughts were too naive, for a child who grew up in a normal, happy family, it was a clear sign of a strong inner core to resist the oppressive hierarchy of the academy at this age instead of being swept away by its superficiality.
It was just that his ideas were too idealistic. He thought he was facing arrogant noble peers, but in reality, his opponents were the interest groups behind those sons and daughters. In today’s highly solidified class structure, talking about equality among a group of “Celestial Dragons” was overly naive. Trying to overturn the ruling class using laws they themselves had established was simply laughable.
The people who could set new rules were always the most powerful ones. If this were not a “Mary Sue” novel where he was the protagonist, Shen Qianyan’s final end would have been terrifyingly grim.
“Well, looking at it now, Shen Qianyan is not just naive; he also lacks discernment,” Song Xingqiu concluded.
Shen Qianyan rubbed his nose awkwardly. He saw that although Song Xingqiu was unhappy, he did not strike him or even scold him. Song Xingqiu was indeed different from the others.
For some reason, Shen Qianyan, who usually loathed the privileged class and kept them at a distance, felt a sudden urge to talk to Song Xingqiu today. After deliberating for a long time, he stayed, seemingly possessed, and spoke again: “Um, although the textbook analysis in your hand is popular and well-written, if you want to prepare for exams, I think another one is better.”
Hearing this, Song Xingqiu finally looked up at Shen Qianyan again. Shen Qianyan breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he had finally said the right thing. Song Xingqiu seemed easier to coax than he had imagined.
He went to get the physics analysis book he considered better and handed it to Song Xingqiu. Then, without waiting for Song Xingqiu to speak, he brought over all the other tenth-grade analysis books he considered the best. He even wrote down the recommendations for the eleventh grade and Axelenia’s supplemental materials on a sticky note and gave them to Song Xingqiu.
He eagerly demonstrated his ability to Song Xingqiu: “My grades are very good. I am usually ranked first in my grade. Although I am only in the second year, I have already finished self-studying the second-year content. I am already looking at the third-year material. If you need textbook analysis recommendations for the third year, I can organize a list for you in a while.”
After saying this, Shen Qianyan felt a bit of regret. He sounded like he was bragging. Would Song Xingqiu be repelled by his self-praise? He nervously observed Song Xingqiu’s expression and found that his gaze had softened significantly. He did not seem to find anything wrong with the self-praise.
Song Xingqiu actually thought it was good for Shen Qianyan to have a clear understanding of his own position and abilities. Good was good; bad was bad. He knew Shen Qianyan’s grades better than anyone. This guy was a natural-born student. Despite all the noble children having tutors since childhood, they could never beat Shen Qianyan, who relied purely on self-study and following the teachers. He achieved a crushing first place in every exam.
Song Xingqiu believed that the materials Shen Qianyan provided were definitely the best. Having obtained the supplementary book list from the strongest academic master recognized by the novel, he felt much more relaxed. He nodded and thanked him, “Thank you, I appreciate the help.”
Being thanked by a noble student for the first time made Shen Qianyan a little uncomfortable. He said bashfully, “It is nothing, I should help. You helped me today, after all.”
Song Xingqiu gave a short “Mhm” and said no more. He continued reading. Shen Qianyan hesitated but did not leave; instead, he walked to the other side and began to read as well. Song Xingqiu did not drive him away, and the two of them spent a quiet afternoon in the library together.
Song Xingqiu and Shen Qianyan studied together in the library for three consecutive days. Shen Qianyan did not dare to strike up a conversation with Song Xingqiu; he simply placed his notes silently on the table. Song Xingqiu was not polite either; he picked them up and read them immediately.
Seeing that Song Xingqiu was willing to read them, Shen Qianyan breathed a sigh of relief. He had always been afraid that Song Xingqiu would suddenly burst out with strange sentences like “I do not read commoners’ notebooks,” “Are we close?” or “Commoner, stop trying to climb the social ladder with me.”
Having been in the academy for over a year, Shen Qianyan had met many noble students who seemed normal at first, only to suddenly “break” after a few words of conversation. He was practically traumatized. Fortunately, Song Xingqiu did not say anything like that. He simply flipped through the books and notebooks quickly and silently.
Shen Qianyan noticed that Song Xingqiu read very fast. It seemed his choice to skip a grade was indeed backed by some confidence. With Shen Qianyan’s recommendations and notebooks, Song Xingqiu learned twice as much with half the effort. He greatly accelerated his remedial progress. At this rate, he could finish the first and second-year content within a month, and even cover some of the third-year material. Unfortunately, Shen Qianyan had not reached the third year yet and had not self-studied much of its content. Song Xingqiu planned to have his tutor organize that part for him.
Although Shen Qianyan and Song Xingqiu spent their afternoons in the library, their communication was limited to matters regarding their studies. They did not mention anything else.
Today was Saturday. With the two-day weekend, he could devote all his time to remedial study, and his progress was much faster. Shen Qianyan came to the library to read for a while today. As dinner time approached, he looked at Song Xingqiu more frequently, his expression becoming increasingly hesitant. He seemed to have something on the tip of his tongue.
Song Xingqiu put down his book and asked proactively, “Has something happened?”
He remembered the Shen Qianyan in the book as quite straightforward. He did not know why, when it came to him, the boy became so hesitant and kept holding back his words. Was it because he was not an original character in the book?
Hearing Song Xingqiu ask him, Shen Qianyan finally gathered his courage to speak: “Recently, those noble students in school have been bullying the scholarship students again.”
After speaking, he suddenly realized that Song Xingqiu had only been at this school for a week and might not know the old traditions regarding noble students and scholarship students. So, he hurriedly explained to Song Xingqiu that in this school, noble students bullying scholarship students was a daily occurrence. It had become part of the campus culture, and everyone was used to it.
He said boldly, “In fact, the methods they used on you before are the same methods they use on us scholarship students.”
After saying this, Shen Qianyan felt apprehensive. Would Song Xingqiu think he was hinting for help to deal with those noble students? Song Xingqiu had no obligation to do so; moreover, even if he was troubled by Song Wenyue, Song Xingqiu was still a member of the nobility and even Song Wenyue’s biological uncle. Shen Qianyan was actually unsure about the current relationship between Song Xingqiu and Song Wenyue. But they both had the surname Song; that much was certain.
While Shen Qianyan’s mind was in a mess, Song Xingqiu understood and asked, “They have started doing this again recently?”
Shen Qianyan nodded. “Yes.”
The current Axelenia had long since divided itself into two groups: the noble students and the scholarship students. Although Shen Qianyan was only in his second year, he had been on the front lines of resisting bullying from Song Wenyue and the others since his first year. Combined with his excellent grades, he had gradually become the leader of the scholarship students. Basically, whenever something happened to the scholarship students, they would tell him. Therefore, Shen Qianyan was very clear about their situation.
Song Xingqiu had also noticed something in the past two days. His class was fine; with him there, the others did not dare to act out. However, occasionally in the hallways, he could see students with odd expressions and shifty eyes. When they saw him coming, their actions would automatically stop.
Song Xingqiu knew these guys would not easily change for the better, but he had not expected the resurgence to come so quickly. It had not even been a full week, yet they were already unable to hold back?