Chapter 12
At the end of the first class, Lin Xiu was called out by the English teacher. Chi Aibei kicked the leg of the chair in front of him. “Class monitor.”
Knowing that Lin Xiu found out he tutored the seemingly intellectually challenged student, Jiang Yu felt a little embarrassed. Hearing the seemingly intellectually challenged student call him “gege,” he felt uncomfortable. He turned around. “My name is Jiang Yu.”
Chi Aibei: “Oh, Jiang Yu-gege.”
Jiang Yu: “…” Why does it sound even more intimate?
Chi Aibei didn’t dwell on the address. He leaned in. “Did you make Brother Lin Xiu angry? He seems a little unwilling to talk to you.”
Jiang Yu thought, you have the nerve to ask. Isn’t it because of you?
Besides not giving Lin Xiu face yesterday and showing his dislike for Chi Aibei, Jiang Yu couldn’t think of anything else that would upset him. But he had tutored the seemingly intellectually challenged student all night, so that should be settled.
Chi Aibei was determined to make them friends to ensure Lin Xiu’s future safety, but the situation seemed a little off. “Jiang Yu-gege, are you and Brother friends?”
Jiang Yu was stumped. Because of his personality, he hadn’t made many friends since childhood. He didn’t know the definition of a friend. He and Lin Xiu got along well, whether in terms of academics or personality, but neither of them had explicitly said, “You’re my friend.”
Jiang Yu said, “I guess so. At least, I consider him one.”
He said this frankly. After observing him last night, Chi Aibei felt that Jiang Yu at this time wasn’t entirely cold and ruthless, that he could still be salvaged.
Chi Aibei said, “I have a secret about Brother. Do you want to know?”
Seeing Chi Aibei’s expression—the same as when he’d said “I have something good” last night—Jiang Yu wasn’t particularly interested, but hearing it was about Lin Xiu…
Jiang Yu: “What secret?”
Chi Aibei looked around, covering his mouth with one hand and whispering, “Actually, Brother is distancing himself from you because he’s afraid you’ll be sad.”
Jiang Yu didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”
Chi Aibei said ominously, “Brother is going to drop out of school. He told me himself.”
Jiang Yu froze. “Drop out?”
Chi Aibei nodded. “He’s probably afraid you’ll be disappointed when he leaves, so he’s distancing himself before he does, so you can get used to it.”
This sounded like nonsense; Jiang Yu didn’t believe it. “Why would he drop out for no reason?”
Chi Aibei: “You might not know, but Brother’s family isn’t well-off. He only has a grandmother, and she’s sick. She’s in a nursing home. Do you know how much a year in a nursing home costs?”
Chi Aibei didn’t want others to know about Lin Xiu’s family situation, but Jiang Yu was an exception; he was the only person who wouldn’t look down on Lin Xiu for being poor.
Having just heard from Lin Xiu yesterday about being sponsored by Chi Aibei’s brother, Jiang Yu didn’t doubt him. “Your family is sponsoring his schooling; why not help his grandmother?”
Chi Aibei: “We wanted to, but Brother refused.”
Jiang Yu: “Why refuse? He accepted your family’s help, didn’t he?”
Chi Aibei thought, this guy is really hard to fool! So many questions!
Chi Aibei: “He could change his mind at any time. He’s already thinking about dropping out, and now he’s acting this way towards you, Jiang Yu-gege. Don’t you think Brother might go astray if he drops out?”
The phrase “go astray” sparked imagination. Although Jiang Yu looked down on those who sold themselves and others for money, he also knew that money could sometimes be everything.
Chi Aibei didn’t want to hear him ask any more questions, directly stating his goal. “Brother only has you as a friend besides me at school. You have to be nice to Brother. Having more friends might make him reluctant to drop out.”
Jiang Yu looked at him… What do you mean, “only you as a friend besides me,” you put yourself first?
However, thinking about his words, they weren’t unreasonable. Jiang Yu was about to ask how to be proactive when he saw Lin Xiu walking in through the back door.
Chi Aibei had fabricated this story. Seeing Lin Xiu enter, he frantically winked at Jiang Yu, urging him not to ask in front of Lin Xiu or he’d be exposed!
Lin Xiu saw Chi Aibei’s frantic blinking. “What’s wrong with your eyes?”
Chi Aibei rubbed his eyes. “I think I got sand in them.”
Lin Xiu glanced at Jiang Yu, wondering what they were up to. “Where’s the sand in the classroom?”
Jiang Yu lacked social skills and didn’t notice Chi Aibei’s almost-sparking eyes. He looked at Lin Xiu, about to ask if he was planning to drop out, when Chi Aibei suddenly reached out, his finger almost touching Jiang Yu’s throat—
“Him!” Chi Aibei said. “He brought it in! He’s throwing sand in the classroom!”
Jiang Yu: “???”
…
During break time, Lin Xiu, as the student representative, was called to the stage to speak. Chi Aibei took the opportunity to sneak behind Jiang Yu. Jiang Yu was tall, standing at the back of the line, and Chi Aibei stood behind him, completely hidden.
Jiang Yu: “Not afraid of me throwing sand anymore?”
Chi Aibei was exasperated. He had never seen someone with such low social intelligence as Jiang Yu. Ignoring the fact that those words were a deliberate act of self-pity, even if they were true, could that be asked in front of others?
He had previously suspected that Jiang Yu might have a crush on Lin Xiu, but now it seemed he was overthinking. He was simply a straight man, a straight man made of steel!
Chi Aibei said, “Don’t talk nonsense in front of Brother. Doesn’t Brother care about his face?”
Jiang Yu snorted. “You can talk nonsense, but I can’t?”
Chi Aibei rolled his eyes behind his back. “Do you still want to be friends with Brother? If not, I won’t help you!”
Jiang Yu looked back at him. “Do I need your help?”
Chi Aibei raised an eyebrow—
Fine, you said it!
He wanted to see what brilliant ideas this simpleton would come up with to reconcile with Lin Xiu!
When Lin Xiu returned to the line, Chi Aibei was no longer behind Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu looked at Lin Xiu standing in front of him, trying to say something, but he couldn’t find any meaningful topics. He suddenly envied Chi Aibei’s ability to chat with Lin Xiu anytime, anywhere.
…
Until school ended at night, Jiang Yu hadn’t spoken to Lin Xiu.
Lin Xiu didn’t come to evening self-study again, but Chi Aibei arrived earlier than yesterday. As soon as he entered the classroom, he felt Jiang Yu’s gaze, but he ignored him, walking directly to his seat.
Chi Aibei took out his homework and tapped Lin Yang’s shoulder. “Lin Yang, can you help me with these problems?”
Lin Yang turned around, pointing at his nose in confusion. “Me?”
Lin Yang glanced at Jiang Yu—What’s going on? The perennial number two has only been on the job for a day and is already stepping down, and it’s now number nine’s turn?
Jiang Yu frowned at Chi Aibei asking someone else for help. He hadn’t spoken to Lin Xiu all day, and now the seemingly intellectually challenged student wasn’t talking to him either. He already regretted his earlier stubbornness in front of the seemingly intellectually challenged student.
He turned around. “I’ll help you.”
Jiang Yu offered to tutor him, and Chi Aibei didn’t refuse. He wasn’t stupid; free tutoring, why not?
Jiang Yu sat next to Chi Aibei, just like last night, until the test paper was finished, without hearing the seemingly intellectually challenged student mention Lin Xiu once.
Jiang Yu felt like he was being sidelined. He opened his mouth. “Um… Lin Xiu…”
Chi Aibei looked up, calmly watching him.
Jiang Yu finally understood what it meant to shoot oneself in the foot. Why did he have to be so mouthy!
Jiang Yu sighed. “What should I do?”
Chi Aibei propped his chin on his hand, glancing at him. “Are you begging me?”
Jiang Yu had already conceded; he couldn’t bring himself to say the word “beg.” “If you think it doesn’t matter whether he drops out or not, forget I said anything.”
Chi Aibei clicked his tongue. “Your personality is so awkward, no wonder you don’t have any friends.”
Lin Yang, sitting in front, eavesdropping intently: !!! Goodness, the seemingly intellectually challenged student has a new stunt every day. What a daring statement!
Jiang Yu didn’t get angry. He knew he had a bad personality, and it was true that he didn’t have any friends.
To avoid disturbing others, Chi Aibei started communicating with Jiang Yu through a notebook, which frustrated Lin Yang, who could no longer eavesdrop.
Chi Aibei—【Start bringing Brother breakfast tomorrow.】
Jiang Yu frowned—【Is his family really that poor? Can’t they afford breakfast?】
Chi Aibei glanced at him—【The first step to being kind to someone is to make them feel warm. Do you understand warm?】
Jiang Yu—【…Okay, then what should I bring him.】
Chi Aibei thought, you’re asking me this? You’re useless except for studying, aren’t you?
Chi Aibei went the extra mile—【Anything is fine, but homemade is better. It shows more sincerity.】