Chapter 20: Settling Scores
It was no surprise that Qin Mo, the fake aloof guy, would eventually settle scores.
Wen Xia felt the warm breath brushing against her cheek. She instinctively swallowed and tried to slide downward, hoping to escape his arms.
But he only held her tighter. The young man’s eyes lifted slightly as he asked, “Feeling guilty?”
He stared unblinkingly at her fair, slightly flushed face, his clear eyes incredibly bright.
Seventeen-year-old Wen Xia was the epitome of purity, the type of girl boys in their school days adored.
Wen Xia raised her hand and swore, “I didn’t know about Jiang Xu, really!”
“From now on, don’t take his milk tea. If you want to drink, your husband will buy it for you,” Qin Mo said, his expression easing a little.
Wen Xia nodded quickly and added a condition, “And also double-skin milk pudding!”
She looked so adorably cute like this.
Qin Mo’s pupils darkened slightly. He wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned in for a kiss.
Wen Xia let out a “mmm” and gradually wrapped her arms around his neck.
After a few minutes, he let go of her and saw that her cheeks were flushed, with a hint of youth.
For a brief moment, he felt like he was having an affair with an innocent high school girl.
He chuckled softly, bent down to pick up the test papers from the floor, and led her to the desk. “Come, let your husband explain these problems to you.”
He first marked Wen Xia’s test and roughly estimated her score—it was only in the sixties.
It was pretty bad.
Mathematics was generally considered a difficult subject for most students, and poor scores in math often accounted for a significant portion of their struggles.
He quickly analyzed the results. “Your multiple-choice section isn’t too bad, but your performance in the larger questions and fill-in-the-blank sections is weak. I noticed you don’t even know how to apply the basic formulas, and there are even instances of formula confusion.”
“The foundation you built before was too poor, so going over this test paper probably won’t help much.”
“Wait here a moment. I’ll grab the first-year math textbook and go over the commonly used formulas with you.”
A few minutes later, he came back with two math textbooks. After sitting down, he flipped through one of the books and pointed at the table of contents.
“The key topics for first-year math include sets, functions, sequences, plane vectors, and trigonometric functions. Among these, you need to focus on sequences and plane vectors.”
The lecture lasted two to three hours. Neither of them noticed the time passing. Qin Mo patiently explained each formula over and over, while Wen Xia listened attentively, occasionally shaking her head to indicate she didn’t understand.
Just then, Wen De called. Wen Xia finally realized it was already six o’clock. She quickly answered the phone.
After a brief conversation, she hung up and began hurriedly packing up the materials. “I need to head home.”
“Alright, take the first-year textbooks with you. I’ve made notes in mine.”
Qin Mo helped her pack, handing her both textbooks. Before she left, he leaned down to kiss her lightly.
“Don’t stay up too late studying.”
“Okay,” Wen Xia replied before rushing home.
…
When she arrived, Wen De was already in the kitchen cooking. The aroma of a home-cooked meal filled the house. Hearing the door open, he came out of the kitchen and noticed the math textbooks in Wen Xia’s hands. “Where did you go?”
“I went to a classmate’s place for tutoring. There’s an exam on Friday, and my math is terrible,” Wen Xia said with a hint of frustration as she changed her shoes.
This was the first time Wen Xia had proactively mentioned her academic struggles to Wen De since starting high school. Previously, he only learned about her situation through Cao Jun.
He had always known her grades were poor, and it had caused him both headaches and frustration. He didn’t know how to guide her effectively.
He had tried persuading her gently before, but their conversations often ended in arguments within just a few sentences.
Wen De said in a serious tone, “Should I sign you up for a tutoring class this weekend?” Although he was a graduate of a prestigious school, he had forgotten most of the high school material and wasn’t confident about tutoring her himself.
“I was just about to bring that up with you. My first-year foundation is too weak. I need to catch up as soon as possible,” Wen Xia admitted earnestly.
Wen Xia knew she couldn’t rely on Qin Mo to tutor her forever—it would end up delaying his own studies.
Wen De hadn’t expected her to say something like that and was momentarily stunned. He quickly nodded. “Alright, I’ll look into which nearby tutoring centers are good tomorrow.”
…
After cramming first-year math formulas all night, Wen Xia’s head felt heavy. She glanced at the gray sky outside the window, got up, and flopped onto the bed, falling asleep instantly.
She slept until ten o’clock. When she woke up, yawning as she left her bedroom, she saw Wen De sitting on the sofa. Her voice still carried traces of drowsiness. “Dad, you’re not going to the factory today?”
“I have some business to handle near No.2 Middle School this afternoon. I’ll drop you off at school on the way,” Wen De replied.
He shifted his gaze from the newspaper to her. “Don’t stay up late studying anymore. It’s bad for your eyes. Breakfast is kept warm in the kitchen.”
“Thanks, Dad. I’ll call Yan Yan and ask her to go to school with me.”
“Okay.”
Suddenly, Wen Xia realized something—whenever she was home, Wen De seemed to always be there too.
The factory was still in its growth phase and had plenty of work to be done. Wen De never had free time.
Thinking back now, he must have purposely taken time off to keep an eye on her.
She walked over to sit beside Wen De, wrapped her arms around him, and grinned. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll study hard and take care of you when you’re old.”
“Go eat your breakfast,” Wen De said, a bit helpless at her childlike behavior, but there was a hint of warmth in his heart.
“Okay, Dad.”
Wen Xia playfully saluted him before skipping off to the kitchen for breakfast.
As she was eating, her phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number. Out of habit, she declined the call, but it rang three more times.
She finally answered, “Hello?”
“Wen Xia, it’s me, Jiang… Jiang Xu,” came the voice of a boy on the other end.
It was obvious without even thinking—Jiang Yan must have given Jiang Xu her phone number.
Jiang Yan, just you wait. When we get back to school, I’ll make you “pay.”
Wen Xia took a bite of her bun. “What’s up?”
“Well… someone gave me… gave me two movie tickets. I was wondering if you’d… you’d like to go watch with me?” Jiang Xu stammered nervously, completely betraying his current anxiety.
Since he hadn’t explicitly said he liked her, Wen Xia couldn’t bluntly say she didn’t like him either. She politely declined, “I can’t. My dad’s taking me shopping for clothes later. You should ask someone else. Sorry about that.”
Wen De glanced up at her.
On the other end, Jiang Xu sounded disappointed. “It’s okay.”
Wen Xia quickly ended the call and, while sipping her porridge, sent a text to Jiang Yan.
[Jiang Yan, you’re dead meat when we get back to school!
P.S.: You’re riding with me and Old Wen to school this afternoon.]
It took a while before Jiang Yan replied, her message clearly trying to butter her up:
[Xia Xia, my mom packed me a jar of fermented tofu. I’ll give you more than half.]
Wen Xia chuckled and quickly typed back:
[Too late. Get ready, clean up, and prepare to “suffer!”]
After that, she ignored her phone.
Once she finished eating, Wen Xia snuggled on the couch with Wen De, pulling out a book of must-memorize classical Chinese passages for high school. She started reciting softly.
Suddenly, Wen De put down his newspaper and said, “Come with me to buy a few pieces of clothing.”
Wen Xia was still mumbling, “Alas, what perilous heights! The road to Shu is harder than scaling the sky afar—”
She froze for a moment, not registering what he said right away, and looked at him blankly.
