Chapter 40: Confrontation

It was the middle of November. A cold front had recently swept down from the north, causing temperatures to plummet from the high twenties to the mid-teens. The students of Chunhua High School were all bundled up in their winter uniforms.

After the third period, the long recess began, offering twenty minutes of downtime. Typically, students would head downstairs for group exercises, but with midterm exams scheduled for the next four days, the school had mercifully suspended them for the week.

Lu You packed away the textbook from his previous class and pulled a mock mathematics exam paper from his binder. With two consecutive math periods coming up, he intended to finish the entire paper. Over the past three months of relentless practice, he had fully grasped the scope of the college entrance exam’s mathematics section, and his speed and accuracy had improved significantly. He was now consistently scoring around 130 points; any further improvement would require the slow, steady grinding of effort that couldn't be rushed.

As for the sciences, he could nearly max out physics, but biology and chemistry were still far from the required level; he had only just finished mastering the first year’s curriculum. Considering he hadn't attended high school in his previous life, having to learn these two subjects from scratch, mastering a full year’s worth of content in three months was already quite an achievement. As for English and Chinese, he could handle them with his eyes closed. The former was a breeze at 140-plus, while for the latter, he had largely given up—he would memorize the texts and analyze the classical Chinese passages, leaving the rest to fate.

Just then, a hand clapped onto Lu You’s shoulder, and Meng Yi’s voice came from above. "Let's go. To the tuck shop."

Lu You turned his head. "Old Liang, do you need me to pick up anything for you?"

"Get me a corn bun and a Malay cake." With that, Yuan Wenliang reached out, took Lu You’s water bottle, and stood up to go refill it. It was a silent understanding they had developed over two months of sitting together: if one went on an errand, the other would help with the water.

As the two stepped out of the teaching building, a chilling gust of wind made them shiver in unison.

"Man, this is brutal. I was still sleeping in shorts and a t-shirt last night, and I woke up freezing in the middle of the night," Meng Yi complained, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets.

"They say it’ll be even colder tomorrow. You’ll need a windproof helmet, or you might die halfway here in the morning. Walk faster—is the cold supposed to be fun?" Lu You urged.

"Alright, alright, don't be so impatient." Meng Yi caught up quickly and asked, "Are you confident about the midterms tomorrow?"

"It’s just a midterm, not the college entrance exam. I’ll just wing it," Lu You replied casually.

At the words "wing it," Meng Yi’s expression turned resentful. "You said you were going to 'wing it' during the physical fitness test, and look how that turned out."

"Uh..." Lu You looked slightly embarrassed. "Well, everyone’s standards are different, so the level of 'winging it' varies too."

"Just give me a straight answer."

Lu You did some mental math. "Don't worry, at best I’ll only score seven hundred something."

"Seven hundred? That’s way too low." There were nine subjects in the first semester of the tenth grade, with a total of 1,050 points. Scoring only seven hundred was indeed low, especially since the material was still relatively shallow. Even if he wasn't aiming for over a thousand, he should at least be hitting nine hundred.

"That’s just my level. Can't help it."

"It’s fine. The goddess tutors you every Saturday; you’ll definitely score higher than that. Have some confidence."

Hearing Tang Wan referred to as a "goddess" always gave Lu You a strange feeling. Half a semester into the school year, Tang Wan’s reputation had spread throughout the campus. Beautiful, sweet-voiced, and a student in the advanced rocket class—it was impossible for her not to attract attention. Among the boys, her popularity was off the charts. The fact that she tutored Lu You had sparked rumors for a while, but since they only interacted on Saturday evenings and were rarely seen together otherwise, the gossip had eventually fizzled out.

"A goddess is still a human being. She can't turn my seven-hundred-level performance into a nine-hundred-level one."

"Shut up, you dog!" Meng Yi glared at him. "Don't play coy when you’ve got it so good. If you let her tutor me, I could rank first in the grade."

"She makes her own decisions. How could I make her do anything?"

"Sigh, someone like the goddess must be so gentle when teaching," Meng Yi mused, his eyes glazing over in a daydream.

That was debatable. Lu You recalled a time he’d pretended not to understand a math problem just to ask Tang Wan. She had taken the paper, scanned it once, scribbled the steps in seconds, and handed it back, saying, "Look through the steps yourself, and ask me if there’s anything you don't get." Of course, Lu You understood every bit of it, so he just had to say he’d followed the logic.

When they arrived at the tuck shop, seeing the crowded scene, they decided to split up.

"I’m going inside to get some fish snacks. What do you want?" Meng Yi asked.

"Get me a carton of Yantang pure milk. What about the outside stall?" Lu You asked.

"Buy me a sticky rice chicken. I’m off."

Although the steamers outside were surrounded by people, the transactions were quick. Within moments, Lu You had gathered everything: a bag of bread and Malay cake for Yuan Wenliang, the sticky rice chicken for Meng Yi, and his own eggs and steamed dumplings.

He walked over to a vacant spot and leaned against the wall to wait. Occasionally, a girl would walk by and glance back at him. He was actually quite popular among the girls himself, though he was oblivious to it, and his low-profile nature kept him from being the center of attention.

Just then, a tall, thin boy with thick bangs and a somewhat handsome face walked up to him, flanked by two other boys. With a strange smile, he spoke with an air of forced familiarity. "Classmate Lu, long time no see."

Lu You was confused. "Who are you?"

"I’m Shao Ling. You remember me, right?"

"Sorry, I have no recollection of you," Lu You replied apologetically.

Shao Ling’s smile stiffened. He took a deep breath and offered a patient prompt: "You know, the military training? We both went up on stage to sing."

"Apologies." Lu You only remembered those few people; the rest had long since faded from his memory.

"It’s fine," Shao Ling said, dismissing it. "Let's just say we’re meeting for the first time."

"What do you want with me?" Lu You asked, getting straight to the point.

"We’re all classmates. I saw you were alone, so I thought I’d come over and chat."

Lu You looked around. "There are plenty of other people standing alone. Why come to me? Just say what you came to say."

Seeing that his ruse had been seen through, Shao Ling didn't act embarrassed; instead, he admitted it readily. "Alright, I do have a favor to ask. I’m not sure if you’ll agree."

Lu You’s eyes held a hint of amusement, though he maintained his politeness, a smile still on his face. "What is it?"

"A very small, very simple thing. You’ll definitely be able to handle it."

"Tell me what it is first. Whether I agree or not is up to me." Lu You’s face went blank, and his tone turned flat.

Shao Ling looked around, lowered his voice, and asked, "I heard you’re quite close with the campus beauty from Class Two. Is that true?"

Lu You’s eyes remained indifferent. "I don't know any 'campus beauty'."

"Hey, don't play dumb. Tang Wan from Class Two. The one who tutors you every Saturday night." He gave a knowing look.

"And?" Lu You wanted to see what he was planning.

"Can you call her out and introduce us? Don't tell me you won't even agree to that?" Shao Ling pressed, clearly worried he might refuse.

Lu You didn't answer. He looked up at the azure sky and said, out of the blue, "The sky is so blue today."

Shao Ling was baffled. He looked up too and said, "It’s blue, sure, but what does that have to do with what I’m saying?"

"Exactly." Lu You withdrew his gaze and looked at him coldly. "So, what does my knowing Tang Wan have to do with you?"

Shao Ling’s temper flared. He dropped the act, showing a look of disdain. "Can't get her to agree, huh? Why all the stalling if you’re as close as you claim?"

Lu You realized what kind of person he was. He crossed his arms and prepared for a verbal sparring match.

"Whether I can or not is none of your business. As for whether we’re close, do I really need your validation?"

"Are you that stingy?" Shao Ling raised his voice. "Are you secretly in love with Tang Wan?"

The surrounding students were immediately drawn to the noise. Nearby, Tang Wan, who was sitting in the shade eating rice noodles with Xu Nian, seemed to hear her name. She looked up toward the source of the sound.

"Did someone just call my name?"

"Did they?" Xu Nian looked up as well.

Tang Wan recognized the boy leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as Lu You, though it was the first time she had seen such a cold expression on his face. Xu Nian narrowed her eyes to see more clearly and said uncertainly, "Looks like they’re arguing over there, right?"

Tang Wan had already set her bowl aside and was walking quickly toward them. "Niannian, I’m going to check it out."

Xu Nian swallowed her mouthful of noodles and hurried after her.

...

Lu You sneered. "Did you gargle with laxatives this morning? Spitting out nothing but crap?"

"I was just asking for a small favor. If you don't want to help, just say no, there’s no need to be so excessive," Shao Ling raised his voice again, playing the victim as he saw more eyes turning toward them.

"You’ve got a real future as a BBC reporter—taking things out of context and twisting facts is your specialty," Lu You retorted, refusing to back down. "Besides, am I your father? Should I jump every time you ask for a favor? If you think so highly of yourself, try looking in a mirror. If you don't have a brain, eat some walnuts and see if it grows. If you don't have the capital, stop trying to act like a rich villain from a novel."

"You..." Shao Ling was furious, struggling for words.

Lu You cut him off. "Forget it. Talking to an idiot like you is a waste of time." With that, he walked into the crowd and vanished.

Shao Ling was left fuming with nowhere to vent. Even if he had a thousand insults, the other party simply wouldn't listen, making him look like the fool. He slammed his hand against the wall and cursed. The two boys behind him just exchanged glances and ignored him.

Lu You had left so quickly because he had spotted Tang Wan in the crowd; he’d rather spend a minute with her than waste time on a confrontation.

Tang Wan looked at Lu You in surprise. "How did you get here so fast? I only just arrived."

"I don't deign to converse with idiots. I’m afraid it’ll lower my IQ," Lu You said with a smile.

"What were you arguing about? I thought I heard my name. Does it involve me?"

"He said some things that made me very unhappy, so we started shouting."

"You seem to have enjoyed the argument, though."

"It was alright," Lu You shrugged. "Just a bit of casual entertainment."

Just then, the warning bell rang. Their expressions shifted simultaneously, and without another word, they both turned and jogged toward the classroom.