Chapter 40

Qiao Rui was petrified upon hearing this, looking as if the end of the world was about to happen.

Yu Na hit him with her book and said, "What's with you? I taught you how to study properly when I was at your house last time. I saw that you learned very quickly."

Qiao Rui thought to himself, of course he learned quickly. With dangers in front and behind, he was sandwiched in the middle - how could he not learn well?

He mumbled quietly, "That was just one time."

"...," Yu Na took out her phone and opened Xiao Chen's WeChat, "Since that's the case, I'll discuss your situation with your brother first."

"No, no don't," Qiao Rui made a fawning gesture to stop her. "If you two chat, it'll just kill my mood."

"Then will you study properly?"

"I will, I will."

Only then did Yu Na put her phone down. "I'll be keeping an eye on your grades in all subjects. If any teacher says you're not paying attention in class, I'll contact your brother immediately. If he can't discipline you, then I'll tell your mother directly."

Qiao Rui felt his once carefree heart crumbling at the edges.

But he still bravely said, "Fine!"

The second evening self-study session had already started.

Yu Na was in no hurry to return to the classroom. She told Qiao Rui, "Go call Song Yan, Hu Yue, Jiang Lin and Zhao Yuhang over."

"No problem!"

Qiao Rui didn't dare act casual with Yu Na anymore, seeing that she was clearly furious right now.

He swiftly fled the office.

Yu Na leaned her elbow on the table, also feeling vexed looking at their terrible grades.

The four people were called over by Qiao Rui, also looking apprehensive.

But Yu Na's attitude towards them was much gentler.

They were hardworking in their studies, especially Hu Yue and Jiang Lin, but their grades just wouldn't go up.

Yu Na's intention in calling them over was the same, just without the scolding part.

She said starting tomorrow, she would be in school every evening self-study session. If they had any questions with their homework, they could come to her anytime. She would also set aside time to give them some individual tutoring.

They had no objections and nodded repeatedly.

Carrying the English exam papers, Yu Na returned to the classroom. The class monitor handed out the papers.

She stood at the lectern and said, "Tomorrow we'll go through the papers. Take a good look at where you went wrong. Starting tomorrow until the final exams, I'll be in school every evening self-study session. If anyone has questions, you can come find me anytime. I also welcome anyone who wants individual tutoring."

She leaned both hands on the lectern and sighed, "I'm always trying to understand all of you. So can you guys try to understand me too? Take a look at your own grades―is this how you repay me?"

The students below shook their heads. "I can't keep indulging you guys like before," Yu Na said. "Starting tomorrow, if you make mistakes, I won't be going easy on any of you anymore."

The students kept their heads bowed, not daring to sigh and complain like they used to.

...

Yu Na sat back down in her seat and opened her laptop.

Just then, a WeChat message popped up suddenly on her computer ― Xiao Chen.

: 【Have you eaten dinner?】

The anger that Yu Na felt earlier seemed to vanish instantly when she saw his message.

It was like her mind was splitting apart.

Yu Na replied: 【Not yet [crying emoji], I was too busy just now】

After sending the reply, she belatedly realized that even through the screen, she could feel the interrogative tone behind Xiao Chen's question.

If she had only sent that one line, he would definitely say she wasn't taking care of herself again.

Thinking of this, Yu Na sent another message: 【There's food at home that I can eat later. I'm not very hungry now anyway】

Xiao Chen didn't respond to that line. Instead, he directly sent:

: 【Come to the north gate later】

Yu Na's breath hitched. Anticipation rose in her heart as she replied: 【What for?】

: 【You'll find out when you get here】

Yu Na: 【Okay】

Luckily she had her laptop blocking the view, otherwise her earlier anger would have clashed greatly with the imperceptible smile surfacing on her face now after receiving his messages.

If any students had caught her like this, it really could have topped the campus' list of socially dead moments.

...

When the evening self-study session was nearing its end, Yu Na went to the office to tidy up.

The moment the bell rang, students swarmed out of campus.

There weren't many students who left by the north gate, and that area was dark too. So Yu Na wasn't worried about getting spotted by anyone.

She openly opened the passenger side door.

When Xiao Chen had left that afternoon, Yu Na was still reluctant to part from that atmosphere. As she watched his retreating figure grow smaller and smaller, what filled her heart alongside anger over the bad grades was an unwillingness over his departure.

After all, they were only friends. The time until their next meeting after every parting was always indefinite.

It might be a week, a month, or like tonight ― merely one evening self-study session apart.

Perhaps it was because the atmosphere between them in the quiet classroom that afternoon had escalated to a high. Coming to her senses afterward and seeing him again now, Yu Na somehow felt a little shy.

It was like the feeling a 17-year-old girl would have upon seeing her crush.

From the backseat, Xiao Chen passed her a simply yet elegantly packaged blue handbag.

At first glance, Yu Na saw a "S·Song Yue" logo printed on the bag. Warmth transmitted into her palm.

She asked, "What's this?"

"Supper."

Yu Na: ? After she finished putting on her seatbelt, Xiao Chen unhurriedly explained, "Our hotel's Cantonese restaurant is updating their menu these two days. Help me take a taste."

"......"

Yu Na turned her lips down slightly in dissatisfaction and muttered, "Using me as a food tester."

Xiao Chen heard clearly her soft complaint just now.

He turned his head back, eyes slightly raised at the corners, suppressing the urge to quirk up the sides of his lips. Casually yet annoyingly, he retorted, "You're getting something good for free and you're still complaining?"

Yu Na scoffed.

All the restaurants under the S Hotel chain were very famous in Chang Wan, receiving endless praise and also known for their sky-high prices.

Even with the bag separating her sense of smell, she could make out the delicious aromas coming from inside.

When they drove past the school gates, Xiao Chen didn't even slow down and continued straight ahead.

Yu Na couldn't help asking, "You're not picking up Qiao Rui?"

Hearing Qiao Rui's name, Xiao Chen let out a contemptuous snort, clearly still unhappy about his exam results, and said through gritted teeth, "With those pitiful two points he scored, does he even deserve it?"

"......"

Yu Na didn't tell Xiao Chen about the upcoming tutoring plans, because she wasn't sure of the results yet either. It would be an even nicer surprise for him when the final scores came out later.

But even with the naked eye, anyone could see Xiao Chen's immense dissatisfaction towards Qiao Rui's academic performance.

When they reached the foot of her apartment building, after he parked the car, Yu Na consoled him, "Don't worry about Qiao Rui's grades. I'll supervise him."

"Hm, if there's still no improvement, then forget it," Xiao Chen said emotionlessly. "If he gets the same pathetic scores again, I'll have his mom take him away. I won't bother with him anymore."

He was serious this time.

Yu Na temporarily set aside this matter and hurried back home to eat supper eagerly.

Inside the bag was a serving of wonton noodles, abalone siu mai, black pepper beef tenderloin, and shrimp dumplings. Right on top, in a separate box, was a serving of fruit.

She was stunned for a second. This late night snack was really...too much, she could almost treat it as breakfast.

The corners of Yu Na's lips quirked up as sweetness suffused her heart.

In the past, she rarely posted on Moments. But for some unknown point, she had developed this habit―

Regarding anything related to him, she would take a photo and post it as a Friends-only Moment.

Hotpot, supermarket, candy and medicine, even the classroom.

All the big and little memories were recorded by her one by one. Sometimes when she browsed through them, those photos could easily pull her back into those memories, allowing her to revisit those scenes as an observer.

It was the same this time too.

She snapped a photo of the packaging bag and the food inside.

Posted on Moment with the caption: Yay~ So yummy~ Happy~

But because she was too hungry right then to wait for the late night snack, when posting the Moment, she forgot to set it to Only-Me visibility by accident.