Lin Jianzhi was so scared she almost had a panic attack!
In over ten days of cram classes, Zhu's father and Zhu's mother had never shown up before. How could they just happen to come back on the day she deliberately dressed up?!
Ah!!!
She wanted to die!
At first, Zhu's mother did not recognize her, until she saw Lin Jianzhi's eyes redden and tears begin to well up. Profound memories caused Zhu's mother to suddenly remember.
"Is that little Jianzhi? My, you've grown into a young lady! Come in, come in!"
Zhu's mother enthusiastically led Lin Jianzhi inside and brought out those exclusive pink slippers for her.
Lin Jianzhi burst into tears!
She really felt like she was going crazy!
Yet Zhu's mother handed her tissues as if it was only natural: "Oh dear, did I startle you? Don't cry, we musn't panic."
Lin Jianzhi: "..."
Ah!!!
She wanted to die!
What kind of impression had she left on her friend's parents?!
Zhu's mother was still comforting her: "Such a pretty young lady, you won't look good if you cry. You're here for cram classes, right? Go ahead and dry those tears."
Upon seeing Lin Jianzhi's tears flow even harder, she quickly changed her tune: "Oh, I misspoke, you look beautiful even when crying, still beautiful!"
Lin Jianzhi: "..."
She had truly lost all face!
She hurriedly calmed herself down, drying her tears while beginning to apologize.
"I'm sorry, auntie!"
Zhu's mother: "Oh you silly girl, what's there to be sorry about! What would you like to eat for lunch and dinner? I'll make it for you."
Lin Jianzhi: "Wu wu, braised pork."
Zhu's mother: "Alright, we'll have meat."
Lin Jianzhi: "Wu wu wu, okay!"
Zhu Liheng was in the middle of writing his thesis when he glanced back to see Lin Jianzhi walking in, big teardrops rolling down her face.
He silently handed her some tissues and gestured for her to sit next to him, before getting up to close the door.
At this point, Lin Jianzhi had no spare attention to flaunt her outfit, crying so hard she was nearly hysterical.
She plopped down on the chair, completely oblivious to the fact that the two chairs were placed rather close together, nearly touching.
Although bawling her eyes out, there were still assignments to finish.
She opened up her bag and took out piles upon piles of test papers, spreading them out on the desk.
She started answering questions amidst sniffles and sobs.
After shutting the door, Zhu Liheng walked over to see Lin Jianzhi already hard at work on math problems, hiccuping all the while.
His gaze lingered on her face for a bit before looking away, unsure what she was so upset about but clearly it had nothing to do with him.
Soon after, he quickly noticed Lin Jianzhi's attire.
A dress?
The top half was a sleeveless white lace while the bottom was a flared pink skirt with accordion pleats that flared slightly above her knees in gentle ruffles.
The color scheme was pleasingly soft on the eyes.
The crying girl remained oblivious to the fact that her flushed cheeks from weeping only enhanced her fair complexion, her nose a small cherry red bud that looked both cute and pitiful.
Her hair neatly pinned to one side, cascading gently over one shoulder.
The slanted bangs were somewhat disheveled but happened to elegantly frame the side of her face right by her ear, evoking an itchy ticklish feeling.
Lin Jianzhi sniffed and wrinkled her nose as she puzzled out math problems, her wailing gradually subsiding amidst the logical deductions.
At this moment Zhu Liheng suddenly asked, "Are there boys chasing you at school?"
"Huh?" Lin Jianzhi jerked her head up in astonishment, unable to believe Zhu Liheng would ask such a question.
Yet at this time Zhu Liheng frowned with unpleasant thoughts running through his mind.
If she went outside like this she'd surely get pestered on the streets for her number right?
Seeing Lin Jianzhi stunned speechless, he asked again, "Who are you close with at school?"
Lin Jianzhi: "I'm on good terms with my classmates."
Zhu Liheng: "The closest?"
Lin Jianzhi: "Um... Chinese class rep Mu Yin, and my homeroom teacher Lang Shu."
Upon hearing this name, Zhu Liheng asked, "Lang Shu? Your homeroom teacher is male?"
Lin Jianzhi: "Yes..."
Zhu Liheng: "I see."
He fell silent.
Lin Jianzhi grew apprehensive for a bit, but seeing he had no follow-up questions, she resumed solving problems.
At lunch time, Zhu's mother called them to eat. She had cooked up a huge platter of braised pork.
Lin Jianzhi felt awfully embarrassed, regretting having blurted out that dish. She didn't expect Zhu's mother would actually make braised pork!
But Zhu's mother seemed to be in a rush herself, leaving with her bag without eating after serving up the food.
With Zhu's father also not home, it was once again just Lin Jianzhi and Zhu Liheng.
At the dining table.
Lin Jianzhi kept her head lowered the entire time, not daring to eat too much either as she took tiny nibbles, highly self-conscious of her manners.
This was her first time sharing a private meal alone with Zhu Liheng.
Just the two of them.
She didn't dare initiate conversation nor glance at the person across from her.
She didn't even dare let her thoughts run wild, afraid that thinking too much would make her blush.
Looking at her, Zhu Liheng found a conversation topic, "Is your homeroom teacher good at math?"
Lin Jianzhi: "Huh??"
She was baffled.
Why did he suddenly ask about her homeroom teacher again?
She nodded blankly, "The teacher's grades are very good."
Zhu Liheng's frown deepened, as if competing, "What about physics?"
Lin Jianzhi was perplexed. "Our liberal arts class doesn't study physics."
Zhu Liheng's momentum deflated as he suddenly felt somewhat foolish.
"Let's eat." He said.
Lin Jianzhi lowered her eyes at the white rice in her bowl, feeling strange.
Why did Zhu Liheng ask these things?
Why did he care about her homeroom teacher...
After the meal.
Lin Jianzhi continued working on math problems. By now she could see through math questions at a glance, no longer mixing up formulas.
She just needed more practice with the solution process, still prone to little mistakes here and there.
After completing a full mock exam paper, Zhu Liheng helped check her work.
Lin Jianzhi got up to take a little break.
A flutter of pinkish-white drifted by from the side, trailing a sweet floral breeze.
Zhu Liheng suddenly turned his head and asked, "Has your homeroom teacher ever chased you?"
Lin Jianzhi was shocked and quickly shook her head: "No! Not possible!"
Zhu Liheng's expression was calm and nonchalant. "Why is it impossible?"
Lin Jianzhi's voice trembled, "My homeroom teacher, he, he's dating Mu Yin..."
"I see." Zhu Liheng turned his head back and continued marking the exam papers.
Lin Jianzhi was frightened stiff, legs gone soft. She had absolutely no clue nor dared guess at Zhu Liheng's motive for asking all these questions about her homeroom teacher, popping up intermittently the entire day!
That extremely handsome side profile was seriously poring over the test paper, marking each mistake.
His hand was captivating to look at, the way he gripped his pen standard form, strokes bold and masterful.
Lin Jianzhi lowered her gaze, the corners of her lips curving up slightly. Her heart felt a little sweet.
Could there be a chance...he cared a tiny bit?
That afternoon, Lin Jianzhi completed two full mock math exam papers under Zhu Liheng's guidance. After verifying her solutions contained no errors, Zhu Liheng helped check over them again.
Her progress was significant. Often Zhu Liheng had barely finished indicating the key points before she instantly grasped where she had gone wrong.
She didn't tire of staying cooped up in this room the entire day.
But at five in the evening when she assumed they would have dinner together, Zhu Liheng began packing up and said, "I need to head to Yanling for a bit."
