They'd all take the monthly exam together. Everyone was busy reviewing. Yun Mi's fingers curled slightly. She whispered to decline, "It's fine... I can just look at the supplementary books and notes myself. Don't bother you guys."
Zhou Shihui wanted to say more, but suddenly Chen Yiyang turned his head and said, "If you know it's a bother, then learn faster."
"?"
The boy's features were indifferent, eyelids slightly drooping, as if stating the most ordinary thing.
"We'll teach for now."
-
y2: What about angle ABF?
y2: Did you draw the auxiliary line but not use it? Just for show?
GrowUpWell: Oh, sorry, I saw it.
GrowUpWell: If you think it's too much trouble, I'll just ask Zhou Shihui.
As the monthly exam approached, English teacher Tan Hua took over evening study time to go over problems.
She had always had a good impression of Yun Mi. This girl got almost everything right in reading comprehension, but made a mess of the vocabulary multiple-choice questions, like a train wreck in a row.
English was about language sense, and Yun Mi's language sense was surprisingly good.
The last time in the office, Tan Hua had casually asked, "Yun Mi, if you catch up, your English scores should be pretty good. Have you lived abroad before?"
"Yes, for a few months."
Tan Hua had thought it was an English-speaking country like the UK or US, but Yun Mi casually mentioned a place name: "Zambia."
"..."
Where was that?
Tan Hua patiently went through the answers one by one, but most of the class had their heads buried in their own review, hardly anyone listening. She frowned slightly, swept her gaze over the window-side seat, and immediately saw a head bowed low, with the faint glow of a phone screen peeking out from the edge of the desk.
Clearly, she was slacking off.
Tan Hua didn't hesitate. She walked over to catch someone in the act, tapping the exam paper with the test paper.
"Thump."
Yun Mi's shoulders jerked in fright. She looked up sharply, a trace of dazed confusion still in her eyes.
Tan Hua narrowed her eyes, her tone turning colder: "What are you doing, Yun Mi?"
"Nothing..."
Yun Mi had originally wanted to curse Chen Yiyang for being so rude. Now all that anger disappeared.
Tan Hua knew exactly what tricks students were up to. Her tone grew half colder: "Nothing?"
She deliberately spoke loudly, just for those who weren't listening.
The classroom instantly quieted down. Everyone perked up their ears.
She reached out and took Yun Mi's phone. The screen was still lit, clearly showing the chat interface, filled with math problems.
Tan Hua's temper flared. Her tone was slow and icy, enunciating each word: "You consider parallel lines. This problem has the same idea as question thirteen on the paper Du Yun went over this morning."
Good heavens, chatting about math secretly in class was one thing, but she even had an accomplice.
Tan Hua scanned the classroom, then glanced at the other person's nickname, her eyes meaningful.
She didn't ask further. She threw the phone back in front of Yun Mi and snorted, "Come to my office after school."
She tapped Yun Mi's desk again. "And bring that accomplice—the one who's teaching you conic sections and is nicknamed 'Big Bad Guy'—along with you."
As soon as the words fell, the classroom erupted in unrestrained laughter.
The continuous amusement made Yun Mi shrink her neck.
Tan Hua turned and walked away. Ding Yuan urgently hissed a whisper: "Yun Mi, who's the 'Big Bad Guy'?"
"Did you get another girl behind my back?"
"Yun Mi, don't pretend you can't hear me!"
Seeing Yun Mi covering her head, cheeks burning, and shrinking into her seat like a mushroom, Ding Yuan simply tore a piece of paper, quickly wrote something, and threw it over.
[Who's the one teaching you math? I haven't seen you close with anyone else.]
Yun Mi was already embarrassed to death. The moment she saw the note, she nearly exploded.
Earlier this evening, Chen Yiyang and Zhou Shihui casually said they'd teach her. She really wanted to understand all the mistakes from the quiz, so she took a shot and asked Chen Yiyang with the mindset of making full use of the time.
She held the pen, the tips of her fingers burning. Gritting her teeth, she fiercely wrote five characters on the note:
[Don't ask. I want to die.]
...
As soon as school ended, Yun Mi obediently packed her schoolbag and went to Tan Hua's office alone.
Ding Yuan waited left and right but never saw the supposed "female classmate." After leaving the school gate, she got her phone from her mother and found something wrong. Her heart skipped a beat. Her expression changed from jealousy to shock and suspicion.
There were 999+ unread messages in the grade group chat.