Chapter 51 Part 1

Shen Yuze wasn’t joking. That day when the principal called them to the office to discuss the situation, the principal had mentioned letting Shen Yuze focus on preparing for the upcoming English competition, so he didn’t need to come during the monthly exam days. Lu Ping had been too busy devouring his honey oranges at the time and hadn’t heard a word of it.

But it didn’t matter. He hadn’t heard it then, but hearing it now was the same.

The monthly exam had originally been scheduled for the previous week, but a typhoon had hit, and no one had the mind to study or take tests, so it got postponed by a week.

Sure enough, over those three days of the exam, Shen Yuze didn’t show up on campus.

Chen Miaomiao was quite the gossip and came running to ask Lu Ping why Shen Yuze had taken leave.

Lu Ping said sourly, “He didn’t take leave. The principal told him to stay home and prepare for the English competition in peace. He doesn’t have to take the monthly exam.”

“English competition?!” Chen Miaomiao reacted. “You mean the citywide high school speech contest? The one where Senior Meng Xin is hosting?”

Lu Ping nodded.

The English speech contest had been held for several years already, and this was its tenth edition. The venue was the auditorium at Experimental Middle School. Jiaojiang Experimental Middle School was another longstanding prestigious school in the area, locked in fierce rivalry with No. 1 High School. The two schools competed over everything from faculty quality to student sources, facilities to intangible aspects, top gaokao scores to undergraduate admission rates… In short, the rivalry was intense.

No. 1 High School’s uniforms were blue and white, while Experimental Middle School’s were red and white—like fire and water, clearly divided. If students from the two schools ran into each other on the way home, they’d definitely exchange a few massive eye-rolls.

Chen Miaomiao had always had a strong sense of school pride. She immediately declared, “I remember the contest is this weekend? Not sure if it’s morning or afternoon, but Lu Ping, let’s go to Experimental Middle School together to cheer Shen Yuze on!”

Lu Ping had planned to do that anyway, even without her saying it. However…

He asked suspiciously, “It’s an English speech contest. Are you sure you can understand it?”

“Don’t underestimate me!” Chen Miaomiao put her hands on her hips proudly. “I’ve hired a foreign college student as my tutor, and we have lessons twice a week! Let me tell you, once the English exam results come out, just wait for me to dominate the whole grade!!”

She brimmed with confidence, puffing up like a hot air balloon. Lu Ping quickly grabbed her braid, afraid she’d float away.

The grading for the monthly exam was fast; the scores for all subjects came out that very evening after the tests.

Chen Miaomiao’s English score did indeed “dominate”—out of a perfect 150, she scored just one point. She’d forgotten to write her name on the answer sheet, so none of her multiple-choice questions counted—fifteen points were all from the final essay questions. Even though they couldn’t recover the lost multiple-choice score, getting only 15 out of 35 on the writing section meant her choices were probably dismal…

Chen Miaomiao cried so hard she hiccuped and apparently got a solid beating at home.

But putting others aside for now, once Lu Ping got the grade rankings, he immediately hunted for his name. The liberal arts track had only three classes per grade. His scores were usually mid-tier; the other subjects were decent, but English always dragged him down, several points below the grade average every time. This round, though, his English had caught up to the average—and even surpassed it by a good margin!!

For the first time since starting high school, his English broke 100 points!!

With such huge progress, the first person he wanted to thank was Shen Yuze, who had gotten him the secret prep materials from Capital Ju Wang High School and even made time for one-on-one tutoring. Without that, Lu Ping’s English couldn’t have jumped so many points.

He usually told his parents his monthly exam scores right away, but this time, his first move was to text Shen Yuze the good news.

Lu Ping: !!!

Lu Ping: Guess whose English score skyrocketed this time, jumping fifteen points in one go?

Lu Ping: (0▽0)

Ever since Lu Ping and Shen Yuze set up their (crossed out) couple (crossed out) “daddy and good son” text package, Lu Ping had let loose, spamming meaningless emoticons without worrying about fees.

Shen Yuze: ……

Shen Yuze: Ruling out one wrong answer first—I wasn’t at school, so it can’t be me.

Lu Ping: Hehehe~

Lu Ping: It’s the diligent, outstanding, brave, and clever Niangao Prince himself~

Shen Yuze: Calling yourself ‘Prince’—your face is getting as thick as niangao.

Lu Ping: Nonono, my niangao has thin skin and big filling, not thick at all~

Lu Ping was thrilled and sent Shen Yuze screenshots of all his subject scores. The others were stable as always, but English had leaped ahead dramatically, boosting his grade ranking several spots from mid-pack to mid-upper.

Lu Ping: Don’t worry, your scores will get that good too from now on!

Shen Yuze slowly replied with a question mark.

Shen Yuze: ?

Shen Yuze: You haven’t forgotten who gave you those English study guides, right?

Lu Ping: Don’t worry, I could never forget!

Lu Ping: I also won’t forget a certain someone’s heroic feat of skipping the monthly exam twice~

Shen Yuze: ……

Lu Ping just couldn’t go without being cheeky.

Shen Yuze found texting back and forth too cumbersome and simply called him.

Lu Ping picked up in surprise. “We were chatting fine over text—why the sudden call? Phone fees aren’t free, you know?”

“Even if there are fees, it’s on my end. You just answering doesn’t cost anything,” Shen Yuze replied.

“Oh right!” Lu Ping leaned back in his chair, kicked off the floor, and spun away from the desk, twirling freely in his bedroom. “Since you’re paying, we can chat longer then.”

Shen Yuze: “…” How had he never noticed Lu Ping’s double standards before?

Lu Ping asked, “Oh yeah, I have something to ask you.”

“What?”

“When exactly is the English contest? Morning or afternoon? I’m going to cheer you on.”

“No need.” Shen Yuze’s voice came through the receiver. “It’s just a low-challenge English contest anyway—a formality. I’ll take first whether you’re there or not. Besides, don’t you have a hospital follow-up this weekend? Go take care of that in peace. Don’t worry about me.”

From anyone else, that would sound arrogant; from Shen Yuze, it was pure confidence.

Of course, Lu Ping didn’t want to miss Shen Yuze’s contest. “No way. If you’re guaranteed first, I have to go watch live! I’ll tell everyone around me: See that? The handsomest guy on stage is my desk mate!”

A soft chuckle came from the other end. “Just a desk mate?”

“How else should I introduce you?” Lu Ping felt he hadn’t said anything wrong.

“…Don’t ask me that.” Shen Yuze’s low voice carried over the line. It was strange—Lu Ping had heard it thousands of times before, but filtered through the phone, it gained an inexplicable magnetism.

The voice poured into Lu Ping’s ears like a shock; even his earlobes went numb.

Lu Ping yanked the phone away to cool down, rubbing his ears to calm himself—but the more he rubbed, the redder they got.

“Don’t say weird stuff like that all the time—I don’t get it,” Lu Ping raised his voice to cover his fluster. “Worst case, I’ll just tell the crowd you’re my good son and I’m your good daddy!”

Shen Yuze laughed, exasperated by his shamelessness.

“Fine, if you really want to watch, you can.” Shen Yuze said, “My event’s Sunday afternoon. Sunday morning, I’ll have the driver pick you up. We’ll go to the hospital for your checkup together, grab lunch, then you can come with me to the contest in the afternoon.”

He settled the weekend plans in a few sentences. Lu Ping wanted to say he could go to the hospital alone, but Shen Yuze insisted on accompanying him, so Lu Ping had no choice but to accept the kindness.

……

Sunday arrived in the blink of an eye.

After more than half a month’s rest, Lu Ping’s butt wasn’t as sore anymore. Aside from still needing a small cushion in class, walking and other activities were no big issue.

He’d planned to head to the hospital by himself, but Shen Yuze insisted on coming to North Shore to pick him up.

At 8:30 a.m., the familiar Cayenne pulled up slowly outside the Lu family home. The driver got out, respectfully opened the rear door, and a tall, slender young man stepped down.

The Lu family was having breakfast. Yesterday was Saturday with the Grand Market, so Lu Dad and Lu Mom had been busy all day and were taking the day off at home. Lu Ping heard the commotion at the door, slipped on his slippers while holding half-eaten food pancake roll, and went out to greet him. But when he pushed open the courtyard gate, Shen Yuze’s appearance blinded him.

An autumn breeze ruffled the young man’s hair. He wore a custom-tailored suit that accentuated his tall, lean figure and long, straight legs. His hair was styled lightly with gel, revealing sharp, knife-like features and an air of effortless poise.