Chapter 16: A Calculated Move
Fu Guanxian walked ahead in silence, and Xiang Yang simply followed behind him.
After walking for a while, Xiang Yang didn't know where they had ended up. She saw Fu Guanxian stop, turn around to look at her, and let out a heavy sigh.
Xiang Yang knew he was in a bad mood. So she lowered her head and said softly, “I'm sorry…”
“What's the point of apologizing?” Fu Guanxian let out another heavy sigh, exasperated, “Xiang Yang, are you really that foolish! In situations like this, can't you just come up with an excuse to fool the teacher?”
“I… I didn't dare!”
“Didn't dare, my foot! You were pretty capable when you were fooling me, weren't you?”
Xiang Yang didn't dare to speak anymore. When had she ever fooled him? Except for that one time when she didn't help him write the reflection letter.
“Here's your phone! If anything happens again in the future, I might not be able to protect you,” he said, throwing the phone into her hands.
Xiang Yang received it, feeling the warmth still lingering on the phone.
She replies softly, “I… I brought it because I wanted to contact you this morning.”
Fu Guanxian snorted coldly and looked down at her, “Oh, now you're being clever, knowing how to argue back? When the teacher was criticizing you, why did you only know how to cry and not say a word?”
Xiang Yang had nothing to say.
Fu Guanxian, feeling flustered, said irritably, “Remember to change your phone password when you get back.”
Xiang Yang said “Oh,” and then asked him, “How do you know my phone password?”
“Didn't you tell me before?”
“That was a long time ago.”
At that time, he wanted to look at her phone, noticed it had a password, and casually asked her about it. She didn't think much and just told him, not expecting him to remember it.
“Fu Guanxian! The teacher is looking for you.” As they stood at the stairway, the top student from the eighth grade came down looking for someone and spotted him, saying, “You should hurry up; the teacher looks quite upset.”
“Upset about what?” Fu Guanxian asked.
The eighth-grade top student replied directly, “It's like a storm is brewing; I guess it's about your essay.”
Fu Guanxian thought for a moment and seemed to piece things together.
When Xiang Yang heard this, she glanced at Fu Guanxian and noticed his expression was slightly restrained. After thinking carefully, she seemed to realize something. Her face suddenly turned pale, “Fu, Fu Guanxian… Could it be…” that the truth had come to light?
Fu Guanxian shot her a glare, “Can you not be such a jinx?”
Xiang Yang immediately shut her mouth, but after just experiencing a terrifying interrogation, she felt very scared.
She was afraid something would happen to Fu Guanxian.
Because she knew that if something happened to her, with Fu Guanxian's intelligence, he might still be able to save her.
But if something happened to Fu Guanxian, how could she help him?
“Fu Guanxian…” Xiang Yang thought for a moment and called out to him.
“What is it?” He turned to look at her.
Xiang Yang's face was pale as she said, “If the teacher asks later, I might just confess that I voluntarily helped you write it, and you didn't want to, then… I'll just consider it as repaying the favor for saving me earlier.”
Fu Guanxian immediately laughed, “Repaying a favor? You think my favors are that easy to repay? Just stay there and don't say a word! If you dare to open your mouth, I'll bring up old scores with you when we get back!”
Xiang Yang bit her lip and didn't dare to speak.
She just wanted to help him.
When they entered the classroom, they saw the tutoring teacher with a clouded expression. She glanced at Fu Guanxian and said flatly, “Fu Guanxian, did you write the essay yourself?”
“Teacher, I wrote it myself,” he admitted without changing his expression.
“You think I can be easily fooled? I saw your handwriting last year, and this handwriting is definitely not yours! Xiang Yang, did you help Fu Guanxian write the essay?”
“Teacher, I…” Xiang Yang tightly grabbed the hem of her uniform, wanting to muster the courage to admit it, but Fu Guanxian interrupted, “Teacher, this really is my own work. If you don't believe me, I can recite both essays for you.”
Xiang Yang looked at Fu Guanxian in surprise.
The eighth-grade top student was also watching Fu Guanxian closely.
The teacher kept her composure and replied, “Alright! Then go ahead and recite.”
Fu Guanxian opened his mouth, “Since ancient times…”
As Xiang Yang listened to him recite a passage, she was utterly astonished. He had looked at the essay she helped him write and memorized it?
He recited the entire piece without any obstacles.
Seeing the teacher's expression soften a bit, Fu Guanxian suddenly smiled and asked proudly, “Teacher, do you need me to recite the second one too?”
The teacher shot him a glare and continued to dig deeper, “Then how do you explain this handwriting? Why is your handwriting exactly the same as Xiang Yang's?”
“Teacher, it's because we attended the same calligraphy tutoring class with the same master.”
The teacher clearly didn't believe him, “I've seen your handwriting before and remember it very well. Your handwriting belongs to the bold style, not this kind of style.”
“Teacher, I can write in many styles; if you don't believe me, I can show you!” Fu Guanxian confidently imitated Xiang Yang's handwriting with a flourish.
As Xiang Yang was surprised, she suddenly realized that her handwriting was indeed taught to her by Fu Guanxian.
She felt a bit embarrassed; Fu Guanxian was better than her at everything.
After writing a passage, Fu Guanxian handed it to the teacher, “Teacher, do you want to continue interrogating us? If we keep going, our tutoring time will be over.”
The teacher glanced at it and saw that what he wrote was the beginning of his second essay. She compared the two and found that there was indeed no difference.
“Fu Guanxian, I know you're very smart, but the teacher hopes you'll be more grounded.”
“Teacher, I understand!”
Fu Guanxian effortlessly resolves this crisis.
During the lesson, Xiang Yang couldn't help but zone out. How did she not realize that Fu Guanxian would surely leave a way out for himself when he asked her to help him with his homework? She had just been so scared that her soul had left her body. Fu Guanxian didn't even give her a heads-up.
Fortunately, it ended without any danger!
“Xiang Yang!” The teacher suddenly called her name.
Xiang Yang subconsciously stands up. Her movements are a bit big, and the chair behind her makes a “whoosh” sound as it bumps against the desk behind it.
Fu Guanxian silently sighs. He doesn't even want to look at her.
“Sorry, Teacher.” Xiang Yang lowers her head, ashamed.
“Focus.”
“Yes.” Xiang Yang sits down, feeling embarrassed.
She's been criticized by the teacher twice in one hour.
Xiang Yang thinks, she should reflect on herself when she gets home.
When Fu Guanxian leaves after class, he sees her seriously discussing the essay questions with the teacher. He waits for a while. When she still hasn't finished, he leaves first.
He thinks, she wouldn't walk with me anyway.
After Xiang Yang finished talking with the teacher, she looked around and realized that Fu Guanxian and the eighth-grade top student had already left early.
She felt a bit disappointed for some reason.
Oh, wait, she should be happy; Fu Guanxian didn't make her write an essay tonight!
It was probably because of the scare from the teacher earlier that Fu Guanxian obediently listened.
However, she felt she had overestimated Fu Guanxian; even if he didn't make her help with the writing, he hadn't written anything himself.
During the last tutoring session, the teacher asked him with a dark expression, “Fu Guanxian, where's your essay?”
“Teacher, it's in my head; how about I recite it for you now?”
The teacher followed his words, “Then go ahead and recite!”
Fu Guanxian truly recited it effortlessly.
In the end, after he finished reciting, the three people present were somewhat incredulous.
Xiang Yang glanced at the teacher's expression; she seemed to be in thought, and then they heard her say, “Hmm, the beginning and ending are good, the transitions are natural, and the sentences are smooth, but…”
Xiang Yang suddenly admired this teacher. While Fu Guanxian was reciting, the teacher listened very carefully and quickly found the strengths and weaknesses of the essay.
On the day of the official competition, Xiang Yang is very nervous. She sits upright in the car, and Fu Guanxian finds her so stiff that he feels tired just looking at her.
In the car, besides the three of them, there was also the director and the teacher leading them.
Fu Guanxian's seat is only a short distance away from hers. He sees that she's so nervous that he can't help but feel sorry for her.
He pulls his jacket up, covering his shoulders, adjusts his posture, changes to a more comfortable sleeping position, closes his eyes and lazily says, “Hey, can't you relax? I'm getting tired just looking at you.”
Xiang Yang glanced at him and found that his relaxed demeanor didn't seem like someone going to a competition at all; it was more like someone going on a vacation.
Meanwhile, the eighth-grade top student was still seriously reviewing example essays.
Xiang Yang wants to read too, but she's afraid that if she reads in the car, her eyes will hurt later, and she'll also get dizzy. So she doesn't dare. She can only wait anxiously.
Fu Guanxian closes his eyes and pretends to say casually, “If you're nervous, just drink some hot water.”
Xiang Yang just had some. She doesn't dare to drink too much. The more nervous she is, the more she wants to use the bathroom.
Students from all the schools in the city have come to participate. The three of them are at different examination halls.
After the exam is over, Xiang Yang steps out of the examination hall and feels like her palms are sweating. She doesn't know the other contestants' levels, so she's uncertain.
But on the way back, she finds that Fu Guanxian is still sleeping all the way, not mentioning anything about the exam.
~~~~~
Translator's Note:
I'd like to express my gratitude to a reader, @dewey, for their valuable feedback.
I completely agree with you. It would be a huge disappointment for Xiang Yang to end up with Fu Guanxian as he is now. His controlling and domineering personality, coupled with his tendency to act impulsively and without considering the consequences, would make for a very unhealthy and unhappy relationship. I truly hope Xiang Yang has the strength and courage to say no to him and choose a partner who respects her boundaries and values her as an individual.
Ultimately, the author's vision will determine how the story unfolds. We can offer our thoughts and hopes, but it's the author who holds the pen and shapes the characters' destinies. And as fellow readers and a translator too, I want to bring this story to a wider audience to enjoy.
Thank you, again! 😇🤗😘
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