novelraw Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Chapter 43 So BoldQin Qing stood at the front door of the Class 7 classroom for second-year students, looking somewhat puzzled at the student in front of her.
“You just need to give this note to him.”
The student shook his head helplessly. “It’s not that I don’t want to help you, but just this afternoon, Lin Wentao told the class that if anyone brings him answers to problems, we shouldn’t pass them on. He said he’ll come and get them himself.”
Qin Qing frowned slightly. “Why?”
“I don’t know… But don’t worry, he just went to the restroom and should be back soon—oh! Lin Wentao!”
The student speaking to Qin Qing suddenly noticed a figure approaching from behind her and waved his arm excitedly.
Seeing that Lin Wentao had noticed them, the student grinned mischievously at him.
“Hey, the new student from Class 6 is here to see you—I held her up for you. How’s that? Pretty loyal, right?”
Lin Wentao walked over and playfully punched the student.
“All right, I’ll treat you to a meal sometime.”
Then, he turned to the girl, who still looked somewhat confused.
“You finished the problem I gave you already? That fast?”
Qin Qing, although puzzled about why he insisted on speaking with her in person, didn’t overthink it. She simply smiled and handed the worksheet over.
“Yeah. I finished my homework halfway through the last self-study session, so I used the remaining time to try your problem.”
“How did you find the problem?” Lin Wentao smiled as he took the worksheet, glancing at the neat handwriting, and asked.
After quickly scanning the paper, he looked up again. “Especially compared to the last problem, haven’t I improved quite a bit in problem setting?”
Qin Qing paused, considering her answer carefully.
Then, she slowly and methodically responded, counting on her fingers, “There are two misleading and confusing trap conditions in the problem. There’s a turning point in the solution process, which, if missed, makes the problem difficult to solve. But once you overcome that turning point, the solution becomes pretty straightforward.”
Lin Wentao shook his head with a smile. “As expected, I couldn’t stump you.”
Qin Qing didn’t reply, but her crescent-shaped eyes clearly showed she was in a bright mood.
“Oh, by the way,” Qin Qing suddenly remembered, “Did you need something from me? That student just now said you insisted on receiving the note in person.”
“…Yes, there is something.”
Lin Wentao’s eyes flickered.
Facing the girl’s curious gaze, he changed what he was about to say, a smile reappearing on his face.
“I carefully reviewed your solution to the problem I gave you last time. However, your method is slightly different from mine. I thought we could discuss our approaches.”
“A different method?”
Qin Qing’s eyes lit up, and she smiled softly. “Sure, let’s compare our methods and see which one is more straightforward. We can learn from each other!”
Lin Wentao’s smile deepened, and a mysterious emotion flickered in his eyes. “Do you have time next period? If so, let’s discuss it in the reading room during the next self-study session.”
Qin Qing instinctively wanted to nod but suddenly remembered how Wen Yufeng seemed a bit upset after she helped the school heartthrob Yu Wen with a problem.
…”You’re only allowed to teach me”…
That deep voice seemed to echo in her ears.
Qin Qing sighed softly.
Although this wasn’t exactly the same situation, for some reason, she still felt guilty and couldn’t bring herself to nod.
Just as Qin Qing was struggling to find a suitable excuse to decline Lin Wentao’s offer, she suddenly heard a lazy voice from above the back of her head—
“Sorry about that.” Wen Yufeng placed one hand on Qin Qing’s shoulder, pulling her back a step and increasing the distance between her and Lin Wentao.
He then narrowed his eyes slightly, tilting his head as he looked at Lin Wentao with a half-smile.
“She’s my exclusive tutor; no sharing.”
The boy’s tone was casual and teasing, but those dark eyes of his seemed to hide the sharpness of two blades.
Even making brief eye contact was enough to send chills down someone’s spine.
“…”
The smile on Lin Wentao’s face gradually faded after Wen Yufeng’s appearance and the words that followed.
After a long moment of silent eye contact, he finally smiled again and shifted his gaze back to Qin Qing—
“Did Qin Qing agree to this?”
Qin Qing, who had been a bit flustered by Wen Yufeng’s sudden appearance and actions, was now back to her senses.
Hearing Lin Wentao’s question, Qin Qing hesitated, frowning slightly.
…Did she agree at that time?
It didn’t seem like it, did it?
Just as she was pondering this, she felt the boy standing beside her lower his gaze.
Qin Qing instinctively looked up at him.
The hand that had been on her shoulder now hung down, and Wen Yufeng lowered his eyes, making direct eye contact with her as he leaned in close to her ear—
“Can’t you refuse?”
Qin Qing frowned slightly. “But—”
The warm breath near her ear was accompanied by a low, raspy chuckle.
“How about I beg you?”
“…”
Qin Qing widened her eyes in shock at him, only coming back to her senses when Wen Yufeng slowly straightened up.
This guy… was really breaking all the rules!
Even though she knew he was probably doing it on purpose, Qin Qing couldn’t stop the flush from spreading across her cheeks.
“If you don’t say anything, I’ll take that as a yes.”
Wen Yufeng’s eyes sparkled with amusement.
“…”
Qin Qing bit her lower lip, slightly annoyed, and glared at him with wide almond-shaped eyes.
“Forget it.”
The one who finally spoke and interrupted everything was Lin Wentao, whose expression had already darkened.
He clenched his fist and shot a hostile look at Wen Yufeng, pulling up the corners of his mouth in a forced smile.
“Wen, you shouldn’t make things difficult for Qin Qing.” Then, turning to the girl, he said, “It’s just a problem. I’ll write down my method and approach for you another day.”
Qin Qing hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“Okay… sorry.”
Lin Wentao’s smile returned. “It’s okay.”
He waved the worksheet in his hand. “I’ll make sure to study the problem you gave carefully and thoroughly.”
With that, he glanced at Wen Yufeng, seemingly unintentionally, then turned to leave.
“Wait a minute.”
Wen Yufeng suddenly spoke, his eyes slightly cold.
Seeing Lin Wentao stop and turn to look at him, Wen Yufeng first turned to the girl beside him.
“You should head back.”
Qin Qing instinctively resisted the suggestion. She looked at Wen Yufeng, then glanced at Lin Wentao before finally turning back with a troubled expression.
“Wen Yufeng, don’t—”
“I’m fine.” Wen Yufeng raised his bandaged right hand. “It’s just that I remembered I need to take my anti-inflammatory medicine, but I forgot to get water. I wanted you to go back first and help me get a cup.”
“…”
Qin Qing looked at him suspiciously, but after a while, all she could see was a faint smile in his eyes with no trace of deception.
She could only frown slightly and seriously warn him, “Don’t bully others.”
“…” Wen Yufeng turned his face away and stifled a laugh.
After two seconds, he turned back, his voice low and husky, “…All right.”
Even before leaving, Qin Qing still felt uneasy. She reached out and lightly pointed at his right arm from a distance.
“No matter what, if your wound reopens, I’ll move back to sit next to Fang Xiaojing.”
“…Tsk,” Wen Yufeng’s lips curled into a slightly arrogant smile, but his eyes were soft, “You’ve learned how to threaten me now?”
This time, Qin Qing didn’t respond, just gave him a small glare before turning and running off.
Once the girl was out of sight, Wen Yufeng finally withdrew his gaze and slowly turned around.
At the same time, the faint smile on his face gradually disappeared, and the complex emotions in his dark eyes became chilling.
“Shall we,” he said, his lips curving up slightly, “…have a talk?”
Lin Wentao, taking advantage of the moment, turned back around and said, “I don’t think we even know each other, Wen. What is there to talk about?”
“…” Wen Yufeng let out a low laugh, but when he looked up again, his face was devoid of any humor. “Since you think there’s nothing to discuss, remember to keep your distance from her in the future.”
With that, Wen Yufeng turned to leave.
But Lin Wentao’s laughter echoed from behind him—
“Me, keep my distance from her? Haha, shouldn’t you be saying that to yourself instead?”
“…”
Wen Yufeng stopped in his tracks, turning his head slightly, casting a cold glance at Lin Wentao.
“What? Am I wrong?”
Lin Wentao took a step forward, standing right beside Wen Yufeng—
“I really don’t get it. How could a girl with a personality like Qin Qing’s get mixed up with someone like you? What can you offer her? Besides dragging down her grades, are you going to take her out of class, fight, or take her to smoke and party?”
Despite these words, Wen Yufeng showed no sign of anger, though his eyes grew even colder. “That’s not for you to judge.”
“I’m not judging, just advising.” Lin Wentao chuckled, “Besides trouble and pressure from teachers and parents, you can’t offer her anything… So why not keep your distance from her before anything happens?”
“I said!”
The boy, who had been coldly staring with dark eyes, suddenly moved. Swift as lightning, he grabbed the collar of the person beside him and slammed him against the wall—
Amid the gasps of other students in the hallway, Wen Yufeng tightly locked eyes with Lin Wentao, his raspy voice carrying a menacing tone—
“You. Have. No. Right!”
…
When Qin Qing reached the classroom door, she saw a girl in what appeared to be a middle school uniform arguing with the class health monitor at the door.
“I really, really can’t deliver it!”
The health monitor from Class 6 looked like she was about to cry. “If he asks about it later, I’m done for!”
The middle school girl looked desperate, clinging to the health monitor’s arm, “Please, senior, just put it on his desk for me.”
Qin Qing, curious but aware that it had nothing to do with her, walked toward the two, intending to enter the classroom.
But just as she was about to pass them, the health monitor spotted her like a lifeline, pointing at Qin Qing—
“Let her do it! She’s the only one in our class who can make it through alive!”
Qin Qing: “…??”
Hearing this, the middle school girl looked at Qin Qing with some doubt.
When she realized that the “senior” in front of her, who wasn’t even taller than herself, was quite beautiful, a hint of hostility flashed in her eyes.
But then she looked at the letter in her hand and had no choice but to approach Qin Qing with the pink envelope.
The health monitor, feeling relieved, quickly ran off.
Qin Qing, still confused, watched as the girl stood in front of her. “Do you need something?”
The girl shoved the pink envelope into Qin Qing’s hands and bowed deeply—
“Senior! Please help me pass this to Senior Wen Yufeng, thank you so much!”
Without waiting for Qin Qing to respond, the girl turned and ran down the stairs.
“…”
Qin Qing stood there, stunned, looking at the pink envelope in her hand.
After a couple of seconds of hesitation, she sighed and walked into the classroom with the envelope.
It seemed that many in the class had been watching the situation at the door because, when Qin Qing entered with the pink envelope, a low murmur of discussion followed.
Qin Qing, puzzled, felt the weight of all the eyes on her as she walked to the last desk. Just as she was about to take her seat, she heard a sigh next to her.
“New student, you’re really brave.”
Qin Qing looked over curiously.
Li Xiang was staring at the pink envelope in her hand with a complicated expression.
“Oh, this…” Qin Qing awkwardly placed it on Wen Yufeng’s desk. “A girl just shoved it into my hands and ran off.”
Li Xiang: “Then, as a friendly suggestion, you should just throw it in the trash.”
“…”
Qin Qing frowned slightly, “It’s someone else’s item. I can’t just throw it away without permission.”
Li Xiang sighed and didn’t say anything else, turning away.
Qin Qing, still confused, was about to ask more questions, but then she saw the clock’s hands—there were less than two minutes until class started.
She quickly grabbed her water cup and ran out.
A minute later, Qin Qing returned to the classroom with her water cup filled.
Even though class hadn’t started yet, the classroom was eerily silent. Everyone kept their heads down as if they were waiting for a storm to hit.
At that moment, a tall figure walked to the last desk in the classroom.
His cold expression hardened when he saw the pink envelope on the desk, like a spark igniting a pile of gunpowder—
“Who the hell put this here?”
His voice was low and raspy, and his dark eyes swept sharply across the classroom—
“Can’t tell the difference between a trash can and a desk?”
The classroom was dead silent for three seconds.
After three seconds, a timid voice softly spoke up.
A small girl holding a water cup walked up to the boy, her innocent eyes as wide as a deer’s—
“I put it there.”
Wen Yufeng: “…………”