Chapter 24: Sharp Tongues Need No Friends

"National Day is coming soon, and the school will hold a grand assembly at the end of the month."

"There is also the National Day gala. Those interested can sign up with their respective class monitors."

Gu Qing dropped the announcement and left with the student council members; they had to notify every class about the gala.

The chubby boy and his friends swarmed over, asking questions all at once.

"Young Master Jiang, is there any secret to becoming an honor student?"

"Nothing special, just a willingness to endure hardship."

"But this is too hard! I dream about decimal points chasing me around."

"Ha, you silly goose!" Jiang Changyuan flicked his finger against the boy's forehead. "Enduring hardship now is only to ensure you suffer less in the future."

"If I can't find a job in the future, I'll just go home and inherit the family business. What kind of hardship could that be..." The chubby boy rubbed his forehead, unconvinced. Jiang Changyuan sighed deeply, grabbed him by the neck, and began trying to knock some sense into him.

Fate was treacherous. The male lead looked like a normal person now, but who knew when he might snap and turn dark? It wasn't certain if the Lu family would even survive in the future; the chubby boy was being far too optimistic.

"No, I still have to go find Chen Xiang."

"You want me to tutor you all again?"

"Yes, but the tutoring fee has to be lower. I haven't seen my mother lately, so I can't come up with that much money."

Jiang Changyuan’s mind raced, and he suddenly chuckled. "If you insist on the original price, why don't you go ask my mother for the money?"

"Absolutely not!" Thinking of Zhong Qing’s overwhelming enthusiasm toward him, Chen Xiang immediately refused. "Just charge me the same rate you give Su Yingying."

"I only charge her two hundred per hour, you know."

"I know."

She was so agreeable that Jiang Changyuan couldn't help but wonder if Chen Xiang had been possessed. Her sharp tongue was a staple of the entire book; even when facing the person she secretly loved, she would still occasionally stab them with a few cutting remarks.

"The chubby boy and the others have fallen too far behind; they need tutoring on the weekends too. Are you okay with that?"

"If you keep babbling, I’m refusing."

Jiang Changyuan raised his hands in surrender. Truly, being kind to Chen Xiang was just being irresponsible to himself. "If you ever run into any trouble, just say the word, and I’ll take the chubby boy and the others to back you up. We’re friends now, so I’ll give you a ‘friendship discount’ then."

"Friends?"

Watching Jiang Changyuan’s retreating back, Chen Xiang murmured the word, which dissipated in the wind. It was certainly a novel concept. But she... she didn't need it.

***

After the exams were over, Jiang Changyuan did not go to Su Yingying, assuming their tutoring relationship had ended. If possible, he would have liked to keep her on, but he had finally managed to bury the hatchet with Gu Qing, and he didn't want to get into a battle of wits with the male lead again. He had no choice but to let it go.

Just before school ended, a small note was passed over. The handwriting was neat, and the signature at the end was unmistakable: Gu Qing.

*‘Can you continue to have Yingying tutor you?’*

Jiang Changyuan’s eyes widened. Was everyone taking the wrong medicine today? The model student Gu Qing wasn't just passing notes in class, he was actually asking him to keep hiring Su Yingying as a tutor? Damn it, this had to be a test!

*‘I’ve finished studying the curriculum for the second year of high school; I can handle the rest on my own.’*

This time, he waited a while before the note was passed back. It was a long paragraph, almost like a letter. The gist was that Jiang Changyuan still had areas in his studies that needed consolidating; Su Yingying’s teaching had helped him get into the top ten, and if he kept working with her, he could make it into Tsinghua or Peking University. Only at the very end did the note hesitantly point out that if Su Yingying couldn't find part-time work in the short term, she wouldn't be able to afford her mother's medicine, and with autumn turning to winter...

Tsk!

Jiang Changyuan paused his mental drama of love and hate; he had misunderstood the male lead. Since the male lead was requesting it now, he would, of course... refuse! Whenever he had the chance to torment the male lead without inciting enmity, Jiang Changyuan never held back; it was a way to take revenge for the time he had spent walking on eggshells.

By the time school was almost over, after countless notes had been passed and Gu Qing had used every persuasive word in his arsenal, Jiang Changyuan finally, grudgingly, agreed.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. We're classmates, and by extension, friends."

Jiang Changyuan’s enthusiasm left Gu Qing stunned, feeling a bit awkward and at a loss. It was the first time he had ever asked someone for a favor, let alone the Jiang Changyuan he used to dislike.

"You’re doing such a huge favor for Su Yingying. Do you want me to tell her?"

"No..." Gu Qing instinctively refused. That would put pressure on Yingying.

Jiang Changyuan clicked his tongue inwardly. He knew the trope of tragic romance; neither the hero nor the heroine could ever just speak their minds. "Fine. Since you asked, I certainly won't refuse a brother. I’m off; they’re waiting for me."

Looking at the shoulder Jiang Changyuan had just patted, Gu Qing’s expression was complex. Why hadn't he noticed before that Jiang Changyuan was so smooth-tongued? In just a few sentences, they had transitioned from classmates to friends, and then to brothers?

"Young Master Jiang, what were you doing just now?"

"Gu Qing asked to talk to me about something; he wanted me to look after Su Yingying."

"Huh? He asked you to look after..." The chubby boy covered his mouth, realizing what he had said, and lowered his voice once the others looked away. "Doesn't he hate it when you and Su Yingying get close? Don't let him use this against us later."

"He won't. Besides, I want to help Su Yingying anyway; this was just a push in the right direction."

Watching Jiang Changyuan walk ahead, the chubby boy scratched his head in confusion. Had Young Master Jiang decided to ditch Chen Xiang and choose Su Yingying?

"Thank you," Su Yingying whispered, her voice barely audible as she got into the car.

Jiang Changyuan smiled and nodded without a word; he knew exactly what she was thanking him for. And so, on the very day the chubby boy and his friends thought they had finally been let off the hook by Chen Xiang, the tutoring group continued.

Jiang Zheng-guo and Zhong Qing had returned home at some point. After the customary pleasantries, as the others were about to leave, Jiang Changyuan called the chubby boy back.

"You guys head home first. I need to talk to Fatty about something."

"Young Master Jiang, what is it?" The chubby boy kept winking at him.

"Do you have something wrong with your eyes?"

Seeing Jiang Zheng-guo look over, the chubby boy immediately lowered his head, howling internally. *Young Master Jiang, your parents are home, and you want to keep me here to talk about getting revenge on someone? Are you trying to get me in trouble?*

But he was wrong.

"Mom, Dad, how are things going with the Cheng Yuan matter?"

"It’s already been handled. There will be results in a while." With the chubby boy present, they didn't say too much, only thanking him for the information he had provided.

Having been prepped by Jiang Changyuan earlier, the chubby boy waved his hands repeatedly, his chubby face turning red. He hadn't done anything!

"I’ve been researching tech industry data lately. I think Cheng Yuan’s technical achievements are suited for the high-end market. Since our family is getting into tech, we should go big and do it right—we should cover both the high-end and the low-end."

"Fatty’s family is also in tech, so they’re a perfect fit for the low-end market."

Hearing this, the chubby boy froze, finally recalling the "fortune" Young Master Jiang had promised him. Jiang Zheng-guo and Zhong Qing exchanged glances; they were pleased, but also a bit conflicted.

"Lu Hai, your family's company is called Ruoqing Technology, right?"

"Yes, Auntie Zhong. I’m surprised you know it."

"Mm, we looked into it before."

The air went silent for a moment. In the adult world, silence was a rejection. The chubby boy sat in the corner of the sofa, his palms damp as he gripped his trousers. Even if he didn't understand business, he could sense the strange atmosphere.

He had been rejected, hadn't he?