Chapter 17 – Desk Mate

Senior high’s first grade’s first class was on the sixth floor. When Song Yu and Ma Xiaoding entered, the classroom was full of people.

When this class was introduced in <Gentle Control>, everyone was either the top of their grade or rich and wealthy.

Most people had known each other since junior high and were all sitting together. The girls were dressed up in bright clothing, and the boys were all wearing famous brand names.

Just by looking at their temperament and clothing, one could distinguish between the different levels of family background at a glance.

Most of the students who relied on their grades were seated together in the corner, and they’d piled up thick stacks of books on their desk even before school had begun. They wore glasses, simple but clean, clothing, and looked a little stiff and embarrassed. They looked a bit out of place in this lively environment.

Ma Xiaoding had been very famous in their experimental middle school. He was like a hedgehog that walked sideways wherever he wanted, and quite a few people recognized him.

Now that they saw him following behind a good-looking teenager, the atmosphere in the classroom grew a little subtle.

Song Yu looked around, his gaze going to seats by the window at the back of the classroom. He saw the books that Xie Sui had told him he’d placed there, but he couldn’t find the person himself.

Song Yu glanced over, “Let’s sit there.”

“No problem, whatever Brother Yu says.”

Ma Xiaoding had been instructed by his old man and would naturally follow what Song Yu wanted.

Additionally, he liked Song Yu a lot––he’d been born and raised in a more privileged environment than anyone else he knew, yet he didn’t put on any airs at all. He focused on studying and was really a hardworking rich second generation. He wanted to hit the like button for Brother Yu.

Inside the classroom, many girls’ eyes drifted in their direction before meeting each other’s eyes and chatting on their cell phones in the girl group.

[ What day is it today? Encountering so much eye candy at the start of school? It’s already the second one. ]

[ Oh-ho, upfront people don’t talk in code. Fellow sisters, I want to date him. ]

[ Which one? ]

[ Either! One! Works! For! Me! When the first one came in, my legs almost turned into jello. He can be my husband. The second one who came in was so handsome he blinded me. I don’t think it’s a problem to have him as a malefriend. [showing teeth] ]

[ I’m afraid you’re thinking about nonsense. Wake up. I should get one of them no matter what [amused] ]

[ That’s not right, wait a minute, handsome boy #2’s seat is a little strange. ]

[ Wow! He’s sitting next to handsome boy #1! ]

[ Fellow sisters, my wish has come true. Heeheehee, if I can’t get a man, then other girls can’t, either. A handsome boy should get together with another handsome boy. ]

[ Garbage fujoshi girl, get the hell out of the chat group, or you’ll be kicked. [knife][knife][knife] ]

[ Men in reality are so hypocritical. Why don’t you join me in my love for Brother Yu and have a one-sided, ‘you slag me while I blindly fall for you’ type online relationship [manual dog head] ]

[ One-sided, you slag me while I blindly fall for you, hahahahaha, that’s my Brother Yu. ]

[ Brother Yu: No way, little sister, I’m not falling for it.jpg ]

*

‘Scum man Brother Yu’ was currently striding over to Xie Sui’s seat. He sat down on the side by the window.

Back when he’d been in school, the seats from the middle of the class to the ones in the back that were against the wall were all VIP positions for learning scum.

They slept in class and played on their cell phone during self-study sessions, and these seats were convenient and favorable for such activities.

Ma Xiaoding naturally went to sit behind him. He was full of curiosity and expectation for this new school environment.

He was restless and eager to make trouble, even going to greet his new desk mate enthusiastically, “Hi.”

The boy with close-cropped hair and black framed glasses, “……”

Damn, wasn’t this the school bully from their experimental middle school?

The boy’s hand that was holding onto his thermos cup trembled. He wanted to cry but didn’t have the tears, “He-hello, Brother Ma.”

Ma Xiaoding’s heart was full of flowers in full bloom. He only wanted to establish a good relationship with his desk mate, “Don’t do that, don’t do that, we’re good brothers, don’t be strangers. Just call me Xiaoding.”

This boy felt miserable but couldn’t express it, “Hello, Brother Ma.”

Song Yu sat down, his mood settling down.

Right now, his mind was full of President Song’s ‘monthly exam agreement’. No matter how chaotic things were around him, it couldn’t disturb his intent to study. He took out an exam paper, pulled out a pen, and continued his fight against the brothers sin, cos, tan, cot.

There was a moment when the classroom suddenly fell silent for a few seconds. It was because of that beautiful teenager by the window who was struggling to write a paper during the first self-study period of school.

Light flowed onto his face, covering it with a gentle halo, like a lens filter.

When Xie Sui came back from the office with his manuscript, what he saw was the profile of Song Yu’s face as he sat in the seat beside him, quietly doing his homework.

Long eyelashes drooped down, his skin dazzling and pale, and he held a pen as he fell into deep thought.

So well-behaved that… it made people’s heart itch.

Xie Sui’s black eyes froze for a moment. He’d chosen to remain in Jing City and become a high school student but, in a sense, the existence of Song Yu had made up more than half of his reasons.

His long legs strode forth and he placed his speech on the table.

Sensing movement around him, Song Yu looked up, “You’re finally back.”

Xie Sui pressed his fingers against the table and smiled faintly, “Mm.”

Song Yu handed over the exam paper in his hand, “Quick, tell me why the angle is 135 degrees.”

Xie Sui: “……”

And so, Xie Sui was dragged into the world of high school trigonometric functions by Song Yu as soon as he sat down.

This was really a novel experience for Young Master Xie, who’d graduated from a famous university in his last life and then directly gone back to take charge of the Xie Family businesses.

While Song Yu looked on eagerly, he silently picked up the pen, thought for a moment, then gave an enigmatic laugh, “Song Yu, I haven’t talked to people like this in a long time.”

Or, in other words, he’d never done such a thing before.

Song Yu thought to himself, I understand, I know all about your miserable past. But what’s important right now is why this angle is 135 degrees.

“How about you take a look at my algorithm first. It’s 45 degrees no matter how I calculate it.”

As soon as he leaned in, he carried a faint scent with him. It was fresh and clean, like shampoo.

Xie Sui accepted the pen and paused.

He had no experience in lecturing and could only regard Song Yu as an opponent at the negotiation table.

After a look at Song Yu’s problem-solving processes, he felt that––

This opponent was trickier than any others before him 

“Is this a formula you came up with yourself?”

“The idea is really amazing. Normal people don’t dare to think like that.”

“Did you really go to junior high?”

The youth’s voice was cold, his words spoken carelessly, and they stabbed into Song Yu’s heart like arrows.

Song Yu: “……”

Damnit!

He was no longer the well-behaved, shy youth from Linshui!

Xie Sui glanced at Song Yu’s obviously sad, droopy eyed expression and was stunned for a moment. He adjusted his tone and said, “However, it’s not a big deal.”

Song Yu’s ears perked up. His self-confidence revived from the dead.

Xie Sui said, “At the very least, you’ve managed to step on all the traps buried in this question during your process of solving it. It’s very rare.”

Song Yu tried to bear with it but finally couldn’t hold it anymore. He pressed his hand down on the table, and the fury of an incompetent learning scum burst out, “I just want you to tell me why it’s 135 degrees! Why can’t you just talk about the main point!”

The corner of Xie Sui’s lips curved and he set aside his evil sense of humor. He used the pen and wrote out three lines of formula on the exam paper.

“Like this, 135 degrees.”

Song Yu’s learning scum fury left him very quickly. He quietly took the exam paper back and really started plugging in the numbers to do the calculation.

Meanwhile, Ma Xiaoding and Xi Bowen, who were seated behind them, watched the scene with wide eyes and dropped chins.

After having a round of conversation with the former junior high school bully, Xi Bowen wasn’t so stiff anymore. He asked, “Your Brother Yu loves learning that much?”

Ma Xiaoding was surprised by the atmosphere between Xie Sui and Song Yu, but he didn’t find Song Yu’s love for learning unexpected. He muttered, “Isn’t that the case? Brother Yu is a man who first went to buy textbooks as soon as he arrived in Jing City.”

Xi Bowen’s eyes were shining, “Wow! Brother Yu must be a study god in A City.”

Song Yu finally calculated 135 degrees and was satisfied.

His mood grew better, and when he heard that the two people behind him were talking about him, he swirled his pen and turned back to say lightly, “What are you saying about me?”

Ma Xiaoding immediately sold his own desk mate, “He said that you must be a study god in A City.”

The corner of Song Yu’s lips curled down. He was a study god with a score of 350. He was really ashamed to acknowledge this title.

However, he was faced with this little kid Xi Bowen’s shining, adoring eyes.

Song Yu tsked in his heart. Brother Yu, who had always been the type who’d rather die trying than lose face, came up to answer for him.

“So-so. I didn’t get 800 points in the high school entrance exam and can’t really be considered a study god.”

Ma Xiaoding: “Wow!!!”

Xi Bowen: “Wow!!!”

Xie Sui’s lips curled in a smile that wasn’t really a smile.

Didn’t get 800 points.

Yuyu, did you even manage to score 400 points in the entrance exam?

Xi Bowen’s nickname in junior high was ‘nerd’. He had a natural admiration for those who studied well and was so excited that he was blushing, “A full score in A City is 850, just like us! Brother Yu, you’re too amazing! How far short were you? 780?”

Song Yu coughed, “A little worse than that. Don’t mention it anymore, those are all unhappy things.”

Ma Xiaoding was also in high spirits, “Brother Yu, seven hundred and what?”

Song Yu: “Unhappy things. Don’t want to mention it.”

A little worse than 800.

Don’t ask, if you ask, then he was just a little short!

Being short 400 points was also ‘a little’!

Xi Bowen sighed unhappily but only treated it as a study god’s inner sadness. He propped his head against his hand, “Brother Yu, did you airdrop1 into Jing City in order to fight for the top 10 in the city?”

Song Yu was now addicted to pretending to be a study god. He leaned back and smiled as he swirled his pen, “Not just the top ten. I want to be first.”

Once again, Xi Bowen: “Wow!!!”

Although Ma Xiaoding believed in their Young Master very much, he still felt that this scene was too embarrassing. He tugged on Song Yu’s sleeve and said in a quiet voice, “Brother Yu, don’t say it so loudly. The city’s first place is right next to you.”

Song Yu hissed, retrieved his pen, and turned to Xie Sui to say, “I want to be first in the city.”

Xie Sui’s peach blossom eyes curved. He was gentle and elegant, “Okay.”

Song Yu: “I’m going to surpass you. Are you scared?”

Xie Sui readily went with the flow and said lightly, “Scared.”

Even before Xi Bowen could recover from the shock of finding the city’s first place student in the high school entrance exam sitting in front of him, he was stunned again by Song Yu’s flamboyant operations.

Ma Xiaoding was, too. “…….”

Young Master, aren’t you being a little reckless?

While they were both left shocked and speechless.

Song Yu was very calm and idle.

“See? Once I said I’d work hard, the city’s number one became scared. What about you guys?”

“……”

What else could Ma Xiaoding and Xi Bowen say.

“We’re scared, we’re scared.”

Things were good as long as this little ancestor was happy.

Also, why did he always feel that the interactions between his Brother Yu and Xie Sui! Were very strange! They were just talking about a topic, yet it felt like they were having a relationship!

Was it that his innocent little straight man’s thought processes had gotten dirty?!