8: Chapter 8 The Insignificant Character in a Pampered Novel

The four-person study group was officially established.

It was held right in Gu Yunjing's lounge.

At first, Zhou Chi and Cheng Yi were a bit embarrassed, always feeling like they might lose face by asking questions that were too basic.

As a result, they were solemnly lectured by Xu Zhao, who told them that if they didn't know something, they simply didn't know it; there was no need to pretend in front of her, as scores couldn't be faked after an exam.

Though she had a thin and small frame, once she put on a serious face, she truly possessed a certain level of intimidation.

Xu Zhao didn't have them start on their homework first; considering they could only score 26 points, she figured there probably weren't many problems they actually knew how to solve.

She simply took her notebook out of her backpack, opened her textbook, and began explaining the key knowledge points to them. She didn't speak too fast, and after finishing each point, she would explain its specific application in problems and common exam question types.

Afterward, she would have them ask questions. Once those were answered, she would pair them with the exercises at the end of the textbook for them to practice on the spot.

The young girl's voice was clear and crisp—not coquettish or soft, but transparent and pure, making it unexpectedly pleasant to hear.

Mathematics, which had originally felt impossibly difficult, seemed to become much simpler after her breakdown and explanation.

Gu Yunjing turned his head slightly. She was focused on the scratch paper, her pen tip moving quickly as she calculated. Although she didn't have a breathtaking profile, her serious expression and scholarly aura made his gaze fixate on her involuntarily. It was hard to link the girl before him, who embodied a sense of peaceful time, with the stubborn and unyielding girl he had first met.

"Did I explain this clearly?"

It was "did I explain it clearly," not "did you understand?"

She seemed to constantly be considering the feelings of the three of them, remaining impartial without any hint of disdain or flattery.

Perhaps because she received no response for a while, she suddenly turned her head. The distance between the two of them closed abruptly, and their breaths seemed to mingle.

Gu Yunjing's heart skipped a beat. He leaned back slightly, his eyes darting away in a panic as he gave a low response: "Yeah."

An hour and a half passed very quickly.

The current schedule was set for one and a half hours per session. On normal days, they would have a session after school and then spend the remaining time in Gu Yunjing's lounge for self-study. On weekends, they would have two sessions.

Originally, as a resident student, Xu Zhao was supposed to attend evening self-study, but because she had to provide tutoring for Gu Yunjing and the others, she simply did her self-study in the lounge.

To this end, Gu Yunjing had specifically spoken to his family, who then reached out to the principal of Yinghua to grant Xu Zhao permission to skip the evening self-study sessions.

After one session, Zhou Chi lay motionless on the table and wailed, "Math has already drained all of my energy."

Cheng Yi laughed and said, "The Study God is indeed the Study God. Not only are you good at solving problems, but you're also great at explaining them. It's so simple and easy to understand that even someone with a brain like Zhou Chi's could get the textbook exercises right. Isn't that right, Brother Gu?"

Gu Yunjing nodded; she did indeed explain things very well.

Xu Zhao smiled slightly and took a stack of printed problems out of her backpack.

"Study God, what's that?" Zhou Chi glanced at them. They looked like math problems, but he didn't seem to recognize them at all.

"Past problems from the Mathematical Olympiad, just for some practice."

Zhou Chi was puzzled. "Didn't you just win an award last year? And you were first place, too."

Last year, the school had put up large red banners, which gave Yinghua a lot of prestige.

"That was the National Mathematics League. This time it's the Chinese Mathematical Olympiad. I hope to have the chance to represent the country in the International Mathematical Olympiad."

As she spoke, Xu Zhao's eyes were shining brightly, though she might not have noticed it herself.

Zhou Chi and Cheng Yi looked at each other and then silently gave her a thumbs-up.

They felt somewhat emotional: it was truly a waste of talent for such a genius to be morally coerced into being a tutor for three academic slackers like them.

Why did they suddenly feel like they were pretty badass too?

"Will we be delaying your exam preparation?"

Zhou Chi and Cheng Yi felt like they were seeing a ghost. Was this something that 'Brother Gu,' who usually didn't give a damn about anyone, would actually consider?

"No, I'm confident."

The girl's voice was calm and certain, her small face brimming with confidence.

The corners of Gu Yunjing's lips curled up.

"Hey, I heard Li Yan is participating too?" Zhou Chi leaned forward and said, "He's acting so damn impressive lately. My old man has been nagging me about Li Yan every day, saying how excellent he is and that he's going to participate in this year's Olympiad."

Cheng Yi added, "Supposedly the Li Family spent a fortune to hire famous teachers to tutor him in the evenings. Are they trying to cultivate a second Li Shaoheng?"

Xu Zhao's lips twitched. Courses had indeed been arranged, but they only lasted until 9 o'clock. After 9, Li Yan's so-called 'reviewing' actually consisted of closing his door and video calling Xu Jiao until the middle of the night.

Because he wasn't getting enough rest and was constantly busy coaxing his girlfriend, his grades hadn't improved despite the tutoring; instead, they had dropped. The Li Family probably had no idea what was going on yet.

Li Shaoheng was the current head of the Li Family and the third child in his generation; Li Yan was the son of Li Shaoheng's eldest brother. In terms of the business landscape, while the Li Family wasn't the richest in China, they were still a top-tier existence. This was one of the reasons the Xu Family was so eager to curry favor with them, wishing they could just package Xu Jiao up and send her to Li Yan.

Gu Yunjing, on the other hand, didn't have family members nagging him about Li Yan or anything like that. After all, his family was more closely connected to the military and politics, and they didn't associate closely with these merchant families.

However, at school, he was frequently compared to Li Yan by his classmates; he just didn't care at all.

"Li Yan isn't as good as me."

Xu Zhao wasn't boasting. Even at his peak, Li Yan was always in second place. Even when she was being bullied and her grades slipped, he still couldn't beat her.

So, what was there to expect from him?

Gu Yunjing looked over and saw the young girl sitting with her back very straight, her eyes burning with a hint of stubbornness.

It seemed as though a massive amount of power was condensed within that small body.

Gu Yunjing unconsciously flashed a roguish smile. "Yes, you are the best."

Seeing him say this, Xu Zhao nodded with satisfaction.

Gu Yunjing propped his arms on the table, pulled out his phone, and handed it over. "How about this, let's add each other as friends. If I have any questions, I can ask you."

"Okay." Xu Zhao nodded and didn't think much of it. She took out her phone and added him, and Zhou Chi and Cheng Yi followed suit.

Gu Yunjing's avatar was a motorcycle, full of youthful energy.

In comparison, Xu Zhao's avatar was much cuter—a cartoon rabbit wearing black-rimmed glasses with a red ribbon tied around its ears that had two eye-catching words written on it: 'Sure Win.'

It had a strange sense of humor, forming a sharp contrast with her own serious demeanor.

As soon as the young girl left, Zhou Chi and Cheng Yi felt that Brother Gu's good temper had run out.

"No way, Brother Gu, the Study God didn't even ask us for money!" Zhou Chi clutched his phone tightly.

"Tch—you think she's going to tutor you for free? Hurry up, hand it over."

"But, but... 1,000 per lesson is way too expensive, isn't it? For the three of us, that's 3,000 per lesson!"

Gu Yunjing said, "Then go back and let the famous teacher your old man hired teach you."

"No, no! I don't want that!" That shiny bald head made it hard for him to concentrate every time, and the man always carried an air of superiority. Even though he tried his best to restrain it, Zhou Chi still felt like the man looked at him with disdain while explaining problems.

Moreover, that person's price was much higher than the Study God's.

By comparison, the Study God was like a gentle breeze—high quality at a low price, and fair to everyone.

"Is 3,000 too little?" Cheng Yi was thinking about a different issue.

"Just 3,000." If it were more, he was afraid she wouldn't accept it.

By the time Xu Zhao returned to the dormitory, it was around 9:30. The school dorms were single rooms for two people. Because she had only started boarding after the semester began, she was rooming with a student from Class 3 who had been left without a roommate. Consequently, what she heard most was gossip about Class 3, especially about Gu Yunjing.

In peaceful days, time always passed quickly.

During this period, she didn't know what Zhou Chi and the others had said to Liang Yiqing's gang, but they never came to trouble her again. Even if they occasionally ran into her at school, they would only give her a harsh glare before walking away.

Xu Jiao looked for her a few times at school, saying nothing more than how much the Parents of the Xu Family missed her and how much the Xu Family brothers cared about her, hoping she would come home to live and visit them.

Ironically, the parents and brothers who supposedly missed her so much had never once come to see her, even though they frequently picked up and dropped off Xu Jiao from school.