CH 26

“Where is that garbage station, can I…” Yao Yi’s eyes lit up.

“Impossible.” Qin Li interrupted her, “I have been paying attention there for more than half a year, and there are no new journals.”

Yao Yi showed a disappointed look in her eyes and replied coldly: “One copy, forty-five, no counter-offers.”

Qin Li was so angry, but he couldn’t accuse her. After all, he started it himself.

The business proposal failed, and the two parted ways.

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Fu Chuan glanced around, trying to see what journal the two were talking about. However, he only saw a journal wrapped in a language arts cover, and the newly issued language arts book ‘face’ had disappeared.

“…”

The people in the class were the best students in the school, and they studied with a fervor as if it was their life. Many students did not go back at noon to rest but came back to the classroom to read after having a meal outside the school.

Nk Ql, Tyd Kkysfkys, yde vbl svbla vos eked’v ts cynj lkvbla. Mblu bye psxlvbkdt clvvla vbyd svbla pvweldvp. Mblu bye qynwzvu nyaep kd vblka bydep yde nswze ts vs vbl qynwzvu nyqlvlaky vs lyv kdpvlye.

“Gal vblu yzz ascsvp?” Hbys Ckyd oyp lmbywpvle obkzl nblokdt sd vbl byxcwatla bl cswtbv qasx vbl qynwzvu nyqlvlaky. “Tso nyd vblu pkv vblal yde pvweu yzz eyu zsdt?”

Tyd Kkysfkys psxlvkxlp prldv bla vkxl alyekdt lmvaynwaaknwzya cssjp, ps pbl oyp dsv yp vkale. Tlyakdt Hbys Ckyd’p osaep, pbl vwadle yaswde yde nsxxldvle, “Zsw nyd nbsspl vs es psxlvbkdt lzpl. Ebu es usw byhl vs srralpp uswaplzq ps xwnb? ”

Zys Zk oyp dlmv vs bla okvb bla blye zsolale, pnawvkdkgkdt vbl vos osad yde sze fswadyzp vbyv Ckd Nk bye rknjle wr. Fbl bye lmnbydtle sdl sq bla sod cssjp qsa Ckd Nk’p, yde kq bl oydvle vs alye xsal, bl oswze byhl vs ryu aldv.

Gp pbl nsdvkdwle alyekdt, bla casop qasodle yde oakdjzle. Tso yddsukdt olal vbl nbkzeald yv vbl bsxl sq obslhla cswtbv vbkp fswadyz? Mblu dsv sdzu vsal wr vbl fswadyz, cwv yzps ealo vwavzlp sd kv?!

Flhlayz zkdlp sq kxrsavydv nsdnzwpksdp olal eayod shla, yde Zys Zk oyp pwzzld obld pbl pyo kv.

“Ebyv yal usw zssjkdt yv?” Hbys Ckyd qkdkpble nblokdt sd vbl byxcwatla yde qzkrrle vs vbl nshla sq vbl cssj kd Zys Zk’p byde nwakswpzu.

“Twb?” Tyd Kkysfkys yzps pyo vbl nshla kd Zys Zk’p byde, “Ebu eslp vbkp zssj ps qyxkzkya?”

Yao Yi raised her eyes slowly, and she was still full of anger at the person who destroyed the journal.

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Han Jiaojiao leaned over a bit, took the journal from Yao Yi’s hand, flipped through it, and saw a familiar turtle.

“No wonder it’s so familiar. Isn’t this the broken book that I sold? Yi Yi, how did it get into your hands?” Han Jiaojiao asked strangely.

“…Your book?” Yao Yi was stunned.

“Yes, I sold all the informational books that were messed up at home after the middle school final exam. This is what I used to put under cups. Sometimes I tore pages out to clean the table.” Han Jiaojiao flipped through it again, but she still couldn’t understand what was on it.

“Why did you tear up the book? Did you not have any other paper?” Yao Yi’s heart was dripping blood.

Han Jiaojiao said, “Ah, this one was useless, so I tore it up. It was also convenient to draw turtles on it to relieve stress.

Yao Yi suddenly approached Han Jiaojiao: “Do you still have any?”

“I, I don’t know.” Han Jiaojiao was taken aback. “These were useless books in my father’s study.”

Right, Lao Han was a special teacher of mathematics, so it was reasonable to have such a journal.

Yao Yi gradually fell into contemplation, her eyes drifting towards Qin Li.

“However, Yi Yi, where did you get it from? I sold it to the uncle at the garbage station a long time ago… Ah, I remember!” Han Jiaojiao flipped through the book in her hand and said.

Li Ge finally figured out a physics problem and asked his fussy deskmate, “What do you remember?”

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“Qin Li!” Han Jiaojiao approached the three of them and whispered, “Didn’t I say his name was familiar? During the winter break, Uncle Yang suddenly came to ask me if I had used books for sale and mentioned that Qin Li wanted to buy them. However, I had forgotten.

“He bought this.” Yao Yi pointed to the tattered journals and made up her mind about an idea.

After school in the afternoon, Yao Yi failed to block Qin Li because she was blocked by Fu Chuan.

“I have a question that I don’t understand very well. Can you explain it to me?” Fu Chuan took the initiative to stop Yao Yi and asked with a book in his hand.

Yao Yiyi glanced at it and replied, “This question is very simple. If you didn’t understand the question clearly, please read it again.”

Qin Li had already gone out!

“I’ve read it several times, but I still can’t understand it.” Fu Chuan purposely moved a few steps back ‘unintentionally’, just blocking Yao Yi’s sight.

Yao Yi’s vision was blocked, so she could only give up. She sighed quietly, came back, and sat in Qin Li’s seat to explain to Fu Chuan how to answer the question.

“Are you under too much pressure?” Yao Yi frowned after explaining, “Why can’t you answer such a simple question?”

In Yao Yi’s opinion, Fu Chuan was better than other classmates. How could he not even understand this.

“Maybe.” Fu Chuan closed the book and stopped reading it. “Thank you for teaching me, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

“…It’s just one question.” Yao Yi was taken aback for a while. “If I teach a question and someone will invite me to a meal, then I won’t have to pay for any meals for the whole semester.”

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Fu Chuan replied calmly: “Someone else is someone else, or you can treat me to a meal. I’ve bought you so many books before.”

The situation turned around too quickly, and Yao Yi was once again caught off guard.

“I don’t have money.” Money couldn’t be spent on food. She still had other uses for it.

“Then I’ll pay for you first.” Fu Chuan packed his things, stood up and motioned for Yao Yi to go together.

After walking to the clean and bright restaurant, Yao Yi looked at Fu Chuan’s tall and straight back, and suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Everything went smoothly from the time Fu Chuan invited Yao Yi to come to this restaurant for a meal. It seemed as if he had practiced it a hundred times.

“Chicken with ginger and wine in a casserole is the specialty here.” Fu Chuan pointed to the menu.

“…You order, I can eat whatever.” Yao Yi still hadn’t reacted, and she looked a little dumbfounded.

At least in Yao Yi’s opinion, Fu Chuan today talked a lot.

Suddenly talking too much, it was very likely that there was a psychological problem. Yao Yi stared at the water that Fu Chuan helped her pour, and then looked up at Fu Chuan again, thinking that she should take care of her classmate.

At least she had to check up on Fu Chuan more now.

“Actually, your grades are already so good. As long as you study like before, the people in the class are not your opponents.” Yao Yi put down what she was thinking about and began to clumsily comfort Fu Chuan.

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“What about you?” Fu Chuan’s eyes flashed with a smile.

Yao Yi realized later: “Me? Your essay composition is better than mine.”

Yao Yi never thought about the fact that she would not be in first place, and she had no special feelings when Fu Chuan wanted to compare with her.

“Would you be sad if I got the first place?” Fu Chuan asked suddenly.

Yao Yi gazed at the hot dishes served by the waiter for a long time: “What’s the matter with me if you get first place?” It wasn’t like he hadn’t gotten first place before.

Since she was a child, the first place was her fixed mindset. Second place had always been a blind spot for Yao Yi, and she never even thought about it.

Fu Chuan pursed his lips and stopped talking about this topic. Some things, once it has happened, she would know.

This meal was very strange, and the atmosphere made Yao Yi sluggish and silent throughout the whole process.

On the way back to the dormitory, Yao Yi sometimes regretted wasting so much time on the meal and also worried about Fu Chuan’s mental health.

She didn’t realize that she was paying too much attention to Fu Chuan.

However, that amount of attention could only last for one night. When Yao Yi woke up the next morning, Qin Li was the only thing in Yao Yi’s heart.

She wanted to discuss something with him.

At noon today, Yao Yi finally blocked Qin Li at the restroom door.

“I have something to talk to you about.” Yao Yi also looked around, and found no one around.

This vigilant appearance made Qin Li nervous, and he looked around too, but found nothing.

The two went to the outdoor terrace. The wind was a bit strong, and Yao Yi regretted it as soon as she came up.

“W-what’s matter?” Qin Li shivered, wondering how anyone could come here to confess to someone, the wind could blow people downstairs.

“I know who sold you those three journals.” Yao Yi said solemnly.

“Ah?” Qin Li was confused. “The uncle of the garbage station.”

He didn’t know what Yao Yi meant at all, but he told her that he bought it at the garbage station.

“No, the original owner of the journal.” Yao Yi shook her head, unable to bear Qin Li’s slowness.

“You mean…” Qin Li opened his eyes wide and asked cautiously, “Really?”

“Yes, it’s Lao Han’s.” Yao Yi said firmly.

“Teacher?” Qin Li was confused. “How do you know?”

Yao Yi’s face was hurt by the wind on the outdoor terrace, and she quickly said, “Anyway, I just want to ask you if you want to go to the teacher to order together, and we will each pay half the price.”

Qin Li asked hesitantly, “Are you sure you can get it?”

“I haven’t asked yet, so first say if you want to order together.” Yao Yi wrapped her clothes tighter around her and shivered.

“If the teacher can order it for us, I’ll pay half of it.” Qin Li nodded after a while.

“Then it’s settled.” After Yao Yi finished speaking, she immediately ran out of the outdoor terrace, leaving Qin Li to bear the fierce wind outside.

“…” So why did she run up here to speak in the cold wind?

She said she would ask, and she did. After Lao Han’s class, Yao Yi dawdled, going into the teaching and research room.

“Yao Yi, come in. What are you doing standing outside?” Lao Han had gotten up to get water, and when he saw his student, he waved quickly, “What’s the matter? Is there anything this teacher can do for you?”

This was the first time Yao Yi took the initiative to come to him, and Lao Han subconsciously thought that something had happened.

“Teacher, are you subscribed to this journal, Annals of Mathematics?” Yao Yi took out a journal with a cover from behind, and she tore off half of it to reveal the words inside.

After pondering for a long time, Lao Han suddenly realized: “This book…how could it be in your hands? I remember that Jiaojiao, that child, sold it long ago.”

“Mhm, it’s a coincidence.” After Yao Yi explained briefly, she continued to ask, “This is what you ordered, teacher, right?”

Lao Han shook his head: “No, these journals were left at my house when a student of mine came to visit. Later, he went abroad and had to leave them.”

Yao Yi showed a regretful expression, and her heart became heavy.

“What’s the matter?” Lao Han still didn’t know the extent of Yao Yi’s obsession with mathematics. After all, except for language arts, Yao Yi’s grades in all subjects were outrageously exceptional.

“I want to order this journal, but I don’t know where to order it.” Yao Yi said disappointedly.

“Is that so…” Lao Han thought about it for a moment, and was about to say that he could ask his student to order it.

The language arts teacher suddenly entered the room too, looking for Lao Han to discuss a matter.

“Hello, teacher.” As soon as Yao Yi saw the language arts teacher, her body immediately tensed up, fearing that the teacher would drag her away to practice essay composition again.

“Mhm.” The language arts teacher also nodded. But before he could talk to Lao Han, he was attracted by the cover of the language arts textbook in Yao Yi’s hand.

“You tore up the new book and wrapped it…” The language arts teacher saw the calculation formulas and numbers in the journal, “Math?”

The language arts teacher suddenly felt infuriated.