CH 19

Today happened to be the weekend. Qin Zhongyue added extra lessons for himself and asked his tutor to teach him until the afternoon.

His tutor’s surname was Wei and his name was Zhibo. He was a top student who graduated from Fudan University and is at present in his early thirties with plenty of experience accumulated over the past few years. Among the students he had taught, many managed to get into Tsinghua University and Peking University.This was also why Qin Zhongyue was so confident. In his opinion, his poor results were just because he didn’t want to study. As long as he put some effort in, Tsinghua University and Peking University would be a piece of cake.But these past few days of mock exams made Qin Zhongyue a little nervous.Getting into Tsinghua University or Peking University didn’t seem as easy as he originally thought.Wei Zhibo said to him tactfully, “If you lower your goals, for example aiming for an ordinary first-rate university instead of Tsinghua University or Peking University, it can still be achievable in two months.”Qin Zhongyue thought of how he had to use basketball as an excuse to escape from Xie Zhongxing’s exam problems and he then thought of Zhong Yiming getting too up close and personal to Xie Zhongxing while using studying as an excuse and couldn’t help but feel regretful inside. If he knew this would’ve been the case, he should’ve studied hard from the very beginning.Why did he waste away all that time? If he hadn’t, he would’ve been able to show off in front of Xie Zhongxing.But having reached this point, giving up halfway wasn’t an option for him. It felt really good showing off in front of Xie Zhongxing, he must persist with it!Thinking this, Qin Zhongyue encouraged, “Teacher Wei, you have to have faith in your own abilities. With your ten years of experience in this field, I believe you will be able to save this student of yours who is trying to turn over a new leaf.”Wei Zhibo didn’t say anything else. He had also taught his fair share of students who performed even more poorly than Qin Zhongyue, but Qin Zhongyue was the first who was willing to work hard despite his good family background.Seeing that he was willing to work hard, he will also do his best.After an entire day of tutoring, Qin Zhongyue asked him to stay behind for dinner, but Wei Zhibo declined. He warned, “You have poor foundation. Slowly making up for that poor foundation now is too late so we can only quickly go through them and tackle as many problems as we can to make up for this deficiency. Look through the materials I left for you properly.”Qin Zhongyue naturally promised to do so but after a few minutes of deliberation at his desk, he finally chose to turn on his computer and play some games.Studying after playing a few rounds should be fine, Qin Zhongyue calmly thought this.*Xie Zhongxing also went home this weekend.There were a lot of jobs that he had to attend to at home so he would come back at least once a week or Liu Xiu would probably go to his school to find him.He cut down a tree that had been struck by lightning and carried it down from the mountain. After bringing it home, he then proceeded to chop them up into smaller blocks of wood and piled them up against the wall outside to use as firewood.Such a tree would be able to last them at least half a month.He then went to the well to fetch water. It took him seven to eight trips to finally fill up the water tank at home.After doing all this, all his physical strength was almost completely exhausted, and his palms were red and raw. Despite doing all this work, the people at home wouldn’t leave him any food.Even giving him some food seemed like it was too much for them. They guarded their resources very tightly.Having lived in this old town for many years, Xie Zhongxing had never seen parents who treated their children as harshly as his.

He opened the lid to the pot and saw that there was only a little bit of scorched rice left.As soon as he saw this, he knew that Liu Xiu didn’t even make his share of food and only made enough for the three of them.Returning back to the living room, he looked at the room that was emitting a faint light that came from the TV. Liu Xiu and the others were in there. He exhaled a cold breath and returned to his small room.There was still some bread he had prepared in advance in his bag. It would be enough to solve his problem for the time being.The next day, two guests came.Xie Zhongxing who got up early was stuffed with fifty yuan by Liu Xiu and asked to buy some groceries from the market.Xie Zhongxing raised a brow slightly. This was Liu Xiu’s first time giving him money, although it was only for him to buy groceries.Li Xiu said, “Buy half a kilogram of pork, a grass carp, half a kilogram of edamame, a handful of shallots, half a kilogram of cabbage, four pieces of tofu…..”She carefully listed it out and then asked with a smile on her face, “You got it?”Xie Zhongxing took in her smiling expression and then looked back at the two guests who were also staring at him with a smile on their lips.Xie Zhongxing suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. It was an extremely cold and sharp sensation.He calmly nodded and without saying another word, he turned and walked out.After taking a few steps, he looked back at the house and saw Liu Xiu and Xie Guoxu both smiling in a friendly manner at the two guests. One of the guests was rather keen and seemed to have sensed Xie Zhongxing’s gaze. When he looked over, his eyes just happened to meet with Xie Zhongxing’s and he then proceeded to reveal a friendly smile. The scar at the corner of his eye however made him appear a little fierce.Xie Zhongxing headed towards the market without looking back.At the Xie residence, Liu Xiu served the two guests some tea and said, “You saw my son just now. How was it? Not bad, right?”“He is indeed not bad.” The man with a scar at the corner of his eye spoke. He was the Old Ni Liu Xiu and Xie Guoxu had talked about last time. Old Ni said, “Tall and good looking, not bad.”Liu Xiu, “Then about the salary?”Old Ni said, “How are his grades?”Liu Xiu’s smile froze.Old Ni said, “Our job needs smart people. If his grades are very poor, the salary can only be that amount.”Liu Xiu muttered, “What does it have to do with grades? Isn’t it just to be someone’s nanny?”Old Ni said, “You don’t have to worry about that. Your son’s face is indeed pretty good but if he’s an idiot, even giving you thirty thousand yuan a year is more than enough.” (KKnotes: Approximately 4,700USD)Liu Xiu was silent for a while. Xie Guoxu on the other hand passed over a cigarette and said in a low voice, “His grades aren’t bad. He is attending Nanyang High School right now. You know Nanyang High School? Only the top 1,200 in the city can get in. Since he is able to get into that school, he is naturally quite clever.”

Old Ni heard the schools name and was a little surprised. He laughed, “Your son is attending such a good school, yet you want to send him out to work?”Xie Guoxu said with some embarrassment, “Our family circumstances are tough. He also has a younger brother------”Before he could finish speaking, Xie Zi’an suddenly opened the door and came out of his room. His eyes shone a strange light, “Mum, dad, what are you two doing?”Liu Xiu scolded him, “Why did you come out? Go back inside and do your homework!”Xie Zi’an’s breathing was quick, “Are you going to send Xie Zhongxing out to work?”Neither Xie Guoxu nor Liu Xiu planned to hide it from Xie Zi’an so Xie Guoxu said, “If your brother doesn’t work, how would we be able to support you and your studies?”Xie Zi’an’s eyes lit up. His cheeks were flushed and his voice trembled with excitement, “Are you serious about this?”Xie Guoxu took in this reaction of his and spoke with some hesitation, “Of course we’re serious. There are only two months left but your dad will definitely transfer you to Nanyang High. Your studies won’t be affected, don’t worry.”Hearing this, Xie Zi’an approached Old Ni and spoke hastily, “My brother is first in his grade at Nanyang! He is very smart so you have to give us more!”Xie Guoxu and Liu Xiu were both stunned when they heard this.Xie Zi’an turned to them and said, “Mum! Dad! His results are this good because he is attending Nanyang High. He took advantage of the school’s resources! If I go to Nanyang, even if it’s only for two months, I can also be first in the grade! Mum, dad! I’m no worse than Xie Zhongxing!!”Xie Guoxu’s expression was poor, “He’s really first in his grade?”Xie Zi’an saw his expression and, afraid of him going back on his words, he unconsciously clenched his fist, “Yeah, the last time I went to his school, his classmate told me this! He has always been lying to us; lying that his grades are bad. He is a white-eyed wolf! Once he gets into a good university, he will most definitely fly off and never come back! I’m not like him! Mum, dad! I want to go to Nanyang High. I can definitely do better than him!”Xie Guoxu’s face was ashen. He gritted his teeth and looked towards Old Ni, “You heard it. My son is very gifted. You need to pay us more!”When Xie Zi’an heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief. A feeling of pleasure rose inside him. So what if Xie Zhongxing’s grades are good? Mum and dad would still choose him. He will always be their favourite child!Old Ni took in this exchange and was a little surprised inside.Old Ni said, “Let me think about it. If what you said is true, I can offer fifty thousand.” (KKnotes: Approx 7,880 USD)Fifty thousand a year!It’s a huge profit!Liu Xiu and Xie Zi’an were overjoyed. Xie Guoxu however didn’t appear all that happy. His expression was gloomy as unknown thoughts seemed to be occupying his mind.Xie Zhongxing returned home with a large load of groceries. He saw the man with a scar at the corner of his eye talking to Xie Zi’an with a friendly look while Xie Zi’an excitedly talked about his school life in his desperate attempt to highlight his merits.Liu Xiu received the groceries from him and smiled at him, “Go wash your hands and help peel an apple for your Uncle Ni.”Xie Zhongxing answered to that request and wordlessly sat down in the living room and began to peel an apple with a knife.

Old Ni who was watching him the entire time suddenly asked, “How are your grades at school?”Xie Zhongxing looked up at him and replied calmly, “So-so.”Old Ni said, “So-so? That can’t be. You look quite clever.”Xie Zhongxing didn’t speak.Although he was used to doing rough manual work, his fingers were still pale and slender. His hand holding the fruit knife flew about, the cold light emitted from the blade almost blinding, and in less than a minute, he was done peeling an apple with the entire strand of peel unbroken.Old Ni took in this skill of his and said with a smile, “I heard that peeling an apple without the peel breaking means that the left side of the brain has developed well. Language, logic, judgement and reasoning abilities are usually pretty good. Generally, these people perform quite well academically.”Xie Zhongxing’s hands stopped. He looked up at Old Ni.Old NI said, “I haven’t gone to school, so I admire those who are intelligent.”Xie Zhongxing glanced briefly at Xie Zi’an. Xie Zi’an was happily chatting with Old Ni earlier but now he only sat quietly on the side, not competing for his favour or making a fuss. He even smiled back at him when he looked over.Xie Zhongxing passed the apple over to Old Ni and said politely, “Uncle Ni, have an apple.”Old Ni received it and continued to smile at him.Xie Zhongxing got up and said to him, “Please take your time. I’ll be doing my homework.”Old Ni said, “You can do it here. I want to see you do your homework.”Xie Zhongxing paused and then proceeded to go to his room and bring out a practice paper.He sat upright at the table but even after a long time passed, he didn’t write down a single answer. A while later, he stood up and walked out.Old Ni called after him and asked, “What are you doing?”Xie Zhongxing replied calmly, “Asking for help.”Old Ni said, “You can borrow my phone.”Xie Zhongxing quietly looked at him. A few seconds later, he thanked him, “Thank you, uncle.”He received Old Ni’s phone and dialled a number.Very soon, a familiar voice sounded from the opposite end, “Hello? Who is it?”Xie Zhongxing lowered his eyes and spoke calmly, “How do you solve the first multiple choice question in the math practice paper? The one where it goes, if a is equal to 8, find f(x).”Qin Zhongyue almost fell from his bed, “Huh? Math paper?”Xie Zhongxing said, “Teach me.”Qin Zhongyue, “………”

He dug out the math practice paper from under his pile of books. He still hadn’t done it yet!He mumbled, “Give me a second. I’ll get a pen.”As soon as he said that, he was certain that he had given himself away. He had showed off last time that he could work out the answer just by looking at the question!Qin Zhongyue’s face flushed red with some embarrassment, but before he could figure out how to explain the question, he heard Xie Zhongxing on the other end answer his question himself, “There are several steps…is it like this? ab+8>(1+a)(1+b)…..”Qin Zhongyue, “Huh?”Xie Zhongxing, “So the answer to this question is A, f(x)<2?”Qin Zhongyue, “……”Xie Zhongxing nodded, “I understand now. I’ll give it a try myself. Thanks.”After saying that, he hung up.Qin Zhongyue, “…….”Xie Zhongxing politely returned Old Ni his phone and sat back down to work on the problems. A moment later, he stood back up again.Old Ni asked, “What is it now?”Xie Zhongxing, “Need help.”Old Ni looked at him with a smile, “I think you have the right idea. Maybe you’ll be able to work it out if you tried a little longer.”Xie Zhongxing calmly replied, “I can’t.”He looked towards Old Ni, “Uncle, can I borrow your phone?”Without saying another word, Old Ni gave him his phone.Xie Zhongxing dialled the same number, “I want to ask you about the second question.”Qin Zhongyue, “……”Xie Zhongxing read out the question and, as if he was afraid of disturbing the guests, he walked out while seemingly concentrating on the problem on his paper. After moving far enough, he turned so that his back faced them and called out Qin Zhongyue’s name.Qin Zhongyue wiped away the sweat from his forehead and glanced at Wei Zhibo. After Wei Zhibo nodded at him, Qin Zhongyue lowered his voice and asked with concern, “I’m here….Did something happen to you?”Although his expression was calm at this very moment, as soon as he heard Qin Zhongyue’s question, Xie Zhongxing’s hand that held the practice paper trembled slightly. He pretended to casually raise his head and look around and saw that Uncle Ni was standing at the door, staring at him.It was as if he was staring at his prey.Xie Zhongxing lowered his eyes and whispered, “I want to see you.”