Chapter Sixteen: I Just Had an Unfair Advantage

Li Yu walked over to the two of them.

“Lu…” He was about to call out to Lu You when suddenly someone pulled him aside.

“Damn, you scared me! What are you doing?” Li Yu was startled by Xu Nian’s sudden tug.

Xu Nian motioned for him to follow.

They sat down a little distance away, near a table still holding unfinished plates from dinner.

“Why bring me here?” Li Yu asked as soon as he sat down.

They were somewhat familiar with each other. On the first day of school last month, Xu Nian had joined a board game session organized by Li Yu and later sneaked off with others to play at the Carp Club.

Xu Nian nodded toward Lu You and said, “There’s an atmosphere there; you really want to intrude?”

Li Yu glanced in the direction she indicated, puzzled. “What atmosphere? It’s just normal conversation.”

“You really have no eye for these things,” Xu Nian shook her head and sighed, then continued eating.

Li Yu lost interest in finding Lu You and said to Xu Nian, “I’ll go get some food first, wait for me.”

Xu Nian glanced at him and waved dismissively.

“Come back soon and tell me what you call having ‘eye’ for things.” With that, Li Yu rose and headed to the food window.

A short while later, Li Yu returned with a large plate piled high and a bowl of clear soup.

Xu Nian stared at the two chicken legs, roast duck, and cabbage on his plate in disbelief. “Are you really going to eat all that?”

Li Yu smiled. “Take one chicken leg. Consider it payment for spending time eating with me.”

“Why do you make it sound like I’m just a sidekick?” Xu Nian was a little confused.

“You keep me company, I feed you. Fair enough, right?”

Without hesitation, Xu Nian grabbed a chicken leg with her chopsticks and placed it on her plate, delighted. “Why would I refuse free food?”

“The chicken legs at school are pretty pricey. I saw the price and didn’t want to order them—it felt like a loss.”

“It’s fine. Since school started, I haven’t spent much outside. Eating once in a while is okay.” Li Yu gnawed on a chicken leg as he spoke. “So, what’s going on with Lu You?”

“You know that guy?”

“Of course. He’s my good buddy. That’s why I was looking for him.”

“Uh…” Xu Nian looked awkward. “I thought you were looking for Wan Wan.”

Li Yu was speechless. “Why would I look for her? We’re not close.”

“By the way, is there anything strange about those two?”

Li Yu changed the subject.

“A boy and a girl, chatting and laughing. What’s strange about that?”

“Aren’t we the same?”

“But Wan Wan knows that guy; I don’t.”

“And Lu You doesn’t know you either?”

“Also, that guy’s really good-looking!”

“You’re not bad yourself.”

Xu Nian had nothing to say.

“So, you see, people’s perceptions can be narrow. They just happened to meet and have a meal together.”

Li Yu took a bite of the roast duck.

Hmm, not bad, but nothing special.

…

Several dozen minutes later.

Lu You and Tang Wan parted ways at the second-floor stairwell of the teaching building, each heading back to their classrooms.

As soon as Lu You entered, he felt Meng Yi’s gaze fixed on him, tracking him all the way to his seat.

Taking out the math test papers he planned to work on tonight, he said, “If you have something to say, just say it.”

Meng Yi wore a lecherous grin. “So you have a girlfriend now. No wonder you’re not interested in the girls in our class.”

“Huh? When did I get a girlfriend? You knew before I did?” Lu You asked in surprise.

“Don’t hide it. I saw you at the cafeteria eating with her. She’s really pretty.”

“Just eating a meal doesn’t make her my girlfriend,” Lu You laughed. “You’re my deskmate, so does that make you my boyfriend?”

“Whoa…” Meng Yi took a step back, horrified. “You… you’re not gay, are you?”

“Sigh.” Lu You felt exhausted. “It’s just like you and me being deskmates. That girl and I just know each other and happened to meet at the cafeteria.”

“Is that really all?” Meng Yi still sounded a bit doubtful.

“Stop taking your subjective guesses as objective facts. And don’t spread rumors casually. It only causes trouble,” Lu You said sternly.

Seeing Lu You’s serious tone, Meng Yi quickly responded, “I’m not spreading rumors. I just told you. If I had no proof, why would I say anything?”

Lu You glanced at him and said, “Good.”

“So you really have no other relationship?”

“No,” Lu You answered decisively.

“Then can you let us meet? I’m dying to know her!”

“Get lost. If you want to meet her, find her yourself. I won’t say a word,” Lu You rejected him without hesitation.

“Oh, come on. Just tell me a little—name, class, anything!” Meng Yi was persistent.

Lu You sneered and said, “I’m going to work on my math test now. Please don’t bother me.”

With that, he opened the test paper and began calculating.

“Tch, so stingy,” Meng Yi turned away, opening the book handed out in the afternoon and writing his name and class.

Soon after, Meng Yi stole glances at Lu You’s test paper again.

“Hey, what does this question mean?”

Without looking up, Lu You replied coolly, “I’ll explain it to you in two hours. For now, let me focus.”

Meng Yi immediately fell silent and stared at his language book, not daring to interrupt again.

…

Tang Wan had barely settled back at her desk, ready to start the homework the teacher assigned, when Xu Nian returned quietly and asked, “When did you meet that guy called Lu You? I don’t remember seeing him before.”

Tang Wan lowered her voice as well. “I met him by chance. I was walking in the park and saw a kitten. I couldn’t resist petting it, and he happened to be the owner. Later, when I was going home, he asked if I wanted to add him on WeChat, and I agreed.”

“You just agreed like that?” Xu Nian was incredulous. “You wouldn’t even add classmates before.”

“Actually, I was about to ask him for his WeChat first, but he beat me to it,” Tang Wan admitted, a little embarrassed.

“Wow, Tang Wan, never expected you to be like this. You’ve opened my eyes!” Xu Nian teased.

“I was going for the kitten. Don’t think too much,” Tang Wan said hurriedly.

“Did I ask why you went for it?” Xu Nian taunted.

“I’m not talking to you. I have homework to do. Stop talking!” Tang Wan’s cheeks flushed, her earlobes warming.

“Oh, Wan Wan, why are your ears so red?” Xu Nian’s smile grew bolder.

“Can’t hear you! Can’t hear you!” Tang Wan covered her ears with both hands, trying to hide her embarrassment.

…

At six-thirty, the self-study bell rang. Lu You had just finished the twelfth multiple-choice question when Teacher Zeng stepped in, timing it perfectly.

“All right, everyone, put down what you’re doing and look this way.”

Lu You set down his pen and looked toward the podium.

When most students had focused, Teacher Zeng spoke again.

“A few important announcements. First, about phones. I didn’t really manage this on the first day, but starting tomorrow, bring your phone to school, and hand it to me. Day students can get them back at dinner and when going home at night. Boarders can only access theirs in the afternoon and during weekend breaks. If you’re caught with a phone on you, parents will be notified and you’ll receive a demerit. Next, about next week’s military training…”

Lu You bent his head to continue working. As temporary class monitor, any urgent matters would be communicated to him by the homeroom teacher beforehand. As for the phone, he’d simply leave it at home. He didn’t play mobile games, had cash in his wallet, and could manage fine without one.

Nothing else of note followed, and Lu You smoothly finished and corrected the math test by the end of the first self-study period.

Meng Yi, who had nearly watched the entire process, was stunned. He had skimmed the first semester’s math syllabus but it was clear that Lu You’s test went well beyond the textbook.

“Where… where are you at with math?” Meng Yi’s voice trembled slightly.

Lu You thought for a moment; the question was tricky to answer. After careful consideration, he said, “I’ve mastered everything that should be learned in high school.” He didn’t mention calculus or anything more advanced—that wouldn’t feel real.

“Then why aren’t you downstairs? I see you doing these tests so fast.”

“I’ll probably be there next semester. The outcome of the entrance exam was a bit unexpected,” Lu You offered a simple excuse.

“How did you manage to finish all high school math already? I barely scraped through the entrance threshold for Chunhua, and I know my level well. I was just lucky to get in. Can you teach me?”

Meng Yi’s eyes gleamed with hope and pleading.

“Are you weak at math?” Lu You turned to him with a serious question.

“Yeah.” Meng Yi nodded vigorously, a pained expression on his face. “In middle school, I had this problem. I could understand the answers to the big problems, but when it came to writing them myself, I had no idea where to start.”

“So you get the basic principles but don’t know when or how to apply them,” Lu You summarized.

“Exactly.”

“There’s only one solution: more reading, more practice. No shortcuts. Like playing a game—you know the basic controls, but when and how to use skills requires practice. You also need to review and compare your previous thinking with your current self. That way, you’ll know which direction to move forward.”

“Is there really no better way?” Meng Yi winced at the thought of more exercises.

“Do you think you’re a genius?” Lu You asked calmly.

Meng Yi was silent for a moment before answering, “No.”

“I guarantee everyone at this school is ordinary—no geniuses. If there were, they’d have shown it by now.” Lu You recalled his past life—maybe half a genius at best. As for now, he felt like a failure.

Snapping back to the present, he continued, “The difference in grades comes down to how much time you put into studying. Those with a solid foundation who spend more time naturally do better. No one gets good grades without effort. The idea that you can play all the time and still score high just means you haven’t seen their study habits.”

“Sigh, still gotta grind through problems,” Meng Yi sighed helplessly, then smiled bitterly. “But seeing you tackle these tests I can’t even understand makes me feel useless.”

Lu You smiled gently, offering reassurance. “No need to compare yourself to me. You can understand these tests; you just need time. Follow the teacher’s steps. Comparing yourself to others only adds anxiety.”

“Okay, thank you. I feel a lot better now.”

Just then, Lu You put the math test into a folder, then pulled out another identical folder from his drawer.

Flipping through it, Meng Yi saw pages filled with dense English letters. He knew all 26 letters but couldn’t make out a single word or sentence.

Curious, he asked, “Are you going to start on the English test now?”

“English?” Lu You shook his head. “I don’t need to do that. These are some math papers I printed out. I read them when I have time—to make sure I’m not falling behind.”

“Damn!” Meng Yi felt like a clown. “So you really are a genius.”

“Uh…” Lu You found the question hard to answer. He couldn’t exactly say he’d lived nearly thirty years in another life.

“Get lost. If I believe your pep talk again, I’ll start wearing suspenders when I play basketball.”