Probably because Ye Qingyang still had some remaining value left to squeeze out of him, Ye Hong’s family was noticeably more polite this time he came back. When he left on Sunday, Ye Hong even put on a reluctant expression.
“Yangyang, remember to ask clearly and tell us, okay? Do not forget.”
“Okay.”
Ye Qingyang responded and walked out of the residential complex.
At the entrance, Zhang Ye was already waiting outside with a driver. When he saw him, he leaned out and called his name, motioning for him to get in.
Ye Qingyang opened the door and got into the car, taking off his backpack. Thinking about how Zhang Ye had been urging him repeatedly on WeChat to come today, he said in surprise, “I honestly did not expect you to be someone who likes studying.”
Zhang Ye waved his hand. “Who likes studying? I do not have a choice. My dad said if my grades are still near the bottom this semester, he will cancel my classes next term and send me back to our hometown to herd sheep for half a year. You have no idea how I spent my summer—out in the mountains with sheep for two whole months. I have seen through it. My dad has zero fatherly love. When he says something, he means it!”
Ye Qingyang found it amusing. “So did you actually herd sheep? Was it fun?”
Zhang Ye looked at him speechlessly. “Do I even know how to herd sheep? Was I herding the sheep, or were the sheep herding me?!”
Ye Qingyang laughed.
Zhang Ye looked at his clothes. “Well, well, Little Ye, a few days without seeing you and you have struck it rich. Last time you were wearing cheap online stuff, now you are covered in designer brands. Impressive.”
“Borrowed,” Ye Qingyang said. “My family situation is complicated. My relatives look down on the poor and worship the rich, so when I went back this weekend, I specifically borrowed an outfit from Lu Jingcheng. These are his clothes.”
“Then Lu Jingcheng treats you pretty well,” Zhang Ye said. “You two must be close.”
“We are friends,” Ye Qingyang replied. “Everyone has a few good friends.”
“True.” Zhang Ye nodded. “So did your relatives get scared?”
“Of course. If that did not scare them, next time I will have to borrow a car from Lu Jingcheng.”
Zhang Ye burst out laughing. “You do not need him—I can lend you one. What brand do you want? I will check if we have it at home.”
Ye Qingyang: …As expected of a rich kid. Truly enviable.
After more than half an hour of driving, they arrived at Zhang Ye’s house.
His parents were not home—only him and the housekeeper were there.
“My parents are busy. They come back late. Are you hungry? Want to eat first?”
“In a bit,” Ye Qingyang said. “Let me look at your test papers first.”
Zhang Ye sighed deeply and led him into the study, taking out his schoolbag.
“Seriously, how did your grades improve like that? How did you jump from last place to the middle ranks? Did you hire a tutor?”
Ye Qingyang shook his head. “Mostly just worked hard myself.”
“How?”
Ye Qingyang took his test papers and looked them over. Sure enough—same as Lu Jingcheng. Weak foundation from the first year of high school. No wonder he ranked near the bottom.
“Your foundation is pretty bad.”
Zhang Ye looked at him with disdain. “Worse than you used to be?”
“I only looked bad before. In reality, I knew what I needed to know. You, on the other hand—look bad and actually are bad.”
He sat down and decided to go through the test with him first to assess whether Zhang Ye was bad, very bad, extremely bad, or completely beyond saving.
Zhang Ye sat beside him, answering his questions cooperatively.
By the time they finished going over the multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank sections, Zhang Ye was already overwhelmed. “Food, food. My brain is about to explode.”
Looking at him, Ye Qingyang felt that Zhang Ye was far worse than Lu Jingcheng. Lu Jingcheng could grasp things with a bit of explanation, but Zhang Ye—sometimes even when you explained thoroughly, he still would not get it!
Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
Ye Qingyang packed up his things. “Alright, let us stop here for now. Eat first. We will continue tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
They ate together, and afterward Zhang Ye had the driver send Ye Qingyang back to the school dormitory.
“I have classes with you on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, right?”
“Yeah.” Ye Qingyang nodded.
“Great.” Zhang Ye sighed in relief. “That way I can barely survive on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.”
Ye Qingyang: …That really is just barely surviving.
“I am heading off. Bye.”
“Bye.” Zhang Ye waved happily. “See you tomorrow.”
Lu Jingcheng had returned to the dorm earlier. Seeing that Ye Qingyang was not back yet, he sent him a message: [When are you coming back?]
Ye Qingyang did not reply. Lu Jingcheng assumed he was busy, so he did not wait and went out to grab something to eat nearby.
Just as he walked out of the dorm building, he saw Ye Qingyang getting out of a private car.
Lu Jingcheng: ??? A private car? Where did Ye Qingyang get a private car?!
He walked over, called out to him, and asked, “That car you just got out of—what was that?”
“Zhang Ye’s car,” Ye Qingyang explained.
“Zhang Ye???” Lu Jingcheng frowned. Who was that? Where did he come from?
“The Zhang Ye from Class Nine,” Ye Qingyang reminded him. “The one who sat next to me when we left for military training.”
Now Lu Jingcheng remembered. He had thought it was some random nobody—turns out it was that outsider monk!
“Why were you in his car? Did you not go home?”
“I did, but after leaving home, I went to Zhang Ye’s place. I promised to tutor him, starting today.”
Lu Jingcheng suddenly had a lot of questions.
“You promised to tutor him? Why? When? How come I did not know about this?!”
“A few days ago,” Ye Qingyang said calmly. “He pays pretty well, so I agreed.”
Lu Jingcheng: ????
“Do you lack money?”
Ye Qingyang countered, “Do I not?”
He really does, Lu Jingcheng thought.
“Then I will pay you. Quit tutoring Zhang Ye.”
“How can that work?” Ye Qingyang refused. “You are compulsory education—free. He is exam-oriented education—paid.”
That is such blatant double standards, Lu Jingcheng thought. But despite that, he could not help feeling pleased.
He knew it—he would always be special and irreplaceable to Ye Qingyang. See?
“How long are you going to tutor him?” Lu Jingcheng looked him up and down. “With your half-baked grades, you are tutoring someone else? Just do not drop in your own next exam.”
“Do not worry, I will not,” Ye Qingyang said confidently.
“So how long?”
“Depends,” Ye Qingyang replied. “Until his grades improve, or until he thinks I am not suitable.”
“So for at least this month, you are tutoring him?”
Ye Qingyang nodded. “Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Maybe occasionally Saturday or Sunday.”
Lu Jingcheng: ????
He pointed at himself. “So I get Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday—and whatever is left of the weekend?”
“You are smarter than him,” Ye Qingyang reassured him. “But you can pick Saturday or Sunday first. Whatever is left goes to him.”
Lu Jingcheng snorted. “Should I thank you for that?”
“No need. Between us, saying thank you would be too distant.”
Lu Jingcheng flicked his forehead. “I should not thank you—I should get two plaques, one with my name and one with Zhang Ye’s, and let you flip between them every day. You would love that, would not you?”
Ye Qingyang tried to soothe him. “I am just doing a job since I am taking his money.”
“This is such a big decision, and you did not ask me first?”
“So you do not agree?”
“Of course I do not agree!” Lu Jingcheng said irritably. “You think I am going to let you juggle between people? What am I, some foolish emperor? And you?”
“Does the beloved consort not have the right to choose?” Ye Qingyang asked softly.
Lu Jingcheng sneered. “The beloved consort only has the right to be chosen.”
Ye Qingyang: …Suddenly I do not want to be the beloved consort anymore.
“But I already promised him, and honestly, I cannot bear to give up that money.”
Lu Jingcheng: …
“I really do not get it,” he said. “Have I treated you that poorly that you lose your mind at the sight of money?”
“Who is not tempted by money?” Ye Qingyang said righteously.
Then, knowing how to appease him, he added, “Just turn a blind eye and agree. I promise, between the two of you, I will always prioritize you. You are my most cherished student.”
Lu Jingcheng: …That sounded so scummy he had no words.
“Please.” Ye Qingyang blinked at him pitifully.
Lu Jingcheng finally relented. “Only study-related discussions. Only Monday, Wednesday, Friday. No Saturday, no Sunday. Maximum two hours each time—stop immediately when time is up. Also, do I not have a car? If you are riding in a car, it has to be mine—not his!”
Ye Qingyang nodded repeatedly. “No problem.”
Lu Jingcheng was still a bit displeased. “This is the only time. No exceptions. From now on, tell me before making decisions—especially things like one-on-one tutoring.”
Ye Qingyang kept nodding, though inwardly he could not help but complain: Brother Lu, your possessiveness… if you are like this with friends, what about your future girlfriend?
Sigh. Hopefully she can understand and accept it—otherwise, I will end up worrying about you again.
Seeing him so obedient, Lu Jingcheng finally calmed down. “Come on. Eat with me.”
Ye Qingyang did not dare say he had already eaten. He was afraid that if he did, Zhang Ye might not live to see tomorrow. So he obediently went along and ate a few bites of dishes he liked.
He did not rush to reply to Ye Hong, but she could not wait. On Monday night, she called him.
“Yangyang, did you ask? What is going on?”
“I did,” Ye Qingyang said, deliberately sounding displeased. “Because you insisted I ask, now he is upset. He said he only wanted to help me—why am I telling others?”
“How are we ‘others’?” Ye Hong said gently. “We are doing this for your own good.”
“I know, but you are not his family. He does everything on his own. He only helped me because I am poor. Now that you made me ask, he thinks I do not trust him. He said he will not help me anymore. Anyway, the money I have now is enough to cover my tuition for the next two years.”
“That will not do!” Ye Hong panicked. “Talk to him properly. Tell him we are just concerned—”
“I cannot persuade him!” Ye Qingyang said impatiently. “This is all your fault. You insisted I ask, insisted he explain everything, acting like you did not trust him. Now look—he will not help me anymore. Now you do not have to worry about trusting him, right? He has talent in this area—that is why he makes money. You keep saying ‘ask clearly’—even if I asked, would you understand? If you are so capable, why is our family not rich? You are so annoying. From now on, you do not need to interfere in my matters!”
He hung up.
Ye Hong stared at her phone, frowning deeply. She looked at her husband. “What do we do now?”
“What do you mean what do we do? We were doing this for his own good. What if that person is a scammer? He would not even know how he died!”
“But if it were a scammer, why would he stop now? Qingyang already said the principal was provided by that person, and the profits were just a small portion of his gains shared with him. Qingyang was basically guaranteed profit, and he really did earn quite a lot. That does not sound like a scam—it sounds like he is helping him.”
Wang Yue fell silent for a moment. “Let us wait and see—see what Qingyang does next.”
Ye Hong sighed. “This kid really does have good luck. A fool’s luck.”
Wang Yue snorted dismissively and said nothing.