Chapter 95 Forcing Me into Love?

Xiao Cheng pondered for a moment. “Would you believe me if I said I’m tutoring Yang Liushan in math Olympiad?”

You might as well claim it's for better service to the people! Who are you trying to fool?

The veins on Kong Qingguo’s face twitched, his expression darkening, but he still spoke earnestly, “Xiao Cheng, you kids are at an age where it’s normal to develop feelings for the opposite sex…”

“So you’re planning to give us your blessing?” Xiao Cheng interjected.

“Wait, I haven’t gotten to the ‘but’ yet,” Teacher Kong said. “But, your main task right now is to focus on your studies…”

“My task is already completed ahead of schedule. I’m ready to move on to the next one!”

“Early romance isn’t right…”

“How is it not right? Strike early, don’t end up single!”

“You won’t have a good outcome…”

“You can’t treat the broadcasting bureau’s ban as the meaning of life—plenty of people have happy endings! Do you know Liu Mang, the CEO of Mang Friends Network? He started dating in high school, and now his child is already in elementary school!”

“Well, sure, but he was in high school. You’re still in junior high! If you were in high school, I wouldn’t care…”

“If I’m in high school, you wouldn’t be able to control me anyway!” Xiao Cheng was growing impatient. “Teacher Kong, we’re talking about changing seats, why do you insist on making me talk about romance?”

Kong Qingguo’s brows were tightly furrowed. This kid was really someone he couldn’t afford to offend—if he disagreed, Xiao Cheng might hand in a blank test or complain to Principal Niu, which would be a headache. He had no choice but to explain his difficulty. “Xiao Cheng, it’s fine to request a seat change, but I can’t arrange for you to sit with Yang Liushan. Her parents asked me when she enrolled to make sure she had a female deskmate. If I grant your wish, I won’t be able to explain it to her parents!”

Parents want a girl as her deskmate—that’s not something a wig can fool.

Hearing this, Xiao Cheng didn’t press the issue any further. After all, he had to consider his future in-laws’ feelings; otherwise, even if they sat together, Yang Liushan’s parents might notice and ask the teacher to separate them. This required a long-term strategy.

“Why not move you behind Yang Liushan?” Teacher Kong suggested tentatively.

Sitting behind her wasn’t bad, but sharing a desk was more romantic. “No need, I’ll handle this myself.”

He left the office, typed a message, and sent it to Yang Liushan: “Let’s go to Starry Academy for tutoring together during the holiday.”

Giving teenagers more time together—the only real purpose of after-school classes.

At school, Yang Liushan always kept a deliberate distance from Wen Xiaocheng, afraid of gossip. When they did speak, it was always in a serious tone, nothing like the lively expressions when chatting on her phone.

Going to tutoring together during summer break—a perfectly legitimate reason!

Yang Liushan blushed as she read the message, instantly understanding Xiao Cheng’s intention. Only the two of them from their school had made it to the second round of the math Olympiad, so attending the same tutoring session was natural. Both families and the school would surely support it. Even better, tutoring was in the city; students were off for summer, but adults weren’t, so there was no one to pick them up. They’d have to go together, spending nearly three hours on the road, plus eating and attending class together—almost like being together all day.

With cheeks flushed, the girl replied with a single “Mm!” and an exclamation mark.

Just one word and a punctuation, but when he received it, Xiao Cheng felt delighted, and the holiday suddenly became something to look forward to. According to his agreement with Starry Academy, several experience-sharing sessions would be held just for him over the summer. Bringing his girlfriend to the tutoring classes, he suspected they’d even feed them for free.

Lost in anticipation for the wonderful holiday, grinning foolishly, he winked at Yang Liushan as he entered the classroom. This small gesture was caught by Liang Qing’er, and the two girls immediately burst into giggles.

Around a large round table, steam rising from the hot pot, the family seated together. Grandma’s face now carried a smile; though she still rode her tricycle selling candied hawthorns, the burden of life had eased considerably, and finally, there was hope for the future. Money was the simplest problem—soon, Grandma would no longer have to toil and could enjoy her twilight years.

The girl sitting beside him, her image grew clearer—a shy smile, affectionate eyes. Maybe by winter, she really would come over as a guest. The seat reserved for the head of the family was still empty; clearing his father’s name required further preparation, an apparently impossible task, but now Xiao Cheng could see a glimmer of hope amid the tangled threads.

He hadn’t seen his mother in almost five years; her image was so vague now that even imagining her sitting at the table was difficult. He wondered how she was doing…

Of course, Xiao Cheng could never forget the terrifying scene from his birth, but he dared not act rashly. For now, pretending to know nothing was safest; if the “experimenter” discovered he was investigating, these peaceful days would surely end.

He wasn’t sure if his mother’s departure was connected to the “experimenter’s” pursuit, but Xiao Cheng secretly hoped that was the reason. No matter what, if he wanted everyone at the round table to reunite, he had to face these challenges.

The day passed quickly. As the bell rang to signal the end of class, Xiao Cheng slung his backpack over his shoulder before Teacher Yan even finished her sentence. Seeing Xiao Cheng’s eagerness, she simply announced the end of the lesson. He strolled out with the crowd, heading downstairs. At the door of Class 4, Grade 9, he spotted Lü Qi, looking wooden as usual.

Without saying a word, Xiao Cheng followed Lü Qi closely. Chen Guo, Wu Xiaodong, and the others he met along the way nodded nervously. “Cheng bro, Cheng bro!” Xiao Cheng waved them off, still trailing Lü Qi leisurely.

Lü Qi’s home wasn’t far, but he always rode an old bicycle to and from school. Xiao Cheng followed the big guy to the bike shed, watched him push out his bike—it was too crowded to ride, so they could only walk. Lü Qi couldn’t take it anymore and muttered, “Are you really going to complain to my dad?”

Xiao Cheng grinned, “You hit me, and I can’t beat you. What else am I supposed to do?”

It made perfect sense.

“I didn’t do much to you yesterday. I punched you once, and my hand hurt all night!” Lü Qi grumbled.

For him, that was almost begging for forgiveness, but Xiao Cheng had no intention of letting him off. The punch itself wasn’t much, but Xiao Cheng was annoyed that this big oaf was playing henchman for someone else.

“Do you know that force is always mutual? Your hand hurt, but so did my back! If Zhang Peiyue hadn’t paid my medical fees today, you’d have had to cough up the money! I need to ask Uncle Lü, is your family so rich you can afford to get into fights?”

———

Old Dao isn’t teaching you how to scam people. We call it using the law as a weapon to protect yourself! Read Old Dao’s books carefully. If you do, your heart will grow strong as a rascal, your presence as bold as a hooligan.