No One Else Will Do But You - Chapter 11

“Who told you to prove it this way? You still don’t know how to do proofs?”

“…” Purely a mistake.

“This essay should have been written entirely in the past tense. What is this tense you’re using? Are you a time traveler? You’re using the simple present in one sentence and the simple past in the next.”

“…” Shouldn’t people be more imaginative?

“This equation is unbalanced.”

Shu Luo didn’t dare to look into Jiang Mu’s wolf-like eyes. He nervously held his pen and changed his answers. Oh no, this is so scary.

Jiang Mu frowned, watching him write out his own basic questions, and helplessly shook his head. It wasn’t that his foundation was bad; he was just too careless.

However, when it came to Chinese, politics, and history, he was quite good.

Maybe Shu Luo isn’t suited for science… This thought made him unwilling to admit it.

“Write your characters neatly.”

Oh, he’s even managing my handwriting now.

So, Jiang Mu began to supervise his handwriting practice.

But there was no need to worry about this. Shu Luo’s handwriting was already good. Someone was just trying to stall for time.

Shu’s mom and Jiang’s mom were both very pleased. Their sons were both doing so well! Every day, they racked their brains to cook delicious food for them to nourish their bodies.

After a month of intense practice, Shu Luo did not fail to live up to Jiang Mu’s tireless corrections. In the first mock exam, he broke into the top 100 in the entire grade and the top 10 in his class, with a score of 642.

During the parent-teacher conference, Shu’s mom felt what it was like to be the parent of a good student. Oh, how wonderful! My son is so amazing!

Jiang Mu’s excellence was obvious to everyone; he scored almost a perfect score. Jiang’s mom was never worried about his studies and was very at ease.

“It seems Xiao Mu really has a good method. Shu Luo only used to score in the 500s, but he improved by almost 100 points. Xiao Mu is a very smart boy.”

Shu’s mom chatted with Jiang’s mom.

“Haha, Luo Luo’s brain is smart, or else how could he improve so fast? And Luo Luo is more lively. Xiao Mu has been smiling a lot more lately.”

The two parents went back and forth, and Shu Luo and Jiang Mu shook their heads silently and walked out.

In the second mock exam, Shu Luo performed very steadily, scoring over 670 points.

The first and second mock exams are usually more difficult than the high school entrance exam. If Shu Luo could score over 670 on the entrance exam, he would be guaranteed a spot at Zhengcheng High School. Basically, anyone in the top 150 of the grade would have no problem getting in.

So, on the day before the exam, Shu Luo decided to throw away all his books, following Jiang Mu’s example. He had said that what needed to be learned had already been learned, and looking at it now would be pointless and only affect his mood and state of mind.

But as he watched TV, he found himself zoning out.

Shu’s mom noticed. “Weren’t you watching TV? What are you spacing out about?”

Shu Luo came back to his senses, looked at Shu’s mom’s confused expression, and waved his hand. “Oh, nothing. I just don’t know what to do.”

“How about we go for a walk?”

Shu Luo accepted Shu’s mom’s suggestion, so he rode his beloved bicycle out alone.

For some reason, he was feeling sentimental today, which was not his usual state. His mind was on many things. Besides the exam, there were also some depressing things on his mind.

He rode for an hour, with his fishing gear, to a lake by a suburban villa area. This was a place his dad often took him fishing when he was a child. It was very quiet and a great place to retire.

He never liked to think too deeply because it made him look silly and made him slow to act. But the invisible pressure from Jiang Mu over the past two months had forced him to think about more things.

Jiang Mu was a very important friend. They were practically inseparable, unlike with Zhang Feiyang. Since he had met Jiang Mu, his role had been like a conqueror, but not a cold one. He was a conqueror with a natural gentleness that made people easily listen to him. That’s why Shu Luo was starting to wonder whether his own efforts were what he truly wanted or if they were a result of Jiang Mu’s patient tutoring.

He admitted that Jiang Mu gave him a lot of emotional support, and some of it was also due to their age difference, even though they were in the same grade.

Oh, I’m really not suited for thinking so much!

Shu Luo put down his small stool, took out his fishing rod, set the bait, and began to fish.

He was very serious at first, but soon he started to get distracted.

“Hey, kid, you’d better not fish. You’re not focused.”

A young but magnetic male voice entered his ears, and Shu Luo turned his head.

Oh my, can a person even live a normal life anymore?

A tall, lanky figure like a model, with handsome looks and a half-smile. His beautiful eyes made people feel shy just looking at them.

The man walked up to him and asked with a smile, “Do you live here?”

Shu Luo was stunned, still looking at the tall, handsome man in front of him. He was really good-looking, on par with Jiang Mu. No, that wasn’t right. Jiang Mu hadn’t grown up yet. He would probably be even more handsome when he did.

Su Jingfeng looked at the delicate and fair-skinned boy in front of him with a laugh. He was a little silly, but very cute.

“Hmm? Do you live here? Why haven’t I seen you before?” Su Jingfeng asked again.

Shu Luo heard him this time and shook his head. “No, I live in the city.”

“Did you come alone?”

“Yeah, to fish.”

Hearing Shu Luo’s answer, Su Jingfeng couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “You’re just a kid. You know how to fish?”

“Do you, Tall Uncle?”

“…” Tall Uncle? Am I that old?

Shu Luo saw Tall Uncle’s face change and suddenly realized he might have said something wrong. Did I just call him old?

“Do you, Tall Brother?”

Su Jingfeng was stunned for a moment. The word “brother” carried a boyish innocence but was exceptionally pleasant to the ear. His mood instantly improved.

“Of course I do. But why did you come here?”

“Oh, to think about life.”

Su Jingfeng’s hand uncontrollably ruffled Shu Luo’s head. “Oh my, you’re so cute.”

Shu Luo glared at him. “‘Cute’ is for girls, Uncle.”

Oh, I’m an ‘uncle’ again.

“Kid, my name is Su Jingfeng, and I’m 21. You should call me ‘brother,’ not ‘uncle.'”

“I’m 14 this year. You’re seven years older than me. It’s okay to call you ‘uncle.'”

Su Jingfeng suddenly didn’t know how to respond. He was speechless. Are all kids this good at talking back now?

“Alright, whatever you want. By the way, are you interested in coming to my place? I live right here,” Su Jingfeng said, a rare invitation for him.

Shu Luo shrugged. “Sure, I’m easy. Since you’ve so enthusiastically invited me.”

This kid has a sharp tongue.

The decor inside the villa was very elegant, and the space wasn’t small, but it was so quiet, as if no one else lived there besides Su Jingfeng.

“Brother Feng, do you not live with your family?”

Su Jingfeng made him a cup of milk tea at the bar and nodded when he heard his question. “Right, I live alone.”

“Why? This place is so big and quiet. Aren’t you lonely?”

Su Jingfeng handed him the milk tea and sat down across from him.

“I’m used to being alone. I grew up abroad and returned to the country two years ago after finishing graduate school. I took over the family business, but I’m not used to living with my family, so I bought a house here for peace and quiet.”

Shu Luo looked at him in surprise. “I shouldn’t call you ‘uncle.’ I should call you ‘grandpa.’ My dad said that if he bought a house here, it would be to retire.” He then shook his head helplessly.

Su Jingfeng took a sip of his coffee, looked at him, and smiled. “And what about you, thinking about life? You came all the way here alone. You’re quite something.”

“I’m different from you. My problems are the worries of youth.”

“…” I shouldn’t have brought him home.

Su Jingfeng was rendered speechless several times by him. Kids these days are something else.

“Shu Luo, what grade are you in?”

“Oh, the high school entrance exam is tomorrow.”

“…” Hey, I’m going to lose my temper.

Su Jingfeng was helpless at his carefree tone. “You’re really carefree. You’re coming out to fish the day before the exam. You must be very confident.”

Shu Luo shook his head. “I came out because I was annoyed.”

“Annoyed about what?”

So Shu Luo told him about his inner turmoil. Even though it was the first time they had met, Su Jingfeng was so rich that he probably wouldn’t lie to him. And besides, Shu Luo didn’t have anything to be scammed out of.

Su Jingfeng listened to his worries and looked at him with a laugh. “Is that a worry? If he didn’t see you as a brother, would he help you that much?”

“But I feel like I have no status. I always listen to him, but he never listens to me.”

“But he cares about you, doesn’t he? He sees you as a good brother, so he sacrifices his own free time to tutor you. What are you thinking in that head of yours?”

He kind of has a point.

“But he doesn’t listen to me.”

Su Jingfeng really wanted to open his head and see what kind of a strange structure was inside.

“Why do you need him to listen to you?” Su Jingfeng was curious why he would think this way.

“Because I listen to him.”

“That’s because you’re not mature enough. Why are you so worried about these issues? No matter what the relationship is, everyone has a different position and role in it. There are no two people with the exact same role. You don’t need to worry about it, do you?”

Shu Luo felt like the conversation had been elevated to a higher level. “Okay…”

He felt that he couldn’t keep up, but he understood what was being said. That’s right, what am I even worrying about?

He then reached for his phone and realized it was off. He immediately turned it on, and a call came in as soon as it booted up.

He answered, and Jiang Mu’s rare scolding could be heard by everyone around.

“Shu Luo, how many times have I told you not to turn off your phone when you go out! Who told you to turn it off!”

Jiang Mu had already called countless times. When Shu’s mom saw that Shu Luo hadn’t returned for over an hour, she started to get anxious. She remembered that Shu Luo’s state had been a little strange and was worried that the exam pressure was too much. She started calling, and when she found out Shu Luo’s phone was off, she got more panicked and went to find Jiang Mu.

Jiang Mu had been calling for almost half an hour, and when he finally got through, his anger flared up.

Shu Luo knew that Jiang Mu didn’t usually get angry. Only when something happened to him would he act like he had eaten dynamite. And Shu Luo was a little afraid when he acted like this.

“Uh… I forgot.” He really hadn’t forgotten to turn it on. He had just turned it off at night and hadn’t turned it back on in the morning.

Jiang Mu licked his dry lips. God knew how many places he had run to. Why did he put this carefree kid in his heart?

“Where are you?”

“That lake in the suburbs.”

Jiang Mu took a deep breath. He didn’t want to curse, but Shu Luo made him want to so badly. “Why did you go all the way out there?”

“I had things to do.”

Jiang Mu sighed. “Do you want me to come and get you?”

“I rode my bike here. I can get back by myself.”

“Just come back.”

Jiang Mu coldly hung up the phone and went to report to Shu’s mom.

Shu Luo put down his phone and looked at Su Jingfeng with a tragic expression. “I’m doomed… I’m going to get chewed out when I get back.”

Su Jingfeng shook his car keys. “I’ll drive you back. It’ll be faster.”

He put the bike in the back and packed up the fishing gear. Shu Luo was now experiencing a ride in a Ferrari.

This is a sports car! It’s so comfortable!

Shu Luo was enjoying the comfort of the sports car, but this temporary pleasure couldn’t replace the scolding he was about to face.

Jiang Mu was leaning against the entrance of the residential complex like a walking statue. His mixed-heritage features had matured, and he had the aura of a young man. Since he had European blood, he matured earlier than Asians. His handsome 16-year-old face and cold demeanor made him a glowing person that passersby couldn’t help but be drawn to.

A matte-colored Ferrari stopped at the entrance of the complex, also attracting many onlookers.

Shu Luo got out of the car with some trepidation, and he didn’t forget to thank Su Jingfeng. “Brother Feng, thank you for today.”

Jiang Mu’s eyes fell on the man in the driver’s seat wearing sunglasses, and his eyes held some hidden emotions.

Su Jingfeng was a little surprised to see Shu Luo’s “good brother.” A middle schooler? He looked very mature and was also mixed-heritage.

He took off his sunglasses, revealing his entire face.

The aura between the two men immediately changed after they made eye contact.