Returning to High School to Save My Wife - Chapter 29

Liang Qi and Jiang Yuan both performed exceptionally well on the pop quiz, with Liang Qi even achieving a perfect score.

With one taking first place and the other second, the entire class was stunned when the results were posted. On the wall to the right of the blackboard, the list of scores for all thirty students was displayed; the “100” at the very top was just as eye-catching as the “0” at the very bottom.

 

A crowd of students gathered by the podium, whispering about the new rankings.

 

“Liang Qi did that well? She actually beat the Class Monitor by two points.”

 

“There’s an eight-point gap between her and third place. That’s insane.”

 

“I heard only the two of them solved the last fill-in-the-blank question correctly.”

 

“How did she get such a high score? You don’t think she cheated, do you?”

 

“Teacher He proctors so strictly; it’s nearly impossible to cheat.”

 

“Liang Qi just has specific strengths. You can’t be a bad student and get into the Rocket Class. Didn’t she place first in Biology too?”

 

“Exactly. You think everyone is like Hang Jiao? Liang Qi’s parents are both high-achieving intellectuals.”

 

“Hahaha, true point.”

 

At their desks, Liang Qi was explaining the solution to the fill-in-the-blank question Jiang Yuan had missed.

 

“It’s because your auxiliary line was drawn incorrectly. It should have started from this side…”

 

“Let me figure out the rest myself,” Jiang Yuan took the pen from her. “I want to see if I can solve it now.”

 

“Go ahead, give it a try.” Liang Qi let go of the pen, her fingers accidentally brushing against Jiang Yuan’s hand. The contact was soft and warm with a slight hint of coolness, but it sent a sweetness straight to Liang Qi’s heart that felt like eating a marshmallow.

 

In the past, Liang Qi often held Jiang Yuan’s hand. Partially because Jiang Yuan’s hands were always cold and she worried she was freezing, and partially because they were soft and slightly smaller than her own, which made Liang Qi feel at peace.

 

Liang Qi’s hand hovered in the air; she felt a sudden impulse to hold on for just a bit longer. Her fingers twitched slightly before she realized what she was doing and promptly withdrew her hand.

 

Jiang Yuan began sketching on her scratch paper. Her handwriting was neat and elegant, unlike Liang Qi’s, which was a bit scrawled—Tanzhi Yan often joked it looked like a celebrity’s autograph.

 

As expected of the top student who entered the Rocket Class in first place, once Jiang Yuan found the right auxiliary line, she quickly arrived at the correct answer.

 

“I solved it too,” Jiang Yuan put down the pen and showed Liang Qi her steps. “Is this right?”

 

“Spot on! That’s exactly how you do it.”

 

Just then, a girl from their class slid open the window from the hallway. “Class Monitor, someone’s looking for you!”

 

Jiang Yuan turned her head in confusion. “Who is it?”

 

The girl gave a mysterious smile. “You’ll know once you go out!”

 

Surprised, Jiang Yuan leaned out the window to look down the corridor but didn’t see anyone she recognized. She sat back down and whispered to Liang Qi, “Let me through for a second.”

 

“Oh, sure.” Liang Qi pulled her chair back to give Jiang Yuan space.

 

Once outside, Jiang Yuan looked around and still didn’t see anyone familiar. Just as she was about to ask the girl again, the student pointed toward the stairwell.

 

“Over there,” the girl mouthed.

 

“Thanks.”

 

Jiang Yuan walked to the stairwell and looked left and right. Still seeing no one, she was about to turn back when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

 

“Jiang Yuan.”

 

The male voice had a slightly roguish tint. Jiang Yuan turned to see Cheng Zhuocheng standing there, his school jacket draped casually over his T-shirt, drawing glances from the surrounding girls.

 

“Is Cheng Zhuocheng looking for Jiang Yuan again?”

 

“I heard he’s been chasing her for a long time, since their first year.”

 

“Wow, he hasn’t caught her yet?”

 

“Yeah, they say Cheng Zhuocheng hasn’t accepted Yue Suxin specifically because of Jiang Yuan.”

 

“He’s so handsome and devoted; why does Jiang Yuan keep rejecting him?”

 

“You guys don’t know the half of it. Jiang Yuan has a brother in Class 3 who’s just as good-looking as Cheng Zhuocheng. It’s normal for her to have high standards.”

 

“Really? What’s his name?”

 

“Got a photo? Let me see!”

 

Jiang Yuan wasn’t close to Cheng Zhuocheng. Their few interactions in their first year were all centered around his pursuit of her. She had declined him several times, but he never gave up, even sending love letters through others now that they were in different classes.

 

Jiang Yuan only cared about her studies, so she naturally found it bothersome. However, remembering that he had helped her retrieve her phone recently, her attitude was a bit softer than usual.

 

“Are you… looking for me?”

 

“Yeah, I came specifically to see you,” Cheng Zhuocheng grinned handsomely. “Jiang Yuan, is everything okay between you and Yue Suxin? Last time I just came down to borrow a pen, I didn’t expect to see you two in a conflict.”

 

“It’s fine,” Jiang Yuan said. “It’s in the past.”

 

Since no surveillance was checked and no one saw Jiang Yuan “frame” her, Yue Suxin could only throw a tantrum that one time; she couldn’t actually prove anything.

 

“Good to hear. Liu Jiayao gave you the phone, right? She and Yu Xingran came to see me the day before yesterday, saying your phone might be with Yue Suxin and asking me to help get it back. I figured there might be some friction between you, so I came down to check on you today.”

 

“Just a small misunderstanding,” Jiang Yuan didn’t want to explain the details of her conflict with Yue Suxin to him, so she changed the subject. “Thank you for the help.”

 

“Don’t mention it. We’re classmates; it’s only right to help each other.”

 

Cheng Zhuocheng smiled and reached out, intending to pat Jiang Yuan’s shoulder, but she instinctively dodged, leaving his hand hanging awkwardly in mid-air.

 

Feeling rebuffed, he lowered his hand, the smile on his lips fading significantly. “By the way, Jiang Yuan, are you free this weekend?”

 

“This weekend? Why?”

 

“Oh,” he explained, “nothing major. I just wanted to ask you out for a meal.” He paused for a few seconds before adding, “My treat, you don’t have to spend a cent. Just a chance to head out and clear your head.”

 

Jiang Yuan declined politely. “No, I have homework to do at home this weekend. You should ask someone else.”

 

“We just started the second year; how much homework could there be? With your grades, you’ll probably finish in a day. Don’t be shy, it’s just a meal, it doesn’t cost much. Let’s settle on it then, this weekend.”

 

Cheng Zhuocheng was cut off before he could finish.

 

“She already has plans this weekend.”

 

Hearing that voice, Jiang Yuan’s heart skipped a beat. She turned to see Liang Qi, who had appeared out of nowhere, and felt a sudden wave of inexplicable panic.

 

Liang Qi stepped up beside Jiang Yuan and said leisurely, “Yuan Yuan and I have already agreed she’s coming to my house this weekend. Don’t try to cut the line.”

 

Cheng Zhuocheng recognized Liang Qi as Jiang Yuan’s desk-mate. Hearing her tone, he could tell she was close with Jiang Yuan, so he said generously, “Why don’t you both come? If it’s the two of you, Jiang Yuan might feel more comfortable.”

 

“Didn’t I say? Yuan Yuan already has an appointment with me,” Liang Qi glanced at the girl beside her and gave a radiant smile. “Right?”

 

Cheng Zhuocheng hesitated, shifting his gaze to Jiang Yuan. For some reason, he felt that Liang Qi’s attitude toward him carried a hint of hostility.

 

Jiang Yuan knew Liang Qi was giving her an excuse, so she played along. “Mm, we agreed to do homework and preview lessons together this weekend, so let’s forget about the meal.”

 

“Not free for both days?” Cheng Zhuocheng clearly hadn’t given up.

 

“Our class has quite a lot of homework; we won’t finish that quickly.”

 

“How about tonight? Or tomorrow? I have time whenever…”

 

Before Jiang Yuan could refuse, Liang Qi spoke up again. “She’s not free at all.”

 

This time, even Jiang Yuan was startled. “Liang Qi…”

 

“Yuan Yuan,” Liang Qi turned to face her, “didn’t you promise to help your brother with his lessons during this period? How would you have time to go out for dinner at night?”

 

“I… yes,” Jiang Yuan hesitated briefly before explaining to Cheng Zhuocheng, “My brother is struggling with some concepts, and I promised to tutor him.”

 

She hadn’t wanted to accept his invitation in the first place; her softened attitude was purely due to the phone incident. Fearing he would keep trying, she added, “Thank you for the phone thing. I will return the favor.”

 

Since Jiang Yuan put it that way, Cheng Zhuocheng couldn’t say much more. With the bell about to ring, he checked his phone and looked back at her. “Then let’s have a meal together next time.”

 

“We’ll talk about ‘next time’ when it comes,” Liang Qi answered on her behalf.

 

Only after Cheng Zhuocheng had gone back upstairs did Jiang Yuan say to Liang Qi, “Thank you for helping me out just now.”

 

Liang Qi didn’t bother with pleasantries for once, asking directly, “Does he ask you out often?”

 

“When we were in the same class, he looked for me a lot,” Jiang Yuan told her honestly. “But we’ve only ever spoken a few times.”

 

“You should stay away from him in the future. He looks like he has ulterior motives. If I’d known it was him looking for you today, I wouldn’t have let you go alone.”

 

“I know what I’m doing,” Jiang Yuan said, knowing Liang Qi meant well. She paused, then asked tentatively, “But, Liang Qi.”

 

“Mm? What is it?”

 

“Do you really dislike Cheng Zhuocheng?”

 

“What?”

 

“Do you have some kind of history with him?” Jiang Yuan asked frankly. Except for Yue Suxin, she rarely saw Liang Qi act that way toward anyone. It made her wonder if Liang Qi just had a problem with him.

 

Liang Qi froze, suddenly realizing her attitude had been quite unfriendly, and she dialed it back. “No, I just didn’t want him giving you trouble.”

 

In truth, she did have a problem. She just didn’t dare say it. Who would like seeing their wife being hit on?

 

She wasn’t about to give Jiang Yuan up to anyone else. Jiang Yuan was her wife; no matter who pursued her, Liang Qi had to make sure they kept their distance.

 

Hearing Liang Qi’s words, Jiang Yuan gave a small, suppressed smile. “You’re certainly good at making up excuses.”

 

Between “going to Liang Qi’s house to study” and “tutoring Jiang Mu,” she hadn’t even thought of those herself.

 

“Like I said, there are always more solutions than problems.”

 

Jiang Yuan believed her. However, over the next few days, she noticed Liang Qi’s behavior toward her was clearly unusual. Whenever a boy came to talk to her, Liang Qi would intentionally twirl her pen to make noise, and even the sound of her writing would become louder. She clearly had an issue.

 

Jiang Yuan decided she needed to talk to her.

 

On Friday after school, Jiang Yuan didn’t immediately pack her bag. Seeing that most students had left, she looked at Liang Qi—who was still leisurely writing down her homework assignments—and spoke softly.

 

“Liang Qi… you really don’t have to be like this.”

 

“Mm-hmm?”

 

“I am good friends with you. They are just regular classmates.”

 

Liang Qi’s pen stopped.

 

I want to be much more than just a friend, she thought.