Returning to the Shamate Era to Seduce the Top Student - Chapter 15

Perhaps because he had slept so soundly in the afternoon, Yin Xu still had no desire to sleep as midnight approached.

He sat at his desk and tried to self-study tenth-grade mathematics, only to end up staring blankly at the numbers and formulas.

Half an hour later, Yin Xu sighed at the stack of reference books in front of him and temporarily tucked them back into his schoolbag.

Upon opening the bag, however, he spotted an unopened new book lying inside.

The title was “Counterattack: The Evolution of a Slacker into a Scholar!”

This was the gift Pan Zheshuai and Song Xingyun had given him this morning, saying that to avoid cleaning toilets in a month’s time, they wanted to contribute a bit of strength to Yin Xu’s grand undertaking of a counterattack.

Looking at the introduction and promotional slogans on the cover, it didn’t look like a serious study guide; its usefulness was likely minimal.

Still, it was a gesture from his brothers, so Yin Xu had accepted it with a heart full of gratitude.

He looked at the bright red slogan printed on the spine: “Tired? If you’re tired, you’re doing it right. Youth is meant for tossing and turning!” He felt it quite matched his current state of mind.

He tore off the plastic film wrapping the book and leafed through the contents at random.

He had expected a brainwashing, MLM-style read full of chicken soup for the soul, but to his surprise, Yin Xu was gradually drawn in after reading for a while because the book was written in a very down-to-earth manner.

Inside were shared learning experiences from former slackers who had successfully staged counterattacks in the college entrance exams.

Supposedly, these were all true stories without any fictional elements.

One particular counterattacker, an anonymous student called “Xiao Shuai,” caught Yin Xu’s attention the most.

This Student Xiao Shuai said that during the high school entrance exam, he was admitted to his high school with the third-lowest score in the entire school, yet he eventually got into Peking University with the highest score in the school during the college entrance exams—a true miracle.

Student Xiao Shuai said that the point he benefited from most on his road to counterattacking was to consult others with an open mind and not be ashamed to ask questions, fully absorbing the secret martial arts manuals of other top students.

Because his foundation was poor, he was initially tormented by self-study to the point of almost giving up. Later, he found a one-on-one tutor for every single subject.

These tutors were actually the top students around him.

He discovered that the reason top students could get high scores every time was that they had already formed a set of scientific and efficient learning methods. These methods were like exclusive martial arts secrets that weren’t easily shared with outsiders.

Student Xiao Shuai shamelessly badgered them until he had secretly learned everyone’s exclusive secrets one by one, after which his learning efficiency increased a hundredfold!

Seeing this, Yin Xu slapped his thigh in excitement, as if a light had suddenly been switched on in his head:

“That’s right! I’m only six ‘Yuanfudao’ away from creating a damn miracle!”

Yin Xu spent a day and a night brooding over it and finally had a rough idea regarding finding tutors.

On Sunday night, he sent messages to Pan Zheshuai and the others, asking everyone to gather at Sister Qing’s fried skewer stall after school on Monday. He would treat them, he had important business to discuss.

And so, at 9:30 on Monday night, as the students of Luhe No. 3 High poured out of the school with their bags, Yin Xu braved the summer night breeze and headed first to Sister Qing’s fried skewer stall in the small plaza by the school gate to place an order.

Passing through the crowd, from about ten meters away, Yin Xu noticed a tall youth wearing the Luhe No. 3 High uniform already standing in front of Sister Qing’s stall.

The lighting in the plaza was dim. By the faint light, Yin Xu only felt the figure looked familiar. As he got closer, he realized it was actually Shen Que.

Coincidentally, Shen Que also turned his head to look over. After Yin Xu met his gaze, he felt a strange urge to turn around and leave immediately.

Perhaps because of his experience over the past few days where nothing good happened whenever he ran into Shen Que, Yin Xu couldn’t help but wonder if their magnetic fields were incompatible or if they were fated to clash.

Forget it, just ignore him.

Gotta believe in science.

Yin Xu walked forward and greeted the stall owner warmly: “Good evening, Sister Qing!”

Sister Qing, who was cleaning the workstation, looked up and her eyes immediately lit up: “Ah! Little handsome guy, long time no see!”

“Yeah, long time no see.”

“Changed your hairstyle again? It looks good, it suits you.”

Sister Qing chatted with Yin Xu familiarly. Her eyes were always smiling when she looked at him, making the terrifying scar on her face look much gentler.

“What do you want to eat today?”

“What do you have left?”

“Hmm, let me see.”

Sister Qing wiped the grease off her hands and walked to the glass cabinet on the side to check the remaining ingredients.

Since business at her stall usually wasn’t great, she had gotten used to preparing as few ingredients as possible every day to avoid them spoiling if they didn’t sell. She aimed to sell out everything each day, so her ingredients were generally very fresh.

Today was a relatively slow day, and there were quite a few skewers left in the glass cabinet.

She didn’t think much of it and truthfully told Yin Xu her estimate, not expecting Yin Xu to simply wave his hand and say: “Then just fry them all for me. I want the whole lot!”

Sister Qing was surprised: “Everything? Can you finish all that by yourself?”

Yin Xu responded briskly: “I can!”

Unexpectedly, Shen Que, who was standing to the side, suddenly offered a cold comment: “Pig.”

If it weren’t for the high recognizability of Shen Que’s voice, his clear pronunciation, and the fact that he was standing close, Yin Xu might have thought he was hallucinating.

Yin Xu: “Tsk, who are you calling a pig?”

Shen Que glanced at him, the silence speaking volumes.

Sister Qing, seeing the atmosphere was a bit off, hurried to smooth things over: “He’s probably joking with you, right? Are you guys friends?”

The two said in unison: “No.”

Sister Qing shut her mouth a bit awkwardly, then looked at Yin Xu: “Little handsome guy, I appreciate you wanting to support my business, but it’s not good to waste it if you buy so much and can’t finish it. Why don’t you—”

“Don’t worry, a few of my friends are coming over soon. I’ll eat with them.”

As Yin Xu spoke, he put his palm to his mouth and whispered to her: “Those few guys are the ones who can really eat like pigs!”

Sister Qing burst into laughter at his words: “All right, all right then, I’ll fry them for you immediately! I’ll give you a twenty percent discount!”

Yin Xu acted the part of a complete spendthrift: “No need for a discount, I have money.”

Sister Qing nodded with a smile, feeling touched.

She quickly fished a starch sausage that was frying in the pot and put in a fresh batch of skewers.

She coated the freshly fried starch sausage in sweet and spicy sauce, wrapped the bamboo skewer in a paper towel, and handed it to Shen Que.

Seeing this, Yin Xu let out a light huff: “So you’ve been standing here all this time just to buy one single sausage? How stingy.”

Shen Que: “I’m not a pig.”

Yin Xu choked for a second, then stubbornly dragged him down with him: “How are you not? Weren’t you born in ’95 just like me? That means you’re the Year of the Pig. If I’m a pig, then you’re a pig too.”

Shen Que looked somewhat speechless.

Was there really anyone who insulted people by dealing a thousand points of damage to the enemy while taking eight hundred themselves?

“The Year of the Pig is good, Year of the Pig is good!”

Sister Qing smoothed things over again.

“People born in the Year of the Pig are blessed. You both will be blessed!”

After Sister Qing finished speaking with a smile, her eyes quickly darted a slightly reproachful look at Shen Que.

Shen Que saw it and didn’t say anything more, turning to leave with his starch sausage.

Yin Xu called out to him again: “Hey, haven’t you paid yet?”

Shen Que’s footsteps paused. He looked back at Sister Qing, holding his half-eaten sausage and looking like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Sister Qing also looked at him blankly, her expression a bit subtle, as if she were holding back something funny.

She cleared her throat and waved her hand: “It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s just one sausage, no need to pay. Consider it a—a treat from Auntie.”

“That won’t do,” Yin Xu said. “Sister Qing, if you’re always giving things away like this, how are you supposed to stay in business? Isn’t a small business about every little bit adding up?”

Sister Qing gave a dry laugh: “True…”

Yin Xu tilted his head at Shen Que: “What are you standing there for? Pay up.”

Shen Que answered plainly: “I didn’t bring any money.”

Yin Xu was surprised: “For real?”

Shen Que: “For real.”

Yin Xu stared at him blankly: “……”

A moment later, Yin Xu pulled out his wallet, suppressing a laugh:

“I say, what kind of person comes out to buy things without money? Are you trying to eat for free? Sigh, for the sake of us being classmates, I’ll spot you this one yuan. Don’t be too grateful to your Big Brother Yin. Just don’t forget the favor of this one yuan when you become successful in the future.”

Just as Yin Xu placed a coin on Sister Qing’s glass counter, he saw Shen Que pull two oranges out of his schoolbag and place them in Yin Xu’s hand: “Returning the favor. We’re even.”

Then he turned and left.

Yin Xu stared at the two round, plump oranges in his hand for a moment before shouting at Shen Que’s retreating back:

“Hey! It’s just one yuan, was it really worth paying me back!”

It made him look so petty.

Shen Que acted as if he hadn’t heard and vanished into the night without looking back.

Sister Qing shook her head helplessly and continued her work.

As she used a knife to make decorative cuts on a ham sausage, she chatted with Yin Xu, who was humming a little tune: “Little handsome guy, you seem to be in a very good mood today?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Let me guess, did you do well on the exam this time?”

“Uh…” Yin Xu went silent.

Sister Qing, you really have a knack for precision strikes.

Before he could answer, a burst of laughter erupted from behind him: “Hahaha, you’re speechless! Quick, tell Sister Qing that you got last place again!”

Yin Xu looked back to see Tao Mingzhao, Pan Zheshuai, Song Xingyun, and Zhou Jilin had all arrived.

The one leading the laughter was Tao Mingzhao. This kid had ranked third in the grade for the Back-to-School Exam, making people’s teeth itch with annoyance.

Yin Xu cracked his knuckles twice, looking very threatening: “Tao Xiaoming, has it been too long since you’ve been beaten for being a brat? Are you starting to lose respect for your Big Brother?”

“No, no, no! My respect for Brother Yin is like a surging river, unending and boundless!”

Tao Mingzhao hurried over and grabbed Brother Yin’s hand, turning his stiffness into softness.

“I wanted to say, thank you for another stable performance by coming in last place! It’s put my mind at ease! I reckon I’ll make quite a bit once the monthly exam results come out. Betting on this is way more profitable than slot machines or marbles. A lot of people were actually waiting to see your results on this exam before deciding whether to bet on you winning.”

“Why?”

“Because they were all guessing if you had found a tutor over the summer to cram, which is why you had the guts to bet with Hu Yi. I’m laughing so hard my mouth is crooked! Don’t I know you? You spent the entire summer in the internet cafe playing Q.Q Speed and Xuanwu. You didn’t read a single page of a book, didn’t write a single homework problem, and you didn’t miss a single day of stealing vegetables from my Zone—you even set an alarm to get up in the middle of the night to steal them! I’m truly impressed by you. If you could put that kind of perseverance and determination into studying, forget getting into university—the position of future Principal of Luhe No. 3 High would be yours!”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Yin Xu had been full of anger, but now he was teased into a laugh: “You just wait. I’ll definitely give you a scare next exam!”

“Old Yin, don’t listen to his nonsense.”

Pan Zheshuai walked over and put an arm around Yin Xu’s shoulder.

“Tell us, what exactly is this ‘important business’ we’re here to discuss?”

“Yeah, you even specially set up a gathering to treat us to fried skewers.”

“As if I don’t usually treat you guys,” Yin Xu said. “Let’s talk while we eat.”

In the time they spent talking, the first batch of skewers in the pot was ready.

Sister Qing fished them out, dipped them in sauce, and brought them over for them to share.

Although Sister Qing’s stall was small and business wasn’t great, her service to the customers was very thoughtful. She even provided portable seating for customers to sit and eat.

So, the five of them sat around a small square table next to the stall.

There were only four small stools. They played rock-paper-scissors to pick seats. In the end, Pan Zheshuai and Tao Mingzhao lost and grudgingly squeezed onto the same stool.

As the host, Yin Xu thoughtfully handed each of them a fried skewer, cleared his throat, and began:

“Friends, you all know your brother here has run into some trouble lately. My current situation—ahem—I won’t mention how awkward it is. Those who know, know.”

Pan Zheshuai mumbled softly: “Wasn’t that your own doing?”

“Tsk, don’t interrupt me.”

Yin Xu continued.

“Initially, I wanted to cultivate on my own and break through the bottleneck, but these past two days I’ve realized that self-study… it really doesn’t suit me. So, I want to find myself some tutors to lead me in my studies. That should be more reliable.”

Zhou Jilin listened intently and nodded: “Mmh, makes sense. So, have you thought about who to ask?”

“Far away in the sky, yet right before your eyes.” Yin Xu pointed his bamboo skewer at the people in front of him. “It’s you guys.”

The four of them were collectively stunned. They didn’t even dare to bite the skewers at their lips, their faces practically spelling out:

“Huh? Me?”