You Like The Smart Ones? You Should Have Said So Sooner! - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Dropping the Mask

Qin Mian hadn’t originally cared, but he suddenly realized that the person living opposite him was Song Ying.

With this in mind, Qin Mian stood up and opened the door, wanting to see who was looking for Song Ying. He guessed it was likely Li Zhixun. However, the moment he pushed the door open, he knew it wasn’t him.

“Excuse me, who are you looking for?” he asked.

Mo Weixin had been knocking without an answer and was starting to wonder if he had the wrong place. Hearing movement behind him, he turned around to see a clean-cut, refreshing-looking boy. But then, he noticed the boy staring at him with pupils blown wide in total shock.

Qin Mian swallowed his surprise and spoke tentatively, “…Professor Mo Weixin?”

Mo Weixin was puzzled. “Little friend, you know me?”

Qin Mian took a sharp breath and closed his eyes, trying his best to calm down. He had been listening to Mo Weixin’s online lectures lately and had become a loyal fan.

What is the difference between this and a fan meeting their idol in real life!?

Qin Mian opened his eyes, steadied his racing heart, and extended a trembling hand to shake Mo Weixin’s.

“Hello, Professor Mo! I’ve listened to your online classes; they are truly wonderful! I really like you!”

Mo Weixin gave a kindly smile, looking at the excited boy before him. He was gratified to meet a student who enjoyed his lectures. He assumed the boy’s academic performance must be quite good, as his lectures often touched on competition-level knowledge.

“Hahaha, thank you, thank you. It seems you are a very studious one.”

Qin Mian was submerged in the joy of being praised by his idol and didn’t recover for a long while. Finally, he asked, “Professor Mo, why are you here?”

“Oh, I’m here to find a student of mine,” Mo Weixin said.

As Qin Mian was processing what that meant, Song Ying, hearing the commotion at the door, poked his head out curiously. In doing so, he locked eyes with Mo Weixin completely unprepared.

Shit, what’s going on!?

In an instant, Mo Weixin’s genial expression turned ferocious.

“Song Ying! Keep hiding from me then!” His voice was like a thunderclap.

Raising his briefcase and pointing it toward Song Ying, he marched aggressively toward him. Qin Mian stood frozen at the door with a blank expression, watching Mo Weixin pull off a literal face-changing act. Next thing he knew, Song Ying was being hauled over and forced to sit obediently at the dining table.

…Could someone please explain what was happening?

Qin Mian’s dazed gaze happened to catch Song Ying stealing a look at him. In a flash of insight, he realized that the thing Song Ying wanted to tell him today was almost certainly related to this.

Qin Mian closed the door and sat silently opposite Song Ying, coldly observing the absurd turn of events.

Mo Weixin was still in full “output” mode. He pointed at Song Ying, his voice stern: “Song Ying, you’ve really got some nerve! Not a peep out of you, just running off to Dong’an all by yourself to retake the year?”

“Ji Chenxiang has some nerve too, colluding with you, right? If I hadn’t gone to A-University to corner him, I really wouldn’t have found you.”

“Changed your number, didn’t leave an address! Are you trying to irritate me to death?!”

“You aren’t afraid of that kid from the Zhou family anymore, are you!?”

Song Ying listened to the scolding in silence until those last few words. He suddenly looked up and retorted, “When was I ever afraid of him?”

Mo Weixin nodded in anger. “Fine, you aren’t afraid, but I am!”

“That kid has money and power; he could make someone disappear without a sound. You aren’t afraid, but I’m scared to death!” Mo Weixin stared at the crown of Song Ying’s head and cursed.

After that, Mo Weixin stopped shouting and sat in the chair next to Song Ying, huffing for breath. The living room fell into silence.

After a while, Mo Weixin scanned Song Ying, his voice less harsh. “Did that kid send people to find you?”

Song Ying nodded silently.

Mo Weixin huffed in anger again.

Song Ying quickly added, “It’s fine, they didn’t hit me. Qin Mian helped me dodge them.”

As he spoke, he looked toward Qin Mian. Mo Weixin followed his gaze, and his expression softened into kindness once more.

“Qin Mian? Little Qin looks like a brave and resourceful young man. Thank you for helping this brat Song Ying.”

Qin Mian’s lips curled into a polite, shallow smile. “You’re welcome.”

Seeing that the two of them were mostly done talking, he began his own questioning.

“Professor Mo, may I ask you a few things?” Qin Mian’s voice was polite.

Mo Weixin smiled. “Sure, go ahead.”

Song Ying’s heart tightened; he had a very bad feeling about this.

Qin Mian: “You are Song Ying’s teacher?”

Mo Weixin nodded. “Yes. Song Ying was in the class I led.”

“Oh, so he’s from Linjiang No. 2 High School?” Qin Mian nodded calmly. “How are his math grades?”

Song Ying glanced at Qin Mian several times, but Qin Mian didn’t give him the time of day, refusing to even look in his direction.

Hearing this, Mo Weixin spoke with a trace of pride he didn’t even notice: “His math is passable.”

“Passable? Roughly what level is that?”

“Usually a full score. Occasionally he has an off day and gets a 149 or 148.”

Song Ying closed his eyes, unable to bear watching this.

It’s over.

“Oh, I see.” Qin Mian understood perfectly.

At this point, Qin Mian finally spared Song Ying a glance. Under Song Ying’s watch, Qin Mian coldly threw a perfectly enunciated “Dumbass” at him, then stood up, went into the bedroom, and slammed the door with a loud bang.

Song Ying: “…”

Mo Weixin looked at the situation in confusion. “? What’s wrong with Qin Mian?”

Song Ying leaned back against the chair wearily and stared at the ceiling.

“What did you do to make him so angry?” Mo Weixin’s impression of the studious and polite Qin Mian was excellent, so his first instinct was to interrogate Song Ying.

Song Ying sighed listlessly and explained the misunderstanding between him and Qin Mian in a few words.

Mo Weixin understood. “Pretending not to know when you actually do—you really are a dumbass. That was a very accurate insult.”

Song Ying didn’t want to talk.

“Alright, this is clearly your fault. Make sure to apologize properly later,” Mo Weixin said seriously. “Now, let’s talk about your business.”

Song Ying pinched his fingertip, not looking at Mo Weixin. “…What business?”

Mo Weixin stared at him. “You still haven’t given me an explanation. Why were you late on the day of the National College Entrance Exam?”

As the words fell, the dining table lapsed into silence.

Song Ying lowered his head, looking at the crescent-shaped red mark on his fingertip, and covered it with his other hand.

Mo Weixin frowned and reached out to pull Song Ying’s hand away. “Stop pinching. Is it your mother…?”

“Don’t say it…” Song Ying interrupted, his voice a bit raspy. “…It’s all in the past. I’ll just retake the exam.”

Mo Weixin stared at him for a long time before finally letting out a heavy sigh. His eyes were slightly red with heartache for his student.

Such a good student—what kind of mess was going on at his home?