You Like The Smart Ones? You Should Have Said So Sooner! - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: I’m Just a Part of Your Play

For many days following that night, Qin Mian and Song Ying would leave school together, stopping by the old street to pick up some groceries. Song Ying would go directly to Qin Mian’s home, spend half an hour cooking two dishes, and then head to the restaurant for his shift.

On this day, as usual, school ended at 6:00 PM. Song Ying packed his bag like he always did. However, when he turned his head, he found Qin Mian staring intently at his phone, not having started packing at all.

Song Ying: “What are you looking at so seriously?”

Qin Mian didn’t look up. “Just found an online math lecture. This teacher is really good.”

Song Ying nodded, not thinking much of it. But Qin Mian’s next words hit him like an unexpected critical strike.

“The intro says he’s a special-rank teacher from Linjiang No. 2 High School. Honestly, he’s got real talent,” Qin Mian praised, eyes glued to the screen. “I heard this year’s top provincial scholar was his student.”

Hearing this, Song Ying’s body stiffened.

What the… that sounds familiar… it couldn’t be such a coincidence, could it?

He slowly leaned over to peek at Qin Mian’s screen. His heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally died. That old man with the white beard—who else could it be but his high school math teacher, Mo Weixin?

As for this year’s top scholar, Ji Chenxiang…

Song Ying’s phone vibrated right on cue. He opened it to see:

Ji Chenxiang: Song-ah, I have something to tell you.

Ji Chenxiang: First off, let me state for the record—I was forced.

Song Ying’s eyelid jumped. After that, no more messages popped up, but the status bar kept showing “typing…”

A few seconds later, the previous two messages were withdrawn.

Song Ying: ?

Song Ying: What are you doing?

Ji Chenxiang: Nothing.

Song Ying: You better explain clearly what you did behind my back that you’re sorry for.

The other side went completely MIA.

Song Ying: “……”

His fists tightened. If Ji Chenxiang weren’t currently at A-University, he would have loved to deliver two punches directly to his face.

Qin Mian fumbled around in his desk for a while, pulled out his house keys, and handed them to Song Ying, only to look up and see Song Ying’s darkened face. He paused and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Song Ying took a silent breath, maintaining his composure. “Nothing. Just encountered a dumbass.”

Qin Mian: ?

Seeing that Song Ying had no intention of explaining, he didn’t pry further. “Here are the keys. Go to my place first; I’ll probably be home a bit later.”

The content in Mo Weixin’s video was very fresh, and Qin Mian was interested in grinding through it a bit more.

Song Ying took the keys. “Fine.”

Because of Ji Chenxiang’s weird behavior, Song Ying was preoccupied. Consequently, after he finished cooking, he didn’t notice anything was amiss. He took Qin Mian’s keys and headed straight to the restaurant.

Qin Mian, immersed in the beauty of mathematics, also didn’t feel anything was wrong—until he stood empty-handed outside his own front door. Only then did he realize he didn’t have his keys.

“I should have just stopped by the restaurant first.” Qin Mian’s intermittent laziness flared up.

Faced with the choice of waiting until Song Ying returned at 10:00 PM or going to the restaurant now to get the keys, Qin Mian battled with himself for three minutes before surrendering to the latter. He resignedly made his way to the restaurant.

At this hour, there weren’t many people in the restaurant. Song Ying was currently tutoring Li Zhixun in math.

“Draw an auxiliary line here, then another one here… like this… and like that… and the answer comes out.” Song Ying’s hand, holding the pen, moved rapidly across the paper.

Li Zhixun’s face was blank, his eyes vacant. “Wait, wait… Uh… why do we draw an auxiliary line there?”

What happened? How did ‘this’ and ‘that’ lead to ‘that’? It felt like one moment they were talking about $1+1=2$, and the moment he looked down to pick up his pen, they were talking about how to build a rocket.

Song Ying: “After drawing it, you construct an equilateral triangle.”

Li Zhixun: “Um… why do we want to construct an equilateral triangle?”

Song Ying: “Because there’s a formula for equilateral triangles.”

“Uh, what formula?”

Song Ying held the pen, mouth open, but no words came out for a long time. He was a natural talent with a fast mind; he was okay at teaching those with a good foundation. Teaching someone with a very poor foundation was exhausting for him. He had to explain everything from scratch, something he rarely had to do at Linjiang No. 2, where everyone was a top student.

“Song Ying, my keys!”

Qin Mian’s voice suddenly rang out. Song Ying jumped in a start.

In the next second, he abruptly shoved the red pen into Li Zhixun’s hand and looked up as if he had only just heard Qin Mian’s voice.

Li Zhixun was a total blank: ?

Song Ying looked calm but felt guilty inside. “Oh right, I have your keys.”

Qin Mian stopped, his suspicious gaze wandering between the two. “What are you two doing?”

Song Ying explained calmly, “This is the owner’s son, Li Zhixun. He’s teaching me how to do a problem.”

Beside him, Li Zhixun stared at the red pen in his hand in a trance. What the hell?? Me? Teaching Song Ying??

Even if he didn’t know exactly how amazing Song Ying was, he at least knew Song Ying was a “Big Boss.” And him? A bottom-tier loser from No. 5 High School… he was worthy of teaching a Big Boss?

Qin Mian glanced at the dazed Li Zhixun with a look of doubt. “This…”

Why does it feel like this guy is about to pass out in the next second?

“Hi, I’m Qin Mian, from No. 2 High,” Qin Mian introduced himself normally.

Li Zhixun’s eyes suddenly went wide. He pointed at Qin Mian and sucked in a breath. “Hiss—I know you!”

How could he not know Qin Mian’s name? A rare provincial top-100 student. No. 2 High School had practically paraded around No. 5 High with a banner, making their principal so angry he almost collapsed and had to take heart medication to recover.

Qin Mian looked at Song Ying and asked sincerely, “Is my teaching not enough for you?”

He didn’t recall No. 5 High having any particularly brilliant figures.

Hearing this, Li Zhixun whipped his head around and looked at Song Ying accusingly. “Exactly! Is a top-100 student not enough? Why drag me into this?”

Wait, you’re both Big Bosses, you should be ‘exchanging pointers.’ Why bring me into it? Am I just a part of your play?

Song Ying: “……”

He gave Li Zhixun a chilling side-eye. Li Zhixun shut up immediately. Even though the restaurant belonged to his parents and Song Ying was just an employee, a “study-scum” naturally felt a deep reverence toward a “study-god.”

“I have free time, so I might as well learn more,” Song Ying explained. “You have homework to write when you get home; it’s not good to keep bothering you.”

“It’s no trouble,” Qin Mian said nonchalantly. However, the “considerate and understanding” filter he had for Song Ying grew even thicker.

Li Zhixun: …Wow.

Qin Mian looked at the paper. “Which problem? Let me see.”

Song Ying pointed to a geometry problem.

“This one…” Qin Mian understood and began explaining the problem to Song Ying. Throughout the process, he occasionally peppered in explanations for gaps in middle school knowledge.

Li Zhixun’s eyes sparkled as he listened, nodding repeatedly. “Oh—! Oh! I see! Ah—Soga!”

His reaction looked genuine, definitely not acting.