Petition Table

Yu Fan hadn't slept in class for two days straight, which actually made Zhuang Fangqin happy for a while.

But she quickly discovered that even though he wasn't sleeping, he wasn't listening either.

When she caught him pulling out his Chinese textbook during math class again, Zhuang Fangqin had had enough. The moment class ended, she hauled him to the office.

'I thought you'd stopped sleeping in class because you were finally studying,' Zhuang Fangqin said, arms crossed as she sat in her chair. 'But it turns out you were just putting on a show for me, right? What, afraid the class monitor will write you up? I don't remember you caring about that before.'

Yu Fan was so tired he was barely coherent. The words slipped out: 'It's because you—'

Made someone else watch me to make sure I didn't sleep in class.

And when that didn't work, you blamed them.

Just as he was about to say it, Yu Fan felt something was off. He pressed his lips together and stopped himself.

'Me? What about me?' Zhuang Fangqin looked confused.

Yu Fan leaned lazily against the desk. 'Nothing.'

Zhuang Fangqin was annoyed again by his evasive attitude. She unscrewed her thermos and held it in her hands. 'If you keep this up, what are you going to do after graduation? With your grades, you'd have to bribe your way into a vocational school, you know that?'

'Mm.'

Zhuang Fangqin knew he was brushing her off again. She couldn't help but look up and glare at him.

The injuries on Yu Fan's face from the start of the semester had all healed, but if you looked closely, there was still a faint mark between the two moles on his face.

So as she glared, her expression softened.

Actually, more than his grades, she was worried about Yu Fan's mental state. She'd seen him fight before—his face covered in blood, but his movements and expression were cold, as if he felt nothing.

She had once suspected Yu Fan had violent tendencies.

Of course, that had to do with his family. Growing up in that kind of environment, how could a kid have the heart to study?

'Forget it. I know talking more is useless.' Zhuang Fangqin put down her cup and announced, 'If you still get a self-defeating score on this midterm, I'll make another home visit.'

Yu Fan's face changed instantly. He darkened. 'I told you, don't come again—'

'When you become the principal, then you can give me orders.'

'...'

Yu Fan straightened up without realizing it. 'It won't do any good if you go. He can't control me.'

Zhuang Fangqin was unmoved. She'd actually been wanting to do another home visit for Yu Fan for a while—not just for his grades. She just wanted to talk to his father again, to try to make him pay attention to his child's upbringing.

'We'll talk about this after your exams.' Zhuang Fangqin waved her hand, not intending to dwell on the topic. 'Class is about to start. Go back.'

When Yu Fan returned to the Classroom, Wang Luan'an was sitting in Zhang Xianjing's seat, asking Chen Jingshen to mark key points for him.

Wang Luan'an: 'You're back. What did Fangqin yell at you about?'

Chen Jingshen stopped writing and glanced at him without expression.

His expression was much darker than when he left. That was rare—the last few times Yu Fan had gone to Zhuang Fangqin's office, he'd gone in with a whatever look and come back with the same.

'Nothing.' Yu Fan didn't notice the person next to him sizing him up. He was thinking about how to stop Zhuang Fangqin from meeting Yu Kaiming.

Change the locks at home, not let Yu Kaiming come back?

Move?

Or just drop out.

His thoughts were getting more and more extreme. Subconsciously, he was extremely resistant to Yu Kaiming coming into contact with anyone he knew.

'Study god, I found that the Slow Bird Flies First Study Guide advanced version is really useful. I could actually understand most of the questions on the test Fangqin just handed out,' Wang Luan'an asked. 'Do you think I have a chance of getting above 80 on this math exam?'

'Depends on the test difficulty,' Chen Jingshen said. 'If you can thoroughly understand the problems I marked, your score won't be too low.'

Wang Luan'an immediately beamed. He hugged the book and stood up. 'Great, I'm going back to battle it out with them... Yu Fan, let's skip the Billiards Hall after school these days.'

Yu Fan ignored him.

He'd been in too bad a mood just now, but suddenly it hit him—the simplest way to stop Zhuang Fangqin was to get a good score on the midterm.

The bell rang, and everyone around went back to their seats.

The last two periods this afternoon were both self-study. Yu Fan took out his Mobile Phone and messaged Zuo Kuan.

[-: Got the answers for the midterm?]

[Zuo Kuan: Holy shit... weren't you always too proud to copy answers?]

[-: I need to this time. Got any?]

[Zuo Kuan: No. Didn't your teacher tell you? They're turning on a signal jammer for this midterm. Lucky you—it's the first time the School is using that thing.]

'...'

Yu Fan's face went blank as he tossed his Mobile Phone into the drawer, where it landed in a pile of uniform jackets.

The jacket sagged under the weight, revealing the workbook that had been lying there for a long time, never once opened.

Yu Fan's peripheral vision caught the words 'Slow Bird' and he suddenly remembered what Wang Luan'an had just said.

This thing is really useful?

Wang Luan'an is even doing the advanced version, so the regular version should be pretty basic...

Maybe he could understand it.

But Chen Jingshen bought it. If he saw me using it, wouldn't that be embarrassing?

Thinking this, Yu Fan sneaked a glance at the person next to him.

Chen Jingshen was bent over his test, scribbling on scratch paper. When he did problems, he always had a deadpan expression, occasionally frowning, looking completely cut off from the world.

Usually, even if Zhang Xianjing was dancing and singing up front, Chen Jingshen wouldn't react. Me just flipping through a workbook—there's no way he'd notice.

Yu Fan thought confidently.

Feeling the gaze beside him disappear, Chen Jingshen's pen paused slightly, and the corner of his eye subtly glanced over.

He saw his deskmate's left arm stretched across the gap between the two desks in an exaggerated pose, as if trying to block someone's view.

Too bad the arm was too thin—Chen Jingshen could still see most of what was going on with one glance.

His deskmate, like a thief, was fumbling around in the desk drawer with his other hand, digging and digging.

The bright yellow Slow Bird Flies First Study Guide saw the light of day again.

Chen Jingshen: '...?'

Yu Fan carefully and gently opened the book, quietly read for ten minutes, then suddenly turned his head again—

Before Yu Fan could look over, Chen Jingshen quickly averted his eyes and randomly guessed 'B' on his test.

Sure that Chen Jingshen hadn't noticed, Yu Fan breathed a sigh of relief.

This book really was basic, and the solution steps were detailed enough. The first few pages even had two problems from middle school material. The key formulas from the Textbook were also in there.

In middle school, Yu Fan wasn't as much of a slacker as he was now. On the first test of freshman year, he could score over 70 in math. But in later exams, if he was in a good mood, he'd write what he knew; if he was in a bad mood, he'd only fill in the multiple-choice questions and randomly put 0 or 1 on the fill-in-the-blanks. His score gradually dropped to single digits, which was one of the reasons Zhuang Fangqin was so angry.

He held his pen and started reading the problems seriously.

At first it went smoothly, but after a few pages it got harder.

Until the bell rang, he was still stuck on that problem. But since people around him were starting to move, Yu Fan had no choice but to shove the workbook back into the drawer with a blank face.

'Wang Luan'an.' Chen Jingshen put down his pen and turned to call him.

'Huh?' Wang Luan'an was startled. 'What's up, study god?'

'I'll explain a problem to you.'

'?'

Wang Luan'an was flattered and came over eagerly.

The problem was one Chen Jingshen had just made up, right there on the scratch paper.

Yu Fan hadn't been paying attention at first, until Chen Jingshen read out the problem—half of the wording matched the problem he'd been stuck on.

?

What a coincidence?

He looked at Chen Jingshen suspiciously, but the other's expression was calm, with no reaction.

Chen Jingshen explained in detail, even reading out the formulas. Yu Fan popped a piece of gum into his mouth and listened while chewing.

He finally understood why Wang Luan'an liked asking Chen Jingshen to explain problems.

Wang Luan'an listened attentively at first, but as he listened, he felt something was off. He tried to speak up several times, but Chen Jingshen's explanation kept cutting him off.

So he could only weakly say after the other finished, 'No, study god... I already know this problem.'

Chen Jingshen held his pen between his fingers and raised an eyebrow. 'Oh, really?'

'Yeah, this problem is so easy, I've known it for a while!'

'Oh.' Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the person next to him secretly scribbling away. Chen Jingshen said, 'You're very impressive.'

That evening, Yu Fan hid the Slow Bird Flies First Study Guide inside his uniform jacket and took it home.

He took a quick shower and, for once, sat down at his desk.

Yu Fan couldn't remember the last time he'd burned the midnight oil studying. After eighth grade, he'd never brought studying home again.

He opened the book and continued from where he left off.

Ten minutes later, he scratched his hair in frustration.

The workbook was simple, but his foundation was too weak. The first few pages were okay, but the further he went, the more time he spent.

The midterm was next week. At this pace, there was no way he'd be ready...

Was cramming really going to help?

Yu Fan held his pen, suddenly feeling a bit lost.

With his tiny foundation, even if he worked hard, he couldn't get a great score. Otherwise, why would there be so many students driven crazy by math...

He thought maybe finding another way to stop Zhuang Fangqin would be more feasible than studying.

Maybe he should just give up.

Yu Fan threw down his pen and was about to close the book—

A buzz—his phone on the desk suddenly vibrated.

Then it buzzed several more times in a row.

Yu Fan leaned back, legs crossed on the chair, pen casually tucked behind his ear, and picked up his phone to open it.

Chen Jingshen had sent him several videos.

What's this? Yu Fan frowned and hesitantly opened one.

The screen showed an open workbook—the Slow Bird Flies First Study Guide in his hands—and it was open to the exact page he was on.

Chen Jingshen held a pen and circled one of the problems.

Since he was holding the phone with one hand, the circle was a bit awkward.

'Your foundation is low right now, so it's easy to pull your score up. As long as you're willing to work hard, a small improvement is basically guaranteed.'

At night in the Rundown Neighborhood, the sounds of mahjong and children crying filled the air.

Chen Jingshen's voice was clear and low in the room, and the noise outside seemed to drift far away. 'For this knowledge point, just do this problem. Connect point A and point E, add an auxiliary line here...'

Yu Fan listened silently for a while, then took the pen from behind his ear and slowly started writing along with his voice.

He watched the videos one by one, pausing and replaying, and an hour had passed.

Yu Fan scrolled down to the bottom of Chen Jingshen's messages.

[s: Sent to the wrong person.]

Sent fifty-four minutes ago.

Yu Fan stopped writing and replied with a '?'

The next second, his phone vibrated.

[s: I meant to send it to Wang Luan'an.]

[-: ?]

[-: Doesn't Wang Luan'an use the advanced version?]

[s: Oh, I grabbed the wrong study guide too.]

[-: ...]

Yu Fan's eyelids tightened. He typed 'Are you stupid?' and was about to send it when the other side sent another video.

In the video, Fanfan was rubbing hard against Chen Jingshen's hand. Chen Jingshen seemed to be sitting in a chair, his fingers curled as he scratched the dog a few times, asking casually, 'What? Want to go out?'

Fanfan: 'Woof!'

'I can't walk you.'

'Woof?'

'That brother from last time? He doesn't have time to take you.'

'Woof woof...'

Chen Jingshen hummed. 'Got it. I'll ask him for you.'

The video ended.

[s: This one was meant for you.]

Yu Fan grabbed the towel from his shoulder, covered his face, and rubbed his nose. He inexplicably lifted the corner of his mouth, then tapped his thumb on the screen.

[-: Are you stupid?]

-

The next day during self-study, Yu Fan secretly pulled out the Slow Bird Flies First Study Guide again.

He was almost done with a page of problems, but when he got to the last one, none of the formulas he tried worked.

Chen Jingshen's videos from last night didn't seem to cover this type of problem?

He frowned and instinctively turned his head. 'This problem—'

Shit.

Damn it.

Chen Jingshen turned and met his eyes. At that moment, Yu Fan didn't know whether to destroy the book or knock Chen Jingshen's memory out.

Just as he was hesitating, Chen Jingshen naturally put away the test paper on his desk.

'Let me see it.'

'...'

Damn.

It's just explaining a problem. What's there to be embarrassed about?

And wasn't this book originally payment for helping walk the dog?

Yu Fan licked his lips and withdrew the arm that was blocking between them. 'Oh...'

Yu Fan had a habit of biting his thumb when listening to explanations.

After Chen Jingshen finished explaining this problem, Yu Fan instinctively wanted to ask another, but was interrupted by a crisp knock on the door.

The Chinese teacher stood at the Classroom door and said, 'Class, next self-study period I'll be coming to do a spot check on reciting the Petition Table.'

The class erupted in groans.

'Teacher, what's the deal with a spot check now?' Wang Luan'an immediately asked. 'Is this going to be on the midterm?'

'Don't talk nonsense,' the Chinese teacher said. 'But this is a major test point anyway. Hurry up and review.'

The moment the Chinese teacher left, everyone who had been doing test papers immediately moved.

They all shoved their stuff into their drawers and pulled out their Chinese Textbooks.

Chen Jingshen looked back at his deskmate. 'Got it?'

Yu Fan was startled for a moment, then came back to himself. 'Oh... got it.'

The awkwardness from before seemed to have flown away.

Yu Fan only then remembered that the midterm wasn't just Zhuang Fangqin's subject—physics, Chinese, English... they were all tough.

He put away the Slow Bird Flies First Study Guide and, following the crowd, took out his Chinese Textbook and found the Petition Table.

To memorize it quickly, everyone around was reading aloud, their voices crowded together like chanting.

So even if he joined in, no one would notice.

Yu Fan's voice was almost a whisper: 'At the age of four, my uncle forced my mother to remarry. Grandmother Liu... Liu...'

Liu what?

How do you pronounce this character??

After checking Baidu, Yu Fan practiced over and over for most of the period, barely managing to get the first short passage smooth.

Yu Fan suppressed the irritation the classical Chinese was causing him and continued, 'When I came to serve the sage dynasty, I bathed in its pure transformation. The former prefect, minister...'

Minister what?

Who the hell can memorize this??

Yu Fan scratched his head in frustration and was about to take out his phone to check Baidu again when he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Chen Jingshen was looking at him and smiling.

His narrow eyes curved slightly, a very faint and quiet smile.

Yu Fan stared at him for a long moment before asking, 'The hell are you... laughing at?'

'Nothing.' Chen Jingshen's expression turned serious, and he quickly looked away. A few seconds later, he looked back again, the remnants of that smile still in the corners of his eyes.

'Just thinking that I'll still get to sit with you in the future makes me really happy.'

'...'

The Chinese teacher walked into the Classroom again. Yu Fan clutched his Textbook and only turned his head back after a long moment.

The characters on the Textbook page were still dense. Yu Fan's mind was a bit numb. The second paragraph just didn't look right no matter how he read it, so he decided to start over from the beginning.

At the age of four, my uncle forced my mother to remarry. Grandmother Liu... Liu...

Liu what was it again????

Damn, Chen Jingshen is poisonous.