Ye Ling frowned as she put down the book in her hand and gave Zhao Guodong a glance. Then she pulled her chair back and sat down properly. Zhao Guodong’s face flashed with a trace of embarrassment, but he didn’t dare to lower his head and admit defeat.
He tried to explain himself, "Bumpkin, you’re just too light; I didn’t even use any force."
As soon as the word "bumpkin" came out of Zhao Guodong’s mouth, it drew glances from the surrounding classmates. Wang Ping, who sat in the last row, couldn’t help but snicker, his laughter the loudest. As for Zhang Linong, he lazily leaned against the chair, holding a book. He didn’t look towards Zhao Guodong, but there was a smile at the corner of his mouth, clearly having heard Zhao Guodong’s words.
Ye Ling took a deep breath, "Zhao Guodong, if you call me bumpkin again, believe it or not, I’ll tell the teacher."
"You’re not a kid, still using this trick?" Zhao Guodong wasn’t afraid at all. However, seeing Ye Ling talking to him made him happy. He pulled his chair closer to Ye Ling, "I call you bumpkin because you let Song Mei and the others bully you without fighting back. Don’t feel aggrieved. If you keep standing up for yourself like today, I’ll stop calling you bumpkin."
Zhao Guodong felt quite good about this justification, proudly lifting his chin. Ye Ling sighed inwardly at his smug expression. In her previous life, she only knew that Zhao Guodong was a troublemaker. She never got close to him or really understood him. Now, after two encounters, she actually found him quite interesting. On the surface, he seemed like a ruffian, but inside, he was someone who stood up for justice, which was admirable.
Although she didn’t know how he performed academically in her previous life, based on his sudden decision to study hard after hearing just one sentence from her, Ye Ling thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to help him. Besides, as he said, when Song Mei was causing trouble back in the day, he often helped her out.
"Do you really mean it when you say you want to study hard?" Ye Ling had an idea and finally spoke unhurriedly, "I can help you study, but I have a few conditions."
"What conditions?" Zhao Guodong became interested.
Even Wang Ping, who was watching the show, became energized, dragging his chair closer to Zhao Guodong. His desk mate Zhang Linong didn’t move, but he put down his book and watched Ye Ling with interest, seemingly sizing her up.
"First, you can no longer call me bumpkin. Second, before the entrance exams, you have to listen to me. What I say goes; if not, I won’t help you. Third, if someone bullies me, you have to stand up for me." Ye Ling had hesitated before, but after speaking, she felt this arrangement was good.
"Bumpkin, you have such a big mouth. Can you guarantee I’ll pass?" Zhao Guodong raised his voice upon hearing that he had to listen to her.
This drew the attention of people nearby. Ye Ling raised an eyebrow, and Zhao Guodong immediately knew he was wrong. He shrank his neck and lay down on the desk, shouting to the class, "What are you looking at? Mind your own business."
With his shout, no one else dared to watch.
Ye Ling, knowing the exam questions, naturally had the confidence to get Zhao Guodong to pass, "If you want to pass, you have to listen to me. If you do, you’ll definitely pass."
Her confident tone left Zhao Guodong scratching his head, not knowing how to refute. Such confidence was hard to dismiss, but why was she, a bumpkin, so assured?
"Afraid?" Ye Ling heard the class bell and picked up the textbook on the desk, "Think it over carefully and let me know your decision."
Glancing up, she saw Song Mei and Ye Qian entering the classroom. Ye Ling stopped talking, and Zhao Guodong frowned. The teacher came in and, after about ten minutes of class, left, allowing students to study independently since the entrance exams were approaching without a teacher supervising.
Zhao Guodong remained motionless, but Wang Ping, sitting on the other side, couldn’t hold back and quietly asked Zhang Linong, "Do you think Dongzi really listens to the bumpkin? She doesn’t even know if she can pass, so how can she guarantee Dongzi passes?"
Dongzi was Zhao Guodong’s nickname.
Zhang Linong smiled with interest, "You’ll find out if he can pass by trying, won’t you?"
Zhang Linong saw Wang Ping’s clueless look and shook his head, "Focus on your own book. If you don’t pass, you’ll be the one crying."
Wang Ping smirked, "If I don’t pass, I’ll just become a worker."
"Let others dictate your path?" Zhang Linong raised an eyebrow.
Wang Ping’s demeanor deflated. Growing up in a company compound, how could he not know the difference between getting into a company with a college degree versus just a middle school diploma? But with his brain, passing was no easy task.
On the other side, Zhao Guodong finally lost his patience and tugged at Ye Ling’s sleeve, "Can you really guarantee I’ll pass?"
Ye Ling glanced at him from the corner of her eye and nodded.
Summoning his courage, Zhao Guodong said, "Alright, I’ll agree to your three conditions. But I have one condition too: I’ll listen to you, but you can’t embarrass me in front of others. Talk to me in private if there’s anything. I’m somewhat of a figure in school; it’d be degrading for me if people saw me listening to you."
Fearing others might overhear, Zhao Guodong unconsciously leaned closer to Ye Ling until his body touched her arm without him noticing. Ye Ling shot him a sideways glance, still somewhat puzzled, "Did I say something wrong?"
"Back off a bit," Ye Ling’s eyes rested on her arm.
Zhao Guodong, realizing what had happened, felt his ears grow hot. He sat back to hide his embarrassment and mumbled, "I’ll take that as your agreement. You better help me get into high school."
"When you get home today, copy everything from this paper. If there’s anything you can’t do, mark it, and I’ll explain it to you tomorrow," Ye Ling said, tearing a piece of paper from her notebook and pushing it in front of Zhao Guodong.
Zhao Guodong happily accepted and glanced over it, "So while the teacher was gone, you were writing questions for me."
Realizing Ye Ling had been preparing study materials for him made Zhao Guodong very happy. He couldn’t help but praise, "Bumpkin, you’re actually quite nice."
Not as cold as she seemed.
Ye Ling gave him a sideways glance with a playful smile, and Zhao Guodong immediately realized his mistake, quickly apologizing, "I said it wrong, it won’t happen again."
"What won’t happen?" Song Mei had only heard Zhao Guodong and Ye Ling talking at the back but couldn’t hear what they were saying. She turned around to face them, "This is class time, you two should speak less and not disturb the other students."
Zhao Guodong immediately remembered Ye Ling’s conditions and glared, "What business is it of yours? I’m asking questions, questions, you understand? How can you ask without talking? If you don’t understand, step aside and stop meddling."
Song Mei bit her lip, not daring to provoke Zhao Guodong, and could only transfer her anger to Ye Ling, giving a fierce glare before turning away.
"Did I do the right thing?" Zhao Guodong eagerly asked Ye Ling for approval.
His voice was loud enough that those around couldn’t help but hear. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)