"Wow, this guy is so handsome!"
"How can there be such a handsome man in the world?"
"She couldn’t be dreaming, could she?"
Just as Tong Wen was about to pinch herself, Xia Ping’s soft and mushy voice asked, "Brother Ci?"
Tong Wen and Shen Ci both froze.
Shen Ci, upon seeing Xia Ping’s face clearly, furrowed his brows and glared fiercely, "I’m not your cousin, don’t call me that."
He said and went straight to the second floor.
Tong Wen and Xia Ping were stunned for a second, then quickly stepped forward to stop him.
Xia Ping’s eyes were slightly red; she dared not speak and just blocked the staircase.
Tong Wen said aggressively, "What do you think you’re doing?"
Shen Ci’s attitude just now made her suspect he was one of those good-for-nothing ruffians with a façade of integrity; she was worried that he had come to make trouble for Meng Chuyue today.
Shen Ci, with an impatient look on his face, shouted upwards, "Meng Chuyue, your people have stopped me."
Meng Chuyue, who was preparing Shen Ci’s homework, "..."
How had he been stopped?
Wait, even if he had been stopped, shouldn’t Tong Wen and Xia Ping be the ones complaining to her?
It definitely shouldn’t be him.
She hurried out the door.
On reaching the staircase, she saw Tong Wen was fuming, Xia Ping’s eyes were red, and several customers were pointing at Shen Ci, seemingly saying words like "little thug."
She thought about it, swallowed the question she wanted to ask, and silently walked upstairs while pulling on Shen Ci’s sleeve.
The more explanations given, the more awkward it became; it was better to say nothing.
However, Xia Ping’s eyes were red. Why?
Once upstairs, she asked while setting out food, "What happened just now?"
Shen Ci clenched his fist in his left hand and coughed softly while holding his nose, "Xia Ping... is my mom’s cousin. To avoid implicating her family, my mother and I have always pretended not to like them, but in reality, her family is quite nice."
Meng Chuyue nodded in agreement, "Her family is indeed very nice."
Xia Ping’s family and Tong Wen’s family were good people, but the neighbor Gu Xiaoling really had a terrible character.
After the meal, Meng Chuyue handed Shen Ci a stack of test papers, raised her eyebrows, and said with a smile, "Finish these within two days, or don’t come for meals anymore."
She was giving Shen Ci a cheat.
In her space, she had stored past college entrance examination papers, including this year’s.
She had specifically taken them out today and made a test paper for Shen Ci based on the key question types listed.
After doing these papers and with her tutoring, as long as Shen Ci wasn’t a complete slacker, he was sure to score high.
This would allow Shen Ci to gain social and academic recognition and make the Shen family wary of him.
Although it was cheating, Meng Chuyue felt no remorse; considering Shen Ci’s special circumstances, she did it to minimize his hurt.
She also believed that with Shen Ci’s character, even if his cultural knowledge weren’t solid now, he would strive to catch up later.
If all else failed... there was still her.
Shen Ci thought these test papers were treasures Meng Chuyue had scavenged from teachers and was deeply touched. He flipped through them and said, "It’s still early; I think I can do some here. Could I borrow a pen, please?"
Meng Chuyue raised her eyebrows, "..."
Not bad; cooperative.
She immediately brought various stationery over, "Work hard at them. I’ll go downstairs to check around and also get you some fruit for after the meal."
As soon as Meng Chuyue went downstairs, Xia Ping approached her anxiously, "How do you know my cousin?"
Meng Chuyue sighed softly, "His mother once saved my life."
Xia Ping’s expression eased a bit, "Oh, and how is my aunt, his mother, doing now?"
Meng Chuyue looked at her intently, "Aunt Wei Lan passed away not long ago."
Xia Ping covered her mouth, eyes wide in shock, "How could that be? What exactly happened?"
"She was murdered, and the culprit hasn’t been found. Brother Ci is not in a good mood right now; don’t upset him."
"Mhm, mhm, mhm." Xia Ping nodded vigorously.
Tong Wen, eavesdropping nearby, had a complex expression.