Three days later, school started.
Cheng Yuan’s family sells clothes, so naturally, she wore new clothes her mom picked for her.
She herself has good taste as well, choosing new shoes that are very simple and elegant, but with a youthful touch. The shoes have small patterns on them that can be noticed if you pay a little attention.
When she stood there with her bag, she became the epitome of gentleness and elegance.
Cheng Yuan decided not to bother Lin Zhishu to help her with tutoring or anything.
After all, the fact that her grades were bad was just made up at the time. The truth is, her grades at school are quite good, above average.
Maybe to Lin Zhishu, it still seems ordinary, but she is very content and has a good mindset.
Since she has set a goal, she will work hard to achieve it.
Since she cannot compare with smart people, she will try harder, and then even harder.
Manman is already so smart and has such good grades, and she also works hard.
Last time when she visited their home, she saw Manman studying by herself while guiding her two cousins.
On the contrary, she herself hardly reviewed or previewed at home, always using the excuse of helping her mom to think about irrelevant things.
If she used that time to push herself a little more, wouldn’t it also make her better and more confident?
In just a few days, Cheng Yuan’s mindset had undergone a massive change.
As her roommate and friend, Xia Yu’an was the first to notice Cheng Yuan’s change.
However, she didn’t say anything, just accompanied her, and the two of them studied hard every day.
Unexpectedly, in such a fulfilling and intense learning environment, Cheng Yuan’s smile grew more frequent every day.
Another month end.
Cheng Yuan happily bought a lot of fruits that her mom and she both enjoy to take home for the weekend.
Unexpectedly, she bumped into Lin Zhishu, who was also preparing to go home for the weekend, near her house.
Both of them were carrying bags filled with books and notebooks, and also the same type of fruits to take home.
Cheng Yuan’s expression froze for a moment.
But Lin Zhishu walked over to her with a smile.
"Long time no see, Yuan."
"Didn’t we agree last time that if you are free during the weekend, you would come over to my house for tutoring? It’s been a month, is it because you’re too shy to come over?"
"I’ve already told my parents about you, they still remember you. They said you were very endearing and mischievous as a child and are looking forward to you visiting our home."
His demeanor was very natural, as if he had already settled into the role of a neighborly brother.
Cheng Yuan’s heart fluttered for a moment, but she quickly suppressed it.
She smiled softly and said with slight embarrassment.
"Because after so many years without meeting, suddenly visiting feels a bit awkward, so I kept postponing it and never went to find you."
"But it’s okay, my grades have improved a lot now, I’ve been studying well at school this month, no need to worry."
Lin Zhishu looked at her in surprise, and walked with her.
"Really? Are you interested in trying out some competitions?"
"I’ve looked at your school’s information and resources, and the faculty is indeed not bad. Every year your school has quite a few participants in competitions, if you participate and even win, it could ease your mom’s burden a lot."
"I can help you with competition knowledge, it won’t interfere with your regular classes; it could actually be very useful."
Seeing Cheng Yuan still shyly looking down, Lin Zhishu couldn’t help but marvel at how much she had changed.
She was like a little tyrant when she was young, a mischievious child, but now she’s so quiet and bashful.
If her appearance hadn’t changed much, he would’ve almost not recognized her.
But this change is actually quite good, since it shows she’s likely much more mature than before.
He reached up and gently patted Cheng Yuan’s head, smiling.
"Yuan, you don’t have to be formal with me, if you need help with anything, just let me know."
"Living so close, you can come find me anytime on weekends and holidays, I’ll mostly be home this semester."
Cheng Yuan hadn’t expected any physical interaction with him, and she was deliberately keeping a distance while walking.
Who would’ve thought that he would suddenly pat her on the head.
Just this simple touch made her heart sway.
Turns out, she still longed for his touch, for closeness with him.
Cheng Yuan pressed her lips together, not reacting to his touch, but his invitation was something she couldn’t refuse.
Refusing again would just arouse suspicion.
"Okay, then when I go home on weekends, I’ll visit you, but I’m not going home every week, maybe only once or twice a month."
"Alright, no problem, just come when it suits your schedule."
Lin Zhishu looked at the houses in the distance and asked again.
"Where do you and your mom live now? Let me walk you home and get to know the place."
"My parents have been mentioning people from the town a lot, my mom used to get along well with your mom. Last month, when I told her that you had moved to Jing City, she was really looking forward to it. She even said if you visit our home, your mom can come over to play mahjong."
Lin Zhishu is very filial, and when he talked about his mom, his expression was helpless but full of fond indulgence.
Cheng Yuan naturally knew that when fellow townspeople meet, there would always be tears of joy, and they would definitely keep in frequent contact.
It is precisely because of this that she was hesitant to visit their home.
Now, she had no choice; it seemed unavoidable.
She could only choose to compromise.
She decided to take things as they come, anyway, she had thought it through and nothing should happen.
"My house is in that row ahead, the one closest to the inside among the five buildings in front."
She pointed out the direction, and Lin Zhishu took a look.
"So close?"
He straightened his clothes, "Let me walk you back then, and say hello to your mom."
Such a close distance, their homes were only two streets apart.
Lin Zhishu decided to make a proper visit, and also mention he could help Cheng Yuan with tutoring.
Otherwise, her mom might still be worried.
Cheng Yuan couldn’t refuse.
After all, she could already see her home’s door.
She walked silently and obediently beside Lin Zhishu, and they went to her home together.
As they entered the house, Mrs. Cheng was preparing dinner and sorting vegetables.
When she looked up and saw her daughter accompanied by a tall, handsome young man, her eyes lit up.
"Oh, Yuanyuan is back!"
She quickly put down the vegetables and went to pour a cup of hot water for them.
"Young man, are you Yuanyuan’s classmate? Thank you for bringing her back, here, have some hot water to warm up."