Shu Qingqing didn't catch the underlying meaning of Lu Bochuan's words.
"Right, I told you to work hard so you could sleep in the master bedroom with me, but President Lu, you only have sixty points right now."
Lu Bochuan froze. "What sixty points?"
"I told you before that I made a scoring chart for you. Only when you reach a hundred points will I agree to be with you." Shu Qingqing poked his chest. "Lu Bochuan, you couldn't have forgotten so quickly, could you?"
Only then did Lu Bochuan realize that what Shu Qingqing had said during the day didn't mean what he thought it meant.
"I haven't forgotten." Suppressing the desire in his heart, Lu Bochuan forced himself to stand up and reached out to tuck Shu Qingqing in. "Go to sleep early. Good night."
Leaving a kiss on her forehead, Lu Bochuan got up and left.
Taking the item out of his pocket and stuffing it into the drawer, Lu Bochuan entered the bathroom once again.
Clutching the blanket, Shu Qingqing felt a bit bewildered for a moment.
Didn't Lu Bochuan say he had something to tell her? It seemed like he hadn't said anything at all.
Her peripheral vision swept over the red wine on the table, and the words Lu Bochuan had just said suddenly popped into her mind.
He said... because it had been a long time for them, he was afraid of hurting her, and drinking a little red wine might make it better.
These words...
So... Lu Bochuan wanted to... with her...
Oh my god, it turned out that Lu Bochuan had interpreted what she said in the new house that afternoon as her wanting to sleep with him.
And because she hadn't understood his meaning, she had foolishly rejected him.
Thinking of Lu Bochuan's firm abs and the smooth lines of his arms...
Shu Qingqing poked her own forehead.
How could a person mess things up so badly?
When the second snowfall drifted down over Jing City, First High School finished its final exams for the first semester.
Three days later, the students returned to school to receive their report cards.
Lu Yu was still ranked first in his grade this time, but compared to his previous landslide victories, his score was only two points higher than Li Xincheng's.
In other words, his score had dropped by nearly thirty points compared to before.
Li Xincheng was inevitably smug. Before leaving, he deliberately strolled over to Lu Yu. "What are you going to do, Lu Yu? I'll be stealing your first-place spot very soon."
Lu Yu packed his backpack and shot him a cool glance. "Save it for when you actually steal it."
Li Xincheng clenched his fists. "It's only two points. Just you wait. I'll definitely beat you next semester."
"Then I'll be waiting." Lu Yu ignored him, grabbed his backpack, and walked away. However, once he stepped out of the classroom, his calm demeanor vanished, replaced by a trace of confusion.
He had obviously studied hard, so why had his grades dropped so much?
The driver usually waited for Lu Yu on the right side of the school gate. Exiting the school, Lu Yu habitually looked for the Volvo, but instead saw Shu Qingqing standing in front of a G-Wagon.
"Lu Yu, over here!" Shu Qingqing waved as she walked toward him. Up close, she could see that Lu Yu indeed looked upset.
Half an hour ago, his homeroom teacher, Ms. Zhang, had called her to say that Lu Yu hadn't performed well this time. Although he had kept his first-place rank in the grade, his score had dropped significantly, and his city-wide ranking had fallen to seventh.
At the senior year stage, any fluctuation in scores would affect a student's mood. Moreover, since Lu Yu had lost so many points this time, Ms. Zhang was afraid it would affect his mindset, which was why she had specifically made this call, hoping Shu Qingqing would comfort and guide him.
Hanging up the phone, Shu Qingqing had driven straight to First High School.
In the original novel, Lu Yu had rested at home for over two months due to a bone fracture. Although he had kept studying during that time, he was injured after all, so his grades had dropped significantly in the final exams. Lu Yu had been very disappointed and had spent the entire winter break studying as a result.
But this time, Lu Yu clearly hadn't been injured, so why had his grades still dropped? Was it destined that the events of the original novel would happen regardless?
Unable to figure it out, Shu Qingqing stopped dwelling on it. No matter what, the most important thing right now was to comfort Lu Yu and keep him from feeling so down.
"Lu Yu, congratulations on officially starting winter break! How about I take you and Lu Xun skiing when we get home?" Lu Yu clearly looked unhappy, so Shu Qingqing avoided mentioning his grades and tried to distract him.
But Lu Yu shook his head. "Mom, I want to find a tutor to catch up on my studies."
Recently, a senior from a high school in Jing City had nearly committed suicide due to excessive pressure. The relevant authorities had taken it very seriously and directly ordered a ban on all school tutoring sessions.
Traditionally, seniors at First High School had to attend classes until the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month. But because the authorities were strictly enforcing the rules this year, First High School didn't dare to defy the wind, so they had no choice but to give the students their break.
Shu Qingqing sighed. She knew that Lu Yu had always seen Lu Bochuan as his goal. Back in the day, Lu Bochuan had been the top scorer in the college entrance examination, and Lu Yu demanded the same of himself. Now, Lu Yu's city-wide ranking had dropped to seventh.
So he definitely wanted to use the winter break to make up for the points he had lost.
In the original text, Lu Yu naturally ended up as the top scorer in the college entrance examination, but Shu Qingqing couldn't exactly say that.
If he wanted tutoring, then let him have tutoring. At least it would make Lu Yu a bit happier.
The two got into the car and headed straight for a tutoring center.
Li Xincheng had once sarcastically remarked that Lu Yu's grades were entirely the result of private tutors. That wasn't true. Aside from extracurricular interest classes, Lu Yu hadn't hired a single tutor in all these years.
After arriving at the tutoring center and filling out the paperwork, the receptionist quickly arranged for a teacher to give Lu Yu a trial lesson.
Half an hour later, Lu Yu emerged from the classroom.
"How was it?" Shu Qingqing asked.
Lu Yu: "It was okay, but I want to check out some other centers to compare."
Shu Qingqing nodded. She informed the receptionist and prepared to take Lu Yu to see other centers.
To their surprise, just as the two stepped out the door, the teacher who had given Lu Yu the trial lesson chased after them.
"Student Lu Yu, may I ask if there was something you were dissatisfied with regarding my trial lesson?" The teacher was a young woman in her early twenties, looking at Lu Yu with an expression full of hope.
"You taught very well." I just want to try out some other teachers.
But before Lu Yu could utter the second half of his sentence, the teacher grabbed his wrist. "Student Lu Yu, since you think I taught well, could you please choose me?"
Before Lu Yu had time to speak, she continued urgently, "I will definitely teach you well. I'm a student at Jing University and was the top scorer in the college entrance examination for X City back then. I offended our boss, so I haven't been assigned any students for over two months. I finally got a chance for a trial lesson today. Student Lu Yu, could you please choose me? If I can't get a student this time, I'm going to be fired."
Hearing her out, Lu Yu wavered a bit. "Mom, why don't we just go with this teacher?"
Shu Qingqing still wanted Lu Yu to try other teachers. But the young woman looked at her pleadingly. "Ma'am, please give me a chance. If I don't make some money soon, I won't even be able to pay for my mother's medical bills."
Shu Qingqing remembered her past self, how she too had once struggled humbly just to keep a tutoring job.
Her heart couldn't help but soften.
"Alright." Shu Qingqing turned back and went straight to the receptionist to pay the fee.
The young woman saw them off with endless gratitude.
She waited until the car had driven far away before finally pulling out her phone. Tapping on a black profile picture, she sent over two words: "All done."
