Chapter 27: I Will Not Mock You

After bidding farewell to Gu Nianxi, Jiang Muwen followed Wen Yichen towards the classroom door. Just as they were about to exit, they encountered Yin Lizhe coming from the opposite direction. Naturally, Yin Lizhe noticed the two of them walking out one after the other. He stepped in front of Wen Yichen, pausing instinctively for a moment. In that fleeting instant, as their eyes met, the air seemed to freeze. They exchanged no words, but to Jiang Muwen, it felt as if a fierce confrontation had taken place between them.

The next second, Yin Lizhe spoke first, “Are you heading back?”

Wen Yichen replied calmly with a simple “Hmm.”

“See you next week,” Yin Lizhe said, his gaze shifting naturally to Jiang Muwen, and the sharpness in his eyes faded, replaced by a gentle smile. “Little Muwen, see you next week.”

Yin Lizhe's sudden change in demeanor left Jiang Muwen momentarily stunned. After a dazed reply of “Mm,” she obediently followed Wen Yichen, who was walking ahead.

...

The tutoring session at seven in the evening arrived as scheduled. Jiang Muwen arrived punctually at Wen Yichen's door, her backpack still zipped up.

Wen Yichen opened the door, dressed in comfortable clothes. His expression didn't change much upon seeing Jiang Muwen; he simply said, “Come in,” before turning to walk into his bedroom.

Once Jiang Muwen sat down at the desk, Wen Yichen’s voice reached her ears. “Take out yesterday's math test paper.”

Yesterday, their math teacher had given them an unexpected quiz, catching the entire Class A off guard.

“How did you know the math papers were distributed?” Jiang Muwen asked incredulously, as if Wen Yichen shouldn't have known she had received her test paper.

Wen Yichen really didn’t want to answer such a question, but he ultimately held his patience and replied, “I’m the class representative, how else would I know?”

“Right...” Jiang Muwen murmured softly.

The papers were distributed by Wen Yichen, but curiously, he hadn’t handed Jiang Muwen her paper. It was likely that the teacher had kept hers back in the office, requiring her to collect it personally. If that was the case, then Jiang Muwen probably hadn’t done well on the test; otherwise, the teacher wouldn’t have asked her to go to the office.

However, Jiang Muwen was unaware of this and thought she was the only one in the class who had received the math test paper early.

“Take it out,” Wen Yichen said, bored, as he fiddled with the pen in his hand.

“Ah?” Jiang Muwen seemed momentarily confused about what Wen Yichen meant.

Seeing her frozen in place, Wen Yichen prompted again, “Bring the paper here! I’ll explain the problems to you.”

After he said this, Jiang Muwen felt a bit embarrassed. Her hands fidgeted with the zipper of her backpack, as she really didn’t want to reveal her poor grades. “You really don’t need to bother...”

“Didn’t you insist that I tutor you? Why don’t you want it now?” Wen Yichen glanced at Jiang Muwen. Seeing her distressed expression, he didn’t want to poke at her sore spot, but if he didn’t say anything, she would surely struggle to bring it out. “I know you didn’t do well, don’t worry, I won’t laugh at you.”

Noticing Jiang Muwen still reluctant, Wen Yichen added, “I won’t scold you either.”

Only then did Jiang Muwen hesitantly open her backpack, rummaging for the paper while trying to justify her poor performance. “This test seemed really difficult... There were many questions that I feel like you didn’t teach me.”

Wen Yichen simply replied with a calm “Hmm.”

Seeing his demeanor made Jiang Muwen acutely aware of the gap between a top student and someone struggling academically. Perhaps, to them, all questions seemed equally challenging—this was probably the only point of agreement between her and Wen Yichen.

Yet, there was some difference; in Wen Yichen's eyes, all questions appeared equally simple, while in Jiang Muwen's perspective, every question seemed impossible to solve.

As Jiang Muwen revealed a corner of her test paper, Wen Yichen swiftly pulled it out without mercy.

In an instant, a glaring red score caught Wen Yichen’s eye.

The next second, his expression froze as he stared at Jiang Muwen's paper, unable to accept that she could have scored such a low mark.

Seeing Wen Yichen silent, Jiang Muwen took the initiative to speak, forcing a wry smile. “It seems a bit low...”

“A bit?” Wen Yichen repeated, “If it goes any lower, you’ll have no score at all.”

Wen Yichen then examined the paper from start to finish, fearing that the teacher had made an error in grading. He reviewed it repeatedly before finally accepting the reality—he hadn’t been mistaken; the girl sitting next to him had scored a mere ten points.

“Well...” Wen Yichen managed a bitter smile.

“Hmm? ...What do you mean ‘well’?” Jiang Muwen looked timidly at the boy, wondering if he had lost his mind after seeing her score.

“Well, at least it’s still a double-digit score,” Wen Yichen slapped the paper onto the desk in despair. “That’s quite an achievement, managing to avoid so many correct answers.”

“...Wen Yichen! You said you wouldn’t mock me!”

“Did I?” Wen Yichen countered, “I’m complimenting you.”

“...” Jiang Muwen looked at Wen Yichen, desperately suppressing the urge to hit him.

But she ultimately held back, forcing a composed expression. “Then what did you score?”

Seeing that Wen Yichen didn’t respond, she muttered to herself, “You must have scored really high...?”

“Not high, I just scored one zero more than you.”

One zero more... After pondering for a moment, Jiang Muwen felt as though she had been struck by lightning. If he had one zero more, that meant... one hundred?

“...” Jiang Muwen stared blankly at Wen Yichen, suddenly feeling reluctant to speak with him. If there were a competition for conversation-enders, Wen Yichen would undoubtedly win effortlessly.

Noticing Jiang Muwen's expression, Wen Yichen couldn’t help but chuckle softly. He instinctively raised his hand and ruffled her hair, trying to comfort her. “Come on, the test wasn’t easy. You managed to score ten points; that’s still something.”

“...” After those words, Jiang Muwen felt as if he had stabbed her again. “Wen Yichen, are you... trying to comfort me?”