After class started, Yin Yu Old Man thoughtfully gave everyone time to review, so it was the perfect chance to make good use of the Notebook.
As for Xiao Lin and the others, although at first they acted disappointed in Lu Yunze, the moment he waved the Notebook in front of them, these guys immediately changed their tune and started showering him with compliments.
“I knew Big Brother Lu would never abandon us.”
“This must have all been part of Brother Lu’s calculations.”
“With such an outstanding Master, of course there will be outstanding Maids!”
He did give them the Notebook, but whether they could actually make good use of its contents depended on their own abilities. Judging by how they bickered, Lu Yunze felt these guys probably still wouldn’t pass this pop quiz.
While Lu Yunze was seriously reading the Notebook, Jiang Sui propped her arm up, resting her chin lightly in her palm, her light purple eyes unblinkingly fixed on his side.
The girl’s unique sweet fragrance quietly spread, lingering at the tip of Lu Yunze’s nose. Although his chest thundered like a drum, he stubbornly refused to turn his head, just staring hard at the Notebook. Until he couldn’t hold out any longer.
No, this way I can’t review at all.
“Is something wrong, Young Master?”
“Nothing, just checking if anyone around is watching us.” Lu Yunze forced himself to act calm.
“Does Young Master like being watched?” Jiang Sui said, the corners of her lips curling into a mischievous smile, “I don’t mind sacrificing myself a little to make Young Master the object of everyone’s envy. After all, this life of mine was saved by you, wasn’t it?”
“Enough, enough, since you’re here and not leaving, just pay attention in class.”
Once you entered Yin Yu Old Man’s classroom, sneaking out again was almost impossible. His hair might be white, but his eyes were still sharp; he’d already caught several students trying to slip away in his class.
Even Xiao Lin and his group, once tried to test Yin Yu Old Man’s skills and ended up getting caught on the spot, happily earning themselves a deduction in their usual grades.
“Is there English in your curriculum?”
“There is, Young Master.” Jiang Sui replied with a bright smile.
“Good.” Lu Yunze said, splitting his English Textbook in half and sharing it with Jiang Sui.
When the Notebook was passed back to him, Lu Yunze remembered Jiang Sui was beside him and asked:
“You’ve seen what’s in the Notebook, right?”
“Mm, I’ve looked a bit, it’s all pretty simple questions.” Jiang Sui nodded slightly, “Just a quick glance and I can do them.”
“…Huh?” Lu Yunze felt his hard work had been challenged.
“What, Young Master doesn’t believe me?”
Jiang Sui twirled a strand of ash-brown hair around her finger, a cunning glint in her eyes.
“How about we have a contest and see who gets the higher score on the test?”
“Alright, sounds perfect to me.”
After all, there were always extra copies of the test paper. He just needed the Class Monitor to hand out one more for Jiang Sui. As for a pen, he borrowed one from Xiao Lin and the others; even if the three of them only had one pen, that would be enough.
The test officially began, and Lu Yunze and Jiang Sui started writing their answers on the paper at the same time.
Hmm, it’s pretty much the same as what’s written in my Notebook, I should have no problem passing this test.
But just barely passing wasn’t enough. Lu Yunze glanced at Jiang Sui beside him. She looked especially serious while answering questions, totally different from her usual self.
And he had to admit, her profile when deep in thought had a unique charm—her straight nose, the faintly pursed corners of her lips, and the stray strands of hair tucked behind her ear, revealing her elegant neckline. Once you looked, it was hard to look away.
Noticing his gaze, Jiang Sui looked up and met his eyes, then chuckled softly:
“Young Master, stop staring, time waits for no one. If you want to look, you can look as long as you want when we get home.”
Lu Yunze hurriedly pulled his gaze back and continued working on his test.
The testing time ended quickly. When the Class Monitor collected the small test papers and redistributed the English Textbooks and phones, Jiang Sui got up before Lu Yunze and proactively helped him retrieve his phone.
This action drew some people nearby to click their tongues in amazement, and someone even muttered under their breath, “Why isn’t my girlfriend that considerate?”
After Jiang Sui sat back down, the two of them, under Yin Yu Old Man’s explanation, began checking their answers for the pop quiz.
Just as he finished explaining the first question, Jiang Sui narrowed her eyes slightly and whispered:
“Young Master, he got this one wrong.”
“Huh? Impossible, this is straight from the book.” Lu Yunze remembered it clearly.
Saying this, Lu Yunze flipped to the back of the English Textbook and pointed out the answer to her—it was exactly as the teacher said.
Faced with his doubt, Jiang Sui didn’t rush to argue. Instead, she took out her phone and snapped a picture of the question. Browsers these days were so handy, you could find matching questions with just a photo.
“Look, Young Master, it’s really wrong.” Jiang Sui leaned her upper body toward him, bringing the phone screen right in front of his eyes.
But the first thing Lu Yunze saw was not the phone screen, but her body leaning toward him.
To be precise, it was the slightly open collar, the delicate skin at her collarbone, the gentle curve of her clavicle, and just a little further in, the snowy white northern hemisphere.
Heartbeat, accelerating!
“Young Master, are you listening to me?”
“Ah, yes!”
Once he forced himself to focus, Lu Yunze still didn’t want to believe it, but after carefully comparing, he found the answer he found online really was different from the one in the English Textbook.
He even searched for similar questions, and the explanations and results were all the same. By comparison, the English Textbook had only a single lonely answer, standing out like a sore thumb.
“It really is wrong.” Lu Yunze couldn’t help but mutter as he handed the phone back.
“After all, textbooks aren’t always one hundred percent correct.” Jiang Sui wore a proud expression, “Young Master, you should thank me properly for helping you catch mistakes.”
“That’s just one question. The outcome between us isn’t decided yet.”
Lu Yunze was still trying to save face, but it didn’t last long.
As more and more answers were announced, Lu Yunze found the gap between his and Jiang Sui’s scores growing ever wider.
Lu Yunze’s face grew darker and darker, while Jiang Sui looked completely unfazed.
When the final answer was settled, Lu Yunze had to let out a heavy sigh.
No need to tally up the total score.
“I lost.”
“Young Master, don’t underestimate people so casually next time, or you’ll suffer for it.”
Jiang Sui made a finger-gun gesture and shot him twice.
“Not everyone is as gentle to Young Master as I am.”
“Alright, alright. I didn’t expect you to be so impressive—are you really good at English?” Lu Yunze asked curiously.
“It’s one of my stronger subjects. A lot of people used to ask for my help.”
Jiang Sui seemed to recall something, her expression tinged with helplessness and bitterness.
“By ‘before,’ do you mean before you became a Maid?”
“Young Master, just think of it that way.”
Lu Yunze thought she meant her classmates used to copy her English homework, but Jiang Sui was remembering something much further back, when she was still a wage slave at the Company.
As the person with the best English skills in the entire Company, she was often sent to communicate with foreign clients and handle overseas projects, working late into the night alone. Sometimes, when clients made last-minute changes, she’d have to pull all-nighters on the project even after getting home.
Now, though she no longer had to stay at that lousy Company, she still couldn’t escape her fate as a wage slave, and now she even carried millions in debt on her shoulders.
Lu Yunze didn’t know what she was thinking, but he could clearly sense her mood had become abnormally low, so he didn’t bother her further.
That’s right, I almost forgot. Beneath Jiang Sui’s lively mask was someone with a broken family and heavy debts—a pitiful person.
For the rest of the class, Lu Yunze didn’t disturb her again, but his gaze kept drifting uncontrollably to his left.
Jiang Sui’s seat was just bathed in slanting sunlight. She propped her chin on her elbow, her light purple eyes gazing out the window, betraying no emotion at all. Occasionally, a breeze would stir her ash-brown hair, making her look exceptionally beautiful.
Lu Yunze lowered his head, crossed out the misspelled word, and began to think: If not for all that debt, Jiang Sui should be living a free life—maybe using her English skills to become a teacher or something.
An eighteen-year-old girl shouldn’t have to waste all her time working as a servant.
Someone like her, who looked strong on the outside, was actually as fragile as glass.
Remembering how he had deliberately made things difficult for her, Lu Yunze suddenly felt guilty.
Someone like her deserves to be cherished.