Chapter 28

  I don't know what method Qishu used, but the next day at noon, Yucui received a call from her mother, reminding her not to be too much trouble to others when she was in someone else's home, and to get along well with her classmates. Finally, she added that she shouldn't think about going home, and that being good to them would benefit her in the future.

  Yu Cai hung up the phone with a sullen expression, casting a disdainful glance at Hu Li. When Ji Shu Fan turned back around, she immediately switched to a flattering smile, "Officer, how did you manage to placate my mother?"

  "Go wash your hands, after dinner we'll set off."

  After picking up He's mother and son at the He's house, Qi Shu Fan handed the car over to Yu Cai and others, and went to the back seat to chat with He Mu.

  He Mu thought she hadn't misjudged the person, and this time Qi Shu Fan had taken Yu Cai to the city, which showed how much he valued her. Looking at Yu Cai driving steadily in front of her, she felt even more that this girl was great. She spoke up, "I just called He Qi's class teacher, and he said the scores are out, and Xiao Cai is first in bilingualism again."

  Yu Cai heard and turned back to ask, "Auntie, did Mei Laoshi say how many points were deducted from the English test?"

  "He specially mentioned that this time's English exam was very good and said half of it was thanks to you."

  Yu Cai couldn't help but laugh, "It's nothing, I'm just playing a supporting role, the key is Jixi himself!"

  "That's true, Xi's English foundation is poor, it's not easy to catch up so quickly. Teacher Mei said that Xi's current English score can already be considered average."

  Yu Cai made a face at Ji Shi, who was beside her, and stuck out her tongue. "Auntie, how's He Qi doing? Is he in the top ten again?"

  "He didn't do well on this history exam and got 13th place."

  "Going up and down a few places is normal, unlike me who always end up in the same spot, either 15th or 16th from last, it's so embarrassing even to myself."

  Qishu Fan laughed and said, "You still have the nerve to say that, why don't you learn from He Qi?"

  Yu Cai spat out her tongue, "Uncle Biao, you also know that what I lack is not diligence but innate talent. Now it's too late to learn, unless my mom agrees to stuff me back into her belly and let me be reborn, there's still some hope."

  Qishu Fan laughed and scolded, "Is your glib tongue a natural talent or acquired through practice?"

  "This is all your fault, Uncle. Your powerful eloquence gene has been passed down to me, even if it's a diluted blood relationship. My parents always lament that everyone in our family follows the principle of silence is golden, but somehow I turned out to be a chatterbox. And now, there's you, this distant uncle of mine, controlling everything from behind the scenes."

  Qishu Fan couldn't help but smile wryly and said, "Are you praising me or mocking me?"

  "Uncle Qi, I think Yu Cai is absolutely praising you. My mom often says that your eloquence is unmatched and once you take action, no one can resist your charm."

  Qishu Fan became even more helpless, "Ah Xia, you say that from now on I should just stand up for the authority of my elders, so these younger ones won't tease me every day".

  He Mu smiled and said, "I think you're just complaining on the surface but are actually very happy inside. Among us, only you have won over those kids' hearts, I don't know how many times we've envied you!"

  The Qi family's house in the city was a small villa, with two floors, three bedrooms and a study upstairs, two bedrooms downstairs, plus a large living room and kitchen.

  Yu Cai was extremely surprised at first sight and confirmed that Qi Shu, who claimed to be a public servant of the people, was actually a parasite on the people.

  Whenever he saw her glance at him with a fleeting gaze, he immediately guessed what she meant and explained, "This used to be the suburbs, the state-issued house, I applied for a slight expansion later on."

  Yu Cai's eyes became even more evasive, what application, isn't it just taking advantage of loopholes in policy!

  Qishu was so angry that he couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. This silly girl's brain was always thinking of weird things.

  After dinner and cleaning up, it was already 8 o'clock in the evening. Ji Shu Fan instructed Ji Shi and Yu Cai to rest early, and he himself went to the study to read documents.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The next day, Yu Cai woke up at the same time as during peacetime, read some English essays in her room before getting out of bed to wash up. When she went downstairs, it was exactly 7:10. Qi Shu Fan was already seated at the dining table and smiled when he saw Yu Cai, "Why did you get up so early?"

  "Are you used to it? Has the spell been lifted?"

  "It seems I heard some noise from his house, he should be up now."

  Yu Cai went upstairs and knocked on Ji Shizhi's door, saying in a low voice, "Ji Shizhi, it's time for breakfast, come out."

  Qiji opened the door and they both headed downstairs together.

  Auntie has already brought up breakfast, and everyone sat down. Qi Shu Fan handed a note to Yu Cai, "This is the phone number of my secretary Xiao Xiao, if you can't find me, just call her".

  Yu Cai Da was envious, "You actually have a secretary, that's great!"

  "You'll have it when you're my age too."

  "I'm going to be a teacher in the future, have you ever heard of any teacher having a secretary?"

  Qishu Fan smiled and changed the subject, "I got off work early today. Do you guys have anywhere you'd like to go?"

  Yu Cai looked at Qi Shi, but the latter didn't respond. He could only say, "Let's just wait for him to speak again, I don't care."

  "Uh, I had someone prepare a few programming books for you yesterday, they'll be delivered soon, can you open the door?"

  Yu Cai nodded in agreement, and Qi Shu Fan gave a few more instructions before getting up and leaving for work.

  Yu Cai took advantage of the opportunity to grab a few books from upstairs and said, "Ji Shizhi, your dad asked me to help you with Chinese while I'm at it. We can still practice for an hour every day. When you're tired of coding, just do some exercises, no need to set aside special time to study, what do you think?"

  Qizhi nodded, and Yucai was overjoyed, laughing and saying, "Qizhi, I've discovered that although you don't like to talk much, you're actually quite easy-going. Alright then, we can skip the basics for language arts and just focus on reviewing for the college entrance exams. After all, your main goal is to do well on the exams, so as long as you work through a few sets of practice questions, it's guaranteed that you won't hold anyone back, even if you don't get high scores."

  ……

  When He Qi arrived, Yu Cai had already finished his lesson and was doing math problems. Qi Zhi was doing the exercises left by Yu Cai because He Qi hadn't arrived yet.

  Yu Cai opened the door and He Qi saw Xi Shi concentrating on writing something. He was surprised and said, "A Shi, what are you doing?"

  Yu Cai and Qi Shi have been together for a long time, so she has developed the habit of answering questions that Qi Shi doesn't want to answer. She replied, "Uncle asked him to review Chinese and English during summer vacation."

  He put down the bag in his hand and walked towards the table, "Just the two of you?"

  "Uh-huh, Auntie went to buy vegetables. By the way, if you want to eat something, just tell Auntie and she'll buy it for you."

  He flipped through the math book on Yucai's desk, "Are you doing math?"

  "Yes, I just can't seem to get the hang of math no matter how much time I spend on it, barely passing every time," Yu Cai took out a bottle of Coke from the fridge and handed it to He Qi, "Want some fruit?"

  He Jie took over the Coke and took a sip, "Don't eat, you guys got up very early".

  Yu Cai hummed and asked, "Ji Shi, do you want something to drink?"

  Qizhi shook his head, Yu Cai poured a glass of boiled water and placed it in front of him, then poured another one for herself.

  "What time did you get up?"

  5:30

  "So early?"

  "Um, okay, now it gets light early."

  "Do you get up so early at school too?"

  "Ah, got used to it."

  He Qizhang exclaimed, "You get up so early, you must be reading English, no wonder you always come first in the English exams!"

  Yu Cai hastily said, "No, no, the place where Xi Zhe likes to eat breakfast is a bit far from school..." Yu Cai's voice stopped abruptly, and she almost swallowed her own tongue.

  Ji Shi suddenly lifted his head, looking at Yu Cai with a hint of confusion. He had told Yu Cai several times not to bring him breakfast again, but Yu Cai said she just happened to buy some on her way, and since they lived close by, it wasn't a bother. Now, hearing that Yu Cai got up every day at 5:30 to buy things he liked, Ji Shi thought back to when school first started, when the weather was freezing, and Yu Cai seemed especially afraid of the cold...

  Ji Shi has always been aloof and unenthusiastic about things around him, including when Yu Cai Gang first arrived. He only thought she was not annoying, and gradually felt that she was not too talkative, but rather intelligent. She often helped him answer questions he didn't want to answer himself and did things he didn't want to do. Being with her made him feel comfortable, a feeling he only had when he was with He Qi. As a result, his words and actions inadvertently revealed this, and he didn't think Ji Shu Fan's observational skills were too good. Every time Yu Cai came to accompany him, he felt that having her by his side wasn't bad at all, so he tacitly agreed. Of course, if Yu Cai hadn't come, he wouldn't have opposed it either, nor would he have offered any opinions.

  Until now, he just thought of Yu Cai as a "comfortable" person. As for Qi Shu Fan's point of view, it was simply his own speculation. Although Qi Shi looked at Yu Cai with favor, it was only that - favorable. For example, when Yu Cai asked him to read a book, he would read it or not read it, but since she said so, he would just go along with it. Anyway, he didn't care either way. So, Qi Shu Fan's assumption that Yu Cai could influence Qi Shi's decisions ultimately boiled down to Qi Shi being indifferent to everything.

  Now Yu Cai gets up at 5:30 every day for a whole semester, just to help him buy breakfast. To be honest, he doesn't understand this behavior, or why she wants to do so. He knows that his father paid Yu Cai to tutor him, but it seems that it didn't include letting Yu Cai buy him breakfast. He has no concept of money and rarely thinks about the issue, including when Yu Cai buys him breakfast, he never thought to pay Yu Cai back. Now he suddenly remembered, a meal may not be much, but for half a year, Yu Cai's family should be quite poor...

  He Qi listened to Yu Cai's words and was shocked, his mouth wide open, "Yu Cai you——"

  Yu Cai suddenly regained her composure and hastily interrupted him, "Actually, I didn't specifically go to buy it. You also know that my body isn't well, the doctor suggested I start running early in the morning, so I happened to run to that place and brought back some stuff. Look at me now, isn't my body much better?"

  He Qi wanted to speak, but Yu Cai interrupted him again, "Alright, Ji Shi Ze has been waiting for you for a while, go and turn on the computers, coincidentally, Uncle Biao brought some from the county town too, one for each of you".

  He looked embarrassed and obviously didn't want to continue the topic, so he stopped persisting. "Never mind, I brought my own laptop."

  Yu Cai nodded slightly and ignored him, picking up her pen and focusing on her calculations again.

  Yu Zai was doing math problems on one side, while Qi Xie was staring at a pile of data and programs with a bitter expression. Occasionally, they would exchange a few words in hushed tones, usually with Qi Xie speaking and Yu Zai listening. The large living room was filled with a harmonious atmosphere.

  When Xiao Xiao, Secretary of Qi Shu Fan, came in, she saw this scene. She had come to deliver a book and happened to meet Auntie downstairs, so they came up together.

  Yu Cai saw Aunt and a young beautiful woman enter the door, just didn't know how to address her, He Qi had already stood up, "Xiao Xiao sister is even more beautiful".

  Xiao Xiao smiled warmly and said, "Thank you for the compliment. It's been a year since we last met, and look at how much everyone has grown! Shi Zhi, is this your older cousin?"

  Yu Cai hurriedly said, "Xiao Xiao Jie good, I am Yu Cai".

  Xiao Xiao smiled and nodded, putting the book on the table, "I heard that Xiaocai is studying very well!"

  Yu Cai hurriedly showed modesty.

  "This is the book your dad asked me to help you find. I specially asked a classmate who studies computer science to help pick it out. Take a look and see if there's anything missing?"

  Qī shì zhī diǎn diǎn tóu, què méi yǒu dòng, hé qí shàng qián fān le fān, xiào dào, " tài hǎo le, Xiāo Xiǎo jiě xiǎng de zhēn zhōu dào, tài gǎn xiè le".

  English Translation:

  Qī nodded slightly but didn't move. He flipped through the pages and smiled, saying, "Great, Sister Xiao thought of everything, thank you so much."

  "It's nothing, it's what I should do."

  Xiao Xiao and a few others chatted for a while before saying goodbye and leaving. Before leaving, she sincerely told Yu Cai that if there was anything she needed help with, she could find her anytime, and Yu Cai thanked her repeatedly.

  What a commotion Xiao Xiao made, then came over to chat for a while. Yu Cai no longer had the heart to do math homework, so she found an online tutorial on Wubi input method and started memorizing it.

  Every afternoon when the door opens and enters the house, Qí Shì is always on the living room table doing English exercises. He Qi was struck by Qí Shì, holding Qí Shì's language high school review book and looking at it seriously. Yù Cǎi was nestled in a not-too-distant sofa, holding a piece of paper in her hand, because she was facing away from the door, couldn't see whether she was asleep or awake, but since she didn't get up, she should be asleep?

  As expected, He Qi stood up and raised his hand to make a silencing gesture, then pointed at Yu Cai.

  Qishu Fan smiled and walked to the table, looked at his own son and He Qi's book in hand, was about to go upstairs to change clothes, when Yu Cai suddenly moved, drowsily said, "Qishu Ze, is your dad back?" His voice was filled with a strong sleepiness.

  Qishu Fan laughed and said, "Did I wake you up?"

  Yu Cai struggled to open her eyes and stood up. "You're back? Are you thirsty? I'll go get you a glass of water."

  "I'll go myself, you keep sleeping."

  Yu Cai had already woken up, put the paper in her hand on the table, and turned around to go to the kitchen.

  Qibook Fan then just let her go, picked up the paper she had put on the table, and saw that it was a drawing of a computer keyboard. The keys were not letters, but some strange strokes.

  He Qi saw this and indignantly said, "Yu Cai is behind us, typing with five strokes, she says we can't wait for her."

  Qishu Fan laughed, Yu Cai had already come out of the kitchen, handed him a glass of boiled water, and placed a plate of grapes on the table. "Qishu, would you like to eat some grapes?"

  Qizhi didn't lift his head, but stretched out his hand and picked up a melon seed and put it in his mouth. "Uncle Qizhi, where are we going later?"

  "Where do you want to go?"

  "I heard that xx cinema is premiering 'Harry Potter 2' tonight, let's go watch it!"

  "Alright, let's go, Xiao Cai, do you guys want to see?"

  Yu Cai glanced at Qi Shi and found that he had also stopped writing to listen, so she said, "It's okay, I've heard it's very good".

  "He Qi, give your mom a call and ask if she's free tonight, whether or not she's going to go see."

  He Qi got up and went to make a phone call, and came back after a while, saying "My mom said she still has half an hour before getting off work, and will come over soon to take us out for dinner".

  Qishu Fang nodded, "You guys look at the book first, I'll go take a bath and change clothes."