CH 54.3

Becoming Strong Together (3)

“You can’t do it with this crooked method.” He frowned.

Ruan Qingmu pouted. “Why do you care how I do it? It’s a multiple-choice question, anyway. Isn’t it enough for me to get the correct answer?”

“What if it’s a major question? You need to use the solving process.”

Ruan Qingmu glared at him. “I won’t do it then. There’s a way to get points now. Why can’t I do it that way?”

Qin Yuan stared at him fixedly, turned his head, and handed the English papers to him. “Want to look at it now?”

“Let’s take a look then.” Ruan Qingmu’s reply was obedient this time, sincerely skimming over the pages. He gazed steadily at those several wrong questions marked by Qin Yuan while memorizing them. “Ok, thanks.”

Qin Yuan mentally took note of his speed. “You’ve already memorized them?”

Ruan Qingmu propped his cheek and his bright eyes stared at Qin Yuan. “How stupid am I to you?”

Qin Yuan’s expression was indifferent. “It’s not like that. I want to see how smart you are.”

“Oh, are you satisfied then?” Ruan Qingmu gave him a sidelong glance.

Qin Yuan gazed at him for a long time before seriously asking, “Can I ask you about something?”

“Go ahead and ask, ah.”

“Do you have a serious thought regarding what major you want to study in, what type of university, or what other different route you want to take in the future?”

Ruan Qingmu was stunned and said with a smile on his face, “Why are you suddenly so serious? I’ve never thought of these things before.”

The youth on the opposite looked solemn with no trace of a smile on his handsome face. “You clearly can study well, but why do you want to waste your skills? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life as you please?”

He asked word by word, “You’re willing to do it because of a casual remark from the teacher, making an effort to study for two months out of anger. After a while, will you give up again because there’s no real goal?”

Ruan Qingmu squinted his eyes and was dazed for a moment.

Less than two months ago, he woke up and lived in this strange world. Fortunately, all the memories of the original host were there.

According to the education that the original owner of this body had received since he was young, even though his grades were average, he recognized this basic logic. Children should study hard at this age, get into a good university, and enter a profession they like to find their place in this society.

Working, getting promoted, settling down, and getting married were all things to pass away the so-called ordinary days.

It was a world where you could neither take something by force nor behave unscrupulously. You had to abide by well-formed rules, or you would find yourself being beaten down by these rules.

“I don’t have a goal.” He hesitated and answered unsurely. “I still want to enter university. If not, how will I live in the future? My mom is already old and I have to support her.”

He gazed at the living room before saying, “If Xiao-Zhuang can’t support himself in the future, I will have to take care of him too.”

Qin Yuan gazed at him fixedly. “Then, study a little harder. Endure a bit for these two years to get into a top-quality university. Be serious in your studies.”

Ruan Qingmu blankly looked at him. “Ah?”

“It’s useless to depend on kindness and goodwill if you want to take on a responsibility or treat your family and friends well. You can depend on your fist for now, but what about later on?” Qin Yuan said word by word, a burning light flickering in his eyes. “Since you want to be responsible for people, you might as well be a little stronger. Isn’t that a good thing?”

“What do you mean by being strong?”

“Strong means you can control your fate and live your life as you wish, at the very least.” Qin Yuan stared hard at him. “When you want to be good to someone, you can be brave and be qualified to say: ‘Hey, be together with me!’”

Ruan Qingmu felt his heart slightly tremble, suddenly not daring to look at the youth on the other side. That gaze was completely different from the previous usual one, like a dark fire burning beneath an iceberg.

“That… That’s right, ah.” He lowered his head and looked at the pile of test papers on the desk. “What you said seems to be quite reasonable. That…”

His tongue seemed to be in knots as he slightly stuttered, “In short, you have to be independent first, earn money, and it’s best to have a high-salaried job, right? You can’t make money based on fighting only. When you like someone, it’s quite miserable if you can’t buy them a birthday present!”

Ah. What should he buy if he wanted to give this person a birthday present? He didn’t seem to be lacking in anything.

Ahhhh, that’s crazy. Why would he suddenly think of buying a present for this guy?! How the hell did his thoughts get so crazy?!

Only because he just learned of this person’s birthday?

He wailed in his heart for a while before hurrying to look down and grabbing the math papers in his hands. “How about you explain to me how to do this without folding a model and measuring it with a ruler?”

At the side, the tall youth got up and moved closer, moving the computer chair to his side.

His face was expressionless, but his eyes were glowing.

“Okay. I’ll explain it to you,” he said softly, reaching out and grabbing the draft paper in Ruan Qingmu’s hand, his warm hand unintentionally covering his hand. “You can’t depend on folding papers every time you want to solve a math problem. You still have to draw an auxiliary line.”

He leaned in close, his lower neck and shoulders connected in beautiful curves and his long fingers moved around as standard lines appeared on the paper.

Ruan Qingmu stared at the bony hand in front of him, his mind suddenly wandering. He had seen this man’s hand up close like this before, but this man was holding a long sword at that time.

When he drew the sword from its sheath, it shone brightly, just like his great life and bright future.

“Tuk, tuk!” Qin Yuan paused in his explanation and tapped the desk, his pair of phoenix eyes slightly critical while looking at him.

“Study seriously if you want to study. Play seriously if you want to play.”

Ruan Qingmu glared at him and pouted, dragging out his words, “Is there still time for me to regret it? It’s so tiring, ah.”

Qin Yuan’s face slightly tensed and the criticism in his eyes immediately weakened, carefully saying, “Rest for a while if you’re tired.”

Ruan Qingmu looked at his expression, his heart suddenly turning soft.

He let out a sigh. The bright, mild afternoon sunlight from the floor-to-ceiling windows shone on his face. His features were delicate and his expression was extremely serious.

“Fine, fine. No need to feel pity for me. Since I’ve agreed with you, I will definitely get it done.” He smiled. The tone of his voice was lazy, but light shone in his eyes. “Qin-shaoxia, please help me out in the next following days. I want us to go to university together.”

So that they could become stronger together.