Chapter 11: Painting – Expectation in the Boy’s Eyes: “Can the President help me with tutoring…”

Although those people didn’t do anything to Jiang Luoyu openly anymore, they still squeezed him and gossiped about him behind his back.

Fang Chuning couldn’t control these things, but seeing that Jiang Luoyu didn’t seem to care much, she felt a little relieved. However, in the past few days, she discovered one thing – this person seemed to be a bit “clingy” to her.

Not only was it like this at school, but even after school, he would ask her where she was going.

“We’re going to Tianyou City. What? Do you want to go too?”

Gao Qiong smiled mischievously, with a playful expression.

Jiang Luoyu’s face turned slightly red, “I don’t have anything to do if I go back so early. Can I go with you?”

Fang Chuning had a strange expression, “We’re going to the game center. Can you play?”

The boy bit his lip and shook his head.

“Then why are you coming along?”

Jiang Luoyu couldn’t answer. He couldn’t say that he just wanted to get closer to them and become her boyfriend in the eyes of their classmates.

“Oh, don’t be so rigid.” Gao Qiong put her arm around her friend’s shoulder and winked at the boy, “Since Jiang wants to come along, let’s go together. It’s a good chance for President Fang to teach you how to play games. Maybe you can team up in the future.”

Jiang Luoyu’s face turned red at her meaningful smile, and he looked expectantly at the person who could make the decision.

Fang Chuning didn’t mind, “Then let’s go together.”

The boy’s face immediately lit up with a joyful smile, nodding cutely and forcefully, “Mm!”

As the three of them were packing up their things and preparing to leave the classroom, someone suddenly called out to Fang Chuning from behind. She turned back, puzzled.

The young man was standing right behind them. He pushed up his glasses, his honey-colored eyes focused intently on her, and kindly reminded, “Do you have time this afternoon to discuss the rehearsal?”

Only then did Fang Chuning remember about revising the script and lines. She hesitated for a moment, “How about… tomorrow?”

Xu Muzhou glanced at them and said diplomatically, “If you’re busy now, then let’s change it to tomorrow.” He paused, as if suddenly remembering something, “But I might not have time tomorrow. We can talk about it in a few days if that’s okay.”

It was just a small matter, and waiting a few days would make it too rushed. Fang Chuning immediately changed her mind, “Then let’s do it today. Let’s call the monitor and discuss it at my place.”

“The monitor had something to do at home and has already left.”

Fang Chuning scanned the classroom and indeed didn’t see the monitor. “Then let’s discuss it first, and we’ll show her the revised lines tomorrow.”

After saying this, she turned to the other two, “You two go play. I’m not going.”

Gao Qiong shrugged, “That’s how it is with busy people.”

Jiang Luoyu’s expression soured a bit. If she wasn’t going, what was the point of him going? “Then can I…”

He wanted to say, “Then can I go with you?” But as soon as he started speaking, he was interrupted by the young man.

“Jiang,” the young man seemed a bit hesitant, “your test scores have dropped a lot compared to before. I think if Jiang has time, you should review the day’s lessons more. What do you think, Jiang?”

Jiang Luoyu’s grades had always been in the lower-middle range in the class. He knew he had been a bit distracted in his studies recently, but having someone point it out made him feel embarrassed, especially in front of the person he admired.

And the object of his admiration even nodded in agreement: “Xu is right. Your grades have dropped severely recently. You need to work harder.”

Jiang Luoyu felt that the young man’s gentle smile was full of malicious provocation, as fake as could be. He wasn’t willing to give up, so he said to the girl, “Then, can the President help me with tutoring?”

“Hm?”

“If the President can help me, I’m sure I can improve my grades faster!”

The boy’s words were quite direct. Fang Chuning, of course, knew that he liked her, but this request made her a bit uncomfortable.

“But I’m busy recently.”

“I can wait until the President is free!”

As Jiang Luoyu spoke, he quickly glanced at Xu Muzhou. The young man still maintained a gentle and harmless appearance, not showing the slightest annoyance at his words. This made him wonder if he was overthinking things, and if Xu Muzhou actually didn’t have those kinds of feelings for the President.

“We’ll talk about it later.” Fang Chuning felt that helping someone with tutoring was too formal and challenging. What if she tutored him and his grades still didn’t improve? Wouldn’t that make her look like a failure?

“If she won’t do it, I can help you with tutoring,” Gao Qiong said generously.

“Thank you, but that’s not necessary…”

“It’s no problem. We can start tutoring anytime. I have plenty of time.”

“Really, it’s not necessary. Thank you, Gao Qiong.”

Jiang Luoyu politely declined.

“Don’t be so polite~”

That cheeky look made Fang Chuning couldn’t help but mock: “He’s not being polite. Your grades are worse than his. What tutoring can you do?”

Gao Qiong was thick-skinned as a city wall. She didn’t feel embarrassed at all and instead pretended to be coy, bumping her plump chest against her arm and saying in a coquettish voice, “Then you can teach me, and I’ll teach him~”

“Go eat *!” Fang Chuning gritted her teeth and spat out a curse. It was good that this person could come up with such ideas. She didn’t have that much free time.

Witnessing the interaction between the two, Jiang Luoyu’s face turned red. His gaze couldn’t help but sweep over the girl’s even more impressive area, and then he lowered his eyes.

What he didn’t know was that during the two girls’ banter, Xu Muzhou’s constantly maintained shy and pure expression shattered for a moment, with a flash of jealousy in his eyes, simply because of the excessive intimacy between the two girls.

“Fang,” a low call attracted Fang Chuning’s attention. She saw that the young man’s beautiful brows and eyes seemed to reveal a hint of dissatisfaction due to her wasting time. “I have something to do later.”

“Then let’s hurry. You can ride in my car, and I’ll have the driver send you home later.”

Jiang Luoyu seemed to want to say something more, but Fang Chuning didn’t notice. She walked out of the classroom side by side with the young man.

The boy’s shoulders drooped in disappointment.

“Let me tell you,” Gao Qiong felt a bit sympathetic and offered some rare well-intentioned advice, “if you’re serious, I suggest you’d better take back your heart. Ah Ning and you are from completely different worlds. Even if there’s a possibility now, there won’t be a result in the future.”

The Fang family’s wealth and power were not as simple as people saw on the surface. Moreover, the Fang family had a very strong traditional concept of matching doors and houses. The two of them could play around now, but it was absolutely impossible to be together in the future.

This point was crystal clear to Gao Qiong, who had been familiar with the Fang family since childhood.

Jiang Luoyu’s face turned slightly pale. He lowered his eyes dejectedly, bit his lip hard, and then said softly, “I just… like her very much.”

“Well, then try your best. Maybe you can have a beautiful memory.”

After saying this, Gao Qiong comfortingly patted his slightly curly hair and left the classroom.

The classroom was empty now, with only Jiang Luoyu standing at the door. He frowned, his face showing a bit of unwillingness. Now that he had finally gotten closer to her, how could he possibly give up?

As long as they were together, no one could say for sure what would happen in the future.

Thinking this way, Jiang Luoyu felt a little relieved, but immediately he thought of Xu Muzhou, who was always standing between him and the President, and his mood worsened again. Especially since the two of them had many opportunities to be alone recently.

The more Jiang Luoyu thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He strode quickly down the stairs, and when he ran to the school gate, he just saw the car the two were sitting in drive away.

Inside the car, Xu Muzhou, sitting in the back seat, subtly glanced at the rearview mirror, his lips curving in a good mood.

Fang Chuning happened to see this scene and felt her eyes were dazzled, it was very bright.

She felt that Xu Muzhou wasn’t as repulsed by her as before. In the past, he never gave her a good look when he saw her, but now he even agreed to go to her house.

Going to her house… The image of the two of them alone in a room floated in Fang Chuning’s mind, and for some reason, she felt a strange sense of emotion. They had known each other for so long, but this was the first time they were so “close”.

Even though it was in her own car, Fang Chuning felt a bit awkward. She changed her sitting position and secretly glanced to the side. Xu Muzhou was sitting next to the car door, his eyes looking out the window, his face expressionless.

Fang Chuning took out a drink from the car’s refrigerator, “Do you want to drink?”

Xu Muzhou glanced at the drink she offered, “No need.”

His voice was light but carried a hint of coolness that suggested he didn’t want to say more. Yet he had such a delicate and vulnerable face that his attempt to look cold created a sense of contrast, making people’s hearts itch when they looked at him.

Fang Chuning withdrew her gaze and silently opened the can tab and took a sip.

The two didn’t speak again on the way. When they arrived at the Fang residence, as soon as Fang Chuning walked into the villa, she saw a boy running towards her with a large piece of paper.

Su Qi stood in front of her with red-tipped ears, “Ning Ning sister, you’re back…”

“Mm,” Fang Chuning nodded, looking around, “Why are you alone?”

“Lili is in the studio, and uncle went out for something.”

“Did he say what it was about?” Fang Chuning found it strange. Her father watched people very closely. Whenever Su Qi came to their house, he would definitely stay at home, as if the little boy might steal something.

“Uncle didn’t say.”

“Oh,” Fang Chuning nodded, then noticed the boy was still standing there, “Is there anything else?”

Su Qi’s lips curved into a shallow dimple, and he handed the drawing paper to her with both hands. His bright black eyes looked at her shyly yet expectantly, “This is what I drew…”

The boy said the first half of the sentence shyly and awkwardly, while the latter half was conveyed through his pitiful, pleading eyes.

“For me?” Fang Chuning took the paper.

“Mm.”

The boy nodded with a red face.

Fang Chuning turned over the paper to look at the drawing. It showed a girl sitting on a swing chair taking a nap. The boy had carefully added the lush green scenery around, making the whole picture look vivid and lifelike.

She looked at it carefully for a while, then turned back with a grin, saying in an almost boastful tone to the young man, “This is me!”

It was only then that Su Qi noticed the person behind Fang Chuning. He tilted his head slightly to look. The young man was as handsome as the angels he had seen in fairy tales. The two of them standing together looked like a match made in heaven.

Su Qi lowered his eyes in disappointment, feeling a sense of inferiority.

“Thank you, Qiqi!”

The girl’s clear voice made him slightly stunned. Su Qi looked up at her, his chest tumbling with immature feelings of admiration, “You’re welcome…”

His voice was so faint it was almost inaudible.