Forced to Love (GL) - Chapter 4

Early the next morning, Lingxi said goodbye to Shen Sui at the bottom of the teaching building.

“Shen, remember to drink the soy milk.”

“Mm.”

“Shall we start tutoring tomorrow since it’s the weekend?”

“Mm, but after school this afternoon, I’ll take a look at your monthly exam papers first.”

“Okay.” Lingxi nodded, then suddenly remembered something. “Shen, I’m in Class 21, Grade 11.”

“I know.” Shen Sui’s dark pupils looked at Lingxi, and after a moment, she slightly moved her lips. “Yao Jingzhu, Class 21, Grade 11.”

Lingxi was a little surprised. She hadn’t expected Shen Sui to not only know her name but also her class.

As if understanding Lingxi’s confusion, Shen Sui paused before explaining, “You mentioned it last time in Director Yang’s office.”

Lingxi remembered.

“Then I’ll get going. See you after school.”

Just as Shen Sui took a step forward, a breeze passed by, and Lingxi quickly came closer again.

“Shen, about quitting the convenience store job…”

Shen Sui looked up at her, her expression calm. “Mm, I know.”

“Okay.”

Lingxi stepped back and watched as Shen Sui disappeared into the hallway before turning toward the campus store to buy a can of coffee.

The tutoring arrangement was set. The process itself was somewhat unexpected yet not entirely surprising. Shen Shang needed money, and if there was a better way for her to earn it, tutoring was undoubtedly the best option.

However, quitting the job so suddenly wasn’t feasible, and Lingxi didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone, so she insisted on staying with her. Yao Jingzhu’s parents were always away on business trips, so spending the night out occasionally wasn’t a big deal.

Even though it was summer in P City, the place retained its unique seasonal characteristics, with significant temperature differences between day and night.

At midnight, the wind seeped through the cracks of the electronic door, bringing a slight chill.

Sitting on the chair, Shen Sui was dozing off, about to fall over. Lingxi quickly reached out and supported her. She pushed two chairs with backrests together to form a makeshift bed, placed a soft cushion as a pillow, and then took off her blue-and-white school jacket to cover Shen Sui.

Even so, Lingxi frowned slightly. If she weren’t in this small world where she couldn’t use her powers freely, she could have made Shen Sui sleep more comfortably.

For tens of thousands of years, Lingxi had never taken human form, but Shen Shang always kept her close. Their communication went beyond the tacit understanding of a weapon and its wielder—it was also a connection like that of a musical instrument and its player.

Lingxi felt like a drifting spirit in an endless void, yet after spending so much time with Shen Shang, she had learned to borrow her strength to perceive the outside world.

In Shen Shang’s courtyard, there was a pavilion where she often napped on a soft couch. A breeze carrying the scent of flowers would lift the edges of her white robe, and colorful butterflies would follow the wind, landing gracefully on the nearby desk. Everything was quiet.

Lingxi pulled herself out of her distant thoughts and looked down at the sleeping Shen Sui, finally feeling relieved.

Shen Sui remained still and silent, neither talking in her sleep nor snoring. When she was covered with a jacket, she instinctively pulled it closer, as if completely at ease.

The night passed in a blur. When Lingxi sensed that Shen Sui was about to wake up, she pretended to be asleep. Later, as they walked to school together, they exchanged words of thanks.

Lingxi glanced up at the window of Class 3 on the fifth floor, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

She placed the bottled coffee into her desk drawer. During the first two language classes, she remained alert, but as the lessons continued, sleepiness crept in. Even if she wasn’t mentally tired, her body couldn’t fight off the physical exhaustion. Taking advantage of the break, she washed her face with cold water and downed a full bottle of coffee.

In the classroom, the math class representative was handing out test papers. From a distance, Lingxi could already see a group of students gathered around her seat.

“My score is higher than yours! Haha!”

“Even I scored higher than you!”

“Ha! Hahaha!”

Mi Tongtong laughed so exaggeratedly that she even slapped the table, drawing the attention of many classmates.

Lingxi walked over without any visible emotion. “Excuse me.”

Mi Tongtong turned and saw her, the mockery in her expression deepening. “Oh, look who’s back—the last place student!” She waved her hand, signaling the others to move aside. “Come on, make way for our dear bottom-ranker, Jingzhu!”

Lingxi avoided any physical contact with them and immediately saw the math test paper lying on her desk. The red score on the front page stood out: 29.

“Jingzhu, make sure to keep up this streak! Keep going!”

“Hahaha!”

Lingxi flipped through the test paper without responding. Seeing that their mockery wasn’t getting a reaction, the group quickly lost interest and dispersed when the class bell rang. Before leaving, Mi Tongtong shot Lingxi a glare.

Lingxi flexed her fingers slightly, and Mi Tongtong instinctively quickened her pace back to her seat.

After scanning the test paper from front to back, Lingxi reached a clear conclusion—Yao Jingzhu was really bad at math.

During math class, as expected, the teacher called her out in front of everyone. Lingxi didn’t mind. She took out a dedicated notebook for each subject, carefully organizing her mistakes and marking the key concepts related to them in red.

While the teacher explained the test in front of the class, Lingxi diligently took notes. Regardless of whether Yao Jingzhu had answered correctly or not, she paid close attention. If there were things she couldn’t understand immediately, she jotted them down for later review.

At noon, she went home for a short nap. However, the brief hour of sleep didn’t help—if anything, it made her even more tired.

The afternoon classes were tough. Lingxi had to battle with difficult problems and fight off sleepiness at the same time. It was exhausting. She ended up drinking several cans of coffee.

Friday nights didn’t have evening self-study sessions. Lingxi struggled through the last period, then remembered her morning agreement with Shen Sui. She washed her face with cold water to force herself awake.

She placed all her exam papers neatly in the corner of her desk and focused on her homework. Eventually, she was the only one left in the classroom when a sudden knock came from the door.

“Knock, knock, knock—”

Lingxi looked up and saw Shen Sui standing at the entrance, backpack slung over her shoulder.

“Shen, you’re here.” Lingxi stood up and smiled at her.

“Mm, sorry, I got delayed on the way.”

“It’s okay.”

Shen Sui placed her bag on the seat next to her. “Were you doing homework?”

“Yes.”

“Mm. Hand me your exam papers.” Shen Sui seemed pleased with Lingxi’s attitude toward studying and nodded slightly.

“Here.” Lingxi carefully handed over the monthly test papers, covered in red markings.

Shen Sui took them and briefly scanned the scores. Lingxi noticed that she paused for an extra two seconds when she saw the math test.

After a moment, Shen Sui set the papers down, looked at Lingxi, and said thoughtfully, “You definitely need tutoring.”