Let's Do Some Questions - Chapter 18

At 6:30, Song Man was woken up by her alarm clock. She let out a pained groan, climbed out of bed for less than three seconds, and then collapsed back down.

Before, when she went from being a top student to a slacker, Song Man actually felt a bit uncomfortable, but she quickly became immersed in it. She could skip classes with a clear conscience, sleep until she woke up naturally, and have more time to do what she wanted instead of sitting in school listening to teachers drone on.

But now, all of that was gone.

Yet, she was clearly still pretending to be a slacker.

Damn it, why!!!

Song Man struggled to prop herself up on her arms and sat up, trying to wake herself up on the bed.

When Chu Fengqiu knocked and entered, she saw Song Man with a blank expression.

“Breakfast is ready. Wash up and come eat.”

Song Man responded weakly, her hair a mess, and shuffled to the bathroom in her slippers.

A few minutes later, Song Man walked out of the bathroom, taking off her clothes as she went, then put on her school uniform and left the room.

“Huh? Where’s Housekeeper Liu? Why are we eating this today?”

Song Man looked around but didn’t see the cook.

On the table were toast, fried eggs, and milk. She rarely ate Western breakfast because she wasn’t a big fan of bread and preferred Chinese congee and noodles.

“Housekeeper Liu took the day off today.”

Chu Fengqiu came out of the kitchen carrying a plate and placed it in front of her seat.

“Huh? Why are you making it?”

“Housekeeper Liu is only off for today. Uncle and Auntie were planning to hire someone else, but I thought I could just do it since it’s only one day. I originally planned to make congee, but I woke up a bit late, so I could only make something simple.”

Chu Fengqiu had thought she could wake up early. To get up sooner, she set her alarm for 5:40, but she still overslept and woke up at 6:20.

“Next time, we can just buy breakfast outside. That way you don’t have to wake up so early.”

No wonder Chu Fengqiu had asked her what she wanted for breakfast yesterday.

“Okay… got it.”

Chu Fengqiu nodded, seeing Song Man glance at her and add a word.

The two of them pushed the boundaries of being late and successfully arrived just as class started.

“Rare sight, the class monitor almost late today.”

Chu Fengqiu ignored it, but Song Man glanced over, remembering who said it. It was the person sitting behind her, who used to be Chu Fengqiu’s deskmate. What was her name again… Oh, Dong Xue.

She had been muttering behind her back last time.

Song Man sat down at her seat, and the sound of studying filled the air.

Chu Fengqiu took out her English book and also opened Song Man’s book.

Song Man’s attention wasn’t on the book. She leaned towards Chu Fengqiu.

“Hey, that girl behind us, does she have a problem with you?”

“Not close.”

Chu Fengqiu replied.

Two simple words summarized her relationship with the classmate who had just spoken.

Although Chu Fengqiu had been deskmates with Dong Xue for a month or two, in terms of familiarity, Dong Xue was just a stranger to her.

“She has an issue with you. Don’t bother with her next time.”

Having spent several years among slackers, Song Man was quite sensitive to emotions, especially malice. It was clear that Dong Xue was unhappy with Chu Fengqiu, but there was no reason for Chu Fengqiu to pay attention to her.

Dong Xue behind them heard the entire conversation. Her face turned red, but she didn’t dare say anything, only enduring it and lowering her head to read.

“Okay.”

Chu Fengqiu nodded and pointed to the current unit in the English book for Song Man.

“Last time I heard you read the text in English class, your English seemed pretty good.”

“Ah… that… I just traveled abroad and picked up a bit. It’s not good, and it won’t be on the exam.”

Song Man shook her head, firmly maintaining her persona.

Song Man wasn’t exactly lying. Since she was little, her parents had taken her on family trips abroad, and there were still photos, although she didn’t remember many of the places. That’s why she was willing to keep up this act to provoke Song Qinglan.

Because ever since she was a child, Song Zici had been quite biased. It wasn’t exactly bias, but their family was like this: the elder daughter was trained in an elite mode, while she was free and unrestrained. Photos from trips abroad only showed the family of three.

Her dad had told her since she was little to have a good relationship with her sister, and she also liked to rely on her sister. When she was young and didn’t understand anything, she just thought that whoever doted on her was good to her, so she had a very good relationship with Song Qinglan.

But who knew that the truth behind things was like that.

Her dad probably didn’t expect Song Qinglan to use such methods against her.

However, at least now her dad realized he couldn’t let her continue being so ‘useless’. Changing her class and finding someone to tutor her closely showed he was putting in a lot of effort.

Song Man wasn’t someone who liked to overthink. After thinking for a while and feeling a headache coming on, she simply pushed Song Qinglan to the back of her mind.

“Then you have an English foundation. Your listening comprehension shouldn’t be a big problem. Let’s start by focusing on English to improve.”

Regardless of whether Song Man was truly a slacker, Chu Fengqiu dutifully planned to first strengthen the areas where Song Man showed relative strength.

“Okay.”

Song Man nodded. So be it, she’d take it slow and let her parents feel the satisfaction of their daughter’s grades gradually improving.

Not getting enough sleep was truly painful. Song Man yawned, trying hard to look at the book and pretend she wasn’t spacing out.

It was such a waste of time and life. This time could be used for sleeping, playing games, or even doing practice problems.

Just as Song Man felt she was about to fall asleep, a temperature that wasn’t hers touched her waist, startling her and making her whole body tremble.

Chu Fengqiu silently withdrew her hand, her good deed unnoticed.

Song Man was completely startled awake, feeling incredibly alert.

After being awake came endless suffering. Song Man really wanted to shout at Chu Fengqiu, “I’m a top student!” and then happily go back to sleep.

But that was just a thought.

The fan in the distance whirred and turned, but the breeze it brought was limited.

What Song Man found most exasperating was the other fan in front. It was installed backward; you couldn’t feel any wind even standing right under it, and no one had reported it for repair, just letting it be.

The air was stuffy, and the heat clung to her like a shadow. Song Man wiped the sweat from her forehead, feeling irritable.

The good thing about her previous school was that air conditioning wasn’t a problem; she wouldn’t get hot. Qingcheng No. 1 High wasn’t like that. Public schools didn’t have that much funding. The third-year building had air conditioning, but she heard it was only turned on during summer cram sessions.

Song Man felt melancholic. Her parents knew to donate two buildings to the school to get this opportunity, so why couldn’t they install air conditioning for the school?

Song Man fanned herself with a notebook and saw the girl sitting next to her, sitting up straight and taking notes.

It was summer now, and everyone was wearing summer school uniforms. Chu Fengqiu’s arm was exposed, looking fair and slender. Thinking about Chu Fengqiu’s slightly cooler palm temperature, Song Man felt a glimmer of hope.

Since they were sisters, using her to cool down shouldn’t be too much, right?