“In the discussion for the first question of the third section, I mentioned Pareto Efficiency,” Xiao Heling said, spreading her exam paper out in front of Chen Zhizhong with persistent determination. “I should get at least two points here.”
Chen Zhizhong followed her gaze, his lips twitching. The English handwriting on the paper was quite beautiful, the dark ink filling every available blank space. Unfortunately, the explanation was incoherent and lacked any logical flow; it was impossible to tell what she was actually trying to say.
Most importantly, this was a calculation question based on a graph.
It was truly a feat for her to find a potential scoring point amidst such a mess of delirious ramblings.
Regardless of how much he was scoffing internally, Chen Zhizhong maintained a professional smile. “Miss Xiao, the professor emphasized in class that points are only awarded if the explanation is accompanied by a diagram.”
Having met with this polite but firm rebuff, a shadow fell over Xiao Heling’s beautiful, almond-shaped eyes. Her shoulders slumped involuntarily; the stubbornness vanished, replaced by a look of pure dejection. Chen Zhizhong sat composed on the other side of the desk, feeling a surge of quiet satisfaction.
It served her right to get a fifty-eight. In the prime of her youth, at eighteen or nineteen, she did nothing but sleep through class and fool around afterward, relying solely on her family’s wealth. Looking at her, Chen Zhizhong was reminded of a female classmate from his secondary school who had missed the cutoff for the Chinese University of Hong Kong by a single point. That classmate lived in the Kowloon Walled City; every evening, she had to go home first to help assemble paper funeral flowers and boil fish balls. She only found time to study after her younger siblings had gone to sleep, grinding away until her hair turned brittle and yellow just to maintain her scholarship every year. When the exam results were posted and her name wasn't on the list, their classmates tried to comfort her, telling her to try again next year. His classmate’s eyes had been hollow; she tried to force a smile, but her teeth chattered so hard she couldn't open her mouth.
During the summer break, when Chen Zhizhong returned to Hong Kong from the UK, he had specifically brought a Cambridge souvenir to encourage her. To his surprise, she had already quickly married a childhood sweetheart from the Walled City. Pregnant and working ten hours a day, she spent her mornings to nights stirring fish paste and rolling meatballs.
*You have no idea how lucky your life is,* he thought silently as he looked at the young girl adorned in designer brands.
To his surprise, Xiao Heling’s skin was as thick as a city wall; even at this point, she refused to give up.
“Senior, help me out,” she said, flashing that ambiguous, cunning smile that Chen Zhizhong loathed the most. “Let’s just give each other a break.”
A surge of irritation rose from his gut straight to the crown of his head. Chen Zhizhong let out a short, angry laugh.
“You...!” Xiao Heling’s cheeks, as fair and smooth as eggshells, gradually flushed crimson. Chen Zhizhong met her questioning gaze with total composure. Seeing that he was impervious to both her charms and her temper, Xiao Heling finally gave up. She huffed, crumpled the exam paper into a ball, and stuffed it into her LV shoulder bag. Even after ravaging the paper, she wasn't finished; as she walked out of the office, she slammed the door with a deafening bang. The boiling water in Chen Zhizhong’s thermos rippled from the impact.
In their many clashes, he had finally gained the upper hand. Chen Zhizhong felt a sense of relief, but his satisfaction soon turned back into gloom.
How could he have been fooled by such a person?
His first impression of her had actually been quite good. To be fair, few people in the world would dislike a beautiful girl of seventeen or eighteen. Moreover, Xiao Heling’s beauty wasn't just youthful and vibrant; it was also refined and meticulous. While other female students were still obsessed with denim skirts and plaid shirts, she already knew how to coordinate the color of her hairbands with her shoes, wearing light dresses with elegant patterns that accentuated her graceful curves.
Once Chen Zhizhong became well-acquainted with Xiao Heling, he would come to despise the tricks she used to disguise herself and act likable. Unfortunately, time could not be turned back. As an ordinary young man who was also full of youthful vigor, he had predictably fallen into the web Xiao Heling wove with her bright almond eyes and soft lips.
Thus, when Xiao Heling had tearfully claimed she was struggling to adjust to life in the UK and suffered from frequent insomnia, begging Chen Zhizhong to grant her sick leave for the tutorial quiz a week later, Chen Zhizhong had not only signed off on it with a flourish but had also proactively asked if she needed after-class tutoring.
“Senior, you’re so kind!” Xiao Heling had smiled radiantly. “I’ll try studying on my own first. If I have questions, I’ll ask you!”
On the night of the quiz a week later, Chen Zhizhong ran straight into Xiao Heling at the nightclub where he worked part-time.
