Chapter 912: Childhood Sweetheart Youth 06

Tutoring started.

They sat down at the desk.

No matter whose desk it was, each had two chairs, and they each silently accepted that the other chair belonged to the other.

Jin Chen really did have a slight stomachache.

How can I act naturally without being noticed?

He twirled his pen, listening to Song Xu's leisurely lecture, nodding occasionally and then falling silent for a few seconds.

This is much harder than simply pretending to be a poor student.

Simple questions must be understood, but not all of them; difficult reading questions can be left unanswered, but grammar must be clear; complex ones should be only half understood, and you also need to force out a sentence with grammatical errors.

Jin Chen had never felt English so hard to master.

Worry.

Worried, Jin Chen furrowed his brows, as if facing a great enemy.

Song Xu noticed Jin Chen's worried, grim expression.

He has always been perceptive; perhaps he pretends in front of others, but not with Jin Chen.

Song Xu stopped lecturing on grammar, lowered his thick eyelashes, and said, "Brother…"

The tone of grievance made Jin Chen snap back to attention.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you not wanting to study together with me?"

Jin Chen denied, "No."

Song Xu didn't believe him, curled up with knees drawn to his chest in the chair, tilted his head and bumped Jin Chen's shoulder, looking quite glum.

"But Brother, you look like you're in pain."

Jin Chen spoke righteously, "What's painful is studying, not being with you."

He put an arm around Song Xu's shoulders, forked a piece of watermelon to feed him, and asked tentatively, "Xiao Yu'er, do you think there's a chance I could open my apertures after a nap?"

Song Xu: "……" He's definitely been reading those melodramatic chuunibyou comics lately.

"Brother, do you still have a system?"

Jin Chen instinctively replied, "Um, um???"

He immediately sat up straight, "Xiao Yu'er, what did you say?"

0731:???

【What's going on? What's going on!】

Song Xu said in a flat tone, "Super Scholar Cheat System, so Brother opened his apertures in a dream."

Jin Chen: "……"

Although he was telling a cold joke, Xiao Yu'er's deadpan expression made him even cuter!

【…… Scare the system! This is a very immoral thing!】 0731 went crazy.

Song Xu, however, showed no pleasure after joking; he rested his head on the man's shoulder, his cheek lightly brushing the neck, his voice tinged with a spoiled softness.

"Brother, don't joke; do you mean you don't want to be together with me anymore?"

He began to make assumptions.

"Without Brother's care, I will surely feel terrible; maybe no one will notice if I have an attack."

As Song Xu spoke, he imagined the future scene, his nose first souring, he sniffed, lifted his head, and locked eyes with Jin Chen.

"Brother, is it because you dislike me that you're acting this way?"

His almond eyes were moist, the corners tinged red, his gaze pitifully tender.

Jin Chen took a deep breath, his fingers slightly itchy, but he only stroked Song Xu's soft hair.

Xiao Yu'er had no idea how alluring he was!

"What are you saying, how could I dislike Xiao Yu'er?" Jin Chen pinched Song Xu's face, lowered his gaze to meet his, a gentle smile on his lips.

"Study! Brother promises you, no matter where you go, Brother will cover you!"

Whatever Jin Chen promised Song Xu, he never goes back on his word.

Song Xu had always known this, so he pursed his lips in a light smile, leaned into Jin Chen's shoulder, and rubbed affectionately.

There's an exam at the start of term; if Brother can raise his rank…… by ten places, that's guaranteed to be effective.

Jin Chen always remembers to look out for his own benefits.

"If I rise ten places, Xiao Yu'er will grant me one request, a promise not to refuse anything—okay?"

Song Xu tilted his head, thought, and said, "No."

Before Jin Chen could feel disappointed, he heard the two of them—Xiao Yu'er's voice, heavenly as celestial music—say: "Even if not, Brother's request, I will not refuse."

Song Xu also fed the slightly dazed Jin Chen a piece of watermelon, smiling and saying, "If your rank improves, I'll give you a gift, Brother."

"But I haven't decided what to give yet."

He muttered to himself, beginning to think.

Jin Chen's heart was about to melt.

Unimportant! What gift it is doesn't matter at all!

Jin Chen only knew his Xiao Yu'er was unbelievably cute, utterly unaware of his own sweet talk; his flirting left Jin Chen dazed, making him want to hug and kiss him wildly.

But no, they haven't yet evolved from their childhood sweetheart relationship.

Jin Chen sighed emotionally; no matter how turbulent his feelings, he merely hugged Song Xu, swayed him a bit, and pinched his face.

"All right, I'm full of motivation now; trouble Xiao Yu'er teacher to keep lecturing, okay?"

This afternoon, Jin Chen indeed focused his attention on listening to Song Xu's lecture as he had promised, even though the material was already familiar to him, he still listened with relish.

Song Xu was also very pleased with Jin Chen's cooperation and eagerness to learn; he took out a brand‑new workbook, assigned him the tasks to do, and then kept him company while reading his own book.

Although both of them had plenty of energy for studying, they couldn't bear how overly quiet this midsummer afternoon was.

Jin Chen's desk faced the big tree in the courtyard, and he could clearly hear the cicadas chirping and the wind rustling the leaves.

It wasn't particularly hot today; the window was open, and a warm breeze blew in, making Song Xu feel drowsy.

After forcing himself awake a few times, Song Xu still couldn't resist his physiological drowsiness; he leaned on Jin Chen's shoulder and fell asleep, still holding the unfinished book in his arms.

Jin Chen was working on the checked problems; lowering his gaze, he saw the boy gently close his eyes, his sleeping posture peaceful and utterly well‑behaved.

Just looking at him made Jin Chen's gaze turn soft beyond words.

He took the book Song Xu was holding, then Jin Chen bent over and pulled him into his arms; as he stood up, Song Xu briefly woke a little, but heard his older brother's gentle coaxing.

"Be good, go to sleep."

That voice seemed like a spell; Song Xu's lotus‑like arms wrapped around Jin Chen's neck, and he slumped into the embrace, sleeping even more deeply.

Jin Chen gently laid the sleeping boy on the bed, yawned himself, and hesitated for half a second between napping while holding Xiao Yu'er and doing his exercises.

Then he decisively drew the curtains, lay down, and slept while holding the person.

The bamboo mat was cool, the tree shade provided cover, and even without a fan it wasn't hot.

The two asleep people simultaneously forgot that they had promised Cheng Huai the night before to meet in the afternoon and play checkers together in the courtyard.

Of course, Cheng Huai himself couldn't manage it either.

Last night he agonized over it, but he simply didn't dare wash the coat himself, fearing he'd tear a seam.

After dawn, he found a bag to put it in, intending to send it to the dry cleaner.

When he got off the bus, Cheng Huai happened to feel thirsty, went into a milk tea shop, intending to buy a cup of milk tea before delivering the clothes for washing.

As it turned out, he ran into the extremist relative's elder brother who had brought a child to buy milk tea right there in the milk tea shop.

Cheng Huai saw him turn and walk away, but it was already too late—the extremist relative's elder brother had already caught sight of Cheng Huai.

He grabbed Cheng Huai's arm and yanked it, then said to the child he was leading: "You haven't met this little uncle yet, huh? Quick, have him buy you a cup of milk tea."

"After all, it's rare to see someone who, at such a young age, dares to cut ties with family and be an unfilial child."