Chapter 79

Xu Wushuang's office still had other people in it, so she didn't make Wang Bo too uncomfortable. After collecting his composition, she only pretended to give him a few reminders and let him go. She had called him over purely for amusement, which would help her swallow her frustration.

As Wang Bo was about to leave, he asked, "Teacher, we can hand in compositions every day during regular classes, but do we not need to hand them in on weekends?" To his surprise, not asking would have been better. After he asked, Xu Wushuang immediately perked up: "Who told you that you don't need to hand them in? You still have to hand them in on weekends. Bring them directly to my place, and I'll grade them on the spot."

Wang Bo looked distressed and said, "Can't you let me rest for a few days? How about just one composition on the weekend?" The teacher who had previously given him some advice was also there and interjected with a smile, "You ungrateful child, your teacher is so concerned about you, and you still complain? Do you know how tiring it is to grade compositions?"

Wang Bo nodded politely at her, as she had given him some guidance before. Xu Wushuang took the opportunity to say, "Did you hear that? I'm concerned about you. Don't take your blessings for granted. Go back and call me tomorrow; I'll tell you where to go." He had been to that place before, but she still had to put on a show.

Wang Bo had no choice but to agree reluctantly, thinking to himself whether he should bite the bullet and exchange for a "Literary Master" skill. That way, he would have a steady flow of ideas and wouldn't have to worry about writing compositions. However, that skill seemed quite expensive, and the thought of it made him feel a bit reluctant. Sigh, it's not easy to be a writer.

When Wang Bo returned to the classroom, the results on the leaderboard had already spread, and he was immediately surrounded by his classmates, who all asked him how he managed to do so well, wondering if he had taken some miracle drug.

This time, he ranked first in the main subjects in the class and fourth overall, just behind the all-around excellent Lu Lu, Yu Jia, and the study committee member Xu Wenjie. His sudden rise from the middle to the top of the class was truly astonishing.

In response to his classmates' questions, he always smiled without answering. They wouldn't believe him anyway, so he might as well act dumb. Standing in front of the small leaderboard, he saw his own results: second in the main subjects in the grade and forty-sixth overall in the six subjects, completing the system's task perfectly.

Looking at the results of the three minor subjects, they were as expected: physics was decent, politics was passable, and chemistry was poor. Compared to the main subjects, they were all subpar.

Wang Bo thought to himself as he returned to his seat: It's time to consider the subject selection issue. The school is about to start the survey. Which subject should I choose? Should I be a rare animal in the liberal arts class? I don't really want to, and the options for majors in the future are limited. So, should I choose physics? Staying in Class 7 doesn't feel right, and the relationship with Teacher Xu is ambiguous. If I'm not careful, someone might notice the problem. It would be better to leave Class 7, which would make our interactions less constrained. So, it's decided: the chemistry class!

With his mind made up, he told Jin Xiaoli and the others. Liu Yan was puzzled: Why not choose the liberal arts class, or at least the better-performing physics, but pick chemistry?

Wang Bo replied confidently, "I like a challenge!"

"Tsk!" Jin Xiaoli was still a bit annoyed that he didn't choose the liberal arts class, "If you like a challenge, why not be a boy in the liberal arts class? There are plenty of girls there for you to challenge."

He joked, "I can't handle the two of you, let alone a whole group." Jin Xiaoli immediately blushed and pinched his arm, whispering, "Do you want everyone to know? You said it so loudly..."

She looked around suspiciously, and only relaxed when she saw that the other students were not paying attention. Liu Yan chuckled and whispered, "Lili is actually shy, but she was quite bold a few days ago."

Wang Bo rubbed the spot where she had pinched him and said, "She's tough on the outside but timid on the inside. Haven't you noticed?" Liu Yan thought back to Jin Xiaoli's flustered state that day and smiled, "You're right..."

Jin Xiaoli glared at them and turned away, pretending to be angry. Wang Bo and the others knew she was just pretending, so they didn't try to appease her and continued chatting happily. Sure enough, after a while, Jin Xiaoli turned back and pouted, "You two are so mean! You're ganging up on me..."

Her chest heaved with anger, and Wang Bo and the others knew that joking further would be too much, so they quickly calmed her down.

During class, Jin Xiaoli thought: Am I being too lenient with them, making me seem too easy to bully? Others don't dare to provoke me much. No, I need to be firmer in the future, or I'll be the weakest among the three of us.

Since the two of them had opened up to each other, their topics had become even more varied. They discovered that liking the same man wasn't something they couldn't accept; instead, it gave them more common ground. They joked with each other more freely, as evidenced by their late-night phone calls.

However, they still had a bit of a competitive spirit, not to the point of jealousy, but at least they didn't want to be outshone by the other in Wang Bo's heart.

After school, Qi Juying called to congratulate Wang Bo on his excellent mid-term exam results. She then told him that she would be going back to her hometown in the north over the weekend to complete the choreography and asked if he was free on Sunday. If so, they could practice at the dance studio at 6 PM.

Wang Bo thought about his Sunday, which was free, and agreed. However, he also reminded her that the dance moves should not be too complex to avoid spending too much time.

After the call, Lu Lu, who was walking beside Wang Bo, asked, "Was that Qi Juying?"

"Yes, we're meeting at the dance studio on Sunday," he nodded. Lu Lu said, "Oh," and then asked, "I want to visit my grandmother at the nursing home tomorrow morning. Can you come with me?"

"Sure," Wang Bo agreed readily, "We can go to the supermarket in the evening to buy some things for Grandma and take them over tomorrow." His attitude made Lu Lu very happy, and she thought: Does he value my grandmother so much because of me?

At home, they reported their results to their parents. This time, the brother and sister ranked second and fourth in the class, which delighted their parents, who praised them profusely. Wang's mother even hugged Lu Lu and said, "That's great! Since you came, even your brother's mind has become sharper. That's wonderful!"

Actually, it had nothing to do with her, but Wang's mother seemed to be superstitious or something.

After dinner, the two of them informed their parents and then went to a nearby large supermarket to shop. They even ran into their homeroom teacher, who was also there to buy things. However, Xu Wushuang already knew about their relationship and didn't say much. After exchanging greetings, she reminded Wang Bo, "Don't forget to hand in your composition tomorrow, and come to my place in the evening."

On Saturday afternoon, Wang Bo had to go to Yimin District for a match, so the morning was quite rushed. Therefore, she specifically scheduled the meeting for the evening, when the long night would allow for a more thorough and profound grading of the composition.

After buying the items, the two of them went to the checkout. As they were paying, Wang Bo suddenly thought of something and asked, "Lu Lu, do you have enough money? Do you ever lack pocket money?"

Lu Lu looked uncomfortable and said, "I, I have a little..." From her expression, Wang Bo knew that their parents, who were busy with work, had forgotten to give Lu Lu pocket money.

Indeed, Lu Lu usually got her living expenses from her uncle once a week. Although she saved a bit, it wasn't much. She needed money for meals at school and occasional purchases. Worried that her savings wouldn't last long, she had been living frugally this week. However, staying with her aunt, she felt awkward about asking for pocket money.

Wang's father and mother were indeed busy with work and had a lot on their minds, especially with the recent focus on buying a new house. They had forgotten about this, but Wang Bo noticed it now.

He sighed and said, "If you're uncomfortable telling my parents, you can tell me. If I don't ask, will you just keep struggling?"

Lu Lu pouted and said, "If it gets really bad, I'll have to speak up." She wasn't stupid; if it came to a dire situation, she could put her pride aside.

"Let's not blame them; they're just busy and forgot. It's not intentional," Wang Bo said. Lu Lu replied, "I understand; my aunt and uncle are really good to me."

"I'll take care of this. Don't tell them, so they don't feel bad," Wang Bo said, then took out a bank card from his wallet and gave it to her. This card was returned by Jin Xiaoli, with 200,000 yuan withdrawn and 100,000 yuan still in it, untouched. Now, the card had a new owner. "There's some money in this card. It should last you for a while. Consider it your pocket money from your brother." He whispered in her ear, "The password is the last six digits of the card number. Change it as soon as possible."

"Keep this card with you. If you run out of money, let me know, and I'll transfer more."

Lu Lu took the card, looked at the golden surface, and didn't understand what it represented. She assumed it had a few thousand yuan, which should last until the end of the semester. She nodded and put it in her bag.

When they got home, they started their homework. Soon, Wang Bo's phone rang. It was Liu Yan, urging him to go online for a group chat, as they had many questions about the exam. Wang Bo glanced at Lu Lu, who was still studying diligently, and thought that it would definitely disturb her. He politely declined, saying he had a match the next day and a composition to write, so he needed to focus on his homework.

Liu Yan's pleading and begging were in vain, so she gave up.

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