Bite Your Fingertips

30th –【If you don’t want, then I do】

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Chu Yu sandwiched his transcript in a book and went to speak with his homeroom teacher first.

In the process, he was praised by Old Ye again, and by the English teacher beside him.
Chu Yu was complimented so much that he became absent-minded and felt like he was that flickering, shiny WenQuXing in the sky.

Exiting the office, Chu Yu saw Lu Shi waiting at the door with his hands habitually inserted in his pockets.

“I’ll go with you.”

Chu Yu thought that since he’d visited the principal’s office several times, he didn’t need to be accompanied because he was already familiar with the route.
But seeing that Lu Shi had already taken a step forward, he simply followed— maybe Lu Shi was looking for the principal for something?

The weather was gloomy with thick clouds and no sunlight.

Chu Yu was in a good mood and couldn’t stop talking to Lu Shi along the way.

“I never imagined I could rank 199th! I can’t get such a high score even in my dreams.” Chu Yu understood clearly deep inside and smiled at Lu Shi.
“Thank you!”

Lu Shi stared straight ahead and spoke with a light tone, “Thank you for what?”

A smile reflected in his light-colored eyes as Chu Yu spread his fingers and began counting.
“The reading comprehension and language application answer templates, the certain-to-show up archaeological poetry and literature fill in the blanks, and lastly the essay templates you gave me, I used all of them! And and, those math, physics and chem questions you highlighted were all accurate.
First line, second line, third line, almost every line looked familiar to me.
What kind of descended god are you?”

After saying that, he bent down and looked at Lu Shi’s face from the bottom up with an exaggerated expression.
“Lu-Shen, how are you this amazing?”

Lu Shi took one hand out of his pocket and rubbed the other’s hair.
“Walk properly.”

After the two unhurriedly arrived at the door of the principal’s office, they found that it was closed.

Chu Yu knocked on the door and entered.
“Sir, may I ask what you wanted to see me for?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Yu noticed two people sitting on the sofa on the left side of the office— Guan Yiyang and Fang Mingzhe.

He remembered Fang Mingzhe.
He sat in front of Guan Yiyang and was the one who loudly said that he wanted to bask in the light and be his uncle.

The smile on his face faded and Chu Yu looked away.
“Sir, were you looking for me?”

The office wasn’t big.
Behind the solid, dark brown wooden desk was a bookshelf filled with many books such as Adolescent Psychology, Digest, Introduction to Educational Psychology and so forth.
Two three-seater sofas, both dark brown, were placed on both sides to serve as the visitor’s area.

The principal was sitting behind the desk.
Seeing Chu Yu coming in, a kind smile appeared on his face.
“Student Chu Yu, thank you for coming over this time, please come sit down.”

Seeing Lu Shi come in with him, he spoke again, “If Student Lu Shi isn’t in a hurry, you can return to the classroom first and come again to find me in my office this afternoon.”

Chu Yu sat down on the sofa and said, “Lu Shi is accompanying me.”

“So it’s like that.
In that case, you should also sit, Lu Shi.”

Once the two were seated, the principal cleared his throat.
“This time I asked student Chu Yu to come over because I wanted to investigate and be clear about one thing.”

His expression became serious.
“These two students reported that in this monthly exam, student Chu Yu engaged in cheating.”

After hearing this, Chu Yu wasn’t the least bit surprised.
His expression was calm as his eyes passed over the two people sitting opposite him before he replied, “I didn’t.”

The principal looked at Guan Yiyang and Fang Mingzhe.
“Fang Mingzhe, repeat what you said earlier in front of Chu Yu.”

Fang Mingzhe seemed a little uneasy.
He shifted his position slightly and shot a glance at Chu Yu who was sitting across from him.
There was a bit of timidness flashing in his eyes, but he seemed to have found his courage and started, “I… I couldn’t sleep for these past two days because I felt guilty.
I did something I shouldn’t have, which is too unfair, especially out of respect for the students who seriously studied and wanted to get good grades.”

Chu Yu looked at Fang Mingzhe.
“What have you done that you can’t sleep because of guilt?”

Fang Mingzhe’s hands on his thighs fiercely clenched into fists, and instead of answering Chu Yu’s question, he turned to the principal.
“Sir, I’m sorry! I helped Chu Yu cheat in the exams.”

Chu Yu questioned, “Then this classmate might as well talk about it, how did you help me cheat?”

Fang Mingzhe’s tightly clenched fists trembled.
“It was in the men’s washroom, and there happened to be only the two of us at the time.
You asked me if I got into the top fifty in every exam.
I said I did.

“Then, then, then you told me to send you the answers during the exam.”

Fang Mingzhe closed his eyes and explained, “I disagreed, saying that such a thing was wrong, that the exam required real ability and learning, and cheating is shameful.
But you said that if I didn’t cooperate with you, you would get me, get me— “

Chu Yu prodded, “Get you what?”

“Get me expelled from Jianing Private!”

Fang Mingzhe gazed at the principal, his lips trembling slightly.
“Sir, I was wrong.
I- me and my family have no money.
My father opened a rental business whereas my mother’s a housewife.
It was very difficult for them to send me to Jianing Private so I don’t want to be expelled…”

There were many such students in Jianing Private.
Their family background was average, and some weren’t even very good.
It was only with scholarships and the school waiving tuition and accommodation fees that they were able to leave public school and come here to study.

The principal’s brows were tightly creased.
“So you chose to help Chu Yu cheat?”

Fang Mingzhe bit his lower lip and nodded.
“Yes.”

He continued, “Chu Yu also said that he’d never be found out, so I could rest assured.
The last examination room wasn’t strictly invigilated so he wouldn’t get caught.”

“Alright.”

The principal looked at Chu Yu again.
“Student Chu Yu, do you have anything you want to say?”

Chu Yu’s tone didn’t fluctuate at all.
“Before now, I’ve never said a word to this person.”

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Fang Mingzhe suddenly raised his head to look at Chu Yu.
He wanted to say something but fear flitted through his eyes and he shut his mouth again.

“Chu Yu,” said Guan Yiyang, who was sitting next to Fang Mingzhe.
“I know our bet placed you under too much pressure.
In order to get good grades and save face, you had to resort to other measures.
I’m sorry, that bet was too childish, I now withdraw it.
However,” his two eyes faced Chu Yu and he sincerely advised, “people can lose face, but they must never lose their principles.
What do you say, Classmate Chu Yu?”

Chu Yu lifted his chin.
“You mean, because I made a bet with you and worried that I’d lose, I threatened this so-called Fang Mingzhe and told him to hand over his answers to me during the exam?”

Guan Yiyang nodded.

Chu Yu laughed out loud.
“Tsk, Guan Yiyang, do you really think so highly of yourself that you’d think you pushed me into finding someone to help me cheat all because of some bet which I didn’t even accept?”

Guan Yiyang was provoked by Chu Yu’s smile, his hands that were concealed behind his body dug tightly into the sofa.
He pursed his lips and said, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let my emotions get the best of me.
I made this bet with you, which led you into making a mistake.”

As he spoke, he saw out of the corner of his eyes that the principal already somewhat believed their side.

This kind of spoiled, second generation ancestor like the majority of them couldn’t be provoked.
In order to save their pride, they’d threaten others to help them cheat and whatnot.
It had all been done before.

The pleasure of revenge welled up in Guan Yiyang’s heart.

When the homeroom teacher had read out Chu Yu’s grades, countless classmates had looked towards him.

There was surprise, malice, sneers; all stared at him like he was a joke.

He even heard someone comment that Guan Yiyang had an extra dad now, would he change his name to Chu Yiyang from now on? And his new dad was so rich, maybe he’d give Guan Yiyang pocket money to improve his meals.

Recalling this, Guan Yiyang felt sullen anger bubble within.
He looked straight at the principal.
“Sir, would you believe it if a student who’d always ranked top from the bottom, and had submitted blank papers in math and physics since entering school improved his marks by leaps and bounds overnight and got into the top 200 of the grade?”

His face reflected awe-inspiring justice.
“I don’t believe it, many students don’t believe it! We demand that cheaters be punished in accordance with the school rules and everyone has a fair testing environment! If Chu Yu, just because he’s the school director’s son, can do whatever he wants and not be disciplined, then what dignity and deterrence does the school still have?”

As Chu Yu listened, he suddenly thought that Guan Yiyang couldn’t completely be called stupid yet.

Guan Yiyang obviously believed that he must’ve cheated when he got that result, so he chose to expose it directly.

As for who actually helped him cheat, it didn’t matter.
The important thing was to expose the fact that he had ‘cheated’.

Once it was over, things would be leaning in the intended direction.
If his cheating issue wasn’t dealt with, the school wouldn’t be able to face the public.

The principal was also contemplating this.

He felt that he still somewhat had an understanding of Chu Yu.

This young master of the Chu family was considered to possess a better temperament and personality among the rich second and third-generations, but he’d never put his mind into studying and his family never asked him to.

This time, he suddenly attained such good results in the tests, and there was also a bet.
It was indeed very likely that he had used unconventional means.

But this matter wasn’t easy to handle as the principal needed to take the Chu family’s face into consideration.

He asked Fang Mingzhe, “Is there any evidence?”

This was an argument that had been subconsciously biased towards Guan Yiyang and Fang Mingzhe.

Fang Mingzhe shrank his neck, looking scared.
“Chu Yu told me in advance that in order to avoid leaving any evidence behind, I should delete the messages immediately after sending him the answers, not letting even a single word remain.”

This was Fang Mingzhe and Guan Yiyang’s plan, splashing all the water onto Chu Yu.
The principal had encountered cheating a lot and could naturally help them fill in the details.

They refused to believe it at all.
A thorough slacker couldn’t get to 199th place in only three weeks.

If he didn’t cheat, then he must’ve stolen the test papers and memorized the answers in advance.

Once Chu Yu couldn’t refute them, the accusation would be taken seriously.

When that time comes, even if the principal reduced this major issue into something trivial, the news could still be spread.

Chu Yu must lose.

In a blind spot, Fang Mingzhe and Guan Yiyang looked at each other then quickly withdrew their gazes.

Chu Yu felt extremely bored.

Sure enough, the school was big.
There would always be a few idiots.

He didn’t bother caring about Guan Yiyang and Fang Mingzhe, instead looking directly at the principal.
“I apologize that these two students have come to you to blabber and slander me for cheating.
It’s easy for him to slander me, but in fact it’s also quite easy for me to prove myself.”

Guan Yiyang’s heart jumped and he suddenly had a bad premonition.

Then he heard Chu Yu say, “Doesn’t the school prepare b-tests? Or perhaps the teachers can just write some questions on the spot, that’s okay too.
Give me the test again, and here, in front of everyone, I’ll retake it.”

Chu Yu turned to Guan Yiyang and Fang Mingzhe with plain disdain in his eyes.
“Then you can compare my scores and see if it’s truly deceptive.”

Fang Mingzhe and Guan Yiyang were stumped for words.
They sat on the sofa with a layer of cold sweat on their backs—

This wasn’t according to their plan!

The principal nodded.
“Yes, this is doable.
Since Student Chu Yu is willing to cooperate, I’ll have the teaching and research department bring the backup test.”

“I’ll have to trouble you, Sir.”

Chu Yu looked at Guan Yiyang and Fang Mingzhe again with the corner of his lips raised.
“I just hope that when I finish the test, certain students won’t say that I peeked at the test papers and memorized the answers in advance.”

The instructor waved his hand.
“That’s impossible.
Because it’s only a backup test, there’s only one copy printed and placed in a sealed envelope.
Without opening the envelope, there’s no possibility of knowing what’s inside.”

It didn’t take long for the test papers sealed inside a kraft envelope to be delivered.

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Chu Yu borrowed a pen from the principal, used a book as padding, and began answering the questions.

The office was quiet.

During this period, the principal answered two calls but never left.

After finishing the last big question, footsteps which were gradually nearing sounded from outside the office door.

It was the sound of high heels stepping on marble floor tiles.

Soon, the office door was knocked on and a young woman in a beige business suit opened the door and stepped aside.

The principal quickly got up and came over to greet, saying respectfully, “President Shi, I’ve disturbed your busy schedule, thank you for taking the time to come here!”

Chu Yu’s pen tip ran across the paper, and with a ‘shrk’, pierced through it.

Chu Yu didn’t look up.

Not until a familiar voice called his name, “Chu Yu.”

Holding the transparent plastic barrel of the black felt-tip pen, Chu Yu raised his eyes and looked over.

His mother, Shi Yaling, wearing a silk shirt with a white bow tie and a tailored black suit coat1, was standing in the office doorway, staring at him.

“Mom.”

Chu Yu uttered, feeling as if his voice wasn’t his own and not in his control.

He realized that he hadn’t seen Shi Yaling in two or three months.

For some time, there was unexpectedly a sense of unfamiliarity.

Shi Yaling looked at the principal.
“Tell me about the specific situation.”

The principal promptly explained the whole story in detail.

He originally thought that Chu Yu’s cheating issue was a matter of reputation.
To be cautious, he reported it to Shi Yaling’s secretary.

Unexpectedly, Shi Yaling came here in person.

“I understand.”

After listening, Shi Yaling gazed towards Guan Yiyang and Fang Mingzhe who were sitting on the sofa.
“What gave you the confidence to spare no efforts to slander Chu Yu for cheating?”

She didn’t appear gentle, on the contrary, because she’d been in a high position for a long time, she had a domineering and tyrannical aura.

Guan Yiyang’s face turned pale and Fang Mingzhe’s breathing became even more flustered.

They didn’t anticipate that the principal would be so scared of getting into trouble that he’d invite Chu Yu’s mother to the school!

Chu Yu watched this scene without any interest.

In front of outsiders, his mother vowed to protect him, because it concerned herself and the Chu family’s dignity.

Lowering his head, Chu Yu finished solving the remaining questions then raised his hand to indicate.
“Sir, I’m done.”

The principal quickly took his math test paper, compared them with the answer key, and began marking.

Soon, he announced the results.
“Student Chu Yu scored 109 points on the math exam.”

“Impossible!”

Fang Mingzhe suddenly exclaimed.

Seeing that all eyes were on himself, he swallowed his saliva heavily and explained with a hoarse voice, “Chu Yu… It’s impossible for him to get so many points on the test! How could he get this many points? He must’ve cheated! As far as his level is concerned, it’s impossible!”

“Student Fang Mingzhe,” the principal glanced at Shi Yaling and with a cold expression, chided Fang Mingzhe, “facts have proven that Student Chu Yu finished the test paper on the spot and scored 109 points!”

Fang Mingzhe was still going to dispute when Lu Shi, who hadn’t had any sense of presence, suddenly said, “I just remembered that I happened to overhear some secret conversation in the sports equipment room a few days ago.”

As soon as Lu Shi’s voice fell, a recording sounded in the office.

“Do you have the questions?”

It was Guan Yiyang’s voice.

Another male voice answered, “I have it, I have it.
Damn, that scared me to death.
Fortunately, my dad’s ten-twenty year old habits haven’t changed.
The key to the drawer was thrown in the flower vase so I found it.
Yiyang, you should finish this set of test papers first and memorize the answers.
Your grades are unstable, and this time, it’s critical that you don’t screw up! Get a high score and ruthlessly trample on that surnamed Chu, see if that gang of second-generation ancestors will still be arrogant!”

“Okay, I know, there’ll difintely be no problems.”

In the recording, Guan Yiyang even laughed. “You guys are making such a big fuss over something minor.
With Chu Yu’s level, how high do you think he can get on the test?”

Fang Mingzhe’s voice wasn’t timid at all like a moment ago as he laughed. “You can’t ever be so sure.
They say that Lu-Shen’s tutoring Chu Yu.
Lu-shen’s ability to guess key points is reckoned to be in defiance of the natural order, so to be on the safe side, hurry up and use these papers!”

The recording ended there.

“In this recording, one is Guan Yiyang, one is Fang Mingzhe, and the other is Shen Zhongming, the son of the teaching and research department’s head.
I ran into them by chance.
They were sneaking around, so I followed them and recorded their conversation.”

Lu Shi’s expression was dark and his eyes were extremely cold.
He sat on the sofa, staring at Guan Yiyang.
“I’m suddenly curious.
Besides you, Shen Zhongming, and Fang Mingzhe, are there a few more of you who want to splash dirty water onto Chu Yu and step on him?”

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The principal was covered in a cold sweat.

He began to bemoan his own cleverness.

Chu Yu was suspected of cheating and the first thing he thought to do was call Shi Yaling’s assistant and take preventative measures.
After that, no matter what the result was, the blame wouldn’t be on him.

Now, Shi Yaling was here and she’d heard with her own ears that her son was framed by his fellow classmates.

“President Shi—”

“You… Mr.
Zhang,” Shi Yaling ordered, “I think the matter is already clear.
As for how to deal with it, there are school rules for your reference.”

She turned to Chu Yu who was filling in the physics test paper.
“Come out with me.”

Chu Yu put down the pen and followed Shi Yaling out of the office and into the small meeting room next door.

A slight click sounded and the door was closed.

Chu Yu’s voice was dry and his tone deliberately relaxed.
“Mom, why did you come here?”

“I had a meeting at eleven o’clock, it happened to be nearby so I just passed by your school.”

“Mm, remember to eat lunch even if you’re busy at work, or your stomach will feel uncomfortable.”

After saying this, Chu Yu’s throat hurt.

The principal suspected him and Guan Yiyang and Fang Mingzhe framed him, but he didn’t care.

After all, if he’d taken every similar occurrence to heart, he’d have already died of anger long ago.

Besides, no cheating meant no cheating.
He earned every point by taking the test himself, he had confidence.

But without other people’s eyes and facing Shi Yaling alone, Chu Yu laid the calmness he held up aside, suddenly feeling wronged.

“Mama, I didn’t cheat.
In this monthly exam, I earned 199th place and I also took second place in English in the entire grade.
The homeroom teacher said—”

“Chu Yu.”

Shi Yaling interrupted Chu Yu.
Seeing his flushed eyes and a bit aggrieved appearance, her eyebrows furrowed.
“I don’t care about your grades, good or bad.
I also don’t care whether you cheat in exams, or whether there’s a problem with your interpersonal relationships.
This is all your own business.
I don’t want you to be a weak person, unable to solve even these small issues.
I’m very busy and don’t have enough time to help you solve your troubles and oversee this kind of immature, vindictive farce between minors, understand?”

Chu Yu was stunned.

At this moment, his breathing became tight and even the place where his heart rested ached.

His fingers trembled by his sides.
“Mama, I—”

He wanted to tell her, I didn’t understand before, but now I do.
My monthly test scores have improved a lot.
I can study hard and I’m very good.
I’m actually very smart.
I can concentrate on studying and haven’t read a single comic page for the greater half of the month.

So, can you not give up on me so easily…

And look at me.

Shi Yaling got up, the white bow tie of her silk shirt drawing an arc.
“I’m leaving first.”

Chu Yu lowered his head and said nothing.

The sound of high heels treading on the floor reverberated in the conference room.

He tilted his head, looked at Shi Yaling’s back, and called in a hoarse voice, “Mama—”

Shi Yaling turned her head with a frown.
“What else?”

Subconsciously clenching his fingers, Chu Yu shook his head and said gruffly, “It’s nothing.”

The door of the meeting room was closed again.

It was completely silent, void of any noise.

Leather seats surrounded the oval conference table and the lights weren’t even turned on.

Standing in place, Chu Yu suddenly bent the corner of his mouth while watching the dust floating up and down within the ray of light.

He suddenly felt like a joke.

Shi Yaling didn’t care at all, whether he really cheated or was wronged and framed.

She also didn’t care how many points he scored, whether he made progress or regressed.

Her only requirement was that he was healthy, happy, and safe; to not encounter any danger, cause any trouble, or waste any of her time and energy.

She’d already given up on him since long ago.

Chu Yu felt a bit cold.

A chill ran up along his spine and through countless nerves, spreading to his whole body.

He slowly squatted on the ground and hugged himself, vaguely feeling stiff in his fingers while his breathing became uncomfortable.

Without sunlight, the overwhelmingly gloomy coldness flooded him.

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The door of the meeting room was pushed open once more and closed thereafter.

Very light footsteps sounded.

Chu Yu sluggishly turned his head and saw a person walking towards him against the light.

It was Lu Shi.

Standing in front of Chu Yu, Lu Shi saw that his red eyes filled with confusion as he looked up at him.
Lu Shi squatted, similar to that time on the low school wall where he’d pulled Chu Yu up with his outstretched hand.

Chu Yu’s line of sight focused.

He gazed at the hand that reached out to him.

Cold white skin, blue-green blood vessels, and fingertips that he’d bitten an unknown number of times.

After ten seconds, Chu Yu carefully placed his hand on it.

Grasping tightly, Lu Shi pulled the person up.
His voice held its usual indifference.
“Want comfort?”

Chu Yu stared at him blankly, not answering.

Lu Shi didn’t ask anymore.
He raised his arm and took the person into his embrace.

“I had asked you to promise me that no matter what the results were, you weren’t allowed to cry, but, if you want to, you can secretly cry.
I’ll pretend not to know.”

Chu Yu responded in a low and heavy nasal voice.

“Lu Shi.”

“Mm, I’m here.”

Chu Yu raised his hands, wrapped it around Lu Shi’s waist, and tightened.

His fingers tightly clutched Lu Shi’s clothes, wrinkling the fabric.

“Lu Shi.”

“I’m here.”

Lu Shi lowered his head, rubbed his lips against Chu Yu’s ears, and gently said, “Cry for her one last time, okay?”

After a long time, Chu Yu’s answer came.
His voice was very soft, and even his final syllable quavered.

“Okay.”

Lu Shi curled his lips and soothingly stroked Chu Yu’s hair.
“Very good.”

The meeting room was empty.

Lu Shi hugged the person and looked at the closed door, remembering the conversation he’d heard while waiting at the door just now, as well as Shi Yaling who had passed by him.

You personally pushed him to my side.

If you don’t want, then I do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The author has something to say: Here’s a teardrop also in the shape of a heart as my love for you.
Wuwuwu, writing, crying; I’ll leisurely cry first as respect qaq

staff shenanigans

 

Xena’s translating adventures

 

 

 

 

1

the young woman wearing a beige dress last chapter was the assistant/secretary