CH 30

It should’ve been an ordinary morning. If it was a normal day, Qin Zhongyue would’ve woken at exactly 6am, take ten minutes to wash up, take twenty minutes to have breakfast and then arrive at school twenty minutes later. On his way there, he could even catch up on sleep in the car and he would arrive at the classroom at 7pm sharp, leaving ten minutes for him to chat with Xie Zhongxing about miscellaneous events. Time was abundant and used thoughtfully.

But today was the beginning of Qin Zhongyue’s tragic life.The sky was still dark and the moon was still bright, the faint moonlight filtering through the window, clearly illuminating Xie Zhongxing’s beautiful face.“It’s time to get up.” Xie Zhongxing said softly.Qin Zhongyue who was woken up by him was still in a confused state. Xie Zhongxing continued, “It’s now 4:29am. You can stay in bed for one more minute.”Qin Zhongyue, “…….”He was still very sleepy and he could barely open his eyes, “Can I have another five minutes?”Xie Zhongxing was firm, “No.”As he said that, he looked at the stopwatch. The stopwatch had a clock function too. His tone was gentle but the commanding tone was still present, “It’s 4:30. Hurry and get up.”Qin Zhongyue: “……”He didn’t want to get up!Qin Zhongyue wrapped himself tightly in his blanket and started to whinge, “My dear Xing Xing, can you give me another five minutes? I will definitely get up in five minutes!”Xie Zhongxing asked, “Five minutes later, wouldn’t it be another five minutes?”Xie Zhongxing relaxed his tone, “You must persevere with this. If you slack off for one day, all your efforts would be put to waste. You said you want to get into those universities and be with me, could that have all been a lie?”Qin Zhongyue, “…….”Qin Zhongyue lifted his blanket and got up, “I’ll get up. I’ll get up now.”Xie Zhongxing turned on the lights and pressed the stopwatch, “Two minutes to brush your teeth and wash your face. Hurry up.”Qin Zhongyue, “……..”He strode to the bathroom with a gloomy expression.Halfway through brushing his teeth, he heard Xie Zhongxing knock on the door and say ruthlessly, “There are only thirty seconds left. Hurry up.”Qin Zhongyue could only hastily finish brushing his teeth and swiftly wash his face before pulling open the door.Xie Zhongxing pressed the stopwatch and said in a gentle tone, “One minute and fifty-three seconds. You finished seven minutes earlier, good job. You are already taking a big step towards Tsinghua and Peking University. Now go and memorise this information. This includes all the key points for the Chinese exam from first and second year of high school as well as the questions used in previous college examinations and questions from the textbook. I’ll give you one hour to memorise up to the third page.”

Qin Zhongyue looked at the densely filled papers, his vision turning dark.Xie Zhongxing continued, “You can only eat after you have memorised it. If you aren’t able to memorise it, I will starve with you.”Xie Zhongxing said earnestly, “We will go through blessings and hardship together.”“……” Qin Zhongyue’s entire face was numb.Xie Zhongxing, “You can start.”He pressed the stopwatch.*Qin Zhongyue’s entire body was lifeless. At noon, he was also watched over by Xie Zhongxing who got him to complete a practice paper and memorise key points.Deng Qi came over with a basketball, “Brother, do you want to play basketball?”Qin Zhongyue’s eyes lit up. He wanted to turn around and ask for permission, but Xie Zhongxing took the lead to answer for him, “He’s not playing.”Qin Zhongyue, “…….”The light in his eyes faded and he nodded with a weary look, “I’m not playing, I need to study. I love studying. I must get into Tsinghua or Peking University.”Deng Qi was left shocked by this strange air around them. He awkwardly backed away, “I see. Then, good luck!”After saying that, he quickly ran out of the classroom with several other male students.“Is Qin Zhongyue serious? He wants to get into those universities?”“He must be. Look at those dark circles.”“His grades aren’t too bad, are they?”“I don’t know. He has handed in papers, but I don’t know if they were right. His writing was good though, very fancy. You can tell he has practised.”“His English is also very good. That Duo Mingmei would always ask him to answer her questions and he has never given the wrong answer.”“Then his grades should be pretty good.”“There will be an exam next week. We can take a look at his grades then.”“Let’s not talk about this. Come, come, let’s go play basketball.”……..

Qin Zhongyue wrote a few words and stopped. Without turning his head, he said in a small voice, “I need to pee.”Xie Zhongxing was busy doing his own paper. When he heard this, he gave him the stopwatch, “Time it yourself. Show it to me after you’re done peeing.”Qin Zhongyue’s eyes were dull, “……..”Was he going to live like this for two entire months?What’s the fun in being alive?*When he returned home in the evening, Qin Zhongyue continued to study hard.Wei Zhibo also came over and he and Xie Zhongxing had a heated discussion over how they could make Qin Zhongyue raise his scores by 252 points and get into his desired university within two months. In the end, they decided to get Qin Zhongyue to have a solid foundation first before ending the friendly meeting.Wei Zhibo left, but he left behind a lot of precious teaching materials. Like Xie Zhongxing had acquired treasure, he went through them all for two hours, and his mind broadened a lot. He now felt a lot more confident teaching Qin Zhongyue.He tried his best to soften his tone, “I can raise your score by fifty points this week.”Qin Zhongyue didn’t dare ask him how.Xie Zhongxing only gave him ten minutes to eat. He couldn’t eat slowly for half an hour like he used to and could only finish his dinner in five minutes and use the remaining five minutes to call Qin Xiangqian.As soon as Qin Xiangqian answered the phone, he heard Qin Zhongyue’s whimpering cry, “Dad!”Qin Xiangqian, “……What’s wrong?”Qin Zhongyue turned to glance at Xie Zhongxing. He wasn’t done with his meal yet but he was already looking at the stopwatch. He couldn’t help but feel a little choked up, “Dad, I just miss you a little.”Qin Xiangqian wanted to laugh. The matters on his son’s end had naturally already been reported to him by Butler Li. He knew his son’s situation like the back of his hand.He couldn’t help but feel appreciation towards Xie Zhongxing. He was a good child who knew how to repay kindness and also very clever. If he was his son, he wouldn’t have to worry so much.Qin Xiangqian pretended not to understand, “You can even miss me? It’s not because you need more money?”Qin Zhongyue almost burst into tears, but he held it in. He said emotionally, “Dad, I want to come and visit you. Do you miss me? If you do, I can buy a ticket and fly back immediately!”Qin Xiangqian held back his laugh, “No, I’m out of town right now. You won’t be able to see me even if you come.”Qin Zhongyue, “…….”

Qin Xiangqian said, “Be good. I’ve transferred two million to your card. You can buy whatever you want. If that’s not enough, use my card.”Qin Zhongyue asked expectantly, “Then where are you now? If it’s close, I can still buy a ticket tonight and see you.”Qin Xiangqian said, “In Inner Mongolia. Are you coming?”Qin Zhongyue: “..….”He expressionlessly ended the call. Xie Zhongxing at this moment just happened to come over with the stopwatch, “Time’s up. Come with me back to the room.”Qin Zhongyue, “……”He was beginning to miss the old days. His time was similarly controlled like now but at least he had a sex life!The current him didn’t have anything apart from dark circles due to lack of sleep!!*Days like this lasted for several days. It could be said that humans are indeed very adaptable creatures. In the past, Qin Zhongyue would have never imagined that he could study for more than 16 hours a day.After so many days of torture, his originally sunny and handsome face seemed to have shrivelled up a lot and the dark circles under his eyes had become even darker. In the depths of those big eyes of his was excruciating pain the thirst for knowledge.He couldn’t lose his temper at Xie Zhongxing and say that he didn’t want to study anymore so he could only quietly endure.But his academic performance had indeed improved by several dozen points because of this hellish trial.XIe Zhongxing’s claim that he could improve by fifty points in a week wasn’t a lie.But even Xie Zhongxing helping him rub one out was no longer of interest to him. He was too tired. He was tired to the point where all his senses had turned numb.On this day, he received the news that the court hearing would be this afternoon. He was extremely excited----He could finally see the sun outside!He ecstatically told Xie Zhongxing this news only to hear from the other party that he had already known about this. He ordered Qin Zhongyue, “It’ll be enough for me to go alone. You can continue working on the practice papers here. When I’m back, I will check to see if you’ve finished two practice papers.”Qin Zhongyue was stunned, “I’m not going?”Xie Zhongxing, “I’m the one suing them and need to attend. Why do you need to attend?”Qin Zhongyue fought hard for the right to attend, “As your family, I believe I am qualified and also needed at this hearing!”Xie Zhongxing said, “No, you might as well use this time to finish another two papers.”He then showed a confused look, “After doing so many papers, don’t you feel the joy of completing the problems?”

Qin Zhongyue, “……..”Qin Zhongyue asked, “You feel joy?”Xie Zhongxing nodded, “I do enjoy completing the problems. It’s very fulfilling and satisfying.”Qin Zhongyue said glumly, “Then we’re not the same.”He only realised the fact that he was truly a study slag!!Their family’s genes couldn’t even be improved by Qin Xiangqian marrying a professor from Oxford. It cannot be improved!Qin Zhongyue wanted to give up, but he didn’t dare say it to Xie Zhongxing who had high expectations for him. Even when he got so many questions wrong, he would still praise him and make him feel as if he was the best. Those red crosses however weren’t a lie despite the fact that he had clearly been taking the exam seriously.Xie Zhongxing saw that he was faltering. His eyes flickered and he whispered, “If you complete these papers, I can reward you once in advance.”This wasn’t enough to interest Qin Zhongyue. He felt that his brain was filled to the brim with knowledge. It was possible that even his little one down there was also filled with mathematical formulas and ancient poems.He had already withered away and become a Buddha.Xie Zhongxing sighed, “In fact, you are already very gifted. You were able to raise your score by 35 points in such a short period of time. Your future scores will definitely go beyond this level too. As long as you endure through these two months, we will be able to attend university together and meet up every day. Doesn’t that sound good?”Qin Zhongyue, “….I just want to go to court with you.”Xie Zhongxing didn’t even take time to think it over, “No, in the two precious hours that you missed, you could do at least two papers.”Qin Zhongyue’s expression fell, “…….”Xie Zhongxing tilted his head to look at him. As his eyes blinked slightly, he stretched out both hands in front of Qin Zhongyue.“Then this reward can be pushed forward, okay?”They had only just started but he finished very quickly.Qin Zhongyue, “……”His face instantly turned red. He was utterly ashamed----Fucking shameful!! Useless!!