"Well, let me take a look at your mock exam papers first... Hmm, not bad. At least you don't have any major issues with the fundamentals."
"Comprehensive arts subjects are mostly about rote memorization, so it's quite easy to boost your score if you put in a bit of effort. As for mathematics, working with targeted predictions might be a pretty good direction to take."
Lu Bei took the mock exam papers Xiao Wanting had used and began to analyze them seriously.
Whenever he decided to do something, he always had the habit of seeing it through to the end with complete responsibility.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Senior."
Xiao Wanting nodded repeatedly, sitting down beside him and looking up at Lu Bei.
"Let me figure out how to specifically raise your score. For the arts subjects, I expect I'll be doing spot-checks and testing you on the material from now on."
"As for the main focus, let's center it around math. Once we find the right direction, that's the easiest subject to pull your score up in."
Lu Bei muttered to himself.
Suddenly, he slapped his forehead, starting to recall the score thresholds for his home province during the 2012 gaokao.
Here in 2012, the Tier 3 score line for arts in the gaokao was 512 points, the Tier 2 line was 541 points, and the Tier 1 line was 577 points. (Based on the author's local provincial situation.)
Compared to the previous year, the undergraduate lines had gone up by a little over 20 points.
However... that didn't necessarily mean getting into college had become harder.
After all, the gaokao within one's own province wasn't so much about the raw score as it was about a candidate's ranking across the entire province.
Right now, Xiao Wanting, the student he needed to tutor, was performing at about the same level as Xu Qingshuang had been a year ago.
Out of more than 200,000 candidates, both of them ranked right around the 80,000th place.
This kind of score hovered right on the edge of the undergraduate threshold, which was very dangerous.
Still... Lu Bei was confident that within three months, he could raise this little loli's grades to a level where she could make a sprint for Tier 1.
"Senior is truly reliable. I'll leave everything in your hands, Senior."
Xiao Wanting cupped her small head in both hands, leaning closer as if she had dropped all her defenses.
Her expression was adorable, just like a little squirrel waiting to be fed.
Only... looking at the girl's actions right before him, Lu Bei suddenly had a sense of déjà vu.
Yet when he thought about it carefully, it didn't seem to leave any deep impression in his mind.
"Um, Senior, what's wrong?"
Xiao Wanting brought her face closer with a curious look.
Seeing that Lu Bei didn't react, she hurriedly reached out and waved her hand in front of him, looking like a pure, motherly loli who was thinking, *Oh dear, Mom is so worried about you.*
"It's nothing. Let me write out a few problems for you first. See if you can solve them—consider this a math diagnostic test for you."
Lu Bei tapped his head. Reminded like this, he managed to pull himself together.
To avoid disrupting the tutoring session, he met Xiao Wanting's somewhat disappointed gaze, then gently turned his head away to maintain a certain distance.
After that, Lu Bei began to seriously ponder the upcoming lessons.
In his past life, although he hadn't ended up being Xiao Wanting's tutor, when he later looked for part-time jobs, he had similarly chosen an industry related to educating high school students.
Therefore, he had done some research on that year's gaokao.
While he didn't remember everything clearly, he still had some impression of the testing scope and problem types for several key questions.
Guided by his memories, Lu Bei quickly wrote out a few problems, listed them on a scratchpad, and handed it to Xiao Wanting.
"Oof, it feels just a tiiiiiny bit difficult."
"Well, do you want me to explain it to you first?"
"Hmph, Senior, don't look down on me. Watch me solve this right now to show you."
Xiao Wanting let out a dainty huff.
Then, she picked up her ballpoint pen and scratch paper, frowning as she stared at the math problems Lu Bei had written out.
There were five problems in total that Lu Bei had set. All of them revolved around a very important test point, and their difficulty ranged from hard to easy.
They could serve both to remind the girl of where her academic shortcomings lay and to give her a little confidence.
"She seems a bit easier to teach than I imagined."
Watching the little one's earnest attitude toward studying, Lu Bei couldn't help but reveal a smile.
Counting his past life, the only person he had ever devotedly and attentively guided through her studies was that childhood sweetheart of his.
That girl refused to use her brain at all; the moment she encountered the slightest difficulty, she wouldn't even bother thinking before demanding that Lu Bei explain it to her.
That bad stereotype had almost made Lu Bei think this was a common flaw among all girls when studying.
However... thanks to Xiao Wanting's performance, that erroneous notion could finally be removed from his mind.
Lu Bei didn't dislike such a serious attitude toward learning.
"Her problem-solving technique is steady. Her foundation seems pretty good."
"Though her train of thought is too conservative. When she runs into complex problems, she'll easily fall right into the examiner's traps."
Lu Bei lowered his head, carefully observing Xiao Wanting's problem-solving process.
As his gaze shifted, he inadvertently caught sight of the profile of Xiao Wanting's face as she concentrated on thinking.
Without a doubt, she was a super top-tier beautiful girl, and any movement she made gave people a pleasing sense of visual enjoyment.
Her fair, snow-white cheeks featured delicate facial features, and every little frown and smile carried an unusual beauty.
Tracing downward past her pink-tinted neck, one could vaguely glimpse a patch of equally wonderful skin.
At that moment, however, Lu Bei once again felt a slight trance, and memories from his past life quietly stirred.
The scene before him shifted in an instant. Xiao Wanting was no longer the shy student sitting here today who needed his tutoring.
Instead, she was a blackened loli holding a yandere expression, tying him up and cupping his face in her hands.
"Senior, what's wrong?"
Xiao Wanting raised her small head, tilting it as she looked at Lu Bei, who seemed a bit lost in thought as he stared at her.
She looked... rather like a little airhead.
"It's nothing, Classmate Xiaoxiao. Call me when you finish the problems."
Lu Bei patted his own head, forcing his somewhat chaotic brain to wake up before he spoke.
Whenever his mind started wandering, he always found it difficult to notice the passage of time.
"I've already finished them, you know."
Xiao Wanting tilted her head again, looking completely puzzled.