Chapter 12: Wunnuan is super awesome
Ji Feng had once seen this kind of confidence in Gu Xueting.
That was because Gu Xueting got good grades, looked pretty, and came from a decent family background.
But Wunnuan was different. Most of the time, Wunnuan acted like an outsider; she was too aloof, and her family's financial situation was poor.
For a proud girl with strong self-esteem, financial hardship really could strip away that aura of confidence.
Even in her studies, ever since entering high school, Wunnuan had a huge weakness in English.
For over two years, she had always been a chaser.
It wasn't until the last monthly exam that she finally climbed to the top of the grade.
For Wunnuan, whose family background was poor, perhaps only in her studies could she unreservedly showcase herself and radiate confidence.
"The basic method for this problem is like this. Did you understand?"
"No, didn't quite get it." Ji Feng was a bit embarrassed; his mind had been wandering just now.
Wunnuan tilted her head and let out a breath:
"It's fine, let's go through it again..."
"Huh? Okay."
This time, Ji Feng also focused his attention on the problem set.
For Ji Feng and Wunnuan to discuss studies—had this happened in the past, the rest of the class would have just laughed it off.
Yet the reality was right before their eyes, and many people simply found it surreal.
"Dude, am I dreaming? Wunnuan is helping Ji Feng with problems."
"Want me to slap you across the face so you can check?"
"This Ji Feng hasn't been paying much attention to Gu Xueting lately. Could he have changed targets and started sucking up to someone else?"
"Suck up to Wunnuan? Is that even a thing?"
"Whether it's a thing or not, I feel like Ji Feng is the kind of guy who would pull something like this off."
Ji Feng could brush off his classmates' gossip like passing wind, but Wunnuan couldn't quite handle it.
After the idle chatter piled up, Wunnuan stopped mid-explanation of a problem.
Before she could even speak, Gu Xueting angrily marched up to Ji Feng.
"Ji Feng, what on earth are you doing? Is it because I haven't been paying attention to you lately, and you're doing this on purpose to tick me off?"
Even in Gu Xueting's eyes, it was impossible for Ji Feng to actually be studying.
Everything he was doing was merely to piss her off, blaming her for ignoring him during this period.
Ji Feng gave her a look with a complicated expression.
Such an overconfident and delusional girl. Truly pathetic.
He turned back and tapped on Wunnuan's desk:
"Who knows whose nerves I stepped on just by trying to study a little bit? They're acting like they stepped in shit, got a flat tire, or jumped out of their skins.
A classroom this big doesn't have a single inch belonging to me, yet these people only have two words written on their faces: jealousy.
Forget it. Staying here will only invite these morons to point fingers and gossip. Better to change venues."
Wunnuan looked up at Ji Feng, then glanced at Gu Xueting standing nearby.
Actually, she was still chewing over what Ji Feng had just said.
How should she put it... It felt a bit literary, yet it perfectly blended in some vulgar slang. What a bizarre phrasing.
"I'm fine with anything."
"Let's go, let's go. There are too many morons here; I'm afraid it's contagious."
Ji Feng grabbed Wunnuan and pulled her along. By the time Wunnuan snapped out of it, she had already been dragged to the classroom door.
Only then did she coldly shake off Ji Feng's hand:
"No need to pull me."
"Well then, let's go."
Ji Feng didn't say where they were going, and Wunnuan didn't ask; she just followed him all the way to the cafeteria.
"Isn't this place even noisier?"
"The brain consumes a lot of energy when it runs. Let's eat first, or we won't be able to study."
"Then I'm going back."
"Hey? We're still going to go over problems later. What are you going back for right now?"
Ji Feng grabbed Wunnuan again, and once again got his hand brushed off.
Wunnuan turned her head to look out the window, thinking about how her lunch was still inside her desk drawer.
"I need to go back and eat too."
"..." Ji Feng froze, at a loss for words for a moment.
Seeing that Wunnuan was about to leave again, he blocked her path once more, putting on a fierce expression.
"What you said almost gave my cerebellum atrophy just now."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you know how much I pay for a private tutor per session? 120 per hour.
You're tutoring me, and I can't even afford you a meal? Sit down."
Ji Feng's expression was a bit menacing. He hadn't put on such a fierce look in a while, making people almost forget what he used to be like.
Wunnuan didn't utter a sound, but she also abandoned any intention of leaving, finding a seat and sitting down without looking at Ji Feng.
"What do you want to eat?"
"Whatever."
Ji Feng didn't press further. Trying to get a girl to explain what "whatever" meant was just too difficult.
He ran off by himself to the cafeteria lunch lady and picked the expensive items:
"This, this, and that too. Give me double portions."
Ji Feng ordered a lot; he actually meant to tease Wunnuan a little bit.
Whatever? Heh, let's see if I don't stuff you to death, little lady!
Yet when he brought the tray back, Wunnuan didn't say anything like "That's too much, I can't finish it."
After merely glancing at the food on the tray, she said in a voice no louder than a mosquito's:
"Thank you."
And then she dug right in.
As the meal went on, Ji Feng grew more and more alarmed.
Halfway through, he had already started hiccuping, yet Wunnuan, sitting opposite him, showed no signs of stopping.
Ji Feng knew Wunnuan had substance, but she was very thin.
This style of eating reminded Ji Feng of those construction workers—though equally thin, they could wolf down seven or eight steamed buns and three or four bowls of rice in a single meal.
Right now, Wunnuan was just like them.
She was severely lacking in nutrition.
When she was more than halfway through, Wunnuan quietly raised her head and glanced at Ji Feng.
Ji Feng, who had been prepared for this, had already looked away and wasn't looking at her at all.
Only then did Wunnuan let go of her awkwardness and continue eating.
Until she finished every last bit of the food, Ji Feng didn't say another word.
"I'm done eating."
"Done? Then let's go, what are you spacing out for? Don't you still have to tutor me?"
Ji Feng's attitude was still the same old, but all the way out of the cafeteria, he never brought up Wunnuan's strange behavior during the meal.
Wunnuan's expression remained indifferent, but her gaze had long since darted away elsewhere, and she gave a crisp response:
"Okay."
Turning her head away wasn't just to avoid Ji Feng's gaze; because she had eaten too much, she had also quietly let out a hiccup.
With Wunnuan's help, Ji Feng got through a somewhat unusual evening self-study session.
By the next day, everyone gradually accepted this bizarre study combination of the delinquent and the grade-topper—Ji Feng and Wunnuan.
True or not, the earnest and studious attitude of the two of them did manage to infect a few people.
Take class monitor Li Long, for example. He took the initiative to run over to Gu Xueting and extend an invitation.
"Xueting, let's study together too."
Yet Gu Xueting didn't even spare him a glance. She walked straight up to Ji Feng and Wunnuan, and took the initiative to say:
"Ji Feng, let me explain this problem to you. I know how to do it too."
Ji Feng, who was in the middle of serious studying, found it extremely annoying when people constantly interrupted him like this. Having spent too much time as a superior in his past life, his temper really wasn't that great.
He raised his head, ready to snap at someone, when he happened to catch sight of Wunnuan turning her head away to look out the window.
Clearly, if Ji Feng were to get into a fight with someone or leave, she would just quietly accept it.
Wunnuan seemed to always have this kind of personality—very much an outsider.
Staring at Wunnuan, Ji Feng suddenly lost his anger.
He glanced at Gu Xueting, then looked at class monitor Li Long, who was stuck in an awkward silence not far away.
Suddenly, he raised both hands and waved them lightly in front of his chest, speaking in a coy, sickly-sweet Taiwanese accent:
"No need, classmate Gu. Having classmate Wunnuan teach me is just fine; she is super awesome."