Chapter 90: I’m Just Joking
Chapter 90
Shi Li asked, "You're not love-obsessed, are you?"
The voice on the phone was silent for three seconds, then replied, "I don't know."
Shi Li hadn't expected him to actually answer this question. She was amused by his response and said, "Oh, I was just joking. Please don't take it seriously. I know you're not love-obsessed."
Love-obsessed people like Gao Yun were rare, though compared to the protagonists in the original novel, her love obsession was nothing.
Shi Li tried to determine if Fu Huixing had the potential to be love-obsessed based on her past life. Suddenly, she remembered that in her previous life, they had only been classmates briefly during their first year of high school. Despite being classmates, they had no interaction, and she couldn't even remember if they had ever spoken to each other. If her memory served her correctly, they hadn't exchanged a single word during that year.
Later, when they were assigned to different classes, Fu Huixing went to the liberal arts class. The science and liberal arts classes were in different buildings, and it seemed that after that, they never crossed paths again. Fu Huixing completely disappeared from Shi Li's world.
He was a popular figure at school, but not to Shi Li. Since he wasn't an important character in the original story, Shi Li didn't pay him any extra attention.
Later, in college, she heard from her family that a lot had happened to the Fu family. Shi Li remembered being classmates with Fu Huixing in her first year of high school and casually asked about it. But while her family could describe the general situation of the Fu family, they knew nothing about the specifics of individual family members.
Shi Li had only asked out of curiosity. Her family offered to inquire further, but she declined. Whatever had happened didn't concern her; she had only asked because she remembered him as a former classmate.
Recalling that Fu Huixing had chosen liberal arts in her past life, but now said he would choose science, she wondered if this change... could it be due to the butterfly effect she had caused?
The voice on the phone sounded a bit muffled, "Thank you for helping me analyze my grades today."
Shi Li replied nonchalantly, "It's no problem. We're classmates after all, so we should help each other. If you encounter any problems with your studies in the future, you can always come to me. As long as I can help, I definitely won't refuse."
"Thank you. In that case, I'll trouble you again if I encounter any difficult problems I can't solve."
Shi Li, who had just casually offered her help: ... Why did you take it so seriously?
But a promise made, even in tears, must be kept.
"Sure, no problem."
"But you all seemed strange today," she added. "How come so many people came to me saying they want to work hard and study well?"
If one or two people suddenly decided to turn over a new leaf and study hard, she could have said something like 'it's never too late to mend' or 'put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot'. But when a whole group of people came to her expressing their determination to work hard, the change seemed very odd.
"You all?"
Fu Huixing's voice paused slightly, then he asked casually, "Did others come to you for advice on how to improve their grades?"
Shi Li, unaware that she was being led on, innocently replied, "Not really. I only gave advice to you today."
"On the way home today, Gu Yuqing and Xue Xuejia told me they want to do homework together from now on, so they can ask me questions anytime."
A faint voice came from the other end of the line, which Shi Li couldn't hear clearly, "Is that so..."
Unable to hear clearly, Shi Li asked, "What did you say?"
"I was thinking, Gu Yuqing's grades aren't bad, and her family can afford expensive tutors. Why would she insist on doing homework with you?"
"Oh, right," Shi Li recalled some suspicions she had forgotten. Gu Yuqing's attitude towards her hadn't always been like this. Such a sudden change... could it be that she was plotting against her? Perhaps she wanted to establish a good relationship first before making her move.
Gu Yuqing: You scheming man, I'm going to kill you!
Shi Li, unaware that her suspicions about Gu Yuqing's intentions had been heard by the whole class, still wanted to maintain her innocent image in front of her classmates. She couldn't let people know about her darker thoughts. Even if she suspected Gu Yuqing of wanting to harm her, she couldn't say it out loud. Voicing such thoughts would be beneath her.
So Shi Li said, "Maybe she thinks I'm better than expensive tutors?"
As soon as Shi Li said this, she blushed furiously. She hadn't originally been such a shameless person.
She was just an ordinary student, how could she think she was better than professional tutors? This... this... In her attempt to hide her dark thoughts from her classmate, she had immediately established a shameless persona.
She was just a student. No matter how good her grades were, even if they were sky-high, she couldn't compare to teachers who had been professionally engaged in this work for many years.
Learning has its order, and every field has its experts. Teachers were professionals at teaching students, and she still needed guidance from teachers herself. Where did she get the courage to say such things?
Why did Fu Huixing have to make a voice call? Why didn't voice calls have a recall function?
Shi Li was inwardly crying out, feeling that she didn't want to see Fu Huixing again for a while. She hoped he would quickly forget what she had said.
Thinking of this, Shi Li considered another possibility, "I'm just a student, and I can't be sure that everything I say is correct. If your grades go down, please don't blame me."
Fu Huixing was different from Gao Yun. Gao Yun was her childhood best friend, and her study goal was to cure her love obsession. So when dealing with her, Shi Li's approach was to exhaust her, without the pressure of actually improving her grades.
Gao Yun: Listen to me, thank you. Because of you, the four seasons are warmed~
But Fu Huixing was different. He had clearly stated that he wanted to improve his grades. If Fu Huixing's grades were to drop instead of improve by following her methods, she would become the biggest joke in the class.
As the old saying goes, "Unintentional actions may bring unexpected success, while deliberate efforts may fail."
Her unintentional help had caused Gao Yun's grades to improve rapidly, but her intentional effort with Fu Huixing might lead to a decline in his grades.
To absolve herself of responsibility, Shi Li wanted to give a preemptive disclaimer, in case he blamed her later.