He arrived at He Lingyi’s doorstep.

Jiang Sifan took a deep breath.

He did his best to compose himself.

Even though things hadn’t been going well for him lately, he knew he couldn’t let his personal feelings affect his student.

After all, He Lingyi had her college entrance exams in just over a semester.

He couldn’t let his personal problems affect He Lingyi.

Besides, Aunt Zhang had even given him a month’s tutoring fee in advance.

It was a kindness Jiang Sifan had to repay.

He then pressed the doorbell and waited.

Aunt Zhang quickly opened the door. The moment she saw Jiang Sifan, she broke into a smile. "Teacher Jiang, you’re here! Quick, come in, have a seat!"

Jiang Sifan noticed that Aunt Zhang seemed particularly happy to see him.

Before he could even step inside, Aunt Zhang said cheerfully, "Lingyi is already in her room waiting for you. Her monthly test scores are out, and she did very well in math!"

Before Aunt Zhang could finish, He Lingyi interrupted from her room. "Mom! Don’t you dare say it, let me! Teacher Jiang, hurry up and come in! Come on!"

’This He Lingyi is certainly forward,’ Jiang Sifan thought, ’so unrestrained even in front of her own mother.’

He could only look at Aunt Zhang awkwardly, then nodded. "Aunt Zhang, I’ll go start the tutoring session, then."

"Okay, go ahead."

’Using a handsome guy to motivate my daughter to study on her own... this was a great idea!’ Aunt Zhang thought, watching Jiang Sifan’s retreating back.

’Of course, I’ll have to keep a close eye on them for now.’

’She can’t be dating during her last year of high school. But if she graduates, passes her exams, and ends up falling for Teacher Jiang... well, I wouldn’t be opposed to being his mother-in-law.’

Jiang Sifan knocked on the bedroom door. "Lingyi, may I come in?"

"Teacher Jiang, hurry up and come in!" He Lingyi urged.

Jiang Sifan opened the door and stepped into the room.

He found He Lingyi twirling in a pretty purple dress. "Teacher Jiang, what do you think of my new dress? Is it pretty?" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Jiang Sifan nodded. "It’s pretty."

"Doesn’t Xu Song have that song? ’The girl in purple has the most allure.’ Hehe, I think I’m pretty alluring right now," He Lingyi said with a laugh.

Although in Jiang Sifan’s eyes, He Lingyi was simply his student...

...setting that aside, the purple dress she was wearing today was, admittedly, very pretty.

No wonder Xu Song was so fond of girls in purple.

But Jiang Sifan was a gentleman, after all. He changed the subject. "Right, your mom said you improved on your math test? What did you score?"

"Teacher, you have to guess! If you guess right, I’ll give you a reward," He Lingyi said with a mischievous grin.

"Let’s see... Your last score was a 58. So this time... a 63?" Jiang Sifan guessed tentatively.

"Hey! Teacher, who are you looking down on?" He Lingyi said, crossing her arms with a playfully proud expression.

Even though He Lingyi wasn’t a university student yet, she had just turned eighteen.

So when she crossed her arms, her figure was undeniably that of a young woman.

Jiang Sifan averted his gaze, saying awkwardly, "Then a 69?"

"Aiya, you’re already at 69, why not go a little higher?" He Lingyi said, feigning anger. "Teacher Jiang, you really don’t have much faith in me! Alright, alright, I’ll just tell you. Seventy-one!!"

"I, He Lingyi, went from a 30 in math to a 71 in just two months! I’m a genius, an absolute genius!" He Lingyi declared happily.

Jiang Sifan hadn’t expected her to score so high. He was gratified. "Not bad, not bad at all. You’re truly my star pupil!"

"Haha! See? Now you know about my talent for math, Teacher Jiang!" He Lingyi stood up happily, walked over to her bed, and took a box out of the nightstand.

She handed it to Jiang Sifan. "Here! This is a gift for you. Thanks for working so hard tutoring me these past few days."

Jiang Sifan was surprised she had gotten him a gift.

He was so touched he almost felt like crying.

Lately, he felt like he couldn’t do anything right.

It was as if fate itself was constantly playing tricks on him.

But he never imagined his own student would have prepared a gift for him.

Jiang Sifan took the gift box, holding it carefully. "Tha... thank you, Lingyi," he said.

"Don’t thank me! I should be the one thanking you. If you hadn’t come to teach me math, I probably would’ve just given up and coasted all the way to the college entrance exams," He Lingyi said with a giggle.

Then she urged him, "Go on, open it! See if you like it."

"Okay." Jiang Sifan didn’t stand on ceremony and carefully began to unwrap it right there in front of her.

Inside was a thermos.

But it had a picture on it.

Jiang Sifan took a look and saw it was a picture of Owen dribbling.

He looked at He Lingyi in surprise. "You... how did you know... I like this player?"

"During one of our lessons, I saw your phone wallpaper was a basketball player, but I didn’t know his name. So I took a picture of your screen and sent it to the boys in my class."

"And they told me it was Kyrie Irving from the NBA. So I went online, found a picture of him that I thought was the most handsome, and had a seller on Taobao print it on the thermos. Hehe, am I smart or what?"

Hearing how much thought He Lingyi had put into it...

He was truly moved.

So moved, in fact, that he felt an impulse to step forward and hug her.

’Of course, that thought only lasted for a second.’

’Her mom was still right outside, after all.’

Jiang Sifan looked at He Lingyi. "Thank you. This is the most meaningful gift I’ve received all year."

"Haha! Good! That proves I’m even more thoughtful than your girlfriend, haha!" He Lingyi said proudly. "Oh, right, you can’t tell your girlfriend it was from me. You know how girls can get jealous."

"I don’t have a girlfriend." After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Sifan decided to tell her the truth.

Just as he expected, He Lingyi was shocked. "You... you broke up?"

"Yeah." Seeing her reaction, Jiang Sifan decided not to elaborate. "Alright, that’s enough chatting. Time to study."

"Why did you break up?"

"I’m not talking about it."

"Argh, you’re the worst! Teacher Jiang, how could you leave me hanging like that?!" He Lingyi stomped her foot in frustration.

But a second later, her mood shifted. She grabbed Jiang Sifan’s arm. "So, since you’re single now, does that mean I’m allowed to like you out in the open?!"

"No." Jiang Sifan immediately pulled his arm away. "Anything that isn’t related to your studies will have to wait until after the college entrance exams. Before then, your only mission is to study!"

He Lingyi clenched her little fist and shook it in front of him. "You’re impossible! Fine! Then you just wait. I’ll become your girlfriend right after my exams next June! And until then, you’re not allowed to get a new girlfriend!"

"Once you can score in the triple digits on a math test, then you can start making demands," Jiang Sifan said calmly.

"Triple digits?!" He Lingyi flopped back in her chair, the picture of despair. "Triple digits in senior-year math? You might as well just kill me..."

Jiang Sifan had thought she would back down in the face of such a difficult challenge, but a moment later she declared, "Fine! I’ll get a triple-digit score sooner or later! No matter what, I’m going to be your girlfriend!"

With that, He Lingyi immediately dove into her math review with newfound enthusiasm.

"Explain this one to me. I don’t get it."

"And this one."

"This one... and this one... Argh, stupid brain, just remember it already!"

What was normally a ninety-minute session lasted a full two hours today.

He Lingyi had kept him for an extra half-hour with math questions.

It was as if she were truly determined to get that triple-digit score.

’If this is what it takes to get her to improve at math,’ Jiang Sifan thought, ’then I guess it’s not a bad deal.’

Besides, he really didn’t feel like dating anyone right now.

He was over it.

Jiang Sifan took the last bus back to the university.

As he approached the dormitory courtyard, he saw a familiar figure.

Wen Wan was waiting there.

Just as he was about to call out to her, another guy appeared, walked up to Wen Wan, and tried to hit on her. "Hey there. Can I get your WeChat?"