Chapter Eleven: Helping You with Your Homework

Sometimes Wen Yichen truly wished he could open Jiang Muwen's head and see what exactly was inside—he was genuinely curious about what talents a girl like her might possess. Perhaps she was skilled at fantasizing.

After his words, Jiang Muwen immediately withdrew her smile, a faint blush rising at her ears—as if Wen Yichen had uncovered some unspeakable secret.

“I wasn’t thinking about anything…” Jiang Muwen replied softly. She was still a bit afraid that Wen Yichen might discover her feelings for him, worried he would find it awkward, worried he might not even wish to remain friends.

But she had no idea that Wen Yichen, so dull in matters of the heart, hadn't considered this possibility at all. “Then what are you smiling about?”

“I…” Jiang Muwen was at a loss for words, flustered, and she hastily came up with an excuse. “I’m just happy!”

“...?” Wen Yichen looked at her in confusion. “Why are you happy?”

“The mooncakes are delicious, so I’m happy…” Jiang Muwen replied weakly. “Is that not allowed?”

Wen Yichen didn’t know how to respond to that. He stared at her, as if struck by lightning. “Fine, then could you hurry up and finish your homework? Let me have some happiness too.”

At his words, Jiang Muwen remembered the actual task at hand. Her gaze returned to the papers before her, and her face fell into despair.

Time trickled by, and Jiang Muwen stared at her assignments until her scalp tingled. It was almost eight o’clock. Even if she managed one paper every thirty minutes, she couldn’t finish all these sheets and exercises before midnight—especially since there were many questions she couldn’t solve.

“Wen Yichen…” Jiang Muwen glanced at the boy beside her, calling him timidly. He lounged lazily in his chair, enjoying his mooncake, naively believing Jiang Muwen would, like him, grasp the concept after hearing it once and then apply it to all similar problems.

“Hmm?” Wen Yichen didn’t look up, contentedly scrolling through his phone. “Once you’re done, head home yourself. I won’t see you off.”

“That’s not…”

Jiang Muwen hesitated, making Wen Yichen lift his head in curiosity, his clear eyes reflecting his interest.

Jiang Muwen looked at Wen Yichen, her expression bitter, unsure how to voice her thoughts. “Wen Yichen, you’re always playing—how do you ever find time for homework?”

But this wasn’t the real question she wanted to ask; the real one was too embarrassing.

“I finished everything the night before the holiday,” Wen Yichen answered offhandedly. He’d already completed the exercises, and the papers were no challenge for him. During boring lessons, he’d jot down a couple of answers, so by the time school ended, most of his homework was done.

“Then… could you maybe… lend me your homework… so I can copy it?” She finally stammered out her request after a long struggle. She didn’t know why, but despite knowing him for so long, she still lacked the courage to ask such a thing—it felt as daunting as asking a teacher for answers during an exam.

“You know how to do them?” Wen Yichen asked casually.

“No…” Trying to ease the awkwardness, Jiang Muwen forced a bitter smile—of course she couldn’t do them, that’s why she’d come to him for help.

After she spoke, the air fell silent. Wen Yichen stared at Jiang Muwen without replying—a gaze as silent as death.

“I was just joking…! Look how nervous you got…” Driven by a desperate urge for self-preservation, Jiang Muwen blurted out nonsense, turning her head and pretending to focus earnestly on her papers.

Suddenly, the sound of a phone landing on the desk reached Jiang Muwen’s ears, followed by Wen Yichen’s voice: “Anything else you don’t understand?”

After knowing her for over ten years, Wen Yichen could see through some of her little thoughts—she simply couldn’t do any of it.

“I don’t know…” Jiang Muwen looked at her homework, frowning in distress. She didn’t understand why—when Wen Yichen explained, she seemed to grasp it, but when she tried herself, she failed again. She couldn’t bring herself to admit this, so she randomly picked a problem—since she couldn’t solve any, it didn’t matter which.

After she chose, she heard Wen Yichen sigh deeply. He picked up his pen and opened a drawer, searching for a blank sheet.

As he opened the drawer, Jiang Muwen’s gaze followed. She was startled—not by how organized his drawer was, even more so than a girl’s, but by the greeting card lying inside.

It was a birthday card Jiang Muwen had given him in their third year of middle school. She’d wanted to buy him a present but couldn’t decide—cheap things looked unappealing, nice things were out of her price range.

She remembered her browser filled with searches like “What gift to buy for a boy?” Days of searching yielded no answers, so on his birthday, she simply picked a card and gave it to him, saying, “It’s the thought that counts.” She recalled how he seemed a bit disdainful at the time, never imagining he would keep that card for nearly two years.

Yet Wen Yichen’s attention was elsewhere. He pulled out a blank sheet, closed the drawer, and grabbed a pen. “Listen carefully. I’ll explain this once. No repeats.”

Jiang Muwen mumbled an assent, not taking his warning to heart—after all, the first time he’d taught her that afternoon, he’d said the same thing.

So the two of them worked at this pace until ten o’clock.

By then, Wen Yichen was growing weary. He wondered what sins he’d committed to be explaining homework to this little troublemaker when he could be asleep. He glanced at Jiang Muwen’s progress and was surprised to see she’d only finished two papers.

At this rate, even an all-nighter wouldn’t suffice.

In the end, Wen Yichen compromised on her earlier suggestion. Not only that, he decided to take further measures to speed things up.

He took out his own test papers and divided half for Jiang Muwen, then selected a few corresponding sheets from hers.

Jiang Muwen was stunned by his actions, staring at him in surprise. “What are you doing?”

Wen Yichen said nothing, simply picked up a pen and began copying the answers to the multiple-choice questions onto her papers. “Helping you with your homework.”