Chapter 85: Atmosphere
Thanks to Su Lin’s earlier speech, Qin Yue and Jiang Chuchu were now studying with more drive than anyone else.
If it hadn’t been so late, and if her stomach weren’t growling, Gu Qinghuan wouldn’t have dared to say, “Let’s call it a day for now.”
Qin Yue, pen still in hand, looked up blankly. “Huh? It’s this late already?”
Su Lin also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She could have kept going if needed, but judging by their current momentum, if Gu Qinghuan hadn’t stepped in to stop things, she might really not have gotten home before midnight.
The group packed their things and headed toward the school gate. Qin Yue’s excitement still hadn’t fully worn off, and he walked alongside Su Lin, asking about a concept he hadn’t yet fully grasped.
Gu Qinghuan held her head; her own mind was stuffed full of new knowledge, leaving her feeling dizzy.
While Qin Yue and Jiang Chuchu were busy discussing a problem, she had managed to scribble down most of her homework in bits and pieces—otherwise, she knew that once she got home and fell onto her bed, she’d be out like a light.
Yu Xin poked Gu Qinghuan’s arm. “Qinghuan, my family gave me some more money yesterday. I’m planning to buy a tablet. Do you want to come?”
It took Gu Qinghuan a few seconds to snap back to reality. “Tablet… no thanks, I’m a bit tired today. I just want to get some rest early.”
She could have forced herself to go, but in her current state, she wouldn’t be able to give Xin Bao any useful advice—if anything, she might come across as perfunctory. Considering both her condition and her attitude toward Yu Xin, she decided it was better to refuse.
Seeing how slow Gu Qinghuan’s reaction was, Yu Xin realized she was sleepy and quickly said, “Then I’ll just go by myself. You get home early and rest!”
Gu Qinghuan added, “If money’s not a problem, just go to an authorized store. Get the full set with accessories, and with after-sales service you won’t have to worry about anything.”
Yu Xin nodded, noting it down. “Got it.”
Jiang Chuchu, worried about Gu Qinghuan, thought she might miss her bus stop in this drowsy state, so she decided to escort her home.
By now, Qin Yue’s excitement had also faded, and with his stomach growling, he decisively called Qin Yanxia to check in, then ran off alone to eat at a buffet.
Yu Xin was just about to get into her family’s car to head to the store when she saw Su Lin still waiting for the bus. After a moment’s thought, she asked, “Which direction is your home?”
Su Lin gave her address. Yu Xin opened the car door. “Come with me then. I’m heading to the mall, and it’s right on the way.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Su Lin climbed into the car. “Thanks.”
Inside, with one top student and one near-top student, it was very quiet.
Neither Yu Xin nor Su Lin were particularly talkative. Each sat on one side of the back seat, quietly gazing out the window.
Yu Xin had spent a lot of time with Gu Qinghuan and Jiang Chuchu, and those two loved to share—anything interesting they saw or amusing stories they heard, they would tell her right away.
Now, with the sudden silence, Yu Xin found herself a little unaccustomed to it.
She gathered her courage and spoke first. “Thanks for your help today.”
Su Lin turned her head, slightly surprised that Yu Xin would start a conversation, but replied calmly, “It’s fine. We agreed from the start—you donate the funds, I help with tutoring. Besides, looking at the knowledge I’ve learned from a teaching perspective gives me new insights.”
If Gu Qinghuan had been here, she would have been astonished: So this is the mindset of a true academic genius?
Yu Xin, however, understood Su Lin’s words perfectly. “Exactly. When I explain problems to classmates, I often realize there are other ways to approach the solution.”
Su Lin seemed thoughtful. “You often explain problems to people in Class Three?”
“Mhm, mostly math problems,” Yu Xin replied.
Since the last monthly exam, Class Three had often held “group problem-solving” sessions. The top scorers in individual subjects would be pulled in to act as “little teachers.”
Of course, the little teachers sometimes got tired or annoyed and would refuse to continue.
Once, a student thought one of the little teachers was being arrogant, and they argued.
When Gu Qinghuan found out, she went to pester that student for half the day, letting him experience firsthand how exhausting it could be.
Before he truly lost his temper, she stopped, calmly discussed things with him, and in the end, the student sincerely apologized to the “little teacher.”
Still, to save face, he told Gu Qinghuan that if she weren’t Jiang Chuchu’s friend, he wouldn’t have been so “obedient.”
Jiang Chuchu nearly laughed in exasperation and wanted to lecture him, but Gu Qinghuan held her back.
She told the student, “That’s not it. I spoke to you that way because I know you’re reasonable. If you really weren’t, I wouldn’t have bothered.
“You’re studying for yourself. Saying something out of line is understandable, but afterward? If you make the little teacher angry and they refuse to help you anymore, does that benefit you?
“Everyone only gets one reputation. I hope you take care of yours—and don’t say hurtful things that harm both others and yourself.”
She stopped there, not asking the student to apologize to her, but from then on, he became much more steady.
Qin Yue once told Yu Xin as a joke that the student secretly called Gu Qinghuan “Mom” behind her back, saying she cared about him more seriously than his own mother.
Song Yi, who hadn’t gotten along with that student before, heard about this and went over to say, “The class president is my sister. If you call her Mom, that makes you my nephew.”
The two joked back and forth until they actually started calling each other “uncle” and “nephew,” and their relationship improved.
Yu Xin felt that Class Three’s positive atmosphere was largely thanks to Gu Qinghuan as class president.
In fact, most students at Shande came from wealthy families, and not all were aiming for the college entrance exam—many were going for competitions or studying abroad, which was much easier.
Now, they weren’t just chasing high scores but were genuinely trying to understand what they didn’t know, and they got along well. Yu Xin truly liked this kind of atmosphere.
Su Lin said, “I think your class is doing great. You don’t need to care about what Class Twelve’s homeroom teacher says.”
Yu Xin blinked, realizing that Su Lin was trying to comfort her.
She smiled. “I think so too. But since we know about it, we’re not going to just watch our homeroom teacher get bullied.”
Chen Zelin, as Class Three’s homeroom teacher, might not have the seniority of some veteran teachers, but as his students, everyone in Class Three liked him.
He taught diligently, graded homework carefully, made the occasional joke, and when real mistakes happened, he corrected them strictly—without constantly criticizing.
And it wasn’t just for their teacher’s sake—it was for themselves too.
Everyone in Class Three had worked hard together to achieve good results. Why should they be belittled by another class’s homeroom teacher?
Even if Yu Xin’s name was removed from the situation, she was still part of Class Three. She never intended to stand by.
Su Lin actually smiled—she liked this attitude.
After parting ways with Su Lin, Yu Xin went to the authorized store, where—on the staff’s recommendation—she bought the latest tablet model and all the necessary accessories before heading home.
Dinner time at the Yu family had long passed, but given her current status in the household, a servant immediately came up to take her things and ask if she wanted dinner.
“Just prepare something simple and bring it to my room later,” Yu Xin said, heading straight upstairs and stopping in front of Yu Yuan’s door.
She took a breath and knocked.
Yu Yuan opened the door, grumbling out of habit, “If it weren’t for Sesame, I wouldn’t… Where’s Sesame?”
Seeing Yu Xin without the cat in her arms, Yu Yuan froze.
“I have something to ask you,” Yu Xin said directly. “What kind of person is your homeroom teacher?”
