My IQ has been increasing year by year.

Chapter 425 As Before

After leaving the community center, Luke barely spoke.

He walked between Chen Zhuo and Abraham, holding the old ledger in one hand and pressing the new ledger with the other. The light blue reservation card was tucked into the first page of the new ledger. He would look down at it every few steps, as if afraid that the card would fall out from between the pages.

A car drove by on the street, its tires making a very soft sound as they rolled over the wet pavement.

Abraham asked, "Are you cold?"

Luke shook his head.

After a few seconds, he asked again, "Are you really going next Tuesday?"

Chen Zhuo said, "It's written on the card."

"Does it mean I have to go just because it says so on the card?"

"You don't have to go."

Luke frowned.

He had heard this sentence many times, and every time he heard it, he would think about it for a while.

"If I don't go, will the card be useless?"

"almost."

Luke immediately pressed his hand down a little tighter.

"It can't fall."

Chen Zhuo glanced at him but didn't expose him.

When the three returned to the chapel, it was already half dark.

Inside the relief room, people were still packing boxes, cardboard was folded up and leaned against the wall. The chapel was quieter than the outside, with rows of old benches, a blackboard against the wall, and Luke's unfinished pencil next to the chalk box.

As soon as Luke entered, he placed the new ledger on the table.

He opened the first page and confirmed that the light blue card was still there.

Next Tuesday.

Four o'clock in the afternoon.

Basic connection.

He stared at those lines of text for a while, then pushed the card further in.

Abraham placed the folder on the old wooden table.

The folder is a bit thicker than when it arrived.

Inside, there was an additional assessment form from the community center, an additional copy, an additional appointment card for next Tuesday, and Chen Zhuo's name clearly signed in the column.

Chen Zhuo took off his coat and hung it on the back of the chair.

"Now we need to arrange it," he said.

Abraham looked at him.

"What are we queuing for?"

"What happened next."

Luke immediately looked up.

"What happened next?"

Chen Zhuo said, "I'm not asking you to do the problems now."

Luke was not entirely off guard.

"What is that?"

Abraham pulled out a chair and sat down, taking out the papers one by one from the folder.

"The community center said that the basic coordination will start three times a week," he said. "Next Tuesday will be the first time, and they will give us the official schedule for the following times next week."

Luke frowned.

"Three times a week?"

"Four weeks first."

"How long is four weeks?"

"About a month."

Luke's face fell immediately.

"That long?"

Chen Zhuo looked at him.

"You were worried it would get stuck."

Luke glared at him.

"That's different."

"What's different?"

Luke opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

He looked down and pushed the reservation card inwards a little further.

"Anyway, it's different."

Chen Zhuo didn't tease him any further.

Abraham pulled a blank sheet of paper from the table and spread it out.

Community center, next Tuesday at 4 PM, basic liaison session.

Then it says: Three times a week, for four weeks first.

After finishing writing, he paused and looked at Chen Zhuo.

"And your classes."

Luke also looked at Chen Zhuo.

This time, he looked very quickly, but his gaze was more intense than before.

Chen Zhuo took the pencil and wrote on the paper.

Once every five days.

As usual.

Luke's eyes visibly moved as the pencil fell.

But he still said, "I didn't ask that."

Chen Zhuo said, "I know."

"Then what will you write?"

I want to see it myself.

Luke stared at those words.

Once every five days.

As usual.

He looked at it for a long time, and finally pulled the ledger a little closer to himself.

"What if it clashes with the community center?"

"We'll move it by one day," Chen Zhuo said.

"Does that still count as once every five days?"

"Calculate."

"Even one day's difference counts?"

"Calculate."

Luke thought about it for a moment, then seemed to reluctantly accept the algorithm.

Abraham looked down at those words.

"Did you come here every time you were in Princeton?"

"Come."

"How long is this period?"

Chen Zhuo did not answer immediately.

This question isn't about tomorrow, or next Tuesday.

He can't keep coming to Trenton every five days.

Madrid in August.

After Madrid, there's another short trip to Europe that's not yet finalized.

Abraham and Luke were unaware of these things.

Chen Zhuo twirled the pencil between his fingers and said, "I'm going to Madrid in August."

Abraham looked up.

"Spain?"

"Um."

Luke also looked up.

"Is it far?"

"It's very far."

"Farr than Boston?"

"Much farther."

Luke lowered his head and remained silent.

Chen Zhuo continued, "After Madrid, we might go to the other side of Europe, but it's not completely decided yet."

Abraham looked at him and slowly understood.

"So you won't stay in Princeton forever."

"Won't."

There was a moment of silence around the table.

Abraham looked at the line of text.

Once every five days, as usual.

"Before you left?"

Chen Zhuo said, "This path was still open before I left."

Abraham nodded.

"Then we need to finalize everything that can be finalized before you leave."

"Um."

Luke looked down at the first page of the new ledger.

He didn't ask Chen Zhuo when he was leaving, nor did he ask if he would come back after he left.

He simply pushed the appointment card in a little further.

Abraham then wrote on the paper:

transportation.

lunch.

Textbook.

Stationery.

clothes.

shoe.

School District Materials.

He paused here.

Then they added more tuition and miscellaneous fees.

After writing this down, the area around the table became much quieter.

These words don't sound like "Princeton" or "Doctor".

It's not that bright.

But it's very heavy.

Each one was so heavy it could drag a person back a step.

The community center can say "we can accept it".

The assessing teacher could say, "Let's start with the basics and then build upon them."

But once it actually starts, things like how to go three times a week, what to do for lunch, what to do if shoes break, whether textbooks cost money, whether the school district will charge for materials, and what other miscellaneous fees there will be after formal enrollment will gradually emerge.

Abraham looked at the paper, but stopped writing with the pencil in his hand.

"The church has a small fund," he said, "but not much."

Chen Zhu hummed in agreement.

Abraham said, "The community center step might reduce some of the costs. If the school district takes over later, public school tuition won't be the biggest problem, but other things won't be lacking: transportation, lunch, clothing, materials, and if bridging projects are needed later..."

He stopped talking at this point.

"This isn't a week or two."

Chen Zhuo said, "I know."

Abraham looked at him.

"It's not the amount of money in just a few account books."

"I know."

"It could be a few years."

"I know."

Abraham put down the pencil.

"Chen, do you know what you're saying?"

Chen Zhuo looked at the paper.

Community center.

Three times a week.

Once every five days.

transportation.

lunch.

Textbook.

Stationery.

School District Materials.

Subsequent tuition and fees.

He picked up a pencil and underlined the words.

Then I wrote five characters.

money is not a problem.

The pencil stopped.

Abraham looked at those four words.

Luke saw it too.

He immediately looked up.

"What money?"

Abraham instinctively replied, "It's an adult matter."

Luke immediately tensed up.

"My business."

Abraham shut his mouth.

Chen Zhuo looked at Luke.

"It's your business, but it's not my place to ask you for money."

Luke's brow was furrowed deeply.

"Then who pays?"

"I."

Luke immediately stood up straight.

"I didn't ask you to pay."

"I know."

"Then why?"

Chen Zhuo said, "Because you're going next Tuesday."

Luke seemed speechless, as if he had been choked by those words.

After a while, he said, "I haven't said I'll keep going."

"Then pay next Tuesday."

"What about after next Tuesday?"

"We'll talk about it after we get there."

Luke stared at him.

"You guys keep saying we'll talk about it later."

Chen Zhuo said, "Because they haven't come yet."

Luke opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Abraham looked at Chen Zhuo, his expression even more serious than before.

"Chen, this is not a trivial matter."

Chen Zhuo nodded.

"I know."

You're still fifteen.

Chen Zhuo thought for a moment and said, "The community center has also checked."

Abraham paused for a moment.

Luke was the first to react; his lips twitched as if he almost laughed out loud, but he managed to hold it back.

Abraham glanced at Chen Zhuo helplessly.

That's not what I meant.

"I know."

Chen Zhuo put down his pencil, his tone becoming more serious.

"I do have a lot of money now."

The chapel fell silent for a moment after those words were spoken.

Abraham looked at him.

Luke was looking at him too.

Chen Zhuo did not explain Boston, the patent, or the trust.

Those things are too far from this chapel.

He only said, "It's not about ledgers and tickets."

Abraham did not respond immediately.

Chen Zhuo continued, "The community center, textbooks, transportation, lunch, clothes, shoes, and all the expenses needed for formal enrollment can all be included."

He looked at the words on the paper.

"If you need to pursue a bridging project later, or if you really have no choice but to live on campus, don't stop because of money."

Luke looked up immediately upon hearing the words "boarding school".

"Where are you staying?"

Abraham immediately said, "Let's not talk about that now."

Luke stared at him.

"You just said that."

“I said we might discuss it later,” Abraham said, “not now.”

Chen Zhuo also said, "Right now, the community center is the priority."

Luke remained cautious.

Are you going to send me away?

"No," said Abraham.

He spoke quickly and forcefully.

Luke looked at him.

Abraham pulled the paper a little closer to himself.

"Boarding at school isn't the current arrangement," he said. "The current arrangement is to go to the community center next Tuesday. After that, I'll go to the community center first. If the school district picks me up, I'll see if I can commute to school first."

Luke asked, "What's 'running school'?"

"Go during the day and come back at night," Chen Zhuo said.

Luke glanced at the chapel.

"Back here?"

Abraham said, "At least for now, the contact address is still here."

Luke's shoulders finally relaxed a little.

Abraham looked at him.

"We're not putting the words 'boarding school' before you do it now, unless there's really no other way later."

Luke lowered his head.

"Then don't write it secretly."

Chen Zhuo said, "I don't write in secret."

Luke then looked at Abraham.

Abraham said, "I will not write it in secret."

Luke then sat back down.

After he sat down, he was still uneasy, so he opened the new ledger and looked at the reservation card.

Chen Zhuo waited until Abraham closed the account book before looking at him again.

"I will find a compliant solution regarding the money."

Abraham asked, "What method?"

"Don't give Luke cash directly," Chen Zhuo said. "And don't make him feel like he owes anyone anything."

Luke immediately replied, "I didn't owe anything in the first place."

"Hmm," Chen Zhuo said, "So don't do that."

Luke was speechless.

Chen Zhuo continued, "We can use the church education fund, or we can confirm a designated account with the community center. Every transaction will be recorded according to the project, including transportation, lunch, teaching materials, clothing, assessments, and school district materials."

Abraham listened very attentively.

"Aren't you going to take direct control?"

"I don't care," Chen Zhuo said. "You can manage it, or the church and community center can manage it together."

"You're only paying money?"

"I'll pay for it."

Chen Zhuo paused for a moment, then added another sentence.

"There's another class every five days."

Abraham looked at him for a long time.

Then he lowered his head and wrote a new column on the paper.

Source of funding.

He paused for a moment.

Chen Zhuo reached out and pulled the paper toward himself.

Write it in the column below.

Chen Zhuo.

After he finished writing, he pushed the paper back.

Abraham stared at the name.

This name has appeared many times today.

The recommender is listed in the community center's section.

It's in the photocopy file.

It was on the supervisor's note.

It's on the woman's note at the front desk.

It's also on the assessment card for the teachers.

But now that the name is here, it carries a different weight.

It's not for someone else to collect.

It wasn't signed on the recommendation form.

It falls behind the source of funding.

Abraham looked up.

"This paper won't go into the folder."

"I know."

"We can't let Luke think this is an IOU."

"It's not an IOU," Chen Zhuo said.

Luke immediately asked, "What IOU?"

Abraham said, "There is no IOU."

Luke didn't believe it.

Chen Zhuo handed the paper to him to see.

"This is the schedule."

Luke stared at it for a long time.

He can understand a few words.

Community center.

Once every five days.

money is not a problem.

Chen Zhuo.

He pointed to the two characters "Chen Zhuo".

"Why is your name on it again?"

Chen Zhuo said, "Because the money belongs to me."

Luke frowned immediately.

"Then I'll pay you back later."

"Need not."

Why?

"Because it's not a loan."

"What is that?"

Chen Zhuo thought for a moment.

Education expenses.

Luke didn't understand.

Abraham put it another way: "It's money so you can go and learn something."

Luke looked at the paper.

"Does not being able to learn it count?"

Chen Zhuo said, "Yes."

"Does it count if I don't go?"

Chen Zhuo looked at him: "If you don't go, you won't have that payment."

Luke pursed his lips.

He seemed to accept this answer.

"Then let's do it next Tuesday."

"Um."

"I haven't said the week after next."

"Then let's not count next week for now."

Luke finally stopped asking.

He pushed the paper back and pulled over his new account book.

"What about once every five days?"

Chen Zhuo said, "As usual."

"Does that day at the community center count too?"

"No, once every five days is a separate charge."

"What if there's too much?"

"That depends on whether you can eat it."

Luke looked at him warily.

"It's not about eating."

"almost."

Luke clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Almost the same."

Chen Zhuo took his new account book.

"Turn to the first page."

Luke held the ledger down.

"What are you doing?"

Write it clearly.

Luke looked at him for a few seconds, then slowly released his grip.

Chen Zhuo turned to the first page.

The light blue reservation card was tucked inside.

He didn't touch the appointment card, but only wrote in the blank space at the bottom of the first page:

Once every five days, as usual.

After he finished writing, he pushed the ledger back.

Luke looked down at the words.

Looked for a long time.

"You wrote this."

"Um."

"Don't wipe it."

"If you don't wipe it, it won't wipe it."

"You can't say it doesn't count."

"Calculate."

Luke closed the ledger, then opened it again.

I took another look.

Like confirming that those words are still there.

Abraham rearranged the schedule.

The top one shows the community center's schedule.

The middle section contains the make-up class schedule.

The following are the costs, school district, transportation, materials, priority given to commuting to school, and boarding school not discussed at this time.

He wrote the words "boarding on campus is not up for discussion" very clearly.

Luke's expression improved slightly after seeing this.

"This can't be changed secretly either."

Abraham said, "Don't change it secretly."

Chen Zhuo said, "If I'm going to change it, I'll change it in front of you."

Luke thought for a moment and said, "Then we'll use a pencil."

Why?

"It can't be erased with a fountain pen."

Chen Zhuo said, "Then let's use a pencil."

Luke was somewhat satisfied then.

He stacked the old and new account books together and put them in his pocket.

The new ledger contained the reservation card.

The bottom of the first page says once every five days, as usual.

Abraham folded up the schedule but didn't put it in Luke's folder.

He took another envelope and put the paper inside.

The envelope did not have Luke's name on it.

Only two words were written.

arrangement.

Chen Zhuo glanced at it.

"I'll come again before my next visit to the community center."

Luke immediately looked up.

"Which day?"

Chen Zhuo picked up a pencil and did some calculations on a scrap of paper on the corner of the table.

"Five days later."

Luke said, "That's not next Tuesday."

"no."

"Next Tuesday is the community center."

"Um."

"So you've come to the chapel?"

"chapel."

Luke looked down at the ledger.

"Which question should I do?"

Chen Zhuo asked, "Which dish do you want to make?"

Luke frowned.

"How would I know?"

"Then let's make the one we don't know how to make today."

Luke's expression changed.

"I knew it."

Chen Zhuo said, "If you don't know something, write it down first."

"That's what the assessment teacher said too."

"She's right."

Luke held the ledger and muttered something under his breath.

No one heard clearly this time.

Nobody asked.

It was completely dark outside.

Most of the people in the relief room had left, leaving only a lamp by the old wooden table in the chapel. The light fell on the table, illuminating the envelope, Luke's new ledger, and Abraham's folder together.

Luke stood up and stuffed the new ledger into his clothes.

He pulled it out halfway through and glanced at the first page.

Once every five days, as usual.

Then it was stuffed back in.

He took two steps toward the door, then stopped.

"Money isn't the issue, but did you write it?"

Chen Zhuo said, "Yes."

"What if they later say there's a problem with the money?"

"Let them find me."

Luke looked at him.

This statement is too simplistic.

It's so simple it doesn't seem like it's about something big.

But then he remembered what those people looked like at the community center that afternoon.

I recall them checking Chen Zhuo's identification.

I remember that after they found out about him on the computer, they called him Dr. Chen.

I remember the supervisor, the receptionist, and the assessment teacher asking him to sign each and every document.

Luke finally stopped asking "Can you do it?"

He simply nodded.

Just a tiny bit.

Then he pushed open the door and went out.

A cold draft blew in through the crack in the door, only to be quickly shut out again.

Abraham looked at the door.

After a while, he said in a low voice, "He just nodded."

Chen Zhuo put the pencil back next to the chalk box.

"I saw it."

Abraham looked down at the envelope that was labeled "Arrangements".

"List."

"Um."

"Thanks."

Chen Zhuo picked up his coat.

"Don't thank me yet."

Abraham looked at him.

Chen Zhuo said, "He might not even come in next Tuesday."

Abraham paused for a moment, then laughed.

"Too."