The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

About an hour later, Xu Xi's eyelids twitched slightly.

Her eyes were half-closed, still misty with tears. She reached out her little hand and rubbed them, letting out two soft, sweet whimpers, like a little kitten that hadn't woken up yet.

"Brother...are you home?"

"I got home a long time ago."

Xu Nian ruffled her fluffy hair and yawned.

The even breathing of the little guy as he slept made his eyelids start to droop.

If she lay there for another half hour, even Xu Nian would probably fall asleep.

"Aren't you coming down yet?"

He pinched Xu Xi's tender, dewy cheeks.

Xu Xi whimpered in dissatisfaction before turning over her brother's body.

Xu Nian stood up and moved her limbs, which were a little numb.

"Oh, right, I just ran into Wen Yao. She said she'll let you check the message when you wake up."

"Oh, oh."

Xu Xi took out her phone and scrolled through Wen Yao's chat window.

Wen Yao: Xi Bao, half of the month has already passed. Didn't you say you would bring me along when you went to tutoring?

Wen Yao: Were you secretly studying behind my back again?! (Angry)

Xu Xi awkwardly replied with a scratching head emoji.

It wasn't that she didn't want to bring Wen Yao along for tutoring, but rather that she hadn't seen Qi Yu at all this month.

Every time she messaged him, he would reply that he was busy and would come back to tutor her when he had time in a couple of days.

"Brother, why haven't I seen Brother Qi Yu lately?"

She lay on the bed, kicking her legs, and looked up at Xu Nian, asking a question.

"Qi Yu?"

Xu Nian glanced at the resentful messages Qi Yu kept coming in on her phone and shrugged.

"He was sick at the beginning of the month and took a few days off. He's been making up for lost hours these past few days."

"Oh, I see."

Xu Xi breathed a sigh of relief; she had thought Qi Yu didn't want to tutor her anymore.

"Speaking of which, Qi Yu hasn't been tutoring you for a while, has he?"

Xu Xi nodded gently.

"I made a lot of progress in the last monthly exam, right? Then Yao Yao said she wanted to invite her to join me when I had another tutoring session. But half a month has passed, and she still thinks I forgot about it. I'm going to explain it to her."

As she spoke, she picked up her phone, preparing to reply to Wen Yao's message.

"No need, Qi Yu is free today."

As Xu Nian spoke, she finished dressing.

"Brother, where are you going?"

Xu Xi got out of bed, helped Xu Nian put on her hat, and straightened her collar and hem.

"It's my turn to be on duty soon, don't worry about me for dinner, I'll eat out."

"Okay, be careful on the road, brother~"

Xu Nian gently patted the back of his sister who was hugging him tightly, put on his shoes, and went out.

A short while later, Qi Yu sent a message, roughly saying that he would come to tutor Xu Xi in twenty minutes.

Xu Xi thought for a moment and replied.

"Brother Qi Yu, I have a classmate who wants to study together, can I bring her along?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end before a simple "okay" was replied.

"Let's meet at the entrance of the residential area!"

After typing that sentence, Xu Xi called Wen Yao to tell her about bringing her tutor to her place.

The desk in her room was too small; it was already very crowded for two people. She remembered that Wen Yao's study desk was quite large, and it shouldn't be a problem for four or five people to sit there.

If we're going to study together, it would be more appropriate to go to Wen Yao's house.

"Huh? Twenty minutes!"

A sharp, explosive sound came from the other end of the phone.

"Quick, quick! Zhao Lin, come help me tidy up the room..."

......

Good evening, Xu Xi.

Qi Yu's electric scooter was parked steadily at the entrance of the residential area.

"Long time no see, Brother Qi Yu."

Xu Xi smiled and waved to Qi Yu in greeting.

"Haha, I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to tutor you. Sorry about that."

Qi Yu scratched his head and said with some guilt.

"If your brother hadn't come to cover my night shift today, I really wouldn't have been able to find the time."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xi's beautiful eyes flickered.

It turns out that my brother went out to work earlier to cover for Qi Yu and ask him to tutor me.

No wonder he told himself so confidently before leaving that Qi Yu would have time tonight.

elder brother...

As the two walked to the convenience store, Qi Yu noticed several snowmen piled up at the entrance.

He crouched down and examined it carefully.

"Xi Bao!"

Wen Yao appeared in front of Xu Xi, panting heavily, while Zhao Lin, who was following behind her, was equally exhausted.

"Yaoyao, Zhao Lin, this is my tutor, Brother Qi Yu."

Xu Xi introduced them to the two.

Hello.

Qi Yu greeted the two with a smile, but inwardly he was puzzled, wondering why there were three instead of two people.

However, he didn't take it to heart.

For him, each time he tutors someone, it's a chance to reinforce what he's already learned.

After saving up enough tuition fees, he will have to retake the college entrance examination.

So, it doesn't matter if there are more people.

"Hello~ Legendary tutor, I've heard so much about you."

Wen Yao said with a grin.

"Huh? Where did this title come from?"

"Xi Bao improved from 40th to 15th in just one month, all thanks to your coaching. Isn't that legendary?"

Qi Yu looked at Xu Xi with some surprise.

I never expected Xu Xi to improve so much in just one month.

In a high school full of top students, his ability to achieve such a high ranking has little to do with tutoring.

"No, no, it's just because Xu Xi is quick to understand."

The group went upstairs and sat down at the study desk in Wen Yao's room.

Xu Xi and Wen Yao took out their test papers from the last monthly exam and placed them in front of Qi Yu.

"Hmm... Xu Xi did a good job. This bonus question is a bit beyond your level, but you were able to solve it. Very good."

After reviewing Xu Xi's exam paper, Qi Yu nodded in satisfaction.

Then, he picked up Wen Yao's test paper and looked at it carefully.

"You only listened to the lecture content, and didn't spend much time reviewing it after class, did you?"

"Wow, how did you know?"

Wen Yao scratched her head shyly.

After school, she spent her time at home either eating and drinking with Xu Xi, watching anime, or reading novels, and basically didn't review the knowledge she had learned that day.

Qi Yu pointed to the wrong questions on her test paper.

"You got most of the basic questions right, but you got a lot of the advanced questions wrong. If you had reviewed the material diligently after class, you wouldn't have gotten these questions wrong."

Wen Yao playfully stuck out her tongue. Qi Yu's assessment of her was incisive and very accurate.

"Zhao...Lin, is that right? Let me see your test paper."

Qi Yu looked at Zhao Lin, who was sitting to the side and hadn't moved.

From the moment he first saw her, he noticed this somewhat strange girl.

He was very silent, as if he had something on his mind.

From her deep eyes, one can tell that she has had a very complex life.

Just like the look in his eyes when he first met Xu Nian.