“Speed up, finish your plan for today, and make good use of my hard work.”
‘I really want to use you, not just your hard work.’
Yun Buran thought resentfully, but she still obediently took out today’s planner. Before Su Nian came, she had already used various spare moments to complete today’s English and Chinese plans, and had even finished her homework as early as yesterday. Because he had said that her talent was hard work. Yun Buran hated herself, but she liked Su Nian, so what he believed, she was willing to believe as well.
“By the way, give me your planner. I’ll teach you a more efficient method.”
Yun Buran proudly handed over the small notebook. It was almost full, and she decided to buy a larger journal next time.
Su Nian looked at the notebook. On every page she had drawn a chibi figure with his name written on its body. He did not make any comment.
“First, write your average score from the previous mock exams on the first page. Then divide your future plans into two sections. It’s still written daily, but the upper part is what your teacher requires or what you think is necessary from the curriculum. The lower part is the plan you make for yourself. For the upper part, completing an item adds no points, but failing to complete one deducts a point. For the lower part, completing an item adds a point, and not completing it does not deduct points.”
Yun Buran was very surprised. She really hadn’t expected that this man would be so meticulous even in this aspect.
“What effect does this improvement have?”
Faced with Su Nian’s question, she quickly got into the zone, thought rapidly, and replied.
“It allows a more intuitive understanding of how many points you’ve gained, and it balances the pace of self-study and in-class review. It neither neglects the main curriculum nor loses sight of actual improvement.”
“Great! And most importantly, quantifying your effort is like a reward and punishment system. Seeing the score increase every night gives you a great sense of accomplishment.”
Su Nian continued with satisfaction, “Psychology is actually very important in studying too. For example, how do you maintain long-term or regular study sessions? You can switch to your favorite content at the end of each session, ending on a good note, which will give you more motivation for the next time. For example, if you’re tired from studying today and you like English, you can do two reading comprehension passages to wrap up.”
“Then at the end of today, can I hug you?”
Yun Buran blushed and continued to explain.
“I think that way I’ll definitely be more motivated next time.”
Su Nian helplessly rubbed his forehead, pressed down on Xiali who was laughing loudly beside him, and then looked up disdainfully at this extremely innocent, pure girl.
“A person who is still anxious about grades right now, are they even worthy of thinking about such things?”
‘I’m lying.’
Yun Buran looked at Su Nian’s speechless and disdainful expression and felt that she already had motivation.
It was truly a wonderful weekend. With such thoughts, Yun Buran plunged into a sea of problems.
Although autumn had already arrived, it was still very hot. However, the oppressive heat did not affect the two of them as they worked hard.
Su Nian quietly worked through the competition papers from the institution, while Yun Buran earnestly organized the boy’s notes into her own. At first, she often pretended not to understand and asked Su Nian, but unfortunately she was quickly exposed and rejected. She didn’t mind having her girlish scheming seen through—or rather, she did it on purpose.
There was a time when Yun Buran no longer believed that hard work paid off, and she grew to hate that fact more and more during her efforts. It wasn’t her fault. Senior year was such a torturous period. But thankfully, he appeared. Just like the girls in the whole school imagined, he was truly born with light, able to give strength to others.
Whenever she thought of him being by her side, Yun Buran felt that even the air she breathed became sweet. If you shared such feelings with the boy, he would seriously tell you that it was because you were working hard, so you felt at ease. People would surely like him upon meeting him, and then love him upon getting to know him.
Yun Buran looked at the elegant semi-cursive script in the notes, stealing a glance at Su Nian’s profile. She already knew that Su Nian’s drafts were actually filled with messy running script, wild and free. This little discovery made her happy, as did the fact that among the drinks she bought, Su Nian preferred fruit juice and tea over carbonated drinks like cola. She had only known Su Nian for a brief week, so each small discovery like this delighted her, making her feel that the distance between them had narrowed a little more.
She had once firmly decided to stay single for life, never to start a family. She hated all members of the opposite sex. But he was truly different. Yun Buran couldn’t bear to imagine how terrible her life would be without him. Just thinking about it was suffocatingly oppressive.
“Last warning.”
What she liked most was the boy’s lips—very red and tender, perfectly integrated into that face, bringing a smile that could make the wind pause. And this sun-like mouth could still spit out such indifferent words. Isn’t that magical?
“Okay.”
Yun Buran replied weakly, but inside she thought fiercely.
‘It looks so hard; I wonder if it feels soft when kissed.’
Su Nian was helpless again. He was sure that Yun Buran was gradually improving, but the number of times she stared blankly at him each day was increasing. He remembered the first time Xiali had joked about him using seduction. But he could be sure up to now—he really hadn’t used such methods! But he had still become the carrot dangling in front of the girl. Her growth like this was unhealthy. Perhaps in the future she could truly become an excellent opponent to life, but her strong and independent exterior was propped up by the name “Su Nian.” That was not what Su Nian wanted. He had to replace that name with “Yun Buran.”
And it really affected him too. Before, he studied relatively easily because he was efficient and used his time well. But since meeting Yun Buran, he was really tired, because he had to take care of her while maintaining a more efficient lifestyle himself. And there were really a lot of distractions. For example, the girl currently sneaking glances at him, and the sound of a video that only he could hear from beside him. So he first warned Yun Buran again, then gave Xiali a punch, and then continued looking at this problem about the Casimir effect and quantum field renormalization. He felt that in recent years the finals increasingly liked to test depth from obscure knowledge points, so he decided to go back and find a few well-edited university textbooks on modern physics.
As Su Nian had said, reflection had long become his breath.
As long as there was continuous positive feedback, study time passed quickly. Yun Buran found that every time she came back to her senses from long hours of focused study, there were washed fruits and pastries beside her, and her cup was always being refilled with drinks. Even though it was her own home, she felt she was receiving the best service. Her gains were enormous, but Su Nian’s notebook was too thick for her to finish in one afternoon.
Just when her hand was getting sore, Su Nian also happened to speak.
“Let’s go, buy groceries. Is there anything you want to eat?”
“Mapo tofu!”
Yun Buran really liked soy-based products. Although she had never eaten Su Nian’s cooking, this man made her full of anticipation.
“Change your clothes and get ready to go out.”
Su Nian said calmly as he looked at the excited Yun Buran, who was barely dressed.