Chapter 9: Jealousy

‘Senior year is really too hard!’

Yun Buran felt a bit discouraged.

Even though it was supposed to be a self-study period, teachers occupied all the class time—both day and night—to teach. And that wasn’t even the worst part. Every time they left, they handed out new test papers, even though the review materials the school gave out were already more than she could finish.

Over the years, the way Yun Buran maintained good grades was by listening to the teachers. She completed every assignment seriously and paid attention in every class. But now, she couldn’t keep up with the intensity, and studying was driving her crazy.

Frustrated, she doodled aimlessly on her scratch paper. Suddenly, she thought of that boy—the teacher she was about to meet.

Actually, at first she really disliked Su Nian. She hated geniuses like him.

She felt she was a dark person. She hated everyone who scored higher than her despite putting in less effort. She hated the questions she couldn’t solve even after racking her brain, while others solved them with ease.

No one understood her pain in class. While she struggled to digest the teacher’s lecture, some students would go up to discuss problems with the teacher. When she couldn’t even finish the in-class assignments, those same students were animatedly debating difficult problems from extra material they’d bought.

So she hated the Su Nian in rumors, and she hated herself even more—why couldn’t she be a little smarter?

But then she suddenly remembered the confident yet somewhat scatterbrained Su Nian, and her mood lifted a little. She didn’t expect that genius to miraculously boost her grades. Still, she left the classroom and walked under the moonlight to meet the boy.

Su Nian was already waiting at the school gate. Since starting senior year, Yun Buran had also rented a place near school. Normally, it wouldn’t be appropriate for a young man and woman to be alone in a room together at this age, especially for a beauty like Yun Buran.

But Aunt Yun, Yun Buran, and even Su Nian himself felt that if anything happened, Su Nian would be the one at a disadvantage. So the Yun household had no objections.

“Let’s go.”

Yun Buran arrived. Su Nian had already recognized her from afar—from the swaying high ponytail and the tall figure.

Su Nian sensed that the girl was feeling a bit down, but he didn’t say anything. Yun Buran walked ahead; Su Nian followed a step behind. They walked in silence.

Yun Buran wasn’t like Su Nian. She hadn’t chatted with a boy in years, and this silence felt awkward. But she guessed Su Nian was probably shy, so he didn’t speak.

They entered Yun Buran’s rental apartment. It was similar to Su Nian’s—small but with all the necessities, though the details clearly showed it was a girl’s room.

Even though it was his first time entering a girl’s home, he felt no excitement.

“No need to change shoes. Just come in. Oh, wait a moment.”

Yun Buran first ran to her bedroom and closed the door. After a short while, she called Su Nian to come in.

This was a light-colored bedroom, very tidy, with a faint pleasant scent. But Su Nian’s attention was on the desk. It was piled with materials—he could even see first-year textbooks.

Su Nian naturally sat down beside her and set his bag aside.

Now Yun Buran started feeling uncomfortable. She had thought Su Nian was just a little boy—strong-willed and reckless. But now she noticed his expression: calm as still water.

“So, Teacher, how are you planning to do this? Start by helping me with today’s test papers?”

“No, today is for getting to know each other and communicating.”

This calm, slightly authoritative tone—Yun Buran never expected Su Nian to speak like that.

“Fine. I brought the answer sheets from the last three mock exams as you asked.”

Yun Buran began to dig through her backpack.

“No. I’ll take them home to study later. Now, my first question: Do you have any goals? Or rather, why do you study?”

Su Nian had now entered serious mode, carrying an indescribable aura.

“Uh… what does this have to do with tutoring me?”

Yun Buran couldn’t see his junior persona at all anymore. She wondered if he was about to feed her some motivational nonsense.

“A clear goal gives you strong motivation. The degree of your desire for that goal determines your inner drive.”

“So answer my question.”

Yun Buran found herself getting a little nervous. That handsome face across from her seemed to have turned into a stern elder.

“To live up to my mom’s expectations?”

“What does your mom expect of you?”

“Uh…”

Yun Buran couldn’t answer. Actually, Yun Yuan had never specifically demanded anything from her. She had just always been obedient and never had bad grades, so it went on until now.

“Just… to score as high as possible, so that in the future I can…”

“Stop with those vague bullshit answers. Every student knows that studying well is one of the best paths in life. I don’t want the cliché concepts you’ve learned. I want what you truly desire.”

Su Nian’s tone was flat, but it stirred the girl’s irritation.

Yun Buran said angrily, “Then what about your goal? To be the top scorer? A genius like you can probably get into Qingbei now, right?”

“To become the best.”

“The best? What kind of goal is that?”

Yun Buran almost laughed in anger. She completely revoked her previous assessment of Su Nian. He was simply the most arrogant person she’d ever met.

“By the way, my life creed is that I will eventually become the best.”

Just as Yun Buran was about to retort with sarcasm, Su Nian spoke again.

“I bet you’re very jealous.”

His flat tone carried a hint of a smile.

“You must be jealous of people who score higher than you, who are smarter than you, including me—this so-called genius in your eyes.”

Yun Buran was too angry to speak. Agreeing to let Su Nian tutor her was definitely the worst decision of her life. Right now, she wanted to kick him out.

“Then take that as your goal for now. Goals don’t have to be positive. Remember, your reason for studying right now is to trample on everyone you’re jealous of.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Yun Buran ground her teeth.

“You definitely believe in the talent theory, don’t you?”

“What else? If you had the same comprehension as me, then you’d have nothing but your face!”

Yun Buran rarely said such harsh words, but right now she felt disgusted by Su Nian.

“You might have heard this saying: Most people haven’t worked hard enough to compete on talent.”

“How much harder do I have to work?!”

Yun Buran shouted this out. She had been holding it in all along. Every day, she lied to herself—that every bit of effort would pay off—just to keep going.

“If you were a scientist trying to crack a mathematical conjecture, or even a contestant in the IPHO, and you bitterly said you were defeated by talent, then you’d be right.”

“But this is just the Gaokao.”

“You can—”

Before she could say “get lost,” Su Nian quickly spoke again, speeding up his words.

“Actually, you haven’t noticed that you have a talent many lack: hard work. Being able to devote long hours to effort every day is also a talent.”

“You just have two cards more important than hard work that you haven’t played well: efficiency and choice.”

“So, first, you need a clear goal. Second, break the talent theory. Every single rank above you on the school noticeboard—even this so-called genius me—you can surpass. You have to accept that fact first.”

Su Nian was now smiling openly.

“Is that all you wanted to say?”

Yun Buran crossed her arms and sneered.

“You have talent. And as your teacher, I’ll teach you how to continuously improve your way of thinking about efficiency. Then, in the end, you will take your revenge yourself.”

“Crush every single person you’re jealous of.”

“Until they become jealous of you.”