So it was about tutoring after all.

Linlin nodded with an air of righteousness.

“Well, actually, I was talking about tutoring too. *cough cough* Let me think… At your place, it might cause misunderstandings with your parents. At mine, same issue. And in class? Our classmates might get the wrong idea.”

“So… Linlin decided to ‘ram me to death’ just because she thought my plan would cause gossip?”

Do… do you hate me that much?

Wait—maybe Little Vampire’s analysis wasn’t quite right after all.

Gao Liang wiped sweat from his brow, eyeing Linlin suspiciously. Linlin, however, spoke without batting an eye—though her legs trembled violently beneath her skirt from the lie, betraying no other flaw.

“Yes. Because I’m a woman of virtue and chastity. Reputation matters deeply to me. It’s like… Pan Jinlian being harassed by Ximen Qing—ah, no! More like Jinchan taking her own life after being wronged.”

Hmm…

Gao Liang glanced at the slight tremor in Linlin’s calves under her long skirt.

He never expected Linlin to be this conservative.

“Then… where should we tutor?”

“Uh…”

Linlin froze. She’d never actually planned to ask her arch-rival for help—she never imagined this moment would come. After a pause, she murmured, “How about… the classroom?”

“But didn’t you just say the classroom might cause gossip?”

Gao Liang frowned. Linlin lowered her head, stammering, “W-well… since we’re desk mates, asking questions quietly shouldn’t draw too much attention.”

*Mostly…*

*More people there… feels… safer.*

“Fine. Tonight’s evening study session. Mark the problems you don’t get and bring them to me.”

“Mm-hmm!”

Linlin nodded, relief washing over her—

“Wait. Didn’t first period already start?”

Gao Liang turned to her.

Uh…

Linlin nodded.

And so…

She’d dragged her arch-rival into being late. For the first time ever.

Victory!

…

The school day flew by. During class, Gao Liang occasionally glanced at the girl beside him—

Only to see her clutching her phone.

Huh?

He almost smirked… then noticed something.

She wasn’t scrolling. She was cross-referencing example problems in a thick math workbook—the infamous *53*—one by one.

Seriously diligent.

A focused little kitten. Hehe.

Though that earlier “meow” wasn’t very cute.

Under her arch-rival desk mate’s watchful eyes, Linlin studied hard all day until dusk fell.

Evening study sessions varied by class. Linlin’s wasn’t elite, but not struggling either—just the right buzz: quiet enough for whispered study talks.

The bell rang. Linlin shook her wrist, slapped the marked *53* workbook onto Gao Liang’s desk—*slam!*—and fixed him with an inexplicably confident stare.

“I circled the problems. Explain them. One by one.”

Odd. She was the one asking… yet her tone was demanding.

Pride, maybe. Gao Liang smiled, took the book, and asked softly, “Scope? Which topics?”

“Uh… all of them? Comprehensive?”

“Wait—you prepping for Gaokao? Oh right, it’s over…”

Gao Liang sighed. Clearly just a whim. Mastering full-scope Gaokao math in hours? Please. If she were that sharp, she wouldn’t need him.

He’d explain what he could.

He pointed to a problem and began.

Linlin swallowed a blue capsule, sipped water, and leaned close to listen.

But before he got far—

“Hey! Look! Gao Liang’s tutoring his desk mate!”

A girl’s voice cut through.

“Seriously? She’s practically glued to his desk!”

Sharp eyes locked onto Linlin.

“Didn’t she beg everyone for help this morning? No one agreed. How’d she snag Gao Liang?”

“Tch. Only ’cause she’s his desk mate. Like he actually cares.”

Whispers sent a chill down Linlin’s spine. She shook her head frantically, glancing around.

Silence fell briefly—then swelled again. Some just gossiping. Others deliberately loud:

“Gao Liang helps anyone. Normal. But *her*? What’s her deal?”

“Using tutoring to get close? She’s leaning *so* close~”

“Maybe this morning was just an act for attention. Drama queen, honestly.”

Han Kui shot a disdainful look; her friends tittered. Linlin felt only panic. She shifted her chair back, putting distance between them. Her face tightened, eyes growing watery. The blue capsule was already gone—no backing out now…

But staying felt unbearable.

Head bowed low, she wished the whispers would vanish.

Then—

Gao Liang stood abruptly, grabbed her hand, shot Han Kui a cold glance, and pulled Linlin out of the classroom, workbook in tow.

Linlin blinked in shock. By the time she registered it, he’d dragged her halfway down the hall.

“Where… are we going?” she asked, voice unsteady.

Gao Liang walked ahead, calm. “Find an empty classroom. This one’s too noisy.”

“Mm…”

She nodded.

An empty classroom… huh?