Chapter 138: Chapter 118: General Manager Shen Has a Strict Upbringing (2)
"Don’t worry about the homework. They have their own ways."
"Even if you don’t take up the time, they’ll just copy it anyway."
"It’s not like you have to correct their mistakes if they do it poorly. Just hand it back and let them correct each other’s work. These dumbass kids would be thrilled."
And then, Zhou Ruolan arrived.
Sure enough, her mood had improved greatly after taking over the evening study hall to explain the problems.
’Yep, I’m doing this again next time!’
Sister Lan spent the first half of the period in Class 15 and the second half in Class 14.
After finishing her explanations, she felt completely satisfied.
Because Sister Lan had taken over the class, the homework Shen Yuan could have originally finished during the second evening study period was pushed back to the third.
"You’re so slow. If you’re this slow again next time, I’m not letting you copy my English homework."
Shen Yuan took Ah Jie’s Chinese homework and started copying furiously.
Their Chinese skills were on par with each other, so he wasn’t the least bit worried Sister Lan would be able to tell.
After finishing his homework, Shen Yuan once again took out the physics materials Tong Churou had given him.
It had to be said, quite a few of the problems were a great help to Shen Yuan.
It wasn’t that Shen Yuan and Guo Weifeng had similar weak points in physics, but rather that Shen Yuan’s physics was even worse than Guo Weifeng’s.
Even with some of the basic problems, Shen Yuan tackled them with relish.
Time flew by as he worked on the problems.
As the end-of-school bell rang, the classroom immediately erupted into a chaotic hubbub.
"Late-night snack, late-night snack! I want stir-fried noodles!" Shen Yuan impatiently exclaimed to Li Zhi.
Seeing Shen Yuan’s overly eager expression, the beautiful girl rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"I know, I know. I’ll get it for you."
Hearing this, Shen Yuan gave a sly grin, immediately grabbed his backpack to hang in front of his chest, and then sat obediently on his stool, waiting for Li Zhi to pack her bag.
Young Master Li was different now.
These days, she would just grab a Huanggang Paper from her desk to take home. She’d tell her classmates she was just going to do half of it for practice, but by the time anyone else got to the classroom the next day, they’d see a fully completed test paper on her desk.
Although there was no way Li Zhi could have finished it after getting home, Shen Yuan knew that whenever she returned to class, the only blank spaces left on the entire paper were a few of the long-form physics problems.
She really was fast.
Of course, the only time Li Zhi would actually stop after only doing half the test was when Shen Yuan needed her for something.
Once Li Zhi put the test paper away, Shen Yuan slung her bag onto his back.
With one bag in front and one on his back, he made for quite an amusing sight.
The two of them walked side-by-side out of the school campus, making their way to a late-night food stall under the glow of the streetlights.
Thanks to the students from Jiyang Middle School, the small street-side stalls did decent business.
After all, when those dumbass kids have money, they really spend it.
Especially for the seniors, the pressure was immense.
And eating was one of the most important ways for them to relieve stress.
Eating helped relieve a lot of that pressure.
Shen Yuan and Li Zhi each ordered a serving of stir-fried noodles.
"Boss, make them both extra dry," Shen Yuan made sure to add.
Neither he nor Li Zhi liked the kind of stir-fried noodles that were sticky and clumped together; they both believed the texture should be dry.
This particular shop was perfect.
"You got it!"
Listening to the roar from the stove, Shen Yuan and Li Zhi stood to the side, watching the owner’s swift and skillful frying technique.
The scent of stir-frying wrapped in billows of steam as the owner flicked his wrist, tossing the noodles high into the air. The metal spatula and iron wok collided with a crisp CLANG.
Shen Yuan suddenly turned his head, raised an eyebrow at Li Zhi and said, "Think you could pull that off?"
Li Zhi had been staring at the rice noodles flipping in the wok. Hearing him, she immediately shot him a glare. "What do you take me for, you?"
Shen Yuan chuckled. "Hey, I never said I couldn’t do it."
"Really? I don’t believe you," Li Zhi said, looking at Shen Yuan teasingly.
"Fine, don’t believe me. I can’t do it anyway."
Predictable.
The corner of Li Zhi’s mouth twitched.
The owner was very fast at stir-frying the noodles.
After all, the technique relied on high heat and speed.
The two of them each held a disposable container in one hand and chopsticks in the other.
While passing a convenience store, Shen Yuan suddenly seemed to remember something, turned on his heel, and sprinted straight for the store.
"Ta-da! Congratulations to General Manager Shen of A-1 Construction Materials for paying in full to acquire one 500ml bottle of Coca-Cola!"
Shen Yuan stood before Li Zhi, a huge smile on his face, as if he had just accomplished something magnificent.
Hearing Shen Yuan’s announcement, Li Zhi couldn’t help but laugh. "General Manager Shen, at this hour, shouldn’t your next stop be a foot massage parlor?"
Li Zhi’s words made Shen Yuan a bit awkward. He gave a sheepish smile and quickly explained, "Of course not. General Manager Shen has to go home and do his homework now."
"My, General Manager Shen must have a strict upbringing," Li Zhi noted with a nod.
"Yeah, my family doesn’t let me stay out too late. Otherwise, they won’t even let me sleep in my own bed," Shen Yuan sighed dramatically.
"What about Young Master Li? With Young Master Li’s style, your family probably can’t control you, right?"
Hearing Shen Yuan’s words, the corners of Li Zhi’s mouth lifted slightly. "Control me? No. But the kid at home is too noisy. Wakes up every morning making a racket, so loud you can’t sleep."
"That’s a good thing! You get more time if you wake up early. I usually get up pretty early myself," Shen Yuan said with a serious face.
"Oh? What time does General Manager Shen get up?" Li Zhi asked curiously.
"5:40," Shen Yuan answered without hesitation.
Li Zhi looked surprised. "That’s the same as the kid at my place."
But as soon as the words left her mouth, Li Zhi regretted them.
Shen Yuan reacted instantly, seizing the opening.
"Mommy!"
Li Zhi wanted to hit him.
But thinking about his behavior today, Li Zhi decided to give him a chance to redeem himself.
"What did you just call me?" The girl’s voice was so gentle it could have been dripping honey.
’Her voice just makes me want to say it even more.’
"Mommy, mom, okāsan, eomma."
Shen Yuan rapidly switched between four languages to express his meaning precisely.
"You see, our family atmosphere is so... OWW!!"
Before Shen Yuan could finish his sentence, Li Zhi stomped on the top of his foot.
"Keep messing with me, and I’ll kill you tonight!"
After saying her piece, Li Zhi turned and walked away, her ponytail swaying back and forth under the streetlights.
"Hey! My bad, my bad! I won’t say it again, I promise!"
Shen Yuan limped after Li Zhi, not forgetting to shovel a couple more bites of stir-fried noodles into his mouth.
As usual, the noodles were finished before they got home. Shen Yuan downed the rest of his Coke with a GULP GULP GULP right before getting on the elevator.
*Burp~*
Li Zhi gave Shen Yuan a look of disgust.
The elevator doors slid open gently at 19A. Shen Yuan shifted the two backpacks he was wearing, their metal buckles reflecting fragmented light under the corridor’s motion-activated lamp.
Then, Shen Yuan held the elevator door open with one hand and, with the other, made an exaggerated "after you" gesture like a doorman.
Li Zhi rolled her eyes and stepped out of the elevator.
Shen Yuan then took off Li Zhi’s backpack and passed it to her.
"A safe and worry-free escort to your residence. General Manager Shen personally saw you to your door. Isn’t this five-star service?"
Before she could even finish rolling her eyes, her fingertips were already feeling for the hidden pocket inside her backpack.
The last few milk candies were slapped into Shen Yuan’s palm.
"Here, a tip for General Manager Shen. Also, a special piece of advice: eating candy after 10 PM will give you cavities, so General Manager Shen shouldn’t eat too many."
Listening to Li Zhi, Shen Yuan quickly unwrapped a milk candy and tossed it into his mouth. The sweet, milky flavor immediately melted on his tongue.
"Advice from Dr. Li, received—"
Shen Yuan said, dragging out the last word while glancing at his phone with a grin, "—but it’s not even 10 o’clock yet."
"Hmph! Don’t come crying to me when you get cavities!"
Li Zhi snorted and opened her apartment door.
"Good night!"
Shen Yuan waved.
Li Zhi rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right, ’good night.’ Go do your test paper!"
"Oh," Shen Yuan answered reluctantly.
Tossing the milk candies clutched in his hand into an outer pocket of his backpack, Shen Yuan went back to his apartment.
His mother, Zhang Yuyan, heard the noise and immediately appeared before him.
"So late today? Were you sneaking a late-night snack?"
Shen Yuan didn’t answer right away. Instead, he sniffed the air in the apartment.
Zhang Yuyan, who knew all about her son’s dog-like nose, immediately grabbed Shen Yuan’s shoulders and pushed him toward his room.
"Go take a shower and get some rest. Have you even looked at the time?"
"Hey! Hey! Hey! I smell it! You had crawfish, didn’t you! The garlic-flavored kind! And you ate it without me!"
As his mom pushed him toward his room, Shen Yuan protested, "Am I really your son?! Am I?! You ate crawfish without me! This won’t be settled for less than a 50-yuan red envelope."
Just then, Old Shen’s voice came from the sofa.
"Sent it."
"Alrighty, I’ll scram right now."
Shen Yuan briskly returned to his room.
The moment he entered his room, Shen Yuan saw a white figure WHOOSH past him.
The next second, another white figure performed a perfect drift around a corner on the floor.
Shen Yuan immediately burst into applause.
"Nice moves. Keep ’em coming. Daddy loves the show."
