Chapter 519: Set Up??!!! The Sky Is Falling

“Whatever,” He Lingyi repeated.

Jiang Sifan smiled and pushed the door open. They took their seats, and he ordered grilled fish along with a few side dishes. While waiting for the food, he poured a glass of water and pushed it toward her. He Lingyi cupped the glass with both hands but didn’t drink, just staring blankly at the water inside.

“Lingyi,” Jiang Sifan called out softly.

She looked up.

“Do you know what score I got on my first mock exam in my senior year of high school?” he asked.

He Lingyi shook her head.

“A bit over four hundred and eighty,” Jiang Sifan said with a smile. “Even worse than yours.”

He Lingyi froze for a moment. “Really?”

“Why would I lie to you?” Jiang Sifan leaned back in his chair, his tone relaxed. “Back then, I was just like you. I locked myself in my room and wouldn’t even open the door when my mom knocked. Later, my homeroom teacher called me and said something I still remember to this day.”

“What did he say?” A faint glimmer of light returned to He Lingyi’s eyes.

“He said doing poorly on an exam is a good thing,” Jiang Sifan said with a smile. “Doing poorly means you still have a lot of room for improvement, and there’s still a lot of knowledge left to master.

“Think about it. If you scored over six hundred this time, would you still bother checking for gaps in your knowledge? The questions you couldn’t solve would remain unsolved. But now that you’ve done poorly, you can fill in those gaps. Next time, you’ll get a high score.”

He Lingyi listened silently, but she finally took a sip of water from her glass.

“But I really did try my best.” She set the glass down, her voice trembling on the verge of tears. “I do practice questions late into the night every day, and I never go out to play on weekends, but I still got a score like this. I just think I’m stupid. No matter how hard I try, it’s useless.”

“Who said you’re stupid?” Jiang Sifan laughed. “If you were stupid, could you have gotten into the best high school in Jinling?”

He Lingyi fell silent.

The grilled fish was served, steaming hot. The pungent, spicy aroma made He Lingyi sneeze.

Jiang Sifan picked up a piece of fish, placed it in her bowl, and smiled. “Eat first. We’ll talk after.”

He Lingyi looked at the fish in her bowl, picked up her chopsticks, and slowly began to eat. She ate very slowly, chewing each piece several times before swallowing. Jiang Sifan didn’t rush her and quietly started eating as well.

Halfway through the meal, He Lingyi suddenly spoke up. “Brother Sifan, how did you snap out of it back then?”

“My homeroom teacher chewed me out,” Jiang Sifan said with a chuckle. “He said that if I kept going like that, I wouldn’t even get into a second-tier university, let alone a first-tier one. I was furious when I heard that. But later, thinking back on it, he was right. What’s the point of just being sad? Once the sadness passes, you still have to study.”

He Lingyi kept her head down, poking at the food in her bowl with her chopsticks.

“Besides, think about it—if you improved every single time, wouldn’t I be completely useless?” Jiang Sifan joked cheerily. “How could I show my face as your tutor?”

He Lingyi couldn’t help but crack a smile, though she quickly suppressed it. Seeing this, Jiang Sifan felt a wave of relief.

After dinner, Jiang Sifan took He Lingyi for a stroll around the shopping mall. He stopped in front of a women’s clothing store and turned back to look at her.

“Want to go in and try something on?”

He Lingyi shook her head. “No need,” she said softly.

“Trying it on doesn’t cost anything,” Jiang Sifan said with a smile, pushing the door open and stepping inside.

Left with no choice, He Lingyi followed him in.

Jiang Sifan browsed the racks and picked out a light blue dress. He held it up to inspect it, then handed it to her. “This color suits you. Try it.”

He Lingyi took the dress, glanced at him, and after a moment of hesitation, walked into the fitting room.

She came out a few minutes later. The dress fit perfectly. The light blue fabric beautifully complimented her fair skin. Standing in front of the mirror, she twirled slightly, a faint blush dusting her cheeks.

“Looks great,” Jiang Sifan nodded in approval.

He Lingyi stared at her reflection. Her lips twitched, but she didn’t smile. She changed out of the dress and placed it back on the hanger.

“Not buying it?” Jiang Sifan asked.

“It’s too expensive.” He Lingyi shook her head.

Jiang Sifan checked the price tag. It was over three hundred yuan. He thought for a moment but didn’t say anything.

The two of them browsed through a few more stores. Jiang Sifan led her into a shoe store, picked out a pair of simple white sneakers, and had her try them on. He Lingyi put them on, took a couple of steps in front of the mirror, and looked down at her feet.

“Are they comfortable?” Jiang Sifan asked.

He Lingyi nodded. “Yeah, they are.”

“Let’s buy them, then,” Jiang Sifan said with a smile.

“There’s no need.” He Lingyi began taking the shoes off.

This time, Jiang Sifan didn’t listen to her. He grabbed the shoes and headed straight for the cashier.

He Lingyi hurried after him, growing anxious. “Brother Sifan, really, there’s no need. I have shoes at home.”

“Just consider it a gift from me.” Jiang Sifan swiped his card and handed the shoes back to her. “You didn’t do well on the first mock exam, so I’m buying you a pair of shoes. Next time, when you get a good score, I’ll buy you a dress.”

Holding the shoebox, He Lingyi lowered her head as tears fell once again.

“Why are you crying again?” Jiang Sifan asked gently, still smiling.

“Brother Sifan, you’re too good to me.” He Lingyi wiped her tears, her voice choked with emotion. “I originally wanted to get a good score and give you a surprise. I wanted to tell you that your tutoring wasn’t in vain, but I failed.”

“You can give me a surprise anytime.” Jiang Sifan patted her shoulder, his tone gentle. “Missing this one time doesn’t matter.”

He Lingyi looked up at him. Her eyes were red, but this time, she didn’t look away.

By the time they left the mall, it was already getting dark. Jiang Sifan rode his electric scooter with He Lingyi sitting on the back.

This time, she gently wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Brother Sifan,” she said suddenly.

“Hmm?”

“Do you think I can get into Jinling Institute of Technology?”

Jiang Sifan thought for a moment and smiled. “You can, but I don’t want you to go to Jinling Institute of Technology.”