Chapter 550: Jiang Silu Wins the National 2nd Prize! Who to Tell First?!

He subtly shifted his hand to the side and continued explaining.

The tutoring session began. Jiang Sifan opened the math exam paper and turned to the final, most difficult question on the last page. It was a comprehensive problem involving functions and derivatives. The prompt wasn’t long, but it was full of traps.

“For this question, look at the prompt first,” Jiang Sifan said, pointing at the exam paper. “Given the functions f(x) = e^x – ax and g(x) = ln(x+1) – x, when x ≥ 0, f(x) ≥ g(x) is always true. Find the range of values for the real number a.”

He Lingyi frowned as she studied the problem. She picked up her pen and began writing the expression for f(x) – g(x) on the scratch paper, but stopped halfway.

“Brother Sifan, this inequality has both exponents and logarithms. How do I handle it?” she asked.

“First, construct a new function.” Jiang Sifan took the pen and wrote *h(x) = e^x – ax – ln(x+1) + x* on the paper. “Move the right side of the inequality over, so it becomes h(x) ≥ 0 is always true.”

He Lingyi nodded and continued writing.

“Then, find the derivative,” Jiang Sifan prompted.

She nodded again and kept writing. She was intensely focused, her pen making a steady SCRATCH SCRATCH sound against the paper. Jiang Sifan watched her. Her side profile was peaceful; her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her nose was high and straight. He retracted his gaze and went back to explaining the problems.

By the time they reached the third question, He Lingyi suddenly stopped. She put down her pen, turned her head, and looked at Jiang Sifan. Sensing her gaze, he looked up from the question prompt.

Their eyes met.

He Lingyi’s eyes were bright, harboring something indescribable. It wasn’t coquettishness, nor was it a plea. It was a pure, completely undisguised affection.

Jiang Sifan froze for a moment.

He Lingyi’s face slowly turned red, the flush spreading from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears. She bit her lip, suddenly leaned in, and planted a kiss on his cheek. It was light and quick. Her lips pressed against his skin—soft and warm, like a petal falling onto the surface of a lake. Then she quickly shrank back, lowered her head, picked up her pen, and resumed writing on the scratch paper.

Her face was completely flushed, her ears were burning, and even her neck was tinged with pink.

Jiang Sifan sat there, entirely motionless, as if paralyzed. His face was burning hot; the patch of skin she had kissed felt like it was on fire. He turned to glance at the door. It was closed. The sound of the TV drifted in from the living room outside, along with the muffled voices of Mr. He and Aunt Zhang chatting.

Taking a deep breath, he turned back, picked up his pen, and pointed at the problem on the scratch paper. He kept his voice as steady as possible. “For this question, you got the derivative right, but you need to pay attention to the signs in the next step.”

“Mhm,” He Lingyi replied without looking up, her pen moving rapidly across the page. Her hand was trembling, making her handwriting crooked and messy.

Jiang Sifan noticed, but said nothing.

After writing a few more steps, He Lingyi suddenly paused. She moved her hand off the scratch paper, slowly reaching under the table until she gently brushed against his hand. Jiang Sifan’s fingers twitched. He Lingyi reached out and hooked her finger around his pinky. Her skin was cool, soft, and slightly damp with sweat.

Jiang Sifan didn’t move, nor did he pull his hand away. He Lingyi’s hand slowly slid over, fully grasping his. Her hand was small, completely enveloped in his palm.

Neither of them spoke. Their eyes were fixed on the math problem, but neither was actually processing it.

After a few seconds, Jiang Sifan gently slipped his hand free. He Lingyi froze, looking up at him.

Jiang Sifan picked up his pen and wrote a line on the scratch paper. His handwriting was neat, every stroke deliberate: “Wait until after the college entrance exams. Also, promise me that if you score well, you’ll go to Jinling University or Southeast University.”

He pushed the paper over.

He Lingyi’s eyes grew red as she read the line. She grabbed her pen and scribbled a response beside it, her handwriting tiny and crooked: “I just want to be a little closer to you.”

Jiang Sifan glanced at her, then wrote another line: “If you get into Jinling University, I’ll visit you whenever I have free time. I keep my word.”

He Lingyi stared at those words for several seconds before looking up at him. Her eyes were filled with grievance and reluctance, along with a hint of longing.

“Alright,” she said, her voice as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz. “I know all of you are just doing what’s best for me.” She bit her lip and fell silent for a moment before nodding. “But you have to keep your promise,” she added softly.

“I will,” Jiang Sifan nodded.

He Lingyi lowered her head and resumed her work. This time, her hand didn’t reach for his. Her pen moved swiftly across the paper, and her handwriting was much neater than before. Sitting beside her and watching her solve the problems, Jiang Sifan breathed a sigh of relief.

By the time the tutoring session ended, it was already noon. Aunt Zhang invited Jiang Sifan to stay for lunch, but he politely declined, saying he had plans in the afternoon. Aunt Zhang didn’t insist and walked him to the door.

“Thank you, Xiaojiang,” Aunt Zhang said, lowering her voice.

“You’re welcome, Aunt Zhang,” Jiang Sifan replied with a smile. “As for Lingyi, don’t pressure her too much. She’ll figure it out on her own.”

Aunt Zhang nodded, her eyes reddening slightly.

Jiang Sifan stepped outside, hopped onto his electric scooter, and headed in the direction of his university. He rode slowly, his mind drifting back to the moment He Lingyi kissed him, and then to the line she had written on the scratch paper.

*I just want to be a little closer to you.*

He sighed and sped up.

Upon returning to the campus, he parked his scooter in the shed and walked toward the studio. When he reached the bottom of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Building, he noticed the white BMW 3 Series still parked in its usual spot.

Wen Wan emerged from the building holding a folder. Seeing him standing by the car, she walked over.

“Sifan, you’re back?” she asked.

“Yeah.” Jiang Sifan turned to look at her. “I just got back from tutoring.”

Wen Wan nodded, her tone filled with care. “You’ve worked hard.”

The two of them headed upstairs and entered the studio. Gao Lao and Qiu Zai were organizing documents, while Brother Ming was on a phone call. Hearing them come in, Gao Lao called out a casual “You’re back” without even lifting his head.

Jiang Sifan sat down at his desk, opened his laptop, and began processing the studio’s accounts. Wen Wan sat across from him and booted up her own computer. Neither of them spoke as they busied themselves with their respective tasks.

Jiang Sifan stared at the numbers on the screen, but his mind kept replaying what He Lingyi had said. He shook his head, forcing his attention back to the ledger.

That evening.

After stepping out of the shower, Jiang Sifan lay in bed, tossing his phone back and forth in his hands. Aunt Zhang had sent a message on WhatsApp: “Xiaojiang, thank you again for today. Tonight, Lingyi came to me on her own initiative and said she would seriously consider Jinling University. She really took your words to heart.”

Jiang Sifan smiled as he read the text and typed a reply: “You’re welcome, Aunt Zhang. Lingyi is very smart; she’ll figure things out for herself.”

Aunt Zhang replied with an “Okay.”

Jiang Sifan placed his phone beside his pillow and stared up at the ceiling. In the dorm room, Gao Lao was snoring loudly, Qiu Zai was talking in his sleep, and Brother Ming was watching videos with his headphones on.

He rolled over, pulled up his blanket, and closed his eyes. He thought of the moment He Lingyi kissed him, of her soft, warm lips. Then his mind drifted to Wen Wan sitting in the passenger seat, her face flushed red. He let out a heavy sigh and pulled the blanket completely over his head.

He thought, “I should stop overthinking. Just focus on running the studio properly, and finish tutoring her for the college entrance exams. Everything else can wait until later.”

He rolled over again, forcing himself to go to sleep.

The next morning.

When Jiang Sifan woke up, he had one unread message on his phone. It was from He Lingyi, containing just two words: “Good morning.”

Jiang Sifan replied: “Good morning. Focus on your revision and don’t overthink things.”

He Lingyi instantly replied with a shy emoji.

Jiang Sifan put his phone down, climbed out of bed, and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

Meanwhile.

Jiang Silu was woken up bright and early by a barrage of WhatsApp notifications. She groggily opened her eyes and saw messages from Elder Meng.

Elder Meng: “Silu, congratulations! You won second prize in the National Youth Landscape Design Competition!”

Seeing this message, a surge of excitement instantly washed over her. However, since her roommates were still fast asleep, Jiang Silu could only cover her mouth, tears of joy streaming down her face.

The past two months of design work had finally paid off! She wanted to share this news with her mom and dad right away!