Perhaps It's Fate!

At County Second High School in Qingshui County, during evening self-study.

Li Ye rested his chin on his hand, looking at his deskmate Wen Leyu with a mischievous smile.

"Little one, now you know there's always someone better, and something bigger out there, right?"

The day before, Wen Leyu had kindly given Li Ye an English test to help him improve his grades and get into a foreign language institute.

Unexpectedly, this led to Li Ye's "return gift," and the two began a mutually beneficial exchange of practice tests.

For instance, today, Wen Leyu excitedly took out an English test for Li Ye, only to find that Li Ye had prepared three tests for math, physics, and chemistry.

Wen Leyu curiously asked Li Ye where he got the tests, but he brushed it off with a "secret" and then let her struggle through the sea of problems.

Watching Wen Leyu furrow her delicate face into a bun, Li Ye felt a sense of "nurturing" pleasure growing within him.

Wen Leyu's foundational knowledge was surprisingly solid. While she hadn't encountered many of the question types, after deep thought, she could still find the correct method.

Even for the problems she couldn't solve, Li Ye only needed to offer a little guidance, and she would not only grasp it immediately but also generalize the concept.

This girl is a gifted student!

Li Ye was certain that within the entire Retake Class One, no one had better learning aptitude than Wen Leyu. National key universities were within reach, and with some cultivation, Tsinghua-Peking Universities were a definite possibility.

Moreover, Wen Leyu had been successfully ignited by Li Ye's challenge to do problems. Every time she finished one of Li Ye's tests, she would look at him like a victorious soldier, tilting her chin slightly, awaiting praise.

Her adorable and beautiful demeanor made Li Ye, who was in his fifties across two lifetimes, sigh with emotion—"After so many years, this old man is smitten again."

Tap, tap, tap~

With a soft opening of the door, a figure entered the classroom and walked towards Li Ye.

It was Wen Leyu's mother, Teacher Ke.

Li Ye sensed that Teacher Ke was looking for him and was about to stand up to greet her, but Teacher Ke waved him off, then took out a letter and handed it to Wen Leyu.

Wen Leyu's expression changed drastically. She hurriedly opened the envelope and began to read the letter.

Meanwhile, Teacher Ke lightly tapped Li Ye's desk and then walked towards the exit.

Li Ye understood and quickly got up to follow, but Wen Leyu was completely engrossed in the letter in her hands and didn't even notice Li Ye leaving.

As soon as Li Ye stepped out of the doorway, he heard numerous whispers behind him.

"Look, look, I knew Li Ye was in trouble. How dare he try to hook up with Teacher Ke's daughter? He's just asking for it."

"No way! They're deskmates, it's normal to discuss problems. Don't you often flirt with Wang Chunhua?"

"What flirting? We're discussing literature. Does Li Ye even understand literature?"

Li Ye frowned, feeling a bit confused.

He could understand if Teacher Ke wanted to prevent Wen Leyu from interacting too much with him.

After all, a phoenix in distress is still a phoenix. Li Ye's family background was at best decent in Qinghe County, a significant gap compared to someone like Wen Leyu who could potentially achieve nirvana and eternal life at any moment.

But if that were the case, why would Wen Leyu come to evening self-study?

After Teacher Ke was hired by County Second High School, a dormitory was arranged for her at the school, and the mother and daughter lived there.

Because the English foundation of the students at County Second High School was relatively weak, Teacher Ke would be in the office every evening, available for any eager students to ask her questions.

So, when the mother and daughter first arrived at the school, Wen Leyu would stay in her mother's office, studying with her.

However, ever since Li Ye started exchanging practice tests with Wen Leyu, she had been attending evening self-study in Retake Class One for several consecutive days.

If Teacher Ke wanted to keep them apart, wouldn't it be simpler to just have Wen Leyu go back to the office to study? Why would she come looking for him?

Someone so sophisticated wouldn't resort to a cliché like, "I'll give you a million dollars to stay away from my daughter," would they?

"Sit!"

Teacher Ke led Li Ye into her office and casually closed the door.

This only deepened Li Ye's confusion.

Never mind the 1980s, even in later times, a female teacher calling a male student into her office for a private conversation would leave the door open to avoid gossip.

"Sit down! Don't overthink it, I just have a few things I'd like to understand from you."

Teacher Ke personally pulled out a chair for Li Ye, making him feel a bit flattered.

After Li Ye sat down, Teacher Ke asked earnestly, "Were you and Xiao Yu very familiar with each other before?"

"..."

Does she not know if I'm familiar with her daughter?

Li Ye was puzzled. In the memories he inherited from the original host, there wasn't much information about Wen Leyu; they were merely "acquainted."

However, hearing Teacher Ke's question, Li Ye realized that Wen Leyu's attitude towards him seemed a bit unusual.

Wen Leyu had been at County Second High School for many days. She seemed to be deliberately keeping her distance from others, and she did so very subtly.

But this little girl's treatment of Li Ye was clearly different from others. From passing notes at the beginning to helping with problems later, it felt almost like they were close friends of the opposite sex.

But Li Ye couldn't say this to her mother. He could only answer vaguely, "I'm sorry, Teacher Ke, I wasn't really close with Wen Leyu before. Why do you suddenly ask?"

Teacher Ke smiled, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Perhaps you've also noticed, Xiao Yu is a bit timid and rarely communicates with others. But I've noticed these past few days that she seems to get along well with you? Is that right?"

Li Ye was confused and asked, "Teacher Ke, we're just helping each other with our studies. Do you think there's something inappropriate about it?"

Teacher Ke was surprised.

She understood what Li Ye meant and was very surprised by his perceptiveness.

Li Ye was essentially asking her directly, "Are you disagreeing with me interacting with your daughter?"

For an eighteen or nineteen-year-old young man to have such keen insight, and to speak so logically and with such propriety, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a young prodigy.

The more Teacher Ke looked at Li Ye, the more pleased she became. She quickly said, "Li Ye, you've misunderstood. I don't think there's anything inappropriate between you and Xiaoyu. I hope this kind of help can continue, and perhaps... deepen a bit."

What did Teacher Ke mean by that? Should I change how I address you now?

Li Ye almost misinterpreted her words.

"Xiaoyu told me a lot yesterday, some about asking questions on practice problems, and some about you. Regardless, I hope you can maintain this state."

Teacher Ke took a few test papers from her desk drawer and handed them to Li Ye, saying, "I've prepared some questions. You and Xiaoyu should do them together, learn from each other, and help each other."

Li Ye finally understood Teacher Ke's intentions.

Perhaps due to something that happened a few years ago, Wen Leyu had developed a habit of not talking much, and likely didn't speak much with her mother either.

This wasn't something that could be fixed with medicine; Teacher Ke was probably at her wit's end worrying about Wen Leyu.

The love of parents knows no bounds. Now that Teacher Ke saw Wen Leyu and Li Ye "clicked," she was placing her hopes on this outsider.

Li Ye took the papers and smiled, saying, "Thank you, Teacher Ke. Wen Leyu is very good at English and Chinese. I'll be sure to ask her for help."

Teacher Ke's eyes lit up, and she nodded, "Then thank you. However, Xiaoyu can be a bit temperamental, so I hope you can be understanding."

"Okay, I understand."

Li Ye left Teacher Ke's office and returned to the classroom of Retake Class One.

Wen Leyu had already finished reading the letter. Seeing Li Ye return, she wrote on a slip of paper, "What did my mom call you for?"

Li Ye casually replied, "Teacher Ke wanted to test me with some exam papers. I couldn't answer many of the questions, so you can help me look at them."

Wen Leyu's interest was piqued. She took Li Ye's papers and looked them over. With her pen, she quickly wrote down the answers and began explaining the problems to Li Ye.

Seeing her animated expression, it was clear she was very happy.

She had been feeling quite suppressed by Li Ye's barrage of practice questions these past two days, almost damaging her pride. Now, there was finally a time when Li Ye needed her, the academic genius Wen, for help!

Outside the back window of the classroom, Teacher Ke let out a soft sigh, her eyes filled with anticipation.

Her daughter hadn't been this lively in a long time. She rarely spoke even to her, and perhaps this was fate!