The real young master thought he was hated by everyone

The test papers had already been prepared in advance, focusing on the core subjects. The number of questions wasn’t large, with the main ones being reading comprehension and longer questions.

As for the difficulty:

Chinese and English were relatively basic, and the math questions were just within the grasp of the student, though there was no guarantee all processes were correct.

The boy was fully focused on solving the problems. Just as he finished copying his answers onto the test paper, he heard a short, amused sound.

It came from Principal Gu’s grandson.

He was propping his chin with one hand while spinning a ballpoint pen with the other. “You got the last one wrong; the answer should be three times the square root of three.”

Li Heng didn’t correct his answer as the boy suggested. Instead, he put down his pen and looked at him, slightly puzzled.

“That’s cheating,” he thought for a moment. “Even if I got it wrong, you can’t just tell me the answer.”

The boy chuckled, his eyes curving with mischief. “Cheating doesn’t count if no one else knows about it.”

“No, that’s sophistry.”

Li Heng pressed his lips together and sternly refuted him, then lowered his head to focus on the problem again, ignoring the boy.

But the boy didn’t plan to let him off so easily.

With only one question left on the test paper, and the adults’ conversation in the living room still far from over, why not chat a little more?

“Brother”

He deliberately elongated the word, his eyes bright, smiling like a fox spotting a fish. “Are you really Senior Xie’s younger brother?”

“Our homeroom teacher always uses him as an example.”

The boy chuckled. “He says Senior Xie is really amazing.”

Li Heng had to admit, his curiosity was piqued.

After a brief internal struggle, he chose to listen to the boy talk about Xie Duzhi over reading the last problem.

Curiosity can sometimes be beyond a person’s control.

“…What kind of example?”

“Examples of skipping grades, getting first place in monthly exams…” The boy counted on his fingers, looking serious. “Oh, and an example of focusing on studying and not dating.”

“And competitions.”

He smiled, satisfied that Li Heng’s attention was now fully on him. “Senior Xie didn’t sign up for the Math Olympiad, and our homeroom teacher still talks about it with regret.”

“Then his math must have been great back then,” Li Heng said.

“Senior Xie was a big name on campus.”

The boy smiled slyly, neither confirming nor denying it. “People still mention his name on the school forum.”

“My name is Gu Mingyue. I’m in my second year of high school.” He introduced himself naturally. “What about you?”

“Xie Heng,” Li Heng hesitated, “a transfer student in my third year.”

“Wanna add me as a friend?”

Gu Mingyue pulled out his phone from his pocket, flashing it with a wink. “I’m really good at math. You can ask me if you run into any tough problems while studying.”

His overly enthusiastic offer caught Li Heng off guard, and it took him a moment to figure out how to respond.

“Thanks,” he finally said after regaining his composure, politely declining, “But we’re still in the middle of an exam. Maybe we could add each other later…?”

Gu Mingyue grinned. “There’s only one question left, it’s fine.”

“My grandpa won’t stop you from getting into school just because of this.”

He added, “And you’re not Senior Xie. He really likes you.”

Li Heng’s curiosity, which he had barely suppressed, was reignited.

Ever since they entered, Principal Gu’s attitude hadn’t been great. Was it because he didn’t like Xie Duzhi?

But he couldn’t think of any reason why someone would dislike him.

After all, principals were also teachers.

Xie Duzhi should be exactly the kind of student teachers love.

“Senior Xie hung up on him once,” Gu Mingyue seemed to have guessed his confusion. “After the college entrance exam results came out, he advised Senior Xie to apply to B University, saying its business school was better.”

“Senior Xie said he had his own plans, thanked him, and then hung up.”

“…” So Principal Gu had felt snubbed.

Li Heng seemed to understand why the old man’s attitude was so strange.

Elders holding a grudge was quite normal.

“If it weren’t for Senior Xie, I wouldn’t be getting a lecture from my grandpa every day.”

Gu Mingyue suddenly sighed.

He complained in a tone like sharing secrets with a close friend. “He thinks students today have too much independence. He’s afraid I’ll give up my guaranteed spot in the training camp, just like my dad, who pursued his dream of farming. Or that I’ll follow Senior Xie’s example and choose a school from my ‘plan,’ giving up on a better one.”

“But I want to enter the entertainment industry.”

At this point, young Gu pouted. “And I definitely won’t give up on Q University. Going into a talent show with the prestige of a top university would be great.”

“…The entertainment industry?”

Li Heng hadn’t fully processed all the information and struggled to keep up with the conversation.

“Yeah, the entertainment industry,” Gu Mingyue nodded. “There are so many good-looking people there.”

“You’re really good-looking, brother.” He praised Li Heng sincerely. “Even better than a celebrity I used to like.”

It was true.

Gu Mingyue had a bit of a thing for looks.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble to gain favor, ask for contact information, and try to make friends.

Receiving such a compliment out of nowhere, Li Heng awkwardly thanked him.

“Thanks, you’re handsome too.” He glanced quickly at the baby fat on the other’s face, swallowing the word “cute.”

“Brother, let’s add each other as friends.” Gu Mingyue looked at him with puppy eyes. “I’m really good at math, and I’m great at tutoring.”

A sophomore with a guaranteed spot at Q University.

Li Heng genuinely found him impressive.

And his instinct told him that if he didn’t add the boy as a friend, he’d probably keep talking about unrelated topics until he got what he wanted.

So, he silently took out his phone and exchanged contact details with him.

“That last problem is indeed easy to get wrong. Brother, let me teach you a simpler method.”

Now that he had successfully added his contact, young Gu became even more enthusiastic.

He was already planning ahead.

In July, he had to attend a competition and wouldn’t have time.

But as long as they kept in touch, he could easily arrange a trip with Xie Heng after he returned from abroad and take lots of photos.

Who could refuse a smart, warm-hearted friend who frequently offered help?

Of course, Li Heng, who was overwhelmed by the sudden tutoring from an academic star, had no idea about Gu Mingyue’s little schemes.

He genuinely believed that the boy was just a kind person with a good heart.

After all, he was Principal Gu’s grandson.

In the living room, the conversation was still ongoing.

“We will make the proposal to the other board members,” the young man said. “There’s no need for you to worry too much.”

“Thank you,” Principal Gu sighed.

In recent years, Private High had been developing well, with an increasingly competitive reputation. Naturally, Principal Gu had been paying attention.

Admitting students like this was a way to build goodwill, but today’s visit was primarily to discuss cooperation between the two schools.

Whether it was organizing joint exams or regular exchanges, it all contributed to healthy competition. With the reputation that First High carried, the likelihood of the other board members opposing the cooperation was slim.

His proposal was almost certain to pass.

“It’s us who should be thanking you.” Xie Duzhi kept his tone polite. “As for the class placement, we hope you can pay extra attention.”

“Quit acting coy.”

Principal Gu rolled his eyes. “This year’s graduating class is full of good students. I guarantee any class he joins will be fine.”

“It’s not about the quality of teaching. It’s about the environment,” Xie Duzhi explained. “His previous school was in a rural area, where the environment was simpler.”

“Hold on, hold on,” Principal Gu interrupted, rolling his eyes even more. “What high school doesn’t have its complications?”

Xie Duzhi was about to respond when the old man cut him off with a snort. “You talk like he’s a precious gem. Funny how you never worried about this before.”

This was a jab at fairness.

And it was justified. To convince him to relax, Xie Duzhi had sent over records of Li Heng’s past scores, including scanned copies of his mock exams.

Principal Gu’s reaction was understandable.

“Didn’t you hire tutors during his gap year?”

When Xie Duzhi contacted the principal, the reason he gave was that his brother had been in poor health and had taken a year off from school, which was why he was reapplying this year.

After a moment’s thought, he replied, “He was just brought back recently, so we didn’t have time to arrange much. That’s why we’re hoping you can help him out.”

It wasn’t exactly a secret that the Xie family had once lost a child, and Principal Gu had heard about it.

With this explanation, the old man seemed to understand more.

“No wonder…” he muttered, “That explains why he seems a bit off.”

He still vividly remembered the scene of the famous entrepreneur Xie Zhuwei visiting with his two children.

Three expressionless faces together had dropped the room temperature by several degrees.

Now, the old man had a much better impression of the boy he had met at the pastry shop earlier.

He looked obedient, respectful to his elders, and diligent.

Who cared about grades for now? Just his polite and well-mannered demeanor made him far more likable than both his grandson and the young man before him.

“Alright, the old man understands,” Principal Gu waved dismissively. “I’ll find a class with a kind teacher and fewer troublemakers for him.”

“But let’s be clear. I’m not responsible for his grades. If you’re worried, you’ll have to talk to the teachers yourselves.”

He could pull strings for an admission spot, but the rest was up to the Xie family to handle.

At this point, the conversation was essentially over.

Principal Gu glanced at the time and decided against the usual pleasantries about seeing them off. Instead, he felt a rare itch of curiosity.

With an unexpectedly kind smile, he turned to Xie Duzhi.

“Since you’re already here… why don’t you stay for dinner?”