True Solution of the Sword Dao
Chapter 205 - 198 Gentle 2

Chapter 205: 198 Gentle 2

Chen Yuanyuan was considerate and whispered a thank you to Lin Fei. Her impression of Lin Fei, who she had only met a few times, was still stuck on that night at the snack street. That evening, Lin Fei was surrounded by a gang of hooligans yet remained calm and composed. Just like now, sitting on the sofa, looking as unflustered as if nothing could faze him, a scene that left a deep impression on her. Moreover, she felt guilty about leaving Lin Fei behind that day, along with the rest of their group. The friendship with those boys had since faded, with no further contact between them. She had expected to hear news of Lin Fei getting hurt afterward, but strangely, there was no reaction; this made Chen Yuanyuan both puzzled and slightly mystified by Lin Fei.

Seeing the weight lifted from his heart, Chen Jingde also couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and said with a long exhale.

"Yuanyuan’s gaokao scores didn’t even reach the standards for tier-three universities, so it’s completely meaningless to pay for those. She herself is unwilling and says she plans to attend a junior college instead. On this point, I’d rather she redo a year of high school than attend some junior college. The situation is quite serious. So you all need to study and research this well."

Lin Fei nodded, "Uncle Chen, I can only guarantee that I’ll do my best."

"That’s all I needed to hear. Shall we set a time?" Chen Jingde asked. Now, Lin Fei’s terrifying academic performance seemed to create a subtle pressure felt by everyone facing him, even the adults. Chen Jingde was conversing with Lin Fei as if he were talking to another adult because of this aura—that’s the change in attitude inevitably brought on by achievement.

"I’m available every day at noon, afternoons, and evenings, it’s up to Yuanyuan."

"Then let’s do every day at noon and evening, right here at your place!" Chen Jingde decided resolutely. After saying this, he too blushed a little. He had completely filled up all of Lin Fei’s free time. "I’ll pay you a salary! A hundred per hour!"

"No, let’s not do that, it shouldn’t be about money," Lin Fei said with a wry smile, declining the offer. "I’m already going to tutor Nannan and the others, adding Yuanyuan won’t make much difference."

"Alright!! The second-top scholar in the entire province truly speaks differently!" Chen Jingde laughed, "If you don’t want money, that’s fine. After the tutoring, I’ll give you a mysterious gift!"

"You flatter me," Lin Fei said helplessly.

"Can we start today?" Chen Jingde asked. He didn’t want to delay a single day as Yuanyuan was in a critical situation. He didn’t ask for much, only hoping that she could get into a university on her own merit, regardless if it’s second-tier or third-tier. Seeing his daughter depressed and not stepping out of the house was disturbing for him. It was troublesome to impose like this, but he promised to make it up later. At a time like this, he had to put aside his pride and ask for help. Otherwise, Lin Fei would soon be off to university and the chance would be lost.

Lin Jianguo and his wife stood by without interjecting, feeling a comforting pride in their son’s mature conversation with Chen Jingde.

Lin You and Jiang Nan pretended to watch TV while eavesdropping on the conversation between Lin Fei.

It was Zhang Sihan, the new arrival, who looked visibly restless, shifting positions on the sofa from time to time. His situation wasn’t much different from Chen Yuanyuan’s; he too struggled with studies and ended up in a junior college, followed by difficulty finding a job. Seeing Chen Jingde’s treatment of Lin Fei, he could guess that Lin Fei must be an exceptional student. He was most intimidated by sitting with such people. In his eyes, the very presence of such academically talented students naturally created pressure. And when he heard Chen Jingde mention "second-top scholar in the entire province," Zhang Sihan was utterly bewildered. By chance, he was fond of the "Xiao Li Flying Dagger" novels, so he knew what terms like zhuangyuan, bangyan, and tanhua meant—they were terms used in ancient times to describe the top three scholars of the imperial examination. That meant the long-haired guy next to him was the legendary second-best student in the entire province, which made the pressure feel even more overwhelming.

Fortunately, the conversation between Chen Jingde and company didn’t last long. They soon prepared to leave, with Lin Jianguo and Jiang Feng also ready to visit the company, and Zhang Sihan naturally followed to sort out his work arrangements. This left Chen Yuanyuan, Jiang Nan, and Lin You behind, ready to start today’s tutoring session.

"Yuanyuan, I’m leaving her in your hands," Chen Jingde said meaningfully as he patted Lin Fei on the shoulder before leaving.

All Lin Fei could do was offer a wry smile in return.

Chen Yuanyuan’s pretty face turned red at the comment. She caught the implication of her father’s words. But wasn’t this kind of thing too premature?

"Dad, off you go!" she gently pushed Chen Jingde toward the door.

Click!

The door was shut behind them. The room immediately quieted down.

Lin Fei’s face showed a gentle smile as he stood in the living room looking at the three girls.

"Right, Yuanyuan aside, Nannan, Lin You, are you two really sure you want to follow my tutoring? If not, back out now," Lin Fei said.

Jiang Nan was the first to nod, "I really do want to."

Lin You responded immediately, "Me too." Her expression was unusually calm, completely different from her usual slight arrogance. "Though I have a suggestion. Since it’s tutoring, we should go to Brother Feil’s room. Being in the environment where you usually study will probably help."

Lin Fei replied casually, "That’s fine, whatever you prefer."

Chen Yuanyuan hesitated a bit but didn’t say much else.

"Since we’re going to study, I must first understand your individual learning progress to organize appropriate tutoring. Follow me," Lin Fei led the way to his own room.

The three girls each hesitated behind him, though for different reasons. They all shared a reluctant pause at the thought of entering Lin Fei’s room.

This slight hesitation made them lag behind Lin Fei.

Seeing this, Lin You quickly jogged to catch up, staying close on Lin Fei’s heels.

The other two followed suit.

Lin Fei’s room was small, less than half the size of the living room. A bed with neatly folded linens, a desk lined with textbooks and reference books, a black lamp, a stack of thick test papers, and on the desk lay a segment of black ribbon. A Black Longsword hung on the wall; the entire room was exceptionally clean and tidy, almost giving off a refined illusion.

Lin You was the first one whose face was filled with surprise. She first looked at Lin Fei suspiciously, then swept her gaze around the room incessantly.

"I didn’t see him clean..." she muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Lin Fei looked at Lin You with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

"Nothing!" Lin You acted as if it were no big deal.

Lin Fei walked over to the desk.

"Everyone move a chair over here." He pulled out a stack of papers from the pile of test papers and began to select some suitable questions.

The others moved chairs from the other rooms and sat down in a row.

Jiang Nan and Chen Yuanyuan both seemed curious about Lin Fei’s room, with their gazes still drifting around. Chen Yuanyuan, in particular, often rested her eyes on the Longsword hanging on the wall.

"All right, give these test questions a go," Lin Fei said as he pulled out a blank test paper and placed it on the desk. "Copy the questions onto your notebooks and work on them. You have two hours. This will allow me to preliminarily determine your progress. The questions in this set basically cover most of the knowledge points of the entire high school curriculum."

Lin You took the test paper. She was now in her first year of high school, and her learning pace was fast. Some of the knowledge points on it were already familiar to her.

"Lin You, you can treat this as a self-test too, since you’ll be learning this stuff soon anyway," Lin Fei said calmly. He returned to his usual expression. Keeping a smile too long could indeed cause cramps...

The black cat Feil sauntered in from the doorway and in a flash, jumped to Lin Fei’s feet.

Lin Fei pulled out a chair to sit, and the black cat instantly leaped into his embrace. It blissfully rubbed its cat face against the back of Lin Fei’s hand.

Meow~~~~

Sitting to the side and sneakily glancing over, Lin You suddenly got goosebumps all over. She had a very strange feeling coming from Feil.

As her Second Stage Transformation gradually improved, her connection with Feil grew tighter. If it were before, these subtle sensations wouldn’t be so sensitive. But now it was different. Any slightly stronger sensation would be shared.

Lin You placed the test paper on the desk in front of the three of them. They all earnestly took out the little notebooks and gel pens Lin Fei had provided. They spread out the test paper and began to transcribe the questions.

"First, copy down the questions, then split up and work on them separately. Any problems with that?" Lin Fei asked.

All three nodded.

"Today’s task is to finish these questions. I need some time to organize a tutoring plan, so the official tutoring will start tomorrow."

As Chen Yuanyuan copied down the questions, she felt the atmosphere among the other three. There seemed to be an eerie atmosphere lingering, making it uncomfortable.

Jiang Nan, however, obediently started copying down the questions.

Lin You’s eyes darted around, her mind seemingly elsewhere. However, if one could see under her chair, they’d find her feet tightly clamped together, her toes slightly raised as if she were tense.

Her gaze occasionally fell on Lin Fei. At the start, it seemed she was thinking of something else, but as time passed, Lin You’s eyes rested more and more on Lin Fei. A warm, comfortable softness kept spreading from her back.

"Feil, you’re a person, aren’t you? Always clinging onto Lin Fei, don’t you have any shame?" she thought to herself.

"I’m a cat, not Feil. You’ve mistaken someone else," Feil said languidly.

"Is that so?" Lin You said helplessly.

"We feel the same, and at this level, you should be able to feel that sensation too, right?" Feil transmitted telepathically.

"That weird feeling?" Lin You said uncertainly.

"Yes, don’t you think Lin Fei has a kind of special magnetism?" Feil whispered softly. "So warm... so comfortable..."

Lin You stared at Lin Fei, dazed, and suddenly lost in a moment’s reverie.

Lin Fei sat smiling in the chair, with shoulder-length hair slightly spread out, gently stroking the soft fur of the little cat. The light slanted across his upper body, so tender. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your votes for recommendation and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)