I'm A Math Idiot, So What? - Chapter 26

Fang Congxin was busy exchanging pleasantries with my parents.

Since Fang Congxin entered, my mom had been constantly praising how handsome he was, just like how Professor Fang looked in his youth. This left my dad looking displeased, but he admired talent and wore an increasingly green hat metaphorically as he praised Fang Congxin’s promising future. When he found out that Fang Congxin scored full marks in the math section of the college entrance exam, he couldn’t help but pat Fang Congxin on the back with admiration, then turned to look at me with a sense of wistfulness.

Apart from getting into Peking, Tsinghua, or Changning University, my dad, as a math teacher, had another small wish: to have his own child score full marks on the math section of the college entrance exam.

This dream had long been extinguished, leaving not even a spark behind. However, I had advised my dad not to give up his dreams so easily, as persistence would eventually lead to a breakthrough.

Look, didn’t our country later lift the one-child policy? If you and mom work hard, in eighteen years, another champion might rise!

For now, the only strategy was to admit defeat.

I hid behind my parents’ overly enthusiastic faces, subtly winking at Fang Congxin.

He was busy talking to my dad about attending one of his math classes during high school and how beneficial it was, flattering him without leaving any attention for me.

My dad beamed with delight, surprised, and said, “You studied at Taixi? Which class? How come I didn’t know you later got into Peking University?”

He explained, “Class 12, I was there for a short time, then transferred back to Beijing.”

Xu Zheng’s information was indeed correct.

My mom, intrigued, pressed further, “So you and Xiaomeng are the same year. Fang Rui mentioned that you guys knew each other, so you were classmates. Xiaomeng, are you two close?”

Immediately pulled in front of him by my mom, I almost stumbled into Fang Congxin’s chest. My mom, trained by my grandfather who was a boxing coach in his youth, had astonishing arm strength. She only gently pulled, but I nearly bumped into him.

Luckily, I stopped just two centimeters away, and as I looked up to say sorry, I winked at him again, not forgetting my original intention.

Before Fang Congxin could speak, I judged his expression and said, “Not close, mom, we’re not close at all.”

Finally, Fang Congxin shifted his gaze to me and after glancing over, smiled at my mom, “Not that unfamiliar, we just met a few days ago.”

“Is that so?” My mom looked at me with a lingering note of surprise in her voice.

“Ah, sorry,” said Fang Congxin, waving his phone at us. “I need to return a call, excuse me for a moment.”

Seeing him leave the private room, I quickly said, “Mom, I need the bathroom,” and swiftly followed him out, shutting the door just in time to block out my mom’s words about there being a bathroom inside.

Outside the room, I just spotted him slipping into the hallway and hurriedly took a few quick steps to follow him, pushing open the fire door.I can say that the only thing following a mass-market approach at the Garden Hotel is this fire escape.

The heavy fire door creaked open, but the sensor light above didn’t turn on. It was pitch black, resembling a scene from a cop and robber film where villains conduct underground transactions.

As I was getting used to the darkness in the corridor, I debated whether I should sneak out to find a stick and come back to knock him out in the dark while he was on the phone, or rather find some cotton to tie on my knees first, to make it look more sincere when I kneel later.

Before I could decide, someone tapped me on the back, and a male voice murmured, “What’s the matter?”

Startled, I screamed “Ah!” and instinctively squatted down, hugging my head. Instantly, the sensor light blazed on.

The sudden brightness made my squatting position look incredibly foolish and pathetic.

I pretended as if nothing happened and wiped at my shoe.

“What are you doing?”

“Tying my shoelaces.”

He glanced down at my slip-ons and, smiling, squatted down next to me. “Go on.”

“Aren’t you going to return the call?”

He shrugged. “I just saw your eyelids twitching like they were cramping, and your expression looking rather sneaky. I figured you might be plotting some unspeakable conspiracy and wanted to rope me in, so I found an excuse to come out.”

His sharp words made me pout.

I couldn’t remember what Little Fatty looked like back then, but I vaguely recalled him being a gentle person. Maybe people who have turned bitter tend to speak more harshly, fitting their avenger role better.

If this were a revenge drama, as an indirect participant in the campus bullying back then, I ought to be feeling ashamed, anxious, yet brazenly trying to curry favor.

Seeing me silent, he pretended to get up to open the door, but I quickly pulled him back. Steeling myself, I said, “I have to admit that Peking University students really have sharp eyes, keenly observant. Unlike me, failing to recognize a great figure when I see one.”

He crossed his arms and leaned against the fire door, watching me with a half-smile. “Go ahead, start your performance.”

I expected he wouldn’t buy into my obsequious act. It was just as I thought.

I sighed and came clean with him: “I know why you’re deliberately giving me a hard time. I do bear part of the blame for what happened back then, and I fully understand if you want revenge. But today’s not the day. If you expose that I cheated, never mind that my dad won’t let me drop the course, he might even beat me to death on the spot. Actually, when I cheated in the first year of high school, he nearly skinned me.”

Intrigued, Fang Congxin stroked his chin. “Go on, tell me more.”

“Huh?” I paused, “You mean how he almost skinned me? Well, it was like I was running through the corridors and he was chasing after me.””I ran almost halfway up the little hill behind my house—”

He waved his hand, “Although the chase scene between your father and you sounds exciting, I want to hear more about the responsibility part.”

I swallowed and said, “Oh, you mean the thing with Yellow Hair?”

“Who is Yellow Hair?”

“Oh, that’s Huang Tao. He’s called Yellow Hair as a nickname. I know it doesn’t sound good to call him that, but Yellow Hair is actually a nice person. He was my classmate in middle school, so I’m familiar with his family situation. Their conditions were… difficult to describe. His dad was an alcoholic, his mom was semi-paralyzed, and they lived in poverty, relying on welfare to survive, with occasional help from Yellow Hair’s uncle. If they ran into any minor illnesses or disasters, things got even tighter, so Yellow Hair started working part-time after school and during holidays back in middle school to save money. Despite all this, he still got into Taixi High School, which shows he’s actually quite smart and motivated. But during the summer after the third year of middle school, his mom got a fever and passed away. She was the only person he relied on, and her death hit him hard. He lost interest in studying, skipped classes, and started hanging out aimlessly, and his grades plummeted. Some of us who were his old classmates were worried about him, so we would get together now and then to talk some sense into him, and over time, we naturally formed a small group, which was later called the Seven Dwarfs.”

The sensor light switched off. Without bothering to stomp my foot to turn it back on, I continued talking in the dark.

“To be honest, we did a good job back then with our efforts to support him. Yellow Hair slowly came out of the shadow of his mom’s death and started studying seriously with us. But we didn’t get to enjoy peace for long before his uncle, who covered his tuition, ran out of patience. It’s said his uncle ran a small factory up north that wasn’t doing well. He said if Yellow Hair’s grades didn’t improve by the next major exam, there was no point wasting money, and he should drop out and help at the factory. Yellow Hair was smart, and there was enough time before the midterm exams for him to catch up. But who knew Principal Wei insisted on holding a Spring Outing Competition, and the results had to be reported to the parents? We were worried Yellow Hair might have to drop out, so we took a risky chance. Unfortunately, our little group was good at many things, except academics. I figured if I helped one person cheat, I might as well help all seven, hoping if we succeeded, we could take Yellow Hair on a relaxing outing as well, turning it into a team effort. You know what happened after that.”

He responded with a thoughtful “hmm” in the darkness.I couldn’t see his expression nor hear any feedback, so I added a few more words: “Back then, Yellow Hair was more concerned about the exam results than us. When he thought you were going to report us, he panicked. He never told me about your situation. Later, he dropped out and went north, and we lost contact. From beginning to end, I was unaware of the harm you suffered until a few days ago when a friend brought it up. Only then did I realize the accident was caused by me, and I understood where your hostility came from. I completely understand your disgust when you caught me cheating again, and I don’t hold a grudge against you for wanting revenge.”

In the darkness, he cleared his throat and said, “I don’t despise you.”

“You don’t need to be polite. I got myself into the mess of cheating, and I’ve taken the consequences. Let me off this time, and I promise to be upright from now on. After this meal, I’ll disappear from your sight completely, so you don’t have to deal with me anymore, okay?”

His voice suddenly revealed a hint of impatience: “I already said, I don’t dislike you.”

“How could you not dislike me if—”

He seemed a bit irritated, interrupting me with a much faster pace: “Actually, Huang Tao is now a partner with someone, running a few Fighting Clubs in Beijing, and business is good. I coincidentally became good friends with him. I just didn’t know about his struggles back then, and he never mentioned them. Besides—”

He paused, stopping from revealing more information: “Anyway, there’s no need for you to dwell on matters concerning Huang Tao, nor do you need to apologize to me for him.”

What?

I truly didn’t expect that Huang Tao, who was so poor back then, would have such an inspiring turnaround and make a name for himself in the capital.

I clapped my hands excitedly, turning on the sensor light, and said to Fang Congxin, “Did he ever mention me? Tell him not to forget old friends once he’s rich! Great, then you two can bury the hatchet—”

Halfway through, I finally realized something was off.

If he made peace with the main culprit, why would Fang Congxin still hold onto me, the accomplice?

Fang Congxin hurriedly pushed open the heavy fire door and walked away on his long legs, saying, “We’ve been out too long, let’s go back.”

No matter how you looked at it, his retreating figure seemed a bit like he was fleeing.

I sensed something unusual.