I'm A Math Idiot, So What? - Chapter 44

Standing at the Alley Entrance, the wind gusted through the narrow alley, and I felt the aftermath of the adrenaline from the high-speed chase wash over me, leaving my hands and feet cold and trembling. I imagined my face didn’t look good either, as Fang Congxin looked at me with concern and quietly asked, “Are you okay?” I honestly replied, “I’m a bit cold.” Fang Congxin was only wearing a shirt, which offered him a little more warmth than my attire, just a couple of ties.

In TV dramas, male leads can share jackets and scarves, but sharing a tie usually doesn’t make the cut for airing, so I had little hope for the support he could provide.

To my surprise, he pulled me in by the shoulders and said, “Would this help a bit?” Just as I was taken aback, he added, “Even if it doesn’t warm you up, at least it’ll give you a bit more confidence later.” I was left bewildered by his words, “What do you mean?” Just then, two blinding lights swept across the ground ahead. I thought to myself, what kind of idiot uses high beams?

I cursed under my breath, holding my breath as I watched the approaching car, until it sped past me, splattering mud all over me. I unleashed every curse I had ever known. Damn it, that slim chance was gone. In a fit of anger, I jumped up and down on the spot.

As the car drove about eight feet away, I kept muttering curses in my mind: “Zhao Xiaoxiao, I wish you to soon have sharp and flat warts!” After I finished cursing, I felt that this curse might inadvertently affect Zhang Ziqin, so I found a tree and touched it, repeating “phoo phoo phoo” several times. After that, I took out my phone from my pocket, wanting to create a small group with the three of us in the dorm to discuss what to do.

As the saying goes, three cobblers surpass Zhuge Liang; collective brainstorming is certainly better than me just cursing blindly right now. However, my phone suddenly and inconveniently powered off with a ‘beep’. Zhang Ziqin’s phone number was a pair of AABB combinations, and of all the people in the dorm, I only remembered her number. Should I use Fang Congxin’s phone to call her and have her confront Zhao Xiaoxiao?

But if I abruptly brought this up with her, she wouldn’t be prepared at all. Besides, she had been interning at the hospital recently, and what if she absentmindedly reached for a scalpel and applied all her anatomy knowledge on Zhao Xiaoxiao? It would be a small matter if she just dealt with the cheating scumbag, but it would be a big deal if she ended up in prison. Also, should I tell Zhang Ziqin about this? I unknowingly crouched under the tree, going back and forth between the two perspectives in my mind as if debating on “Qipa Shuo”, and still came to no conclusion, so I could only rub my face in frustration.

“Are you feeling better?” Suddenly, a voice beside me startled me. I had been so lost in thought that I completely forgot Fang Congxin was waiting next to me.At that moment, he was squatting under the flame tree on the side of the road, just like me. I furrowed my brow and said, “I want to consult you about something.”

“You can ask,” he replied.

I pointed at him and said, “Let’s say you’re a girl and I’m a guy. Watch this.” I extended my hand and demonstrated how to tuck the loose strands of Fang Congxin’s hair behind his ear, paused for a moment, then used the back of my hand to brush against my ear, then, with a serious tone as if discussing an academic issue, I asked, “Do you think it crosses the line for ordinary friends to do this?”

Fang Congxin froze like a statue for about three seconds. I nudged him and said, “Hey, are you really just squatting there?”

He sprang up like a firecracker, startling me in the process. I patted my backside and stood up, intending to continue our discussion, but unexpectedly, Fang Congxin raised his hand and tucked a stray lock of hair I had left on my forehead behind my left ear, then touched my ear. The damp chill of the rainy day contrasted with the dryness and warmth of his fingertips, creating a sense of heat that felt somewhat illogical, causing my face to flush.

In that moment of confusion, he suddenly pinched my face and said, “Why don’t you explain if it’s something ordinary friends would do?”

I was dumbfounded and was unable to respond for a while. While explaining and demonstrating earlier didn’t seem too intimate, Fang Congxin’s sudden touch made me feel my ears burning. Just like a crab turns red all over once boiled, my face, though thick-skinned, became thoroughly flushed without holding back. I bet my face was now as red as a child’s blushing cheeks during a performance.

To cover my inner weakness, I needed to say something, so after a long pause, I shouted, “You’re taking advantage of me!”

Fang Congxin shamelessly snapped his fingers and said, “That’s right!”

Seeing him completely unfazed, I decided to treat him like a gentleman for the moment. After some thought, I said, “You make a good point. Normal friends wouldn’t act like that, but there is a logical loophole. What if they happen to meet with other acquaintances while being ambiguous? To confirm the situation, wouldn’t they want to try it themselves? It’s like the effect of two mirrors reflecting each other, understand?”

Fang Congxin stared at me blankly and said, “Impossible.”

“Why is that?”

“Because no one is as foolish as us.”

I completely agreed but still struggled a little and said, “But you have to admit that there is a possibility.”

“If you want to talk about probabilities, I can enlighten you on the principle of extremely low probabilities being practically impossible.”

I quickly responded, “Please don’t escalate a matter of personal conduct into a mathematical problem, nor complicate a simple issue.”

Fang Congxin shrugged, “Math doesn’t lie. It’s the simplest thing.”

The math I knew was probably not the same as his, and I didn’t feel like debating him right now because another thought crossed my mind: “What if they are siblings? If they have that kind of relationship, wouldn’t confronting them break the existing trust?”

Fang Congxin’s expression darkened at once. He averted his gaze and looked elsewhere. I didn’t know what to explore further; as I turned my head, Fang Congxin suddenly grabbed my shoulders and pressed down firmly, saying, “Lin Meng, if you just want to preserve this relationship, you don’t need to go through so much trouble looking for excuses. It’s just that you’re acting too—too uncharacteristically for yourself. Is Xu Zheng really that good? Is he worth all this scheming and self-deception?”

Oh my, what a soap opera moment. “Are you blind? That’s not Xu Zheng, it’s Zhao Xiaoxiao!”

Fang Congxin’s heartbroken expression hung in the air, then his mouth twitched before he inexplicably exclaimed, “Where did Zhao Xiaoxiao come from?””You’ve got a new boyfriend?! When did this happen? How come I didn’t know about it?” I looked at my friend, whose eyes were filled with anger, confused. “Yeah, I don’t even know when I got a new boyfriend. The key thing is, I don’t even know when I had an old boyfriend. Why are you more obsessed than my mom? Do you think I get a commission for dating multiple guys?”

I paused for a moment, carefully recalling the context, and figured out where the misunderstanding was. I pointed in the direction of the red BMW that had just passed by. “Zhao Xiaoxiao is my roommate’s boyfriend.”

Fang Congxin pointed at me with a trembling finger, his mouth opening and closing but without a sound coming out. I gently pushed his finger into his palm, and he finally shouted, “If he’s not your boyfriend, why are you rushing to chase after him?” He took a few steps back and glared at me angrily. “Lin Meng! This is the first time I’ve received a fine text message in my life! I wasn’t sure if I should chase after you or not. I worried you’d be upset if I chased, and if I didn’t, you might overthink it—”

He struggled to finish his thoughts, stammering “you” repeatedly without saying anything more. I hurriedly interjected, “Oh come on, don’t say it like that. Zhang Ziqin is my good friend. A friend’s boyfriend is like my own boyfriend. No, I mean, we’re all good sisters, of course, we should handle things that matter to us.”

Seeing that he was still angry, I quickly changed the subject. “Oh, I’ve just realized. Zhao Xiaoxiao must be cheating. That woman is definitely not one of his sisters. I’m calling Zhang Ziqin right now.” I pretended to take out my phone, but Fang Congxin suddenly called out to me, “Wait.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Don’t jump to conclusions about things. It could really be a sister or a younger sibling. Until we figure it out, don’t tell your friend, so she doesn’t overthink.” I nodded, then suddenly felt something was off. “Wait a minute, why are you being so double-standard? Just now, you were scolding me for self-deception like you were possessed by Ma Jingtian.”

“Did I?” I waved my hands in the air, mimicking his earlier tone. “Look, you do this to me. There’s still spit on my face from you just now. The evidence is clear—you can’t deny it—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Fang Congxin walked towards the parking area, saying, “I’m starving.”

I hurriedly followed behind him, mumbling, “Fang Congxin, you’re not being objective here. Oh, so Zhang Ziqin’s boyfriend can have sisters, but mine can’t? Listen, when picking a boyfriend or husband, he must have sisters! In case there are issues between the couple in the future, he can consult with his sister-in-law about it, and they can share the responsibility for taking care of the elderly—”

“Bang!” Fang Congxin slammed the car door in front of me. I walked to the passenger seat and tried to open the door, but it didn’t budge. I tapped the window, saying, “Open the door.”

“Don’t get in. You can direct traffic instead.”

“Why?” He pointed at the folded rearview mirror. “I can’t see the road clearly.”

“You couldn’t see the road before either, and weren’t you driving like a pro?”

“That’s why I got the fine.”

I was momentarily speechless, glancing at the long, winding alleyway ahead. “But it’s so long; it’s going to take a while, right?”

“I need to see how much my fine is.”

“No matter how long the road is, it will eventually reach the end.” I waved my hand. “Back—back—back—” Even though I did my duty as a director, the expression on his face when he allowed me to get in still wasn’t very pleasant.I thought to myself, even if I didn’t point out the person cheating in time and it didn’t have anything to do with me directly, it shouldn’t be that serious. Look at this serious and dignified atmosphere; it made me doubt that we were driving a normal private car and not a hearse headed to a crematorium. When the hearse was about to reach my house, I couldn’t hold back any longer and asked, “So how much was that fine that got you so worked up? That pretty face of yours shouldn’t be looking so sour. Let me tell you, these days, the dark and scheming male leads aren’t popular anymore. Girls prefer gentle and considerate guys who understand them. If you keep this up, you won’t stand a chance with Tong Xiao—”

“Five hundred.” Fang Congxin interrupted me firmly, cutting off my tangent.

“Five hundred? That’s not too bad. How about I pay you back to cool your anger? Can I pay in installments? I promise to pay it off in a year. Look, next year is 2020, and our country will achieve moderate prosperity. By then, I’ll definitely have money, and I’ll pay you back for sure. Why are you looking at me like that? If you doubt me now, you’re doubting the country—”

“Can you be any more absurd?” He turned the steering wheel, pulled the car into a small incline by the roadside, and got out swiftly. But my eyes were quicker than my feet; I noticed him secretly smiling a little when he got out. I ran over excitedly and cheekily said, “Not angry anymore? You’re a grown man, getting half mad at a girl like me. If it weren’t for your looks, you’d probably be destined to be alone, you know?”

Fang Congxin’s face was cold as he replied, “Didn’t you just say that when looking for a boyfriend, you should find someone with sisters? Guys like us who are only children are destined to be single anyway. What’s the use of being good-looking? Unlike some people, like Li Qi, Fengfeng, or Xu Zheng—”

“Fang Congxin, your thinking is incredibly narrow, isn’t it? Must you pick apart every single thing I said? Have I offended you?” Just then, something flashed through my mind, and I suddenly stopped. “Hey, how do you know Xu Zheng?”

“Auntie mentioned him before. I’m so hungry; should we go buy something to eat nearby?”

“My mom?” I placed my hands on my hips and said, “That’s impossible; my mom doesn’t even know Xu Zheng.”

“Oh, look at your secret affair.” He said in a sarcastic tone.

“What secret affair? Are you talking about me and Xu Zheng?” Fang Congxin had his hands in his pockets, walking ahead. “I’m not your mom; there’s no need for you to hide anything from me.” He paused, and the previous petty demeanor vanished, replaced by a concerned expression as he looked at me. “Auntie was trying to set us up not long ago, but you didn’t talk to her directly. Plus, I heard Xu Zheng studies math too, so why didn’t you ask him for help?”“Are you two having problems?”

“Of course we are.” Xu Zheng hasn’t sent over his meal allowance this month, and he didn’t come looking for me during the National Day holiday. I suspect he might have pursued the most attractive junior girl in our math department—this is his main motivation for applying to our graduate program. As Ma Yun said, when love life is thriving, academic achievements often suffer. I worry he might not get into grad school.

Seeing that I remained silent for a while, Fang Congxin patted my shoulder and spoke to me earnestly like an older brother. “I’ve heard that senior year is a peak season for breakups; it’s inevitable to encounter various issues. As long as you both face them together, you’ll get through it. You’ve been together for many years, so I’m sure your feelings run deep. Unless it’s a matter of principle, don’t give up lightly.” As he continued, Fang Congxin’s tone grew increasingly firm. “I’ve only read about these experiences in books; they aren’t guaranteed, so just take what I say lightly.”

I felt what Fang Congxin said reminded me of the times I looked through the answers in a math reference guide—each step made sense, but when viewed as a whole, I still couldn’t grasp why that conclusion was reached.

I said, “You’re right; if I have the chance, I’ll work towards that direction too.”

He replied with drooping shoulders, “Yeah, let’s grab a meal together sometime.”

“Xu Zheng also mentioned having a meal with you earlier. How about tomorrow?”

“I have to work overtime tomorrow.”

“What about Sunday?”

“Busy the day after too.”

“How about next week?”

“I’ll be quite busy in the coming days.”

“Then how about next year?”

“I’ll have a full schedule next year too.”

“Then what about in the next life?”

“Next life—” Fang Congxin paused, lifted his eyelids, and said, “Alright, it’s better not to see single dogs flaunting their affection. I wasn’t really keen on watching you two show off. I was just being polite; you don’t have to take it seriously.”

I responded, “Oh, I was hoping to get a free meal, but that’s not happening now. Although this doesn’t really concern you, to avoid any misunderstandings, I should hold a press conference: Xu Zheng is not my boyfriend. I know many people are aware of my situation with Xu Zheng, but it’s not exactly how they perceive it.”

Fang Congxin looked at me strangely, as if caught between a teacher interrogating me on whether I copied someone’s homework and a classmate asking if I had homework he could borrow. His eyes were both condescending and pleading.

“The story between him and me is long, so I won’t go into details.”

“Then just summarize it.”

I asked, “Why are you being so nosy?”

“You said it yourself, being curious is human nature. The assassination in Sarajevo before World War I was far less significant than a scandal.”

I replied enviously, “I don’t need to hire you as a tutor; I applied my math knowledge well enough by myself.”

“Is that true? Did you two really break up?” Fang Congxin asked persistently, sounding quite serious, almost as if he were a military officer interrogating a member of the underground party.

I, quite confused, said, “Am I getting severance pay from the breakup organization or what?”

“Did you break up?”

“No.” I said firmly.

Fang Congxin seemed ready to pounce; I quickly raised my hands in surrender. “Breakup? What are you talking about? We weren’t ever in a relationship.”

“That’s impossible.”

“How can it be impossible? As long as I haven’t lost my memory, been reborn, or traveled to a parallel world, Xu Zheng and I are just regular friends. Ah, actually, upon closer thought, it doesn’t even feel ordinary; it’s the most solid financial relationship in existence. He gives me a few hundred yuan every month, which clearly indicates the relationship isn’t that innocent.”

Fang Congxin squinted his eyes at me, as if watching a performance.

“Dining buddies, just dining buddies.”

It was quite boring to make my own connections without anyone paving the way for me.“Hey, can you first tell me how you met Xu Zheng? He said he admires you and is upset that he hasn’t had the chance to get close to you,” Fang Congxin said, looking up. “Look at how dark the sky has suddenly become; is it going to rain again?”

I glanced up at the gloomy sky and replied, “I think the reason it’s so dark is primarily due to the Earth’s rotation. We are now on the side facing away from the sun, which is what we usually refer to as night; after all, it’s already seven o’clock.” I held out my wrist to show him my watch.

“Nice watch; it must be worth over a thousand yuan in tuition fees, right?”

I said, “Didn’t you just say you were hungry? Want to join the dining buddy group? Excluding lunch, we have a warm dinner too.”

“How much does Xu Zheng give you in a month? I’ll pay half.”

“Hey, isn’t the normal line that I pay double?”

“Do I look like someone who would let him take advantage of me?”

“His head does appear a bit larger, but I’m sure the density can’t compare to yours. You usually seem quite golden, like your mind is filled with gold, right?”

“Sort of,” Fang Congxin chuckled softly.

We reached the stairway. Since the light on the first floor had broken a couple of days ago, I couldn’t clearly see his expression; however, as we walked to the second floor, the sensor light on the stairs suddenly lit up, and I saw Fang Congxin still smiling.

“Is your sense of humor different from most people’s? Is it really that funny?” I asked.

He put away his smile and adopted a cool expression, saying, “You should do your homework first; I need to get some sleep. I’m so tired.”