"Fang'er, this question you've set is really something. How many knowledge points does it involve?" Ye Ziming looked at the question and exclaimed, giving him a big thumbs-up.
Grimly, the three of them started working on the problems. However, twenty minutes passed and none of them could completely solve all the questions.
Lu Chuan took a look at their "papers," nodded, and said, "Hmm, actually, it's not bad. Even if you can't solve everything, just writing down these formulas will still earn you some points."
"For the first question, the given function f(x)=|2x+4|+|x-3|…" Lu Chuan pulled out a blank piece of paper and began explaining the steps to solve the problems one by one.
"Oh."
"I see now."
The three of them gaped and nodded repeatedly, feeling as if their understanding had been completely unlocked after Lu Chuan's explanation.
"Wow, I didn't know you could solve math problems this way. What's going on in that head of yours, Lu Chuan?"
Ye Ziming tried to ruffle Lu Chuan's hair but was nimbly avoided and then received a look of disapproval from Lu Chuan.
"What's wrong, Ru Yan? You look so down," An Ran asked with concern when she saw Liu Ru Yan slumped on the desk, looking dejected.
Liu Ru Yan looked as if she had been tortured by math, pouting, "I hate math. It's not cute at all."
"Yeah, I don't like math either," An Ran said, comforting her by patting her back.
Suddenly remembering there was fruit in her backpack, Liu Ru Yan perked up. She took out a lunchbox and placed it on the table. "Break time! My mom prepared some fruit for everyone. Let's eat it before we continue."
Liu Ru Yan opened the lid, revealing a variety of fruits cut into small, neat pieces in their compartments—mango, kiwi, dragon fruit, watermelon, and strawberries, all prepared by Shen Bing early in the morning.
An Ran picked up a piece of watermelon and said, "Ru Yan, your mom is so nice to you."
Ye Ziming glanced at the time and noted that it was almost noon. "What do you guys want for lunch? I'll cook for you."
Everyone was surprised by this statement.
"You can cook?" Liu Ru Yan's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Of course!" Ye Ziming proudly rolled up his sleeves. "I'll show you in a bit."
Ye Ziming's parents were busy with their business and were often not at home. He didn't like having a maid live in, so they only had a maid come occasionally to clean. Most of the time, he took care of himself and learned to cook when he was in middle school.
Lu Chuan and the others didn't hold back. With dishes like braised pork ribs and sweet and sour pork, they were all big meals. To save time for the afternoon review, Ye Ziming prepared a simpler beef curry rice.
Seeing Ye Ziming skillfully chopping and cooking in the kitchen, Liu Ru Yan and An Ran couldn't help but exclaim, "I didn't expect Ye Ziming to have such a side. So impressive!"
Liu Ru Yan suddenly felt a chill down her back from Lu Chuan's resentful stare behind her.
The meal was quickly ready. Ye Ziming served the rice onto four plates and then poured the beef curry over it. The dish was well-balanced in nutrition and visually appealing.
"Alright, please enjoy."
The aroma seemed to reach out and make Liu Ru Yan and An Ran's stomachs growl.
An Ran took a bite and said, "Hmm, it's delicious." She rarely sounded so excited, which showed she was quite the foodie.
"Yeah, I didn't expect you to be such a good cook, Ye Ziming," Liu Ru Yan said, eating eagerly and unable to stop praising him.
Ye Ziming finally felt the recognition he had been looking for and triumphantly raised an eyebrow at Lu Chuan. "How about it? I'm better than you when it comes to cooking, right?"
"Ugh, so what if it's cooking? Who doesn't know how to cook?" Lu Chuan responded dismissively.
"Pfft—" Liu Ru Yan almost spat out her curry. "Lu Chuan, you really have no shame. Who was it that made the noodles last time and ended up with me having a stomach ache for a whole day?"
Who else could it be? Ye Ziming and An Ran tried hard to hold back their laughter, their shoulders shaking.
The choice of who would do the dishes was decided by rock-paper-scissors. Heaven is absolutely fair—Lu Chuan might win by skill every time, but when it came to games, he always had bad luck, especially when Liu Ru Yan was involved.
By the time Lu Chuan finished washing the dishes, Ye Ziming had already gone out for a stroll, while Liu Ru Yan and An Ran were napping on the desk.
At this time, the sunlight was perfectly streaming through the nearby window onto Liu Ru Yan's face. Lu Chuan quietly moved a stool to sit beside her and used a notebook to shield her from the sunlight.
He maintained this position for quite a while. Lu Chuan slowly stretched his aching shoulders and, lifting his eyes, met An Ran's gaze, which was filled with a smile.
"Shh—" He made a shushing gesture with his finger on his nose.
An Ran was surprised to discover that the school hunk Lu Chuan could be so gentle. She gave him an OK sign, understanding immediately, and turned her head to close her eyes.
After a while, Ye Ziming came back from his stroll and called out at the door, "I'm back~"
Hearing the noise, Lu Chuan quickly withdrew his hand, and Liu Ru Yan and An Ran woke up.
"Hey? Lu Chuan, why are you sitting here?" Liu Ru Yan rubbed her eyes, asking groggily.
"I, I was sitting here to see if you were drooling more clearly. Look, you've drooled all over the table," Lu Chuan said, quickly moving back to his spot.
Liu Ru Yan quickly touched her chin and looked at the table. "I'm not drooling, Lu Chuan, you're lying to me again!"
"Alright, alright, let's continue. I've just summarized some tips for scoring in modern literature reading, you can see if they're useful," An Ran timely helped Lu Chuan change the subject.
The day passed quickly, and soon it was time to go home. The four top students worked efficiently together, helping each other and complementing each other's strengths, and managed to review almost everything in a day.
Ye Ziming took Grey to the entrance of the community to see them off.
"Grey, be good. We'll come to see you again next time," Liu Ru Yan said reluctantly, crouching down to pat Grey.
"Woof woof~" Grey seemed to understand and responded warmly.
"I'm so bored at home alone, so come visit often if you have the chance," Ye Ziming said with a silly smile.
Lu Chuan patted his shoulder. "Alright, we're leaving. Text me if you need anything."
While waiting for the bus, Liu Ru Yan received a call from her mom asking what time she would be home. It wasn't out of concern but to ask if she would come home for dinner. As long as she was with Lu Chuan, there was nothing to worry about.