Is This The Right Way To Repay A Favor? Chapter 28

Surprise

Jiang Zhou said softly, “I won’t participate.”

“I usually read at my desk during breaks. It’s very boring.”

“Reading?” Cai Zhiyang looked incredulous. “Is this the world of a top student?”

A low murmur of laughter rippled through the surroundings.

“No, it won’t be boring at all. This is precisely a true state of the ten-minute break, and we need diverse camera angles to present it,” Director Weng said, trying to persuade him.

Since Director Weng clearly stated they would only film a few shots of him reading, Jiang Zhou stopped insisting and agreed to be on camera.

Director Weng personally coordinated the filming details and camera design with the production team and asked the guests to pay attention to group notifications.

——

1:30 PM.

Jiang Yue called via video.

Ye Mo had been playing in Yongnan Village for a week and only returned home today. The two children were reluctant to part, and eventually, they insisted that Jiang Hua take Ye Mo home and let them visit for a while.

At this time, they had just arrived at Ye Mo’s house.

“Brother, we’re at Mozi’s house. His house is so beautiful, he has planted so many flowers! Look—”

Jiang Yue flipped the camera to capture the entire courtyard.

The courtyard was meticulously maintained, a sight of layered waves of flowers stretching out.

“Dad is talking to Mozi’s great-aunt. Dad cried, and he looked so ugly crying.”

In the camera, there were two blurred silhouettes: one was Jiang Hua, and the other was a woman. Though the figures were indistinct, a graceful posture was faintly visible.

Ye Mo called Shen Zhiyu “Uncle,” so his great-aunt must be Shen Zhiyu’s mother, Xi Wanyu.

After the public welfare program was suspended that year, the Jiang family’s subsequent financial aid was handled by Xi Wanyu’s dance troupe, but Jiang Zhou had never met her in person.

Shen Zhiyu rarely mentioned his family on the show, only occasionally bringing it up twice, saying that his mother loved planting flowers and that their home courtyard was continuously blooming throughout the four seasons.

“Brother, I love it here. Can I stay for a few more days?” Jiang Yue turned the camera back, and Ye Mo also leaned into the screen. Both children looked at Jiang Zhou with expectant eyes. “Can we?”

Jiang Zhou hadn’t expected them to go to Xi Wanyu’s house. He was reluctant to agree, afraid of causing trouble for others.

Jiang Yue, being precocious, knew it was a lost cause the moment she saw Jiang Zhou hesitate. She immediately started wailing, “I don’t care! I want to play here!”

The people talking in the distance heard the commotion and walked over.

Xi Wanyu squatted down, gently pulled Jiang Yue into her arms, and asked softly, “Yueyue, what’s wrong?”

“Brother won’t let me play here!” Jiang Yue pointed at Jiang Zhou on the screen, complaining.

Xi Wanyu followed her gaze to the video call on the phone.

Jiang Zhou also clearly saw her appearance. In the camera, she looked very young, without a single wrinkle on her face. Her features were bright and elegant, and her skin was fair with a rosy glow.

Shen Zhiyu’s eyes were exactly like hers, and even the dark brown mole beneath the corner of his eye was a perfect replica.

“Is that A Zhou?” Xi Wanyu guessed the reason for Jiang Zhou’s hesitation and said thoughtfully, “I happen to be free lately. Why don’t you let the two children stay here and keep me company, alright?”

Her voice was gentle and soft, making it hard to refuse. Jiang Zhou nodded, giving his permission.

“Your father told me that Zhiyu signed with your company after returning to China and is currently filming a show with you.”

“That’s right. I even told A Zhou to take good care of Teacher Shen. A few days ago, A Zhou even came back specifically to learn how to make tea-fried crispy bone, saying Teacher Shen likes it,” Jiang Hua walked over and interjected.

The corner of Jiang Zhou’s mouth twitched imperceptibly, his expression slightly unnatural.

“If Zhiyu likes it, then it must be truly delicious. That boy is very picky about food.”

“A Zhou, thank you for looking after Zhiyu.”

She spoke sincerely, causing Jiang Zhou’s ears to feel slightly hot, and his heart was filled with guilt.

If she knew what he thought of Shen Zhiyu, she would likely find it unbearable.

Now, their interactions were becoming increasingly complicated, involving not just themselves but many others.

It seemed he must hide his feelings even deeper from now on.

——

Director Weng posted the filming schedule in the group chat.

The guests gathered at the stage one after another.

Yongnan Village originally had a village primary school, which was completely consolidated three years ago. The school still had many old desks and chairs, which the production team borrowed, setting up a proper-looking classroom in just one afternoon.

In addition to the program guests, Director Weng borrowed a few people from the production team to sit in the back as extras.

Director Weng arranged the seating. Jiang Zhou was assigned to sit with Dong Qianqian.

He briefly explained the focus and details of the shoot: each guest had two dedicated cameramen, there were no preset lines, and everyone could perform freely based on their own understanding.

The break bell rang.

Cai Zhiyang grabbed Zhang Qian and sprinted out of the classroom. The other students also left the classroom one after another.

Dong Qianqian took out a deck of tarot cards from her desk drawer and bravely asked Jiang Zhou, “Classmate, do you want to play tarot cards?”

Jiang Zhou recalled the accuracy of Dong Qianqian’s reading that night and shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t want to.”

Dong Qianqian seemed to have anticipated this result. She forced a smile. “It’s okay, I’ll go ask other classmates.” She then left the classroom, holding the cards.

Jiang Zhou casually picked up a book from the desk and began reading.

The production team was truly dedicated; the books on the desks were still high school textbooks. He wondered where they found them in such a short time.

Jiang Zhou picked up a math book. There were several calculation problems after the instructional content.

Jiang Zhou silently calculated in his mind, trying not to make any unnecessary noise.

However, while he remained still, someone else moved.

After a slight movement, a tall figure suddenly stopped beside his desk, casting a shadow over his head.

“Hello, classmate. I just transferred here. I didn’t understand what the teacher just taught, and everyone says you’re the best student. Can you explain it to me?”

Jiang Zhou suddenly looked up. “?”

Why would Shen Zhiyu come to him?

Jiang Zhou rarely explained problems to others.

A long time ago, a classmate came to ask him for help. He explained it seriously twice, but the other person still didn’t understand. He had no choice but to helplessly say he couldn’t teach and suggested they ask the teacher.

That classmate cursed and stormed off in anger. Later, the rumor spread that he looked down on people and refused to help poor students, and no one ever came to him with questions again.

Shen Zhiyu didn’t seem to care how Jiang Zhou would answer. He slapped the test paper directly onto Jiang Zhou’s desk.

He pointed a long finger at one of the questions. “This one.”

Jiang Zhou took out scratch paper and a pen, explaining the problem while calculating.

Shen Zhiyu stood by the desk, leaning slightly, watching the slender, pale fingertips write quickly on the paper.

Jiang Zhou had also taken off his jacket, wearing a white shirt and a red knitted vest. His neck was long, extending a section above the shirt collar. From this angle, one could clearly see the direction of the veins in his neck and the red spots that were slowly appearing under Shen Zhiyu’s gaze.

This person was truly sensitive; just a slight closeness could make him blush like this.

Shen Zhiyu remembered the whiteness beneath the neckline of this person’s neck last night, which had also been flushed red.

He wondered if the rest of his body was the same.

Shen Zhiyu’s exhaled breath was hot, sweeping across Jiang Zhou’s neck without concealment, like wind blowing across water, creating ripples.

Jiang Zhou finished his explanation haltingly, the palm of his hand gripping the pen completely damp.

“Do you understand?” Jiang Zhou asked nervously.

Shen Zhiyu couldn’t possibly be listening. His mind was entirely captivated by that flush of crimson, filled with nothing but colorful thoughts.

But Shen Zhiyu didn’t feel ashamed. Whether it was the first stirrings of love or the late blooming of a plum blossom, it was perfectly normal to fantasize when encountering someone pleasing to the eye.

Shen Zhiyu kept a straight face. “Explain it again.”

The red spots on that fair skin grew more numerous, starting to spread in patches, gradually submerging the whiteness and completely becoming an ocean of crimson.

Jiang Zhou’s breathing was completely ragged.

Shen Zhiyu had teased enough and seen enough. If he looked any longer, he truly wouldn’t be able to control himself.

He finally brought himself to look at the scratch paper on Jiang Zhou’s desk.

Jiang Zhou’s handwriting was very beautiful, the strokes neat and powerful, clearly showing that he had practiced diligently as a child.

What a good student.

Jiang Zhou explained it a second time. Shen Zhiyu didn’t say whether he understood or not, just said thank you and took the test book away.

Before Jiang Zhou could react, the sharp, jarring sound of the class bell suddenly rang.

Jiang Zhou’s eyes suddenly turned red.

It turned out that the ten-minute break, which felt endlessly long during his school days, ended so quickly when he had something to do.

Filming concluded.

Director Weng then arranged for the guests to be interviewed one by one.

It was only then that everyone realized their understanding of Director Weng’s intention for the video was less than a tenth of the truth.

The Ten-Minute Break was just a starting point. What Director Weng truly wanted to do was guide the guests to confront the regrets and unwillingness of their student days and reconcile with their past selves.

Director Weng personally asked the guests the interview questions.

He asked Jiang Zhou: “Did you always sit in the classroom during breaks in your student days, never chatting with classmates or going to the hallway?”

“Yes.”

“What did you do in the classroom then?”

“Studied.”

“Did any classmates look for you?”

Jiang Zhou shook his head. “No.”

“Did you feel sad about that?”

Did he?

He did at first. Especially when he saw classmates gathering in twos and threes to drink water, go to the restroom, chat, and laugh.

He always pretended to be passionate about studying, so passionate that he wouldn’t even let go of the ten-minute break.

No one knew he was just anxious and fearful. He didn’t know what else he could do in the short ten-minute break besides studying.

Later, he slowly got used to it and couldn’t distinguish whether he was sad or not.

“I got used to it.”

“Then, do you think Shen Zhiyu’s appearance was a surprise or a shock to you?”

Jiang Zhou paused, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. He remained silent for a long time, saying nothing.

During the filming, he originally thought it would be simple, just sitting there reading and doing problems as before, quietly waiting for time to pass.

He never expected Shen Zhiyu to appear.

Shen Zhiyu came over with a test paper to ask him for help.

When he explained it the first time, Shen Zhiyu, like that former classmate, didn’t understand.

Jiang Zhou, flustered, explained it a second time.

He secretly glanced at Shen Zhiyu’s expression. The other person still seemed confused.

Jiang Zhou was prepared to repeat the same failure.

But Shen Zhiyu simply straightened up, said thank you, and left.

No, besides thank you, there was also a “Jiang Zhou, you’re really amazing.”

Just that one sentence completely shattered a massive rock deep within his soul that he hadn’t even realized was there.

Clearly, he had never done anything wrong.

After a long silence, Jiang Zhou finally faced the camera and answered softly, “It was a surprise. Thank you all!”