LWDC Chapter 87

Chapter 87 – Senior Year of High School, Second Semester

Chapter 87 – Senior Year of High School, Second Semester

Chapter 87 – Senior Year of High School, Second Semester

Ji Xingzhe became overwhelmed with his own problems, and as soon as he let up, Lin Shengjia’s second semester of senior year went smoothly.

No one targeted Lin Shengjia for no reason anymore, and he could completely focus on his studies. His grades were also steadily rising, with progress visible each time. Finally, in the final exams of his second year, Lin Shengjia ranked 7th in his class and 72nd in the grade! In this school, this ranking was already good enough to get into a key university.

With a little more effort, and consistently ranking in the top 50, a prestigious university wouldn’t be just a dream.

As for Ji Xingzhe, after hiring two famous tutors, his grades finally gradually recovered to near his previous level, but not quite at his peak. For a time, Ji Xingzhe and Lin Shengjia’s scores actually had a chasing-after-each-other dynamic.

Others didn’t pay too much attention to this. After all, they weren’t the top students, and those who weren’t closely involved were too lazy to think much about their rivalry. Ning Fei and Lin Shengjia were aware of this, but their goal wasn’t to surpass Ji Xingzhe. So, the news of who was ahead and who was behind was just a condiment of life, mentioned in passing and then forgotten.

But according to Duan Yunhong, Ji Xingzhe was incredibly concerned about it.

More precisely, he was made to be concerned by Tang Huilan.

Ever since his grades caused the teacher to call home again, Tang Huilan had put his grades under high-pressure monitoring, close supervision, and verbal control. She would say things like, “You never used to make Mom worry like this, what’s changed?” Or, “Mom believes in you, your grades have always been the best, you have the ability.” And sometimes she would say, “You’ve seen your dad’s situation, who knows when he’ll stop caring about this family, you have to be good enough.” No matter how scheming Ji Xingzhe was, he was still a real teenager, and he had unspeakable secrets in his heart. Therefore, Ji Xingzhe couldn’t escape Tang Huilan’s “combined punches” at all.

Every day was a struggle for this imposter.

The ease with which he used to approach his studies was gone. He was afraid of not doing well on tests, then afraid of exams, and even afraid of studying. But he couldn’t not study. Even if he knew the answer to a teacher’s simple question, he would involuntarily become nervous. If he didn’t have an answer or idea immediately, he would soon break out in a cold sweat, and in the worst cases, he would be drenched in sweat.

Every time Tang Huilan asked, “When’s the exam?” or “How did you do this time?”, it was like adding another brick onto Ji Xingzhe. And every bit of progress Lin Shengjia made was another brick. The accumulating bricks weighed on him, making him feel stressed and suffocated. Sometimes Ji Xingzhe would wake up from nightmares, with the Ji family in his dreams saying, “Only the real son is more outstanding, the imposter is useless, no matter how much money you spend, it’s a waste. We don’t want children with bad grades, go back to where you came from!”

Ji Xingzhe would wake up in a cold sweat, his heart pounding, and he would feel lingering fear. He feared that he might reveal Lin Shengjia’s true identity if he talked in his sleep. He became afraid to relax even when sleeping, which led to frequent insomnia. At the young age of senior year, he had to start relying on mild sleeping aids to help him sleep.

The terrible routine and enormous psychological pressure gradually made him thin and pale, and even a few gray hairs sprouted. His dejected appearance was very different from his former spirited self. This mental state made the students who used to like to be close to him feel suspicious, and they gradually stopped approaching him. Ji Xingzhe actually became a “loner” step by step, going to and from school alone, with no one to talk to, which made Lin Shengjia marvel in secret.

“He’s gotten into a strange loop, and he can’t escape it on his own.”

Ning Fei commented when talking to Duan Yunhong about Ji Xingzhe’s recent situation, “He was doing pretty well in school, he didn’t need to be under so much pressure. But Tang Huilan’s pressure, combined with his unspeakable secret, has created a strange equation in his mind: ‘Good grades’ are the only way to prevent the worst from happening.”

“This is the ‘cage’ that Tang Huilan created. She is also desperate to find a sense of presence in the Ji family. Ji Zhenwei rose to power, Ji Yuechi is already out of her control, only Ji Xingzhe can still be manipulated by her.” Duan Yunhong replied, “In fact, Ji Xingzhe is just at the age of rebellion. If he directly confronted her, others wouldn’t find it too strange. The problem is that he has a reason to please the Ji family, so he can only swallow his anger.”

“In that case, shouldn’t he be trying to please you the most?” Ning Fei asked, “Since he’s convinced that you have the DNA test, why doesn’t he try to please you like crazy?”

“You think he doesn’t want to?” Duan Yunhong chuckled, “It’s just that his methods are too clumsy, they annoy me, so he doesn’t dare to provoke me.”

Ning Fei was even more puzzled, “Huh? What’s that about? I haven’t heard you say anything about it, like what?”

“Like, running over to bring me tea and water, pouring wine and lighting cigarettes.”

“That’s it?” Ning Fei asked in surprise, “What kind of flattery is that?”

“He can’t give anything else. Even if he wanted to, could he afford it?” Duan Yunhong said sarcastically, “He wants to win my heart, to get closer step by step. Isn’t that how he won over those childhood friends he orders around?”

“But you and those kids are too different.” Ning Fei couldn’t help but laugh, “Oh my god, lighting cigarettes and pouring wine, doesn’t he even know you don’t smoke?”

“His dad smokes cigars, he probably thought I wanted one too.” Speaking of this, Duan Yunhong suddenly changed the subject, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smoke in this world.”

“Not much pressure, not that annoying, so I don’t really think about it.” Ning Fei replied casually, “I only want one when I need to use my brain a lot, or when I’m particularly annoyed, or even when I suddenly relax from a very tense state. But I’m not addicted, I can do without it.”

Duan Yunhong said, “But you used to smoke after sleeping with me.”

“After-sex cigarette, sometimes I suddenly get that idea.” Ning Fei said with amusement, “Why are you starting to study me? Don’t tell me you’ve prepared a lot of good cigarettes for me, and you can’t help but mention it because I haven’t smoked one?”

“… No, just asking.” Duan Yunhong decisively changed the topic back again, “Anyway, Ji Xingzhe tried to get a little closer to me, but he retreated every time I glanced at him. All I can say is that his methods are clumsy, and he’s very cowardly, he doesn’t have any of the necessary conditions for success.”

“He’s still so young, how could he figure out your mind?” Ning Fei propped his chin, amused, “It would be scary if he could think of ways to please you in bed, right?”

“Tch, you really said something disgusting. I’ve never had even a little bit of such an assumption, not because of the so-called ‘uncle-nephew relationship’ now, but because I would never waste a bit of brainpower on such a thing.” Duan Yunhong looked disgusted, “You don’t think you succeeded with this kind of method in the first world, so I’ll easily fall for it, do you?”

“I was just joking, why are you so serious?” Ning Fei shrugged, “And I wasn’t trying to get your resources when I slept with you at first. Later, wasn’t it just a bonus? ‘Since I’m already here’, right?”

Duan Yunhong chuckled softly, without refuting him, and pulled the topic back again: “He can’t please me now, so he can only try his best to please his mom. Originally, he would go abroad to play during the summer vacation, oh, what they call ‘short-term study abroad’, but this time he’s not going, he’s just going to stay home and study. It’s not so much ‘studying desperately’ as ‘performing studying desperately’.”

“He’s not going out to play, probably to better control the situation of the Ji family. He must be afraid that you’ll take out the DNA test while he’s not at home.” Speaking of this, Ning Fei paused, and suddenly had an idea, “Speaking of which, he could actually consider talking to you about this matter directly. If he dares to ask clearly if you really have the report, wouldn’t it be easy to determine the next course of action? He can’t give you other conditions to ask you to keep it secret, but he can guarantee that he will become your spy and help you seize the Ji family’s property in the future. If you really are Ji Zhenwei’s brother, this condition is worth considering, right?”

“Betting his life on it? Indeed, that kind of flattery would be quite weighty. If he really is a profit-seeking Ji family member, this condition could indeed be considered.” Duan Yunhong commented, “But he definitely wouldn’t think of that. Even if he did, would he really have the courage to decide to give up his life? These ordinary people with only a few decades to live aren’t you. You’ve seen too much of life, these are just your pawns, of course you have the courage to bet their lives.”

“You make me sound really evil, but I’m not looking down on these ordinary people. Sometimes, it’s easier to bet on an ordinary person’s life, even if it’s just on one thing. Anyway, it’s only a few decades, you close your eyes, don’t open them, and it’s all over.” Ning Fei sighed, “On the contrary, people like us, who don’t know how long we’ll live, always look ahead and behind when making a major decision, and can’t help but think about what the future will be like. From this point of view, an ordinary person’s life is a life of single-minded pursuit, lived to the fullest.”

This was deep enough, but Duan Yunhong still felt that his words had a deeper meaning. But Duan Yunhong couldn’t be alone at this moment to calm down and think carefully, so he temporarily put this feeling out of his mind.

He just asked, “What, do you want to be an ordinary person again?”

“Not yet.” Ning Fei smiled, “But I can enjoy what ordinary people can enjoy in this world. Being happy in the moment is also good.”

Duan Yunhong understood this time, “What do you want again? You already have a computer, you want me to buy a game console for your house?”

“Look at you, do I just ask for money? Am I a money pit?” Ning Fei chuckled, and got closer to him, “I just wanted to say, it’s summer vacation, President Duan. Your Shenzhen apartment, it’s time to clear it out and let me live in it.”

Duan Yunhong glanced at him, his tone cold.

“Clear my ass, it’s all the stuff you were throwing around before. If you want to clear it, go clear it yourself.”