Chapter 154: Military strategist, you have to always be mine!

Fu Chengque came empty-handed at night.

As soon as she entered, she said, “I won’t come tomorrow.”

Wen Yu asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, I’ll rest well and prepare for the second mock exam! This time I’m confident I’ll surpass Cheng Pingce!”

Wen Yu thought of the changes in Class Four’s classroom and said, “Cheng Pingce probably already guessed it. He’s been studying hard these past few days, going to the teacher’s office every day. If you want to surpass him this time, you have to be serious.”

Adding, “Lu Min may seem calm, but she’s actually working hard. She doesn’t want to be surpassed by you and wants to catch up with Cheng Pingce. She must have been studying hard in private.”

Wen Yu and Fu Chengque were like catfish in Class Four, stirring up a storm and revitalizing the stagnant water, causing others to follow their lead and become active.

Fu Chengque praised with joy, “Where can the teacher compare to Military Advisor Wen!”

“Oh! That makes sense.”

“Hahaha, Military Advisor, tell me, why do I always write crooked when I do problems?”

“You’re overthinking it. You have too many associations when you see the problem, too many strokes, and it becomes messy.”

The girl nodded, “That seems to be the case. How do I solve it then…”

“Just think of it as learning ‘imperial arts’.”

“Wow!?” Fu Chengque’s eyes lit up, “Imperial arts?”

“That’s right.” Wen Yu turned around and faced Fu Chengque, gesturing with her hands, “Your ministers are trying to convey their true thoughts and lies between the lines of their memorials. As a queen, you must find out their true intentions and not be misled by other words.”

“Empress.”

“Yes, you got it.”

“Is it that simple!?”

“It’s just that simple.”

Fu Chengque breathed a sigh of relief and slumped in her chair, chanting, “A single Military Advisor can rival three armies!”

Wen Yu laughed and asked, “Can it be exchanged for five armies?”

She immediately shook her head, rejecting, “No, it can’t be exchanged for five armies, nor for ten countries. Military Advisor, you must always be mine!”

She looked at Wen Yu and laughed, “Military Advisor, rest well, I’m off!”

Then she got up and left.

When Wen Yu saw her off, he chuckled softly:

Xiao Qingmei, can you say these things now?

***

On Tuesday, Chen called for Wen Yu.

With the exam the day after tomorrow, bad news would usually be saved until after the exam, so Wen Yu wasn’t worried. He went to the office as soon as he was called.

Chen Xiongguo was sipping tea. When he saw Wen Yu, he motioned for him to sit down and got straight to the point:

“Wen Yu, do you have any thoughts on being the representative at the oath-taking ceremony?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“It’s too troublesome, just go up and recite some platitudes.”

Recite platitudes!?

This, this little brat!

Chen Xiongguo was so angry that he blew his beard and stared, “This is about the honor of the class and personal honor too!”

Wen Yu just smiled, “It’s all about reciting clichés when you go up. I won’t go. And you didn’t call me here to convince me to go, did you, teacher?”

Chen Xiongguo snorted lightly, took a sip of strong tea, smoothed out his emotions, “The school teachers have set the regulations for the oath-taking ceremony representatives, and Class Four has one quota. What I want to say is, if you really don’t want to, then let Cheng Pingce, Lu Min, or Fu Chengque go, and as for you…”

He suddenly smiled, with a calculated look, “…you can’t escape either. The city has a list of excellent students, and you’re on it. You have to write the necessary application materials. If you don’t know how, ask me.”

Wen Yu revealed a ‘just as expected’ expression.

Chen Xiongguo saw his expression and chuckled for a while, then sighed, “You’re just like Fu Chengque. If you had gotten the city-level excellent student title a year earlier, you could have competed for a provincial one this year! That wouldn’t just be class honor, but the honor of the whole school.”

Seemingly aware that such “negative emotions” were not suitable for students, he cleared his throat lightly and said, “Work hard for the university entrance examination, you won’t miss out on any honors then!”

Wen Yu nodded in response.

Chen Xiongguo didn’t say much more afterward, just a straightforward “get lost.” His tone was not polite, but there was a smile on his face when he spoke.

***

When Wen Yu returned to the classroom, Fu Chengque was not there, and neither were Lu Min and Xiao Gua. The little group was only left with Fang Ling chatting happily with the people around her seat.

As soon as he sat down, Fang Ling leaned in and mysteriously called out, “Hey, Wen Yu.”

Wen Yu turned around, “What’s up?”

“Did Chengque hold your hand last night?”

Straight to the point.

Wen Yu’s expression remained unchanged on the surface, but inwardly, he was already cursing.

Damn it.

How come every time something significant happens between me and Fu Chengque, the whole class knows about it the next day? Who’s spreading rumors behind my back?

Next time something similar happens, should he first dig up the ground nearby and dig up the paparazzi before doing it?

Otherwise, it’s too annoying.

But at this moment, he still kept his cool, “Where did this false information come from? I don’t even know about it myself?”

Fang Ling pretended to understand, said, “Oh,” and didn’t ask any further, keeping a mysterious smile.

After Fu Chengque returned from outside, she was obviously asked similar questions, her cheeks flushed.

When Wen Yu went to see her, she was given a blank look.

Fortunately, this matter was too close to the second mock exam, and before it could turn into rumors the next day, it dispersed instantly.

Wednesday passed as usual, and Thursday and Friday marked the beginning of the two-day mock exam.

The intensity of this mock exam was stronger than the first one, which served as the final exam of the first semester, mimicking the format of the university entrance examination, with the difficulty of the papers being incomparable. At the end of the first day’s exams, sighs could be heard everywhere among the senior three students, lamenting the difficulty.

After half a month of intensified study, Fu Chengque felt confident, so she felt quite pleased before the exam. Although she also felt the difficulty after the exam, her expression was much better than others’.

Seeing her expression, Lu Min admired her and said straightforwardly, “Chengque must have surpassed me this time. I feel like I didn’t do well on the questions…”

Fang Ling comforted her, “There are still two days left, what’s the rush!”

Xiao Gua agreed.

On the other side, Cheng Pingce happened to be leaving. He glanced over here, frowned, lowered his head, and walked away hugging his books.

Fang Ling laughed again, “Cheng Pingce is in a hurry, hahaha.”

Fu Chengque glanced over there and said triumphantly, “Being in a hurry won’t help, hahaha. We women will eventually take charge! Class Four belongs to us!”

She then turned to Fang Ling, patted her shoulder, and said, “Lingling, keep it up. When you kick Cheng Pingce out of the top five, Class Four will belong to us women!”

Fang Ling nodded vigorously, “Chengque, Xiao Min, you guys too, keep it up!”

Wen Yu stood aside, watching them boast.

On Friday, after the humanities exam of the mock exam, it ended smoothly.

All the senior three students breathed a sigh of relief.

After the exam, a brief weekend break awaited, which everyone looked forward to.

However, everyone’s “highlights” of anticipation were slightly different. For example, Lu Min, Fang Ling, and Xiao Gua were delighted to be able to lie down and sleep a little longer; Fu Chengque simply felt relieved after the previous hard work and saw this as an opportunity to relax.

As for Wen Yu…

***

Saturday, the first weekend of March.

Today there was nothing special, but influenced by his biological clock, Wen Yu still woke up early.

Just as he pulled open the curtains, he saw Banben squatting behind the curtain, staring at the birds perched on the tree outside in a daze. The weather outside was clear and refreshing. The buds that had emerged earlier were now sprouting green tips. There was a hint of spring at the top of the trees, and with the birds hopping around, the vitality was much stronger.

No one had gotten up across the way.

Wen Yu glanced and then withdrew his gaze.

In the living room, Wen’s parents were still having breakfast and chatting. Seeing their son getting up, they were somewhat surprised. Mother Wen asked with concern, “Why are you up so early? Don’t you want to sleep a little longer?”

Wen Yu shook his head, “Can’t sleep anymore, used to it already.”

Father Wen nodded, “Young people shouldn’t sleep so much, get up and go out for some exercise!”

Mother Wen immediately disagreed, “What are you saying, it’s still chilly outside, what if you catch a cold?”

The old man immediately retorted, pointing his finger outside the balcony, “Where’s the chill? Where’s the chill? Look at the sun, it’s so sunny, even the sparrows are sunbathing outside!”

“Why don’t you get up early yourself? With your beer belly, not moving yourself, do you expect our son to study well?”

“My son is doing just fine!”

“That’s because he takes after me!”

“Where have you taught him?”

“I teach him by talking…”

“Talking is also teaching!”

“That’s right, that’s right, I was fooled by you like that back then…”

The two of them started to argue, one after the other. Wen Yu listened for a while, feeling that their affection was a bit noisy, so he turned around and went to the kitchen to get breakfast.

The soy milk was still hot in the pot, steaming.

Wen Yu scooped up a bowl and took it out. As soon as he came out, the couple got up and prepared to leave.

After straightening up, Mother Wen reminded, “Xiao Yu, remember to take out the trash later, your dad and I are running late.”

Wen Yu agreed.

When he went out to throw out the trash, he met Father Fu and Mother Fu, who were about to leave for work. Both of them looked rushed.

When Mother Fu saw him, she hurriedly called out, “Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, help me throw out our trash too.”

Father Fu jumped out of the house on one leg, grumbling as he put on his shoes, “Who asks for help like this? Later, let Qiao’er do it. She’s already in her senior year, but she doesn’t know to wake up early to study. The morning hours are crucial, and every minute counts. Time is money, and she really doesn’t study well.”

Wen Yu took the trash from Mother Fu and placed it by their door, smiling and saying, “Just taking it out on the way, Uncle Fu, don’t say polite words, otherwise I’ll feel awkward when I come over to mooch some buns and pancakes in the future.”

Mother Fu immediately supported him, “Exactly, exactly. Your uncle speaks impolitely, don’t listen to him.”

She added, “If Qiao’er hasn’t gotten up later, Xiao Yu, you go wake her up, then watch her study instead of sleeping, it’s already so late.”

Wen Yu nodded, “Okay.”

He turned around to go home to get the keys, while Fu’s parents hurried downstairs.

Father Fu whispered as he walked, “Is it appropriate for Xiao Yu to go wake up Qiao’er…”

Mother Fu turned back, snorted, “More appropriate than you.”

“What kind of talk is that!”

“Do you like it?”

“I don’t!”

“If you go wake her up with your loud voice, your daughter will be even more annoyed with you, do you believe it?”

Father Fu’s face turned black, stuttering, “What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with me waking up Qiao’er?”

“You just know to mutter those moral principles of yours, who likes to listen to you talk?”

“Sensible, knowing honor and disgrace, this is what a quasi-adult should…”

Mother Fu directly interrupted, “Alright, alright, let’s go, we’re going to be late.”

Father Fu had to shut his mouth temporarily, walking slowly behind, muttering again after taking a few steps.

Mother Fu, annoyed by the muttering in front of her, snapped, “Hurry up!”

The middle-aged man jumped in fright, silenced completely this time, and followed with his head down in a dejected manner.

Fu Chengque was sleeping drowsily.

Last night, she was trapped in the thoughts of serving Wen Yu as a tyrant today and tomorrow. It seemed like her forehead was engraved with the words “going to the execution ground tomorrow or the day after,” causing her dreams last night to be related to these thoughts.

She had always been the one in charge, but today or tomorrow, she had to play a subordinate role.

How could she not feel awkward?

But on the other hand, she faintly hoped that Wen Yu would have such thoughts by now. After all… she had hinted so many times, shouldn’t Wen Yu have those ideas by now?

To hug or not to hug?

So when Wen Yu knocked on the door, she thought she was still dreaming. In the dream, Wen Yu was shining all over, holding a golden rod, poking her head with the tip of the rod, and saying, “Manager Fu Chengque?”

While smiling wickedly, he threatened, “Get up quickly, or you’ll miss your meal!”

“My words today are the imperial edict!”

With all this, there were dozens or even hundreds of armored guards lined up in two rows, extending to the outside of the palace. Every time Wen Yu called her name, the guards would tap the ground with their long spears, making a loud “thud thud thud” sound.

It scared her so much that she dared not move under the covers.

When she finally couldn’t hold her breath and her head was spinning, she slowly woke up – oh, it was just a dream!

It was too real and awkward.

Coincidentally, there was another knocking on the door outside, a thud thud sound.

“Manager Fu, awake or not? I’m leaving. If you don’t have lunch, I’ll eat it myself.”

Oh, it turned out that the dream and reality overlapped.

She responded from inside, “I’m awake, I’m awake…”

After putting on clothes and going out, she saw Wen Yu playing with the cat in her living room.

“Why did you bring Banben to my house?”

“Get awake. Essentially, it’s your family’s cat, fostered at my place.” Wen Yu said impatiently, “It came over on its own.”

“Oh.” Fu Chengque pretended to be ignorant and changed the subject, asking, “Is the meal ready?”

“Eat as soon as you get up?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Your parents asked me to wake you up earlier, do you know how many times I called you?”

“I was thinking about things last night and slept late…”

Wen Yu suddenly laughed, “You didn’t spend the whole night thinking about serving me as a tyrant today, did you?”

Fu Chengque immediately choked up, muttering something like “speak and act” “I, the Empress, a monarch, should honor my word” “trifling matters are completely negligible,” as she headed to the bathroom. Soon after, the sound of washing came from the bathroom…

Wen Yu watched with a smile as he yelled outside, “I’m not being a tyrant today…”

The ringing bell in the bathroom became quieter.

Then he shouted again, “How about going to buy some fruit together today, what do you think?”

The ringing bell in the bathroom turned into a clatter, accompanied by the sound of plastic cups falling to the ground.

After a moment, Fu Chengque’s frantic attempt to remain calm came through:

“Okay… okay, no problem! I’ll accompany you to the end!”

“Bananas!”

“…Okay!”

“Or grapes!”

“…”

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