In the Classroom, Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo were sitting together chatting.
"Si Tong, do you think Teacher Wang will give Ye Chen a hard time?"
"That shouldn't happen—Old Wang isn't that petty, right?"
"It's all my fault," Xia Yingluo said worriedly.
Li Sitong smiled. "Relax, we have to trust Ye Chen."
The two girls looked at each other.
For some reason, though they were clearly rivals, neither felt any hostility toward the other.
They even sensed a mutual appreciation.
Li Sitong suddenly asked, "Yingluo, do you like Ye Chen?"
Xia Yingluo's pretty face flushed slightly, then she nodded.
Li Sitong said, "Actually, I like him too."
The atmosphere turned a bit awkward.
Li Sitong went on, "I treat you as a dear sister—let's make Ye Chen happy together. As for whom he chooses, we'll leave it to time. I believe he'll make his decision."
Xia Yingluo was startled for a moment, then nodded.
Just then, Ye Chen returned.
"What are you two chatting about?" Ye Chen asked.
"What does our girl-talk have to do with you?" Li Sitong said.
"Yeah, when girls are talking, boys should buzz off," Xia Yingluo chimed in.
Ye Chen was a bit dumbfounded.
What was going on here?
Since when were the two girls on the same side?
Ye Chen coughed. "Right, I've got an announcement: starting today, I'm going to tutor you both."
Tutor?
Both girls were stunned.
Ye Chen said, "I've already promised Old Wang: the three of us will sweep the top three spots in the Whole School."
"Ah!" At his words, both girls froze.
Li Sitong asked, "And if we can't?"
Ye Chen replied, "Teacher Wang will split us up."
Hearing that, Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo fell silent.
"Ye Chen, I'll work hard," Xia Yingluo said.
"Mm, we won't let Old Wang's scheme succeed," Li Sitong declared, clenching her small fist.
"But Class 2's Su Xiaonuan and Shen Wei are really strong. You'll be fine, but the two of us…" Xia Yingluo sounded worried.
After all, through three years of High School, Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo had always ranked top three in class, yet across the Whole School they'd been constantly outdone by those two.
Ye Chen smiled. "Follow my lead and study hard—there won't be any problem."
Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo exchanged glances, then nodded firmly.
Immediately, both pulled out their textbooks.
"What are you doing?"
"We're going to work hard and definitely won't hold you back."
Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo spoke in unison.
Ye Chen: "…"
That evening, Ye Chen brought Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo back to the Ye family home.
Mother Ye was delighted to see Xia Yingluo, but when she spotted Li Sitong behind her she was instantly dumbfounded.
What was happening here?
Heavens!
Her son had brought back two girls at once—and both were so pretty.
"Mom, we're a study group. After school these days we'll review lessons together at our place."
Mother Ye gave an awkward smile. "Mm, that's nice."
Once the two girls entered the room, Mother Ye pulled Ye Chen aside.
"What's going on here?"
Ye Chen was puzzled. "What do you mean? Isn't this just tutoring?"
"Tutoring? Then why two girls—and both so pretty?"
"Who else would it be?" Ye Chen stared at his mom in bewilderment.
Mother Ye patted him. "Son, a man must own up to his responsibilities—don't be a scumbag."
Ye Chen: "???"
Responsibilities? Scumbag? What was she on about?
Mother Ye returned to the bedroom and said to Father Ye, who was lying on the bed,
"Old Ye, your son brought back two girls today—both gorgeous."
"Really? As expected of my boy—impressive."
"Impressive what? Don't you think something's off? Is our son two-timing?" Mother Ye fretted.
Father Ye said, "You're overthinking—aren't they just a study group? And our son's excellent; it's normal for girls to like him. Back when I was in High School, I also—"
Halfway through, Father Ye felt a sudden chill.
He glanced up at Mother Ye, coughed, and said, "Uh, I'll go buy some groceries and cook something nutritious for the kids tonight."
"Old Ye, don't run—what did you mean by 'I also'?"
…In Ye Chen's room,
the atmosphere was solemn.
Ye Chen sat in the middle; Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo flanked him on either side.
Both girls stared at the serious-looking Ye Chen.
Ye Chen cleared his throat. "Today, Teacher Ye's class officially begins."
Watching Ye Chen's earnest expression, Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo felt an irresistible urge to laugh.
Ye Chen continued, "Our goal: in the next Mock Exam, the three of us sweep the top three spots; ultimately, we all enter our ideal University together."
A trace of yearning appeared in Li Sitong's and Xia Yingluo's eyes.
"To study better, I have a few questions for you two."
"Li Sitong, Xia Yingluo—do you have confidence?"
"Yes!" they answered in chorus.
"Are you afraid of difficulties? Afraid of hardship?"
"No."
"Do you want to boost your scores and sweep the top three together?"
"Yes."
"Since you want great results, you must obey Teacher Ye unconditionally—can you be good and listen to Teacher Ye?"
Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo hesitated.
They sensed something off in Ye Chen's wording, yet couldn't pinpoint the problem.
After a moment's pause, they answered together, "Yes!"
Ye Chen nodded in satisfaction.
"Teacher Ye is very pleased with both students' determination and attitude."
Li Sitong secretly resolved to work hard during this period—she absolutely couldn't let Teacher Wang split them up.
Xia Yingluo also clenched her small fist—no matter what, she wouldn't let Ye Chen down.
As the two girls silently encouraged themselves, Ye Chen pulled out an A4 sheet covered in dense writing.
Ye Chen went on, "To keep class discipline, we need ground rules. These are the conduct rules I've drawn up for Teacher Ye's Mini-Class. Since you just promised to obey me, you must strictly follow them. Yingluo, please read them out."
Xia Yingluo took the sheet titled "Teacher Ye's Mini-Class Rules," glanced at it—and was instantly dumbfounded.
These conduct rules were… a bit unusual!