Chapter 011: Teaching You Isn't Enough—Money Won't Cover It
"Then there's no choice. For Zhenzhen's education, you really shouldn't confine her."
Ye Dad was still a reasonable man.
He glanced at Ye Zhen.
"Zhenzhen's grades weren't great to begin with. Graduating on merit alone is going to be tough. If you ground her for much longer, she'll probably bring shame on the whole family with her exam results."
That was a pretty harsh take.
Ye Zhen forced a smile. "Mom, Dad, I've been meaning to say this—my grades show I'm not cut out for academics. Why don't you just give me some money so I can start a business or something?"
"No."
Mrs. Ye shot her a stern look.
"How old are you? You're not old enough to manage your own finances yet. You'd better behave yourself."
Ye Dad nodded in agreement. "There's no need to rush into starting a business. You should focus on figuring out how you're going to handle your graduation exams."
Graduation exams!
Ugh, just hearing those two words gave Ye Zhen a headache.
"Well… I lost my phone. What should I do?"
Hearing this, Mrs. Ye snorted. "There's a spare phone in my room. I'll have the maid bring it over later."
"Oh, okay."
She couldn't even get a single penny!
What happened to the billionaire tycoon?
Ye Zhen was utterly disheartened.
…
After the family meeting ended, Ye Zhen sulked back to her room.
She wanted to make money—a huge pile of it—and then grab her bucket and run!
But scraping together money from the Ye family turned out to be hundreds of times harder than she'd imagined.
Mrs. Ye was notoriously stingy. While Mr. Ye did occasionally give her some pocket money, it was strictly contingent on her grades showing significant improvement… Should her grades slip noticeably, she'd even have part of her allowance docked.
This life was unbearable.
"To run away, I need capital. To get capital, I need good grades. To get good grades, I need a good teacher…"
To run away, you need a good teacher!
But here's the catch: the only qualified tutor currently available was Ye Fuli herself.
She's the top student in the grade, destined to be the top in the district, with years of tutoring experience specializing in one-on-one instruction!
Isn't this exactly the kind of tutor you'd want?
More importantly, Ye Fuli genuinely admired hardworking, ambitious people. Ye Zhen figured if she could show her dedication in this area, she'd earn major brownie points.
"Alright, it's settled! Tomorrow I'll go find Feng Aotian and ask her to tutor me."
……
……
The next day.
Ye Zhen rose early, finished her morning routine, dressed neatly, and headed out.
Ye Dad was somewhat surprised to see her so punctual.
After all, his daughter was notoriously lazy—every school morning, the servants had to go and fetch her several times before she'd finally get moving!
Today, not only did she not need anyone to fetch her, but she was at least an hour early.
"Are you planning to go to school?" Ye Dad couldn't help asking. "You're not going to look for that Bai guy, are you?"
Ye Zhen quickly waved her hands. "I'm going to the library to study!"
To prove she was genuinely going to study, Ye Zhen opened her backpack.
Inside were several sets of practice exams and thick notebooks filled with her mistakes.
After a quick glance inside, Ye Dad exhaled in relief. "Looks like you took last night's talk to heart."
Whether she was genuinely going to study or not, it didn't matter—as long as she wasn't going to see that Bai Ruoting.
He didn't really expect her to have any ambition or a thirst for knowledge.
He just hoped she wouldn't get into trouble.
"Of course, Dad! My mind is completely focused on studying now. I absolutely won't be thinking about things like romance anymore."
Ye Zhen raised her hand, making a solemn gesture as if swearing an oath.
Seeing Ye Zhen's obedient and sensible demeanor, Ye Dad smiled with satisfaction.
When he was in a good mood, he liked to reward people with money.
So Ye Zhen received a stack of hundred-yuan bills—roughly over two thousand yuan!
"You can buy whatever cake you like. Remember to share it with your classmates and build good relationships with them."
"Okay, Dad!"
Ye Zhen quickly tucked the money away.
It seemed the money-making scheme she'd devised last night wasn't half bad.
A grown man acting cute was indeed beyond embarrassing… But now it seemed she might have to carry this adorable loli face until the day she died. Better to accept reality sooner rather than later.
Upon arriving at school, Ye Zhen headed straight for the study room.
Sure enough, there she was—Ye Fuli, seated by the window, poring over various science tutoring books.
"Ye Fuli!"
Ye Fuli frowned slightly, lifting her eyes to meet Ye Zhen's sudden appearance before her.
She instinctively glanced at the time.
It was barely past five.
Why on earth would Ye Zhen be at school at this hour?
She must be up to something again.
"I… I want to ask you to tutor me. My dad will pay you."
Hearing such words from this academic underachiever, Ye Fuli laughed dismissively: "Don't waste each other's time."
"I'm serious!"
Ye Zhen insisted, quickly pulling out the practice tests and error logs she'd stayed up all night organizing. She spread them out on the table before Ye Fuli.
Seeing these materials, Ye Fuli's expression remained unchanged. She simply offered two indifferent words: "Take them away."
"Hey?! Don't be so heartless!"
This unintentionally sweet tone finally made Ye Fuli's expression shift slightly.
She shot Ye Zhen a look of utter disgust before swiftly gathering her own things, stuffing them into her backpack, and turning to leave.
Teaching Ye Zhen to study? That difficulty level was far too high.
She'd already experienced Ye Zhen's abysmal learning abilities firsthand and had no intention of trying to nurture her further.
Ye Zhen: "…"
Wait, she really dislikes me that much?
She, someone so diligent and eager to learn, was actually being treated with such contempt!
Fine.
If she dislikes me, so be it.
A lazybones always ready to lie low doesn't have much of a temper.
Ye Zhen soon spotted a second candidate who could tutor her—a petite girl in the corner with a bowl cut and thick glasses, also an honors student in the elite class: Xia Yuxue.
"Classmate? Hello, classmate. Could you please help me with my studies?"
Xia Yuxue was the epitome of a kind-hearted classmate.
She looked up at Ye Zhen, nodded, and said, "Sure, classmate. Have a seat!"
However, Xia Yuxue excelled at studying but not at teaching.
After a few rounds of discussion, Ye Zhen felt her brain crammed with knowledge she didn't know how to apply, and a faint headache began to form.
At that moment, Ye Fuli, who had already reached the second-floor study room, found herself inexplicably drawn to the corridor and looked down.
Seeing Ye Zhen scratching her head in frustration over a blank math exam paper, her expression darkened.
"She… she can't seriously be trying to study, can she?"
When someone who had never tried suddenly started putting in effort, there was bound to be a reason.
In Ye Fuli's view, Ye Zhen's newfound diligence was likely preparation for leaving the Ye family.
"Facing such a huge upheaval, she accepted reality so quickly without fuss or drama. I have to admit, that's impressive."
Ye Fuli gripped the railing, turned away, and was about to resume her studies when a voice she detested pierced the air.
Downstairs.
A boy with slightly yellowish hair, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a sophomore school uniform, was explaining a problem to Ye Zhen.
"This problem is easy, little sister. Do you understand?" Huang Li smiled, looking at the adorable little girl before him.
Oh my, what an adorable little girl!
Huang Li felt like he was falling in love.
Ye Zhen nodded, looking as if she half-understood.
"You're from the middle school next door, right? This topic is a bit beyond your grade level. It's perfectly normal that you don't know how to solve it."
Ye Zhen gave an awkward smile: "I'm in the third year here."
"…Third year?"
Huang Li took a deep breath, his heart racing even faster.
A third-year loli senior!
For a sophomore guy like him, this setup was a deadly temptation.
He immediately offered to help her with any homework she needed, anytime. After all, he was exceptionally gifted, having already completed all his university courses and consistently ranked first in his sophomore class.
"Huang Li, could you please stop poaching my students?"
Ye Fuli had descended from the second floor.
She wrapped her arm around Ye Zhen's shoulder with a smile.
"We've already agreed on the price for one-on-one tutoring. If you interfere now, Huang, I'll lose this job."
Huang Li was once again overcome with excitement at the sight of Ye Fuli's stunningly beautiful, mature face.
Good heavens!
Wasn't this Ye Fuli, the legendary senior from the third year, known as the Part-Time Work Goddess?
I never imagined the legendary part-time work warrior would be even more handsome in person than in photos.
"Yes, yes, Senior Ye Fuli! By the way, would you mind adding me as a friend? Here… this is my QQ number!"
Excited junior Huang Li quickly wrote down his QQ number and handed it to Ye Fuli with trembling hands.
Ye Fuli gently took it, slipped it into her pocket, and crumpled it tightly into a ball, intending to toss it in the trash later.
Still smiling.
"Sure thing."
Huang Li walked away, head spinning with sweetness.
At that moment, his attention was completely captured by Ye Fuli's radiant aura, temporarily making him forget about his loli-like senior classmate Ye Zhen.
After Huang Li left, Ye Fuli's attention immediately shifted to Ye Zhen.
Ye Zhen felt a chill run down her spine under the intensity of her gaze.
The next second.
Ye Fuli pulled a chair over and sat down right next to her.
"Ye Zhen, if you want me to tutor you, money alone won't suffice."
As she spoke, Ye Fuli's hand had already settled on Ye Zhen's thigh.
"Here's the deal: one hour of lessons, and you dance for me for half an hour. Two hours, and you wear cat ears and a tail. Three hours…"
At this point, Ye Fuli turned her face, using her status as a girl to casually wrap her arms around Ye Zhen's waist and rest her head against her.
"You'll figure out the payment for three hours yourself, but it has to satisfy me. Got it?"
Ye Zhen fell silent.
Damn it!
This guy was about to start humiliating her with crossdressing again!
What kind of twisted sense of humor does this female lead have…