Chapter Eight: Xiaojie, I hope you can chat with me more.

The average person would truly fail to notice the subtle changes on Pei Lu's face, but standing outside, Tang Jie could see it crystal clear.

Others thought that Pei Lu was sitting there calmly, but Tang Jie knew exactly what Pei Lu was thinking at this moment.

Pei Lu was a renowned professor at a top-tier university, so his teaching ability and breadth of knowledge were undoubtedly recognized. However, inside his briefcase at this moment were some failing exam papers. He thought that if he were to look at them, he might just break down...

If that's the case, then he will definitely hate him, right? How could anyone possibly like a child who is not good at studying, can't make adults happy, and doesn't know how to say nice things? Yeah, no one would like him, not even his parents, let alone Pei Lu, whom he has only recently met.

However... there is still some sadness in his heart. But it doesn't matter, anyway, no one liked him in the first place, no one has ever liked him, right? So... he never cared.

Tang Jie gave a cold glance, then turned around and left. Therefore, he did not see what happened afterwards.

The parent-teacher conference ended, and Pei Lv stayed behind, waiting to have a good chat with Tang Jie, the homeroom teacher.

The homeroom teacher wasn't surprised to see Pei Lu. "Professor Pei, are you here to talk to me about Tang Jie?"

"Yes, I would like to know about Tang Jie's situation at school. How well does he get along with his classmates?"

The woman furrowed her brows, hesitating a little. "Um... Tang Jie isn't very good at communicating with his classmates at school... He... is very intelligent, I can sense that, but he seems to live in a different world, one that is different from the world we live in. I don't know if you can understand what I mean by saying this?"

"I think... he is very intelligent, but he seems to always be hiding, just like the file you have in your hands that belongs to him. I believe he knows many of the questions on the exam paper, but he never does them. He only does the multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions at the beginning of the exam, and he has never attempted any of the high-scoring questions. The strangest thing is that every question he has attempted is the correct answer. My next words may be a bit excessive, but please do not misunderstand."

"At first, I had doubts about the authenticity of his answers. However, as time went on, it was always the same after every exam. Every subject's paper would look like this. I once asked him during class and he could answer all the questions I asked him correctly, without ever making a mistake. As for this exam paper... I think it must be his own problem. He must have done this on purpose."

I can tell even without you saying it, okay? It's so obvious, can't possibly say the other person is just pretending, right?

Although he thought that way in his heart, Pei Lü still politely said, "Alright, I have understood the situation. Teacher, you've gone through trouble because of Tang Jie's matter."

Pei Lv's words instantly brought a smile to the woman's face, "There's no need to mention it. Tang Jie is our class's child, and everything I did was only natural. There's no question of whether I put in any effort or not. Professor Pei is usually very busy, I suggest you take some time to frequently accompany him. Boys of this age always tend to have rebellious or unconventional thoughts. There must be some special reasons behind his failure in the college entrance examination. Professor Pei, you need to pay more attention to him."

The homeroom teacher's words were not without reason, and Pei Lv did indeed take some of it to heart.

Until evening, Pei Lv finally couldn't resist pulling Tang Jie to sit across from him at the desk, attempting to engage in a thought-provoking conversation about their souls. Sure enough, Tang Jie cooperated and followed him into the study.

Pei Lv sat on the chair, while Tang Jie sat across from him, his eyes revealing a slight hint of timidity. Though it was not easily perceptible, Pei Lv still managed to discern it.

Pei Lu...

Pei Lu was well aware of his character. Although he knew exactly what kind of child he was, he chose not to expose him, but instead put on the appearance of a parent.

Tang Jie... Today, I went to attend your parent-teacher conference. On the way back, I was thinking, I think... we should have a talk about your issues at school, don't you think?" Pei Lv's face carried a smile of a helpful mentor, with hands folded on the table in front.

Tang Jie seemed somewhat scared, his body stiffened, as if something was about to burst out from his eyes. But he quickly concealed that something. Though it was fast, Pei Lu still noticed it.

He is just a child after all, still unable to conceal his true intentions. I still have some concerns and wariness towards him.

"Mm." Tang Jie's voice, low like a mosquito, came from his chest. Pei Lv had a faint smile on his face. "Tang Jie... or Xiaojie, you probably don't mind if I call you that, right? I've always wanted to have a good talk with you... It was me who brought you here, and these past few days I may have neglected your life. For that, I apologize. I haven't adjusted to my current life yet, and... I can't adjust to suddenly having you around. But now I need to take care of you, so I have the right to take good care of you and understand everything about you. Do you understand?"

Tang Jie didn't respond to him, seeming to still be immersed in the words Pei Lu had just called him, "Xiao Jie". From childhood to adulthood, no one had ever called him that way, not even his parents. Yet this person was the first one to do so. What did he want by calling him like this...

"Xiao Jie?" Perhaps due to professional reasons, Pei Lu disliked it when Tang Jie, a child of that age, was not paying attention during their conversation.

The named Tang Jie hurriedly raised his eyes to look at him. Pei Lv sighed helplessly, "You can tell me anything that happens at school, whether it is related to your studies, your classmates or friends, or even if it's about a girl you like... I don't mind, and I don't mind if you have an early relationship either. But I don't want you to hide things from me, like what happened at the parent-teacher meeting today. Can you promise me that?"

Pei Lv wore the expression of a responsible parent on his face. However, despite laughing for a long time, the other party showed no intention of giving him a prompt response. After a while, Tang Jie finally revealed a smile on his face, which was filled with scrutiny and suspicion, and agreed with Pei Lv.

After the conversation, Pei Lv closed his mouth and didn't say another word. He had already spoken a lot today, afraid that he would be suddenly silenced by Tang Jie in the next moment. If that were to happen, all the goodwill from before would have been in vain.

However, it's unknown whether those words just now have increased his favorability in Tang Jie's heart. He even changed his way of addressing him now. If his favorability doesn't increase, wouldn't that be a little unreasonable?

(Player affinity +5, B-grade +10, philosophical image +5)

Pei Lu was deep in thought when unexpectedly Siri spoke, startling him.

"Damn it, you scared me by suddenly speaking out! Why didn't you make any sound when you came out?!"

The system that was called out felt a little aggrieved silently, and stood aside without saying a word.