Chapter 30: Road Robbery (Part 1)

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"Alright, that's it for today!" Tong Lei put down the pen in her hand. The sweet sound of her tutoring ended just like that.

Ji Feng, who had been completely lost in her voice, snapped out of it and quickly said, "Got it, class monitor. Thanks for all your hard work!"

Tong Lei gave him a playful look and said with a smile, "Hard work? I explained everything so fast—can you even keep up? I think you're the one working hard!"

Ji Feng laughed and said, "Actually, I can keep up just fine. I already memorized most of the content before, I just didn't know how to use it properly. But after hearing your explanation, everything's so much clearer now."

Tong Lei stared at him, as if looking at something strange. She reached out her soft white hand and touched Ji Feng's forehead. "You sure you're not sick? Or are you just pretending to sound smart?"

Ji Feng's heart suddenly skipped a beat at her touch. He quickly moved her hand away, a little embarrassed. "Come on, do I look like someone who would lie about grades just to save face? I really did memorize all this stuff. I just didn't know how to apply it."

"You're serious?" Tong Lei still looked a little doubtful.

"Of course!" Ji Feng nodded. "Test me if you want. Ask anything from the book."

Tong Lei gave him a suspicious look, picked up the math book, flipped to a section they hadn't studied yet, and fired off a few questions.

To her surprise, Ji Feng answered them instantly.

"You... you really did memorize everything?" Tong Lei blinked in disbelief, her beautiful eyes wide open.

Ji Feng scratched his head and said, "Well, not everything, but I've gone through most of it. Like I said, I just can't use the knowledge well. That's why I need your help."

Tong Lei shook her head, half smiling. "I think I get it now. You're not human. You're a monster."

Ji Feng: "..."

He didn't know how shocked she truly was.

Tong Lei had grown up in a privileged home. Her father had always made sure she had tutors to teach her in advance. She was used to being ahead of the class. And with her natural smarts, she was always at the top.

Even so, she hadn't memorized all the advanced formulas yet. She only kept herself a few chapters ahead of the school curriculum. That was enough to stay number one.

But now, seeing Ji Feng—who had quietly memorized everything without any tutoring or resources—made her question everything.

With a sigh, she asked, "Wait… did you memorize the content of all your subjects too?"

Ji Feng nodded honestly. "Yeah. Same as math. I can remember the stuff easily now. But applying it is still hard for me."

"Pfft—!" Tong Lei almost choked on her own saliva.

She stared at him for a few seconds. "So you're telling me your grades were bad because you were too busy memorizing future lessons instead of learning what the class was actually teaching?"

"Ah… no, not exactly," Ji Feng said awkwardly. "Before, I really couldn't learn well, no matter how hard I tried. But sometime after starting senior year, my memory just… improved. I don't know how. Now, if I read something a few times, I can remember it all."

Tong Lei felt like she had three black lines forming on her forehead. She stared at him again, almost as if she was trying to find signs that he might be an alien in disguise.

After a long moment, she finally said, "You're a beast in human form!"

Ji Feng could only smile awkwardly.

"Alright," Tong Lei finally said with a small laugh. "Let's stop here for today. It's getting late. I should head home."

She felt torn.

On one hand, tutoring Ji Feng gave her a real sense of accomplishment—he understood everything she explained so quickly. On the other hand, it was a huge blow to her pride!

Before, she thought she was smart. But in front of Ji Feng, her intelligence seemed... ordinary.

"Let me walk you home," Ji Feng said as he stood up. But as soon as he said it, he realized it sounded too forward. He quickly added, "I mean, it's getting dark. It's not safe to walk alone!"

"No, wait—I didn't mean anything weird by that!" Ji Feng panicked. "I just think… as classmates… friends… I should look out for you, that's all!"

"Pfft!" Tong Lei burst out laughing. "Relax! I didn't misunderstand. Look how nervous you got!"

Her gentle laughter made two small dimples appear on her flawless face.

Ji Feng didn't even get a chance to admire them—he was too relieved. He let out a long breath. "Good… that's good. Let's go then, class monitor. I'll walk you home."

Tong Lei nodded. "Okay!"

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