He tricked the female lead into becoming his boyfriend, but then went on to criticize the male lead.

Sang Jiuning tightened her grip on the doorknob, bit her lower lip, and resignedly opened the door.

Life is precious, English is indispensable, but for the sake of love, both can be sacrificed?

She secretly glanced at Wen Zhaoci's expression and saw that his eyes still held a gentle smile, without the slightest displeasure. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief, lower her head, and slink along the wall towards the study, her steps becoming much lighter, like a cat caught stealing candy.

But she had only taken two steps when her wrist was gently grasped. A familiar fragrance and warm breath wafted over her, and her back tensed up instantly, forgetting to even her breathing.

Wen Zhaoci didn't step forward again, but instead gently rubbed her burning wrist with his fingertips, saying in a low voice, "You're in the study, and I'm in the living room. I'll start the spot check at five o'clock this afternoon. There will be a punishment if the accuracy rate doesn't reach 95%."

Sang Jiuning felt as if a feather had gently brushed against her heart, a tingling, itchy sensation spreading through her veins to every part of her body. She bit her lip and didn't turn around, completely ignoring the word "punishment." She softly hummed in agreement, withdrew her hand, and quickly went into the study, sitting down in a chair.

After spending an hour and a half organizing the key points, Sang Jiuning's hand was almost numb from writing. She still hadn't memorized the key points or the vocabulary.

Someone please save her! She really wants to change her major and continue with graphic design.

Two hours later, I'll have thoroughly understood and memorized the key points. Next up is vocabulary—100 words. It's 4 PM now, and there's an hour left before a spot check. I should be able to finish memorizing them.

Wen Zhaoci handed Sang Jiuning a plate of cut fruit, saying, "Eat this, then memorize your vocabulary."

The porcelain white fruit plate was filled with evenly cut mango chunks, apples, and cantaloupe, with fruit forks stuck on top.

Sang Jiuning, it would be even better with some more yogurt.

Wen Zhaoci didn't say much upon hearing this. She turned around and went to the kitchen to get some yogurt. She even poured it into a small porcelain bowl, stirred it, and handed it to her before sitting down. She lightly tapped the open vocabulary book with her fingertips. "Eat up. I'll stay here with you for a while."

Sang Jiuning took a bite of mango with a fruit fork, the sweet juice spreading in her mouth. Turning her head, she saw Wen Zhaoci leaning back in his chair, flipping through a book. Sunlight streamed through the blinds, falling on his well-defined profile, casting soft shadows on even his eyelashes. He looked quiet and handsome.

She stole a couple more glances before quickly looking away, forcing herself to focus back on the vocabulary book, though the faint scent of laundry detergent lingered around her nose.

After finishing her meal, she started memorizing vocabulary, but her progress was much slower than expected. By almost five o'clock, she had only memorized less than seventy out of a hundred words. She gripped her pen, frowned, and secretly bit her lower lip.

"Time's up. Let's do a quick knowledge test." Wen Zhaoci handed the computer to Sang Jiuning. "Do it on the computer. I'll install a printer tonight."

Sang Jiuning stared at the knowledge questions on the screen, her palms sweating again. Her fingertips hovered over the keyboard for a long time without typing a single word, until she heard Wen Zhaoci's warm breath beside her, at which point she hurriedly began to type.

When she got to the last question, she got stuck for a full five minutes, still confusing two easily confused points. Biting her pen, she turned to peek at Wen Zhaoci's reaction, only to see the other lean over, her arm resting on the edge of the table, pointing to the question on the screen: "Here, didn't you mix up two definitions in your notes last time? Think again, on which page are the key points you highlighted this morning?"

A warm breath brushed against her earlobe, and Sang Jiuning froze. Even the content she had memorized was stuck. She could only slowly piece together her memory with a vague recollection. After finally finishing the questions and handing in the paper, when the page showed the accuracy rate, she covered her eyes, not daring to look. She then heard the person beside her chuckle: "Not bad, exactly ninety-six percent, one point more than I asked for."

Sang Jiuning abruptly released her grip, only letting out a sigh of relief upon seeing the numbers on the screen. Just as she was about to laugh, she heard Wen Zhaoci slowly say, "Word quiz, let's begin."

Sang Jiuning's smile froze instantly, her fingertips digging into the edge of the chair as she pursed her lips. "I...I haven't finished memorizing all one hundred yet." Wen Zhaoci raised an eyebrow and tapped the table with his fingertips. "Then, if you get more than three wrong in the seventy you've memorized..."

Sang Jiuning gritted her teeth and forced herself to memorize the words one by one. The more she memorized, the smoother it became. In the end, she only misspelled four words. She hung her head and admitted her mistake: "I was wrong. I will definitely finish memorizing them earlier next time."

Looking at her obediently admitting her mistakes, Wen Zhaoci couldn't help but gently rub the top of her head with his fingertips. The soft strands of hair brushed against his palm, and he said with a smile, "You made four mistakes, so you have to be punished."

Sang Jiuning shrank her neck, "Huh? What kind of punishment?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a light touch landed on her cheek, warm and quick as a feather. She opened her eyes wide and froze on the spot.

Wen Zhaoci withdrew his hand, looked at her ears which had turned bright red, and chuckled: "This is your punishment. You'll continue studying tonight, memorize another 130 words, learn new knowledge points, and I'll test you."

Sang Jiuning: ...Let her die, okay? It feels like I'm back to those tense days in high school.

"Let's go, I'll take you to eat biangbiang noodles. It's a bit far, it'll take an hour to drive there. You can listen to some audio in the car."

After Wen Zhaoci finished speaking, he picked up his phone, shared a few links with Sang Jiuning, and took out a pair of Bluetooth earphones, which were his own.

His fingertips accidentally brushed against Sang Jiuning's soft hand. He watched as the girl shrank back to the side, the redness on her ears still lingering. She responded softly with an "Oh," and the smile in his eyes deepened.

Sang Jiuning clutched her phone and slowly followed him out the door, her steps unsteady. Even after she got into the car and fastened her seatbelt, her head was still spinning.

She couldn't help but steal a glance at the driver's seat. The man was adjusting the navigation with his eyes downcast, his profile clean and sharp, and a smile still lingering on his lips.

Sang Jiuning quickly turned around, put on her headphones, opened the link, and listened to English.

She heard standard pronunciation through her earphones, calmed herself down, and ten minutes later heard Wen Zhaoci ask, "Can you understand it? I'll draw in a bit, tell me what this part is about."

Sang Jiuning: "..." Do I have to be so responsible?

She straightened her body and continued listening.

Wen Zhaoci turned her head to look at her, noticing that her whole face was flushed and she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips. She slowed down her speech and said, "Listen carefully, I'll test you when we get there."

When the car pulled up in front of a restaurant, Wen Zhaoci unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to look at her. He saw that the girl was still sitting in the same position, staring straight ahead, with her earphones hanging in her ears. She seemed to be lost in thought. He couldn't help but chuckle and reached out to knock on the car window: "We're here, you little daydreamer, get out."