Deadly Sweet - Chapter 9 - Ocean Breeze in a Cup

While waiting for the dishes to be served, Jiang Yao relaxed in his chair, one hand holding his phone while the other lazily rubbed the soft flesh under his chin. He looked like a playful kitten amusing itself. Jiang Yuan’s eyes were filled with a gentle smile as he watched his brother.

Jiang Yao saw something funny on his phone, revealing his sharp little canine teeth as his pink lips parted in a smile. His emerald green eyes were focused intently on the small moving object on the screen, and his smile was particularly sweet.

Curious, Jiang Yuan leaned over and saw an adorable little kitten on the screen. He guessed at his brother’s thoughts and cautiously asked, “Yao, do you want to keep a cat or a dog?”

“If you really want to, you can.”

“No, I don’t plan to,” Jiang Yao replied, knowing he didn’t have the patience to be a pet owner. “If I brought one home, the nanny would end up taking care of it.”

Jiang Yuan nodded in agreement, his eyes flickering slightly before he looked at Jiang Yao with a tender gaze. Jiang Yao felt a shiver run down his spine from the intensity of the stare and finally shifted his attention to Jiang Yuan. “If you have something to say, just say it,” he said, not wanting to be looked at with such a lingering gaze.

“Where do you want to go for winter break?”

Jiang Yao’s eyes widened in shock. He waved his slender fingers in front of Jiang Yuan’s face, as if checking if he was sane. “Second brother, we just started the school year, and you’re already asking about winter break plans?”

Jiang Yuan smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. “Yao, second brother might have to go abroad early. Is that okay?”

He had received a call from their eldest brother a few days ago, suggesting he go abroad for university in the second semester of senior year and then help out at the family company. If it were just him, he would have agreed without hesitation. But with Jiang Yao still in the country, how could he leave without worrying?

Jiang Yao’s smile froze, and he struggled to maintain it. His eyes welled up with tears, but he held them back. “If you have to go, then go,” he said, knowing he couldn’t be selfish and hold his brother back, even if it meant he would be lonely and sad.

“Yao…” Jiang Yuan’s voice was filled with guilt. He wanted to hug his brother, but Jiang Yao turned away, trying to suppress his emotions.

“Forget it. I’ll tell our eldest brother that I’ll stay in the country for university. Domestic universities are good too. There’s no need to go abroad.”

Seeing his brother so upset, Jiang Yuan immediately wanted to reject the idea of going abroad. Jiang Yao finally regained his composure. His eyes were slightly red, but he smiled as usual. “Don’t be silly, second brother. Foreign universities have better programs in Economic Management. You’ll be leaving after senior year anyway, so it’s just one semester earlier. No big deal.”

“Besides, we still have the nanny and Uncle Wang at home. I won’t starve, right?” Jiang Yao’s tone became more relaxed, and he even joked about foreign specialties, looking excited.

Jiang Yuan felt a pang in his heart. He held Jiang Yao’s hand tightly, rubbing it gently. “Alright, I’ll send you some delicious food when I find it.”

“Be good at home, eat well, take your medicine on time, and let the nanny cook whatever you want. If she can’t, ask Uncle Wang to buy it. Don’t let yourself suffer.”

Jiang Yuan rambled on, as if he were leaving immediately. Jiang Yao smiled and held out his slender fingers, his emerald green eyes sparkling. “You’re not leaving now, so why the rush?” He glanced at Jiang Yuan with mock disdain and returned his attention to his phone. The light in his eyes dimmed, and his smile faded.

It’s okay, he thought. He had lived alone before, right?

After dinner, they returned to school. The cheerful atmosphere from earlier had dissipated. Although they still chatted, their smiles seemed forced.

They didn’t break each other’s smiles, going along with what the other wanted. Jiang Yao’s gaze drifted to the darkening sky, remembering the golden sunlight from the afternoon.

It was going to rain…

On the first evening of self-study, the classroom was quiet. Perhaps the students weren’t familiar with each other yet and were afraid of saying the wrong thing.

Xu Qin, who sat in front of Yan Heng, frowned as she stared at a math problem. She had been thinking for a long time but couldn’t figure it out. She turned to Yan Heng, who was dozing off, and cautiously asked, “Academic Genius Yan, do you have a moment?”

Yan Heng, still reeling from being rejected by his crush and scolded by his brother, initially wanted to refuse. But then he thought of Jiang Yao, who was sleeping beside him. Maybe if he helped Xu Qin, Jiang Yao would see him as a good person and be willing to get to know him better. And who knows, they might end up together.

With that hopeful thought, Yan Heng’s deep voice resonated in the quiet classroom. “What’s up?”

“How do you solve this problem?” Xu Qin asked, showing her diligence by already studying the third chapter during the first evening self-study.

Yan Heng glanced at the lengthy problem, and the relevant knowledge points quickly surfaced in his mind. He picked up a pen and began writing on a blank sheet of paper.

Xu Qin watched expectantly, but when she saw the solution, she realized she had made a mistake. Yan Heng’s thought process was beyond her comprehension. She couldn’t even recognize some of the symbols.

“Do you understand?” Yan Heng asked, his eyes shining with anticipation.

Under his increasingly bright gaze, Xu Qin solemnly shook her head.

It wasn’t that she was bad at math; it was just that Yan Heng’s thought process was on a different level. Or maybe she was just bad at math.

Jiang Yao, who had been sleeping, opened his eyes at some point. He lazily glanced at the paper covered in writing and spoke in a sleepy, nasal voice. “Just use the plane vectors we learned before. Add the x and y axes, set the points, and solve it.”

After saying that, he turned his head and closed his eyes again, ignoring the shocked onlookers.

Xu Qin trembled as she drew two auxiliary lines based on Jiang Yao’s suggestion. The problem suddenly became simple. Yan Heng looked at Jiang Yao with a complicated expression, wanting to punch his past self for his arrogance.

No wonder Jiang Yao rejected him. Offering to tutor him? What a joke.

Xu Qin’s deskmate, a timid girl, blinked curiously at Jiang Yao, who had fallen asleep again. Her curiosity grew.

“Is Jiang Yao really bad at school?” He had only glanced at the problem and, while half-asleep, provided the simplest solution.

How could someone like that be bad at school?

The onlookers quickly nodded. From what they knew, Jiang Yao’s scores were always in the single digits. Many thought he had a problem, as scoring in the single digits out of 150 was quite an achievement.