After Differentiation, I Marked My Arch-nemesis - Chapter 86

It was 7:30 p.m. when Jiang Youli arrived at Jiangcheng International Airport.

The dark night sky enveloped the entire bustling Jiangcheng. The streets and alleys of Jiangcheng were lit up with thousands of lights. Jiang Youli left the airport and got into a taxi on the side of the road.

The taxi weaved through the brightly lit streets with the rest of the traffic.

The streets were as bright as day.

The taxi driver uncle looked at the girl in the back through the rearview mirror several times and then said, “Hey, little girl, have we met before?”

When she heard this, Jiang Youli looked at the driver.

“Have we?”

“Do you remember that you and another S-class Omega girl took my taxi before?” The driver recalled the scene. “I thought you and that S-class Omega girl were a couple, but you denied it later.”

When Jiang Youli heard the driver say this, she suddenly remembered.

“Uncle, it’s you.”

The driver laughed. “You remembered.”

Jiang Youli: “Mhm.”

“I didn’t expect to see you in Jiangcheng again,” the driver saw that Jiang Youli was alone and asked, “Why aren’t you with that girl today?”

“She…” Jiang Youli lowered her eyes. “Transferred to Capital High School.”

The driver: “I see…”

Jiang Youli called out, “Uncle.”

The driver: “What’s wrong?”

“I finally know what it feels like to lose and miss out, just like you told me last time,” Jiang Youli turned her head to look at the bustling street scene outside the window with a heavy heart. “I also finally know what it feels like to have endless regrets.”

The driver was silent and didn’t say anything.

“But what I regret is not having the courage to face my true feelings earlier. What I lost and missed out on was the opportunity to always be with her, but the foolish me pushed her away again and again and made her angry,” Jiang Youli’s eyes sparkled with a subtle glint. “She is especially wonderful, and I have to work hard to be worthy of her.”

“In the future…”

“I will definitely go to where she is and pursue her.”

“And not leave any more regrets for myself.”

The driver: “Is the person you’re talking about that girl from last time?”

Jiang Youli replied with certainty, “It’s her. I like her.”

The driver: “You can do it, little girl. I wish you the best.”

Jiang Youli smiled. “I will.”

The two of them stopped talking.

Jiang Youli looked away from the car window and took out her phone from her jacket. She opened Lu Yaoyi’s chat interface. Lu Yaoyi still hadn’t accepted her friend request.

She stared at the glaring red exclamation mark with a mix of emotions.

Then she opened the text box and typed a message to send.

—Lu Yaoyi, I miss you so much.

However, the reply she received was still the red exclamation mark.

A heavy sigh.

Jiang Youli turned off her phone, put it back in her jacket, and turned to look at the starry sky outside the car window.

The words she couldn’t say were drowned in her sentimental eyes.

She knew she and Lu Yaoyi would definitely meet again.

When she got home,

As soon as Jiang Youli opened the door, she saw Li Henian, who had been waiting for a long time.

Li Henian stood at the entrance and smiled gently at Jiang Youli. He slowly walked to her and patted her head. “Dingding, welcome home.”

Jiang Youli’s nose felt sour, and she threw herself into Li Henian’s arms.

“Little Dad…”

Li Henian tightened his arms and hugged Jiang Youli. “Dad missed you very much.”

Jiang Youli: “I missed you too.”

She let go of Li Henian and looked up at him with red eyes. “Little Dad…”

Li Henian: “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Youli: “I want to take back what I told you before.”

Li Henian: “What did you say?”

Jiang Youli knew that Li Henian probably already understood how she felt about Lu Yaoyi, but she still decided to confess her true feelings to him. “I used to always tell you that I didn’t like Lu Yaoyi, and I even advised you to give up on the idea of setting us up. You were right; you shouldn’t speak in absolutes.”

“I like Lu Yaoyi.”

“I used to feel that it was embarrassing to like Lu Yaoyi, and I was also afraid that she would laugh at me for liking her, so I’ve been running away from reality and was afraid to face my feelings.”

“Little Dad…”

She looked at Li Henian a little sadly. “You can’t tease me…”

Li Henian smiled gently. “It’s not shameful to like someone.”

Jiang Youli nodded. “I understand that now.”

“So Dad will only wish you happiness and won’t tease you,” Li Henian finally waited for his precious daughter to fall for Lu Yaoyi. “Dad said before that your father and I only accept Yaoyao as our daughter-in-law, so Dad supports you in pursuing Yaoyao.”

Jiang Youli: “Not yet.”

Li Henian: “Why?”

Jiang Youli: “Little Dad, please find me a private tutor.”

Li Henian: “Why do you suddenly want a tutor?”

“Because I want to get into a university in the capital, so starting tomorrow, I’m going to study hard,” Jiang Youli’s eyes lit up when she said this. “I’ve wasted too much time and missed too much. Now I want a tutor to help me catch up on everything I missed and catch up with my studies.”

Li Henian had never put any pressure on Jiang Youli when it came to her studies.

When he heard Jiang Youli say this, he hugged her with a look of relief.

“Okay.”

“Dad will get a tutor to help you catch up on everything you missed.”

The next day, Wednesday.

Early in the morning, Jiang Youli, along with her friends who had played Truth or Dare with her last week, including Chen Huaian, Cen Zijin, Shen Yichuan, and a few others from different classes, waited at the office door of the Grade 1 director.

The Grade 1 director was very surprised when he arrived at the office.

He didn’t expect so many students to be waiting at the door.

Jiang Youli explained to the director that they wanted to clarify the broadcast confession in front of the whole school during the long break and formally apologize to Pei Jingning. They had asked for and gotten Pei Jingning’s permission to apologize and clarify in front of the school before they came to the office, which was why they had rushed to school early in the morning and waited at the office door.

The director agreed.

At Jiangcheng No. 1 High School, the long break after the second period.

All the teachers and students lined up on the field.

Before the exercises began,

Jiang Youli and her friends who had played Truth or Dare walked up to the stage on the field in front of everyone. As the person involved and the leader, she first personally clarified in front of all the teachers and students that the broadcast confession was a punishment for losing the Truth or Dare game. She and her friends then apologized one by one to Pei Jingning, who was standing in the Class 2 line.

In the end, they all put their arms around each other’s shoulders and bowed deeply to the crowd below.

The absurd farce was finally put to rest.

During the break,

Lu Yaoyi’s phone in her desk vibrated a few times.

She put down her pen and took out her phone. The screen showed a message from Jin Rubing, so she opened it.

—Yaoyi, look at this.

– [Image]

—Jiang Youli apologized to Pei Jingning in front of the whole school today. I can’t believe that broadcast confession was just a dare. I thought she really liked Pei Jingning, which is why you cried so much that day.

—It’s so annoying.

Lu Yaoyi finished reading the messages, took out her headphones from her bag, and plugged them into her phone.

Then she opened the video.

She looked at Jiang Youli standing in the center of the field stage and listened to Jiang Youli’s sincere apology to Pei Jingning. When Jiang Youli bowed deeply in the end, it touched the softest part of her heart. Jiang Youli had also bowed and apologized to her the day before.

She suddenly realized that Jiang Youli seemed to have changed a little.

At the end of the video, Jiang Youli said something in front of the whole school.

—”From now on, I will study hard and be a good person.”

She smiled slightly when she heard this.

Jiang Youli told her yesterday that she would definitely get into a university in the capital.

So does that mean Jiang Youli wants to come to the capital to find her? Has she successfully entered Jiang Youli’s heart? If her leaving could make Jiang Youli start to grow, then she was willing to endure the immense longing and be apart from Jiang Youli.

She…

Was willing to wait for Jiang Youli to come and find her in the capital.

She saved the video and replied to Jin Rubing.

—Rubing.

—You have to tell me about her.

Jin Rubing quickly replied.

—I knew you hadn’t given up on Jiang Youli.

—How can you just give up on someone you’ve liked for so many years?

—Don’t worry.

—I’ll be sure to keep you updated on Jiang Youli.

Lu Yaoyi replied.

—Mhm.

—Thank you, Rubing.

Jin Rubing replied.

—You’re welcome.

Ever since Jiang Youli came back from the capital,

She hadn’t left the classroom during breaks except to use the restroom. She refused to go out and play with anyone who called her. She also no longer slept or played on her phone during class. She listened carefully to every lesson, and if she didn’t understand something, she would go to the office after class to ask the teacher for help.

This passionate attitude toward learning shocked all the teachers in the office.

Tan Yushan was completely bewildered.

Jiang Youli was like a completely different person, without any of her previous unruly and uneducated behavior. It was unbelievable and impressed all the teachers.

During the day, Jiang Youli followed the rules and listened carefully in class.

She wasn’t late, didn’t skip class, and didn’t leave early.

At night, she went home and had her tutor help her with her studies.

She had always been a wild child and had barely studied throughout her life. Now, she was starting from scratch. Fortunately, her attitude toward learning was very good, and she was willing to start from the beginning, but starting from scratch wasn’t easy.

She had to spend more time and energy to catch up with her studies.

On the weekend,

Li Henian was very happy to see that Jiang Youli no longer went out with her friends but stayed home to have her tutor help her with her studies. His precious daughter, who used to hate studying so much, was now drowning in a sea of practice questions every day, with only one goal in mind: to get into a university in the capital.

He was both touched and happy for Jiang Youli.

He thought…

This was probably the power of love.

Time flew by.

At the end of March, the results for the first monthly exam of the semester at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School were released.

Tan Yushan walked into Class 1 of Grade 1 with the report cards.

The whole class quieted down.

Tan Yushan stood at the podium and said to the class, “Next, I will announce the results of the first monthly exam of this semester. Everyone has improved a lot this time.”

“I want to give special praise to one student.”

He said this and looked at Jiang Youli, who was sitting in the last row by the window. “This student’s scores have improved tremendously on this monthly exam, and that is our classmate, Jiang Youli.”

The entire class turned to look at Jiang Youli.

Jiang Youli was eagerly awaiting her score.

“Student Jiang Youli, you used to get a zero and were the last in your grade,” Tan Yushan said with relief. “Congratulations, you got a total score of 42 on this monthly exam.”

When Jiang Youli heard her score, she was so excited that she raised her hands and shot up from her seat.

“Yeah!”

“I got a 42!”

“A 42!”

The whole class was amused by Jiang Youli’s excitement and laughed and applauded.

Tan Yushan also smiled.

He was genuinely happy for Jiang Youli, who was working hard.

Jiang Youli was very happy.

Even though she only got a 42 on this monthly exam, it was the first monthly exam she had taken since she started studying seriously. She only did the questions she knew how to do and left the ones she didn’t know blank on the answer sheet. She wanted to use her most authentic score to know exactly where she stood, and then have her tutor help her figure out every question.

Even if it was difficult to start studying from scratch,

And even painful,

She had to persevere for her goal and her belief.

After class,

Lu Yaoyi received a message from Jin Rubing.

—Yaoyi.

—Jiang Youli got a 42 on this monthly exam, and she was so happy.

—It’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone who’s happier with a total score of 42 than someone who got first place in the whole school. But… Jiang Youli is really studying hard lately.

—I feel a little ashamed of myself.

She smiled slightly when she finished reading the message.

Jiang Dingding, you can do it.

I’ll wait for you in the capital.

In the evening,

Jiang Youli finished her homework at past 11 p.m. She put down her pen, stretched, and yawned. Then she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and picked up her phone from the desk.

She opened Lu Yaoyi’s chat interface and, as usual, sent a message.

—Lu Yaoyi, I miss you so much.

Ever since she came back from the capital, she had been sending Lu Yaoyi the same message every day, but the reply she received was still the red exclamation mark.

After sending the message, she turned off her phone and looked at the small photo frame on her desk.

The photo frame held the picture of them from Valentine’s Day. She picked up the photo frame and looked at Lu Yaoyi in the photo. Whenever she was tired or sleepy from studying, seeing Lu Yaoyi would fill her with motivation. She realized that liking someone could give her infinite strength.

While there was still time,

She had to follow the light and chase after Lu Yaoyi’s steps toward the future.

She gently caressed Lu Yaoyi in the photo and smiled.

Lu Yaoyi, I will work hard.

Wait for me in the capital.