Can a System Have Bad Intentions? - Chapter 87

Lu Tang wiped her hands on her clothes and took the test paper from Xie Yu.

Xie Yu’s handwriting was the complete opposite of his image—neat and delicate, almost like a girl’s handwriting.

She vaguely remembered the answers to the multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions. After a quick glance, her eyes landed on the short-answer questions.

She couldn’t even understand the questions, let alone know if Xie Yu’s answers were correct. Holding the paper, Lu Tang frowned and asked, “Where are you from?”

Xie Yu stammered, “Is this part of the test?”

Lu Tang: …

This shy kid didn’t match his burly appearance at all.

Lu Tang couldn’t bring herself to tease him and just smiled, “No, I just think we have a connection and want to be friends. I’m asking casually.”

Xie Yu’s eyes widened, sparkling with excitement as he looked at Lu Tang. His breathing became heavier. “Young Master Lu, you… you want to be friends with me?”

Feeling Xie Yu’s excitement, Lu Tang lightly frowned, then nodded, “Yes.”

Xie Yu jumped up.

Startled, Lu Tang almost dropped the paper. “What are you doing?”

Xie Yu took a step closer, looking down at her with fiery eyes. “You really want to be friends with me?”

Lu Tang licked her lips.

That didn’t sound like something worth fighting over, right?

Hesitating, she asked, “You don’t want to? I won’t force you—”

Before she finished speaking, she saw tears streaming down Xie Yu’s bearded face. He choked out, “I want to!”

Good heavens!

Those three words sounded like something out of a wedding ceremony.

Feeling a bit uneasy, Lu Tang quickly said, “Good, good. If you want to, let’s sit down and talk. Just a simple chat.”

Xie Yu nodded seriously, sat back down across from Lu Tang, and cautiously asked, “So, we’re friends now?”

Looking at Xie Yu, Lu Tang belatedly realized, “You don’t have any friends, do you?”

The question triggered a wail from Xie Yu, who started crying miserably, hiccupping with sobs and blowing snot bubbles.

If this were Er Bao, Lu Tang would have picked him up and comforted him without hesitation.

But facing this burly man, Lu Tang felt a mix of emotions.

“They all despise me. I look different from them. They only bully me. I give them my family’s best food, they take it and push me into the river. They call me Little Old Man and won’t play with me. I only had Da Huang to play with, and they cooked him.”

Sniffling, the burly Xie Yu became more and more aggrieved as he spoke.

“Da Huang was my favorite dog. I raised him since he was born, for three years. Da Huang never despised me. He always wagged his tail happily when he saw me and stayed with me every day. They cooked him.”

Lu Tang hadn’t expected such a scene to unfold from a simple chat, feeling a bit sorry for Xie Yu. “Were they your neighbors?”

Xie Yu shook his head, tears falling. “They were my classmates.”

Lu Tang’s heart ached. “Didn’t the teacher do anything about it?”

Xie Yu shook his head, tears streaming. “The teacher said, why would so many students bully only me? I must be the problem.”

Lu Tang felt a painful pang in her heart.

“They all said I was the problem. Classmates called me Little Old Man, the teacher called me Little Monster, and my parents called me—”

It couldn’t have been anything nice. Lu Tang didn’t want to hear more.

She quickly patted Xie Yu’s back, interrupting him. “That’s all in the past. If you want, I’ll always be your friend. How about that?”

Not very good at comforting people, she managed to squeeze out these words after a while.

Wiping his tears with his sleeve, Xie Yu nodded seriously. “You won’t bully me?”

Lu Tang tried to sound as gentle as possible. “No. If you like, I have a big dog at home. When it has puppies, I’ll give you one.”

Xie Yu shook his head like he was electrocuted. “No.”

Lu Tang was puzzled. “Why?”

Xie Yu bit his lower lip and said nothing.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Tang understood.

Having his favorite pet cooked alive…

What a huge psychological trauma.

Sighing, Lu Tang patted Xie Yu’s back. “Don’t be sad. What would you like to eat? I’ll ask the kitchen to make something special for you.”

Xie Yu, with red eyes, replied in a nasal voice, “Steamed egg custard.”

If she ignored his burly exterior, Lu Tang felt that Xie Yu was a sensitive and fragile little soul.

However…

His appearance couldn’t be ignored.

“Alright, steamed egg custard it is. I’ll have them add some shrimp. Now, would you like to be alone for a while, or should I stay and chat with you?”

Xie Yu, afraid that Lu Tang might leave, grabbed her wrist. “Stay and chat with me.”

Lu Tang sighed sympathetically, recalling what the system had said earlier. “Do you like water management because someone in your family works in that field?”

When it came to water management, Xie Yu’s previously downcast expression lit up.

“My grandfather is very skilled in water management. He used to be a high-ranking official in the court. Do you know the Xiyang Dam? It’s very famous. He built it.”

Lu Tang didn’t expect Xie Yu to mention Xie Chengnian so openly. “Your grandfather was good at water management? Then he must have worked in the Ministry of Works.”

Xie Yu nodded. “My grandfather was the Minister of Works. Our family has many calligraphy and paintings given by the late Emperor.”

“But your accent doesn’t sound like you’re from the capital,” Lu Tang said, pretending not to know, just making casual conversation.

“When I was born, my grandfather was no longer working in the Ministry of Works. He retired and returned to our hometown in Yuhang. He has a large study filled with books.

“Since I stopped going to school, my grandfather taught me to read. He knows so much.”

Lu Tang smiled. “When you were born, your grandfather shouldn’t have been very old. Why did he retire?”

Xie Yu’s expression dimmed instantly. Biting his lip hard, he shook his head. “I don’t know.”

That wasn’t the truth.

But since Xie Yu didn’t want to say, Lu Tang didn’t press further.

She patted Xie Yu’s shoulder. “You love water management, and you have an excellent grandfather. Work hard, and maybe you’ll be the next Minister of Works.”

Tears glistened in Xie Yu’s eyes as he turned to look at Lu Tang. “Do you think I can do it?”

Lu Tang didn’t understand why he sounded so insecure, and it made her feel a bit sad. “Of course, you’re amazing.”

“But I think you’re even more amazing. You play every day, but you know more about water management than I do. One of the questions you asked was exactly the same as one my grandfather researched.”

Lu Tang: …

At that moment, the guest room door opened.

Lu Tang, still with her arm around Xie Yu’s shoulder, turned to see Qin Mo standing there with a dark expression.