Chapter Twenty-Three

After lunch, class was boring. I mean, I guess it was because I barley could pay attention. Constantly I would start writing notes only to stop and let my mind drift off towards Ba Wei. Those last words he said to me kept replaying in my head. Don't try me...what does that mean?

I sat there staring at the wall so intently that I barley noticed that class had ended. I sighed and looked down at my notebook. I had only taken about a dozen pages full of notes. I ran my fingers through my hair. Hopefully the homework was something I already knew how to do.

I started packing up my things, and just when I was stuffing the last of my books in my phone began to vibrate nonstop. I zipped up my bag and pulled out my phone. To my surprise the name on the caller ID belonged to no other than my father.

I quickly picked up the call, "hello."

"Ji Nan, how have you been doing?"

"Don't give me that. You haven't called or texted me in days," I said coldly.

"I knew that would make you upset, and I apologize."

"Save it."

"Ji Nan," he sighed, "I know I should've contacted you, but I couldn't."

"Yeah sure," I got up and swung my bag over my shoulders. "Why did you call?"

"I called because I'm in town, and I wanted us to have dinner."

It was a sweet thing to offer, but I was not interested. He probably wasn't even in the city right now. He's done that before, so I don't even get my hopes up to see him.

"I can't. I have plans."

"With who? We both know you can't see your fri-"

"It's not them," I interrupted, "why do you always have to bring them up every time I decline something."

"You know why."

I could feel the anger boiling up. I knew if I didn't end this phone call, I would most likely say something I would regret.

"Bye."

The beginning of my name was all he was able to get out before I hung up the phone. I stuffed it back in my pockets and rolled my eyes. I hated when he brought up the past, especially those people.

I didn't want to remember them yet he always brought them up when I said I didn't want to do things with him. I get that he didn't approve of my lifestyle before we moved but he knows I agreed to never go back to how I was. It frustrates me that he doesn't trust me.

I pushed all of that to the back of my mind and glanced down at my watch. I sighed and walked out of the classroom. I started to make my way to room 205, ignoring the buzzing that was coming from my pocket.

———

When I walked into the tutoring room Ba Wei was sitting at the table on his phone. He probably was playing that game again. I walked over the table and sat my bag down. Those dark eyes of his immediately met mine, but he turned his attention back to the his phone almost instantly. Childish.

I began to take out my tutoring books and sat down. I was about to tell Ba Wei to do the same but I noticed that he already had.

"This is new," he said as he cut the screen to his phone off.

"What's new?"

"You being late. It's surprising really."

I scratched the back of my head, "yeah, sorry. I had to take a phone call." He nudged me and I looked over to him.

"You don't have to apologize for such a small thing. I did stand you up that one time." He laughed slightly as he said that, but I wasn't amused. He probably only remember just waking up in my house and being in a awkward situation. For me it was hell, I had to carry him, and he wasn't the least bit light.

"Yeah, I should've took my time."

"Oh come on. I was gonna come that time, but that meeting took a bit longer than I expected."

"It also ended a bit unexpected." I turned my attention back to homework booklet. "Let's hurry and get this tutoring session over with."

He nodded and we began going over it. He seemed to understand most of it but he didn't understand a science problem that was even quite difficult for me. I tried to walk him through it multiple times, but he still didn't understand. I could see that he was getting frustrated, and I couldn't blame him, even I was getting frustrated.

"What part do you not understand?" He pushed his bangs out of his face only for them to fall back.

"All of it. I don't understand one thing about it."

"This is the reason you shouldn't skip thirty minutes of your science class."

"I don't need to be lectured right now," he said coldly. I glanced down at the blank paper and then back up at him.

"I'll go over it slower this time." I slowly started to go over the problem and he watched closely. I was about to finish the problem when I felt a slight sensation on my knee. My hand immediately stopped moving and Ba Wei seemed to take notice to this.

"Why did you stop?" I didn't say anything back and just moved over slightly and finished the problem.

"Do you understand?"

"A bit." I didn't believe that for a second. Although his face was stern I could see from his eyes that he still didn't understand.

"Do this problem and I'll check it."

"Why," he sighed, "I said I understood a bit."

"You need to understand fully. You have to pass the tests just like I have to."

He stared at the booklet for a few minutes before he reached for the pencil. I watched him work out the first part of the problem and it was correct. The problem was when he got to the second part his hand began to hover over the paper. It was a rather difficult chart and graph question so I get how he can get easily confused but I have went over it a dozen times.

I thought he would put the pencil down but he didn't. I looked up at his face and it was still stern. His eyes were forced on the page. Almost like something clicked, he finished the problem in a blink of an eye. I sat there astonished at his speed.

"What...just happened?"

"I finished the problem."

"I know that, but I was sure you didn't know how to do it."

"Getting it a bit is enough for me."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said as I closed my notebook and workbook. I pushed them down in my bag just as my phone started to vibrate. I zipped it and pulled out my phone. With one look at the name, I stuffed it back in my pocket.

"Scammer," Ba Wei asked? I couldn't help but laugh at the sudden ridiculous question.

"No," I laughed out.

"What's so funny," he asked as he began to laugh?

I shook my head unable to say anything. We sat at that table laughing at nothing for what seemed like forever.

When I was finally able to get my laughter under control, I stood up from the table. Ba Wei stood up right after me. He wasn't laughing anymore but he had a smirk on his face. Before I had time to react he had already reached for my face. He pinched my cheeks hard and I immediately pulled back.

"Ouch," I yelped. I rubbed my cheeks with my hands and Ba Wei just looked at me with that smirk on his face. "What was that for?"

"I just wanted to see if they'd turn red." As that sentence registered in my brain, I'm sure my face turned beat red. "Look at that, they're red."