Keeping the Young Master Company While He Studies

Chen Ci comes from a poor family, but he has always excelled in both character and academics. At the top middle school in the province, he ranked first in every subject throughout all three years of junior high and never slipped up. As a result, he received an unexpected offer Lu Xingchuan, the class’s richest “prince,” is preparing to attend high school in the U.S. Worried that their son will be lonely abroad without any friends, or that the wrong friends might lead him astray, Lu Xingchuan’s parents offer to cover all of Chen Ci’s expenses if he goes to the U.S. and attends the same high school. And so Chen Ci becomes a modern-day prince’s study companion. At first, they aren’t close, and Lu Xingchuan is dismissive. “Why did my mom ask you to come?” Chen Ci and he are from different worlds. He quietly studies in his own little room and even carries Lu Xingchuan through their group assignments. * Lu Xingchuan is throwing a party upstairs. Remembering Lu’s mother’s earnest instructions, Chen Ci thinks it over and sends him a message: Don’t drink too much. In the living room, Lu Xingchuan clears his throat and tells everyone, “Quit fooling around! Keep it down!” “Why the sudden change of heart, Young Master Lu?” one guest asks curiously. “We have a cat at home. I don’t want to wake it.” Chen Ci has always thought Young Master Lu finds him annoying. If he were in Lu’s shoes, he’d find himself annoying too. But when the school baseball players bully him, Young Master Lu really does appear out of nowhere, bringing the hulking members of the school hockey team to back him up. And when Chen Ci nearly loses out on the high school graduation speech to a local student who’s inferior to him in every way, Lu Xingchuan drives up in his Cullinan and storms off to demand an explanation from the principal. Later, when Chen Ci earns an offer from Princeton thanks to his outstanding performance at the elite Ross Mathematics Program summer camp, Lu Xingchuan insists on throwing him a celebration party. Drunk, he grabs Chen Ci’s hand and says, “...Wifey, you’re amazing.” Chen Ci: “??” Happy ending, one-on-one. The author has never studied abroad. Everything is in service of the story. If any details differ from reality, please treat this as a parallel universe. Thanks for understanding! Theme: With you by my side, we can give it our all.