Meng Yan's Transformation

When Zhan Mengyan spoke, her voice was so soft it was almost drowned out by the wind.

The air suddenly fell silent for a few seconds.

Zhan Zixun's voice came from inside the room: "It's so delicious! I was starving..."

"You deserve to be hungry. You didn't eat well at the banquet at Old Zhang's house at noon. As soon as you step out the door, you're like a weak scholar or a shy little girl, so timid. No wonder you're hungry. You need to go out and get some experience. A boy needs social skills; he can't always stay cooped up at home..."

Yunqing spoke with a helpless expression.

Zhan Mengyan and Zhang Xincheng exchanged a glance, both opening their mouths as if to say something, but then lowered their heads and swallowed their words.

Zhang Xincheng gripped his backpack tightly, feeling a strange sense of tightness.

Zhan Mengyan should have stepped aside to let him pass and said "goodbye," but she remained rooted to the spot.

Zhang Xincheng didn't seem to intend to take a step immediately; he simply stood in the beam of light.

"How about..." The two spoke almost simultaneously, then stopped at the same time, making the situation even more awkward, like an invisible mist spreading out.

Zhang Xincheng felt his cheeks getting slightly hot, and shifted his gaze to the figure in front of him.

Zhang Xincheng cleared his throat and turned his gaze to the doorway behind him.

“What I mean is,” Zhan Mengyan rearranged her words, trying to make her voice sound more natural, “if you have time and there’s no emergency at home, could you… briefly explain the thought process? I’ve been stuck on this for a long time.” She added, trying to make her request seem reasonable, “It won’t take up much of your time, just a few minutes.”

Zhang Xincheng paused for a moment, not in refusal, but more as if he too was looking for a way to break the deadlock.

“Okay,” he finally said, but his body remained still in front of the door, as if taking that step required an additional decision.

Zhang Xincheng reopened the exercise book, and in the light streaming through the window, his fingertip traced a line of equations. "Here, we need to establish an equation. The vertex coordinates must be determined, as translation transformations usually ignore vertex coordinates."

Zhang Xincheng spoke earnestly and at a steady pace, while Zhan Mengyan listened attentively, nodding occasionally. However, an indescribable sense of unease lingered. Their distance was neither too close nor too far, the content of their conversation was objective and specific, and all their body language, their slightly stiff postures, their avoidance of direct eye contact, and the overly clear, echoing words in front of the quiet door—all silently amplified this subtle atmosphere.

The explanation was now complete. Zhan Mengyan understood the key point and thanked him softly.

Zhang Xincheng closed the workbook and replied, "You're welcome."

Then, there was another pause.

Zhan Mengyan should have made way, and Zhang Xincheng should have politely said goodbye. But both of them seemed frozen in place.

Zhan Mengyan's gaze swept over the exercise book that Zhang Xincheng was holding, while Zhang Xincheng looked at the door behind Zhan Mengyan.

"Well..." Zhang Xincheng finally took a small step towards the front door.

"You..." Zhan Mengyan took a small step back towards the front door almost simultaneously.

The two stopped again, and this time, Zhan Mengyan could clearly see that Zhang Xincheng's earlobes were tinged with a barely perceptible light red.

Finally, it was the sound of Zhan Zixun's voice that broke the silence inside the house: "Zhang Xincheng, what did you leave behind?" Footsteps approached from afar.

"No, I'm leaving now," Zhang Xincheng replied into the house.

"I...I want to ask you one more question about analytical geometry..."

As Zhan Mengyan spoke, she lowered her head and could hear her own heartbeat clearly audible in the quiet room.

“I’m not in a hurry, so let’s go back. Zhan Zixun and I both have a solid geometry problem that we’re only half-solved.”

As Zhang Xincheng spoke, he turned and walked towards the house. His cheeks instantly burned as if they were on fire, and even his ears felt hot and painful.

"Zhang Xincheng, come and have a sticky rice cake, it's soft, sticky and sweet."

As Zhan Zixun spoke, he mumbled something under his breath, while eating a sticky rice cake.

Zhang Xincheng hurriedly lowered his head and stammered, "I... I won't eat it. Zhan Mengyan wants to ask me a question."

"I asked you to stay, but you refused and insisted on leaving. It seems Zhan Mengyan's words have more influence."

When Zhan Zixun spoke, he pretended to look aggrieved.

"I was seeing Sister Yue'er off at the door when I ran into Zhang Xincheng who was about to go home. I stopped him because I had a problem I couldn't solve. You were busy eating, so I asked him. You're finding fault with this, Zixun-ge."

As Zhan Mengyan spoke, she took out her exercise book.

Zhang Xincheng sat at the round table, intently explaining analytical geometry problems to Zhan Mengyan beside him.

"We need to complete the quadratic function first to find the vertex coordinates."

Zhang Xincheng drew clear parabolas on the draft with a pencil, the pencil tip making a regular rustling sound as it rubbed against the paper.

As Zhan Zixun ate his sticky rice cake, he watched the two diligently studying together and teased them with a slight smile, "Teacher Zhang teaches so earnestly, how about considering a long-term part-time job? Or perhaps upgrade from 'National Good Brother' to 'Extracurricular Tutor'?"

Zhang Xincheng's pen did not stop; he merely glanced at Zhan Zixun slightly before returning his gaze to the exercise book.

Zhan Zixun reached for his water glass to hide his embarrassment, only to find it was already empty. He accidentally knocked over a stool as he stood up. Under Zhang Xincheng's knowing gaze, his entire earlobe flushed crimson.

Zhang Xincheng gently moved the draft paper towards Zhan Mengyan and pointed to one of the calculation steps: "Mengyan, look, this step is particularly crucial. It determines the direction of the entire image's translation. Once the image is drawn accurately, it's clear at a glance, and the problem can be solved."

Zhan Mengyan nodded in sudden understanding and immediately lowered her head to continue the calculations.

Zhan Mengyan's slightly forward-leaning body conveniently blocked Zhan Zixun's gaze, creating a focused study space.

"Hey, you two are so engrossed in yourselves, it's like I don't even exist."

When Zhan Zixun spoke, he deliberately raised his voice and even sighed exaggeratedly.

Zhang Xincheng's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly, then he reached into his pencil case, took out a red ballpoint pen, and drew a conspicuous red circle around the step where Zhan Mengyan had made a mistake.

"Pay attention to this common mistake," Zhang Xincheng said in a gentle but firm voice. "Many students overlook the domain limitation here."

The sounds of Zhan Yu snoring mingled with the soft rustling of Zhan Mengyan's pencil as she wrote. Zhang Xincheng adjusted his posture slightly, focusing more on his exercise book. He took the revised answer sheet from Zhan Mengyan, carefully checked each step, and occasionally nodded in approval.

Just as Zhan Zixun was about to speak again, Zhang Xincheng pointed to the next question: "This question combines all the knowledge points we just covered. Try to complete it independently first."

This natural guidance completely immersed Zhan Mengyan in solving the problem, and also cleverly isolated the teasing from their learning atmosphere. Zhang Xincheng focused on the smooth mathematical symbols under his pen, as if everything around him no longer mattered, only the problem in front of him and the student who needed his help.