Chapter 3: Harder Than Reaching the Sky
Kieu Ly's face twisted in discomfort.
"Adult stuff"? What on earth did he mean by that?
Even though Kieu Ly had a boyfriend, he was currently studying abroad. They hardly saw each other, and their love remained pure—just some hand-holding and a few hugs and kisses.
Her mind was still in chaos when he suddenly leaned his face in close, making her flinch in surprise.
Was she seriously dealing with a little pervert?
Kieu Ly quickly held up his notebook to shield her face and said firmly:
"Let's not joke around. Time to start the lesson."
Seeing her reaction, he backed off. For a moment, there was a faint smile on his lips.
He sat down across from her, slouched back lazily in his chair, and asked:
"You're seriously trying to help me get into Foreign Trade University?"
Kieu Ly nodded with a calm but determined expression.
He looked at her in disbelief, then let out a mocking laugh:
"You're crazy. That's harder than reaching the sky."
Kieu Ly didn't bother arguing.
Technically, this first session was just supposed to be an introduction—no actual teaching required.
But after seeing his awful academic record, she felt anxious.
She opened her books and dove into a few lessons, mainly to test which subjects he might have some natural talent in.
With scores as terrible as his, he had no shot at passing the university entrance exams—not through regular admission anyway.
The only chance he had was to win a national academic competition in his final year.
When that thought crossed her mind, she couldn't help but admit to herself: yeah, maybe she really was crazy.
Still, even if Foreign Trade University was out of reach, she wanted to help him get into at least a decent college.
She had taken the job, accepted the money, and now she had to deliver results worthy of that pay.
Toan Phuong sat through the lesson with an uninterested air, barely focusing.
Every now and then, he reached over to flick the gold half-heart keychain dangling from her blue Hello Kitty backpack, trying to make conversation:
"Nice keychain. Did your boyfriend give it to you?"
It was a couple keychain—but she had been the one to buy it. She kept one half, and gave the other to her boyfriend.
She always carried it on her backpack as a way to feel like he was by her side.
Still, she knew Phuong wasn't really trying to get to know her—he was just trying to avoid studying.
Kieu Ly picked up her backpack, placed it under the desk, and said firmly:
"Focus on the lesson."
When idle chatter didn't work, Phuong changed tactics—he began yawning repeatedly like he was exhausted.
Kieu Ly could see right through him. It was barely past 8 PM—there's no way he was that tired.
Whether he was listening or not, she kept teaching patiently.
By the end of the session, she assigned him homework and packed up to leave.
She had a feeling that it wasn't a lack of intelligence holding him back—he was deliberately being uncooperative.
The only thing she couldn't figure out was: why?