They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 476: Hard Core + Nice Words = Better Performance right?

He didn’t look strict. In fact, as he read the first page, the corners of his mouth curved in a faint,

approving smile.

He read her careful explanation of parasitology, clear and concise, and her example about malaria.

He ticked it immediately.

When she had described Mendelian inheritance, she had used eye color as her example, writing that

dominant and recessive traits determined what a child would inherit. Another tick.

Carl turned the page. Her neat handwriting defined ionic and covalent bonds without any trouble.

He felt a small glow of pride. She really had paid attention to her science foundation.

But when he reached the question about the Hardy Weinberg equilibrium, the space was blank. His

pen hesitated, then drew a tiny circle in the margin. As expected, sof these were well beyond

first year basics.

Further down, she had written that PCR was "the process that makes many copies of DNA," and

although it was correct, he marked the edge of the sentence to remind himself she needed more

detail in the future.

Other answers were perfect: the formula for glucose, the definition of osmosis, and an example of a

point mutation and a deletion mutation.

A few she had simply skipped, facultative parasites, a detailed description of the central dogma,

and how to set up a Punnett square.

As he read, he kept glancing up at her. She tried to look calm, but her lips were pressed tight, her

eyes fixed on the edge of the desk.

Finally, he set the pen down. "Nnenna."

Her gaze snapped to his.

"You did very well." He tapped the book lightly. "You answered most of these clearly. Only a few were blank, and

sneed more detail, but overall..." His smile warmed, quiet pride in his eyes. "You're far ahead of where |

expected."

Her shoulders sagged, relief rushing through her.

"If I had to score it," he continued, "I would say...seventy out of a hundred."

Her eyes went wide, then bright with a shy sort of triumph.

Carl closed the book, resting his hand on top. He kept his tone light, so she wouldn't feel pressured. "Don’t look

so worried. You don’t have to be perfect all at once. We'll start from here and build up."

A small laugh broke free from Nnenna lips, and sof the tension left the room.

Carl leaned back in his chair, still holding the closed book. He studied her for a moment, taking in the cautious

hope in her eyes.

"You did incredibly well," he added at last, his voice quiet but certain. "I mean that. Not many people could have

tackled these questions without preparation and done this well."

Nnenna looked down, embarrassed and glowing at the stime. She twisted her fingers together in her lap.

"You're smart," he went on, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "And you're determined. That's a

combination most people spend their lives wishing they had."

Her throat felt tight in the best way. She had wanted to hear something like this all morning, something

reassuring, something kind.

But she wasn’t against Arthur's method completely. Hard core style wasn’t a bad thing. She just felt that hard

core with necessary acknowledgements when she did well was better.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I...| really tried."

"| can see that." He set the book on the desk between them and flipped it open again. His fingertips rested

lightly on the marked pages. "I was going to ask, would you prefer to read the corrections yourself in the

textbook? | can give you the references."

She shook her head almost before he finished speaking. "No. | would rather you explain. When you teach me

courses under my main major, it's like...it all makes sense. Even the complicated parts."

For a heartbeat, Carl didn’t move. Then he exhaled, a warmth blooming across his expression that he couldn't

completely hide.

"That makes me...happier than | can say," he admitted. A soft laugh escaped him, and he rubbed the back of his

neck, trying to school his face back to something neutral. "All right, then. Let's do it together."

He pulled his chair a little closer to hers, so they could both see the book clearly. As he began

explaining the Hardy Weinberg principle in a patient, even tone, Nnenna felt herself relax. His voice

was low and steady, weaving the words into something she could grasp without fear of mistakes.

"Think of it like this," Carl said, sketching a simple diagram in the margin. "If no evolutionary

influences are acting, the allele frequencies remain constant. That’s why it’s called equilibrium..."

She nodded along, asking questions when she needed to. When they moved to PCR, he showed her

a quick mnemonic to remember each step, and she laughed, the tension in her shoulders finally

unwinding.

For Carl, every tshe smiled, something warm uncurled inside him.

But outwardly, he was calm and matter of fact, just an older brother helping his little sister learn.

Inside, though, he was quietly, fiercely glad that she trusted him enough to say: | understand my

main major best when it’s you teaching me.

After an hour of careful teaching and patient explanations, Carl finally closed the book with a quiet

thud.

"All right," he said, glancing up to meet Nnenna’s expectant gaze. "Yo have proven tothat you

have a solid grasp of most of your first year coursework. That’s impressive. But before I let you run

off thinking you are ready for the next level..."

He opened a fresh notebook and began to write in his clear, elegant script. The pen moved quickly,

the sound of it scratching across the page filling the comfortable silence.

"I'm giving you a few more assignments," he continued, his tone mild, but his eyes glinting with a

trace of mischief. "Consider these a way to get a hundred percent next tand also your warm ups

before we start tackling year two materials."