Everyone turned to look at Xue Yao and Fan Han in unison.
Feeling the crowd's gaze on her, Xue Yao sat up and smiled at Fan Han. "What will you do if Xue Xi harasses you?"
Fan Han raised his chin. "Our engagement is already settled, so it will not change again."
Xue Yao was instantly relieved.
She had grown up with him and they had always had an ambiguous relationship. Now that their engagement was being pushed forward, she believed that he would not feel anything for that dimwit or switch the recipient of his affections.
The pair's voices were not too loud or soft—just enough for those around to hear them.
Someone mockingly sneered. "Even if she's first, she still can't get Fan Han's heart back."
"If I were her, I would keep a far distance away. Why is she so shameless as to keep prancing toward Fan Han…"
Xue Xi's eyes turned cold, but before she could speak, Qin Shuang spoke first. "Some people are just too bored out of their minds. All they do is monitor someone else's petty matters!"
She was good at bickering, and her tone sounded good, even.
The few people who commented instantly shut their mouths.
Qin Shuang then looked at Xue Yao and Fan Han, then sneered. "There are also some others who regard themselves too highly!"
No one in the classroom replied. In terms of speech, no one could beat her.
Seeing that Qin Shuang had settled the issue in just two sentences, Xue Xi nodded at her in gratitude and went back to her seat.
Meanwhile, Qin Shuang turned around and walked out.
The class president asked, "Qin Shuang, class is about to start. Where are you going?"
Qin Shuang whipped her head around and blew out a bubble from her chewing gum. "Internet café."
Xue Xi paused.
For the rest of the day, Qin Shuang did not return.
Time quickly sped by and it was almost time for the afternoon self-revision class.
Fan Han packed up and prepared to go for the extra classes.
Xue Yao also stood up. She was participating in the Physics Olympiad, and, hence, she also needed to go for extra classes at this time. Her class was beside the Mathematical class's—at classroom 302.
The two of them reached the door and noted from the corner of their eye that Xue Xi had also belatedly stood up after them. As she walked over to them, Xue Yao could not help but ask, "You can't possibly ignore her if she harasses you and clings to you to talk, right?"
Fan Han fell silent, seeming to be conflicted too. "That's true…"
He subconsciously slowed his footsteps. When Xue Xi slowly caught up to them, the two had already reached the staircase.
Just as they were having a hard time deciding if they wanted to respond, Xue Xi looked to the front and walked by them, as though they were non-existent. Forget about greeting them—she did not even glance at them.
Both Fan Han and Xue Yao stalled their footsteps and felt an inexplicable awkwardness.
…
When Xue Xi reached the classroom, she found that there were only around ten-odd students inside.
She found a seat and sat down. Soon, Old Liu walked in and he first reviewed a few competition questions, then made everyone else continue practicing other questions. He then walked over to Xue Xi and passed her a paper. "Do this first. I need to gauge your level."
Xue Xi nodded, then started on the paper.
Fan Han sat a short distance away from her and could not help but take note of what she was doing.
He had done the set of questions Old Liu had passed to her. Its difficulty matched the current competition's difficulty level.
Although there were only three questions, the required knowledge was huge. As an experienced competition contestant, he had answered all three questions correctly.
Xue Xi finished the paper quickly. She finished the paper, which usually required two hours to complete, in an hour. This made Fan Han's heart sink.
Old Liu marked the paper on the spot and gave her the result: Fail! All three questions were wrong!
Fan Han let out a huge breath of relief when he heard this result!
A sense of superiority instantly burst in him.
As expected, just because she is good at Math does not mean that she will do well in the competition. After all, the Olympiad questions are difficult and complicated. They require a higher level of logical thinking.
Moreover, I had underperformed for this exam. I will definitely be able to snatch back the first place in the next exam.
On the other side, Xue Xi dazedly stared at the three "x" on her paper. She asked in confusion, "How can it be wrong?"
In order to not affect the rest of the students, Old Liu softly answered her, "You did all three questions correctly, but during the actual examination, everyone will judge these as wrong. Do you know why?"
Xue Xi shook her head.
Old Liu sighed. "Calculus is a university subject. Where did you learn it?"
Xue Xi: "…By myself."
"…"
Old Liu was internally shocked. He then continued to explain, "In the high school competition, you are tested on logical thinking. In other words, it means that you have to answer these questions using high school knowledge. You answered everything correctly, but your method is outside of the syllables and not the knowledge we had specifically laid out."
Xue Xi looked up at him. Her misty eyes were filled with a sense of being wronged and feeling aggrieved.
You can play this way?
Old Liu reassured her. "It's fine. It's fortunate that we found out the problem early and it's not too late yet. I will map out some of the important key points for you, so you can take a look."
He paused for a while, then continued, "You can also ask Fan Han if you have any problems."
Xue Xi: "…Oh."
She looked at the paper on the table.
She had never done such questions before. If she abandoned the calculus portion and other university-level knowledge, it did seem to be a little more challenging. Still, she found it interesting!
Two lessons were soon over and Old Liu announced the end of classes. Xue Xi then packed up.
Fan Han stood at the entrance and his gaze involuntarily followed her silhouette.
The girl was tall and thin. Her footsteps were light. The ponytail on the back of her head would swing in tandem with her gait. Under the sunlight, her ears seemed so white that it was almost translucent…
When Xue Yao's classes were over and she stepped out, she immediately spotted Fan Han staring at a certain direction fixedly. She silently stepped over and was just about to scare him. However, when she reached him, she followed his line of sight and her eyes landed on Xue Xi…
She frowned and tightened her hold on her books.
…
Xue Xi reached the school entrance first. After waiting for a full half an hour, Xue Yao finally appeared. Her black face made the atmosphere in the entire car feel dense and heavy.
Xue Xi did not care and asked Uncle Li to let her alight at the street where the provision shop was. She had to go get the tea leaves.
The box holding the tea leaves was exceptionally exquisite—so much so that it would not be an exaggeration to call it an antique. Xue Xi lamented, "This box is so beautiful. Using it to store tea leaves is such a waste."
Xiang Huai was still dressed in black, and his lips twitched. "…Little kid, have you heard of buying the case and returning the pearl?"
Xue Xi slowly looked up: "?"
She felt that this person meant something else with his words.
Still, she did not think much of it. After all, how could 100-yuan tea leaves be compared to pearls?
The car was still waiting outside so she could not idle here for long. Hence, she left after simply saying, "See you tomorrow."
Xue Yao was already annoyed with the waiting. As she saw Xue Xi board the car again, her face turned even darker. "Why do you have so many issues? Dragging and wasting time!"
Xue Xi ignored her.
The car drove into the Xue family's compound. Just as it stopped, Xue Yao immediately got down and slammed the car door shut. She then entered the house in a huff.
Meanwhile, Xue Xi slowly exited the car with the tea leaves in a laid-back manner.
Before she could even enter, she quickly spotted a familiar silhouette seated by the door. The person had a head of white hair and an elegant and cultured look—Song Wenman?
She walked over, confused. "Granny, why are you sitting here?"
Song Wenman had a bitter expression. "Xixi, it is truly impossible to buy those tea leaves. Why am I so ignorant? I actually said such resolute words. I no longer have the face to go back in…"