When they entered the classroom, someone in the classroom spotted the olympiad registration form in Xue Xi's hands and exclaimed,'Xue Xi, are you participating in the mathematical olympiad'
"Yes and Qing Mian too"
"In our class, I think Lu Rui is the only one participating in the mathematical olympiad....Then, won't you have to go to the extra classes during the last two periods every day"
"Did you join because of Lu Rui", Zhou Zhen asked.
"Ohh, right.....I also heard that Qing Mian's mum wants her to get engaged with Lu Rui"
"Does that mean that Qing Mian likes Lu Rui"
The entire class fell into a pin~drop silence the moment this was said.
Everyone turned to look at Qing Qin and Lu Rui in unison.
Feeling the crowd's gaze on her, Qing Qin sat up and smiled at Lu Rui. "What will you do if she likes you?"
Lu Rui smiled sadly. "I'll be happy...."But he didn't dare say it out.
"I don't care.", he whispered.
Qing Qin was instantly relieved.
She had grown up with him and they had always had an ambiguous relationship. The pair's voices were not too loud or soft—just enough for those around to hear them.
Zhou Zhen mockingly sneered. "Even if she's first, she still can't get Lu Rui's heart."
"If I were her, I would keep a far distance away. Why is she so shameless as to like Lu Rui openly..."
Qing Mian's eyes turned cold, but before she could speak, Xue Xi spoke first. "Some people are just too bored out of their minds, all they do is monitor someone else's petty matters and what some people values is actually trash to some people"
She was good at bickering, and her tone sounded good, even.
The few people who commented instantly shut their mouths.
Xue Xi then looked at Lu Rui, then sneered. "There are also some others who regard themselves too highly!"
No one in the classroom replied. In terms of speech and intelligence, no one could beat her.
~except Qing Mian~
Seeing that Xue Xi had settled the issue in just two sentences, Qing Mian smiled at her and went back to her seat.
Time quickly sped by and it was almost time for the afternoon self-revision class.
Qing Mian packed up and prepared to go for the extra classes.
Qing Qin 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 321.
Qing Mian and Xue Xi reached the door and noted from the corner of their eye that Qing Qin had also belatedly stood up after them. As she walked over to them, Xue Xi could not help but ask, "This sister of yours is like a bitch, you can't possibly ignore her if she harasses you, right?"
Qing Mian fell silent, seeming to be conflicted too. "That's true..."
...
When they reached the classroom, they found that there were only around ten-odd students inside.
They found a seat and sat down. Soon, Mr.Ling walked in and he first reviewed a few competition questions, then made everyone else continue practicing other questions. He then walked over to them and passed them a paper. "Do this first. I need to gauge your level."
Qing Mian nodded, then started on the paper.
Lu Rui 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 Mr.Ling had passed to her. Its difficulty matched the current competition's difficulty level.
Although there were only four questions, the required knowledge was huge. As an experienced competition contestant, he had answered all four questions correctly.
Qing Mian finished the paper quickly. She finished the paper, which usually required three hours to complete, in an hour. This made Xue Xi's heart sink.
"Madam genius, wait for me", Xue Xi said
"Okay, princess", she smiled and sat down.
Mr. Ling marked the paper on the spot and gave her the result: Fail! All three questions were wrong!
On the other side, Xue Xi dazedly stared at the three "x" on her paper. She asked in confusion, "How can it be wrong? Qing Mian, what did you do?,
In order to not affect the rest of the students, Mr.Ling answered her, "She did all four questions correctly, but during the actual examination, everyone will judge these as wrong. Do you know why?"
Qing Mian shook her head innocently.
Mr.Ling sighed. "Calculus is a university subject. Where did you learn it?"
Qing Mian: "...By myself."
"..."
Mr. Ling 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."
Qing Mian looked up at him.
Mr. Ling 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 Xue Xi if you have any problems."
Xue Xi: "Uhh...She did it on purpose"
She looked at the paper on the table.
She got everything rightand Qing Mian was the one who taught her, so why did she get everything wrong. Still, she found it interesting!
Two lessons were soon over and Mr. Ling announced the end of classes. QinG Mian and Xue Xi walked out.
"What were you thinking, why did you use the wrong method", Xue Xi asked
Qing Mian blushed and looked at her phone."Ohhh, its a message from him. Love can really make people act weird"
Lu Rui stood at the entrance and his gaze involuntarily followed Qing Mian's 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 Qing Qin's classes were over and she stepped out, she immediately spotted Lu Rui 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 Qing Mian...
She frowned and tightened her hold on her books.
...
Qing Mian reached the school entrance first. After waiting for a full half an hour, Qing Qin finally appeared. Her black face made the atmosphere in the entire car feel dense and heavy.
"Sister, you are late", Qing Ziqi said
"Hmph"
Xue Xi did not care and took out her phone and saw Li Min's message
"You miss me?", he asked
"No", she said
Li Min lamented, "Must you be so heartless?."
"Hmph"
"We have to meet frequently because you might really forget that you have a boyfriend", he said
"What boyfriend?", she asked
"Mmm..."
"Aren't you too domineering?Don't you know that you have to propose to a girl before you can be her boyfriend?", she asked
"You are mine already, there is no need to propose", he said
"Suit yourself", she said
"I have to go now. We'll talk later, baby"
"Hmph, I'm not your baby"
"You are my one and only"
"Hm"
"I'll call you before you sleep, okay?"
"Okay"