“Huh? Shen Nianjing is going too? Didn’t he already win an award before?” Chen Shuyu asked in surprise.
“He won an award?”
“Yeah, didn’t you guys know?” Chen Shuyu looked confused.
The group exchanged glances. Seeing the bewildered expressions on the two people in front of them, Chen Shuyu smacked his forehead. “Oh, right. He won it in his freshman year, before you guys even started college. I only know because my sister was in the same year as him.”
“Damn, winning an award as a freshman? That’s impressive,” Zhuang Qiyu said in shock.
“Yeah. They say he was also a top student before he took a break from school. He always ranked first in his year. This competition requires going away for training, coming and going will take about half a month total. Most people don’t want to go, why is he joining in on this?”
“Tch, how can we mere mortals understand what motivates a genius?” Zhuang Qiyu tilted his head back to look at the sky, sighing at the gap between people.
“True.”
While his friends moved on to other topics, Su Zhiyan was still stuck on what he’d just heard.
This competition would take half a month in total, if Shen Nianjing was participating…
Wouldn’t that mean he couldn’t see him for half a month?
Just thinking about the impending half-month nightmare made the sky seem darker to Su Zhiyan.
This guy was just leisurely working at the dessert shop this afternoon, how did he suddenly decide to join some competition?
The registration for this competition didn’t just open today or yesterday, yet he chose this timing…
Amid the lively conversation around him, Su Zhiyan suddenly let out a cold snort, his eyes gradually turning cold.
The voices beside him stopped immediately, and Zhuang Qiyu stared at him intently.
“What?” Su Zhiyan asked.
“Dad, your smile just now was… scary,” Zhuang Qiyu said.
“Did something happen?” Chen Shuyu asked.
“Nothing. I just think… I might join this competition too,” Su Zhiyan said.
Wen Bei, who had been quiet all along, glanced up at him: “…”
The others: “…”
They watched as Su Zhiyan walked to the trash can ten meters away with his cake and milk tea garbage.
Zhuang Qiyu felt his brain couldn’t keep up with how things were developing. “Why is he suddenly joining the competition? Didn’t he say Professor Yang’s project was keeping him busy?”
“Besides, he’s won awards before too… more than once.”
“Didn’t you just say it yourself? How can we mere mortals understand what motivates a genius?”
“…You’re right.”
.
The next day was the scheduled group presentation time, with four classes presenting together over two class periods.
The student on podium stammered through their presentation, making even a simple topic sound like an incomprehensible mess.
Su Zhiyan lost interest after watching for a while.
This was far from an outstanding presentation. The content lacked originality, and the results seemed hastily thrown together, obviously done just to meet the assignment requirements.
“Ahhh, we’re up next! Xiao Zhiyan, are you nervous?”
His roommate elbowed Su Zhiyan, unable to stop rubbing his hands together.
Su Zhiyan gave him a look of mild exasperation. “I’m the one presenting, why are you nervous?”
“I don’t know, seeing him nervous makes me nervous too. Look, isn’t his hand shaking…”
Su Zhiyan looked up to see the male student’s hand visibly trembling as he held the presentation clicker.
Su Zhiyan: “…”
It was just a group presentation, was it really worth being this nervous?
As he watched, his eyes couldn’t help but drift forward.
Shen Nianjing was sitting not far from him. From this angle, he could only see half his profile and the rounded back of his head.
He was huddled with his desk mate, whispering something very quietly. Both of them pointed at printed materials on the desk.
When Shen Nianjing patted his desk mate’s shoulder, the other’s expression relaxed slightly.
Su Zhiyan knew this classmate too, had even done group work with him before.
His grades were decent and he had a talent for math, but his presentation skills were poor and he was quite timid.
Looking at this situation…
Could Shen Nianjing’s group be planning to have him present?
“Hey, what are you thinking about? It’s your turn!”
Amidst scattered applause, Su Zhiyan snapped back to reality. The person on podium had finished speaking and was removing their USB drive.
He took a deep breath and stood up with the USB drive in hand.
“Holy shit, looks like Su-ge didn’t bring anything. Is he going to present entirely from memory?”
“Is he that amazing? These academic gods are always beyond my comprehension.”
Countless whispers followed him as he walked up to the podium.
Su Zhiyan plugged in the USB drive, pulled up the PowerPoint, and began speaking smoothly.
Compared to the rushed group presentation earlier, his every move was like giving a high-end speech.
Everything about him, from his words to his appearance, was incredibly pleasing to the eye.
Professor Wu, who had been frowning the whole time, finally showed a hint of a smile.
Ten minutes later, thunderous applause broke out.
“Su-ge is just Su-ge. He has a brilliant mind, brilliant looks, brilliant at everything!”
“His delivery is clearer than my whole life path. His thinking is more active than my mental state… I really am just an NPC passing by.”
Su Zhiyan calmly walked off the podium. His eyes swept across the audience, finally lingering for a moment on a familiar figure.
So, the legendary genius, huh?
Let’s see what you’ve got.
.
Before all the groups finished presenting, it was already break time.
The tense atmosphere in the classroom immediately relaxed, replaced by laughter and the sound of people playing games.
Su Zhiyan’s sharp eyes caught someone walking up to the teacher, as if saying something.
He raised an eyebrow slightly and stood up as well.
“Professor, our group is still short one person, would it be possible to…?”
Before he could finish asking, he was interrupted.
The moment he stopped in front of the teacher, Su Zhiyan clearly saw the pupils of the person opposite him dilate.
He couldn’t help but laugh softly, feeling an inexplicable sense of satisfaction from this revenge.
It was you who gave me those nightmares for so long. Let’s see how you like feeling awkward.
“Professor Wu.”
“?” Professor Wu turned his head. “What is it?”
“Professor, I want to join the competition too.”
Professor Wu adjusted his glasses and spoke in a gentle tone, “Zhiyan, as far as I know, you’re currently working on Professor Yang’s project, and you’ll need to prepare the first draft soon.”
“You’re already going to be very busy next month. If you add the national competition on top of that, it’ll be too much for your health.”
“The competition only lasts three days. I can handle both the thesis and the competition, don’t worry, Professor.” Su Zhiyan’s voice was firm and sincere, looking like someone who couldn’t be talked out of it.
The guy beside him gradually frowned. He glanced at the teacher, then at Su Zhiyan, his expression clearly anxious.
“The workload for leading a competition team is huge, you…”
“That’s why I want to join a team directly. Didn’t Classmate Shen just say his team is short on people? Perfect timing, I can join.”
“No!”
Before Professor Wu could speak, a decisive voice rang out impatiently.
“?” Su Zhiyan feigned confusion. “What’s wrong? Does Classmate Shen think my abilities aren’t up to par? Worried I’ll drag the team down?”
“…” Shen Nianjing choked up, his expression instantly going through a rainbow of emotions.
The teacher noticed the strange atmosphere between them.
He looked at Su Zhiyan. “Are you sure you want to join?”
“Yes.” Su Zhiyan’s expression was determined.
“Alright then.” The teacher sighed and turned to Shen Nianjing. “You saw his performance in the group assignment just now. He’s the strongest student in this year, and he’s won national awards before. Having him join would definitely be a huge advantage for you.”
“No, no way.” Shen Nianjing visibly looked very troubled.
Now the teacher was confused too. “Why not? Do you have any concerns?”
Shen Nianjing: “…”
What concerns could he possibly voice? Could he really say he joined the competition just to avoid this guy?
If this guy joined his group, wouldn’t that mean spending half a month together?
No way!
Absolutely not!
Shen Nianjing’s face turned bright red. He couldn’t come up with a reason for the longest time, while the teacher’s expression grew increasingly puzzled.
Meanwhile, Su Zhiyan just stood there casually, wearing a smile.
He might as well have had “here for the show” written on his face.
“Classmate Su is already so busy. If he joins the competition too, I’m worried about his health. Professor, he’s just acting impulsively and not thinking clearly. You should talk him out of it!”
“?” The teacher was completely bewildered by his words, his expression growing even stranger. “Talk him out of it?”
“Yes! How can you allow him to disregard his health like this?”
He looked at the teacher with complete sincerity and anticipation.
“…” The teacher fell silent for a moment, then glanced at Su Zhiyan again.
He pointed at Su Zhiyan, then at Shen Nianjing. “What’s this? Are you two… close friends? You’d rather lose a strong teammate than see him overworked?”
“!!!” Shen Nianjing’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
How did he reach that conclusion?
This… how could he interpret it that way?
“I…” Even though he desperately didn’t want Su Zhiyan to join, Shen Nianjing couldn’t bring himself to pretend he cared about him.
No way, this was too weird.
Too scary!
“Anyway… anyway, it’s just not possible.” Shen Nianjing looked up frantically and happened to see someone plugging in a USB drive.
A light bulb went off in his head. “Right! I just saw Su Zhiyan’s group presentation and I deeply admire it. But two tigers can’t share the same mountain. I already consider him my most respected rival, so we absolutely cannot be teammates! Professor, please recommend someone else for my team instead. Thank you!”
After rattling off this speech like a machine gun, Shen Nianjing didn’t even give the two time to react before turning and running away.
The teacher watched his retreating figure in surprise and laughed.
“This kid…”
He turned to Su Zhiyan. “Maybe you should reconsider. He has a point. You’ve already won twice, there’s no need to participate again. Besides, with your skill level, even if you’re not the team leader, you’ll probably end up doing most of the work. It would be too exhausting.”
“Mm, I’ll think about it some more then. Thank you, Professor.”
The class bell rang, and Su Zhiyan returned to his seat.
Shen Nianjing’s desk mate was now standing at the podium with a clicker, taking deep breaths and looking like he might cry from nervousness at any moment.
Su Zhiyan looked at the beautifully designed PowerPoint and its title, narrowing his eyes slightly.
A respected rival, huh?
That wasn’t impossible.
But it would depend on whether you’re worthy enough.
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