Competition controversy

In Xu Ying's bedroom, the bedside lamp was on, but it was still pitch black outside the window.

Xu Ying sat at her desk, holding a black pen between her fingers. The nib hovered over the draft paper, but she hesitated to put it down.

The mock competition paper spread out on the table was covered with densely written solutions, but next to the last combinatorial math problem, there was a big question mark. She had been staring at that problem for almost half an hour, but still couldn't find a breakthrough.

"Why can't I solve this..."

She bit her lower lip, her fingers unconsciously twirling the ends of her hair—a little habit she had when she was nervous.

The small alarm clock by the bedside ticked, showing the time as 4:17.

She rubbed her sore eyes and reached for the thermos cup beside her, only to find that the hot water inside had already gone cold.

"Fine, let's try again."

She took a deep breath, picked up her pen again, and forced herself to concentrate. However, after writing only two lines, her train of thought stalled again.

"Smack!"

She slammed the pen down on the table, scratched her hair in frustration, finally gave up, and slumped back in her chair.

"If Zong Heng were here..."

The thought flashed through her mind, and she immediately shook her head, as if trying to shake off some inappropriate idea.

"No, we can't always rely on him."

She turned off the light, lay back in bed, but tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Her mind was filled with that unsolved math problem, and…

Zong Heng's lazy voice rang in my ears: "You can't even do this question? You're so stupid."

She abruptly pulled the blanket over her head and let out a muffled "ooh".

At the entrance of No. 1 Middle School, the sky was just beginning to lighten, and the morning mist had not yet dissipated.

Xu Ying arrived half an hour earlier than usual. The school gate was deserted, with only a few students on duty cleaning.

She stood under the sycamore tree at the school gate, her schoolbag on her back and her competition admission ticket in her hand, staring down at the tips of her shoes.

"Xu Ying".

A deep male voice suddenly sounded behind her, startling her. She turned around abruptly and almost bumped into the person behind her.

Zong Heng stood in front of her with one hand in his pocket, looking down at her with a slight, ambiguous smile on his lips.

"Why are you up so early?" she stammered.

He raised an eyebrow: "Then why are you here so early?"

She pursed her lips, not answering, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her school uniform.

Zong Heng's gaze lingered on her face for two seconds, then he suddenly reached out and gently touched the area under her eyes with his fingertips.

"Your dark circles are so bad, did you not sleep last night?"

His fingertips were slightly cool, and the touch made her freeze instantly, her heart pounding faster.

She took a half-step back in a panic, lowering her head to hide her burning face: "I just studied a little late."

Zong Heng withdrew his hand and snorted, "Last-minute cramming?"

She looked up at him and glared at him: "No way! I've been preparing for this for a long time!"

He chuckled, said nothing more, and simply took a box of mints out of his pocket and tossed it to her.

"Chew two to refresh yourself."

She took it blankly; the mint wrapper still carried his body heat.

The competition bus slowly drove into the campus, and students boarded the bus one after another.

Xu Ying wanted to sit in the front row by the window, but as soon as she took a step, her backpack strap was grabbed from behind.

"Where are you going?" Zong Heng's voice came from above.

She turned around and found him standing behind her, so close that she could smell the faint scent of mint on him.

"I...I want to sit in the front..." she whispered.

He chuckled and grabbed her backpack by the strap, leading her to the back row: "It's noisy in the front, sit in the back."

She stumbled and was forced to follow him to the last row.

Zong Heng sat down by the window, his long legs casually stretched out, taking up most of the aisle. Xu Ying hesitated for a moment, then carefully sat down next to him, trying not to touch him.

The carriage gradually became noisy, with students chatting in twos and threes, their laughter filling the air.

Xu Ying took out her competition notes from her bag and looked down at them, trying to concentrate, but a slight discomfort in her stomach distracted her.

"Nervous?" Zong Heng suddenly asked.

She gripped the edge of the notebook tightly, without looking up: "A little."

He scoffed, "Why aren't you nervous when you're usually roasting me?"

She looked up at him and glared: "That's different!"

He raised an eyebrow: "What's different?"

She opened her mouth, but didn't know how to answer, so she turned her head away angrily.

Zong Heng chuckled softly, then suddenly reached out and snatched the notebook from her hand.

"Hey!" She tried to grab it, but he had already turned to the last page, which was filled with the problems she hadn't been able to solve last night.

He glanced at it twice and scoffed, "That's it?"

Her face flushed red: "Give it back to me!"

He pressed her head down with one hand to stop her from grabbing it, and with the other hand he picked up a pen, scribbled a few lines on the paper, and then tossed it back to her.

Did you understand?

She looked down and discovered that he had used a simple method she had never thought of before, solving the problem in just three steps.

She stared up at him blankly, momentarily forgetting to speak.

Zong Heng smiled and flicked her forehead: "Silly."

She covered her forehead, her heart pounding uncontrollably.

The bus pulled into Nangang Experimental High School, and the students got off one after another.

Xu Ying followed behind the crowd, her stomach discomfort becoming increasingly pronounced. She bit her lip to endure it, fine beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead.

"Xu Ying".

Zong Heng had walked up to her at some point, frowning as he looked at her: "Why is your face so pale?"

She forced a smile: "It's nothing, I might just be a little carsick."

He stared at her for two seconds, then suddenly reached out and grasped her wrist, pressing his fingertips against her pulse.

"What are you doing?!" She was startled and tried to pull her hand away, but he gripped it even tighter.

He didn't answer, but his brows furrowed more and more, and finally he pulled her to the bench next to him.

“Sit down,” he commanded.

He pressed her down on the bench, and before she could react, he pulled a thermos from his backpack, unscrewed it, and handed it to her.

"drink."

She took the cup in a daze; it contained warm honey water, with just the right amount of sweetness.

"How...how did you get this?" she asked softly.

He turned his face away, his tone impatient: "My mom forced it on me."

She held the cup, sipped the warm liquid, and the discomfort eased slightly as it slid into her stomach.

Zong Heng stood in front of her, looking down at her: "Can you still take the exam?"

She looked up and met his dark eyes, and suddenly she wasn't so afraid anymore.

"Yes." She nodded, her voice soft but firm.

He chuckled and reached out to ruffle her hair: "Fine, don't embarrass me."

She slapped his hand away, her cheeks burning: "Who embarrassed you!"

He smiled, said nothing more, and simply put the mint back into her hand.

"Let's go, you idiot."

She watched his retreating figure, clutching the candy in her hand, her heart pounding like a drum.

The entrance to the Experimental Middle School was crowded with students from various schools participating in the competition. Their school uniforms were of different colors, but they all carried a similar tension and arrogance.

Xu Ying stood in the line of No. 1 Middle School, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the edge of her admission ticket, the paper slightly wrinkled from being soaked in sweat.

"I heard the questions were set by the province this year, and they're three times harder than in previous years." A boy wearing black-rimmed glasses next to me lowered his voice. "Last year, the first prize cutoff score was only 85. This year, I guess even passing will be a challenge."

Xu Ying's stomach twitched again.

She barely slept last night, repeatedly working through the last few combinatorial math problems, but each time she got stuck at a crucial step. Those numbers and symbols, like swarms of ants, crawled into her dreams, gnawing away at her confidence.

"Hello."

A lazy voice came from behind her. Xu Ying turned around and saw Zong Heng standing half a meter behind her, one hand in his pocket, his school uniform jacket open, revealing a black T-shirt underneath. He looked down at her, his brows slightly furrowed: "You look like a dead person."

Xu Ying subconsciously touched her face: "Really?"

Zong Heng didn't answer. Instead, he took out a box of mints from his pocket, poured out two, and stuffed them into her hand: "Chew them."

The cool minty flavor exploded on her tongue, jolting Xu Ying awake and clearing her muddled mind. She thanked him softly, but Zong Heng had already turned his face away, his gaze sweeping over a group of students from another school gathered not far away.

"That's No. 3 Middle School," the class monitor whispered, leaning closer. "They swept the top three spots last year, they were so arrogant."

Xu Ying followed her gaze and saw several boys pointing and gesturing in their direction. The boy with the buzz cut, who was in the lead, even gave a thumbs-down gesture.

Zong Heng scoffed, then suddenly raised his voice: "What are you looking at? Never seen a handsome guy before?"

The students from No. 3 Middle School changed their expressions. Just as the man with the buzz cut was about to retort, the proctor blew the assembly whistle.

The air conditioning in the exam room was on full blast. Xu Ying sat by the window, her fingers trembling slightly as they touched the cold exam paper.

"The exam lasts two hours and is out of 120 points." The invigilator mechanically announced the rules, "Calculators are not allowed, and whispering is prohibited."

Xu Ying took a deep breath and opened the exam paper.

The first question was a spatial geometry proof. She read the question twice, drew a few auxiliary lines on her scratch paper with her pencil, but couldn't find a starting point. She could hear the rustling of pages turning; someone had already started working on the second page.

Her breathing became rapid.

Suddenly, a soft "click" sounded behind her. Xu Ying instinctively turned around and saw Zong Heng placing a mechanical pencil on the table, idly twirling an eraser. Noticing her gaze, he raised an eyebrow and mouthed two words:

"Fool."

Xu Ying's eyes widened. Zong Heng, however, had already lowered his head and was writing rapidly on the test paper, the scratching sound of the pen tip across the paper clearly audible.

She turned back, stared at the geometry problem for three seconds, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

—So that's where we were supposed to draw the perpendicular line!

The pencil traced a smooth path on the paper, and the first question was easily solved. Xu Ying secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but when she turned to the second page, she gasped.

A problem combining functions and derivatives. The problem statement is incredibly long.

Forty minutes had passed, and Xu Ying's palms were sweaty. She was stuck on the last big problem, a bizarre question combining combinatorial mathematics and number theory; just understanding the question took her five minutes.

"Students, please do not look around." The proctor's voice rang in my ears.

Xu Ying then realized that she had unconsciously been looking in Zong Heng's direction. He had already finished his exam and was now spreading out his test paper to check it, a pencil between his slender fingers, tapping the table lightly.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting dappled patterns on his profile. Xu Ying suddenly noticed the black earring in his right ear—it was a new one from last week, and apparently, he'd been cursing all day because of the pain.

"Thirty minutes left," the proctor reminded them.

Xu Ying snapped back to reality, forcing herself to concentrate. The draft paper was already covered with dense writing, but she still couldn't figure out the crucial step.

Just then, a gust of wind blew in from the window, lifting a corner of her exam paper. Xu Ying hurriedly reached to press it down, but saw Zong Heng suddenly raise his hand.

"Teacher, can you close the window? It's cold."

The moment the proctor frowned and closed the window, Zong Heng's fingers tapped a rhythmic pattern on the desk. Xu Ying initially ignored it, until she realized the rhythm was strangely familiar—

Morse code.

She suddenly realized something and looked down to reread the question. Five seconds later, her pencil slammed onto the paper—she needed to apply Fermat's Little Theorem in reverse!

"Time's up, stop writing."

Xu Ying breathed a sigh of relief as she watched her completed answer sheet being taken away. She had solved the most challenging problem at the last minute; although her work was somewhat sloppy, her approach was probably correct.

The corridor was bustling with noise. Zong Heng leaned against the wall waiting for her. When she came out, he casually pressed a bottle of ice water against her face.

"How about it?"

Xu Ying took the water and whispered, "For the last question, I used Fermat's Little Theorem..."

“I know,” Zong Heng interrupted her. “I saw that you wrote it down.”

Sunlight streamed through the glass windows of the corridor, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow on the floor. Xu Ying suddenly noticed that Zong Heng's eyelashes were a light brown in the sunlight, like butterfly wings.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Zong Heng unscrewed his water bottle, his Adam's apple bobbing: "What are you thanking me for?"

Morse code.

He paused, then chuckled, "Who sent you the password? My hand just cramped up."

Xu Ying smiled, the sunlight suddenly becoming very hot, making her ears turn red. Cheers erupted in the distance; students from No. 3 Middle School were celebrating around the short-haired boy, apparently having done well on the exam.

Zong Heng crumpled the empty water bottle and tossed it precisely into the trash can: "Let's go, the results won't be out until this afternoon."

His shadow was cast obliquely on the ground, and Xu Ying quietly stepped on it.

The sunlight outside the examination hall was blinding, and students from various schools gathered in twos and threes to discuss the questions. Xu Ying stood on the steps in front of the teaching building of the Experimental Middle School, looking down at the remaining calculation marks on her draft paper, trying to review her thought process for the last combinatorial math problem.

"Xu Ying".

A deep voice came from behind her. She turned around and saw Zong Heng standing behind her with one hand in his pocket and the other holding a bottle of chilled mineral water, with water droplets still clinging to the bottle.

"Have some water." He handed me the bottle directly. "Your face is as white as a ghost."

Xu Ying took it, her fingertips accidentally touching his, the icy temperature making her flinch slightly. She unscrewed the cap, took a small sip, and the ice water slid down her throat, slightly relieving the burning sensation in her stomach.

"How did you do on the last question?" she asked softly.

Zong Heng raised an eyebrow and said casually, "It's alright, I'll get it done in ten minutes."

Xu Ying pursed her lips. Sure enough, it was no challenge for him at all.

Just as she was about to ask for more details, she suddenly heard a burst of laughter from not far away.

"Hey, isn't this the 'top student couple' from No. 1 High School?"

Xu Ying turned her head and saw several boys in experimental middle school uniforms walking towards them. The boy in the lead was tall and thin, wearing black-rimmed glasses, and had a mocking smile on his face.

Xu Wei.

The Experimental High School's math competition ace, ranked second in the province last year, second only to Zong Heng.

“Xu Wei.” Zong Heng narrowed his eyes, his voice turning cold.

Xu Wei crossed his arms, glanced at Xu Ying, and laughed, "Xu Ying, right? I heard you transferred schools less than half a year ago and already made it into the competition team. That's pretty impressive."

His tone was flippant, yet his words carried a strange undertone.

Xu Ying didn't reply, but just looked at him calmly.

Xu Wei continued, "But you Lincheng No.1 Middle School probably have no chance with the last question in this competition, right? Our teacher specifically predicted this type of question."

Zong Heng scoffed, "You talk too much nonsense."

Xu Wei didn't take it seriously. Instead, he leaned closer to Xu Ying and lowered his voice: "Actually, I'm quite curious. What do you get out of hanging out with someone like Zong Heng who fights and skips classes? Besides his good grades, what else does he have that's worth your time—"

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, Xu Wei staggered back two steps, clutching his stomach and bending over.

Zong Heng withdrew his fist, his eyes as cold as ice: "Try getting closer to her again."

The surroundings fell silent instantly.

Xu Ying's pupils contracted slightly, and she instinctively grabbed Zong Heng's arm: "Zong Heng!"

His arm muscles were taut, like a wild beast ready to pounce at any moment.

Xu Wei, catching his breath, was ashen-faced: "Zong Heng! You fucking dare to lay a hand on me?!"

"So what if I take action?" Zong Heng sneered. "You're foul-mouthed, and I'm itching to fight. It's fair."

Several boys from the Experimental Middle School immediately surrounded them, and the atmosphere became tense.

Xu Ying gripped Zong Heng's sleeve tightly and whispered, "Don't cause trouble here... the results will be announced soon."

Zong Heng looked down at her and noticed that her face was even paler than before, and fine beads of cold sweat were even appearing on her forehead. He frowned and grabbed her wrist: "What's wrong?"

Xu Ying shook her head, wanting to say that she was fine, but a sudden sharp pain in her stomach made her legs go weak and she almost lost her balance.

Zong Heng immediately put his arm around her shoulder, his voice turning deep: "Stomach ache?"

She bit her lip and nodded, too painful to speak.

Seeing this, Xu Wei sneered, "What are you pretending to be weak for? Weren't you quite capable just now—"

"Get out." Zong Heng didn't even look up, his voice chillingly cold.

Xu Wei wanted to say something, but his companion stopped him.

"Forget it, Xu Wei, don't bother arguing with a madman..."

The crowd gradually dispersed, but whispers continued.

Xu Ying rested her forehead on Zong Heng's shoulder, her breathing rapid. She could feel the strange looks from those around her and hear the hushed whispers—

"I heard that Xu Ying got into the competition team through connections..."

"This isn't the first time Zong Heng has fought for her..."

"The two of them definitely have some kind of shady relationship..."

Her fingers gripped Zong Heng's clothes so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"Don't listen." Zong Heng suddenly raised his hand and covered one of her ears, his voice very low, "A bunch of useless trash."

His palms were warm and slightly rough, which strangely blocked out the noise.

Xu Ying was stunned, and her heart skipped a beat.

The door to the school clinic was kicked open.

The school doctor on duty was startled. He looked up and saw a tall boy carrying a girl burst in, his face terribly gloomy.

"She has a stomachache, take a look at her." Zong Heng placed Xu Ying on the hospital bed, his tone leaving no room for refusal.

The school doctor quickly came over to examine the patient and, after asking a few questions, breathed a sigh of relief: "It's probably a stomach cramp caused by stress and not having eaten breakfast. A glucose drip and some rest will do the trick."

She prepared the medicine, inserted the IV needle into Xu Ying, gave her a few more instructions, and then went to the pharmacy next door to get something.

The room fell silent, with only the sound of the IV dripping medicine remaining.

Xu Ying leaned against the pillows, her stomach pain subsiding slightly. She secretly glanced up and saw Zong Heng standing by the window, backlit, his profile taut.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

Zong Heng turned to look at her: "Why are you apologizing?"

“I’m sorry I’ve caused you trouble…” she said, looking down. “Xu Wei will definitely complain to the organizing committee about what you did, and if it affects your competition results…”

"That kind of trash, we just beat him up." Zong Heng walked over, dragged a chair over, and sat down on the edge of the bed, his tone disdainful. "Grades? Do I care about those worthless points?"

Xu Ying pursed her lips. She knew Zong Heng was telling the truth—he had never cared about such empty titles.

But she cares.

She didn't want him to suffer any injustice because of her.

After a moment of silence, Zong Heng suddenly asked, "Why are you nervous?"

Xu Ying was taken aback: "What?"

"Competition." He stared at her. "You're not usually this tense when you're doing problems."

Xu Ying unconsciously gripped the bedsheet, hesitated for a moment, and then whispered, "I don't want to lose."

In particular, I don't want to lose to you.

She didn't say it aloud, but Zong Heng seemed to understand.

He suddenly laughed and flicked her forehead: "Xu Ying, have you lost your mind?"

Xu Ying covered her forehead and glared at him.

"Listen." Zong Heng leaned down, his arm braced against her pillow, the distance between them suddenly closing. "If you lose, it's on me; if you win, it's yours, okay?"

His breath was so close, carrying a faint scent of mint.

“So—” he said, word by word, “Don’t take me as your benchmark, you only need to beat yourself.”

Xu Ying's heart raced and her ears burned.

She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

At that moment, the school doctor pushed open the door and came in, and the two quickly separated.

"Wow, young people recover so quickly," the school doctor said with a smile. "You look much better."

Xu Ying blushed and lowered her head, while Zong Heng walked to the window as if nothing had happened, took out a mint and popped it into his mouth.

Outside the window, a loudspeaker suddenly came on—

"Students who participated in the math competition, please assemble in the auditorium. The results will be announced shortly."

The auditorium was packed with people.

Xu Ying and Zong Heng stood in the No. 1 Middle School's line, attracting inquisitive glances from those around them from time to time.

Xu Wei stood at the front of the Experimental Middle School's line, occasionally glancing back at them, but dared not provoke them again.

The organizing committee teachers began to read out the list of winners.

"Third prize, Experimental Middle School, Xu Wei..."

Xu Wei's face instantly turned ugly.

Xu Ying held her breath.

"First Prize, Nangang No.1 Middle School, Zong Heng."

Thunderous applause erupted.

Zong Heng's expression remained unchanged, as if he had known this outcome all along.

"First Prize, Nangang No.1 Middle School, Xu Ying."

Xu Ying opened her eyes wide, not reacting for a moment.

Zong Heng smiled and whispered in her ear, "See? What did I tell you?"

She turned to look at him, her eyes welling up with tears.

On the podium, the organizing committee teacher smiled and said, "I would like to make a special note that Xu Ying's solution to the last question was very ingenious. Although the result was slightly off, her approach was unanimously recognized by the judges."

Applause erupted from the audience, but Xu Ying could only hear the rapid pounding of her own heart.

After stepping off the stage, she suddenly grabbed Zong Heng's sleeve.

"Zong Heng".

"Um?"

She looked up, met his eyes, and said in a soft but firm voice, "Next time, I will definitely beat you."

Zong Heng paused for a moment, then smiled.

He raised his hand and ruffled her hair vigorously.

"Okay, I'll be waiting."