Before the match

Ning Zicheng is getting busier and busier. It's not just him; the whole dormitory is in a state of constant activity, with endless classes and homework every day.

The four people in the dormitory hadn't seen each other at the same time for half a month.

That day, Chu Sinian had just finished organizing a paper when Ning Zicheng rushed into the dormitory, sweat still beading on his forehead. As soon as he entered, he went straight to his desk and rummaged through it, his anxious mood permeating Chu Sinian.

He stepped forward and asked, "What are you looking for?"

Ning Zicheng was on the verge of tears. "My USB drive is gone. I'm going to Beijing for the competition soon."

Without a word, Chu Sinian immediately started searching for him, and the only sounds in the dormitory were the sounds of rummaging around. In the end, Chu Sinian got onto his bed and searched it carefully before finally finding the thing in the crack of the bed.

Ning Zicheng was so grateful she almost knelt down. She grabbed her packed luggage and headed out, but came back after a few steps. "Do you want to come with me? It won't be long, just three days."

Chu Sinian had returned to his seat and opened his laptop. "I've been a bit busy lately. I'll celebrate with you when you win the championship."

Ning Zicheng said with some regret, "Alright, alright, I'm leaving now."

Chu Sinian smiled as he watched his slightly forlorn figure.

When Ning Zicheng rushed to the assembly point with his small suitcase, several people had already arrived at the school gate, and he was the only one missing from the team.

Ning Zicheng jogged over and said, "I'm so sorry, I searched for my USB drive for ages before I finally found it."

Li Liao patted him on the shoulder, "With your forgetful nature, I wouldn't be surprised if you lost yourself one day."

Ning Zicheng said, "I just forgot where I put it."

Zhang Xiu showed no mercy, "Why don't you just say where you forgot about yourself?"

Chen Chi glanced at them. "The car has arrived."

The group stopped arguing and got into their respective cars. Li Liaoning, Zicheng, and Zhang Xiu rode in one car, while Yi Fan and Chen Chi rode in another.

The more lively the conversation was on Ning Zicheng's side, the more subdued Yi Fan's side became.

Yi Fan glanced at Chen Chi, who was resting with his eyes closed, and casually asked, "Why didn't Brother Chu come?"

Chen Chi opened his eyes. "What did you say?"

Yi Fan observed his expression. "Chu Sinian is an astronomy student and a friend of Ning Zicheng. We met him when Ning Zicheng took us to a gathering before."

Chen Chi turned to look at him, "You've been together before?"

"Yes, we had dinner together privately. Chu is not only good-looking but also has a great personality, which makes him quite likable. Zhang Xiu and the others all like him a lot, and they even made plans to have dinner together at the next celebration party."

Chen Chi listened without saying a word, his expression cold and indifferent, showing no change.

Yi Fan said, "Zi Cheng said he was afraid you wouldn't be used to it, so he didn't invite you." He blinked, the other half of his sentence stuck in his throat.

It wasn't that Ning Zicheng was worried he wouldn't be used to it; actually, Ning Zicheng said that Chen Chi and Chu Sinian had had a conflict, so she didn't invite him.

"Chu Sinian and Zi Cheng were classmates in high school, and they had a good relationship. I didn't expect them to not come to the finals."

"You talk too much." Chen Chi glanced at him, and Yi Fan didn't say a word.

The silence and scenery flashed by quickly, and we arrived at the airport in no time.

Yi Fan walked towards the hall and immediately saw the figure standing in the crowd.

He went with Chen Chi, and as soon as they met, Ning Zicheng took his suitcase, showing her bright white teeth, "Your suitcase is quite heavy, you can carry mine."

Yi Fan tried to pull his suitcase back, but couldn't budge it after a couple of tugs. He glanced at Ning Zicheng's strong arms. Then he silently let go, took the small suitcase that Ning Zicheng slid towards him, and said, "Thank you."

"Why should we care?" Zhang Xiu whispered in Ning Zicheng's ear.

"Why aren't you all paying attention to him?" Ning Zicheng asked casually as she leaned closer.

"Are we ignoring him? Didn't you see him being affectionate with someone?" Ning Zicheng looked ahead and saw Yi Fan standing behind Chen Chi like a tail.

Ning Zicheng laughed, "Awesome."

After boarding the plane, Ning Zicheng, who was excitedly looking forward to the finals, suddenly found herself facing Chen Chi's deadpan face.

The temperature seemed to drop automatically, and Ning Zicheng had an urge to ask the flight attendant for a blanket. He asked, "Isn't that Zhang Xiu next to me? How did it become you?"

He said he wanted to sit with Zhang Xiu.

Holy crap?

Ning Zicheng felt confused. He looked back at the two. Zhang Xiu was standing close to the left, as if afraid that he would get too close. Yi Fan was leaning against the window, seemingly lost in thought. The distance between the two could fit the Milky Way.

Ningzi turned around and said, "Brother is very understanding."

The announcement for imminent takeoff came over the cabin. Chen Chi asked, "Did you go to find Chu Sinian and ask him to come to Beijing?"

Ning Zicheng felt like a million horses were galloping through her mind, but she put on the calmest expression and asked, "Yes, are you very familiar with him?"

Ning Zicheng waited for a while, but didn't hear a reply, so she leaned back in her seat and prepared to sleep. Just as she was about to close her eyes, Chen Chi suddenly spoke up, "We met when we were kids."

Ning Zicheng opened her eyes and pouted.

It was during their childhood that Kong Bo and Chu Sinian met.

The plane took off, and the sounds of people in the cabin ceased, replaced by a rapid din that assaulted the eardrums, causing a long silence. Only when the view outside the window suddenly became clear did people stammer out a sound.

Why didn't you come?

"What did you say?"

Chen Chi looked out the window and gave the order, "Close the window."

Ning Zicheng closed the window.

Chen Chi added, "Don't be nervous during the competition."

Ning Zicheng's eyes widened, her jaw slightly agape, her astonished expression resembling that of a duck.

He chuckled awkwardly a few times before finding his voice, "Th-thank you."

During this time together, aside from the previous sarcastic remark about his "potential talent," Chen Chi didn't even bother to give him a second glance. He assigned him tasks like an automated program every day, and didn't bother to criticize him for doing them well or not.

Based on previous rumors and his own speculations about Chen Chi, he subjectively assumed that Chen Chi was an unpredictable person. However, after spending time with him, he discovered that this person was frighteningly emotionally stable.

It's like having no emotions at all.

No matter how bad the submitted programming was, he would only say one thing, "Not approved." Then he would go about his own business and rarely pay attention to others.

Compared to his grueling training, this indifference seemed unusually kind and approachable.

The flight from Dong'an to Beijing took four hours. When the group got off the plane, it was still early, and the event organizers arranged for them to check into the hotel.

The hotel was fairly standard, with two people sharing a room. Chen Chi didn't want to share a room, so he booked a single room out of his own pocket, and the remaining four people were easily accommodated.

Although Ning Zicheng resisted for a moment, Zhang Xiu still dragged her to a room.

It was inevitable that other teams would check in at this time, so Ning Zicheng and the others greeted them warmly, trying their best to avoid any conflicts before the competition.

"Hey, where's your coach?" asked a member of another team.

“He went to his room,” Li Liao replied.

"Back to your room, huh? Well, with your status that high, what's the point of greeting us?" Their captain smiled maliciously.

"Brother Chen wasn't feeling well, so he went back. That's not true, haha..." Yi Fan explained from the side.

“You are his prized disciple, following him around like a lapdog every day,” Wenbin persisted.

"What are you saying, Wenbin? You can't even become a disciple, so you're just barking like a dog!" Zhang Xiu's voice wasn't loud, but his face was filled with contempt.

"Who are you talking about!" Wenbin's teammate said indignantly.

"Who am I talking about? I named names, didn't you hear me? Are you deaf?" Ning Zicheng politely gave him the middle finger, then put his arm around Yi Fan and walked away. "What kind of trash are you? How old are you, still thinking you're elementary school students?"

Yi Fan was still a little confused, caught in the middle.

Zhang Xiu leaned back, using his hands as a pillow, and followed behind, saying, "Zhao Jiechao and his brothers really are all pig-brains."

Li Liao, feigning a smile, bid farewell from behind: "I'm sorry, they're young and hot-blooded. You're so magnanimous, you won't stoop to their level, will you? After all, you're a big shot."

He gave a wink and then left.

The professor, who had been observing from the second floor for a while, smiled, took the elevator upstairs, and knocked on door 1201.

Dull footsteps approached, and the door was pulled open.

"Your team has quite a few popular members," the professor said, his words carrying a hint of sarcasm but without any intention of criticism.

These people are all renowned child prodigies, and when they get together, they spark a lot of talent.

Chen Chi sat back down on the sofa. "What's up?"

"Your team is about to get into a fight with Wenbin and the others." The professor stroked his long beard and told Chen Chi about the whole story that had just happened, then sighed, "You're still young. We had just as much competition as you guys back then."

Chen Chi looked at the documents in his hand without saying a word.

The professor sat down next to him. "What have you been tinkering with lately?"

"Quantum computing chips require a period of in-depth research."

"You've got plenty to do, no rush. Go and join them." The professor woke Chen Chi up and took him to have afternoon tea.

A few scattered guests had gathered in the hotel restaurant. Before the professor even reached his seat, a voice called out, "Coach, Professor Chen?"

The professor glanced to the side and immediately recognized those troublemakers.

Chen Chi walked right past the two men, sat down, and started flipping through the menu.

Zhang Xiu let the professor sit down with him, and then called over his companion, "Li Liaoning Zicheng, come quickly."

Ning Zicheng strode over, with Li Liao following leisurely behind.

"Professor, it's been a long time! Why did you secretly meet with our captain alone?"

Professor Chen said, "What do you mean by 'secretly'? You have no manners."

Zhang Xiu waved his hand, "Then I'll do it secretly, okay?"

Li Liao glanced at him, then toasted Professor Chen, saying, "Student Zhang missed you so much that he was too excited to speak. Let him drink a glass as an apology to you."

Professor Chen wasn't buying it. He turned to Chen Chi and said, "Look at the kind of people you have under you. You didn't even bother to pick them out properly before they came."

Chen Chi always speaks simply and directly: "If you can't stay, then leave."

Professor Chen was stunned, his blood boiling. "You brat, your advisor actually survived being driven crazy by you."

When his mentor was mentioned, Chen Chi paused for a moment, recalling the man's angry face, which was directed at Zhao Jiechao, who was crying and saying that Zhao Jiechao had wronged him and his mother.

At such an advanced age, still worrying about her nephew's affairs might be due to distractions, which has hindered her progress.

What was Zhao Jiechao's reaction?

It seemed like she was crying, she kept crying, as if she felt guilty, as if she was throwing a tantrum.

Professor Chen exchanged a few perfunctory words with Li Liao and the others, then turned around and patted Chen Chi on the shoulder, "Your teacher and I made a bet a few days ago that you wouldn't come to the finals. Now that you're here, I'll have to take two days off work to accompany him to play chess."

Chen Chi brushed his hand away, "You're too old to gamble."

Professor Chen nearly choked on his breath and punched him with all his might.