As expected, Wang Yisheng made an announcement during his math class in the morning, asking students who wanted to participate in the math competition to register with their class representatives and take the exam together after school tomorrow.

Most students have little interest in the competition, or have no confidence in themselves and do not want to rush to seek trouble, so only a few people sign up.

However, Qiao Chu did not expect that Sun Qi would come to her because of this matter.

Sun Qi is the study committee member of their class. He is not tall and thin, with a pair of rimless glasses on his nose. He has the same temperament as the pale-faced scholar in novels and a face that looks like a top student.

It is worth mentioning that he had always been the top student in the grade until Qiao Chu appeared, when he dropped to the second place in the grade.

Qiao Chu looked at him in confusion, not understanding why he came to see her. They had never even spoken to each other before, right?

Sun Qi adjusted his glasses, organized his words, and said, "Qiao Chu, I thought about it and I still think I should tell you. I was the one who protested to Teacher Wang about the quota for the math competition."

--What?

Qiao Chu was shocked, not because Sun Qi protested, but because he actually confessed to her...

Isn’t this... embarrassing? Qiao Chu found it hard to understand.

Is he here to issue a challenge?

Seeing her surprised face, Sun Qi quickly added: "I hope you don't misunderstand. I'm not the kind of person who is jealous behind others' backs and can't stand seeing others do well. I really think everyone should have equal opportunities. Maybe your last grade was very good and I'm not as good as you, but I've also worked hard and I'm making progress. I just hope to have a fair chance to compete. If I lose in the competition, I will also face up to my shortcomings. This failure will become my motivation for future studies. I hope you can understand that I'm not targeting you in this matter."

He looked straight at Qiao Chu with an open gaze and said sincerely, "If this matter has caused you any trouble, I would like to say to you - I'm sorry."

It can be seen that this is a good student who loves learning. Qiao Chu believes that he has no bad intentions. She smiled slightly, shook her head and said, "You don't have to apologize, you are not wrong. Opportunities should be obtained through fair competition. I think it is very good now. Competition brings pressure, and pressure is also a kind of motivation. Moreover, I think healthy competition is a good thing for learning."

Seeing her so generous and not caring, Sun Qi said happily: "Qiao Chu, you said it very well! I... this is actually what I think. You are so considerate. I am really happy to be in the same class with you!"

"Yeah, me too."

The next day after school, Wang Yisheng walked into the classroom with a stack of papers. However, there were not many people in the classroom. He was responsible for teaching mathematics to three classes, and there were less than ten people who signed up.

As expected of a competition test, it was much more difficult than usual and even the question types were completely different. If you hadn’t done any special practice, you might not even understand the questions.

However, Qiao Chu had a calm and composed expression. She answered the questions calmly but not slowly.

Because it was not a formal preliminary round, Wang Yisheng did not want to kill everyone with one blow, causing the whole team to be wiped out and even lose confidence. Therefore, the set of questions he came up was not very difficult among the competition questions. They were all basic competition question types. However, this was enough to test everyone's level.

Qiao Chu practiced in the space for two nights and attended several lectures by top mathematicians in the "Famous Teacher's Classroom". These questions were not difficult at all for her.

However, she was well aware that pride comes before a fall, so no matter how simple the question was, she would concentrate fully to ensure that she was not careless at all.

The next day, Wang Yisheng compiled the results. He also made a special report card and asked the class representative to post it on the wall at the back of the classroom.

Unsurprisingly, Qiao Chu ranked first and won the place in the competition with an absolute advantage.

"Qiao Chu, congratulations."

Sun Qi accepted the defeat wholeheartedly, and his face showed admiration, "You are really excellent, I hope you can achieve good results in the competition."

Qiao Chu gladly accepted: "Thank you."

Sun Qi hesitated for a moment and asked, "If I have any difficult questions in the future, can I ask you for help? You won't hate me... because of this, right?"

Qiao Chu shook his head: "Of course I don't hate you. I've said that you are not wrong. Don't mention it again. If we encounter difficulties in the future, we can study together and make progress together. After all, being able to be classmates is also a kind of fate."

"Yeah, okay, thank you!"

After Sun Qi finished speaking, he went back to his seat contentedly to read.

Now that the math competition has been settled, Qiao Chu concentrates on practicing and preparing for the exam. She is immersed in the sea of ​​questions every day and cannot pull herself out.

A few days passed like this, and it was Sunday, the day of the preliminary round of the mathematics competition.

The weather was not very good that day. The sun did not come out as promised. There were dark clouds overhead early in the morning. The clouds floated very low, as if they were going to press down on our heads, making people feel a little depressed.

Qiao Chu went out early in the morning with his schoolbag.

The preliminary examination venue was at North City High School, which was far away from her home and took nearly an hour by taxi.

Beicheng High School, like Haishi No. 1 High School, is also a key high school in Haishi. What’s different from No. 1 Middle School is that it is a private high school for aristocrats. Therefore, its infrastructure is much better than that of No. 1 Middle School. Correspondingly, the tuition fee is not cheap. The students studying there are all second-generation rich or official students from well-off families, and their quality varies.

However, most of these students will go abroad to study in the future, and they just use this place as a transit station, so the admission rate of this high school has not been very high.

Qiao Chu looked at the majestic school gate in front of him and the magnificent teaching building behind the gate, and sighed in his heart: It is worthy of being an aristocratic high school, it is so generous and rich!

She was about to walk in when suddenly a clear voice sounded behind her.

"Xiao Qiao, Xiao Qiao!"

Jiang Yuzhou waved and ran towards her. He was in front of her in a few steps. "Xiao Qiao, what a coincidence, I meet you again! Are you here to participate in the math competition too?"

It is a happy thing to meet familiar people in an unfamiliar environment. Qiao Chu smiled and said, "Well, Senior Jiang is here to take the exam too? That's such a coincidence!"

There were a total of 9 people from their school participating in the preliminary round this time. Qiao Chu didn't expect that Jiang Yuzhou was also among these 9 people. Looking at the familiar smiling face, the slight nervousness that had just risen in her heart disappeared completely.

She asked, "Senior Jiang, which examination room are you in?"

"I'm in examination room number six, what about you?"

"I'm also in examination room number six!" Qiao Chu answered happily.

"That's great! Come on, I'll take you in. I'm very familiar with this place."

After saying that, Jiang Yuzhou took the lead and walked into the gate of North City High School, leading Qiao Chu through the campus with ease. He was right. He was very familiar with this place. He had originally planned to study here and had even come here to investigate several times, but he gave up in the end and went to Haishi No. 1 Middle School instead.

Although this is a private high school, the school spirit is very strict. Students have basically no freedom, and it is required that all students live on campus. This is equivalent to locking students up. What's the difference between this and being in prison?

Jiang Yuzhou felt suffocated just thinking about it.

But this cannot be blamed on North City High School. These second-generation rich and official parents are usually very busy and have no time to discipline their children. They spend a lot of money to send them to school, and of course they have to provide them with the best education. What's more, they are in their teens and are in the rebellious period of youth. If something happens, the school cannot take the responsibility.

"Fortunately, I didn't come here to study. I have a friend who is a student here. He calls me every day to complain that the school is controlling this and that, and is stricter than his father..."

Jiang Yuzhou is still thankful for his original decision, otherwise he would probably be living the same miserable life as his friends.

With Jiang Yuzhou's guidance, they quickly found examination room No. 6. There was still half an hour before the exam, and quite a few people were already sitting in the examination room.

The two found their seats and sat down, checked their admission tickets and the gel pens they would use later, and then waited quietly for the exam.

The exam time is 120 minutes, which passed quickly while I was answering the questions.

Qiao Chu did it relatively easily, but the last two big questions were very difficult and she put in a lot of effort.

After handing in the papers, everyone picked up their bags and walked out. Jiang Yuzhou packed up his things and came to Qiao Chu's side, "Let's go, Xiao Qiao, let's go together."

Qiao Chu quickened his movements, put the stationery into his schoolbag, and said, "Well, let's go."

As they walked in the corridor of the teaching building, they heard students next to them complaining about how difficult the questions in this competition were. Some students even stopped and stood there to check their answers.

As they reached the door of the building, a gust of wind blew over, mixed with raindrops and fell on the two of them, instantly wetting the hem of Qiao Chu's clothes.

When they looked, they saw that it was raining, and the rain was quite heavy.

The rain in September brings a hint of coolness, and with the early autumn wind, it hits people's bodies and gives them goose bumps.

Many students were trapped in the lobby by the heavy rain. They were waiting anxiously and looking outside from time to time, hoping that the rain would stop soon. There were also a few smart students who brought umbrellas and walked into the rain with them open.

Of course, Qiao Chu was considered a smart student, so she also brought an umbrella.

She took out an umbrella from her schoolbag, opened it, and said to Jiang Yuzhou, "Let's go, let's share an umbrella."

So, under the envious gaze of everyone, the two of them walked into the rain holding umbrellas.

Qiao Chu's umbrella was a floral ladies' umbrella, and there was not much space under it. In order to avoid getting wet, the two of them had to squeeze together, shoulder to shoulder, wearing short sleeves, and inevitably touching each other's skin while walking...

Jiang Yuzhou looked dazed, his mind wandering to who knows where...

The rain curtain formed by the heavy rain was like a glass cover, covering him and Qiao Chu inside, forming a small world of their own where no one could disturb them. They were the only ones here, unable to hear any sound from the outside world, nor could they see anyone outside...

Here, his senses seemed to be infinitely magnified. He could smell the faint fragrance coming from the girl, feel the gentle breeze of her hair, and see the tiny hairs on her fair skin...

In the small space, their breathing intertwined and their heartbeats merged together, making it impossible to tell whose it was. However, he knew that the one beating faster must be his.

Jiang Yuzhou had never been so close to a girl before. Today, he realized that girls were so fragrant and so delicate...

“Almost there.”

After walking for a while, they saw the school gate. Qiao Chu turned around and smiled at Jiang Yuzhou.

boom--

Jiang Yuzhou felt like a firework with a lit fuse. His whole body was extremely hot and filled with flammable and explosive substances. The flames rushed straight to his forehead and were about to explode on top of his head. And Qiao Chu——

That was the spark that ignited his fire...