Lin Qian later wondered why she had impulsively confessed her feelings to Sheng Yan on his birthday last year.
To say she liked Sheng Yan that much wouldn't be an exaggeration, since they had never been in the same class and had hardly ever spoken. Their understanding and contact with each other were extremely limited.
The reason she felt she liked Sheng Yan at the time was simply because of a sudden flutter of her heart one afternoon in late spring or early summer.
It was just an ordinary afternoon when she and her friend were walking down a back street. They accidentally bumped into a man walking against traffic. The man was a real big shot, probably as wide as the two of them combined. He was also fierce and immediately started yelling at them, leaving the two girls stunned and their eyes red.
Just as they were about to be dragged by the man to pay compensation, Sheng Yan suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbing their wrists through the long sleeves of their school uniforms and pulling them behind him.
Then she quickly released her fingertips, without any inappropriate offense or contact, and directly raised her hand to push the tall, burly man's shoulder, giving him a gentle push back, her tone casual and nonchalant: "Brother, please look carefully, are you on the wrong side?"
The boy was slender yet tall. Even through the fabric of his white T-shirt, one could easily sense the sharp, angular growth of his shoulder bones. His eyes and eyebrows were casually raised, and his whole being exuded an innate sense of nonchalant arrogance and swagger.
So much so that Lin Qian was stunned at the time, and she couldn't even remember how the older man left in a sorry state. She only remembered that after the man left, Sheng Yan turned around and smiled at them with his eyebrows curved: "Alright, it's okay. Next time you encounter someone like this, remember to be fierce."
Sheng Yan's eyebrows and eyes were exceptionally beautiful. When he smiled, his beauty was so striking that he seemed to have no restraint. The late spring sun seemed to favor him, casting a bright light on him. The roses in the distance were also in full bloom. So, Lin Qian's girlish heart skipped a beat at that moment.
Two or three months later, on Sheng Yan's birthday, she confessed her feelings at the urging of her friends.
Then I was rejected.
And that was the end of it.
After being rejected, once the adrenaline rush of excitement subsided, she realized that she didn't actually like Sheng Yan. It was more of a momentary awakening of her "face-value" mentality, coupled with the trust she felt after being protected during her naive adolescence. So she completely gave up on that idea.
But even though she no longer had those thoughts, Sheng Yan was still a god-like figure in her heart.
Or rather, the reason why Sheng Yan's grades were so ridiculously bad, yet he still attracted so many girls in the entire high school, was because in most people's minds, he was the kind of arrogant, reckless, carefree, yet righteous and incredibly handsome mature school bully.
At least until yesterday, Lin Qian still felt that way.
But how come this mature and arrogant school bully becomes a completely different person in front of Qin Zigui?
It's hard to say whether it's good or bad. He's always bickering and arguing like a little kid, but he actually listens to Qin Zigui a lot. He seems to exude a childlike innocence, and Qin Zigui, who is supposedly a cold and ruthless aloof beauty, spoils him in every way.
That unique way of getting along between two people, where no one else can interfere, is completely different from the confrontational relationship I remember, where you couldn't stand me and I ignored you, and things would explode at the slightest provocation.
So how did these two suddenly become so close?
Lin Qian recalled the words she had just heard outside the restroom: "Brother Zigui," "Wasn't I calling you loud enough?" "I'll do whatever you like," "The man with the longest legs, the most perky butt, and the most perfect," "Anyone who doesn't like you is blind," and the earlier phrase "Who told you to like me?" She felt a chill run down her spine.
Forget it, forget it, I can't think about it, I mustn't think about it, thinking about it will cause trouble.
After all, the villainous female supporting characters in novels usually meet a bad end because they know too much, so she should just be a quiet and beautiful woman.
Hopefully, these two jerks will tone it down and stop saying such outrageous things. Otherwise, if her little pinky falls twice more, she might actually hurt herself.
Lin Qian thought to herself, maintaining her stiff fake smile, picked up the innocent water glass, stiffly sat back down, and then stiffly moved the seat a little to the left, away from Sheng Yan.
Sheng Yan found her smile a little creepy and frowned slightly: "Is there something you want to say?"
"No, no." Lin Qian quickly shook her head and waved her hands, smiling kindly. "I just think that it's more precious for a prodigal son to turn over a new leaf. It's a good thing that you're willing to study, so keep it up! I believe in you and wish you will soon experience the joy of learning."
? ? ?
Do you actually feel happy while learning?!
Sheng Yan turned his head to look at Qin Zigui: "Are all the people in your class this abnormal?!"
Qin Zigui: "..."
Are all straight men this slow to understand?
He could roughly guess what Lin Qian was thinking, but he felt there was no need to rush to explain, since Sheng Yan was so straightforward that Lin Qian couldn't possibly misunderstand anything.
So he ignored the topic and continued to draw on the notebook, saying, "You look at this part first, and after you finish, do the example problems in this workbook. After you finish, give me the workbook, and I will correct them for you. After I correct them, I will explain them to you one by one. After you finish this book, we will do this one."
Sheng Yan's attention was quickly diverted. After Qin Zigui said that, he stopped thinking about why Lin Qian was acting so strangely. He just took the workbook and flipped through it casually.
Then, upon seeing the dense array of f, x, and y, he felt a sense of suffocation: "Brother Qin, do you think it's too late for me to go and apologize to Huang Shuliang now?"
Nine times out of ten, when he calls Qin Ge (Brother Qin), it's in a rather inappropriate way.
Qin Zigui bluntly refused, saying, "Brother Qin is telling you, it's too late."
It's really too late. At this point, it's not about writing a 10,000-word self-criticism and copying the test paper ten times. It's about Qin Zigui and Huang Shuliang having a fundamental disagreement about Sheng Yan's educational philosophy, and urgently needing to prove who is right.
Qin Zigui was, after all, his man, so he still had to give him some face.
"Never mind, it's because your brother dotes on you."
Sheng Yan slowly turned around, holding those books that gave him a headache, and lazily lay down on the table, ready to start studying.
As soon as I lay down, I was gently patted on the back: "Sit up straight, don't lie down, or you won't grow tall."
So Sheng Yan could only reluctantly sit up straight again: "It's so annoying, it's not like I didn't drink milk this morning."
"Hmm, there's one more box. I'll drink it during the long break." Qin Zigui said, taking out his competition practice book.
Sheng Yan turned around: "Did you bring any bread rolls?"
Qin Zigui: "I brought it."
"What flavor is it?"
"Blueberry filling."
"Then I want to eat."
"I'll make it and you can eat it."
"Okay, then explain this problem to me."
"Don't bite the pen tip."
Lin Qian, who had been silently watching all of this, was speechless.
Is this really the kind of conversation that should occur between a cool and arrogant school bully and a cold and aloof academic genius?
Why does it feel like I'm back in kindergarten?
·
Fortunately, because Sheng Yan's foundation was indeed too weak and he needed to make up for too much of his function knowledge, the two of them spent most of their time explaining and being explained problems, and did not flirt too much, so Lin Qian's brain has not yet become a runaway horse.
As for Sheng Yan studying math in Chinese, English, and physics classes, the teachers didn't have much of an opinion.
Since it's already the senior year review stage, it's basically all about doing practice problems, explaining problems, and self-study. Most students in the class have their own pace, so it's not very uniform to begin with.
Moreover, they all knew that the reason this young master was transferred from Class 6 to Class 1 was simply because of his mother's influence, to put him in a better environment and to ensure that he didn't cause any trouble in terms of conduct and school rules.
Anyway, as long as the young masters of these families don't go astray, they can live a better life than most people. They don't need to be the bad guys; they just need to take good care of the students they are supposed to teach.
Just like Huang Shuliang said, you can't make mud stick to a wall.
The words may be rough, but the principle is sound.
Most people also felt that Sheng Yan's enthusiasm for this was only temporary, and he would give up after trying to learn from him.
But in fact, as long as Qin Zigui and Sheng Yan know, Sheng Yan has been a bit stubborn since childhood. Either he doesn't want to do something, he's too lazy to even deal with it, or if he chooses to do it, he will definitely do his best.
So even though he didn't really like math, he stopped playing on his phone and games because he had promised Qin Zigui he would study hard. He basically spent all his time studying the notes and workbooks Qin Zigui had given him.
If he didn't understand something, he would ask again. Qin Zigui would explain it according to his way of thinking, and he would understand. He would write it down and continue to study. He didn't play on his phone or slack off to sleep. By the time he finished school and had dinner on Friday afternoon, he had basically finished going through all the first round of knowledge points and basic examples.
However, the questions set by the school itself are never basic questions. If you want to pass, you still have a lot to learn.
Sheng Yan lay slumped on the table of the fried chicken shop on the back street, pen in hand, scribbling on the test paper, and said weakly, "Qin Zigui, look at the top of my head."
Upon hearing this, Qin Zigui ruffled his fluffy head a couple of times and asked, "Yeah, I saw it. What's wrong?"
Sheng Yan asked weakly, "Is your hair still there?"
Qin Zigui: "..."
He paused slightly, then deliberately said, "It seems a bit too little."
"See! I knew it! Handsome guys just can't study math!" Sheng Yan slammed his hand on the table, straightened up, and looked indignant.
Qin Zigui glanced at him: "Do you think I'm not handsome?"
Sheng Yan glanced at his thick, black hair: "..."
Pretty handsome.
This is not scientific.
Sheng Yan curled his lip: "You birds naturally have a lot of feathers, unlike us humans."
He then leaned back onto the table and continued calculating the trigonometric function, which seemed like an incomprehensible mystery to him.
Seeing that he was really tired, Qin Zigui didn't have the heart to remind him to sit up straight again. He just suppressed a smile and said in a low voice, "A new Heytea opened next door. What would you like to drink? I'll go queue up and buy it for you."
"Cheese Strawberry, double cheese, not individually packaged."
"good."
In the summer, dinner time is long, and the air conditioning in fried chicken shops is more effective than in classrooms, so many students come over to sit for a while after dinner.
Qin Zigui brushed past Zhu Peng and Gou You as he pushed open the door to leave.
Since Sheng Yan moved to Class 1, Zhu Peng and Gou You haven't seen him for two days. They even refused his invitation to play games. Now, as soon as they entered the room, they saw Sheng Yan lazily lying on the table, biting his pen and doing a test. The two of them were so frightened that they froze on the spot and didn't dare to move.
"Gou You, am I seeing things?"
"If I'm not mistaken, then you're not mistaken either."
"Is this our Brother Yan?"
"The only person who can be this handsome is our Brother Yan."
"But will our Brother Yan be learning at a fried chicken shop?"
"No, unless his family goes bankrupt."
"Then could it be that Brother Yan has been possessed?!"
"..."
After a brief silence, as if he had arrived at the correct answer, Zhu Peng immediately wielded the hot dog stick in his hand like a magic staff, spinning it around and finally standing upright on one leg, freezing Sheng Yan in place: "Hey! You demon! Prepare to die!"
Sheng Yaojing lay on the table, glancing at him with disdain: "Are you a little out of your mind?"
"..."
Zhu Peng stood there, holding the hot dog stick.
That tone and expression—it's definitely his beloved Yan-ge.
But how could his brother Yan possibly study?!
Is he still the same Yan-ge who's good at studying?!
As if sensing what they were thinking, Sheng Yan lowered his eyelashes and continued calculating the answer: "Haven't you heard about the bet between Qin Zigui and Huang Shuliang?"
"I heard about it. But what does Qin Zigui's bet with the weasel have to do with you?" Gou You sat down next to Sheng Yan, carrying her schoolbag.
Zhu Peng sat down opposite him and said, "Yeah, didn't they say that if you fail the test, Qin Zigui will have to copy the test paper ten times and write a 10,000-word self-criticism? That's a good thing."
Two days ago, it certainly sounded like a good thing.
But things are different now.
Sheng Yan didn't know how to explain to Zhu Peng and Gou You that he and Qin Zigui had temporarily reconciled, and he was too lazy to explain. He simply pointed to a question on the test paper and asked, "Why does this equal this? Is there any reason for it?"
"Huh?" Gou You's grades in Class 6 were pretty good. Although Sheng Yan had never asked her any questions before, she still leaned over to take a look and gestured, "Oh, this is the most basic induction formula. This, this, and this, and then this, and this, that's it."
Gou You felt that what he said was perfectly correct.
Sheng Yan looked up at him, his gaze like a death stare.
Gou You: "..."
"No, Brother Yan, I didn't mean to brush you off. It really is this, this, this, and this is all I need." Gou You couldn't explain.
Sheng Yan gave him a cold look for three seconds, then lowered his head again: "Forget it, you're no good. I'll ask Qin Zigui later."
Gou You, who suddenly couldn't go on: "..."
Fine, he's not good enough for me.
As expected, feelings fade with distance.
However, Sheng Yan's progress was much faster than he had expected. The question he asked was already considered an advanced problem, and the fact that he had completed it in just two days showed that Sheng Yan was still quite sharp.
"So, Brother Yan, it's not that you can't concentrate on your studies, then why didn't you study properly before? Otherwise, you wouldn't have angered the weasel like this." Although Gou You usually played with Sheng Yan, he never neglected his studies and could still maintain a score of 30 or 40 points above the passing grade for a university. He didn't quite understand this question.
Sheng Yan lowered his head and continued scribbling on the test paper, answering casually: "I didn't mean to upset him, I just felt that the stuff we've been learning is useless."
He has no intention of doing scientific research, nor does he intend to study medicine or architecture, so he doesn't think he will ever need trigonometric functions, Newton's three laws of motion, or gene mutation and recombination.
If he doesn't need it and doesn't like it, why should he waste his time and energy?
Gou You, whose grades had always been quite good, was speechless for a moment and could only utter the classic line: "Perhaps it is because knowledge changes destiny."
"But I think my fate is pretty good, why would I want to change it?"
Sheng Yan answered naturally.
Zhu Peng remained silent.
In fact, most of the students who can get into a prestigious private school like Shishi Foreign Language School are already considered to have excellent grades and come from relatively well-off families. However, compared to someone like Sheng Yan, whose maternal grandparents are retired high-ranking officials, whose mother is an honorary board member of Shishi Foreign Language School, whose family business is stable and large, and who is pampered by his elders and whose only requirements for him are kindness, integrity, strength, and happiness, they certainly dare not claim to be lucky.
It seems quite normal not to want to change this kind of fate.
Zhu Peng and Gou You felt that they had been persuaded at that moment.
They couldn't quite figure out why Sheng Yan was making things difficult for them to study.
The store fell into a moment of silence, as if it had been downgraded to Versailles.
Until someone in the corner scoffed softly: "So being born into the right family is a skill. We have to fight tooth and nail to get into Shishi Foreign Language School in the high school entrance exam, but some people can get in easily with family connections. They can even get into the top class with a score of 300 or so. That's just fate."
That's practically like they were just giving out Sheng Yan's ID number.
Zhu Peng and Gou You couldn't help but turn around and look at the corner: "Fu Yun, what's with your sarcastic tone?"
"These days, telling the truth is considered sarcastic?" Fu Yun still remembered the grudge that Sheng Yan had grabbed by the collar in the restroom last time, and taking advantage of the fact that there were many people outside, Sheng Yan wouldn't dare to really do anything to him, so he deliberately said something particularly harsh.
Sheng Yan didn't take him seriously at all, pushing the induction formula forward without even bothering to lift his head: "You're right, being born into the right family is indeed a skill. If you're envious, just say so. I'll ask my mother later if she'd mind having another grandson."
"Sheng Yan, you..." Fu Yun, who loved to stir up trouble and couldn't stand being provoked, slammed his hand on the table and stood up. He was about to say something harsh in response when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. He remembered something, sat down again, and laughed, "I didn't name names here. Why are you all so eager to assume it's about me? After all, our Brother Yan was specially recruited with a national second-level athlete certificate. How can he be considered a nepotism case?"
Sheng Yan's fingers, which were holding the pen, paused slightly.
The thin calluses on the tiger's mouth and index finger were particularly noticeable against the metal pen barrel.
Fu Yun noticed this change and felt a surge of pride. He continued with a smile, "Speaking of which, Brother Yi won second place in the exchange competition with the neighboring province a few days ago. He said he'd treat us to dinner tonight. Sheng Yan, are you coming?"
Upon hearing the words "Brother Yi," Sheng Yan's pen tip made a heavy thud on the exam paper.
Fu Yun then feigned sudden realization: "Ah, it seems Brother Yi didn't invite you. Maybe Brother Yi was afraid that you'd be reminded of the past. After all, you two were known as the twin stars of the Shishi Foreign Language School team back in junior high. Now Brother Yi has won a silver medal in the exchange competition, while our Brother Yan is still busy passing his math exam. Anyone who sees this can't help but have something to say."
As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of unfriendly laughter erupted from the crowd around Fu Yun.
"So," Fu Yun sneered, "everyone has their strengths, but some people are just good at nothing. They probably used up all their talents by being born into the right family."
"Anyway, he has a powerful mother and Qin Zigui to clean up his mess, so what's there to be afraid of?"
"That's right, we can't be envious of him anyway. Luckily, Brother Yi is ambitious and made it into the city team on his own."
These words were undeniably sharp and sarcastic.
Gou You was so angry that she couldn't stand it anymore and sneered, "So what if you got the runner-up in a high school exchange competition? Anyone who didn't know better would think you won the Olympic gold medal. In junior high, our Yan-ge was a champion in competitions of this level. Back then, Xue Yi was just aiming for third place and fighting for second, right? With this level of skill, you still have the nerve to talk to our Yan-ge about the Twin Stars of Shiwai? He doesn't deserve it."
Zhu Peng angrily echoed, "That's right! Our Brother Yan's ambitions lie elsewhere. Compared to talent, your Xue Yi isn't even worthy of carrying Brother Yan's shoes!"
"What a joke! Is it that you're not interested in this, or that you weren't selected for the city team? Doesn't someone know their own limitations? If you're so capable, let's arrange a match this weekend and have a contest." Fu Yun had only said it casually.
But as soon as he finished speaking, Sheng Yan, who hadn't looked up, snapped his pen shut, then raised his eyes and looked at him: "Okay, let's compete. As long as Xue Yi dares to come."
Fu Yun was slightly taken aback.
Sheng Yan leaned back lazily in his chair, held his pen, tapped it on the table, and said casually, "If he doesn't dare, then forget it. Anyway, he's never won before."
Back when Sheng Yan was still practicing shooting, Xue Yi had never won against him.
But Xue Yi has now gone to the city team.
Nanwu is a municipality directly under the central government, and the city team is equivalent to the provincial training team. Once you get into the city, you have the opportunity to go further.
At the time, everyone had high hopes for Sheng Yan because he had been talented since childhood. He started learning shooting in elementary school, joined the school team in junior high, and then the district team, basically winning all the championships in the same level of competitions.
However, during the provincial selection competition in his third year of junior high school, he inexplicably made a mistake and lost his spot on the city team to Xue Yi, who was always inferior to him, and went to the sports school.
Since Sheng Yan missed his prime age, Ms. Xu didn't want him to continue down this path, so she even retired from the district team and only trained with the school team. Even though he often paid for his own time to come to the shooting range and had a private coach, he shouldn't be stronger than Xue Yi.
Fu Yun wanted to say what he wouldn't dare to do, but after thinking about it, he realized it was Xue Yi's business after all, so he just took out his phone and said, "I'm sure I dare, but Brother Yi might not have time. I'll make a call and ask."
After saying that, he went to the corner.
Gou You, who had just been fiercely defending Sheng Yan, suddenly pulled Sheng Yan aside and anxiously asked, "Brother Yan, are you really going?"
"Yeah, Xue Yi is on the city team now, what's the point of you going to fight him?" Zhu Peng had only been blindly supporting Sheng Yan earlier, but he got anxious when he heard that Sheng Yan really wanted to fight.
Sheng Yan simply tapped his pen, looked at the calluses on his right hand that had become unbearable from years of training, lowered his eyelashes, and said in a low voice, "I don't want anything, I just want to see if I'm really a useless piece of trash."
The flamboyant and innocent boy, who had always been carefree and easygoing, now had a hint of unfathomable emotion in his eyes.
Zhu Peng and Gou You paused slightly.
They had never seen Sheng Yan like this before, and for some reason, they felt a little uncomfortable looking at him.
Fu Yun, standing next to him, walked over arrogantly and handed him his phone: "Brother Yi said it's possible, but we need to find out why you blocked him first, and also ask if you'd like to have lunch with him alone tomorrow."
Sheng Yan frowned slightly.
When did he block Xue Yi?
He took the phone, about to ask a question, when he heard a "Ayan" and a long, slender, pale hand suddenly brushed past his face and snatched the phone away.
Sheng Yan looked up blankly.
Qin Zigui stood backlit, his lips pursed, holding his phone, his eyes unusually hostile, and his tone extremely cold: "It's me, Qin Zigui. Yeah, I'll arrange the competition venue, and you don't need to eat separately. I can make the arrangements for him, no reason why, and..."
A slight pause.
"Don't call him Ayan. I feel disgusted by him."
The blunt statement left everyone in the fried chicken shop momentarily stunned.
Is Qin Zigui suddenly on the verge of exploding with anger?
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