Chapter 25
Who is Zhang Mingxuan?
Yu Miaomiao was also puzzled. Computer Science Department at University A? She had no recollection of it at all.
Fortunately, Li Zhi was there. As a seasoned surfer who frequented various forums, she quickly uncovered Zhang Mingxuan's identity.
Zhang Mingxuan, male, is a third-year computer science student at University A. He ranks in the top five in his major in terms of GPA and has received numerous honors.
"Waaaaah, Ming Shen is so outstanding, and so handsome too. He's a true campus heartthrob. All the other boys should learn from him, okay?"
"If Ming Shen were in the entertainment industry, he would easily beat those idols who didn't even finish nine years of compulsory education."
Li Zhi read two paragraphs of flattery in a monotone tone, which made her laugh in exasperation. "Is this a paid shill? The praise is so forced."
"Campus heartthrob? He's way inferior to Jiang Chengyi—"
Li Zhi abruptly stopped speaking. She glanced at Yu Miaomiao, and seeing that the other party's expression was normal, she continued, "They have money to burn at home, so they hire online trolls to try and debut."
Then she suddenly realized something was wrong. Didn't Miao Miao consider Jiang Chengyi her rival? When she saw his name on the registration form, her eyes were so cold that it seemed like she wanted to pierce a hole in that name. Why is she not reacting at all now when Miao Miao praises him in front of her?
Li Zhi was caught up in a brainstorming session.
When did they make peace? No, based on her understanding of Miao Miao, Jiang Chengyi would never be able to shake off his rivalry until the FA scholarship results were released.
Perhaps Miao Miao has learned to pretend? After all, she's filming in the same production crew as that person and sees him every day, so it's better not to get angry just hearing his name.
Yes, that must be it!
Looking at Yu Miaomiao's indifferent expression, Li Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. Great, Miaomiao is still the same Miaomiao, and she is Miaomiao's best friend at school!
Yu Miaomiao clicked into the same forum and quickly found Zhang Mingxuan's posts and photos. In the photos, the human male's nose was clearly defined, and his eyes were clearly defined—
Well, as a half-demon, Yu Miaomiao is actually not very good at distinguishing between the beauty and ugliness of human appearances. In her mind, many people look pretty much the same with two eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
Comments say that Zhang Mingxuan is good-looking, gentle, and approachable. He also seems to be a rich second-generation. Many people think he is down-to-earth and much better than a certain cold and pretentious guy.
She tried to recall Zhang Mingxuan's appearance without looking at the photo, but it was all a blur.
Then she tried to recall Jiang Chengyi's appearance, and it was effortless for her.
Eyebrows, nose, lips, and that usual cold and indifferent gaze—ultimately, what came to mind was an extremely insignificant scene.
Outside the dubbing studio, Jiang Cheng opened the car window and asked her if she wanted to get in. He tilted his head slightly, his slightly longer hair falling over his forehead, his dark eyes fixed on her.
Yu Miaomiao closed the post. She thought the reason it was so clear was probably because they had spent time together during filming.
But the conclusion is, of course, without hesitation.
"Not as good-looking as Jiang Chengyi."
"I knew it—hey, Miaomiao, what did you just say!"
No, Miaomiao has changed!!!
She never used to pay attention to a man's appearance!
Yu Miaomiao had already started working again, seemingly oblivious to Li Zhi's wailing beside her.
Zhang Mingxuan is in a different grade than her, there is no information to prove that he applied for the FA scholarship, and he is most likely a human and does not qualify to enter the Demon Supervisory Committee.
It was determined to be uncompetitive.
After confirming this information, she put the person out of her mind and stopped paying attention to them.
After returning home, Yu Miaomiao went to Jiang Cheng's house for a meal as usual. When she got back and opened her email, she saw an email from CAE officials two hours earlier, telling her to prepare for the online live finals a week later.
Yes, the finals will be broadcast live.
Compared to other similar competitions, CAE innovatively adopted a combination of Q&A and live streaming in the finals. The fifteen finalists were required to demonstrate their games on the spot, explaining their code features and playability, and then the judges and the audience would score them in a 70/30 ratio.
In previous CAE finals, the number of viewers has reached as high as 100,000. Among the games featured in the finals, there are many that are very popular with the audience. After being listed on independent gaming platforms, these games have made their authors a fortune.
She wanted to learn about the other contestants, so she searched CAE's official Weibo account, where she found introductions and download links for all fifteen contestants and their works.
Although they were all simple information such as game types and personal details, it was better than nothing. She looked through them one by one. Most of them were quite old, and there was even an elderly woman with white hair. She saw herself and Zhang Mingxuan. The two young faces stood out among the middle-aged and even elderly people. No wonder they were trending on social media.
She clicked into the comments section, intending to see what everyone thought of the game, since audience ratings account for 30%. However, she was surprised to find that the comments were all about her and Zhang Mingxuan, clearly drawn in by the trending topics.
In fact, the number of comments about her far exceeds that of Zhang Mingxuan.
Is this Yu Miaomiao the female lead in the Cat Fun promotional video?
[School, name, and appearance all match—it's definitely him; he's truly an all-rounder.]
[Her face is so soft, yet her eyes are so cold; the contrast is so striking, I'm dying.]
[Superficial. I'm intellectually attracted to Miaomiao's talent. Miaomiao, look at me, look at me! I'm different from these flashy, cheap women!!!]
...
Yu Miaomiao silently left the comments section, abandoning her plan.
Forget it, I'll just write it myself. Anyway, winning a gold medal shouldn't be a problem.
-
Perhaps fueled by various factors, the online buzz surged within just a few hours. Someone found Yu Miaomiao's Weibo account, and her post, "Hello everyone, I'm Yu Miaomiao," garnered tens of thousands of comments, flooding her inbox. Most comments praised Yu Miaomiao as a top student and all-rounder, with even students from University A showing their support, and some even shipping her with Zhang Mingxuan.
When Yu Miaomiao saw that comment, her pupils dilated in shock; she felt like she was going to go blind. So she turned off private messages and stopped following Weibo.
The next day, Yu Miaomiao went to class as usual, ignored Lu Ye's harassment, and spent her volunteer hours with Jiang Cheng.
The association has been busy these past few days with a project to apply patterns to transparent glass to prevent bird strikes.
Lu Ye was still paired with Jiang Chengyi, and the two of them were responsible for pasting patterns on the library glass. The library was strictly managed, so Lu Ye couldn't sneak in. He could only look pitifully at Yu Miaomiao from outside the glass, and glare at Jiang Chengyi.
During a break in the tea room, Yu Miaomiao finally couldn't help but ask, "Why am I always the one doing tasks with you?"
It's not that he always works with Jiang Cheng, but he always partners with him, even though he already has enough working hours.
This made her wary. Could it be that Jiang Cheng had seen through her plan to accumulate work hours and was targeting her?
Humans are truly despicable.
Jiang Chengyi explained, "Usually, the ones that require my intervention are very fierce wildcats, and others dare not get involved. But you are different, and with your abilities, the safety and success rate will be much higher."
It was a reasonable explanation, but Yu Miaomiao still felt something was off.
Her phone vibrated, and when she picked it up, she saw an email from the CAE organizing committee, asking Yu Miaomiao to submit the earliest submission record of her work's source code and her creative ideas within three days. The email was worded very seriously.
Yu Miaomiao found the request a bit strange, but the task wasn't finished yet and her computer wasn't with her, so she planned to submit it in the afternoon.
Perhaps she had been looking at her phone for too long, because Jiang Cheng asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," Yu Miaomiao said calmly.
During her afternoon class, she felt something strange again.
Li Zhi didn't choose this class, so Yu Miaomiao sat alone in the last row, feeling the glances from the people in front of her as they secretly turned their heads, and hearing what she thought were quiet whispers.
"Have you seen that on Weibo?"
"Of course I saw it. It was the number one trending topic. I bet the whole school knows about it."
"Aren't they all top students? How could they do something like this?"
"Regardless of who copied whom, it's outrageous!"
"Anyway, University A has completely lost face."
"I never expected that they would resort to underhanded tactics in such a big competition."
Yu Miaomiao initially thought it was because she had become a trending topic and received more attention, since many people on the trending topics claimed to be University Student A, but the content of the discussions didn't seem to fit that description.
After class, a phone call from Li Zhi made her understand the whole story.
"Miaomiao, something's happened! Have you seen CAE's latest Weibo post?"
"What's up?"
Yu Miaomiao had received too many private messages in the past few days, so she simply turned off notifications.
"They said your source code is highly similar to Zhang Mingxuan's, and that you are suspected of plagiarism. They even removed your information from the last Weibo post!"
Yu Miaomiao frowned, finally realizing what the whispers around her were about.
"No wonder the organizing committee sent me an email this morning asking me to submit original evidence related to the source code."
"Miaomiao, you should have kept a record of the earliest submission, right?"
Li Zhi's words came like a machine gun: "It must be that Zhang Mingxuan who copied you. I knew it. He doesn't look like someone who can write code. I don't know where he got the code. Did he hack into your computer? That guy is so despicable."
"These netizens, they haven't even figured out the facts yet, and they're already spewing insults everywhere. Don't they have any sense? They're all brainless..."
From beginning to end, she never considered another possibility, but firmly believed that Zhang Mingxuan had copied Yu Miaomiao's work.
As get out of class ended, the voices of those around them grew increasingly loud, no longer just whispers, but deliberately intended to be heard by the person in question.
But she paid no attention, her mind completely absorbed in Li Zhi's rambling words on her phone.
That clear voice was racking its brains to come up with a solution, empathizing with her and filled with righteous indignation. The concern and indignation in it made Yu Miaomiao's heart clench for some reason, followed by a warm current, and a strange tingling sensation spread through her chest.
Li Zhi continued, "Miao Miao, don't worry, I'll have my fans fight back. You shouldn't look at Weibo for a while, let's wait for the verdict."
Yu Miaomiao's voice was slightly lower, with an unusual gentleness, "Yes, don't worry."
"Don't use your own account to post this. I will resolve this matter as soon as possible."
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