Dazzling

A host interface suddenly appeared on the large screen, with someone moving the mouse. After several operations, a folder named "Eighth David Cup Competition Questions" was displayed.

The folder was encrypted, but the person controlling the computer quickly opened it and immediately clicked on a document. Only then did everyone realize the document contained the questions from the second round of the exam.

However, Qing Ye stared at the large screen, her fingers tapping rhythmically on the desk before suddenly stopping. No, these weren't their second-round exam questions—or rather, they closely resembled their second-round questions but had some discrepancies in certain parts.

She carefully scanned through the questions and suddenly froze. These should be the second-round exam papers before Xing Wu had made any changes. She didn't know when he had restored the question bank. Could it be that the person remotely controlling the computer now was... Xing Wu?

Qing Ye grew so nervous that she glanced around anxiously. Though Xing Wu wasn't here, she knew he must be somewhere nearby. The realization made her heart race. The thrill made her eyes sparkle, yet she had to pretend to be as clueless as everyone else.

Old Zhu, who had already stood up, turned back. He had noticed the anomalies in the questions at almost the same time as Qing Ye. Unexpectedly, the next moment, he strode over to the education department staff member, snatched the unopened exam papers, and quickly flipped through them.

No one understood what was happening. They only saw Old Zhu directly throw the papers in front of Sun Guangquan. This time, Old Zhu didn't care about the students present and furiously confronted him.

The surrounding teachers and education department staff all crowded around. The stage erupted into chaos, and the students below, confused by the commotion, also broke into an uproar.

Only Qing Ye remained quietly seated in her spot, a faint smile playing on her lips as she coldly observed the scene.

Old Zhu proved remarkably effective. With his photographic memory for modified answers, he directly identified the paper with answers that perfectly matched the questions on the large screen and shoved it in front of Sun Guangquan.

By now, Old Zhu was too angry to deal with Sun Guangquan anymore. Instead, he turned to the education department staff member and argued his case vehemently. The other teachers grew increasingly tense, their expressions turning graver as they listened.

Qing Ye thought that since the matter had been exposed, the authorities would need to discuss how to handle it. She guessed the worst outcome would be the complete cancellation of this David Cup's results. Even if she gained no ranking from participating this time, exposing this underhanded operation would be immensely satisfying.

Time passed minute by minute. Half an hour later, the education department staff member returned to the stage and announced the cancellation of the 92-point score from the second round. The winner of this year's David Cup was Qing Ye from Class 2, Senior Year of An Zhong High School, with the highest score of 96 points. The second place went to Ye Yingjian from Jin Zhong International Class with 88 points.

Surprisingly, the third place with 84 points also went to An Zhong—a short boy from the class next to Qing Ye's. Old Zhu felt quite gratified.

The audience immediately erupted in confusion, everyone asking why the 92-point score had been canceled. Xiao Ling Tong casually mentioned something about leaked questions, and the incident quickly spread among the students.He was just someone who couldn't keep his mouth shut, saying whatever came to mind. Unexpectedly, this time he turned out to be right. The 92-point exam paper that Old Zhu had singled out contained answers that perfectly matched the highly erroneous answer key they had used earlier. Even more bizarrely, it also aligned exactly with the second exam displayed on the big screen. All signs indicated that this student had obtained the second exam content in advance, which explained why—even with altered questions—they could write answers identical to those on the answer key. After discussion, it was decided that this person's results must be invalidated.

Upon individual review, no anomalies were found in the other exam papers. Thus, after the 92-point score was disqualified, the David Cup proceeded as scheduled. Likely to protect student privacy, the officials did not disclose the identity of the disqualified student. As for whether there would be any subsequent penalties or statements, Qing Ye had no idea.

However, after Xiao Ling Tong's offhand remark, the students at An Zhong who had long suffered unfair treatment were furious. They pointed at Sun Guangquan's nose and cursed. Under normal circumstances, Old Zhu would never have allowed such behavior—after all, as an educator, how could he stand by while his students acted so rudely?

But today, he simply stood with his hands behind his back, too angry to intervene. There were things he had long wanted to say himself, but his position as a teacher had held him back.

He had taken students to the David Cup several times before. Although he had previously doubted the competition's fairness, without evidence he couldn't make baseless accusations. Now, with proof right before his eyes, Old Zhu felt immensely vindicated!

Qing Ye stepped onto the stage to receive the David Cup and certificate from the education department staff. Pang Hu was so excited he nearly climbed onto a table, shouting at Qing Ye: "Look over here! Smile!"

He aimed his phone at Qing Ye, while Shi Min, Fang Lei, and others also raised their phones high. Qing Ye gazed past the crowd toward them, flashing an impeccable smile—a perfect conclusion.

Meanwhile, the Jin Zhong group looked dejected, exchanging uneasy glances. Except for Ye Yingjian, who eyed everyone as if they were potential suspects in the leaked exam scandal.

This was the first time An Zhong had won the David Cup. Even Teacher Dong, their team leader, was thrilled. Before dismissing the crowd, he raised a megaphone and announced: "The bus is already at the school gate. Those who need the restroom, go now. The bus will head directly back to the school later. If you're not returning to school, report to me."

The Jin Zhong group began dispersing gradually. Qing Ye, holding the trophy, walked toward Fang Lei and the others when she noticed Fang Lei frantically pointing toward Wei Dong. Perhaps due to the large crowd and noise, Fang Lei's calls hadn't reached him, so she signaled Qing Ye to get his attention.

As Qing Ye passed by Wei Dong, she tapped his shoulder. Whether he had been lost in thought or not, he jolted in surprise, looking up at her in confusion. Qing Ye pointed toward the entrance and said, "Fang Lei is calling you."

Only then did Wei Dong belatedly turn around. Fang Lei waved at him, indicating she was leaving. Wei Dong raised his hand and waved back.

Qing Ye's gaze fell on the draft paper in front of him. Wei Dong withdrew his line of sight, glanced up at Qing Ye, quickly crumpled the paper into a ball, and smiled. "Congratulations."

Qing Ye returned a faint smile. "Thank you," she said before continuing toward Fang Lei and the others.A group of people surrounded Qing Ye, chatting and laughing as they walked out of the competition venue. Qing Ye asked Shi Min, "What was your score in the first test?" Shi Min replied sheepishly, "76." Fang Lei scored 65 and anxiously asked Qing Ye, "Is there still hope for me?"

But Qing Ye seemed lost in thought, staring at the ground without answering.

Fang Lei immediately panicked, grabbing Qing Ye's arm and asking, "You're not telling me to give up, are you?"

Qing Ye looked up and gave her a strange gaze that sent chills down Fang Lei's spine. But soon, a confident smile spread across Qing Ye's face: "Become my disciple. This master will never leave her apprentice's future uncertain."

Fang Lei's gloom instantly vanished as she clinged to Qing Ye's arm like an eager follower. Pang Hu nearby asked curiously, "Huh? Wh-where's my, my Brother Wu?"

Just then, they spotted Xing Wu sitting on the roadside curb ahead, sleeves rolled up, waiting for them. Pang Hu rushed over shouting, "Wu, Brother Wu!" Where'd you go? How, how could you miss such an im, important moment? Qing Ye won, won the David Cup!!!"

The bright sunlight illuminated his sharp profile as he curled a slight smile toward Qing Ye behind Pang Hu. Qing Ye's gaze fleetingly swept over the backpack beside him, sharing a knowing smile with him.

She walked straight toward him and extended her hand. Xing Wu raised his hand to high-five her. To outsiders, they were celebrating winning the David Cup, but only they knew they were actually celebrating their successful collaboration in exposing the disgusting underhanded operations.

Xing Wu picked up his backpack and stood up. Qing Ye tilted her head with a smile, glancing at him sideways as she handed him the David Cup. Xing Wu lowered his eyes to take it, examining it carefully.

This was their shared trophy. He had cleared all obstacles for her, ensuring she could courageously claim the championship.

The team from Anzhong swept away two days of gloom, returning with heads held high.

Xing Wu and Qing Ye trailed behind the others when he asked, "What was the outcome?"

"Thanks to Old Zhu's persistence, that person was disqualified from the competition."

"Did you find out who it was?"

Qing Ye silently looked at him for a long moment before finally letting out a deep sigh, "It doesn't matter anymore."

Then she suddenly asked him playfully, "What was your score?"

Xing Wu replied leisurely, "62."

Qing Ye exclaimed excitedly, "Holy crap! Shi Min finally surpassed you! That wasn't easy."

"..." Xing Wu was speechless, suspecting her excitement wasn't about him passing, but about Shi Min beating him?

Since it was still early, Xing Wu asked Qing Ye, "Want to go to the county town?"

"What for in the county town?"

"Don't you need a phone?"

Only then did Qing Ye remember she was now phoneless. She nodded decisively, "Let's go."

After informing Teacher Dong, they parted ways with the group and left Jin Zhong. The area around Jin Zhong was quite remote, making it hard to hail a taxi. They stood by the roadside waiting for a while. Qing Ye craned her neck while watching him zoom out the map repeatedly without spotting any vehicles.

She muttered, "Should we have taken the school bus back first before going to the county town?"

Xing Wu put away his phone, "That'd be too roundabout. Let's wait a bit longer."

Just as he finished speaking, an Audi pulled up in front of them. The window rolled down and Ye Yingjian stepped out from the back seat, asking, "Why haven't you guys returned yet?"

Qing Ye replied, "We're going to the county town."Oh, I'm just heading home. I can give you a ride there."As soon as he finished speaking, Qing Ye tugged at Xing Wu's sleeve and tossed out, "Thanks then."

She then promptly dragged Xing Wu into the back seat of the Audi and shut the door.

Ye Yingjian stared dumbfounded at their lightning-fast maneuver and sheepishly circled around to the passenger seat.

On the way, Ye Yingjian asked them what they were going to the county for. Qing Ye told him they were buying a phone.

When the topic of buying a phone came up, Ye Yingjian specifically wrote his number down for Qing Ye, asking her to add him on WeChat after she got her phone, as he had a few questions he wanted to discuss with her.

Qing Ye twitched her lips and glanced at Xing Wu, who narrowed his eyes and looked back at her. Since they had hitched a ride with him, Qing Ye symbolically accepted his little note and casually tucked it into her bag.

The car stopped in front of the county's largest shopping mall. Qing Ye and Xing Wu got out, and she turned back to Ye Yingjian and said, "Thanks."

Just as Ye Yingjian was about to speak, someone not far away called out to him, "Jianjian."

Ye Yingjian looked out the window, then got out and said to the middle-aged man who had called him, "Uncle, what are you doing here?"

"Business."

Qing Ye and Xing Wu both looked over and saw that the man standing next to Ye Yingjian's uncle was none other than Boss Jiang.

Before Boss Jiang could speak, Ye Yingjian's uncle suddenly pointed at Qing Ye and said, "Mozart?"

Qing Ye stared bewildered at the older man, absolutely certain she had never met him before. Xing Wu turned his head and asked Ye Yingjian, "What's your uncle's surname?"

"Jia."

The two of them simultaneously realized that this uncle of Ye Yingjian's was the very same Mr. Jia who wanted to listen to Mozart at the nightclub. Truly, like attracts like—a whole family of oddballs!

Qing Ye and Xing Wu exchanged a glance, smiled faintly in their direction, and Boss Jiang said to Xing Wu, "Here to have fun?"

Xing Wu replied, "Just buying some things."

Boss Jiang seemed to have other matters with Mr. Jia and didn't linger long. He opened the rear door of the car, and it was then that they noticed Shu Han, who had just emerged from the nearby mall. She was dressed in an expensive wine-red fur coat, followed by a man carrying shopping bags in both hands. The man placed the bags in the trunk of Boss Jiang's car, while Shu Han, holding only a small purse, walked straight toward Boss Jiang.

As she approached, Boss Jiang wrapped his arm around her waist, glanced into the distance, and said to her, "Your buddy Xing."

Shu Han turned her head and, upon seeing Xing Wu and Qing Ye, paused for a few seconds. In the end, she merely gave them an expressionless nod before getting directly into Boss Jiang's car.

Boss Jiang closed the door, adjusted his jacket, and said to Xing Wu, "We're off. Come by for a drink sometime."

Xing Wu called out, "Take care."

Boss Jiang circled around to the other side and got in the car. Qing Ye and Xing Wu remained motionless. As the car started, Shu Han rolled down the window, her eyes hollow as she gazed outside. Boss Jiang rested his hand on her shoulder. In that brief moment, the car disappeared from their sight.

Qing Ye looked up at Xing Wu. His brow furrowed slightly, but the expression was fleeting, and he quickly returned to normal, saying to Qing Ye, "Let's go."

Qing Ye, however, kept watching Xing Wu's expression and tentatively asked, "Are you... uncomfortable?"

Xing Wu turned his head to look at her. "Uncomfortable about what?"

"Sister Shu still ended up with Boss Jiang."

Xing Wu smiled faintly. "That's her own choice."Regarding Shu Han, this was Xing Wu's only comment. No matter how much Shu Han had struggled or regretted before, in the end, she still gave in. Although Qing Ye felt quite indignant when she saw Shu Han getting into Boss Jiang's car—after all their previous worries about her situation—she still ended up with Boss Jiang.

However, as Xing Wu rightly said, in the adult world, there is no right or wrong, only advantages and disadvantages. It was her own choice.