As for those two troublemakers, Xue Jiao wasn't in the mood to confront them right now.
She suspected they might be the two senior math students, Ge Donglin and Zeng Bin, who had previously wanted to join their project.
But she was too busy with exam preparations to bother with them.
"Let's go, we should focus on studying," Xue Jiao said, casually linking arms with Mai Jiajia, completely unfazed.
"Are you really not going to address this?" Mai Jiajia still seemed worried.
Xue Jiao shook her head firmly: "Not now."
How could she not be angry about being slandered for no reason?
But priorities mattered. With exams approaching, wasting time arguing over something that had already happened would be counterproductive.
This wasn't about swallowing every insult, but about not sacrificing more important things just to vent anger.
Lin Zhihua had once told Xue Jiao that nothing was more important than strengthening oneself.
The final exams were part of that process of self-improvement and personal benefit—that's what truly mattered now.
She needed to remember: there would be plenty of time for everything else.
——
That evening, Lin Zhihua packed up his things, stood, and walked out of the office with his jacket in hand.
Chen Yan and Tan Qi followed him, occasionally discussing work matters.
When they reached the parking lot, Tan Qi spoke up: "Boss, should I call the driver to open the car?"
As soon as he finished speaking, both Chen Yan and the boss turned to look at him.
Tan Qi froze—had he said something wrong?
Lin Zhihua looked at him meaningfully: "No need. I'm going to pick someone up myself, so the driver isn't necessary."
"Huh?" Tan Qi was even more surprised and couldn't help exclaiming, "Boss, it's so late! Maybe the driver should go instead!"
Having worked as an assistant for so long, he knew about Lin Zhihua's past car accident that had nearly cost him his life.
Since then, Lin Zhihua rarely drove himself, usually relying on the driver.
Letting the big boss drive home alone at night seemed...
Tan Qi grew animated, eager to show his loyalty: "Boss! Or I could go pick them up for you!"
Beside him, Chen Yan coughed into his hand.
Hearing this, Tan Qi instinctively shrunk back—had he misspoken again?
Lin Zhihua finally responded: "I'm picking up my girlfriend. Why would I need a driver? Do you want to go in my place?"
Tan Qi: "......"
Lin Zhihua took a step forward, then paused and turned back with an aloof expression, replying with restrained, completely non-boastful dignity—
"Never mind. You wouldn't understand since you're not in a relationship."
With that, he strode to his car, got in, started the engine, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Tan Qi: "???"
After a long pause, Tan Qi finally turned to Chen Yan with a horrified expression: "Was the boss just... showing off???"
Chen Yan gave him a cold look, opened his mouth, and uttered one word: "Idiot."
Then he walked to another car.
Tan Qi stared at Chen Yan, wide-eyed and speechless.
Chen Yan glanced back: "Drive. Take me home."
"Why?!" Tan Qi jumped.
"Won't do it?" Chen Yan narrowed his eyes, looking 50% like the boss.
Tan Qi caved: "Fine..."
Muttering internally about this fox exploiting the tiger's might!
As they got in the car, Tan Qi put on an ingratiating smile: "So... how did the boss's girlfriend manage to charm him like this? Is our boss having a late bloom?"
Chen Yan, who had been looking at his laptop on his knees, glanced up: "Noted. I'll report this to the boss tomorrow."The car fell silent for two minutes before someone wailed—
"Secretary Chen!! You can't do this to me!!!"
"Focus on driving!"
"Anyway, I won't survive tomorrow, so what's the difference between dying early or late?"
Chen Yan: "...Tomorrow morning, I want breakfast from Huguosi Snacks."
"...Fine, I'll buy it for you!" Tan Qi gritted his teeth.
Satisfied, Chen Yan turned his gaze back to the laptop on his knees.
——
By the time Lin Zhihua arrived outside Tsinghua University, Xue Jiao was already waiting, holding a book under the streetlight.
His car stopped in front of her, and her eyes lit up as she opened the door and got in.
Lin Zhihua frowned as he drove away. "The light is so dim. Why are you still reading?"
Xue Jiao mumbled without looking up, "Um... I have an exam the day after tomorrow."
Her eyes remained glued to the book.
When the car stopped at a red light, Lin Zhihua reached over, took the book, and placed it on the dashboard.
"Hey—" Xue Jiao exclaimed.
Lin Zhihua said calmly, "Do you want to ruin your eyesight? It's too easy to get nearsighted these days. Don't read in the car—you won't miss out on much."
Xue Jiao glanced at him and sighed. "Alright, fine."
"Why are you busier than me now? Feeling pressured?" Lin Zhihua raised an eyebrow.
"Not really. It's just finals season, and the revision schedule is tight. Everyone's working hard to get good grades—it's not easy." Xue Jiao sighed. Back at No. 7 High School, Chu Sheng had been her toughest competitor.
The two of them had alternated between first and second place, leaving the third far behind.
But now, things were different. Tsinghua gathered top students from all over, and standing out among them was truly challenging.
Lin Zhihua chuckled and shook his head, giving her a sidelong glance. "Do you have to be number one?"
"Not necessarily. I just want to give it my all. Whatever result I get is fine, as long as I know I did my best. Of course, I still hope for a satisfying outcome." Xue Jiao shrugged.
No one was indifferent to grades, but she had to remind herself constantly—
Everyone wanted to be special, to be the best. But there was always someone better.
She needed to keep her mindset balanced. As long as she truly gave her all, the result would reflect her ability.
But she had to give her all—half-hearted effort rarely yielded full rewards.
If the result wasn’t satisfying, it likely meant she hadn’t put in enough effort in the right direction.
Lin Zhihua nodded helplessly. "As much as I’d love for you to do nothing but spend time with me, I know you have more important things to focus on. It’s good that you’re not slacking off in university. These four years aren’t for playing around—they’re the time to work hard and make the most of it."
Xue Jiao nodded firmly, then turned to him with starry eyes. "Do you miss spending time with me?"
Her lips curled into a teasing smirk, as if she’d picked up the expression of some "playboy."
Lin Zhihua smoothly parked the car at the entrance of their neighborhood, unbuckled his seatbelt, and turned toward her.
"Mmm—" Xue Jiao’s lips were captured before she could finish.
Lin Zhihua had improved quickly—Xue Jiao could definitely tell.
A moment later, they pulled apart, breathless. Xue Jiao’s eyes were hazy, half-lidded. "You... shameless..."
"I don’t need shame." Lin Zhihua leaned in and gave her a soft peck. "I just need you."His gaze was restrained and controlled as Xue Jiao met his eyes.
For some reason... whenever they were together, even when kissing, he always seemed so restrained...
As if suppressing something.
Xue Jiao blinked in slight confusion, obediently watching him.
Lin Zhihua lowered his head and pecked her lips again. "Little girl, I'll wait a few more years for you."
Xue Jiao suddenly felt a bit embarrassed and nudged him. "Move aside, I'm getting out of the car."
Lin Zhihua's lips curved as he sat back and fastened his seatbelt. "Let's go."
"Wait, you can enter the neighborhood now?"
"I moved in upstairs today."
"Ah, why didn't you tell me?"
"Surprised? After your exams, I'll give you a tour and cook for you."
"Great!"
——
Some people pulled all-nighters during finals week. According to Mai Jiajia, some in their dorm stayed up all night, and many only slept four or five hours.
Xue Jiao was a little surprised. She used to study intensely too, but under the guidance of her family and Lin Zhihua, she now believed in "sharpening the axe won't delay the cutting of firewood," so she rarely stayed up late to study.
Still, the effort of others made her somewhat worried. Rumor had it that since they started taking specialized courses this semester, the exams had been extremely difficult, with professors seemingly eager to set unsolvable problems.
Fortunately, when Xue Jiao got her exam paper, she breathed a sigh of relief.
The specialized courses were indeed challenging, but ultimately, they were just variations of textbook material. Math had always been this way—changing the form but not the essence. Once she dissected each problem, the underlying framework remained the same.
Senior Zhang Han had once advised her to build a conceptual framework, so during her review, Xue Jiao focused on structuring the entire textbook's content to avoid wasting time on redundant material.
Looking at the exam now, most of it covered topics she had paid special attention to while building that framework. Many questions even resembled those she had encountered while assisting Professor Tan with his project.
Xue Jiao found the exam manageable and finished quickly. After double-checking her answers, she handed in her paper early.
The next three exams followed similarly. Feeling she had performed to the best of her ability, Xue Jiao stopped worrying about them.
With the last exam ending on a weekend afternoon, summer break of her freshman year officially began—marking a full year since she had started university.
Time in university truly passed unnoticed.
In high school, the days could feel long and exhausting, but university life was so busy that it flew by in a flash.
After the exam, she hurried off campus and, as expected, spotted the familiar car parked nearby.
Before she could wave, the car pulled up, and Xue Jiao got in.
"How did it go?" Lin Zhihua asked with a smile.
"Not bad, I did my best."
Lin nodded, then grinned. "Hungry?"
"A little. Are you cooking tonight?" Xue Jiao looked at him eagerly—she had been looking forward to it since noon. Lin Zhihua's cooking skills were now nearly on par with Wu Liuxiang's.
Sometimes she still wondered—was there anything Lin Zhihua couldn't learn?
"Of course. Now that you're on break, feel free to drop by for meals all summer." His expression was relaxed and cheerful. Around Xue Jiao, he couldn’t help but smile.Xue Jiao shook her head, looking a bit embarrassed as she said, "Well... I might be really busy this summer vacation. Starting tomorrow, I'll be working on a project, and in my free time, I want to do some math-related work. After all, I am a math major..."
Having won the Chern Mathematics Award, she had been receiving considerable attention, and Teacher Tan had high expectations for her. She couldn't devote the next three years entirely to physics, so she wanted to take advantage of this break to focus on something math-related.
It's just... she felt a little guilty toward her boyfriend, Lin Zhihua.
Sure enough, Lin Zhihua's mood visibly darkened.
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