Facing Yi Tianyu's mocking and disdainful gaze, Cheng Mingjiao bit her lower lip tightly.
She actually liked this boy in front of her very much—handsome and unrestrained. Combined with her mother's constant urging, her desire to get along well with him was extremely strong.
But he just had to be so close to Gu Xue Jiao, the person she hated most in this life!
Yi Tianyu's words left Cheng Mingjiao both embarrassed and heartbroken. The doubtful looks from her classmates only made it worse, and she suddenly burst into tears before running out of the classroom.
"Mingjiao—" Yu Fangfang called from the other side of the classroom, then glared at them angrily. "You've gone too far!"
With that, she chased after Cheng Mingjiao.
"I never knew that confronting someone who slandered you counts as going too far..." Xue Jiao's cold remark instantly dispelled any sympathy some classmates might have felt.
Indeed, it was Xue Jiao who had been slandered. She was merely questioning Cheng Mingjiao—how was that going too far?
Putting themselves in her shoes, they wondered: if they interacted with Cheng Mingjiao in the future, would they too be falsely accused?
Yi Tianyu sneered. "Birds of a feather. Classmates, I suggest you be careful around them, or you might get slandered and then blamed for it."
His words made some imagine such a scenario, and they immediately resolved to keep their distance from Cheng Mingjiao and Yu Fangfang.
Seeing this, Xue Jiao turned to Yi Tianyu. "Alright, forget about it. Let's just study."
Yi Tianyu: "..."
"Bookworm, is studying the only thing you ever talk about?"
The only response was the sound of Xue Jiao's pen scratching rapidly across paper.
"..."
——
That night, Xue Jiao lay in bed, reading competition-related information sent by Lin Zhihua as they exchanged messages.
[Xue Jiao: Thank you!! If not for you, I'd never have known competition questions follow so many patterns!]
[Lin Zhihua: Competition questions are made by people. As long as they're man-made, there will always be patterns.]
[Lin Zhihua: Did you finish the problems we discussed yesterday?]
Seeing this, Xue Jiao's expression turned slightly awkward. She rubbed her nose—this was the first time she'd failed to complete a task on time—and replied sheepishly:
[Not yet... Something came up today and delayed me.]
The reply came quickly:
[What happened?]
Xue Jiao and Lin Zhihua had always shared everything before, so she saw no issue in telling him.
[Cheng Mingjiao reported me for puppy love. The teacher called my parents, and it took up a lot of time.]
At this moment, Lin Zhihua had just finished washing up, his hair still slightly damp as he lounged on his bed, chatting with the girl on the other end of the phone.
His posture was relaxed, reclining casually.
—Puppy love.
The two words seemed to startle Lin Zhihua. All his nonchalance vanished in an instant as he straightened up, his brow furrowing slightly while he reread the message repeatedly.
After a long pause, he only replied with two words:
[Puppy love?]
[Fake. I have too little time as it is—where would I find the energy for puppy love?]
This response eased the tension in Lin Zhihua's brow, though the dark whirlpool in his eyes remained. He typed out another message—[The National Math Competition is a large-scale event with participants of considerable strength, and inevitably, some exceptionally talented individuals will be present. Therefore, you must take it seriously and give it your all. I’ve used some excellent competition materials before—would you like me to send you a set?]
[Really?! Thank you!!! I’ll send you the money first!!]
[Mm, make sure to spend your free time on those books.]
[Okay!!!]
Xue Jiao replied with overwhelming excitement.
The next day.
Xue Jiao carried a towering stack of books from the school gate’s mailroom into the classroom—eleven thick volumes in total, each one far from thin!
Even though Xue Jiao was accustomed to solving more problems than most, this massive pile of competition materials left her stunned.
After a moment of silence, she organized the other books and pulled out the first one…
"Hey, dummy, how do you solve this problem?" Yi Tianyu had been sitting beside her all noon, but Xue Jiao seemed completely oblivious to him, buried in her problem-solving with single-minded focus.
She didn’t respond, as if still immersed in another world.
Unable to bear being ignored, Yi Tianyu nudged her lightly. "Hey—dummy, how do you—"
"I don’t have time right now. Go ask the teacher!" Xue Jiao didn’t even look up.
Yi Tianyu: "..."
After a long pause, he couldn’t resist asking again, "Then when will you have time?"
Xue Jiao pointed at the stack of materials by her feet. "When I finish these."
Yi Tianyu: "……………………"
How the hell would she ever have time after that???
Who bought her all these materials?
Wasn’t it downright cruel to give her so many?!
Xue Jiao didn’t notice that ever since she received that thick stack of materials, the time she spent explaining problems to Yi Tianyu had dwindled, while her evenings discussing problems with Lin Zhihua had increased.
Competition math problems were different from regular ones, and at first, Xue Jiao found them somewhat baffling.
But once she immersed herself under Lin Zhihua’s guidance, she began to relish the thrill of solving them.
These problems covered a wide range of topics and delved into greater depth—not just testing computational skills but also logical reasoning, adaptability, and comprehensive abilities.
Gradually, she became absorbed in the exhilaration of problem-solving, and Lin Zhihua’s mentorship played a crucial role in this.
Lin Zhihua never taught her how to solve a specific problem step-by-step. Instead, he instilled in her a rigorous logical mindset.
For Xue Jiao, who had followed a rigid, step-by-step approach in her past life and had little exposure to such thinking, this was like opening a brand-new door.
As a result, the newly discovered joy in mathematics consumed nearly all her free time. Her mind churned over problems while eating, she reviewed mistakes at night before bed, and she even traced solutions with her fingers during car rides.
"Jiao Jiao, hurry and get ready. We’re going to the theater at six tonight." Li Sitong placed a glass of water beside Xue Jiao, who was scribbling away furiously. Cheng Shuo, who had entered with her, smiled.
Xue Jiao pulled her thoughts away from the math problems and looked up at them. Her expression was dazed, her large eyes first blank before focus slowly returned.
The theater?!
As if snapping back to reality, Xue Jiao’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Her fair, delicate face held a look of bewilderment—silly yet… adorable.
Unable to resist, Li Sitong reached out and ruffled her hair. "Jiao Jiao, we agreed last week that we’d go to the play this week."
Last week…"Oh right," Cheng Shuo and Li Sitong's gift to her and Cheng Mingze for their midterm exams was a family outing to see a play.
At this thought, Xue Jiao's round little face puffed up slightly.
"But..." Can I not go...
Cheng Shuo chuckled: "No. Jiao Jiao, this is a family activity. No absences unless it's something major."
"Oh..." Xue Jiao deflated.
"Hurry up and get ready to go."
"Okay." Xue Jiao's voice was soft as she reluctantly glanced at the half-finished problem on her desk. "Let me just finish this question first!"
"This girl..." Li Sitong shook her head.
Cheng Shuo smiled and said, "Sitong, bring over the clothes you bought for Jiao Jiao. Let's all dress up nicely for today's outing!"
"Alright."
——
Xue Jiao stared blankly at the girl in the mirror. She wore a chiffon long-sleeved blouse paired with sleek high-waisted trousers, the stark contrast of white and black striking.
Her hair was still in the same bun she wore with her school uniform, but as Li Sitong adjusted it, the neat bun loosened slightly, adding a touch of effortless charm.
"Beautiful!" Li Sitong couldn't help but smile. "My daughter is so beautiful."
This was an entirely new experience for Li Sitong. In the past, Xue Jiao would always dress haphazardly, and Li Sitong had been too busy correcting her to ever think about styling her properly.
Now that Xue Jiao had become obedient and diligent, studying with unexpected seriousness and even achieving enviable grades, seeing her constantly in her rotating school uniforms made Li Sitong want to dress her up like a little princess every day.
Finally, Li Sitong could proudly say, "This is my daughter!"
Her eyes glistened slightly as she gazed at the stunning young girl before her.
The girl's youthful charm was like a budding flower. With just a touch of lip balm, her face already shone radiantly.
Xue Jiao tugged uncomfortably at her clothes. "Isn't this... too thin?"
"Not at all!" Li Sitong adjusted her collar with a smile. "The theater will be warm. Just bring that white coat—you can wrap up if you go outside."
Xue Jiao dodged Li Sitong's hand awkwardly. "I can do it myself!"
Li Sitong's hand froze mid-air, her expression dimming slightly.
——
"Still not down yet?" Cheng Mingze said idly, munching on an apple.
Cheng Shuo set down his newspaper and smiled. "Young man, a gentleman must be patient when waiting for a lady. Basic etiquette."
Cheng Mingze scoffed. "A lady wouldn't keep a gentleman waiting this long."
"You little rascal!" Cheng Shuo glared.
Just then, footsteps sounded from upstairs.
Cheng Shuo's eyes brightened again. "The ladies in our family are all refined."
Cheng Mingze didn't respond, merely pursing his lips as his gaze shifted to the staircase—then froze.
He couldn't quite describe the feeling. It was like passing by a flowerpot every day, one that always seemed to block his path, making him resent it too much to ever notice its beauty.
But one day, the flowerpot no longer obstructed him. Instead, it quietly bloomed, keeping its distance...
The feeling was strange, almost surreal.
At this moment, Cheng Mingze couldn't quite put it into words. But one day, when he finally saw the flower's true beauty, he would realize—it had long been cradled in someone else's hands.The heart-wrenching pain at that time was beyond words.
"My daughter is truly beautiful!" Cheng Shuo couldn't help exclaiming loudly, filled with pride and joy.
Xue Jiao somewhat awkwardly touched her loose bun that seemed about to fall apart, looking embarrassed.
Cheng Shuo smiled even more affectionately: "Jiao Jiao, I'm not lying. Mingze, tell me, doesn't your sister look beautiful today?"
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