Chapter 35

Song Zhaolin stood at the hotel entrance, staring at the crackling rain mixed with snow before him.
At this moment, his heart felt just like the weather, desolate and miserable.
He just wanted to hang out! Why is it so hard?!
Heavens! Why are you so fickle!
Lu Zhen stood to the side, frowning slightly, lost in thought.
Although sudden weather changes are normal, this rain mixed with snow did come rather coincidentally.
Song Zhaolin glanced at his phone a couple of times and sighed: “No wonder she knew the weather wasn’t good, Sister Yin just sent me a WeChat message.”
Lu Zhen frowned and turned his head: “What did she say?”
“…She said she called the weather station,” Song Zhaolin said, looking dazed. “Truly worthy of being an academic god, so meticulous!”
Lu Zhen didn’t respond. He lowered his gaze, opened his phone, and checked the built-in weather forecast.
Starting from now, the forecast did indeed show rain and snow.
Weather forecasts do change from time to time, so it didn’t seem particularly unusual.
But perhaps because he’d encountered too many strange things, a vague, absurd thought flashed through Lu Zhen’s mind at that moment…
Could it be that Chu Yin’s desire not to go out was so strong that it even influenced the weather?
But then he immediately realized how unrealistic that thought was.
When it comes to weather, even predicting it accurately is difficult, how could an ordinary person possibly control it?
…If Chu Yin really had that kind of power, then he could probably be easily killed by her.
Compared to those absurd conjectures, Lu Zhen was more concerned about something else at the moment.
“When did you add her?”
Song Zhaolin let out an "Ah," scratched his head, and said, "When was it? Let me think, probably around the time I became the school belle?"
Hehe, saying it out loud is kind of embarrassing.
Lu Zhen’s mood instantly soured.
He lowered his gaze to the profile picture in the group chat: ndcy.
Typing it out with his input method, it came out as, ni, de, chu, yin.
...Your Chu Yin.
There was an inexplicable tenderness to it.
Lu Zhen lowered his lashes, the reddish-brown tear mole at the corner of his eye accentuating his dark pupils, which reflected those four characters.
After a long while, he finally looked up and asked, feigning nonchalance, "So, that ndcy is Chu Yin?"
Song Zhaolin paused for a moment before replying, "Oh, yeah!"
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he burst into laughter, cackling like a goose. "You don’t know what it means, right? I was the same, when I typed it on my phone, it came out as 'nan de chi yi' and 'ni de cheng yi.' So I asked Sister Yin about it!"
Lu Zhen tilted his head slightly, his expression cool and detached. "So, what does it actually mean?"
Song Zhaolin laughed like an idiot. "Ni die Chu Yin! Hahahahahahahahahaha, "
Lu Zhen: "………"
Unaware of Lu Zhen’s expression, Song Zhaolin doubled over laughing in the elevator.
That’s how fools are, their happiness returns so easily. Even though it was storming outside! Even though his "dad" Chu Yin had just rejected his invitation!
Lu Zhen briefly questioned his life.
The Chu Yin he knew, obedient, dull, low-key, the little bookworm who only cared about studying.
Turns out... she could be this wild?
Was his perception off, or... had Chu Yin been putting on an act in front of him?
Lu Zhen didn’t know why,
but he suddenly felt a strange sense of pleasure at this possibility.
...
Amidst the howling wind and pouring rain, Chu Yin spent the afternoon passionately solving math problems in her dorm.
Han Chuying followed her goddess’s routine, when Chu Yin studied, she didn’t dare slack off either. After grinding through the entire afternoon, she felt like she was about to ascend to heaven.
Seeing the third-ranked student in their dorm working so hard, the female academic achiever burned with even more fervor, as if flames were blazing around her.
The end result was that the dorm seemed bathed in the radiant light of studying.
Liang Yueqi stood out like a sore thumb here.
She had originally chosen to endure the hardship of dorm life in order to observe Chu Yin up close. But now, she felt she had endured far too much.
These people were all a bit abnormal, with their minds solely focused on studying, day in and day out, it was all about practice problems. Facing them, Liang Yueqi felt a hint of superiority.
She didn’t need to push herself so hard.
Take that top student in the dorm who clearly came from a less privileged background, no matter how hard she studied her whole life, her life might never be as comfortable as Liang Yueqi’s.
Originally, she could have gone out on a date this afternoon, but the wretched weather had ruined her plans, trapping her here to watch them study. Miss Liang sat at her desk, glanced at the female academic achiever next to her, and said, "I’ve seen you studying all day. You should take a break, studying like this without rest is pointless."
The academic achiever silently looked up, gave her a silent glance, then lowered her head and focused even more intently on her practice problems.
Han Chuying, who happened to be taking a break, almost laughed out loud at the scene.
She was probably using her actions to say: After seeing you, I feel even more motivated to study.
Liang Yueqi’s expression darkened. How could this person be so ungrateful?
Chu Yin finished a set of problems and took a sip of water to rest. She, too, couldn’t understand the point of Miss Liang sticking around here. Her heart wasn’t in studying, and since her main goal was Lu Zhen, why not go find him and make some progress?
Could rain and snow really stand in the way of love?
It shouldn’t. Absolutely not.
For a moment, no one in the dorm paid any attention to Liang Yueqi.
She had never lived in a dorm before, let alone been treated so coldly. For a moment, she actually felt a sense of being ostracized.
Liang Yueqi frowned tightly and, believing herself to be rational and objective, said, "I’m just concerned about you, not trying to harm you. I just think the teaching methods in this winter camp are unreasonable. There’s no point in studying like this. Besides, there are so many people ahead of you, even if you study yourself to death, you won’t surpass them. So what’s the point?"
After hearing this, Han Chuying immediately frowned.
Chu Yin raised an eyebrow slightly.
This was truly the kind of talk only a privileged young lady who had never experienced hardship would say.
Chu Yin only knew one thing: persuading someone to give up was a sin worthy of being struck by lightning.
To discourage others before any results were even in, such people were truly detestable.
She turned to look at Liang Yueqi and was about to speak when the female academic achiever who had been "kindly advised" suddenly lifted her head.
"Could you please shut up?" the academic achiever said with a plain expression. "You’re really noisy, you know that?"
The dorm fell silent for three seconds.
Then, Chu Yin was the first to break the silence with a "pfft."
This little academic achiever was hilarious! She had thought this roommate was the quiet type, but who knew she could be so blunt?
Liang Yueqi was stunned for two seconds before instantly flying into a rage. "Do you know who I am?!"
She was the young lady of the Liang family, after all!
The academic achiever nodded. "I know."
She paused for two seconds. "You’re last place in the entire camp."
Chu Yin & Han Chuying: "Hahahahaha, "
Sorry, they really couldn’t hold it in.
Liang Yueqi’s composure shattered. Without even taking her things, she stormed out of the dorm with a dark expression.
She had truly had enough of these socially inept nerds!
Outside, the rain and snow had stopped. Liang Yueqi, wearing her little leather boots, stomped out of the dorm building and suddenly saw Lu Zhen and Song Zhaolin walking toward her.
Her heart full of grievances, she quickly walked up to Lu Zhen and looked at him with teary eyes. "Lu Zhen, I'm being ostracized in my dorm..."
Song Zhaolin widened his eyes. "Huh? Really? By whom?"
Liang Yueqi glanced at him, her expression pitiful. "By Chu Yin and her friends."
"Huh?" Song Zhaolin raised his hand and scratched his head.
Based on his understanding of Chu Yin, she couldn't be bothered to ostracize anyone. When she first transferred here, one could say she was ostracized by the entire Class 5. Back then, he was practically the only one in the class who spoke to her, and Chu Yin had acted completely unfazed.
Her mind was solely focused on studying, there was simply no room for such childish matters.
"I wasn't used to living in a dorm to begin with, but I thought it would help me get closer to my classmates, so I moved in anyway. I never expected I'd end up being ostracized like this..."
Liang Yueqi lowered her head, her expression fragile and delicate, the kind that would easily stir a protective instinct in others.
But the young man standing before her, dressed in black with pale, cool-toned skin, remained expressionless.
"Then, back when you were with Fu Mingxuan, who were you trying to ostracize?" he suddenly asked.
Liang Yueqi's face turned pale.
That incident had been suppressed by her grandfather, and the Lu family hadn't pursued it further. She thought Lu Zhen had forgotten about it, but she never expected him to bring it up now, of all times!
Liang Yueqi forced a smile. "That was just a misunderstanding..."
Lu Zhen nodded, his eyes devoid of any emotion. "Then consider this a misunderstanding too."
With that, he turned and walked away.
Song Zhaolin hurried after him, muttering under his breath, "Damn, that was cold!"
The last time he'd seen someone that ruthless was his "Sister Yin."
Lu Zhen glanced up at the dormitory building, then turned his head to look at Song Zhaolin. "What exactly do you want to do?"
Song Zhaolin had been staying at the hotel where Lu Zhen lived, eagerly waiting for the sleet to stop so he could drag Lu Zhen out to have some fun. He hadn't really expected to succeed, but to his surprise, he actually managed to persuade Brother Zhen.
He didn't even know what there was to do at the university, he was just bored out of his mind!
Suddenly struck by inspiration, Song Zhaolin exclaimed, "Let's go check out your classrooms!"
The classrooms were usually open, and some students who didn't want to go to the library would study there instead.
Lu Zhen lowered his gaze slightly. "Let's go."
When they reached the academic building, Song Zhaolin craned his neck, curiously examining the university's facilities. Suddenly, his eyes landed on a red honor roll posted on the first-floor bulletin board.
"Did you guys have an exam or something?" Song Zhaolin walked over, took a look, and then let out a shocked cry. "Holy crap, Sister Yin is ranked third?!"
A second later, another exclamation rang out: "Holy crap, Brother Zhen is fourth?! You two are insane?!"
Lu Zhen's lips curved slightly, a faint glimmer of pleasure in his eyes.
Song Zhaolin also knew this wasn't Quiwen Private High School, placing in the top three here was something worth bragging about even city-wide. Song Zhaolin immediately got excited. He pulled out his phone and snapped a photo of the entire honor roll. "You guys are way too low-key! How can you not show off such amazing results? I'll do the bragging for you!"
Before long, a new post appeared out of nowhere on Quiwen's forum.
[Good News! Celebrating Our Students' Outstanding Achievements in the Hope Cup Winter Camp Placement Test!]
The main post directly featured a photo of the honor roll, with several Quiwen students prominently listed.
It was winter break, and all the students were bored out of their minds at home. As soon as this post went up, everyone flocked to it.
1L: Holy crap, who's the OP? Are you one of the contestants?
2L (OP): Nope, I'm a contestant's family member.
3L: Aaaaaaah Brother Zhen is fourth! He's so amazing! My idol is just incredible!
4L: Are you blind...? The third place above him is even more insane.
5L (OP): No fighting! They're both amazing! Both amazing!
In this thread, both the school heartthrob fans and the almost-school-belle fans made their appearances:
28L: So Brother Zhen is not only handsome but also a genius? What kind of male lead archetype is this?! Mom, I'm in love!
34L: I'm in love with Chu Yin. She's beautiful, strong, and doesn't care about smelly guys, marry me, please!
35L: Honestly, ever since that incident with that Zheng guy kneeling, no one's dared to pursue her. After reading this thread, I think I know how many people are secretly watching her.
36L: Secretly watching +1
37L: Secretly watching +2
40L: +1008611
Song Zhaolin gleefully watched his post become popular, with both fan groups hyping their favorites. He alternated between agreeing with those praising Chu Yin and those praising Lu Zhen, thoroughly enjoying his own game.
But just then, one comment suddenly pointed out a detail on the honor roll that everyone had missed.
78L: Wait?? Am I the only one who saw this?? Is that Liang Yueqi in last place???
Once this comment appeared, more and more people noticed the oversight.
80L: Damn, you've spotted the key detail!!
81L: Is it really her?! It says Quiwen Private High School next to it.
82L: What was she even doing there?? Liang didn't even get a winter camp spot.
83L: Money talks, even without a spot, she squeezed in. Too bad she got schooled by the academic elites, lol.
From then on, the entire thread's direction shifted completely, turning into a roast session targeting Miss Liang.
Liang Yueqi only found out her results had been posted on the forum when she received a WeChat message from Fu Mingxuan. She was instantly mortified.
Fu Mingxuan still held a grudge over the incident where Liang Yueqi had thrown her under the bus. Plus, she knew Liang Yueqi had only gone to the winter camp for Lu Zhen, feeling both jealous and vindicated.
[Oh my, Yueqi, why didn't you tell me you were going to the winter camp?]
[Sigh, but even if you had told me, I probably wouldn't have dared to go. I only scored a little over 130 in math on the finals, wouldn't that just be asking for humiliation?]
Liang Yueqi: "..."
Liang Yueqi hadn't even broken 120 in math on the finals.
That night, Miss Liang's composure completely shattered. She withdrew from the winter camp overnight and returned to their city.
The next day in class, no one paid any attention to the person who had dropped out midway.
Not giving up doesn’t guarantee victory, but giving up means you’ve already lost.
The battle among the top students continued.
However, today was a little different. Their camp had invited outstanding seniors from previous years. Because a few of them were exceptionally good-looking, the girls were all excited.
Although there was already a handsome guy among them, when it comes to handsome guys, you can never have too many!
As Chu Yin hurried to the classroom with her books, she was stopped halfway.
Gu Qiuzhe stood in front of her, smiling as he handed her a can of coffee. "Don’t rush, it’s not class time yet."
Chu Yin nodded and accepted the coffee. "Thank you, Senior."
"That’s a bit distant," Gu Qiuzhe said with a laugh. "You used to call me 'brother.'"
Chu Yin did indeed intend to keep her distance.
She never felt secure in situations where both Gu Qiuzhe and Lu Zhen were present. Chu Yin wanted nothing to do with either of them, so she simply kept her distance from both.
Gu Qiuzhe looked down at the girl in front of him, his expression gentle yet inquisitive.
When the Hope Cup organizers contacted him, Gu Qiuzhe had been indifferent. But when Chu Shi asked him to drop by and check on Chu Yin, he suddenly felt like making the trip.
Chu Yin was beautiful and outstanding, but those were just surface qualities. Gu Qiuzhe was curious about her because she possessed a maturity beyond her years, the more he interacted with her, the more he could vaguely sense it.
It was intriguing.
And...
Gu Qiuzhe had also picked up on something subtle from Lu Zhen.
Which made it even more interesting.
After exchanging a few hurried words, Chu Yin found an excuse and left.
Not long after she left, Gu Qiuzhe ran into Lu Zhen.
Their gazes collided in the air, neither particularly friendly.
Lu Zhen asked coolly, "What were you talking about?"
From a distance, he had clearly seen that Chu Yin didn’t want to chat much with Gu Qiuzhe either, her body language screamed unfamiliarity. It didn’t seem like she held any special regard for Gu Qiuzhe, the model student, as he had imagined.
Gu Qiuzhe smiled. "That’s none of your business, Young Master Lu. But the Liang family’s daughter went back last night, aren’t you concerned about that?"
Lu Zhen raised his eyelids and scoffed. "What does that have to do with me?"
Gu Qiuzhe replied, "Whether it has anything to do with you depends on Old Master Lu’s intentions, doesn’t it?"
Lu Zhen’s dark eyes turned icy, a hint of arrogance curling at the corner of his lips. "Come talk to me about these things when you have a say in the Gu family."
With that, he entered the classroom with a mocking smile.
Although Gu Qiuzhe was the eldest son of the Gu family, he had an authoritative older sister above him. Unlike Lu Zhen, the sole heir of the Lu family, Gu Qiuzhe faced more restrictions and arrangements.
Chu Yin was unaware of the conversation happening outside the classroom, as she was busy preparing to dive into the day's study rhythm.
However, today, with the addition of the senior students, the teacher refrained from resorting to frantic teaching methods.
First, the teacher introduced the impressive achievements of each senior student, followed by their individual study experience sharing sessions. Finally, all the students were divided into several groups, each led by a senior for Q&A sessions.
The group assignments were randomly arranged by the teacher, and as luck would have it, Chu Yin and Lu Zhen ended up in the same group.
And, as if that weren’t enough, they were assigned to Gu Qiuzhe as their senior mentor.
Study System: "This must be fate’s arrangement."
Chu Yin sneered coldly, "This is all the trash script’s doing."
But it didn’t matter. As long as it didn’t interfere with her studies, everything else was manageable.
The other girls in the class all gazed enviously at their group, Oh my! What incredible luck! Two handsome guys in their group, wuwu, why couldn’t they be distributed more evenly?!
Han Chuying also looked at them with envy.
Wuwu, she envied them for being able to admire Chu Yin’s beauty up close!
For this class, only one set of problems was handed out, all of which were logic-heavy questions. The senior in each group was on standby, ready to share their experience with the younger students.
Lu Zhen sat diagonally in front of Chu Yin. From the moment she received the problems, she paid no attention to anyone else and buried herself in solving them.
Gu Qiuzhe walked around the table to check on everyone. When he reached Chu Yin, he leaned over slightly and asked, "Stuck? Do you need me to teach you?"
The surrounding students immediately gasped.
The girls let out sounds of envy, while the top male students who had greeted Chu Yin earlier all felt a bit inferior.
A gentle and refined senior, paired with a pure and beautiful junior, this seemed like the perfect picture...
Chu Yin pursed her lips, sensing Lu Zhen’s gaze from diagonally in front of her.
"No need, I can handle it."
Gu Qiuzhe smiled and didn’t say anything more, turning to check on the other students.
Chu Yin really wished she could stubbornly and flawlessly finish all the problems in one go. But today’s paper was genuinely difficult. After forcing her way through two more questions, she got stuck again.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Gu Qiuzhe approaching her again. Just as she was about to pretend she was making smooth progress, a pair of slender, well-defined hands suddenly tapped on her desk.
A cold, clear voice sounded, ", I’ll teach you."
Chu Yin’s head snapped up.
Lu Zhen was quietly watching her.
Chu Yin’s face tightened, thinking: You! On! What! Grounds!!
I’m third, you’re fourth, okay?! You dog of a man!!,
Lu Zhen seemed to understand her expression. He curled his lips and tilted his chin up, saying, "Question 8, I’ve solved it."
At that moment, Gu Qiuzhe walked over and said gently, "Which one are you stuck on? I can handle it."
In an instant, the entire classroom’s attention was focused on them.
Chu Yin, being the center of attention with two handsome guys vying to tutor her, became the focal point of the room.
Chu Yin: ...I knew it.
That dog of a man probably just disliked Gu Qiuzhe and deliberately wanted to teach her, what a childish move!!
Lu Zhen twirled his pen with his slender fingers, looked at Gu Qiuzhe, and said with a faint smile, "No need."
Gu Qiuzhe raised an eyebrow, "It’s fine, don’t worry about troubling me. That’s why we were invited here."
Although their words weren’t confrontational, everyone present quickly sensed the tension between the two.
"Whoa, what’s going on? Do they know each other?"
"It seems Senior Gu and classmates Lu and Chu are from the same school..."
"Doesn’t their relationship seem a bit off...?"
Lu Zhen sneered, "They said they don’t need your help."
Gu Qiuzhe smiled, "But if you teach, you can guarantee it’s correct, right?"
Neither of them would back down. The other students didn’t dare to breathe loudly, and even the teacher didn’t dare intervene, these were young masters, each more untouchable than the last!
Chu Yin watched the two of them, feeling utterly exhausted.
Stop! Stop fighting! Please stop fighting!
Men are all goddamn kindergarteners!
If this continued, no one would be able to focus on solving problems.
Chu Yin, exhausted, pulled out the script.
[Location: H University classroom. Characters: Lu Zhen, Gu Qiuzhe.]
[...Lu Zhen and Gu Qiuzhe clashed with their auras, glaring at each other with mutual disdain, neither willing to yield.
Lu Zhen sneered, "If I can’t guarantee it, then why don’t you teach me?"
Gu Qiuzhe: "Sure, as long as you’re willing to listen."]...
[Next, Gu Qiuzhe engaged in a confrontational teaching session with Lu Zhen. The surrounding students all kept their eyes down, pretending the scene was perfectly harmonious...]
Chu Yin, expressionless, grabbed the light pen and crossed out [confrontational].
Study System: "I know this one! I bet the host wants to change it to an antonymous idiom! Like, "
Study System: "Respect each other like guests?"
Chu Yin: "...?"
She never thought she’d be outshone by Study System one day.
"That’s used to describe married couples, okay?!" Though it wasn’t entirely inappropriate??
Study System: "Oh."
Chu Yin: "Keep it simple. Let’s all keep our routines simple."
She wrote the word "love" over the crossed-out part.
A loving teaching session.
You annoying men, go have fun with each other. Let me study in peace :)
In the classroom.
Lu Zhen’s dark gaze swept over Gu Qiuzhe: "If I can’t guarantee it, then why don’t you teach me?"
Gu Qiuzhe smiled: "Sure, as long as you’re willing to listen."
After saying this, he walked over to Lu Zhen, preparing to explain the problem to him.
Lu Zhen’s face was full of irritation, the hostility in his eyes completely unconcealed.
The atmosphere between the two seemed ready to explode into a fight at any moment.
Gu Qiuzhe lowered his head, his fingertip landing on the test paper.
At that moment, he suddenly became as gentle as a spring breeze: "Come on! Lu, let’s take a look at this problem!"
Gentle as if filled with affection.
Lu Zhen’s hand trembled, and the four-figure-priced pen between his fingers clattered to the floor.
His expression was one of astonishment as he looked at Gu Qiuzhe.
...Why have you suddenly become so flirtatious?