People were discussing everywhere. There was even a top student live streaming as he wrote down questions from previous entrance exams. In the end, he only got 30 points...
The glory of the genius instantly collapsed!
More and more people gave up...
"Forget it, I'm afraid I'll lose all face because of this! I heard the scores will be publicly humiliated nationwide! Every ranking will be on record."
"I'm afraid that I, a provincial champion on the gaokao (college entrance exam), won't even dare to say I was a gaokao champion because of this competition..."
"Even Zhou Jinyuan failed! I definitely can't do this." Zhou Jinyuan was the genius live streaming his exam question writing.
The top prize for this competition was 50,000 RMB, second place was 30,000, and third place was 10,000. Some people thought maybe they'd get lucky, so they signed up.
At first, Chu Yang didn't plan on participating. She didn't want to bother with some competition, but Professor Li recommended she go, telling her of the many benefits of winning, like course credits, prize money, and even direct admission to a master's program.
Chu Yang thought it didn't sound bad. She probably wouldn't win prizes, but it seemed feasible.
The preliminary exam was on Saturday. Chu Yang realized the male and female leads had also signed up...what was going on? She didn't remember this part in the book. But maybe it was just a different plot not included in the novel.
Oh well, whatever, as long as they didn't bother her.
The preliminaries were held right at their university. They were given a booklet of test questions about as thick as a notebook, and the answer sheet was similarly notebook-sized.
Chu Yang briefly looked over the types of questions then started answering. Time waits for no one!
While Chu Yang was taking the test, Chi Yan sat under a big tree outside the exam hall waiting for her. He had texted her that morning that he would wait outside for her after she finished, but he didn't know if she had seen it.
From time to time people walked by, looking his way. Some boldly came up to ask for his WeChat, but were rejected.
Whenever someone asked for his WeChat, Chi Yan would say, "I have a girlfriend."
Some were undeterred and said, "We can just be friends."
Chi Yan directly rejected them, "I don't want any friends, especially not you."
"..." They fled in embarrassment.
Soon, everyone knew the handsome guy under the tree outside Mingqing Building was taken. "Don't bother asking him for his WeChat, he has a girlfriend already."
"I knew the good-looking ones are always taken."
"Isn't that Chi Yan from the nearby B University? He has a girlfriend now?"
"My god! Which girl managed to snag him? And she's from our A University too, hahahaha!"
"The girls at B University must be crying. Their school hunk was captured by a girl from A University."
"So who exactly got him in the end?"
No one could find the answer, and those who knew didn't speak up.
Qian Xin frequented the school forums and immediately knew who they were talking about when she saw the post. She shared it with Jin Yang and Cai Cai and said, "...It's gotta be Yangyang, right?"
Jin Yang and Cai Cai looked it over. "Definitely!"
Qian Xin raised her hand to ask, "So...when did this happen?"
Cai Cai looked to Jin Yang, "Yeah, when did this happen?"
Jin Yang was also confused, "I don't know! I just know Chi Yan has come to take Yangyang out to eat several times."
Qian Xin was puzzled, "You don't go with them?"
Jin Yang gave her an exasperated look, "I don't dare be a third wheel. Hasn't Yangyang been busy preparing for that competition lately? I see her studying until 11 PM, so I haven't disturbed her. I haven't eaten with her in a long time."
The three girls sighed together, "Let's just ask Yangyang when she gets back."
"Okay!"
"Actually...it's pretty good too. Chi Yan seems decent, and he often brings Yangyang food even without any reason to, just dropping by frequently. It's so obvious!"
"And a lot of Yangyang's snacks seem to have entered our mouths, hahaha."
"I thought it would at least take a long chase." Jin Yang sighed.
"Yangyang has always been decisive in her actions."
"That's true."
...
Two hours passed quickly. As people kept writing, many gave up. They didn't know how to answer the fill-in-the-blank questions, so they just did multiple choice. At least there was a 25% chance.
Chu Yang stayed calm, answering what she could and simply skipping questions she didn't know.
After handing in her test paper, a classmate next to Chu Yang suddenly asked, "Hey, you seemed to breeze through that. What's your major?"
Chu Yang: "Chinese Language and Literature."
The student gave her a thumbs up, "No wonder! I think you've definitely got this."
Chu Yang: "I hope so." Then she left with her stationery.
Another student walked up to the one who had spoken to Chu Yang and said, "You don't recognize her?"
The student shook his head. The other student said, "She's the top student of the Chinese Literature department."
"Oh~ no wonder. I saw her flipping pages so fast, scribbling down each page of the answer sheet in an instant. It made me nervous."
"Haha, to each their own expertise. We're just here to play around anyway, let's go."
Chu Yang followed the crowds out of the classroom building, immediately seeing Chi Yan sitting under a tree, holding a milk tea in hand. Seeing her, he smiled and waved her over, attracting the eyes of girls around them.
When Chu Yang reached him she asked, "Why did you come?"
Chi Yan said, "Huh? I texted you this morning."
Only then did Chu Yang open her phone and see Chi Yan's message that he would come wait outside the exam hall for her.
"Sorry, I didn't check my phone this morning."
"No problem." Chi Yan handed her the milk tea, "Here, are you hungry? Let's go eat."
"Okay." Chu Yang took the milk tea and drank a sip, then put her phone in her bag and directly grabbed Chi Yan's hand with her other hand.
Chi Yan hadn't expected this extra benefit and almost tripped in surprise. Slowly he held her hand in return, enveloping her small hand in his big one.
Behind them, Li Qinglu kept staring at the couple ahead. She hadn't expected... Noticing her gaze, Gu Xiao asked, "What's wrong?"
Li Qinglu shook her head, "Nothing, I just saw Chu Yang up ahead."
Gu Xiao glanced ahead and clearly saw Chu Yang next to Chi Yan. He hadn't thought Chi Yan would be interested in a girl like that. Compared to his Qinglu, Gu Xiao felt he had won.
They went to the cafeteria nearby and ate first. Chi Yan felt like he had been frequently coming to A University to eat and said, "Why don't I get a meal card from your school? Can I?"
Chu Yang didn't know if he could apply for one and handed him her card, "You don't need to get one, just use mine."
Chi Yan thought for a bit, "Then let me add money to it."
Chu Yang didn't care. The school supplemented her card with money every month anyway.
The second round would be sometime the following week. Since they were free tomorrow, Chu Yang suggested, "Let's go out and play tomorrow since we're both free."
Chi Yan was very happy to hear that. "Sure, I'll check where we can go, or do you have somewhere in mind?"
Chu Yang thought for a moment, "The Forbidden City? The Summer Palace?"
Chi Yan: "Okay, let's go to the Forbidden City in the morning and the Summer Palace in the afternoon."
"Sounds good."
