Chapter 33

Shadi said I was good for nothing.

No, I can like him, I'm clearly more promising than her.

—Little Monster's Diary

When you like someone, it's really like this; you can't stand even a hint of his awkwardness. Of course, someone like Zhou Siyue clearly wouldn't be awkward, but even knowing he didn't care whether Kong Shadi paid attention to him or not, her heart would still ache. Just like sometimes, she would occasionally hear He Xingwen taking potshots at him behind his back. Even though she and Zhou Siyue weren't speaking at the moment, He Xingwen was still their common enemy.

The two of them didn't exchange more than a couple of words until the end of the semester, nor did they have the chance. Later, Zhou Siyue was busy with the semifinals, basically spending his entire day grinding practice problems to the point of 'sacrificing family for righteousness.'

Even Jiang Chen stopped coming to find him to play basketball.

A few days after the semifinals ended, a large crimson good news poster was put up on the school's display window, next to which was a one-inch blue background photo of Zhou Siyue's expressionless face.

He won the Beijing Municipal First Prize and could also represent the Beijing Team to participate in next year's National Mathematics League. Participating in the National Competition was different; the top six in the National Competition could enter the National Team and represent China in the International Mathematical Olympiad. At the same time, invitations from Tsinghua and Peking Universities would also be extended.

He Xingwen also joined the Beijing Team.

In Song Ziqi's words, 'How is this person like a plaster, impossible to shake off?', but Ding Xian didn't think so. Winning the first prize and entering the Beijing Team together, this was also He Xingwen proving himself with his ability. However, compared to the low-key Zhou Siyue, He Xingwen seemed less modest.

That afternoon, Ding Xian returned to the classroom early after lunch. As she was resting with her eyes closed on her desk, she heard Liu Xiaofeng talking to He Xingwen, "Congratulations, He Xingwen."

He Xingwen nodded, indicating it was 'alright,' saying he didn't do well this time either; otherwise, he should have gotten a high score.

You already got first prize, how much better do you want to do...?

Liu Xiaofeng smiled ingenuously and couldn't help but praise, "You're amazing. If I had half your skill, I'd be happy. So, won't you be able to compete with my male god in the future?"

Only then did Ding Xian realize that Zhou Siyue was Liu Xiaofeng's male god.

He Xingwen was halfway through writing a problem and didn't react. He looked at Liu Xiaofeng for a long time before realizing that 'male god' referred to Zhou Siyue. He gave a very disdainful laugh and didn't respond, showing some contempt.

Liu Xiaofeng, this simpleton, also didn't react. Knowing that He Xingwen always had a strange temper, he just gave a hearty laugh when he saw him not speaking and turned back to write his own homework.

As a result, after a long while, He Xingwen's extremely soft voice was heard—

"That's not necessarily true, luck isn't always that good."

Even an idiot could tell that remark was about Zhou Siyue, but Liu Xiaofeng, that blockhead, thought He Xingwen was talking about himself. He didn't immediately understand and foolishly added, "Luck is also part of strength."

To prevent Liu Xiaofeng, this good child, from being led astray, Ding Xian decided to step forward.

"Liu Xiaofeng."

The boy turned around and responded loudly, "Hey—"

Ding Xian frowned, "I have a problem I can't solve, can you help me look at it?"

"Alrighty."

Liu Xiaofeng stood up from his seat and enthusiastically ran over. Ding Xian casually pointed to a problem on the worksheet, "This one, I think we've gone over it, but I forgot again."

Liu Xiaofeng glanced at it, "Simple."

He immediately took a pen and leaned over the desk to calculate for her, "Algebra problems only have these two types of solutions, don't overthink it. The methods the teacher taught in class are already sufficient for our usual problem-solving. Let me give you an example..."

Halfway through the problem, Zhou Siyue and Song Ziqi returned after eating.

Liu Xiaofeng had taken Zhou Siyue's seat. He looked up and quickly said, "Great God, I'm sitting in your seat for a bit."

However, Zhou Siyue, who was usually easy to talk to, said, "No."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere froze for three seconds. Everyone simultaneously looked at Zhou Siyue, who remained unmoving, with an impatient expression.

Ding Xian was still quick to react. She took the pen and worksheet from Liu Xiaofeng, smiling, "Ah, I get it now. Thank you, Liu Xiaofeng, hurry back."

"Oh, oh." Liu Xiaofeng scratched the back of his head, nodded hesitantly, and glanced at Zhou Siyue again. He wanted to say something but didn't know what, so he could only slowly turn and leave. Back in his seat, he kept looking over, with such a pitiful, hurt expression in his eyes.

Back in school, Liu Xiaofeng had always admired Zhou Siyue, sometimes even more exaggeratedly than Ding Xian. If his idol gave him an approving glance, he would be happy all day, have more energy climbing stairs, and be more motivated to do problems. That feeling excited him more than getting a perfect score on a test.

Zhou Siyue was an easygoing person, rarely sarcastic, and usually very agreeable. No one had ever seen him so forcefully reject someone from a thousand miles away.

At that time, Liu Xiaofeng was truly disheartened for a good while, struck by Zhou Siyue's single word, "No."

Not long after Liu Xiaofeng left, Ding Xian also got anxious. At that point, the two of them hadn't spoken for half a month.

She had thought that his losing his temper with her was one thing, but he even bullied an honest child like Liu Xiaofeng. How could Liu Xiaofeng still like him so much? Was he even human? Later, thinking about it, why was she so angry? She was angry about his attitude towards her. The resentment that had accumulated for a long time suddenly couldn't be held back and exploded.

Just as Zhou Siyue pulled out his chair to sit down, Ding Xian suddenly pulled out her chair, stood up, and ran out.

Kong Shadi followed closely, chasing her out. Before leaving, she glared fiercely at Zhou Siyue.

The two girls left one after another. Song Ziqi took a long time to come back to his senses, but he also noticed some clues. He turned and asked Zhou Siyue, "What's wrong with you two?"

"Who knows?" Zhou Siyue was extremely annoyed. He pulled out a set of worksheets to write, but couldn't focus on a single problem.

Song Ziqi chuckled, "Liu Xiaofeng wasn't even anxious, why is she?"

Zhou Siyue kicked his chair over, "Annoying or not? Go away."

At that time, he didn't think he was jealous; he just felt that he was starting to have expectations for Ding Xian. This uncontrollable factor drove him crazy. Even a single word or action from her could determine his efficiency in solving problems for an entire afternoon, which was a real pain for him.

For example, that afternoon, when Ding Xian ran out, he couldn't even finish one worksheet. His mind was full of the image of her crying while squatting at his house that day. This fool didn't go hide in the bathroom to cry again, did she?

Sure enough, when she returned, her eyes were red.

That afternoon was a turning point. Before, Ding Xian had thought about trying to talk to him a few times to ease the tension, but after that, Ding Xian completely drew a clear line with him. She didn't say a single unnecessary word. Even if she occasionally had to say a couple of words to him, she did so in a very business-like tone.

In Kong Shadi's and Song Ziqi's eyes, the two of them were like working at a service counter in a government agency: very impartial, polite tone, but no emotion.

"Please fill out the form."

"Thank you, please come again."

With that tone, neither of them backed down, freezing the atmosphere to an icy point.

This atmosphere continued until the end of the semester; the two of them barely spoke a few words.

During the winter break, which lasted over a month, at Kong Shadi's strong insistence, Ding Xian exchanged contact information with her. Ding Xian didn't have a pager or mobile phone, so she left her home number, repeatedly cautioning her not to call unless it was something important.

On the first Sunday of winter break, Kong Shadi called her house, saying her birthday was tomorrow.

Kong Shadi's birthday celebration was anything but subtle. Father Kong said it was also to celebrate her advancement to a higher grade, so he found a resort and invited almost the entire class.

Ding Xian was asked by Kong Shadi to wear a skirt.

Ding Xian broke into a sweat. "Where would I get a skirt? I've never worn one since I was little, alright?"

Kong Shadi waved her hand, generously declaring, "I have some at my house, I'll lend you one."

So, the next morning, Ding Xian was picked up by Kong Shadi to go to her house and pick out a skirt. Ding Xian couldn't understand why she insisted on her wearing a skirt, and she sat on the bed somewhat reluctantly, watching Kong Shadi pull out countless colorful skirts from a huge wardrobe, holding them up against her.

Ding Xian inexplicably looked at the skirts of various lengths, "It's your birthday, why am I wearing a skirt?"

Kong Shadi picked out a white knee-length dress for her, held it up, and exclaimed, "You're too thin! There's no flesh on your waist, unlike me..."

Ding Xian ignored her flattery, "Nonsense, how could a high school student have love handles?"

Kong Shadi whined, "It really looks good, this one looks good on you."

Which girl at that age didn't want to wear a skirt? Ding Xian was actually a little persuaded. Looking at the white skirt, her heart pounded wildly.

Under Kong Shadi's urging, Ding Xian sighed, "Fine, I'll wear it, just this once."

That evening, quite a few people came. Besides classmates from their own class, some from the neighboring class were also invited by Kong Shadi. Until Song Ziqi entered, Ding Xian was sitting next to Kong Shadi, subconsciously looking behind him; but for a long time, no one else came in.

"What are you looking at?"

Kong Shadi looked at her with a mischievous glint.

Ding Xian's expression subtly changed. She lowered her eyes to scan the dishes on the table and asked suspiciously, "Why hasn't my pickled cucumber arrived yet?"

Kong Shadi immediately exposed her, "Oh, come on, pickled cucumber? Is Zhou Siyue a pickled cucumber?"

"Damn."

The classmates chatted and laughed at the dinner table, no one really paying attention to their side. But, as soon as Song Ziqi entered, he walked towards Kong Shadi. Ding Xian bit her lip lightly and fiercely pinched Kong Shadi's fair and tender thigh under the table, "Eat your food."

Kong Shadi yelped in pain, attracting Song Ziqi's attention. His gaze shifted over and he first noticed Ding Xian, because this girl looked a bit pretty tonight.

"Tsk tsk, haven't seen you in a week, Little Monster, did you go to Korea for plastic surgery?"

"Song Ziqi, if you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."

Ding Xian rolled her eyes.

Song Ziqi chuckled, "You've really lost all the shyness you had when you first arrived. Look at what Kong Shadi has turned you into."

Looking closely, there wasn't much change; her bangs were longer, her face was smaller, and she looked a bit prettier.

Someone suddenly asked, "Song Ziqi, why isn't Zhou Siyue here?"

Song Ziqi explained, "He went to the Winter Camp, he doesn't have time."

The Winter Camp was a mathematics training camp, with about two hundred students participating from various provinces and cities. In the end, the top six performers would enter the National Team.

"Sigh, others already have one foot outside the gates of Tsinghua and Peking Universities, while we're still here eating and drinking."

Someone couldn't help but sigh.

Kong Shadi: "Then stop eating and leave."

That person immediately backed down, "Just kidding! Food is the paramount necessity of the people. Even if I don't go to university, I still have to eat! "Enough talk. First, happy birthday to our Queen Shadi!"

The meal passed in a lively bustle.

After dinner, Kong Shadi still didn't feel satisfied and insisted on dragging a group of people to sing.

Some classmates, genuinely uninterested, went home first. Only a few people were left to go to KTV. Ding Xian had refused once, but this time it was no longer good to refuse, so she could only follow behind Kong Shadi.

"You didn't go home either." Liu Xiaofeng popped out from somewhere and struck up a conversation with her.

Ding Xian looked back and saw Liu Xiaofeng's innocent face. For some reason, every time she saw Liu Xiaofeng's face, she felt a sense of pity. It wasn't easy for a boy to look like that.

So she always couldn't help but reply, "I'm with Shadi. What about you? Why aren't you going back yet?"

"Work-life balance. By the way, I've never been to KTV before. I want to see what it's like and study the microphone while I'm at it."

This remark sounded particularly comical coming from Liu Xiaofeng.

Ding Xian looked down and smiled, her gaze gentle. She didn't continue the conversation, lost in thought.

Liu Xiaofeng looked at Ding Xian, suddenly blushed a little, and shyly scratched his ear.

Under the streetlights, some unknown emotions were growing, like a delicate flower blooming brilliantly in a corner of the wall, subtly complementing the scene.

Half a cup of wine was drunk, and halfway through a song, suddenly, someone came in.

Ding Xian was lying with her head tilted on Kong Shadi, her hands resting obediently on her knees, feeling drowsy. The private room door was pushed open, and a tall, slender figure entered.

The lights inside were dim. Ding Xian squinted slightly, trying to identify the figure of the newcomer.

Then she heard Kong Shadi roaring into the microphone, "Zhou Siyue, you finally showed up! Our Xianxian has been waiting so long she fell asleep!!"

Hearing this, Ding Xian instantly jolted, sat up abruptly, and was completely awake.