Teacher He paused and then continued, “If you’re wondering about the significance of participating in the biology competition, I believe that beyond winning awards, the more important aspect is the pursuit of the process itself.”
“The effort you put in, the sleepless nights spent diving deep into problems, that earnest observation of the world, the quest to understand it, and the relentless pursuit of truth—these qualities will stay with you for a lifetime, no matter where you go.”
As he finished speaking, applause gradually filled the room.
His words made many students reflect deeply, and they gazed up at their teacher on the podium with respect.
After school, the students from the biology class walked down the hallway with their heads held high. When they crossed paths with the math class students, the usual envious looks were no longer present.
We love biology too, and it’s awesome!
Teacher He was right—we are observing, understanding, and maybe even one day changing the world!
After school, Zhou Xiu was diligently correcting her mistakes.
As Teacher He passed by, he glanced at this student with interest, making a mental note of her.
Back in Class 24.
After school, Du Feiyang began reviewing the photocopied study materials.
Tan Ming impatiently urged him, “Hurry up! Are we playing basketball today or not?”
Du Feiyang quickly finished a chemistry problem before finally tearing his gaze away from the papers to look at Tan Ming. He asked in surprise:
“Did you really not look at the notes Xiu Xiu organized?”
He glanced at the brand-new, wrinkle-free study materials in Tan Ming’s drawer and kindly warned him, “Ming Ming, let me tell you, you’re going to miss out on a treasure trove if you ignore this.”
A treasure trove? That’s an exaggeration.
Tan Ming couldn’t help but laugh.
Du Feiyang widened his eyes. “You don’t believe me? Your grades aren’t great. If you look at Xiu Xiu’s notes, it might save you. But fine, I won’t nag you anymore…”
Unable to convince him, Du Feiyang quickly memorized a few more chemical equations before reluctantly heading off to play basketball.
Hua Xue finished her math problems and glanced at Tan Ming, shaking her head.
If she’d known he disliked Zhou Xiu this much, she wouldn’t have given him the materials in the first place—it would only go to waste.
…
Christmas was approaching.
The class was buzzing with holiday cheer. Hua Xue asked Zhou Xiu how she planned to celebrate Christmas, to which Zhou Xiu replied with a blank expression that she would spend it as usual.
To be honest, Zhou Xiu had never really cared about holidays. She looked at the beautifully decorated Christmas tree in the classroom, with playful little cards hanging on it, and couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy.
It was clear that this was how they celebrated every year.
The class’s cultural committee member, Lan Xin, enthusiastically began planning how they would celebrate Christmas.
Lan Xin suggested that everyone prepare a gift and draw names randomly to exchange them.
Zhou Xiu, now with a bit of savings, found buying a gift to be no big deal. Before Christmas, she prepared a fountain pen and placed it in one of the boxes provided by the cultural committee, mingling it with the other gifts.
On the evening of Christmas, during a joint celebration with Class 24 and Winner Class, Lan Xin collected all the gifts, mixed them up, and redistributed them. When it was Zhou Xiu’s turn, Lan Xin blinked and said:
“Merry Christmas!”
The gift was wrapped in exquisite silk, a bright red package with a sock attached—very festive.
Zhou Xiu stared at the gift in her hand, a faint smile curving her lips. She hadn’t expected the first gift she would ever receive from someone to come in such a setting.
She carefully placed the gift in her backpack, planning to open it later that evening.
Many girls in Class 24 were excited for the Christmas celebration, frequently glancing toward a certain direction:
“Yuan Shao looks so handsome tonight!”
Xi Shaoyuan, who usually wore the school uniform, was dressed in a long, dark grey overcoat tonight. His cool demeanour, coupled with his silence, made him look even more striking, making people want to get closer to him.
“He looks good in anything—even his school uniform looks amazing!”
“Thank goodness Winner Class isn’t celebrating with Rocket Class this year. If Lu Lingshan saw Yuan Shao like this, I’d be so jealous.”
Zhou Xiu glanced over.
Xi Shaoyuan indeed had a handsome face, better than those of most TV stars. Coupled with his affluent background, it was no wonder he attracted so many girls.
Hua Xue handed Zhou Xiu a piece of chocolate cake, effectively silencing the girls and finally giving Zhou Xiu some peace and quiet.
As the two classes mingled, the events quickly filled the room with a lively atmosphere.
Most of the performances were impromptu, with everyone simply enjoying themselves.
Du Feiyang improvised a few comedic skits, though by the third one, the students from Winner Class were booing him off the stage.
Tan Ming had brought his guitar to the classroom, and his singing performance made the girls from Winner Class look at him in awe:
Although Winner Class had their heartthrob, Yuan Shao, Class 24 wasn’t short of handsome guys either. Tan Ming was really good-looking.
Hua Xue performed a magic trick, producing a bouquet of pink money flowers, giving one to everyone—some people got several. The girls especially getting a lot. The atmosphere in the room reached its peak.
The boys felt like they would have gladly given her their hearts just to keep one of those flowers.
The girls felt pampered, basking in Hua Xue’s generosity.
“Oh my gosh, Hua Xue is too generous! How much money did she spend on this?”
Each pink rose was made from several ¥100 bills. With the two classes combined, there had to be at least tens of thousands of yuan. Although most students came from well-off families, this kind of extravagant gesture was still rare during their school years.
Never mind the cost—just folding all those “money flowers” must have taken all night.
The boys were motivated by Hua Xue’s “display of wealth,” and Du Feiyang immediately suggested:
“No way, we can’t let Hua Xue hog all the spotlight.”
After some discussion, they decided to add a game to the event.
Du Feiyang and the others talked it over, and Xi Shaoyuan casually said, “Count me in.”
The prize for the game would be something jointly sponsored by the boys of Winner Class and Class 24. Xi Shaoyuan offered to provide the latest Apple products in every category.
Du Feiyang offered an unlimited meal card for the school cafeteria for an entire year.
Tan Ming straightforwardly offered ¥30,000 in cash.
Zhang Qi promised a free trip abroad.
Xu Qing generously offered a year’s free stay at his family’s hotel chain.
When the boys and girls heard this, they all wanted to punch Du Feiyang, blaming him for causing trouble.
Du Feiyang was thoroughly mocked, with comments like, “Who still likes eating in the cafeteria?”
Du Feiyang, grinning, pointed at the people around him and said, “Why not? Me, Yuan Shao, and Xu Jie all eat in the cafeteria. So why can’t I win the best overall award?”
The girls couldn’t help but fantasize, “Yuan Shao is so generous, with the latest full series!”
Notebooks, tablets, phones, TVs, speakers, headphones, USB drives… all the latest models, adding up to double the happiness.
In the end, they decided to play Honor of Kings—fair and lively.
Although the boys were generally better at games, this wasn’t the case in a class where gaming was popular. Hua Xue often wiped the floor with Du Feiyang.
When Zhou Xiu heard that the new event was a game, she originally didn’t plan on participating, as she hadn’t had much experience with games.
But… when she heard it was “Honor of Kings,” she raised her hand to join.
Last time at Hua Xue’s house, Zhou Xiu had played a few rounds and ended up getting beaten badly, which left her feeling a bit unsatisfied.
Out of habit, she had researched the game a little afterward, just in case Hua Xue and the others invited her to play again.
The system sighed, [ … ]
[Is the money you’ve earned not enough?]
Zhou Xiu replied, [That’s different. This is ¥30,000… and an unlimited meal card…]
Each prize was so tempting. Before joining this class, Zhou Xiu had never seen how the wealthy truly lived. Now she was seeing it first-hand.
Even a game could be this extravagant.
Yu Qingyan saw that Zhou Xiu had also signed up and, remembering how clumsy Zhou Xiu had been in their last game, rushing headlong into the enemy’s tower, she couldn’t help but cover her face.
“Xiu Xiu, have you gotten too cocky?”
Zhou Xiu took out her phone and, with a serious expression, launched the game.
She borrowed a small account from Hua Xue and began seriously playing in the group matches.
Du Feiyang peeked at her screen and couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Xiu Xiu, did you forget how you got beaten up last time in the top lane?”
Zhou Xiu silently continued playing the class’s “preliminary rounds.”
Lan Xin projected the matches onto the big screen, showing everyone’s progress.
With around eighty students from both classes, they chose to play a face-off mode. After a few rounds, ten “MVP” players were selected to participate in the final 5v5 match.
Once the ten players were selected, they exchanged bewildered looks.
Yu Qingyan pointed at Zhou Xiu in surprise, “Xiu Xiu, how did you make it through?”
Hua Xue was also astonished. Just two weeks ago, when they played together, Zhou Xiu was still a clumsy beginner. Now she had made it to the final match.
Zhou Xiu shrugged and said softly, “Pure luck.”
And maybe a bit of her love for money.
The students in Winner Class were equally surprised. They hadn’t expected that Zhou Xiu, who seemed so quiet and studious, had a bit of skill in gaming too.
The final team of ten consisted of Zhou Xiu, Hua Xue, Yu Qingyan, Du Feiyang, Xu Qing, Tan Ming, Yuan Ruoyi, Zhang Qi, Xi Shaoyuan, and the Winner Class’s class representative.
Class 24 had slightly better gaming skills overall, giving them a slight advantage in the final round.
The ten players drew lots, and Yu Qingyan and Du Feiyang were teary-eyed when they found themselves assigned to Winner Class’s team.
But when they saw Zhou Xiu on the opposing team, they couldn’t help but grin.
Du Feiyang laughed, “Xiu Xiu, remember to play support. Even support can win MVP.”
Tan Ming frowned, having drawn the same lot as Zhou Xiu.
He thought to himself, Zhou Xiu was watching them play with such curiosity during the school sports day—how could she be any good? They could forget about winning any of the best prizes.
Xu Qing and Hua Xue were more relaxed; they weren’t too competitive and didn’t mind if they won or lost.
But even they couldn’t help but rub their foreheads, knowing they had a novice on their team.
The game began, and Du Feiyang quickly snagged Hua Xue’s favorite hero, Diao Chan.
After picking her, he chuckled, “Sorry, Hua Xue.”
A few rounds later, the opposing team selected heroes like Marco Polo, Diao Chan, and Shield Mountain. In response, Hua Xue reluctantly chose Wang Zhaojun.
Seeing Shield Mountain on the other team, the Class 24 players fell silent. Tan Ming couldn’t help but complain, “Why pick Wang Zhaojun when they have Shield Mountain?”
Zhou Xiu calmly asked Hua Xue, “Can you play Niu Mo?”
When Hua Xue nodded, Zhou Xiu immediately picked Niu Mo and swapped heroes with Hua Xue at the last second.
The boys and girls in the room were buzzing.
At the start of the match, Tan Ming’s Han Xin went to steal the enemy’s blue buff but was quickly caught by Xi Shaoyuan, giving away first blood.
Hua Xue scolded Tan Ming, “Why rush? Stay calm.”
Zhou Xiu controlled Wang Zhaojun, evading Shield Mountain while moving between the three lanes. The enemy’s Shield Mountain followed Zhou Xiu everywhere.
Xu Qing’s marksman got killed twice by Xi Shaoyuan’s Li Bai, and Han Xin died three times.
The room was filled with cheers, “Yuan Shao is amazing!”
“Yuan Shao is awesome!”
Li Bai’s elegant movements left Hua Xue and the others trembling, but Zhou Xiu was farming efficiently in the meantime.
Shield Mountain couldn’t keep up with her, and every time Li Bai killed Xu Qing, Wang Zhaojun would take out Zhang Qi in return. Eventually, Li Bai had to take notice of the fragile Wang Zhaojun.
Zhang Qi was equally frustrated with Zhou Xiu’s fragile character.
Du Feiyang and Yu Qingyan joined their teammates to surround Zhou Xiu. Shield Mountain used his first skill to harass Wang Zhaojun, and Zhou Xiu called out, “Hua Xue.”
Secretly guarding Zhou Xiu while pretending to follow the marksman, Niu Mo suddenly leaped out of the bushes, using his ultimate to interrupt Shield Mountain’s skill.
In that moment, Zhou Xiu swiftly executed a combo, taking down all five opponents.
The screen lit up with a spectacular “Penta Kill!” message, showcasing Wang Zhao Jun’s dominating performance.
Xi Shaoyuan, Zhang Qi, Yu Qingyan, Du Feiyang, and the others could only watch helplessly from their darkened fountain as their crystal exploded.
The game ended with the message “Defeat,” and the scoreboard displayed each player’s stats. Wang Zhaojun had earned a score of 13.8, the highest in the match.
The game was over.
Xi Shaoyuan’s surprised gaze travelled across the classroom to the girl who had quietly been playing the game.
Under the dim light, her fair face was framed by a few strands of hair, and up close, she looked very different from when she had first arrived in the city from the countryside.
The transformation was so significant that even he had trouble recognizing her. When did she become so good at this game?
The girls in Winner Class were left speechless.
Yuan Shao’s skills were usually the best… but he had been easily bested by Wang Zhaojun on the other team?
Du Feiyang’s confidence was shattered. He wanted to shake Zhou Xiu and ask, “Xiu Xiu, did you cheat?”
Zhou Xiu calmly put down her phone, a faint smile playing on her lips. “No, the account belongs to Hua Xue.”
After a pause, she added:
“Even ‘Honor of Kings’ is a game of numbers.”
Yu Qingyan felt like crying. Why are top students not only great at studying but also better at gaming?
After the match, Tan Ming begrudgingly asked Zhou Xiu for her bank account number, ready to transfer the money to her.
Zhang Qi also gave Zhou Xiu his contact information and told her to let him know about her travel plans.
Xu Qing handed her his VIP card, “You can stay for free at any ‘Jinyue’ hotel in the country. Enjoy your trip.”
Du Feiyang gave her his meal card, “Xiu Xiu, there’s ¥30,000 on this. Let me know if you need more.”
As for Xi Shaoyuan… Xi Shaoyuan remained calm and said, “Give me your address, and the gifts will be delivered to your home in three days.”
Zhou Xiu happily accepted all these generous rewards.
Author’s Note:
Xiu Xiu: [I’ve hit the jackpot.]
System: [Hmm]
Xiu Xiu: [See? Don’t be so stingy next time.]
Xiu Xiu: [My classmates are way more generous than you.]
System: […]
**Nomad: **Nomad: Sorry, I was sick for a while and haven’t been posting new chapters. Only the ones I had scheduled were posted. I will try to get back on track, but please bear with me in the meantime. Thank you.
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