At this, Zhou Ze gave a bitter smile.
“I was praised as smart when I was little. I could pick up drawing and piano quickly, but my mom insisted on competing with Zheng Minglan.”
“At first, I didn’t like Olympiad Math, but I learned fast. People said I was just smart, so I accepted it.”
“Later, in competitions with Zheng Minglan, he took first, I took second. I got a question wrong on a multiple-choice, otherwise I’d have been first.”
“But from then on, my mom kept nagging in my ear that I was inferior to him, just like she was inferior to Zheng Minglan’s mom. It’s fate.”
At that time, seeing his mom like that, Zhou Ze developed a real obsession. “I had to prove to my mom I wasn’t worse than him…”
“But maybe the deeper the obsession, the more my brain dulled. I wasn’t as sensitive as before.”
“Every competition with Zheng Minglan, he was always first, I was second.”
“What started as a mistake became a fate.”
“I thought about quitting…”
“I wanted to talk to my mom, explain things clearly, and do what I was truly suited for… or at least make her less pessimistic, so I could study properly. Results didn’t matter so much.”
“But my mom suddenly died. Before she passed, she told me she and Zheng Minglan’s mom had competed their whole lives, never won, and I must surpass him; otherwise, she would have given birth to me for nothing.”
Zhou Ze spoke calmly, as if telling someone else’s story.
When he mentioned his mother’s death, his eyes flickered and trembled slightly. Li Xu noticed.
He added that before she died, he deliberately spread false information through his roommate to tarnish Zheng Minglan’s reputation.
Zhou Ze’s heart was a muddy mess with nowhere to throw it, so he dumped it on Zheng Minglan.
But he said Zheng Minglan had done similar things to him since childhood.
His father’s strong opposition to his academic pursuits was partly because Zheng Minglan’s aunt badmouthed him in front of his dad.
“You think my mom was ridiculous, right?”
“Competing with someone for a lifetime, and now I have to compete with their son for a lifetime too.”
“I want to stop, but I can’t. You know? I can only keep competing until I win.”
“But as long as I think about it, I can’t truly absorb knowledge or focus on physics.”
“That’s my fate. I want to ask you—if you could be a turning point. But you’re smarter than I imagined, and you’re connected with Zheng Minglan… I always do things one step slower. Maybe it’s a curse.”
He smiled faintly, now looking like a man who had dropped his guard.
Li Xu watched him silently.
Zhou Ze thought of Jiang Zhou and Zhou Yang.
It was like what she told Jiang Zhou before.
It seemed that in every world, everyone had their destined path.
When that path ends, people call it fate.
Like her—if she followed her path, she would have died two months ago.
After saying this, Zhou Ze looked at Li Xu. She was silent for a moment before suddenly saying, “Fine.
“We can team up, but you must follow my rules.
“I want to compete fairly.”
“I don’t know who’s smarter between you and Zheng Minglan, but your mom definitely had problems.
“She’s already gone, but you still have to finish the task she set for you.”
Zhou Ze joked, “No choice, it’s come to this.”
Li Xu: “Indeed.
“You have no choice. You have to do it. After finishing, it’s a new starting point.”
Zhou Ze was puzzled. “What new starting point?”
“You know better than me.”
Zhou Ze smiled again. “Why suddenly willing to team up with me?”
Li Xu: “Not team up with you—compete together.
“You remind me of some people I know.”
Jiang Zhou was also helpless, although in this world, he might be someone like Zheng Minglan, not a second-place like Zhou Ze.
Zhou Ze: “How am I similar? Can you introduce me?”
Li Xu: “No chance.
“After all, we’re people from two different worlds.”
“But overall, you all live tough lives.”
Her words were calm but struck Zhou Ze with a sudden wave of emotion, almost bringing tears to his eyes.
He had never fully told anyone about his relationship with Zheng Minglan. Talking to Li Xu was the first time—and he shared many of his inner thoughts.
He didn’t know why, but staring into Li Xu’s eyes, he unconsciously let down his guard. It was a feeling he had never experienced before.
Zhou Ze covered his feelings with a smile: “It’s not that bad. You also won the math competition gold medal. You worked just as hard, probably even harder.”
Li Xu: “That’s true, but no one forced me. I pushed myself. If I didn’t study, I’d just spend time eating and wasting energy, getting fat and miserable.”
Zhou Ze: “That’s intrinsic motivation, but you seem a lot more relaxed about these things than other classmates. Are you naturally gifted?”
Li Xu shook her head. “Not always this relaxed. After going through some things, I became more open-minded.”
Zhou Ze: “What things?”
Li Xu: “Things related to death and loss. Not something that happens normally. It was scary but showed me another possibility in life.”
“Another possibility?”
“To create everything myself.”
“Create what? Miracles?”
Li Xu joked, “Create you, remake you.”
When she said this, her eyes sparkled with a certain light, making Zhou Ze momentarily stunned.
She had said something similar to Jiang Zhou before — that she was a little god creating everything around her, including him.
Now, she repeated it to Zhou Ze.
***
For some reason, Zhou Ze felt surrounded by a strange sensation and took a long time to recover.
“You really are something…” he wanted to say more but didn’t know how, so he fell silent. Li Xu said nothing either, just looked at him.
This version of Li Xu felt unfamiliar, yet like a vortex, endlessly drawing his attention.
“So what do you want me to help with? What do I have to trade?”
Zhou Ze asked.
Li Xu: “You?”
Li Xu: “I’ll tell you once I figure it out.”
Li Xu: “There will definitely be something I can use you for.”
With that, Li Xu stood and walked out of the café. Zhou Ze followed from behind and asked, “Aren’t you going back to the library? Your books are still there.”
Li Xu: “Something came up. Help me take the books.”
Zhou Ze: “Alright, Class Monitor, I’m being put to work already.”
Li Xu glanced at him. Zhou Ze pushed his glasses up, cleared his throat, and fell silent.
Li Xu: “Are you ready for my orders anytime, Zhou Ze?”
Zhou Ze smiled shyly. “Don’t say it like that… By the way, what are you going to do?”
Li Xu: “Something. Not convenient to say.”
“I told you everything.”
Li Xu: “You begged me to help you.”
Zhou Ze: “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
Li Xu opened the chat with Xu Fufeng and asked: [Are you asleep? Come out, let’s meet.]
Xu Fufeng sent a location pin — under the Business School Teaching Building.
Li Xu glanced at the distance — only about three hundred meters.
Five minutes later, she messaged: [Here.]
Xu Fufeng: [Look up.]
Li Xu looked up and saw Xu Fufeng waving at her under a nearby tree.
She walked over, smirking, “What, Senior, are you a fan of mine too?”
Of course, she was joking, and Xu Fufeng knew it.
Xu Fufeng: “A fan and a peer. You’ve been trending lately; I’ve seen a lot of your videos. Your hair and T-shirt today are just like in your livestream. I recognized you immediately.”
Xu Fufeng: “If anyone at school follows you, they’d notice you easily.”
Li Xu: “True, I didn’t pay much attention to that. Senior, any way to avoid being recognized online?”
Xu Fufeng: “Try different outfits for livestreaming and real life.”
Although the weather was a bit hot, he looked fresh, and his smile carried a handsome charm.
Li Xu looked at him with dark eyes. “Makes sense. Can you keep it secret?”
She spoke directly, without hiding anything.
“Of course. I can keep your secret and help design your clothes and styling. How about that?” Xu Fufeng joked back.
“Should I tag you in the comments?” Li Xu asked knowingly.
Xu Fufeng smiled and winked, “If possible.”
“Just kidding. Let’s be friends. Maybe we’ll need each other someday.”
Li Xu nodded. “If everyone knows, I have to make use of it.”
Partners x2. Not bad.
Besides—
“Today is when I need it most.”