Li Xu appeared very amicable in front of others.
At least, that was how she seemed to her classmates.
But in front of Zhou Ze, her brows furrowed slightly, a faint chill flickering in her eyes.
She pressed the screen off before looking at Zhou Ze. “What is it? Speak.”
Her tone was curt.
Zhou Ze studied Li Xu’s expression, glanced at her phone, and asked, “Someone made you angry, Class Monitor?”
He didn’t smile; instead, there was a hint of seriousness.
But Li Xu wasn’t buying it and directly told Zhou Ze to get to the point.
She didn’t raise her voice, yet somehow, she pressured him.
“I want to talk to you about the competition,” Zhou Ze said, suppressing a flicker of anxiety.
Li Xu: “You want to team up with me?”
She immediately saw through his intention.
When everyone was talking together, Li Xu was quiet and didn’t reveal her sharp side.
But when speaking to Zhou Ze, it seemed a true part of her surfaced.
Or rather, at this moment, she finally had some emotion—not because she was pretending before, but because she simply had none.
Even if everyone revolved around her, she paid no mind.
Thinking this, Zhou Ze’s eyes darkened.
“Yes, are you willing?”
Li Xu: “No.”
She tossed out three words and looked at Zhou Ze.
“Why?”
“I remember you, Zhou Ze.” Li Xu suddenly spoke.
Zhou Ze was taken aback for a moment before asking, “Oh? Do you?”
Li Xu: “I didn’t recognize you dressed like that, but when I heard your name, I knew it was you.
“Didn’t expect you’d come to Haidaziban too.
“Why didn’t you go to Q University? Is it because of Zheng Minglan?”
Hearing Zheng Minglan’s name, the usually gentle and approachable look on Zhou Ze’s face cracked slightly.
“You remember Zheng Minglan?”
His voice held surprise, and the gaze he cast on Li Xu became strange.
Li Xu asked, “Do I look stupid?”
“When we went to Kyoto for the competition, I saw you and Zheng Minglan.
“When the awards were given, didn’t Zheng Minglan call on you?”
Zheng Minglan, the Physics Group’s Gold Medalist, was at odds with Li Xu.
But that didn’t stop Li Xu from noticing the tension between the Gold Medalist Zheng Minglan and the highest-scoring Silver Medalist Zhou Ze during the competition…
She had made some friends during the event, and although they lost contact later, she had overheard whispers that Zheng Minglan and Zhou Ze had been rivals since elementary school, with Zhou Ze never able to beat Zheng Minglan, always overshadowed.
Li Xu remembered everything clearly because, during the competition, she had forgotten her ID and nearly cried outside the exam room.
Zheng Minglan had come over, frowned, and asked what happened. After she stammered an explanation, he made a call to the hotel staff and sent his driver to bring her ID.
She was deeply impressed by Zheng Minglan and even remembered he wore a black shirt, his expression calm, and his features exceptionally striking.
At that time, she hadn’t dared to meet his gaze.
Even among the contestants, Zheng Minglan was rumored to be a “High Mountain Flower” — beautiful but distant.
Yet Li Xu knew that although he kept strangers at bay, his upbringing was excellent.
Later, when the awards were handed out, Zheng Minglan showed up; Zhou Ze did not. Zhou Ze’s prize was collected by his mentor.
Li Xu sat in the audience, listening to various rumors about Zheng Minglan.
“They say Zheng Minglan played dirty.”
“You wouldn’t have guessed he harbored such grudges against Zhou Ze.”
“Zhou Ze apparently told his roommate that Zheng Minglan deliberately brought the girl he liked back to celebrate his birthday.”
Everyone knew the level required for the national physics competition’s gold medal.
Yet such gossip circulated, and most preferred to believe Zheng Minglan had really cheated.
Everyone wanted to pull the “High Mountain Flower” down from his pedestal, especially among same-sex rivals.
But when Zheng Minglan’s award speech was nearly over, he said something loaded with meaning:
“Some people harbor ill intentions, preferring schemes over admitting mistakes, which is taboo in academics.”
Li Xu stared into Zhou Ze’s eyes and repeated those words verbatim.
Zhou Ze’s face changed drastically, even twisting a little.
“Zhou Ze, you must have heard his speech many times after the awards.”
Li Xu smiled at Zhou Ze. Compared to his attempt to hide it, something scornful, fierce, and sparkling gleamed in her eyes, making Zhou Ze feel as if he had been seen through.
“You want to team up with me, hoping to use me as your tool?”
She tilted her head and asked again.
In truth, Zhou Ze didn’t find Li Xu particularly beautiful.
He’d seen many beauties since childhood. Though it seemed everyone in z班 liked Li Xu, and he had blended in with them, objectively, he thought Li Xu was quiet and at best pretty plain.
She had a certain indescribable aura, but nothing special enough to captivate Zhou Ze.
Yet now, standing opposite him, tilting her head like this, her eyes gleaming with mischief—even malice—he felt as if he’d been scorched, his face burning, his throat tightening.
“I didn’t mean it like that. If you think so, just pretend I didn’t say anything.”
“That thing back then, I was wrong. I was upset. I won’t do that now.
“But our class has to send someone to compete, and you and I will surely be among them, right?”
Li Xu: “You’re right, but you must understand, I have no hatred toward Zheng Minglan. He even helped me before. What reason do you have to think I’d turn against him for you? Why must I stand with you?”
Zhou Ze smiled bitterly. “I underestimated you. If you have ties with Zheng Minglan, then coming to you was indeed clownish.
“If I team up with you, my chances of beating him increase, and that’s all. He’s always been first, never surpassed. I only fantasized about this possibility.
“If you don’t want to, then forget it.
“But you said if I can make a trade with you, you’ll help me, right?
“What’s the condition?”
He moved closer to Li Xu, as if searching her face for some other possibility.
“A trade.”
Li Xu didn’t reply, so he leaned in further.
He crossed the safe distance, and Zhou Ze realized it, but didn’t step back at all.
But the next second, Li Xu reached out. Zhou Ze thought she was going to push him away, but she directly grabbed the frame of his glasses and lifted them off his face.
The moment his glasses were removed, Zhou Ze felt his disguise forcibly torn open.
He wasn’t nearsighted, so without the glass barrier, the world looked even clearer—especially when his gaze struck Li Xu’s eyes with crystal clarity.
Li Xu smiled faintly, calm as ever, but deep within her eyes burned a flame that made one dare not look directly.
“A trade?”
She held her eyes close to Zhou Ze’s chest. Instinctively, he reached out to catch them.
The moment he caught them, Zhou Ze took a big step back, as if trying to avoid something, evading her gaze.
Without his glasses, his narrow eyes looked less approachable.
Though he tried to dominate the space with his height, she only needed to remove his glasses to become the stronger invader, shattering his offensive momentum.
Zhou Ze didn’t know if she did this on purpose or if she was naturally so assertive.
She seemed indifferent to such thoughts, her voice calm:
“If we’re going to trade, show some sincerity.
“If you just want to use me, I advise you to leave early.
“Zhou Ze, I’m not an idle person.”
“Also, I won’t go head-to-head with Zheng Minglan for you. No matter what, I win against him because I can, not because I fight for you.
“If we team up, and you resort to shady tactics like before, I’ll be the first to kick you out.
“If I don’t win fairly, I won’t take the first place at all.
“Zhou Ze, remember what I said, and remember it well.”
A tremor rose in Zhou Ze’s heart. Facing this slender girl, he actually felt a kind of pressure.
***
After a moment, Zhou Ze put his glasses back on.
He reverted to his original harmless look.
Somewhat eerie.
But Li Xu just looked at him quietly and leisurely.
“What kind of sincerity do you want?”
Zhou Ze asked seriously.
Li Xu knew Zhou Ze was still pretending, so she smiled and said, “Tell me about your history with Zheng Minglan first.”
“The rumors you spread back then—I don’t believe a single word.”
Zhou Ze was a deeply scheming person.
If she hadn’t been through her own transformation, she might have been fooled by his smooth talk. But now, Li Xu was reborn and no longer so easily deceived.
Zhou Ze: “Do you think I’m disgusting?”
Li Xu: “That’s not important. What matters is don’t treat me like a fool.”
The two reached an understanding and went down to the café on the first floor to sit for a while.
This time, Zhou Ze’s eyes were clearer. He told the whole story about his rivalry with Zheng Minglan.
“We’ve been competing since we were kids. My mom and his mom have been competing since they were little too.”
“Anyway, when he started winning awards in Olympiad Math, my mom sent me to learn it too.”