Chapter 168: The Competition Between Two Men, Secret Struggle
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Lin Shumo noticed a gaze that couldn’t be ignored falling on him.
He remained expressionless, instinctively looked up, and coincidentally met Ling Xuan’s eyes.
The latter walked towards him.
More accurately, he walked towards Jiang Fuyue.
A shadow fell on the exam paper, the girl raised her eyes, and then blinked slightly.
Ling Xuan: “I’m back.”
Jiang Fuyue responded with a soft “Mm.”
Lin Shumo immediately realized that the two of them weren’t familiar.
Oh, wait, it was Jiang Fuyue who wasn’t familiar. Her indifferent demeanor didn’t make much difference whether directed at him or not.
And they were both from the same place, and he heard they were even from the same school.
He suddenly felt that Ling Xuan was just too incompetent. He couldn’t even seize the opportunity when it was right in front of him.
But then again, thinking about it, it was strange that Jiang Fuyue, this kind of cold and distant person, could be caught.
Didn’t Zhong Ziang’s efforts also come to nothing?
Why did these people always seem to enjoy hitting a brick wall? Even when their heads were bloody, they wouldn’t retreat.
Suddenly, Lin Shumo’s gaze towards Jiang Fuyue became a bit demonized.
But in Ling Xuan’s eyes, it turned into provocation.
Intentionally looking at Jiang Fuyue with that kind of gaze in front of him, what did that mean?
His face immediately darkened.
He continued, “I’m in your group now.”
Obviously, Yan Zhenfeng had already informed Jiang Fuyue in advance. There was not a hint of surprise in her eyes, and she calmly said, “Welcome.”
Ling Xuan sat down beside her, his slender shoulders almost forming a straight line, his warm profile revealing a hint of indifference, adding a touch of elegance.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hold you back,” he said coldly.
Jiang Fuyue frowned. When did she ever say he was holding her back?
It was Lin Shumo who realized that this remark was clearly directed at him.
With the addition of Ling Xuan, Sun Qun’s group went from two people to three, and from two desk mates to three, but other than that, there seemed to be no other changes.
Jiang Fuyue still buried herself in solving problems, almost oblivious to the outside world.
Whether it was Ling Xuan or Lin Shumo, they were no different from the air in her eyes.
She was busy, not only had to complete the training courses for the physics competition, but also had to attend NOI training at B University every day.
Long-term shuttling between two places, she seemed not to feel tired at all.
On the contrary, Lin Shumo not only saw her doing extracurricular questions once, but also pretended to casually glance at her copy of “The Road to IMO in Twenty Years” as he passed by.
Good, she’s still studying Olympiad mathematics.
The high-intensity learning state not only kept Jiang Fuyue’s mind clear and her thinking agile, but also successfully influenced those around her.
First was Lin Shumo. After he discovered that Jiang Fuyue was like an emotionless study machine, constantly outputting information about informatics, physics, and mathematical competition knowledge, he also became unusually nervous.
This nervousness didn’t refer to his mental state, but rather to his study schedule.
In the past, relying on a solid foundation and above-average intelligence, he could easily handle a physics competition.
Apart from the fixed training content every day, he also had spare time to do other things, like listening to music, reading foreign-language original novels, and joking around with Zhong Ziang and a group of friends on WeChat.
But now, in addition to completing the classroom content, he also consciously expanded his horizons after class.
For example, old IPPhO exam papers from a few years ago, and even more difficult derivative questions.
He had the kind of character that was calm and quietly competitive.
On the surface, Jiang Fuyue didn’t notice any changes at all, and Lin Shumo had always seemed aloof and arrogant to her.
Many times, she could even find a trace of Xie Dingyuan’s shadow in this young man.
However, in reality, Lin Shumo’s headphones, which he often used, hadn’t appeared for a long time.
Secondly, there was Ling Xuan.
Compared to Lin Shumo’s restraint, he was much more high-profile.
He would openly bury his head in hard work when doing problems, and immediately turn to Jiang Fuyue for help when he didn’t understand.
He wasn’t stupid. With just a little guidance, he could make great progress.
In the past, he couldn’t swallow his pride, so he didn’t communicate much with Jiang Fuyue. Now, it might be because he felt threatened by Lin Shumo. Matters of face were no longer important.
Jiang Fuyue had a strong mind and varied problem-solving methods. Under her guidance, Ling Xuan made rapid progress.
Thinking back to how he used to be too proud to speak up, he regretted it and wanted to slap himself.
One Jiang Fuyue was much better than the entire teaching staff in Linhuai.
Not only could she improve himself, but he also had more opportunities to communicate with her. How foolish he had been in the past to care so much about his pride that he wouldn’t lower himself?
“Jiang Fuyue, take a look at this question,” he handed her the test paper.
She took it, glanced at it, wrote down a formula in the blank space, and then handed it back to him.
Ling Xuan looked at it and suddenly felt enlightened.
“I understand.”
Lin Shumo saw everything and silently tightened his lips as he looked at the test paper spread out before him.
To ask?
Or not to ask?
If he didn’t ask, Jiang Fuyue would never take the initiative to engage with him. Both he and Ling Xuan knew this.
But he wasn’t familiar with her either…
Ling Xuan frowned, noticing Lin Shumo’s occasional glances towards Jiang Fuyue. He looked back at him, with a hint of warning in his gaze.
Then, Lin Shumo suddenly stopped hesitating.
Not for any other reason, just to make things difficult for Ling Xuan, he had to take the initiative a bit.
“Cough… Jiang, Fuyue, this question is quite interesting. Do you want to take a look?”
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