The rooftop of the school building was surrounded by wire fencing, but even that couldn’t block out the gentle warmth of the winter sun. The sky was painted in a soft, bluish haze, almost cloudless.
Jiang Fuyue stopped walking, turned around, and fixed her steady gaze on the person standing before her.
“What do you want to talk about?”
Tosaki Naohara slowly looked up. “No wonder Second Brother lost to you…”
Jiang Fuyue raised an eyebrow.
He spoke, one word at a time: “You really are impressive.”
“Thanks.”
“Before I came, I didn’t think I would lose. I was full of confidence.” Tosaki Naohara lowered his eyes, a bitter smile curling on his lips.
“What, you think you’re stronger than Tosaki Chiba?”
“Of course!” He lifted his chin with pride. “Every genius believes they’re one of a kind.”
That, Jiang Fuyue agreed with.
True genius always carries a pride distinct from ordinary people— Born from superior intelligence, and sharpened by extraordinary knowledge.
Just like Xie Dingyuan once was. And like herself in her previous life.
“But you still lost,” Jiang Fuyue said.
“Yeah, I lost…” He lowered his eyes, the grayish-brown irises hidden by his lids—like a speck of dust that had lost its shine.
“But—” He suddenly looked up, and the dullness in his gaze was instantly replaced with a sharp gleam. “Losing this time doesn’t mean I’ll lose next time. Losing next time doesn’t mean I’ll always lose. Life is long. There’s always a chance to beat you—don’t you think?”
Jiang Fuyue smiled. “Then don’t fall too far behind. I won’t wait for you.”
“I won’t wait for others either. Hopefully next time, your name will still be on my challenge list.”
Jiang Fuyue clicked her tongue lightly. “Pretty cocky for someone I just beat.”
Tosaki Naohara shot back, “No need to be so smug over a single win.”
Their eyes locked, the unspoken tension crackling like steel blades clashing in midair.
No one knew how long it lasted. Eventually, Tosaki Naohara was the first to look away. He spoke flatly—
“See you at the IMO. You might not win next time.”
“Then let’s test that theory,” Jiang Fuyue replied, lips curling, eyes narrowing into a smile.
…
Two weeks later, the exchange program came to an end. All the exchange students returned to their home schools.
It was a Saturday. Jiang Fuyue went to the airport to see them off.
Tosaki Naohara, Edmond, and Jelina had taken the earliest flight out, as they needed to connect through Binzhou for international travel.
The remaining students were all from domestic schools.
Huo Fanjin sighed, “Time went by way too fast. Feels like I just got here, and now it’s already time to leave?”
Fanye looked reluctant, “Sister Yue, I’ll miss you so much. After the college entrance exams, you must visit Duofu! I’ll introduce you to my father—he’s very kind, gentle, and super knowledgeable. He really admires smart girls. Also, my clan members will definitely love you!”
Honestly, who on the island of Duofu wouldn’t like Agata?
She was basically their sacred Goddess Yue.
Gao Zhaoming gave his round belly a pat and smacked his lips. “No. 1 High is awesome. The students are awesome. Heh… and Jiang Ji’s food is even more awesome!”
Ever since Jiang Fuyue brought everyone to eat at Jiang Ji once, Gao Zhaoming had been obsessed. Almost every afternoon after school, he’d go eat there.
The first time, he didn’t realize there’d be a line. He rushed there excitedly, only to queue until 8 p.m. before finally getting a table. When he sat down, he ordered literally every signature dish—more than a dozen.
Unsurprisingly, the commotion brought Cao Dou out personally to advise him: “Don’t order too much. You won’t finish it.”
Gao Zhaoming replied with a silly grin, “Don’t worry. I won’t finish it—I’ll just taste a little of each.”
Cao Dou: “…”
Eventually, Han Yunru had to come over herself, speaking to him gently. She asked about his preferences and helped him pick five dishes. That finally convinced him to hold back.
Later, he got smarter. During the second afternoon class, he’d use his phone to place a delivery order and send a runner to queue for him.
By the time school ended, the timing was perfect—he could head straight over and start eating.
When it came to food, Little Chubby Gao never disappointed.
From then on, it became routine—he’d try three dishes every day after school.
Why three?
Because the first time he ordered five, he couldn’t finish them. But the food was so good, he couldn’t bear to waste it, so he stuffed himself clean.
The result?
Spent the whole night in the bathroom.
The next day, he dragged himself to the infirmary for medicine.
He said himself—his family had given him over 20,000 yuan in cash for the trip to Linhuai.
More than half of it? Spent on food.
When Huang Hui found out, he said five words: “If you’re not fat, who is?”
Wait—no. That’s six words.
Later, when Jiang Fuyue heard that he went to Jiang Ji daily, and that he swore to try every single item on the menu—including Han Yunru’s desserts—she gave him a special in-house discount card.
30% off.
Gao Zhaoming was so happy he almost screamed like a prairie dog on the spot.
Now, he no longer had to worry about money, and could eat happily to his heart’s content.
“Sister Yue, I’ve got 12 dishes left. I remember them all! I’ll definitely come back to try them!” Little Chubby swore.
“Alright.”
What she didn’t tell him was—Jiang Ji’s menu changes monthly. By the time he came back, those 12? Yeah, the untouched ones would be way more than that…
Next up was Fang Canyang.
“Sister Yue, hope we end up at the same university.”
Jiang Fuyue replied, “If your heart’s in it, even if we’re not in the same school, we’ll still meet.”
He scratched his head with a shy smile. “True.”
Finally, it was Lin Shumo’s turn…
