Chapter 97: Almost Collided, Many-Faced Girl
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The National Olympiad in Informatics (NOI) is a nationwide competition for young informaticians, also known as the Informatics Olympiad.
Only those who pass the domestic selection of NOI are eligible to attend the summer camp, followed by the national team selection competition (CTSC). The students who excel in these competitions will represent the country in the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI).
This time, Jiang Fuyue was participating in the domestic selection.
After arriving by high-speed train, she collected her luggage and queued up to exit the station.
Midway, she received a call from Xu Jing—
“No. 7 Highschool has arranged for your pickup. Since you’ve just arrived in the capital and are unfamiliar with the place, I’ve already talked to them. Take their bus to the hotel, and that’s settled! Remember to call me once you’ve arrived.”
After saying that, he hung up.
Jiang Fuyue: “…” In fact, she really wanted to say that she had already booked a car and could go straight to the hotel after exiting the station.
However, considering Xu Jing’s good intentions, Jiang Fuyue quietly canceled the car order and paid a cancellation fee.
She then followed the crowd and walked towards the exit, arriving at the designated spot and finding the corresponding bus.
As she was about to walk over, a figure suddenly collided with her from behind, but she managed to dodge in time.
The girl who bumped into her looked around sixteen or seventeen years old, dragging two suitcases, one in each hand. She nearly collided with people but didn’t stop or apologize, breezing past and running straight towards the bus ahead.
Jiang Fuyue furrowed her brow.
“Hello, I’m a student from No. 7 Highschool. Is this our bus?” the girl inquired as she stopped in front of the bus.
“Yes, yes,” the driver nodded hastily upon hearing this. “Please show me your student ID.”
“Student ID again? I’ve put it in my bag, how can I find it among all these things…” The girl grumbled irritably while flipping through her bag, her voice low.
“Here you go!”
The driver just glanced briefly and waved. “That’s fine, you can get on. Where’s your student ID?” His gaze then fell on Jiang Fuyue.
“I’m from No. 1 Highschool.”
“Oh, it’s you. Teacher Zhang has already informed us. Please get on.”
After Jiang Fuyue got on, she realized that most of the seats were already occupied. There were no two separate seats left, so she had to sit in the remaining one, alongside someone else.
She didn’t mind much and just randomly chose a seat.
“Sorry, I need to put my bag here. Could you sit with someone else?” Jiang Fuyue raised an eyebrow and moved to sit opposite, where the person was currently adjusting her skirt. She didn’t notice Jiang Fuyue sit down and was taken aback when she suddenly realized—
“Who are you?”
Jiang Fuyue turned her head, and coincidentally, it was the girl who had almost collided with her earlier.
“You aren’t from No. 7 High School/” The girl had a pleasant voice and was quite charming when she spoke.
Jiang Fuyue’s gaze remained calm. “No.”
“Then why are you on our school bus?” Lin Yuan frowned, looking dissatisfied. “Also, why didn’t the driver check your student ID?”
She had overheard the conversation earlier.
At this moment, another person boarded the bus, drawing everyone’s attention away from their phones to the door.
Eh! It wasn’t as if they received some special order, it was just…
The newcomer was quite distinctive, making it hard not to notice her!
She was a petite girl, holding onto a snakeskin bag and handing a crumpled piece of paper to the driver. The driver took it, but the next second, he couldn’t help but tilt his head back, distancing himself from the smell…
Tsk!
The smell of stinky feet mixed with sweat was particularly intense, making it hard to ignore.
He quickly opened the door, his gaze briefly darting around before he handed it back to her like a hot potato. “Alright, find a seat.”
The girl said, “Thank you,” but her accent had a peculiar “pickled vegetable” quality to it, sounding awkward and comical.
Sure enough, the entire bus burst into laughter.
“This accent… why does it sound like the one from Duofu?”
“It’s definitely Duofu! And she’s even using a snakeskin bag, oh my god!”
“How long has it been since she washed her face? She’s so dark and oily, her forehead looks like it’s shining. You could probably use it as a mirror, hahaha…”
“Don’t be so disgusting! A mirror… from head to toe, she’s emitting a sour stench. Who would dare to get close?”
“By the way, does Duofu have participants in the competition too? Isn’t that place poor and backward? They don’t even have proper schools?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never been there.”
“Me neither.”
“Who would go to such a dirty, chaotic, and impoverished place? Are they asking for death? I heard that you’ll get robbed just walking on the streets, and calling the police is useless because there are no police there.”
“But the coastline there is really beautiful…”
“Undeveloped islands are naturally beautiful, it’s still untouched, but it also indicates poor infrastructure. Most of the areas on the island still lack water and electricity, and even some of the more primitive tribes don’t know how to use coal, relying on rubbing sticks together to make fire.”
“Oh my god! Is that true? Doesn’t the country do anything about it?”
“It’s an isolated island formed by a volcanic eruption. It was only discovered twenty years ago, and it’s too far from the mainland, floating alone in the sea. Even if they wanted to manage it, they couldn’t. Moreover, the indigenous people on the island are very exclusive and don’t accept assistance, so they naturally don’t comply with management.”
“So you’re saying it’s completely uncivilized, like a bunch of savages…”
“Not entirely, they still know how to trade pickled vegetables for daily necessities.”
“Hahaha… we’ve finally traced the source of the ‘pickled vegetable’ Mandarin accent!”
Amid the lively discussions, the girl’s face grew cold. Her pair of dark and deep eyes widened with anger, completely different from her silent and awkward demeanor when she first boarded the bus.
“I won’t allow you to badmouth Duofu!” Her voice was sharp and thin, with the thick and hoarse Duofu accent, making everyone laugh even harder.
Clenching her teeth, the girl trembled with rage, “None of you have any manners. I don’t want to be in the same bus as you!”
After saying that, she lifted her snakeskin bag and turned to leave.
“Wait…” At this moment, Jiang Fuyue suddenly stood up.
All eyes turned to her, including Lin Yuan, who had been busy with her nose and eyes that weren’t actually a nose or eyes, only to realize that this girl from No. 1 Highschool was stunningly beautiful!
Tall and fair, with a slender waist and long legs, her eyes seemed to be adorned with stars.
The girl hesitated for a moment and then turned her gaze towards Jiang Fuyue. Her eyes were watery as she sniffled and asked, “Do you need something?”
Jiang Fuyue replied, “I’ll go with you.”
“Huh?” The girl was a little bewildered.
Ten minutes later, as they sat in a comfortable and spacious sedan, enjoying the cool air blowing gently, and watching the tall buildings outside recede, the girl’s eyes remained unfocused.
She hesitantly spoke, “Are you Agata?”
Agata, in the Duofu native language, meant “Moon Goddess,” the protector of Duofu women.
Only Agata would descend from the sky to bestow blessings upon her people, granting them gentleness and encouragement, courage and luck. Just like the beautiful girl in front of her had done.
Perhaps the girl had just said it casually, but upon hearing it, Jiang Fuyue was taken aback.
Because twenty years ago, a Duofu man had asked her the same question with a similar mixture of surprise and astonishment.
He had said, “Are you our Agata?”
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