Chapter 45
Chapter 45: Call Me “Brother”
Seeing Xue Xi’s baffled look, Qin Shuang opened a web page without any hesitation and found her idol’s picture for the former to see.
It was a magazine cover featuring a man. A white ancient costume was draped over his shoulders as though it was going to fall. The man’s eyes were slightly lowered and he had a tear mole. He was exuding an enchanting aura, and his eyes were dark as they stared straight ahead while he smiled. That charming aura seemed to be overflowing from the phone screen.
“Handsome or not? Don’t you want to get him?!” Smitten, Qin Shuang stared at his picture.
Xue Xi: “…”
This man was indeed good-looking, but he was totally different from Xiang Huai’s dangerous and coquettish image… Er, why did she think about Xiang Huai?
Xue Xi shook her head as she tried to put this thought behind her mind.
Just as she was about to do her work, she heard someone say, “Qin Shuang, I heard that you moved out but you’re not staying at the school either. Where are you staying?”
Qin Shuang rolled her eyes. “I’m renting a room.”
That person exclaimed, “Do you have money? Didn’t the Qin family stop providing for you?”
Qin Shuang sneered. “Do you think I lived my life in vain for the past 18 years? That I didn’t save up?”
“Oh,” the person replied and kept quiet.
Xue Xi remembered that Mrs. Qin gave Qin Shuang a bank card after the class fund theft incident but she did not accept it.
Since Xue Xi did not wish to invade her privacy, she did not ask. Now it seemed like… Qin Shuang was having some problems financially?
Xue Xi slowly poked her shoulder.
Qin Shuang turned around.
Xue Xi asked, “Are you short of money? I can lend it to you.”
Upon hearing this, Qin Shuang looked to her left and right before inching closer. “Sister Xi, I’m earning my own money right now. Don’t worry.”
Earning money?
Xue Xi paused. “Huh?”
Her friend whispered, “I’ll tell you, but don’t tell anyone. I am doing live-stream to earn money.”
After saying that, she became nervous. “Sister Xi, will you look down on me because of this?”
She was the Qin family’s young mistress, but now she had to do live-streaming.
Xue Xi shook her head. “I won’t.”
Qin Shuang heaved a sigh of relief.
As the preparatory alarm bell rang, Xue Xi, Fan Han, and Xue Yao stood up and headed outside amid the student’s exclamations of envy.
The Math Olympiad and Physics Competitions were drawing near, and the three had stopped attending classes as they pulled out all the stops for the competitions.
Xue Xi usually attended the Physics class in the morning and the Math Olympiad class in the afternoon.
However, to prove that conjecture of hers, she went to the Math Olympiad class.
Xue Yao followed behind her and heaved a sigh of relief when she saw her acting like this. “Is she going to focus on the Math Olympiad for the whole day and give up on physics?”
The Math Olympiad Competition was going to be held on the 18th and 19th, and the physics competition two days later.
With the dates for both competitions so close to one another, most people would choose to focus on one.
Fan Han furrowed his brows slightly when he heard this. “Mhm, seems like she isn’t silly.”
The Math Star Competition had completely crushed Fan Han’s arrogance. However, he was a man after all and was not as petty. After the initial shock that he felt, he was unknowingly won over by her.
A self-taught genius; a person like her is born to learn mathematics!
After saying this, he walked into the classroom. When he passed by Xue Xi, he saw that she did not have a single Math Olympiad book on her table. There was only a blank piece of paper and she was calculating something on it.
Fan Han: “??”
He frowned and sat behind her.
For the whole morning, he saw Xue Xi writing and drawing. One moment, she would crush the paper and throw it, and the next moment, she would put down her pen and think about it.
She even ran to the school’s library in between classes to borrow a book titled, “Bartra’s Life.”
He knew who Bartra was. That man was a renowned mathematician from the 19th century.
But what does this have to do with the Math Olympiad?
He thought that it would last only in the morning since the time wasted was for learning physics. However, for the entire afternoon, Xue Xi was still writing that odd thing, which he had no idea about.
Old Liu came to the classroom and was slightly shocked. “Xue Xi, are you proving Bartra’s hypothesis?”
Xue Xi nodded.
Instantly, Old Liu was caught between laughter and tears. “Scientists have been trying to prove this for over a hundred years but still couldn’t. Most of them failed at the last step. There’s no use in trying to do this. Even if you’re interested, you can wait until you get into university when you’re learning more advanced math…”
He paused.
All of a sudden, he remembered that Xue Xi had completed the university syllabus on her own.
Hearing his words, she did not stick to them. Instead, she said, “Mr. Liu, I wish to give it a try.”
Old Liu still had some trust in this curve wrecker.
He could only sigh. “Then you have to promise that you’ll finish the Math Olympiad assignments.”
“No problem.”
Old Liu took a walk around the classroom and left.
When he had left, Fan Han could no longer hold it in. “Xue Xi.”
Xue Xi did not respond.
Fan Han took a deep breath. “You can’t make little of the National Math League when you got first just once. Others will think that you’re flippant and conceited.
“The Math Star Competition was outside of the syllabus, and I know that you’ve learned content that are outside of the syllabus on your own. Therefore, your first place wasn’t a true achievement. There are countless math geniuses nationwide. That Sun Jie alone from the First High School received the first prize in the National Math League last year. He was one ranking away from getting into the winter camp! This year, he is one of the favorites for the championship!
“Can’t you have more respect for the Math Olympiad?”
“…”
Xue Xi had a train of thought but the annoying person behind her broke it.
She had always been calm, but this time around, she could no longer hold it in. She turned around and shot him a glance coldly. “Shut up.”
Fan Han was shocked and instinctively shut his mouth.
By the time he’d regained his senses, his face was red with embarrassment.
He had gone out of his way to remind her, but she took his goodwill for ill intent?
If that was the case, he would let reality teach her a lesson!
…
All the way until 6 PM, Xue Xi was still stuck at the same point.
As long as she could prove this minor logic, the whole conjecture would be almost complete!
However, the knowledge relating to this point was something she had never come across.
In the whole of Bin City, similar reference books were not available as well, and the internet would not have such niche teaching materials either.
She went to ask Old Liu but he had no idea either. “Only professional members doing scientific research would have it. Where can common people like us find them? You’d better stop thinking about it and focus on the Math Olympiad!”
Even the wealthy and powerful could not get in touch with the people doing scientific research!
Xue Xi frowned.
Eventually, she looked at her phone’s WeChat and sent a message in the Moguls’ Group.
Learning: “Who has books on XXX?”
Soon, there was a reply in the group.
Omnipotent Boss: “I have.”
Xue Xi’s eyes lit up. “Can you lend it to me or sell it to me?”
Omnipotent Boss: “I’m not selling, but…”
Learning: “But what?”
Omnipotent Boss: “Call me ‘Brother’ and I’ll lend it to you.”