Living Only For Myself: Make Those Who Hate Me Regret It-Chapter 108: Xu Su, How Did You Know That Is My Weakness?
Ever since passing the preliminaries, Xu Su had been wound tight. She felt that having come this far, she absolutely had to achieve a good result, or else all her previous efforts would have been for nothing.
Xi Zirong couldn’t stand seeing her study so hard she was forgetting to eat and sleep.
"If you pass, you pass. If not, your scores on the regular college entrance exam will still be great. Xu Su, don’t put so much pressure on yourself."
Xu Su shot him a glance. "Of course I know I shouldn’t pressure myself, but it’s not like I can just decide not to be! I can’t help being nervous. In any case, I have to give it my all, right?"
Seeing how effortlessly he handled everything, Xu Su couldn’t help but say sourly, "How is your brain even wired? We’re both students, so how can you always get a perfect score? Xi Zirong, I honestly think you could represent the country in international competitions."
At this, Xu Su suddenly remembered something. In her past life, this guy was the top scorer on the college entrance exam. He had never participated in any math competitions, much less any international ones.
So...
She blurted out, "Xi Zirong, you didn’t join this math competition because of me, did you?"
The moment the words were out, Xu Su froze, completely mortified.
’How conceited can I be? How could I ask something like that? Claiming he joined the competition just for me.’
Xu Su started to wonder if her memory was failing her. ’Did the Xi Zirong from my past life get into college through the competition track?’ 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
’Was I wrong about him being the top scorer?’
’Otherwise, none of this makes sense...’
The girl’s face filled with vexation, and she immediately regretted what she’d said.
Xi Zirong, however, just let out a chuckle. "It’s exactly as you think."
"...?? " Xu Su was flabbergasted. "Why?"
’I hadn’t even planned on competing myself, so how could he have possibly decided to join for my sake?’
The two teachers for the competition class left after assigning homework. With only five people remaining, the classroom was very quiet.
Xi Zirong leaned a little closer, his voice soft. "If I didn’t, how else would I get to be your deskmate?"
Xu Su still didn’t get it. "But I was only told to join at the last minute. How were you so sure I wouldn’t refuse?"
After all, while Teacher Wu had informed her directly, she could have refused if she had been truly determined.
Xi Zirong said, "You’ve always respected Old Wu. There was no way you’d turn down an opportunity he signed you up for."
"..." Xu Su was speechless for a moment.
’So, in this life, he really did join the competition because of me.’
’Did I... Did I just mess up his chances of becoming the top scorer on the college entrance exam?’
Xu Su asked, "Then are you still going to take the college entrance exam?"
Xi Zirong was taken aback by the question. "If you make the provincial team, I’ll make the provincial team with you. If you don’t, I’ll come back with you and take the college entrance exam."
The bonus points he might get for the college entrance exam weren’t even a factor in his considerations.
Xu Su was once again rendered speechless...
"Don’t you have any plans for yourself? Does everything have to revolve around me?"
’Is being a genius really all that? Does it give him the right to be so reckless?’
Xi Zirong’s eyes were completely serious. "I *am* planning for myself."
’Thinking back to what he’d said—’If I didn’t, how else would I get to be your deskmate?’’
Xu Su got it. She finally, truly got it.
Although Xi Zirong had seemed a bit more assertive lately, he was, at his core, still the same love-struck fool.
It was just like Zhou Mochen. No matter how gentle he acted, no matter how much he doted on her, he was still that same paranoid psycho deep down.
September slowly slipped by in this tense academic atmosphere.
This year, the second-year high school students didn’t get a break for the National Day holiday; life went on as usual.
After the National Day holiday, the weather slowly began to turn cold.
「The day of the semifinals arrived.」
Compared to the few hundred people at the preliminaries, the semifinals were much smaller, with only about a hundred participants.
And among those hundred-odd people, only a tiny fraction would secure a spot to win a provincial award.
City No.1 High School didn’t charter a bus this time. Instead, two teachers personally drove the five students to the exam site in their own cars.
Teacher Wu drove the three students from his class. Xu Su, being the only girl, sat in the front passenger seat, while Fu Jun and Xi Zirong sat in the back.
As soon as they got out of the car, Teacher Wu double-checked that they had all their stationery and admission tickets before watching them enter the exam hall.
Once again, Xu Su didn’t know anyone in her assigned exam room.
Xi Zirong walked her to the entrance of her exam room and pulled her aside. "Don’t be nervous. It’s okay if you don’t do well. Pass if you can, but don’t let it get you down."
Xu Su nodded. "And you, Xi Zirong, don’t you dare assume I’m going to fail and then intentionally score just low enough to get eliminated with me. You have to get a perfect score this time, you hear? If you don’t, I’m never talking to you again."
The students from other schools nearby, preparing to enter their own exam rooms: ...
’What kind of insane conversation is this? What does she mean, "get a perfect score"?’
’This is the semifinals! The problems are notoriously difficult. There have only been a handful of perfect scores in the competition’s entire history.’
’Someone turned to look. Ah... it’s *him*.’
’Oh, never mind then.’
Xi Zirong paid no mind to the utterly bewildered students around them. He just smiled and said, "Alright, I promise. I won’t intentionally flub my score. But Xu Su, have some confidence in yourself. You can pass the semifinals."
’I can pass the semifinals...’
Carrying Xi Zirong’s words with her, Xu Su officially began the exam.
The layout of the semifinal exam was simple, just like the homework Teacher Wu assigned them: it consisted entirely of long-form problems.
There were five problems in total, each one harder than the last.
This time, Xu Su had only just finished solving the problems—with no time left to even check her work—when the end of the exam was announced and she had to put down her pen.
When she walked out of the exam hall, she saw him leaning casually against a tree. Even though it was mid-October and she was already in her school jacket, he was still wearing the summer version of the City No.1 High School uniform.
Seeing her, Xi Zirong strode over in a few long steps. As a fellow contestant, he was well aware of Xu Su’s abilities.
He already had a rough idea of how she’d scored.
He didn’t ask how the test went. Instead, he lowered his head and said softly, "We did our best, and that’s all that matters. Xu Su, let’s just go back and wait for the results. Don’t let this get to you."
Xu Su didn’t understand why he always assumed she’d be upset about whether or not she passed the semifinals.
But there was no faking his concern. She smiled. "You don’t have to be so careful. I didn’t do that badly. I might even snag a second-place prize. Come on, the teachers are waiting for us outside."
She hadn’t held out much hope for this competition to begin with. Just as Xi Zirong had said, doing her best was enough.
Just passing the preliminaries was proof enough of her ability. This was the semifinals, after all. Every single person who made it this far was a top student from their high school, with math skills that were certainly no worse than hers.
After all, with so many high schools grooming students specifically for these competitions, it was only natural for them to score better than her.
She wasn’t a genius like Xi Zirong. Xu Su was the diligent, hard-working type of top student. She had talent, but she still had to rely on effort to consistently rank in the top three of her grade.
Having composed herself, Xu Su took the initiative to ask as they walked, "What about you? The exam was so difficult this time. Are you really sure you got a perfect score?"
Xi Zirong glanced at her, and seeing that she truly wasn’t upset, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
He smiled and said, "I took this test very seriously. After all, you said you’d stop talking to me if I didn’t get a perfect score. Xu Su, how did you know that was my biggest fear?"
