Chapter 112: Chapter 112: Studying to Show Off

"Go on, try it," Xue Rui said with a smile.

’Just play the game already,’ he thought. ’Stop bringing up Lin Ruoxi.’

Just now, when Gu Muxue mentioned Lin Ruoxi’s name, some kid had clearly started to lean in, but Xue Rui had driven him back with a glare.

Speaking of which, Gu Muxue and Lin Ruoxi’s classrooms were only one room apart.

Xue Rui ran back and forth between the two girls every day. Lately, it had even caused him to occasionally dream of Gu Muxue and Lin Ruoxi chatting together, scrutinizing him with cold gazes.

’What a fucking nightmare.’

Fortunately, in real life, top-tier beauties were like repelling magnets. Even if the two occasionally passed each other, they would at most give a nod without exchanging a single word.

Lin Ruoxi was quite popular, since she often brought meals for her classmates.

However, due to her personality, she didn’t really have any close friends, no girls with whom she could discuss romance.

As for Gu Muxue, while she was highly popular, her social circle was actually quite average.

This was because high school friendships weren’t forged in the classroom. They were built on mutual help throughout campus life—fetching water together after class, buying snacks, getting scolded together, whispering secrets, or just shooting the shit in the dorms after lights-out...

In other words, close friends were usually your daily life companions at school.

This created a faint but tangible distance between day students and boarders, even if they were classmates, because their daily lives rarely intersected.

Furthermore, no one dared to ask Gu Muxue to run errands for them. Even her own classmates rarely chatted with her, because they felt they had nothing in common with a "goddess-level" figure.

What Xue Rui was most grateful for was that Gu Muxue was only at school during daytime classes and would leave campus in the afternoon.

The few breaks she had were monopolized either by him or Mei Lili, leaving Gu Muxue with no time to talk to anyone else.

Otherwise, if Gu Muxue were to ask around a bit, she might discover that his relationship with Lin Ruoxi was "not so ordinary."

After all, the only two people in his class who didn’t attend evening self-study were him and Lin Ruoxi.

Although their classmates didn’t know the truth, there were always people speculating that he and Lin Ruoxi were together.

’Their guesses were so damn accurate!’

But he always firmly denied it...

Gu Muxue’s fingertips slid gently across the screen, and as the crisp sound of clearing pieces played, her eyes sparkled with amazement.

"I can’t find any flaws," Gu Muxue said, shaking her head.

The game Xue Rui had made was extremely simple to operate, with virtually no learning curve. You could get the hang of it just by watching the tutorial.

Moreover, the icons were adorable, and clearing the little animals gave you the same satisfying feeling as cleaning up a cluttered desk.

Gu Muxue thought for a moment. "You could ask your classmates for feedback."

"I only made an iOS version," Xue Rui said, waving his hand.

"What’s wrong with that?" Gu Muxue asked, a little confused.

Xue Rui’s eye twitched as he shot Gu Muxue a look of exasperation.

’This girl really thinks everyone is like her...’

It was only late 2012. In a small city like Hedong, how many families could afford to buy their kids an iPhone?

You could count the number of iPhone users in the entire school on one hand. Who was he supposed to get feedback from?

He suddenly felt that there was an advantage to his dad’s financial restrictions. It made him understand how hard ordinary people worked and how every penny was hard-earned.

He wouldn’t be like those idiot rich kids who say things like, "Why don’t they just eat cake?"

"I think I get it..."

Gu Muxue murmured. She remembered that many of her classmates were still using old Nokia phones.

Still, the way Xue Rui had looked at her just now made her uncomfortable, and she shot him a fierce glare.

Xue Rui chuckled. "Alright, someone’s here to pick you up."

The second-year academic building was right across the road, and he saw an Audi slowly pulling up. It must be Gu Muxue’s family.

"I’ll download it for my mom when I get home," Gu Muxue said with a smile.

As she walked out of the classroom, she kept swiping the screen with one hand, thinking she would play a bit more and give Xue Rui some suggestions.

"Don’t play while you’re on the road," Xue Rui reminded her.

"Oh, I know."

Xue Rui was very confident in the game. He was essentially playing with a polished game from over a decade in the future, copying it back to the early days of mobile gaming.

This was the optimal formula, one that major companies had arrived at through painstaking trial and error, incorporating feedback from hundreds of millions of users. Its value was immeasurable.

All he had to do was trim down the complex features. The game design and interaction logic were practically perfect.

As Gu Muxue passed by the back door of Class 2, Lin Ruoxi heard the familiar game sounds and couldn’t help but look up.

’Is Gu Muxue playing the game she and Xue Rui made?’

’Xue Rui must be looking for user feedback...’

When Xue Rui returned to Class 2, Lin Ruoxi, as if on cue, shouldered her backpack and started walking out.

She and Xue Rui took different routes. Xue Rui would take a shortcut out through the school fence.

So, she always left a few minutes early to avoid making Xue Rui wait for her outside.

Yi Bing was slumped dejectedly over the hallway railing, his eyes full of envy as he watched the first-year students chasing each other around down below.

"Yi Bing, lean back a bit. What if this railing collapses?" Xue Rui joked.

Yi Bing weighed over 240 pounds. When he chased someone down the hall, the entire floor could hear his heavy footsteps. Now, as he leaned on the railing, it was actually bending slightly. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

’He knew it wasn’t actually dangerous, but it sure looked a little dangerous...’

"Brother Rui, I don’t want to go in. It’s too quiet in there," Yi Bing said with a sigh.

The atmosphere in their class had changed so drastically. He couldn’t focus on studying, nor could he have fun. Every day felt like torture, and even food didn’t taste as good anymore.

"Yi Bing, don’t feel burdened. Just relax and have fun," Xue Rui said, patting Yi Bing on the back.

’Yi Bing was a total slacker. His family’s financial situation was just average, maybe upper-middle class at best right now.’

’But Yi Bing’s parents were real go-getters. In a few years, their business would get bigger and bigger...’

’Xue Rui remembered that at a class reunion a few years from now, Yi Bing would show up driving a Mercedes G-Wagen with a tall, slender girlfriend on his arm, making many of their classmates green with envy.’

’So, even if Yi Bing just stayed listless like this, it didn’t matter. His parents would do the hard work for him.’

’Besides, what if Yi Bing got motivated now and his dad lost his drive? Wouldn’t he be ruining Yi Bing’s life?’

"Brother Rui, are you serious?" Yi Bing asked uncertainly. He felt like Xue Rui was being sarcastic.

"Absolutely. The academic path isn’t for you," Xue Rui said in a sincere tone.

Yi Bing was overjoyed. He suddenly felt a great sense of relief. The "culprit" behind all this was actually telling him he was already on the right path.

What he needed most right now was reassurance. With Xue Rui’s words, he could now have fun without any guilt.

"Huh?" Qiu Mengze had a strange expression on his face.

That wasn’t what Xue Rui had told him.

Qiu Mengze asked curiously, "Xue Rui, why did you suddenly start studying so hard?"

He was the most aware of Xue Rui’s family background; very few people in the entire school could surpass him.

Even if Xue Rui slept in class, many teachers would turn a blind eye.

Thinking back on it now, he realized those teachers probably felt Xue Rui had such a bright future ahead that he didn’t need to put much effort into his studies.

So, for Xue Rui to suddenly become so driven in his studies was something he simply couldn’t understand.

"For the rise of Chi—"

"’To study for the rise of China,’ right? Can you come up with a new one?" Qiu Mengze cut him off, having predicted it.

"Uh... To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to secure life and destiny for the people, to carry on the teachings of past sa—"

"Stop, stop, stop! Hold it!" Qiu Mengze couldn’t take it anymore.

If he weren’t sure he’d lose in a fight, he would have jumped up and pinned Xue Rui to the ground. The guy was just too damn pretentious.

"Ahem." Xue Rui cleared his throat and said with a serious expression, "To show off in front of my old man. He’s never believed I could get into college, so I want to slap him in his old face with my success."

Honestly, what Xue Rui wanted to see most right now was the shocked look on his father’s face.

Xie Jianfeng was completely hands-off with him. When he started middle school, Xie Jianfeng actually went to the elementary school gate to help him with his luggage.

His dad figured Xue Rui took after him and would most likely also be a dud when it came to academics.

As a result, he never even paid attention to what grade Xue Rui was in. He only cared about whether his son was growing taller, eating enough, and if he had a girlfriend...

Besides, if he didn’t go to college, Xue Rui felt there wasn’t much else for him to do at this age...

"This..."

Qiu Mengze was speechless. He really hadn’t expected that reason.

But on second thought, this was the Xue Rui he knew.

It was already November. The air in the hallway was exceptionally cool, and the sky darkened much earlier. Qiu Mengze watched the afterglow of the sunset on the horizon, his mood turning melancholic.

"She’s still ignoring me," Qiu Mengze said wistfully.

Not wanting to hear it, Xue Rui turned to leave.

"Where do you think it went wrong?"

"A while ago, even when we didn’t have much to talk about, if I sent ’You there?’ she’d at least reply with a smiley face. Now, she doesn’t reply at all."

Xue Rui put his books on his desk and asked casually, "Did you pay your informant their hush money?"

"What informant?" Qiu Mengze turned around, bewildered.

"The person who delivered the note to Qin Tong."

"Holy shit!" Qiu Mengze’s eyes widened in realization.

Now that Xue Rui mentioned it, it made perfect sense.

Qin Tong had probably already found out who delivered the note that day.

"Dumbass. You don’t even know how to cover your tracks," Xue Rui cursed.

"She doesn’t think I was the one who called the police that day, does she?"

Qiu Mengze’s heart nearly leaped out of his chest. ’It’s over,’ he thought. ’It’s totally over now.’

"Who knows?"

Before he left, Xue Rui gave Qiu Mengze an ambiguous answer.

’He didn’t think Qin Tong would think that. How could a timid, straight-laced guy like Qiu Mengze possibly call the police on a group of punks?’

’If she really thought that, Qiu Mengze would have been cornered after school long ago.’

After being delayed in the classroom with those two for a while, the sky had already grown dark by the time Xue Rui left the school.

The temperature in Hedong was only about ten degrees Celsius. As Xue Rui slipped through a hole in the fence, a cold gust of wind made him instinctively shrink his neck.

"Are you cold?"

Lin Ruoxi was using her phone to light up the path for him, her other hand held protectively over his head, afraid he might bump it on the fence.

"It’s fine. Someone was even faster than me—this sharp point has already been filed down," Xue Rui said with a laugh.

"It would still hurt if you hit it," Lin Ruoxi insisted, keeping her hand there.

"There are still good people in the world, after all," Xue Rui remarked with feeling.

A while ago, he’d bought a file from a hardware store, intending to smooth out the sharp point on the fence here. But when he came to do it, he found someone had already ground it down into a smooth curve.

Under the cover of darkness, Xue Rui wrapped an arm around Lin Ruoxi’s shoulder, leaning his weight against her as they walked.