Age of Legends

Chapter 226 A Sigh

In 2001, the final year of China's WTO accession negotiations, NASDAQ had just recovered from a severe bubble burst, computer technology was developing rapidly, and the information age was dawning. At this time, people were filled with both expectations and wariness regarding WTO accession. The most popular words were entrepreneurship and starting a business, and the most sought-after were those stories of wealth creation and pioneering entrepreneurs who charged ahead in the tide of the times. The desire of the whole society to create wealth and make a name for oneself flourished on this land.

While rumors of Li Wei's mysterious younger brother were circulating at the Provincial Normal University, Zhang Chen was diligently studying and doing practice questions at Yude School in preparation for the upcoming monthly exam.

I slacked off a few days ago, which means I need more time to catch up.

Perhaps for students like Li Runjia and Shen Nuoyi, the current senior year of high school can be said to be all about reviewing and delving into more in-depth question types.

This is also why many top students hate their senior year of high school. The high school question bank is so limited, it's all about making a big deal out of a small problem, like carving fancy things out of a date pit, and it's far less interesting than participating in competitions.

But for Zhang Chen, what others see as "this small question bank" is a vast ocean of material, and there is still much to be learned and reviewed.

Zhang Chen stubbornly believed in doing things one step at a time. His involvement in QQ's development was what gave him the most confidence and what he was most certain of at this stage. Because QQ was a definite future empire, and in this process, as long as Zhang Chen didn't overstep his bounds or interfere excessively—not to say he wouldn't participate at all, but like a butterfly whose wings had already flapped—completely concealing his presence was impossible, but by doing the right thing at the right time, he should be able to largely avoid mistakes while also correcting some errors.

But after that, Zhao Tao's Shengfeng, or Huang Huifen's Xuhui, were no longer under his control. Oh, of course, the ideas he gave Wang Bowen were something he could control.

Strangely enough, after he and Shen Nuoyi had their conversation, Shen Nuoyi stopped urging him to study, and he stopped frequently asking her for help with her homework. Instead, he would try to solve the difficult problems himself first, and only ask her for help if he really couldn't figure it out. He would send her a text message and arrange to chat on QQ, or call her directly when it was convenient for him at home.

Now, Zhang Chen usually perseveres and gets results on his own, so he basically doesn't go through the later procedures. Surprisingly, he doesn't have any of the dependency mentality of asking Shen Nuoyi when in doubt.

Perhaps he also harbored a secret he himself was unaware of: he didn't want to show weakness in front of Shen Nuoyi.

Shen Nuoyi herself had said several times that if there was anything she didn't understand, she could ask her, but after probably realizing Zhang Chen's thoughts, she stopped mentioning it.

If she kept bringing it up, it would seem like she cared a lot about his grades. But she had already made it clear that Zhang Chen didn't need to improve himself or pursue anything for her. He could do whatever he wanted; if he wanted to play around like before, that was fine with him, and she understood. If he wanted to study hard, she could offer methods and ideas.

As for Shen Nuoyi, she also thought about their future. What if one of them had good grades and the other didn't, and they went to completely different universities?

She had no concrete solution. No one can plan or predict the future, so all she needed to do was keep going with her faith.

If there are any difficulties, then overcome them.

……

Today, Yude High School was acting strangely. There were banners hanging at the international department, and several business buses were coming and going, seemingly picking up and dropping off some exchange visitors.

However, many people are used to this, especially those in the international department, whose activities are different from those of students who take the regular college entrance examination.

But when Zhang Chen entered the classroom, he still saw Tian Jiayi and Xu Rui, along with several other girls, chatting animatedly in the groups in front and behind them.

"Hey, have you heard? The provincial physics competition team has been assembled. The contestants from No. 27 Middle School, No. 10 Middle School, Foreign Language School, and Mianyang Middle School are here at Yude Middle School for training today. Since our physics competition team has a relatively large number of members this year, with five people, we invited Lin Yifu, the coach of the IPhO China National Training Team, to conduct a seven-day special lecture series. Other schools in the provincial team are also coming along this time. The provincial physics team is training at our school for the next few days."

"It's not easy. In the past, it was always No. 27 Middle School. They have always been at the forefront of competitions, and they also have an exchange center. Their resources and teachers are quite strong. This time, Yude Middle School can also be the host!"

"Hey, do you guys know who's leading the provincial team? The one with the highest theoretical score in the semi-finals right now is Pei Yan from the Foreign Languages ​​Department."

"Is that Pei Yan?" Tian Jiayi's eyes lit up.

Strictly speaking, Pei Yan is practically a household name in top high schools. This is because these top high schools' competitions naturally attract a lot of media attention, and even if students don't pursue these paths, the publicity is so extensive that everyone knows about them. Every year, the competitors pose for photos on bulletin boards, and there are related newspaper reports.

If a participant in the competition is not only exceptionally talented but also has good looks, then the news will spread not only in the media but also throughout the school.

Pei Yan is handsome and exceptionally capable, so he's well-known in the top high schools in Rongcheng for his outstanding performance in competitions.

In the mouths of those parents, Pei Yan was practically the epitome of a genius.

No parent wouldn't want a child who is worry-free, capable, and outstanding in every way.

This effect once extended to several top high schools. The news that the provincial physics competition team was coming to Yude High School for training was like a stone thrown into a still lake, creating countless ripples.

Many girls at Yude High School are planning to go to the training building after school and before evening self-study to see Pei Yan, the rumored school heartthrob from the Foreign Languages ​​School!

Adding to the previous rumor about school beauty Shen Nuoyi liking Pei Yan, Pei Yan might have gone to No. 27 Middle School or No. 10 Middle School, which wouldn't have caused such a stir. Only coming to Yude Middle School has become the focus of heated discussions among countless people.

One of the boys was quite annoyed: "Damn, Pei Yan is so arrogant! Just how great is he? He's handsome, but what good is being handsome?!"

"He'd better keep a low profile when he comes to Yude, or we'll give him a good beating."

"They're here to compete, how dare you mess with them?"

"So what? Are we afraid of him?"

"Tch, you're just being stubborn..."

The girls, on the other hand, were already excited.

"Is Pei Yan really coming to Yude? Shall we go see him this afternoon?"

"They eat in the main cafeteria, right? They go to the main cafeteria?"

"Go on, Pei Yanlei! We'll finally get to see him in person! We're eager to see just how handsome he really is!"

"Didn't it appear in the newspaper? I think his picture was also in that middle school magazine last time! A lot of people passed it around back then!"

"Oh dear, photos are just photos. Some people look good in photos, but when you actually see them, they look top-heavy, and some are even incredibly short, but the photos make them look tall! Some photos are purely artistic and have a huge difference from reality."

"Then we definitely have to see the difference in person. Let's go together."

"Go! Go! Go!"

In Class 5, Wang Shuowei walked back from outside the classroom before class and sat next to Zhang Chen. He looked unusually serious and asked, "Did you hear them discussing the provincial team coming to our school for training?"

Zhang Chen nodded.

Wang Shuowei hummed in agreement. "The one leading the team is Pei Yan. You've met him before; we saw him with Shen Nuoyi and the others at the mall last time..."

Wang Shuowei stopped there, as he was also feeling uncomfortable at the time. Although it was a misunderstanding, it was like adding insult to injury for Zhang Chen.

"They say he's currently ranked first in the physics competition, and the only representative from the foreign language department..." Wang Shuowei's voice drifted over, "He and Shen Nuoyi are good friends. Do you think Shen Nuoyi will host him since he's come to Yude? Or perhaps we could step in and do our part as hosts?"

"I'm just worried that Shen Nuoyi won't let us host a dinner party," Wang Shuowei said to himself, rubbing his temples. "My head hurts!"

Shen Nuoyi and Pei Yan are good friends, and in Wang Shuowei's opinion, this friendship is probably no less intense than the one between him, Zhang Chen, and Shen Nuoyi. Therefore, since Pei Yan is visiting Yude, Shen Nuoyi will most likely host the dinner. However, out of his deep affection for his childhood goddess, Wang Shuowei is reluctant to see Shen Nuoyi and Pei Yan alone together. So, he plans to have himself and Zhang Chen, as Shen Nuoyi's classmates and best friends at Yude, invite Pei Yan to dinner, while simultaneously creating distance between Shen Nuoyi and Pei Yan.

Ultimately, he was unwilling to let Pei Yan win over Shen Nuoyi. Even if it meant dragging Zhang Chen along as an unwelcome third wheel, he wanted to use this tragic method to create a barrier between the two of them.

So Wang Shuowei is still feeling a bit sad. When a young man resorts to a method that might disgust someone he once liked, there's probably no other way.

Like a moth drawn to a flame in youth.

It only makes one sigh.

(End of this chapter)