Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)

Chapter 85 Side Story

The internal BBS of Qingzhou University was called "Qingda Weiyang," and there were always people online both day and night.

1L: "People from the neighboring Huada are showing off their newly elected campus heartthrob, claiming he will completely overshadow our school. Can we take that? Of course not! They're probably just braging with their eyes closed. How dare they say they'll crush us? Those nerds from Huada must have studied themselves stupid. They can't learn to open their eyes and see the world?"

3L: "What gave Huada the courage to say that? Although our school didn't have an official campus heartthrob until last year (and I’m not disrespecting Senior Xu Qianning or Senior Zhang Youjia), this year we’ve already crowned one! It's a unanimous decision across the whole of Qingda. Can Huada really think they can just walk in and crush us?"

6L: "So Senior Xu Qianning and Senior Zhang Youjia are over the hill now? Who’s the top figure at Qingda now?"

7L: "Just search the keyword 'Wen Xiao' on the internal network."

9L: "No need to search, I’ll provide an on-the-spot explanation! Wen Xiao is a first-year student in the Physics Department at Qingda. He graduated from Qingda Affiliated High School, so he's purebred. He scored 721 on the college entrance exams, the highest in Qingzhou City, both in individual subjects and total score. He was the city’s top scorer. At the time, both our school and Huada were competing for him, but Wen Xiao had already set his sights on the Physics Department. Our teachers were so pleased, while Huada’s admissions office returned empty-handed, so upset that they had to take nitroglycerin pills. Even now, every time our school’s admissions staff run into Huada’s, they can’t help but clutch their hearts and sigh!"

10L: "Is that all? It's just another case of schools fighting over students. Happens every year. It’s nothing special this time."

68L: "Not living on campus? If he's living outside, he must be cohabiting with a girlfriend! Sisters, wake up! We need to consider this possibility!"

77L: "Looks aren't everything. My senior, a PhD student, once praised Wen Xiao. He said they attended a professional seminar together, where undergraduates, postgraduates, and PhD students were all present. Wen Xiao could contribute to every topic. Isn't that scary? It scared me so much I thought about resetting my own factory settings!"

87L: "So what exactly does Huada have that makes them think their new campus heartthrob can overshadow Wen Xiao? Can they really beat him?"

88L: "Hahaha, be more confident and remove the question mark! They can't beat him, not a chance!"

104L: "A regular who bikes to Huada to sit in on a class has something to say: Huada’s new campus heartthrob is named Chi Ye, a top scorer from Mingnan City, the provincial top scorer, and a prized recruit by Huada’s admissions office. He ended up in Mingguang College of Management. The college went crazy, showering him with scholarships and grants. Anyone who understands knows, Mingguang College of Management isn’t short on money! They turn down alumni donations every year, for heaven’s sake! When they give money to undergraduates, they do it generously! But that's not the main point. The key is Mingguang's computer labs, software, databases, and training bases — they’re all for undergraduates! Mingguang undergraduates are pampered more than my school’s postgraduates. Anyone have a problem with that?"

116L: "Jealous much, upstairs? Hahaha, you can tell, they’re just another person who’s been triggered by Mingguang’s academic buildings, which get renovated every year, and all the software being top-tier! Huada’s other colleges and Mingguang College of Management are simply in different leagues. Mingguang has such a deep foundation, with world-renowned guest professors and top domestic professors as full-time faculty!"

134L: "Speaking of Mingguang’s College of Management, the jealousy is real! Why didn’t I score an extra ten or so points? Mingguang’s just too hard to get into! But there’s someone from our school who went to high school with Chi Ye. They say this big shot is incredibly willful. During his first two years of high school, he skipped half the time. Every exam, he barely scraped by with a 60. That’s not the worst of it, though. In his third year of high school, he spent most of the time on a leave of absence. Three months before the college entrance exams, he started attending school again. Three months later, he was the provincial top scorer. Can you believe that? Is this even human? More like a devil!"

156L: "His past glory is nothing but smoke now. From what I can see, he’s even more monstrous than in high school. Professor Li Muqing has been a powerhouse at Mingguang College of Management for years. He’s already snatched the top scorer up for himself and won’t allow any other professors to make a move."

157L: "Holy crap, Li Muqing? Didn't he stop accepting students for years?"

162L: "The last disciple, you understand?"

178L: "I get it. It's like the most favored disciple, right? Each senior disciple has a dedicated resource and a personal mine. I want that too! (Shakes myself awake.)"

189L: "I suspect one of the reasons Li Muqing likes Chi Ye is because of his looks. Chi Ye’s attractiveness isn’t the same kind of handsome as Wen Xiao’s, but... he’s still very good-looking, really good-looking. Someone saw him talking on the phone outside the classroom, not sure who he was speaking to, but the smile on his face was so gentle and so beautiful! A photo was taken secretly and spread quickly throughout Huada, and then it made its way to Qingda in no time. My roommate and I each got a copy and painfully shared it. [Image attached]"

213L: "Inhale, this is insane. He must’ve been talking to his girlfriend, right? That look in his eyes... absolutely stunning, really stunning!"

252L: "At the rate Chi Ye is going, he’ll probably soon launch an undergraduate academic research promotion plan, publish papers, seek investments, participate in international exchange programs offered by the college, and attend global forums with their advisor."

255L: "Wen Xiao’s not far behind. At this rate, he’ll probably be publishing first-author papers in PRB and PRL soon. Looks like he’s on the path to a career in research."

267L: "He’s just a first-year. You guys are overhyping him, aren’t you?"

271L: "Overhyped or not, let’s see in two years."

279L: "If you think it’s overhyped, go ask the professors. Though, they might be even better at blowing things up than we are."

297L: "So, back to the main topic, between our Qingda campus heartthrob and the one from the neighboring school, who’s more ruthless and better overall?"

311L: "Their looks are pretty much on par, and it’s hard to predict their paths too far ahead. But if I had to choose, I’d bet on Wen Xiao. He’ll definitely become the pillar of Qingda’s physics research in the future!"

324L: "I’m rooting for Chi Ye. He’s young, rich, and a single nobleman. His future is limitless. His looks and charm are just too striking!"

339L: "After reading all these posts, hahaha, as a Qingda student, I’m supporting Wen Xiao. Those from the other school who came here to post should face reality. Don’t get carried away."

354L: "Qingda has never been afraid of anyone in research. As for the other school? Choosing that school means choosing a lifetime of mediocrity."

372L: "Our school’s math competition results were average this year — we got four gold medals. The other school did well too, though they got more bronze medals than we did. Keep up the good work, other school!"

401L: "The other school can still improve. After all, they're just 300 meters away from being a world-class university!"

596L: "What’s with the first two hundred posts? You guys are so off-topic. If this is a high school essay, you’ll definitely lose points! If you lose twenty points on your essay, you’ll have to go to the other school instead!"

608L: "(Trying to steer the conversation back on track) I just found out that Chi Ye lives off-campus too!"

612L: "Hah, seems like all the big shots this year prefer living off-campus?"

699L: "Maybe they’re living together."

It was half-past eleven at night. Chi Ye, with his long legs stretched out, leaned casually against a streetlight in front of the laboratory building of Qingda's Physics Department, one hand in his pocket, while he focused on his phone.

As if sensing something, Chi Ye lifted his gaze and saw Wen Xiao coming out of the laboratory building, seemingly searching for someone. Upon noticing him, Wen Xiao quickly descended the stairs.

Chi Ye couldn’t help but smile. He stepped forward and took Wen Xiao’s cool hand. "Heading home? I just saw the weather forecast. It’s supposed to rain heavily tonight."

The light from the streetlamp reflected off the fine rain falling around them. Wen Xiao’s hand rested against the warmth of Chi Ye’s palm. "It’s already starting to rain. I didn’t bring an umbrella."

Chi Ye: "Neither did I."

The two exchanged a glance, and without a word, they instinctively tightened their grip on each other’s hands and started running forward.

New buds sprouted at the treetops, and the fine rain dampened the edges of their clothes. As they ran, they still looked like the youthful figures they were.

With you, I can only hope that time will stretch on forever.

.

Author's Note: This is the final heart of the book, and I want to thank everyone for the three months of companionship.

And with that, this story comes to an end. Farewell, Chi Ye and Wen Xiao.

———

I honestly thought this was just another one of those silly, braindead romances I love to death, but I didn’t expect it to hit me so hard that I ended up bawling my eyes out. My heart broke for these two beautiful souls and everything they went through. There were moments that genuinely hurt to read, but I couldn’t stop. I was rooting for them the whole way. I’m so happy their story ended so beautifully. They deserved every bit of peace and love they finally found. Farewell, Chi Ye and Wen Xiao.

For anyone who’s ever felt lost, I sincerely hope you find your way back one day. And more importantly, I hope you find the people who feel like home. It may still be far away, but may all your trials end in full bloom.

Bye for now. See you in the next story (and the previous ones, though only if you want to)!

—

If you liked this story, please also check out these translations~