132: Chapter 132 Were you glaring at me just now?

The Advanced Mathematics professor watched his retreating figure, his expression complex.

No wonder he dared to promise to rank in the top few. Based on his performance today, let alone the top few, the professor wouldn't be surprised if he ranked first.

He nodded, his tone flat: "Go back down."

Chen Fan sat back down next to Shen Qing.

Shen Qing glanced at him, her eyes holding something that hadn't been there before.

Previously, her impression of Chen Fan was limited to two points—one, that he was handsome, and two, his college entrance exam score of 709. Being handsome wasn't anything special to her.

However, the number 709 had indeed bothered her for a while. After all, she had been a top student in high school herself, and she had only scored 670 on the college entrance exam.

Then came the military training, when Chen Fan showed off his abs in public. To be honest, she had taken a couple of extra looks back then. Not out of infatuation, it was just... it was hard not to look in that situation.

Then there was the English class, where Chen Fan's fluent English shocked the whole class, and she was no exception.

And now, Advanced Mathematics class. He solved problems with ease, explained them with clear logic, and was even easier to understand than the teacher.

She had originally thought that since she was the best student in her class in high school, as long as she continued to work hard in university, she would definitely be able to become the best one there too.

But now she realized that whether it was college entrance exam scores or her mastery of university courses, she seemed to be inferior to Chen Fan.

The only thing she was better at was probably her perfect attendance record, never missing a class.

But this made her even more depressed—if Chen Fan was better than her even while frequently skipping class, didn't that just prove she was inferior to him?

Thinking of this, a sense of frustration rose in her heart, and her cheeks puffed up unconsciously.

Chen Fan happened to see this scene when he turned his head.

The way Shen Qing puffed up her cheeks looked like a child sulking, which didn't match her usual cold and distant demeanor at all.

He hadn't expected that a girl who looked so cold on the outside could make such a cute gesture.

Just then, Shen Qing seemed to notice his gaze. She turned her head and, sure enough, found Chen Fan staring at her.

Their eyes met.

Chen Fan wasn't embarrassed at all and gave her a slight smile.

Shen Qing remained expressionless.

"What are you looking at me for?" she asked, her voice indifferent.

"Nothing." Chen Fan withdrew his gaze, his tone casual, "I just thought the way you puffed up your cheeks just now was quite cute."

Shen Qing froze for a second.

She opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end, she just said "Oh" and turned her head away.

However, the moment she turned her head, a trace of imperceptible annoyance and shyness flashed in her eyes.

Chen Fan didn't say anything else, leaned back against his chair, and looked at the blackboard.

Shen Qing stared at the blackboard; the teacher was still explaining the problem, and chalk was writing and drawing on the board.

But she didn't hear a single word.

Her mind was full of that phrase "quite cute" from just now.

Ever since she started middle school and her parents divorced, her personality had become colder and colder, as if she had wrapped herself in a shell.

She had been praised for being smart, hardworking, having good grades, and she had also been praised for being pretty. But no one had ever called her cute.

What did the word "cute" have to do with her?

As she thought about it, her cheeks felt slightly hot.

Why is this person so annoying?

She bit her lower lip, lowered her head to open her textbook, and pretended to look at the problems.

But she had looked at that problem three times and hadn't taken in a single word.

Soon, the bell for the end of class rang.

There was a ten-minute break.

The classroom suddenly became lively. Some people were slumped over their desks catching up on sleep, some were taking their water bottles to the hallway to get water, some were chatting in groups, and those boys in the back row had already pulled out their phones to team up and play games.

Just as Chen Fan was planning to get up to find Wang Lei and the others, a figure walked up to him.

"Chen Fan."

He looked up and saw it was the class monitor, Zhao Zitong. With short hair and dimples when she smiled, she was efficient and decisive in her speech and actions—the kind of girl no one could find fault with.

"Hey, Class Monitor Zhao, what do you need me for?"

"Chen, you busy person, can't I look for you if there's nothing wrong?" Zhao Zitong crossed her arms in front of her chest, pretending to be dissatisfied.

"Of course you can. What does the honorable Class Monitor need this humble one to do?"

Hearing Chen Fan's teasing, Zhao Zitong couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into laughter.

"Alright, stop with the nonsense." She handed him a piece of paper in her hand. "Seriously, our class needs to form a team for the Freshman Cup Basketball Tournament. I've tallied it up, and there aren't many boys in the class who can play basketball, and you count as one."

Chen Fan was stunned upon hearing this.

He had only just gained Basketball Mastery not long ago, and the school was already organizing the Freshman Cup Basketball Tournament?

He came back to his senses, took the paper from Zhao Zitong's hand, and glanced at it. It was a registration form with five or six names already written on it.

"Who told you I can play basketball?" Chen Fan asked.

"Didn't you choose basketball for your P.E. class? Besides, you're the tallest in our class; even if you can't play, you can at least grab some rebounds."

Zhao Zitong said it as a matter of course, her tone carrying a hint of "don't even think about running away."

Chen Fan thought for a moment and then asked: "What about training time? I might not be able to make it all the time."

"It's fine, it's just a Freshman Cup Basketball Tournament. Our class isn't chasing results; it's just to participate, just for show." Zhao Zitong waved her hand. "The important thing is participation; as long as everyone has fun, that's enough."

"Alright then."

Seeing that Zhao Zitong had said as much, Chen Fan didn't refuse anymore and agreed.

He also wanted to try and see how his basketball skills, combined with his current physical fitness, would actually perform in a real game.

Seeing Chen Fan agree, Zhao Zitong showed a happy smile, and her dimples deepened.

"Then it's settled, I'll add your name."

"Okay."

Having achieved her goal, Zhao Zitong didn't stay long and turned to leave. Before leaving, she turned back and reminded him: "I'll notify you in advance when training starts!"

Chen Fan gave her an OK gesture.

Ten minutes passed quickly, and the bell for class rang.

The Advanced Mathematics professor walked into the classroom again with books under his arm, and the classroom quickly quieted down.

He opened his textbook and continued with the content he hadn't finished earlier. Most of the students present started listening attentively; some were taking notes, some were staring at the blackboard, and occasionally looking down to do a calculation or two.

Chen Fan rested his chin on his arm, his eyes fixed ahead, looking like he was listening to the lecture, but in reality, his thoughts had long drifted elsewhere—he was thinking about the progress of "happy elimination", about the company's next plan, and about when the new office would be ready.

Shen Qing, sitting beside him, had initially thought Chen Fan was listening attentively, but after glancing at him a few times, she realized that this person was just zoning out.

An indescribable sense of helplessness welled up in her heart—that such a person was actually better than her in academics; it was truly unfair.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but glare at Chen Fan.

As luck would have it, Chen Fan happened to turn his head at that moment.

Their eyes met.

"Were you glaring at me just now?" Chen Fan lowered his voice, his tone carrying a hint of surprise.

Shen Qing withdrew her gaze without changing her expression and opened her textbook: "You saw wrong."

"Impossible, I clearly saw you glaring at me." Chen Fan stared at her, looking certain.

"Then you must have seen it wrong." Shen Qing's tone was indifferent, as if she were stating an irrefutable fact.

Chen Fan stared at her for two seconds, and seeing her looking so calm and not like she was lying, he just assumed he really had seen wrong, so he didn't pursue it further and turned his head to continue zoning out.

Meanwhile, Shen Qing looked down at her textbook, the tips of her ears slightly flushed.

The class ended quickly.

As soon as the bell rang, Chen Fan packed up his things and left the classroom immediately.

Shen Qing slowly packed up her textbook, looked up at his retreating figure as he disappeared at the door, then lowered her head again, clearing that sentence from her mind.